Cuyahoga County Archives

County Election Officials Test Voting Machines for Accuracy Ahead of Election Day

November 7, 2022November 6, 2022 Hannah Poling

Ohio counties such as Butler and Cuyahoga have been making sure every single voting machine in their districts has been checked. Election officials perform mock votes before using the machines to make sure the information is populating correctly.

Logic and accuracy (L&A) testing on every voting machine and system component ensures that ballots are accurate and that the votes cast will tabulate properly. This includes voting machines used at polling locations on Election Day and those used for scanning absentee ballots.

Ohio Sees 50 Percent Increase in Early, In-Person Voting Compared to 2018

November 4, 2022November 3, 2022 Hannah Poling

With only four days until the midterm election, Ohio is reporting an increase in early in-person voters compared to 2018.

Ohioans have cast almost 50% more early in-person ballots this year than a week before the 2018 election, according to numbers released by the Ohio Secretary of State’s office on Tuesday.

Buckeye Institute Disputes Expanded Municipal Taxing Authority in Ohio on Behalf of Blue Ash Resident

October 27, 2022October 26, 2022 Bradley Vasoli

A Columbus-based think tank this week filed its legal response in the Ohio Supreme Court in defense of a Blue Ash man who believes the state cannot make him pay Cincinnati income taxes for a period of time he actually worked from home.

The Buckeye Institute argued that a state law passed in March 2020 to allow jurisdictions encompassing an “employee’s principal place of work” to levy taxes on that worker even when he or she works from home is unconstitutional. Specifically, the institute notes that the federal Constitution’s dormant commerce clause in Article I, Section 8 disallows states to enact statutes that “unduly burden interstate commerce.” Buckeye attorneys also believe the Ohio Constitution constrains lawmakers’ ability to broaden cities and towns’ tax-collection power.

Cleveland Area Gets Nearly $8 Million in State Grants for Anti-Crime Efforts

October 5, 2022October 4, 2022 Bradley Vasoli

Governor Mike DeWine (R) announced this week that a new $12.3 million funding package would go to local law enforcement agencies to address violent crime, with Cleveland and Cuyahoga County getting two-thirds of those funds.

Nearly $1 million will go to the Cuyahoga County Prosecutor’s office, mainly to hire three new staff attorneys to help the jurisdiction make headway in its backlog of sexual and domestic violence cases. The Cleveland Division of police, the Cleveland State University Police Department and the Cuyahoga County Sheriff’s Office will meanwhile receive an approximate total of $6.5 million, largely to enhance police-officer pay. Euclid’s Police Department will also get $107,000, for technological improvements.

Ohio Judge Rules Pennsylvanian Needn’t Pay Cleveland Taxes for Work Done from Home

September 28, 2022September 27, 2022 Bradley Vasoli

A Cuyahoga County, OH court this week ruled in favor of a Pennsylvania resident employed in Cleveland who argued she did not need to pay taxes to that city for work she did from home during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The plaintiff, Dr. Manal Morsy, executive vice president at the Athersys biotechnology company who lives in the southeastern Pennsylvania town of Blue Bell, would commute to Cleveland and stay through her workweeks before COVID hit in 2020. Whenever she worked outside of Cleveland previously, she would receive income-tax refunds from the municipality. Pursuant to a state law passed in March 2020 which stated that work from home during the public emergency would be deemed to take place “at the employees principal place of work,” the city collect the municipal income tax from her employer without refunding it.

Ohio Think Tank Joins Minnesotan’s Fight for Property Rights

September 27, 2022September 26, 2022 Bradley Vasoli

The Columbus, OH-based Buckeye Institute filed an amicus brief with the U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday defending Minnesota widow Geraldine Tyler’s right to the profit from the forced sale of her home.

Tyler’s one-bedroom Minneapolis condominium was taken and sold by Hennepin County after the elderly resident could no longer afford her real-estate taxes. She quickly moved out of the condo in 2010, determining she could not safely stay in light of rising violent crime. For five years she incurred tax debt on the original residence while paying rent on a new apartment.

Renacci Tops DeWine, Others in New Ohio Gubernatorial GOP Nomination Poll

March 30, 2022March 30, 2022 Neil W. McCabe

The senior advisor for former congressman James B. “Jim” Renacci told The Star News Network that the March 28-conducted Harris poll of 1,342 Ohio Republican voters showed Renacci leading Gov. R. Michael DeWine with 46 percent support compared to the governor’s 30 percent, just over a month before the May 3 GOP primary.

“That recent Harris poll actually corroborates some massive internal data that we’ve collected over the last week or so with our phone banking operations,” said Tom Weyand, who is helming the former congressman’s campaign.

