Debate Continues for New Convention Center Site Location
The debate as to where Cleveland's new convention center should be located continues. Earlier this week, local developer Bart Wolstein suggested a plan to construct the center near Jacob's Field, but Cleveland architect Peter Spittler thinks the lakefront would be the best location. Spittler has submitted a $600 million plan to put the new convention center just west of Cleveland Browns Stadium, facing the lake. Business leaders are studying four separate plans and will tell Mayor Jane Campbell of their selection by the end of the month. Political leaders reportedly plan to ask voters in November to pass a tax issue to pay for the new center and other possible projects.
  

Developer Pledges $25M for University Research Center
Developer Bart Wolstein and his wife, Iris, announced Thursday their intentions to donate $25 million to the new research center, to be run by University Hospitals and Case Western Reserve University. The Pepper Pike couple says they were impressed by the impact that the center, slated to open this summer, could have. The 320,000-square-foot, six-story building will be named the Iris S. and Bert L. Wolstein Research Building.

Fire Closes Juvenile Court
Flames in a file room forced the Cuyahoga County Juvenile Court to close early Thursday. Investigators say a worker at the East 22nd Street office building spotted smoke coming from the room at about 8 a.m., and put out the fire with an extinguisher. The smoke and smell forced the evacuation of both the office building and the Juvenile Courthouse, but both buildings are expected to reopen Friday. The cause of the fire has not yet been determined.

Several Hundred Workers Lose Jobs at Area Plants
Hundreds of workers at two plants in northeast Ohio Thursday got the news they have been fearing. Akron's Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. gave 384 workers notice that their jobs have been cut. About 370 salaried and hourly employees at Goodrich Corp. plant in Aurora were given the same bad news. Executives from both companies blamed the sluggish economy for the cutbacks.

False Alarm Prompts Hopkins Airport Security Checkpoints
A false warning issued by a bomb-detection machine shut down security checkpoints at Cleveland Hopkins International Airport for about 30 minutes Thursday afternoon. No outgoing flights experienced delays, and the concourses were not evacuated, but two incoming flights were delayed. Officials believe the machine may have reacted to nearby construction activity, or possibly even to cologne or after-shave.