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A SERVICE OF OHIO'S PUBLIC BROADCASTING STATIONS
A SERVICE OF OHIO'S PUBLIC BROADCASTING STATIONS
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Sue Steigerwald, Kirtland, owner of an all-electric home-For the time being, FirstEnergy customers with all-electric homes are enjoying restoration of their discounts. The Public Utilities Commission ordered the discount to be restored after intense resident complaints about bills that skyrocketed when FirstEnergy ended the discount late last year; lawmakers have also proposed legislation making the discounts permanent.
Roundtable:
Brent Larkin, columnist, The Plain Dealer; Joan Mazzolini, reporter, The Plain Dealer; Scott Stephens, senior writer, Catalyst Ohio magazine.
What's the True State of the City?
Cleveland Mayor Frank Jackson gave his assessment of the state of Cleveland Thursday. Mayors tend to use this annual address to tout their achievements and set an optimistic course for the future. By contrast, Plain Dealer columnist Brent Larkin recently polled the elder statesmen of Cleveland City Council for their assessment of the city... and he got uniformly dismal descriptions of a town on the brink of disaster.
Port Misses the Boat on Stimulus Money:
Federal stimulus funds have showered down on shipping ports across the Great Lakes, except Cleveland. It turns out that local port officials applied for only one stimulus grant and didn't get it, while ports in Detroit, Toledo and Lorain raked in millions. Earlier this week, the Cleveland Port had to deep-six a plan for a multi-million-dollar warehouse, because of shaky financing. Once seen as a major economic engine for our region, the Cleveland-Cuyahoga Port Authority continues to be mired in management upheaval.
Cash Infusion for Schools Transformation:
The Gund Foundation has given a gold star to Eugene Sander's plan to transform Cleveland's schools. The district will get two and a half million dollars from Gund, upfront, to help get the plan rolling. And if the foundation likes what it sees, it could kick in another four million bucks. Also this week, school officials named a new Chief Operating Officer, who replaces a previous official tainted by scandal.
Child Abuse:
For the past several months, we've read the sad story of a couple of Cleveland kids who were allegedly killed by their parents. These children were born into a world of violence and neglect. Arshon Baker was born five years ago while his mother was serving time in prison for felonious assault. This week, we learned that the mother of two-year-old Alexandria Hamilton was herself a victim of abuse. In a time of major budget cuts to social service programs, how can this vicious cycle of abuse be stopped?
March 5, 2010