Cleveland, OH

Bill Clinton stops in Cleveland to rally Democratic faithful to get out the vote, back Sherrod Brown

Published

1 year ago

November 4, 2024

Bill Clinton stops in Cleveland to rally Democratic faithful to get out the vote, back Sherrod Brown

CLEVELAND – Ohio Sen. Sherrod Brown hasn’t leaned much on heavy hitters to boost his campaign for reelection, but on Monday he brought one to Cleveland – former President Bill Clinton – to remind party faithful to get out the vote.

The message to several hundred party activists, elected Democrats and organized labor gathered at Cleveland States’ Wolstein Center was clear: Don’t let up now.

Speaker after speaker, including Brown and Clinton, urged supporters to call or text five people to encourage them to vote.

“You’ve got one more day,” Clinton said. “There’s a lot of people who haven’t voted yet. There’s a lot of people who don’t know who they’re going to vote for yet. You’ve got a lot of people who haven’t decided if they’re going to vote.”

Election 2024: An Ohio guide to the November election

Brown, a Cleveland Democrat, was making his closing argument in a race that has been the most closely watched — and expensive — U.S. Senate election in the country this year. His race against Republican businessman Bernie Moreno could decide which party controls the Senate.

Moreno brought in his own closers over the weekend, campaigning with conservative media personality Tucker Carlson, and Republican Sens. Eric Schmitt of Missouri and Tommy Tuberville of Alabama. Last week, Donald Trump Jr. and a revolving door of Republican senators joined Moreno on the campaign trail.

An appearance by a former president, however, has been a rarity in Ohio this campaign cycle. Former President Donald Trump, the Republican nominee for president, endorsed Moreno and has appeared in his campaign ads but hasn’t been to Ohio to provide ground-level support since March, when Moreno was still locked in a primary fight.

Bringing Clinton to Cleveland on the eve of the election is no accident. Cleveland would be a key piece for a Brown election win. Cuyahoga County is reliably Democratic and the second largest county in the state.

Clinton carried Ohio in both the 1992 and 1996 presidential elections. At the time, Ohio was a battleground state that demanded attention from the presidential candidates, but both Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris, the Democratic nominee, have largely been absent from the Buckeye State this cycle. Trump has won Ohio by 8 percentage points in both his presidential runs and is expected to win again this year.

Clinton’s appeal for Brown and other Democrats on the Ohio ballot was made to party faithful that will be helping mobilize voters to turn out on Tuesday. One thing about the “hard right” that Clinton said he admired is that they never give up.

“You should never give up,” Clinton said.

Brown is the only Ohio Democrat still holding a non-judicial statewide office in Ohio. He has been preaching a message of the dignity of work and connecting with key groups of voters, such as blue-collar Ohioans.

That was a message he reiterated Monday.

“For me, everything comes down to the dignity of work. If you work hard, you should get ahead,” he told the crowd. “For me, it’s all about whose side you’re on” — working class people or big business and Wall Street.

Turnout could be key for Brown on Tuesday.

His last election was in 2018, when he defeated Republican Jim Renacci while a slate of Republicans swept other state offices.

But this election, one with a presidential race on the ballot, is expected to have greater turnout. The challenge for Brown is to collect enough votes to top Moreno, even as Trump is expected to carry the state. Brown has collected some Republican endorsements to help bolster his case, including that of former Gov. Bob Taft, so far, the only Republican to beat Brown in a race.

And toward that goal, strong turnout in Cleveland, Brown’s home, and Cuyahoga County can offset a lot of Republican votes from other parts of the state.

Joining Brown and Clinton were a host of elected leaders and candidates – members of Cleveland City Council, Democratic state legislators, Supreme Court candidates, including two sitting justices, and U.S. Reps. Joyce Beatty of Columbus and Shontel Brown of Warrensville Heights.

They also made the same kind of plea: Call five people. Text five people. Help get people to vote.