Ohio Probation Officer Claims Union Collected Dues Without Consent

August 30, 2021August 29, 2021 The Center Square

A Cuyahoga County probation officer wants union dues taken out of her paycheck returned because she was never part of the Fraternal Order of Police Ohio Labor Council union.

The National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation has filed a federal lawsuit in the Northern District of Ohio on behalf of Kimberlee Warren against the Fraternal Order of Police Ohio Labor Council, claiming union officials violated her First Amendment rights as a public employee by continuing to collect union dues without her consent.

Ohio Parents Rally to Reopen Schools and Sports

August 5, 2020August 4, 2020 Ben Kolodny

Parents across Ohio are rallying for on-campus learning and extracurricular activities to resume as the school year starts.

More than 100 people rallied in the rain in front of Brecksville-Broadview Heights City Schools offices on Monday, according to cleveland.com. While some were there to show their support for online-only programs the vast majority called for the immediate re-opening of campus learning.

Ohio in the ‘Yellow Zone’ Accounting to White House Task Force Report

July 21, 2020July 21, 2020 Ohio Star Staff

Ohio is in the “yellow zone” for coronavirus cases, according to a White House Coronavirus Task Force report that presents a list of suggested actions.

The July 14 report is available here. The Ohio data begins on Page 246.

The classification means Ohio had between 10 to 100 new cases per 100,000 residents the week before the report was released, and the yellow zone for test positivity, indicating a rate between 5 percent to 10 percent.

‘Unmasking’ the Maskless to Avoid Another Lockdown

July 15, 2020July 14, 2020 Patrick McCloskey

More than 500 complaints about mask compliance were made over the weekend on a new hotline and online submission form meant to encourage in Cuyahoga County. A week ago, Governor Mike DeWine mandated face masks in the seven counties, including Cuyahoga, where the Wuhan virus infections have spiked recently.

Cleveland Has Three Cases of Coronavirus, Gov. DeWine Says, While Declaring State of Emergency in Ohio

March 10, 2020March 9, 2020 Jason M. Reynolds

Ohio’s first three confirmed cases of coronavirus are all in Cuyahoga County, said Gov. Mike DeWine, who announced a state of emergency on Monday.

The three patients in Cuyahoga County had contact with other people who had confirmed cases of COVID-19, DeWine said. The three patients are all in their 50s.

Cuyahoga County’s Plastic Bags Ban Took Effect This Week

January 4, 2020January 4, 2020 Zachery Schmidt

Single use plastic bags will no longer be available in Cuyahoga County as its ban took effect at the start of the new year.

AG Yost Dave Shares Concerns About Drug Companies Settlement With Two Ohio Counties

October 23, 2019October 22, 2019 Beth Lear

The day before the bellwether trial of Cuyahoga and Summit Counties versus four major pharmaceutical companies began, the drug manufacturers settled. The issue for the counties was the significant cost of the opioid epidemic, believed to have been fueled by the drug companies. Earlier this summer Attorney General Dave Yost tried to force the court to consolidate the counties’ cases under his jurisdiction, and he voiced concern with the settlement.

Pro-Life Activists Call for Investigation Into Preterm Clinic’s Role in Death of Ohio Woman

September 18, 2019September 18, 2019 Anthony Gockowski

Dozens of pro-life activists gathered outside of Cleveland’s Preterm abortion clinic Tuesday morning to address the death of 26-year-old mother Tia Parks.

Cuyahoga County Council Expected to Pass Countywide Ban on Plastic Bags

May 6, 2019May 5, 2019 Anthony Gockowski

The Cuyahoga County Council is showing signs of supporting an ordinance that would ban the use of single-use plastic bags in the county. The council’s Education, Environment, and Sustainability Committee discussed the ban during a meeting last week, and all members expressed support. Council President Dan Brady told The…

Kamala Harris Headlines Cuyahoga County Democratic Party’s Annual Dinner

April 29, 2019April 28, 2019 Anthony Gockowski

Sen. Kamala Harris (D-CA) headlined the Cuyahoga County Democratic Party’s annual fundraising dinner Sunday night. Harris’ appearance at the event was called into question earlier this month after a dispute between union leaders and the Cuyahoga County Council. As The Cleveland Plain Dealer explains, the council voted to transfer…

Former Democrat State Senator and Judge Once Convicted of Assaulting Wife Now Arrested in Connection with Her Death

November 20, 2018November 19, 2018 Anthony Accardi

A former Cuyahoga County judge, Lance Mason, who was removed from the bench after he beat his wife four years ago, was arrested over the weekend in connection with her fatal stabbing. Mason, 51, a former high-ranking state lawmaker and a Democrat, had pleaded guilty to the previous assault but landed on his feet…