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By mid-June, recreational marijuana dispensaries could be open to Ohioans 21 and older — but not in at least 47 Ohio towns that have banned the businesses.
While none of Ohio’s biggest cities have enacted bans, Northeast Ohio suburbs like Avon Lake, Beachwood, North Olmstead, North Royalton, Brunswick, Medina Township and Westlake have made them off-limits. More could join the list.
This is common; in 20 of the 24 states where recreational marijuana use is legal, local governments can prohibit businesses in their boundaries. In Michigan, where weed billboards abound on expressways, 73% of the municipalities opted out of allowing marijuana business in their boundaries.
Cities do have an incentive. Under current rules, a host community fund receives 36% of the special excise tax on marijuana sales under the law (though the Ohio House and Senate each have proposals that remove that perk).
— Laura
Guardians at Texas Rangers: Guardians make six-run second inning stand in 7-4 win over Texas Rangers
Northeast Ohio weather forecast: Rain and storm chances continue
Marijuana businesses: The average population size of an Ohio city that has issued a moratorium on recreational marijuana businesses is 20,000 residents, reports Laura Hanco*ck.
Protest charge: A decades-old law recently floated by Attorney General Dave Yost as a possible way to charge pro-Palestinian protesters with felonies plainly didn’t fit the facts of the case where police tried using it for that reason for the first time, according to prosecutors in Cincinnati. Andrew Tobias reports the law makes it a felony for three or more people to commit a crime while wearing a mask. But the mask must be white.
Today in Ohio: U.S. Sen. JD Vance joined a crowded New York courtroom to catch some of the criminal trial of former Republican President Donald Trump. On Today in Ohio, cleveland.com’s daily half-hour news podcast, we’re talking about why he was backing Trump on trial rather than working for Ohio.
Bitcoin bills: Cleveland businessman Tony George invoiced FirstEnergy for what company emails describe as $5,000 a month for Bitcoin consulting from former Cleveland Mayor Dennis Kucinich, not long after Kucinich lost his 2018 gubernatorial primary, Jake Zuckerman reports.
Summer meals: When school lets out for summer break, a new federal program aims to ensure that there’s no break in breakfast and lunch for Ohio students from low-income families. Jeremy Pelzer reports the Summer EBT program, which is set to launch in Ohio and 35 other states this year, offers one-time payments of $120 to lower-income families with children ages 6 to 18 to help these families buy groceries in June, July and August.
Clean water: Ohio’s U.S. Senators want the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to keep communities’ financial constraints in mind while deciding how they should comply with Clean Water Act-mandated improvements to infrastructure like sewage and stormwater management systems. U.S. Sens. Sherrod Brown and JD Vance on Tuesday sent a letter asking the EPA office that oversees Ohio to “engage with communities to take a holistic approach in calculating an area’s financial capacity for CWA compliance as Ohio communities work to fulfill their unfunded federal mandate under the Act,” Sabrina Eaton reports.
Extra safety: Downtown Cleveland Improvement Corp. announced its plans for a second center to increase residents’ safety downtown, reports Molly Walsh. “Perk Station,” located at Chester Avenue and East 12th Street and adjacent to Perk Plaza, will provide increased unarmed uniformed visibility through Downtown Ambassadors, along with the presence of police.
CWRU bans: Graduating Case Western Reserve University seniors who participated in the encampment protest for Palestine will be barred from campus and all commencement activities while the school investigates student conduct, reports Molly Walsh. Students and alumni are planning to file an online petition with the school calling for amnesty from the university, saying protesters are being wrongly disciplined.
Delinquent: Days before Christmas 2019, 15-year-old Desianiah accompanied gunmen in ski masks to rob a drug dealer, who was fatally shot. She faced adult court for the crime after a discretionary bindover. Unlike mandatory bindovers, which are required in certain situations involving high-level felony charges, discretionary bindovers can be requested when juveniles 14 and older are accused of any felony, John Tucker and Kaitlin Durbin write in their Delinquent series. But judges decide whether a child is “amenable” to care and rehabilitation within the juvenile system.
Chemical risk: What makes a company the highest-risk facility when it comes to emitted chemicals in Greater Cleveland by the EPA? And what can it do to improve? MPC Plating, a plastic and metal plating company in Brooklyn, is the highest-risk facility in the region, reports Zachary Smith.
Housing development: A new housing development is set to bring several new townhomes and apartments to Cleveland’s Tremont neighborhood. Plans for Brevier Townhomes are set to go before the Cleveland Planning Commission for schematic design approval this Friday, Megan Sims reports.
