What Happened Now? A Cleveland Newsletter
Issue 694: November 19, 2024
"What Happened Now?" is a lively roundup and analysis of the top stories of the day in Northeast Ohio from News 5's Joe Donatelli. It’s like getting the news from a friend who can’t imagine what it’s like not to know where your son is living. Subscribe Here.
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What do you do when your son is a Kia Boy? We’ve heard from the police. From the prosecutor. From car theft victims. But we hadn’t heard from the parent of one of the Kia Boys. Until now. Clay LePard spoke with the father of a 13-year-old who is one of the many boys taking part in the yearslong car stealing spree that’s hit car owners and communities across Northeast Ohio. Jayden Williams is a kid who was separated from his parents, became a ward of the county and then escaped for a life on the streets. His social media accounts show he’s up to no good. His dad just wants him to come home.
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Hey, Geauga County: Your juvenile and probate court judge – the one the state said has no business in a courtroom – wants $300,000 from taxpayers to fight disciplinary charges. Judge Timothy J. Grendell will ask the county for that money today, reports Sarah Buduson. We’ve been reporting on Grendell since 2020, when he locked up two teenage boys for refusing to see their dad.
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Billionaires with their hands out: An expansion of the Cleveland Browns’ headquarters campus in Berea and dramatic plans to remake Downtown Cleveland’s riverfront are among more than two dozen projects vying for state tax credits for major mixed-use developments, reports Michelle Jarboe. Developers are seeking almost $250 million in awards from Ohio’s Transformational Mixed-Use Development Program, according to documents obtained by News 5 through a public records request. But the state has just $100 million to give out between now and June. The competitive program offers tax credits to help finance tricky real estate projects. Only one project in the state – the mammoth Riverfront development led by Bedrock, the real estate arm of billionaire Dan Gilbert’s Rock family of companies – is seeking the maximum possible award of $40 million. The local applicants stretch from Sandusky to Shaker Heights. Here’s what we know about them.
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Are malls making a comeback? Foot traffic is trending in the right direction, and reasons why may surprise you – Triple Dippers, TikTok and communal experiences. Watch Mike Holden’s report.
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How to destroy Springfield, Ohio, in one easy step: “The incoming border czar for President-Elect Donald Trump warned that a federal program allowing people who fled dangerous countries to live and work legally in the U.S. on a temporary basis can ‘end tomorrow,’ at which point the enrollees would be subject to deportation. Asked about a population of roughly 15,000 Haitian immigrants in the Temporary Protected Status program who live in Springfield, Ohio, on talk radio Friday, Tom Homan emphasized that the Department of Homeland Security can end the program at the secretary’s discretion,” reports Cleveland.com.
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The office investigating police misconduct in Cleveland has problems: Ideastream’s Matthew Richmond lays it all out in a deep dive that’s a must-read for anyone following the saga of Cleveland’s consent decree.
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Big night for the Cavs: They’ll put their 15-0 record on the line against the NBA champion Celtics tonight in Boston.
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A Tiffany window from a Canton church just sold for $12 million: I could tell you all about the historic Danner Memorial Window at the First Baptist Church in Canton, but you just want to see that window.
