President Joe Biden said this week his administration will forgive $10,000 in undergraduate student loan debt to help struggling borrowers. The amount forgiven will be $20,000 for those who received a Pell grant. Borrowers must make less than $125,000 individually or less than $250,000 for a couple to qualify for the loan forgiveness.
The move was met with mixed reaction.
Policy Matters Ohio, a nonprofit, progressive think tank based in Ohio says the state ranks second overall with the percentage of residents who owe student loans. Policy Matters said the loan forgiveness will help but says more needs to be done to make college affordable. The Buckeye Institute, a nonpartisan, free-market public policy think tank, was critical of the plan and says it encourages people to take on more debt and gives colleges more incentive to raise tuition.
A federal judge in Cleveland ruled in favor of a Cleveland State University student who filed suit after submitting to a video scan of his bedroom before an on-line test.
The student says he was told by a test administrator that he would need to allow a web scan of his bedroom prior to talking an on-line chemistry exam. CSU argued that the request is used nationwide to ensure academic fairness and integrity.
Judge Phillip Calabrese, however, ruled the camera scan amounted to an unconstitutional search of the student’s room.
Activists in Akron delivered a petition demanding policing changes to the headquarters of the city’s police department Wednesday.
The Akron organization Freedom BLOC and the national Color for Change collected more than 58,000 signatures nationwide for the petition.
The petition is part of a weeklong call to action by activists in memory of Jayland Walker, an unarmed Black man who died after being shot by police in June.
The Greater Cleveland Regional Transit Authority’s board of trustees has approved the creation of a new oversight committee that will investigate citizen complaints about police officers. The seven-member board will recommend potential discipline or policy changes to the agency’s police chief. Final authority over discipline will be made by the RTA’s police chief.
Two Republican state lawmakers want to prevent homeowners’ associations from banning displays of a flag that is used to show support for police and law enforcement.
The bill sponsored by Tim Ginter of Salem and Kevin Miller of Newark would prohibit HOA’s from banning the “thin blue line flag.” It’s a black and white replica of the United States flag with a blue stripe.
The City of Cleveland will host a monkeypox vaccination clinic today.
Currently Ohio has 147 cases statewide according to a new dashboard created by the Ohio Department of Health. Cuyahoga County has 61 cases—most of those in Cleveland.
According to public health officials the age range for cases in Cuyahoga is between 19 and 50. The virus is disproportionately impacting the LGBTQ community.
The Ohio Ballot Board took more than two hours this week to approve language for two statewide issues that voters could see on the ballot in November.
One would allow courts to consider public safety when setting the amount of bail. It would reverse a ruling by the Ohio Supreme Court and make it so that the court no longer has the authority to establish the rules for granting bail.
The other would amend the Ohio constitution to ensure that only United States citizens can vote in Ohio.
Marlene Harris-Taylor, Director, Engaged Journalism, Ideastream Public Media
Nick Castele, Senior Reporter, Ideastream Public Media
Karen Kasler, Statehouse News Bureau Chief, Ohio Public Radio/TV
