Here are some of the stories for this week's Reporters Roundtable discussion.
Committees for Cleveland City and Cuyahoga County councils are taking up the issue of renovating Progressive Field—the home stadium for the Guardians Major League Baseball team. It is a $435-million-dollar deal that involves the city, county, state and team chipping in towards the improvement costs in exchange for the extension of the team's lease through at least 2036. But, city council members are warning that the deal may be a difficult sell for their constituents who are financially struggling.
Ohio Health Director, Dr. Bruce Vanderhoff says he is cautiously optimistic the current surge in COVID-19 cases in Ohio is peaking. Vanderhoff says Ohio's case rates remain high but early indicators show a downward trend. The Ohio Hospital Association says one in six patients hospitalized in Ohio suffers from COVID-19. One in four Ohioans in intensive care is COVID-19 positive.
The end of an era in Cleveland politics is approaching. Cleveland Mayor Frank Jackson is retiring at the end of his current term. It is his fourth consecutive serving as the city's mayor. Yesterday afternoon, Mayor Jackson delivered his final State of the City address.
The lawsuits challenging new state legislative boundary maps approved by the Ohio Redistricting Commission will be heard in early December. But already the opposing sides are tangling. Earlier this week, lawyers for Republican leaders in the case said they would not comply with discovery requests in the case. They cited a court schedule for the case that did not set any dates or deadlines for discovery.
We are learning more about the deal between Lordstown Motors and Taiwan based, Foxconn. A $230 million agreement would sell the Lordstown Motors facility to Foxconn. Lordstown Motors operates out of the former General Motors Assembly Plant. Foxconn is the world's largest assembler of the Apple i-Phone with aspirations of expanding into electric vehicle or E-V technology. Lordstown Motors was to begin manufacturing its Endurance pick-up truck last month.
Ohio House Republicans have introduced a so-called "backpack bill" that would make every school aged child in Ohio eligible for a voucher to pay for private education. The bill is called a backpack bill because the idea is the voucher money follows the student.
- Glenn Forbes, Host, Producer, Ideastream Public Media
- Kabir Bhatia, Reporter, WKSU
- Karen Kasler, Statehouse News Bureau Chief, Ohio Public Radio/TV
