08-29-2003
Cleveland Children Start School
(Cleveland, OH) -- Cleveland public schools are back in
session today. There was concern that schools would not open
on time due to computer viruses. But the district cleared
the problem and will open as planned. The school district
cut jobs over the summer, letting go of 52 assistant
principals and 172 teachers. The school board is saving
$2,000,000 by having children ride RTA busses.
Progressive Insurance building in Mayfield
(Cleveland, OH) -- Ohio Governor Bob Taft will take part
in a ground-breaking ceremony today in Cleveland. The ground
breaking is for the new Progressive building to be erected
in the Cleveland suburb of Mayfield. Progressive is one of
the largest auto insurers in the United States.
08-23-2003
Rolling Blackouts hit Parma and Rocky River
(Cleveland, OH) -- The cities of Parma and Rocky River
experienced rolling blackouts yesterday. According to
FirstEnergy, the blackouts were the result of high power
usage due to the heat. An overheated transformer was the
cause for about 35 hundred customers in Parma to lose power.
In Rocky River, about 600 residents were in the dark because
of CEI transmission problems. Rocky River's outage lasted
about 2 hours.
Broadway Bridge Closed
Cleveland, OH) -- The city of Cleveland's Department of
Public Service is closing to Old Broadway Bridge to traffic
starting Monday to due to structural concerns. A study of
the bridge led experts to believe the bridge had to shut
down for needed repairs. Traffic should watch for the detour
signs
Lakewood looking to Crackdown on Speeders
(Lakewood, OH) -- The city of Lakewood is looking at ways
to crack down on speeders in their community. Officials are
considering putting speed limit signs in residential yards
as reminders to motorists. The city's police chief says
reducing limits is especially important with school starting
soon. The speed limit on side streets is 25 miles an hour.
The official speeding handout is set to begin at the
Lakewood Community Festival next month.
Crime Stoppers looking for Bank Robber
(Cleveland, OH) -- If you're going to rob a bank, it's
important that you take the time to look you're best.
Cleveland police is looking for a man who recently robbed
two bank in a suit and tie. The tailored thief would ask
tellers for money then he would escape in a get away car
driven by a woman. Call Crime Stoppers at (216) 252-7463
with any information. An anonymous tip is worth up to $2
thousand if it leads to the arrest and indictment of the
culprit
08-16-2003
Cleveland Glitch Gets Blame for Blackout
New York --- Subways rumbled beneath Manhattan, the
Indians played baseball in Cleveland, and the Ferris wheel
rotated at the Michigan State Fair in Detroit as the worst
blackout in the nation's history ended Saturday.
Investigators blamed the power outage, which at its peak
affected 50 million Americans, on the failure of three
transmission lines near Cleveland, part of the lake-circling
"Erie Loop" that connects Cleveland, Detroit, Ottawa and
Toronto.
They continued to explore why the blackout had spread
within seconds to U.S. and Canadian cities from western
Michigan to Massachusetts.
"We are fairly certain" the problem started in Ohio, said
Michehl Gent, head of the North American Electric
Reliability Council. "We are now trying to determine why the
situation was not brought under control."
"We've got to quickly get to the bottom of the questions
of what happened, how it spread, and what to do to keep it
from happening again," said Energy Secretary Spencer
Abraham. He said a joint U.S.-Canadian task force had
already begun its probe.
Abraham met with New York Gov. George Pataki and New
Jersey Gov. Jim McGreevey in Albany, N.Y. Abraham said he
would meet Thursday in Detroit with the Canadian minister of
natural resources, Herb Dhaliwal.
"Minister Dhaliwal and I will start working immediately
to find out what caused this massive blackout and to keep it
from happening again," Abraham said. "Reliable electric
power is the lifeblood of the economy for both our
countries."
In the Midwest, Cleveland and Detroit residents had power
but were still boiling their drinking water because of
lingering health threats caused by the shutoff of water
system pumps.
