The Ohio burgee. (Getty images file photo.)
Every morning in the Ohio Capital Journal’s free newsletter, The Eye-Opener, we round up the news and commentary from across Ohio and around the country and world that is catching our attention. We call this feature Catching Our Eye, republished here.
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Catching Our Eye
• School layoffs. Ideastream’s Conor Morris reports, “Akron Public Schools approves 17 layoffs. More cuts are coming.”
Districts across Northeast Ohio have been cutting staff, reducing programs and closing school buildings in recent months as advocates say state funding has not kept up with rising costs. Critics, meanwhile, argue schools are due to cut back on expenses after enrollment declined due to birth rates and other factors. The majority of levies in Ohio and across the region also failed in the May 5 primary as residents deal with rising property taxes and increased costs of living.
• Young and old. Cleveland.com’s Kaitlin Durbin reports, “New SNAP work rules hitting older residents, former foster youth hardest in Cuyahoga County.”
Raven Wolfe has done everything expected of a young adult working toward full self-sufficiency: she went to college, she found a job and when that fell through, she found another job.
But unlike many young adults, the 24-year-old hasn’t had family members to fall back on to help cover groceries or order pizza during late-night study sessions. Instead, the former foster youth has largely relied on the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program to help feed herself while using her paychecks to cover rent and utilities.
Now, she is at risk of losing that support too.
• Hunger. Signal Ohio’s Celia Hack reports, “Cleveland food banks, pantries are seeing pandemic-level demand as SNAP enrollment drops and inflation grows.”
Need for food assistance in Cleveland and surrounding counties is reaching pandemic-level demand as residents are roiled by rising gas prices and fewer get federal food benefits.
The Greater Cleveland Food Bank served 404,000 people last year throughout Cuyahoga, Ashland, Ashtabula, Geauga, Lake and Richland Counties. That’s slightly more than it served in 2020, when the pandemic caused demand to spike. And so far this year, the food bank is on pace to surpass that number, said Kristin Warzocha, the CEO of the food bank.
• ICE’d out of graduation. The Cincinnati Enquirer’s Patricia Gallagher Newberry reports, “Guatemalan teen has wish for high school graduation: release from ICE.”
An 18-year-old high school senior, Nelbi Chun De Leon, is being held by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. De Leon, a Guatemala native seeking asylum, was arrested in Northern Kentucky on April 15.
His teacher and sister believe he was racially profiled when arrested for alleged traffic violations.
• Feud. The Columbus Dispatch’s Bethany Bruner reports, “Columbus FOP head’s ‘poverty pimp’ comment sparks community reaction.”
A feud between the heads of the Columbus NAACP and the local Fraternal Order of Police has intensified following the conviction of a former deputy.
Brian Steel of the FOP accused NAACP President Sean Walton of profiting from Casey Goodson Jr.’s death.
Walton, who represented the Goodson family, accused Steel of using divisive rhetoric and racist tropes.
• $20 million. Spectrum News’ Ryan Johnston reports, “Ohio launches statewide campaign to educate on marijuana risks.”
The Ohio Department of Commerce (ODOC) and the OneOhio Recovery Foundation are pushing for more statewide education about the risks of marijuana. The entities are funding a $20 million statewide campaign to better educate the public.
• Renewable energy? The Toledo Blade’s Danny Eldredge reports, “Ohio environmentalists say renewables should power data centers.”
The state of Ohio should make it easier for data centers to be powered with solar and wind, environmentalists with Save Ohio Parks said Monday.
“We’ve tried to propose a pragmatic route forward — one that will allow Ohio to leverage data center investment to support advanced manufacturing and a modern energy grid while protecting our environment and our public health,” said Rachel Kutzley, a governing board member of the nonprofit organization.
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