Newsmaker: Rev. Hilton O. Smith, president, Cleveland chapter of the NAACP
Smith was elected president by the organization’s membership, replacing George Forbes, who relinquished the job last spring after holding it for 20 years. Among Smith’s challenges will be re-building an organization that’s lost members and some of its luster since the days of the civil rights struggle.
Newsmaker II: William O’Neill, justice-elect, Ohio Supreme Court
O’Neill was the surprise winner of a state Supreme Court race over incumbent Republican justice Robert Cupp. O’Neill’s campaign spent next to nothing because he refused to take donations amid the repeated refrain, ‘money and judges don’t mix.’ A northeast Ohio resident, O’Neill was an appellate court judge for ten years and most recently served as a pediatric nurse at Hillcrest Hospital.
Roundtable: Harry Boomer, reporter, 19 Action News; David Arredondo, vice-chair, Lorain County Republican Party; Greg Saber, freelance journalist
The Judge Says She’s an Idiot
A local woman was forced to abase herself in Cleveland after being caught steering her car over a sidewalk to avoid stopping for a school bus. A municipal court judge fined Shena Hardin and then ordered her to carry a sign at the scene of the crime that read, "Only an idiot would drive on the sidewalk to avoid a school bus." She held the sign at the street corner on two consecutive mornings.
Protection for Bus Drivers
In the wake of recent attacks on RTA bus operators, the drivers’ union is asking RTA to place shields between drivers and the sometimes-misbehaving public. RTA hasn’t yet committed to the shields, but says it may put security cameras on every bus and will be more vigorous in the prosecution of passengers who attack drivers. Recently, a passenger threw hot coffee on one driver and another was fired after striking back at a belligerent passenger.
Local Takes Over for Petraeus
Veteran CIA staffer Michael Morrell has been appointed the agency’s interim director following the resignation of former director Gen. David Petraeus. Morrell is a native of Cuyahoga Falls and has spent his entire career at the CIA. Petraeus was forced to resign in the wake of the disclosure of his affair with biographer Paula Broadwell.