The Guardians star closer Emmanuel Clase and starting pitcher Luis Ortiz were indicted this week, charged with throwing pitches that bettors wagered would happen and profiting from the bets.
Clase is accused of engaging in the enterprise for years and even texting and talking on the phone with a co-conspirator about it during a game.
The FBI took Ortiz into custody Sunday in Boston. Federal agents took Clase into custody Thursday in New York. Each has been released on bond after entering pleas of not guilty to federal charges.
We will begin the Friday’s “Sound of Ideas Reporters Roundtable” with investigation into Clase and Ortiz and the impact it could have on sports as well as laws governing betting in Ohio.
Residents of Cleveland's Glenville and Collinwood neighborhoods, along with their council representatives, tore into Cleveland Mayor Justin Bibb over the public school district's plan to merge Collinwood and Glenville high schools as part of a broader consolidation that will result in 29 fewer schools in the district. Collinwood councilman Mike Polensek said the merger would destabilize the neighborhoods.
Canton City Council has cut public comments from its meetings, citing safety concerns and threats on social media. Many public bodies have strict rules for comments, such as time limits and requirements to sign up in advance. Cleveland City Council recently tightened its rules. Canton's decision to cut comments has disappointed residents.
The Cuyahoga Arts & Culture board approved more than $12 million in operating and project support grants for local arts-based nonprofits. It's the first disbursement of funds since voters approved raising the county cigarette tax from 30 cents to 70 cents per pack last year, so awards were more generous than they had been.
Ideastream was among those organizations awarded grants and in the public comment period, 11 people spoke out against Ideastream's partnership with Cleveland State University that converted the student run radio station, WCSB, to JazzNEO, operated by Ideastream.
The Marshall Project-Cleveland recently published an investigation into the Mohican Youth Center in Perrysville, in Ashland County, Ohio's largest residential treatment facility for youth with behavioral or mental health problems. There have been numerous reports over the last year, drawing huge emergency response, of chaos in the facility, with fighting, property damage and inadequate policies to deal with it.
A Republican-sponsored bill introduced this week in the Ohio House would require people using mail-in ballots to also provide a copy of their photo identification. State Rep. Ron Ferguson of Wintersville in Jefferson County says it would make absentee vote by mail more secure. Voting rights advocates say the system is already secure and that the measure would make it harder for some to vote absentee.
Guests:
-Anna Huntsman, Akron-Canton Reporter, Ideastream Public Media
-Phil Trexler, Editor-in-Chief, The Marshall Project Cleveland
-Karen Kasler, Statehouse News Bureau Chief, Ohio Public Radio/TV
