After losing $50 million last year and on track to go deeper in the red this year, the MetroHealth System announced yesterday that it's laying off 125 non-medical workers, freezing non-clinical hiring and scrapping an executive bonus program. The county's safety net hospital system now delivers more than $1 million a day in uncompensated care. More changes aimed at what the CEO called "rightsizing our footprint" are coming.
The Northeast Ohio Regional Sewer District has reversed course, now recommending the draining of Lower Lake in Shaker Heights and Cleveland Heights instead of removing and replacing the dam there, which would retain the lake. It's akin to what happened with Horseshoe Lake, where a remove and replace plan became a remove and drain plan. The sewer district said converting the lakebeds to parkland is less costly and said draining lower lake will mitigate an expensive and damaging flood risk. Residents will surely protest.
The Ohio House overrode only one of Gov. Mike DeWine's budget vetoes, though more action is expected on that in the fall. What the house voted to restore this week is a ban on local replacement property tax levies and certain emergency levies. The Senate still has to consider an override.
And the Ohio State Fair in Columbus has kicked off, and soon the funnel cakes and once-marginally-famous musical acts will be coming to your county fairgrounds across Northeast Ohio.
Guests:
-Kabir Bhatia, Senior Arts Reporter, Ideastream Public Media
-Conor Morris, Education Reporter, Ideastream Public Media
-Karen Kasler, Statehouse News Bureau Chief, Ohio Public Radio/TV