Arts center: The nonprofit Center for Arts-Inspired Learning announced the appointment of dancer and arts educator Emma Parker as its new CEO. Steven Litt reports she will succeed Sheffia Randall-Nickerson.
Daffodil leaves: After blooming, the daffodil plant is using the leaves for photosynthesis and storing the energy in the bulb for next spring’s show, and while it may be a struggle for those who like tidy gardens, “leaving the leaves” is important for daffodils and other spring bulbs to complete their lifecycle, writes Susan Brownstein.
Miracle baby: Mia Wilson was born with an Ebstein anomaly, a rare condition that essentially left her with half of a working heart. Doctors told them she had a 10% chance of survival and gave her a life expectancy of 20 minutes. Joey Morona reports she is now 13 and raised $50,000 for research, which she gave to her doctor at Ride the Rainbow, UH Rainbow Babies & Children’s Hospital’s biennial fundraising gala.
MediCLE: This week in Cleveland Medical news, Gretchen Cuda Kroen and Julie Washington investigate the impact reclassifying marijuana at the federal level could have on cannabis researchers, an epidemic of loneliness and post-pandemic burnout among parents, and a potential new role for AI in thwarting antibiotic resistant “superbugs.”
Calico Jack: In 2018, Chris and Charisse Barbian and their nephew, Austin, bought a popcorn machine at Goodwill and used it to roast coffee as a distraction for Chris, a mechanical engineer who was undergoing chemo/radiation treatment for cancer. Paris Wolfe reports Chris has beat three stage 4 cancers and is now opening a shop for Calico Jack Coffee Roastery in Mentor.
Sub shop: Jersey Mike’s Subs opened Wednesday in Lakewood, reports Marc Bona. A five-day grand opening-fundraiser will be held through Sunday to support The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society.
Nature’s Oasis: Nature’s Oasis, an all-natural foods market and café, is opening its third store in Ohio City in late summer, Paris Wolfe reports. The small company, which seeks to support small businesses and localize our food supply, has stores in Lakewood and Shaker Heights.
Jacob Derbin: A vigil for Jacob Derbin, the first-year Euclid police officer who was killed Saturday, is Thursday at the Cuyahoga Heights High School stadium. The funeral is at 11 a.m. Saturday at St. Columbkille Church on Broadview Road in Parma, reports Olivia Mitchell. A candlelight vigil was held Wednesday outside the Euclid Police Department. David Petkiewicz has a story and photos from the vigil.
Standoff shot: The suspect who killed a Euclid police officer died by suicide Sunday, reports Olivia Mitchell. The Cuyahoga County Medical Examiner’s Office revealed Tuesday that Deshawn Vaughn, 24, of Euclid, fatally shot himself in the head during a standoff with authorities in Shaker Heights.
Gas station shooting: A 20-year-old Euclid man is charged in the fatal shooting of a man at a Bedford Heights gas station earlier this year. Cory Shaffer reports a Cuyahoga County grand jury last week indicted DaTwaun Diamond on charges of murder and felonious assault in the death of 19-year-old La’Quan Evans.
Neko Case: Singer-songwriter Neko Case will perform at The Kent Stage on Sept. 21. Malcolm X Abram reports Case is a solo artist and member of two supergroups -- New p*rnographers and Case/Lang/Veirs. The latter with K.D. Lang and Lara Veirs has long been a critical favorite with a dedicated fanbase.
Ask Yadi: Is it OK to prop your bare feet on someone’s armrest in public? Yadi Rodrigeuz’s reply: gross. Rodriguez says a person should never feel that it is OK to prop their bare feet in someone else’s space.
Indie rockers: City and Colour is a nom de plume of Canadian singer-songwriter Dallas Green. The somber stoic plays melodic acoustic-folk music under the moniker, joined on the road by a who’s who of Canada’s indie rockers. Peter Chakerian gives “3 Reasons” to see the troubadour at the House of Blues this Sunday.
Tom’s Foolery: Authenticity and locality mean a lot to Tom and Lianne Herbruck, owners of Tom’s Foolery Distillery. Started in 2008, the hobby-turned-distillery has operations split between Burton and Chagrin Falls, reports Paris Wolfe.
Meal box: Al Gaisson is the brainchild of Alexandra Gaines, offering a curated ingredient box for $125 with six to 10 types of produce and pantry items, and special recipes on to how to use the ingredients. Alex Darus reports the idea is that Al Gaisson delivers atypical types of produce that people wouldn’t find at the grocery store to inspire people to think outside of their typical meal plans.
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— Curated by Laura Johnston with contributions by Cliff Pinckard
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