Cleveland's power was fully restored Friday, in time for
baseball's Indians and the NFL's Browns to play at home that
night. Canada problematic
People in Detroit continued to experience low water
pressure, but power was restored Saturday to nearly all of
Michigan's 2.3 million customers. Energy officials called
the situation tenuous, and said it was critical for people
to conserve electricity to avoid rolling blackouts.
Problems also continued in Canada.
"It is not going to be an abundance of power on Monday
morning," said Ontario Premier Ernie Eves. In Toronto it was
unclear if subway service would be restored in time for
Monday's start of the work week.
The New York area's three major airports were still a
trouble spot Saturday as they adjusted for the several
hundred flights canceled Friday. (In Atlanta, spokeswoman
Wendi Pruett said Hartsfield International was operating
normally.)
But mostly, New Yorkers focused on getting their lives
back in order. The sidewalks, stores and parks were full of
folks ready to forget their recent misery.
Riders rejoiced that the subway was back on track.
"It usually gets me where I'm going. When I get around,
it's either by my feet or the subway, or when I'm really
tired, maybe a taxi," said Tim Shamey, who lives in the East
Village and wore a black T-shirt bearing a picture of a
subway token.
"I always travel by train," said Penny Vitolo. "I came in
for lunch on Thursday and was at a friend's apartment in
Lower Manhattan. We were finishing a glass of wine when the
power went out."
After just getting home Friday night to Rowayton, Conn.,
she was back at Grand Central the following morning on the
way to a wedding.
The subway is vital, said Andrew Bartsch, 15, who is too
young to drive and lives in Westchester County. "I go to
Times Square a lot and use it to see friends in the city. My
dad couldn't get here to work for two days."
When the power was lost, more than 400 subway trains and
tens of thousands of riders were stranded.
While the subway was running to Coney Island, the ocean
was off-limits for swimming there and at all the other New
York beaches because of contamination fears. The blackout
caused two sewage treatment plants to malfunction and dump
tons of raw sewage into the saltwater.
With subways running, free rides on buses ended. Garbage
workers collected overtime pay as well as the plastic bags
of trash piled on the sidewalks.
Odors were ripe because tons of spoiling food had been
thrown out as residents and restaurants were forced to empty
their refrigerators and freezers. Mayor's motherly advice
The rule of thumb on whether food has gone bad, cautioned
Mayor Michael Bloomberg, is "when in doubt, throw it out."
At his news conference, Pataki said that although the
subways were running, "we cannot say with 100 percent
certainty that this can't happen again until we know what
happened and what steps are being taken to prevent it from
happening again."
"Technology exists to prevent this type of cascading,"
said McGreevey, calling for "a thorough, complete,
agonizing" investigation not only "into what happened, but
more importantly, what are we going to do to prevent this
from happening again."
Monifa Thomas, Bill Montgomery, the Associated Press and
Reuters contributed material for this article.
08-15-2003
Boil Water
(Cleveland, OH) -- Water is being affected in the wake of
Thursday's power outage. The city of Cleveland is in a state
of emergency due to the Water Department losing power to its
generators. The lack of power means the department is unable
to pump water from Lake Erie into homes. Most local suburbs
are without water. Officials say 1.5 million people could be
without water. Ohio is bringing in 17 large water trucks to
help the situation. Residents are being urged to boil water
before using it.
Cleveland Blackout
(Cleveland, OH) -- Power is slowly being restored to
northeast Ohio. Most of the city and suburbs spent the night
in total darkness in the wake of Thursday afternoon's power
outage. About 500 thousand customers remain without service
in and around northeast Ohio. Cleveland Mayor Jane Campbell
is asking downtown workers to stay home until noon. All city
facilities will be closed until noon. A state of emergency
has been declared for Cuyahoga County. Officials contend it
could be a few days until full power is restored to all
areas.
Miners Safe after Blackout
(Grand River, OH) -- Several miners are safe after being
trapped when the power went out Thursday afternoon. The
miners were working in the Morton Salt Mine in Grand River
when the power went down. The elevators stopped working when
the outage hit, trapping the miners about a mile and a half
inside the mine. The men were finally able to get out about
10 p.m. after being trapped for about four to five hours.
