There has been a change at the top of public safety leadership for the city of Cleveland. Last Friday, Public Safety Director Karrie Howard resigned, which the city said was effective immediately. In a statement, Mayor Justin Bibb announced Chief of Police Wayne Drummond would step in as the interim public safety director. Drummond's chief of staff, Deputy Chief Dorothy Todd was tapped as the new chief of police.
The changes come as the city is in the middle of budget hearings with council. And while the city is trying to augment its recruitment efforts to fill its police ranks.
We will begin Wednesday’s “Sound of Ideas” discussing the shake-up in the public safety forces.
Then, the Ohio Department of Transportation is installing new warning technology around the state to give highway drivers more time to prepare for slowing or even stopped traffic.
Advanced cameras will monitor traffic in real-time and send an alert to a warning sign to inform drivers approaching the area. The idea is to cut down on end-of-queue collisions.
According to ODOT, there were more than 8,800 such crashes in 2023. One of those crashes last November, claimed the lives of three Tusky Valley students, two chaperones and a teacher on Interstate 70 in Licking County.
We will talk to ODOT and the Ohio State Highway Patrol about the new alert system and the state’s new distracted driving law.
We will end the show talking to the coach of the Brecksville-Broadview Heights Bees gymnastics team. The Bees will compete this weekend for their 21st straight state championship title. We'll talk to Maria Schneider about how the team and her parents helped bring these gymnasts to greatness.
Guests:
-Matt Richmond, Criminal Justice Reporter, Ideastream Public Media
-Matt Bruning, Statewide Press Secretary, Ohio Department of Transportation
-Lt. Ray Santiago, Public Affairs Unit, Ohio State Highway Patrol
-Maria Schneider, Brecksville Bees Coach