Shontel Brown, who jokingly talked about support for her “cousin Sherrod,” said fate of the Senate hangs in the balance – not just because Sherrod Brown winning could be key to Democrats retaining control, but also because without him, working Ohioans will have no voice in the Senate.

That’s why turning out the vote is important, she said.

Getting that kind of turnout, though, requires a lot of boots on the ground, and that’s something Brown made clear he is grateful for – people to make phone calls to voters and people to visit households.

“With this race, and all the work door to door, I so appreciate the support of the labor movement,” Brown said. That support was evident at Monday’s event, as people repeatedly called out responses and cheers to his message.

Clinton told the crowd he always felt a sense of kinship with Brown because of his efforts to promote dignity for all workers.

“I’m probably the last president who will have lived in a house with no indoor plumbing. We were working people with dignity,” he said. “Sherrod keeps score the old-fashioned way. Are people better off than they were before?”

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Cleveland, OH

Cleveland Cavaliers Creating Space Outside Arena to Honor 2016 Championship Team

Published

8 hours ago

March 10, 2026

Press Room

Cleveland Cavaliers Creating Space Outside Arena to Honor 2016 Championship Team

The Cleveland Cavaliers were crowned NBA champions for the first time in their franchise’s history ten years ago. The 2016 NBA Finals seems like it was just yesterday.

The memories of LeBron James pouncing on a vulnerable Andre Iguodala to swat away his layup attempt is still fresh in the memory of Cavs fans watching at the time.

Kyrie Irving’s stepback three-point shot over Stephen Curry is a moment in time that will be replayed in NBA documentaries and compilations for decades to come. This period of time was truly a magical time for the city of Cleveland and the state of Ohio.

The city had never experienced anything similar to what the 2016 Cavs did for Cleveland. The star duo of Mark Price and Brad Daugherty from the late 1980s and early 1990s got far into the playoffs routinely, but never into the NBA Finals, largely because of Michael Jordan’s Chicago Bulls.

The Cavaliers toppled the mighty record-breaking 73-win Golden State Warriors in 2016 and now the organization is keeping that memory alive in a huge way.

Jun 19, 2016; Oakland, CA, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers forward LeBron James (23) celebrates with the Larry O’Brien Championship Trophy after beating the Golden State Warriors in game seven of the NBA Finals at Oracle Arena. Mandatory Credit: Kelley L Cox-Imagn Images | Kelley L Cox-Imagn Images

A professional-sized basketball court

Plans to advance development of “Meet Me Here” Park went through City of Cleveland this past Friday. Developers are speeding up plans to revamp the park in order to have it ready by the 10th anniversary of the championship victory later this summer.

The #Cavs have unveiled development plans for a space on the corner of E 4th St. and Huron Rd. to commemorate the Cavs 2016 NBA Championship.
The project will feature a professional-size basketball court, seating, active greenspace and artwork. pic.twitter.com/aRwPLnwGjA
— Camryn Justice (@camijustice) March 10, 2026

The space where this development will be built is in Downtown Cleveland. A NBA-sized basketball court will dominate the space, but benches for spectators and artwork is slated to be included as well. The design of the court will be based on the 2016 NBA championship victory. There’s room for additional mobile hoops to be inserted for specific community events.

The space is temporary and has room to grow

The current plans unveiled last Friday are set to be a temporary solution due to the 10th anniversary approaching. There could be more grand plans to revamp the surrounding area beyond the one professional-sized basketball court. The current space will feature grass areas, trees, and a fence to block basketball from wildly rolling into the street.

A nearby parking garage will also hang a banner with LeBron James famous “Cleveland, this is for you” quote after winning game seven of the 2016 NBA Finals.

This development is one of many recent advancements geared toward building up the surrounding areas of Rocket Arena. A riverfront park that supports residences is being developed near Rocket Arena.

