This Week in the CLE: Thursday, May 30, 2019
Plastic bags are taboo, opioid deaths take frightening leap, county treasury loses the cash, how to park a boat on the river and insider clues on eating, drinking on both sides of town
People feel passionately about Cuyahoga County Council’s decision to ban plastic bags, making it the top story for discussion on This Week in the CLE, the cleveland.com podcast discussion of the week’s news by the people who bring you that news.
Cuyahoga County beat reporter Courtney Astolfi provides the details about the bag ban and what the council is thinking. Download the podcast here or, on many devices, click on the player below to start listening.
Also on the podcast, reporters and editors at cleveland.com discuss plenty more:
4:33 Crime reporter Evan MacDonald explains why opioid overdose deaths are spiking after a year in which they fell by substantial percentage. Evan attended a discussion by the U.S. Surgeon General and Cleveland Clinic doctors about the epidemic. And he talks about ways drug users can protect themselves.
12:00 Courtney talks about the departure of Cuyahoga County Sheriff Cliff Pinckney and who might replace him. She also explains the shocking news that the county treasurer has lost track of cash. And she discusses why the county needs to come up with $40 million to pay the Cavaliers for the upkeep of the arena
19:00 Reporter Mary Kilpatrick lays out the reasons for a new Parma sign meant to inspire photos like the Cleveland script signs do at various spots in the city.
21:22 Reporter Bob Higgs says the city is getting close to providing lawyers for people in poverty facing eviction. We include part of the conversation we recorded during a visit with the Housing Justice Alliance.
28:20 Bob explains why Cleveland City Council, which had appeared on the verge of conducting some much needed oversight on airport security and a collapsed building sale for a police headquarters, has again delayed trying to provide answers to the voters about those issues.
32:04 Special projects editor Laura Johnston offers insights into the test of a proposal to let boats park along the Cuyahoga River in the Flats. Laura and columnist Mark Naymik talk about the latest sewage scare on the lakefront.
36:43 Politics Editor Jane Kahoun explains why Cleveland could be the test case for the U.S. Postal Service to provide banking services, especially for people with limited means. Jane also provides an update on the Ohio gerrymandering case and the immediate results we saw when the state closed a key section of I-490.
40:44 Columnist Mark Naymik takes the crew through what he found in his visit to Maple Heights and how the mayor there is trying to revive her city.
45:40 Laura details the guides we recently published about the ideal way to spend a day on Cleveland’s East and West sides.
48:21 Life and Culture Editor Mike Norman and Marc Bona, our beer, wine and dining guru, offer highlights from the just published 50 Things to Eat and Drink in Greater Cleveland.
New episodes are published Thursday evenings, so you can listen on your Friday morning commute.