West Nile Help
(Cleveland, OH) -- Is help on the way for those who
suffer from the West Nile virus in Cleveland? Cleveland is
among several cities being considered as a test site for a
new treatment for the virus. The drug designed to boost the
immune system was developed in Belgium and could be given to
volunteers in the Cleveland area.
08-12-2003
Save the YWCA drive on in Middleburgh Heights
Middleburgh Heights,OH) -- Middleburgh Heights residents
are hoping to save their neighborhood YWCA. The Southland Y
is in financial trouble and residents are trying to raise
the case to keep the doors open. At first Y board members
voted to shut the facility down, but a public outcry got the
group to change their minds. The Y could become independent
if residents are able to raise the cash.
Tallmage Little League Team in LL World Series
(Tallmadge,OH) -- A little league team in Tallmadge is
going to the World Series. The local team has high hopes of
clinching a five and 0 regional tournament record during
their next game. The team, managed by Randy Keen, secured a
spot in the world series after their fourth win Saturday
night. The next game is Friday.
With a berth in the Little League World Series clinched,
the Tallmadge All-Stars returned home to a hero's welcome on
Sunday. The team returned from Indianapolis a day after
winning the Great Lakes region, thus clinching the berth in
the series. The team is undefeated in 15 tournament games
this summer. The last time a Tallmadge team made the series
was 29 years ago. The boys will play their first World
Series game on Friday, in Willamsport, Pennsylvania. The
ten-day tourney will take place between eight United States
teams and several international teams.
Early North American Artifacts found
(Port Clinton,OH) -- Construction workers found more than
they bargained in Port Clinton, Ohio. Crews working on a
housing development recently unearthed a skull and other
artifacts that could date back as far as 600 BC. The work
will continue on the housing project, however, they have
agreed to work with archaeologists in an effort to find more
old relics.
08-11-2003
Meeting Set today for Cleveland Convention Center
(Cleveland, OH) -- Four measures regarding a new
Cleveland Convention Center will be discussed today at a
meeting of Cuyahoga County Commissioners. The four measures
could determine if the project ever gets off the ground.
Among the measures discussed will be raising a hotel bed tax
by two cents for funding of the center, raising the sales
tax a quarter of a cent and creating an eleven-member panel
for a convention facilities authority
08-10-2003
Ohio Attorney General is Suing Freddie Mac
Columbus,OH) -- Ohio Attorney General is suing Freddie
Mac, one of the nations largest mortgage buyers for what he
calls misleading accounting practices. Petro is hoping to
recover funds lost by the teachers and public employees
retirement systems
Westgate Dillard's remains Open
(Fairview Park,OH) -- Dillard's at the Westgate Shopping
Mall in Fairview Park is closing its doors. But, Dillard's
fans, don't fret, store officials have decided to
consolidate the two Dillard stores at the mall into one.
According to WEWS, the Dillard's that sells men's and
children's clothing and housewares will be moved into the
other Dillard's store in the mall. Right now, it is unclear
what will happen with the vacant store space.
Cleveland Clinic Senior Days
(Cleveland,OH) -- Senior Day is coming to the Cleveland
Clinic on September 17th. The Clinic is sponsoring Senior
Day, a free day of screenings, and health and wellness
programming. The event will also include, lectures,
prescription reviews as well as live and video
demonstrations. All testing and screening will be done on a
first come first serve basis. For more information about
Senior Day, please call 216/444-3641
Driving While Breast feeding Mom Charged
(Ravenna, OH) -- Catherine Nicole Donkers, the woman who
breast-fed her baby daughter while driving on the Ohio
Turnpike, is partly out of the woods. A Portage County judge
today has cleared her of child endangering charges, but has
also convicted her of three misdemeanor counts, including
driving without a license and breaking child-restraining
laws. Prosecutors are recommending that she be sentenced to
30 days in jail and pay a $500 fine. The 29-year-old Donkers
says she didn't believe she was breaking any laws and would
never harm her baby
Coach with AIDS Reinstated
(Akron, OH) -- An Akron father with AIDS who was barred
from coaching his seven-year-old son's football team has
been reinstated. Officials of the Ellet Suburban Football
League reversed a decision given earlier in the week that
Stephen Derring was not allowed to be on the staff of his
son's team. Derring, a former Akron firefighter, contracted
the disease while on the job. The league had reportedly been
getting phone calls from parents fearing Derring coming into
contact with their children. The decision to ban Derring
from coaching had drawn complaints from many volunteer
parents and many resigned from helping the league.