The Cavaliers are opening a brand new practice, training, and sports medicine facility in 2027 called the Cleveland Clinic Global Peak Performance Center. On top of these developments and the new basketball court, a riverfront amphitheater fit to seat about 6,200 people is set to open around 2028. Cleveland is developing right before the eyes of nearby residents and it’s the consistent success of the Cavaliers that have contributed heavily to these possibilities.

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Cleveland, OH

Judge pauses Ohio’s plan to fund new Browns stadium with unclaimed funds

Published

20 hours ago

March 10, 2026

Press Room

Judge pauses Ohio’s plan to fund new Browns stadium with unclaimed funds

CLEVELAND — Ohio’s plan to use unclaimed funds to help fund construction of a new domed stadium for the Cleveland Browns was temporarily blocked in court on Monday.

What You Need To Know

The class-action lawsuit argues that provisions of Ohio’s two-year, $60 billion budget that took $1 billion from the state’s Unclaimed Funds Account to pay for the stadium that Haslam Sports Group is planning for suburban Brook Park

The strategy was among several hotly debated topics during Ohio’s budget planning last year.

Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost’s office said it was reviewing the decision and determining next steps

In her preliminary injunction, Franklin County Magistrate Jennifer Hunt found that plaintiffs in a lawsuit brought by former Ohio Attorney General Marc Dann are substantially likely to win their case on the merits. Her order pauses the plan while the case is heard.

The class-action lawsuit argues that provisions of Ohio’s two-year, $60 billion budget that took $1 billion from the state’s Unclaimed Funds Account to pay for the stadium that Haslam Sports Group is planning for suburban Brook Park, south of Cleveland, violate constitutional prohibitions against taking people’s private property for government use, as well as citizens’ due process rights.

The strategy was among several hotly debated topics during Ohio’s budget planning last year.

Dann and former state Rep. Jeffrey Crossman, both Democrats, filed the legal action on behalf of three named Ohio residents, as well as all other individuals whose unclaimed funds were being held by the state as of June 30, 2025.

The litigation challenges specific budget provisions that diverted more than $1 billion in unclaimed funds to create an Ohio Cultural and Sports Facility Performance Grant Fund and designate $600 million for the Browns as its first grant.

Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost’s office said it was reviewing the decision and determining next steps.

Before ending his bid for governor last year, the Republican spoke out against using unclaimed funds for such a purpose, having gone so far as to urge DeWine to veto it. However, the state’s top lawyer has further said that he believed the plan was legally sound.

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Cleveland, OH

Cleveland mother accused of burying daughters in suitcases prompts new focus on parenting bill

Published

1 day ago

March 9, 2026

Press Room

Cleveland mother accused of burying daughters in suitcases prompts new focus on parenting bill

CLEVELAND, Ohio (WOIO) – A Cleveland mother was charged with two counts of murder after her daughters were found in suitcases partially buried in a park near E. 165th and Midland Ave last week.

In the days that followed, we spoke with DeShaun Chatman, who is the father of 8-year-old Mila Chatman.

He said he’s been trying for years to get access to his daughter but felt the courts and Child Protective Services (CPS) weren’t working with him.

There is a law in Columbus working its way through the process trying to clarify parenting roles and rights.

Senate Bill 174 (SB174) was passed in November and is currently sitting waiting in a House committee.

At the time the bill was passed one of the bill’s sponsors, Senator Theresa Gavarone (R-Bowling Green) said, “No one is a winner in parenting disputes. But if anyone is, it should be the kids. By passing this legislation, the Ohio Senate is taking the first step toward encouraging cooperation between separated parents.”

The bill has a number of provisions looking to make it easier for a judge to give equal rights to both the mother and father.

For example, it would prohibit a judge from giving preference to a father or a mother based on a person’s financial status or gender.

It also requires a parenting plan be filed that shows parenting and decisions will be a shared responsibility regardless of marital status.

There is also a prevision that would allow unmarried parents to file a complaint at no charge, requesting the allocation of parenting rights and responsibilities upon the father establishing parentage and provides an expedited hearing and temporary orders.

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