Two Trumbull County hospitals will begin shutting down following an announcement by Steward Health Care this week. The Texas-based for-profit owner of the hospitals, which has filed for bankruptcy, set the closure date for September.
Steward said in a statement to WKBN-TV it had to close the hospitals due to cash constraints and after a search for a buyer failed, though a local group of health care professionals has been working to purchase and operate Trumbull Regional. Six additional medical facilities including a surgery center and two rehabilitation centers will also close.
The story begins this week’s discussion of news on the Friday “Reporters Roundtable.”
The Boys and Girls Clubs of Northeast Ohio will shutter 22 of its sites this fall due to the loss of federal funding. According to the organization, only 27 of its clubs will remain open but that efforts are ongoing to restore some operations based on pending requests. One request is to the state.
COVID cases across Ohio are inching upward again, part of a larger summer wave that has stricken Governor Mike DeWine, again. The Ohio Department of Health says cases statewide have been on an upward trend for the last three weeks with cases now numbering more than 8,000. The virus keeps changing and an updated booster has now been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Shots should be available soon.
Citizens Not Politicians, the coalition backing an amendment proposal to remove political office holders from the process of drawing district maps has filed a lawsuit over the ballot summary approved by the Ohio Ballot Board.
The summary language is what will appear on the ballot when voters decide the issue. The anti-gerrymandering amendment will appear as Issue 1.
Opponents say the summary language written by Secretary of State Frank LaRose is misleading. They want the Ohio Supreme Court to force the board to rewrite the summary language.
Guests:
-Conor Morris, Education Reporter, Ideastream Public Media
-Anna Huntsman, Reporter, Ideastream Public Media
-Karen Kasler, Statehouse News Bureau Chief, Ohio Public Radio/TV