Mayor Campbell Appoints New School Board Member
(Cleveland, OH) -- Cleveland Mayor Jane Campbell has
appointed Magda Gomez to the Cleveland School Board. She'll
be officially sworn in, along with the other members of the
board who were announced back in June. All nine will be
sworn in August 21st
08-07-2003
Cuyahoga County Elections Board Investigation
(Cleveland, OH) -- Elections board employees will be
questioned by detectives today about stolen financial
records taken from the board's office in Cuyahoga County.
Cuyahoga County Sheriff's detectives will conduct the
interviews, and any employee who had access to the records
will be questioned. Chairman Tom Coyne requested the
criminal investigation in a letter to Sheriff Gerals McFaul.
The investigation could take several weeks, after which time
detectives will determine if anyone will be charged with
criminal offenses. The missing records include written
ledgers and receipts from 2000 to 2002. They were locked in
a steel cage in the board's office.
Mayor Campbell and County officials can not agree
(Cleveland, OH) -- The two sides just can't seem to agree on
which group should control what when it comes to a new
Cleveland convention center. Cleveland and Cuyahoga County
officials can't decide which group of officials should
oversee money raised by a proposed convention-center tax and
the center's management board. The county feels it should
have control over both. Mayor Jane Campbell, who once served
as a commissioner, says the two sides should work together
to get the project underway.
President of Azerbaijan at Cleveland Clinic
(Cleveland, OH) -- The president of Azerbaijan has arrived
in Cleveland to visit the Cleveland Clinic. An official at
the Azerbaijan has confirmed that President Geidar Aliev has
made his way to Cleveland for a checkup for a heart
condition. Aliev has a history of heart problems, and he has
not appeared in public since being hospitalized in Turkey on
July 8th. Aliev had undergone bypass surgery at the Clinic
back in 1999. He is in stable condition, according to Tahir
Taghi-Zadeh of the Washington DC embassy.
8/5/2003
Ford Plant Fire in Brookpark
(Brook Park, OH) -- No injuries were reported in a fire
Monday at the Ford plant in Brook Park. Damage estimates
could reach the thousands or even hundreds of thousands.
Employees were able to get the fire out before firefighters
arrived. Special equipment was lost in the blaze and
investigators continue to seek the cause
8/2/2003
Brecksville VA Hospital may close
(Brecksville, OH) -- The Veterans Hospital in Brecksville
could be closing as early as 2007 if the Department of
Veterans Affairs gets it wish. The agency announced Monday
it wants the hospital to consolidate services at its West
Park facility in Cleveland. The Brecksville hospital serves
mostly as a nursing home and shelter for homeless veterans,
and has about eleven hundred employees. The agency is
looking to build a $99 million expansion at Wade Park that
would replace the hospital in Brecksville. A 15-member board
will look over the proposal and make a recommendation to the
agency. The consolidation would save the federal government
about $25 million a year.
Rain to continue for the next few
days
(Cleveland, OH) -- The weather should be giving northeast
Ohio another round of rain and thunderstorms over the next
few days, and residents around the area felt it Monday
evening. There were reports of wind damage in Madison and
Mogadore. There was golf-ball sized hail in Hubbard
recorded. Flood watches were in effect for Mahoning,
Portage, Stark and Trumbull counties, but all expired
without much damage. Cuyahoga County also was in the mix, as
there was a severe thunderstorm warning in the area. The
rainy weather and thunderstorms are due to wraparound
moisture that should keep the same weather pattern over
northeast Ohio for the next few days.
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