Cleveland, OH

Ohio Issue 1 anti-gerrymandering amendment appears heading for defeat

Published

1 year ago

November 6, 2024

Ohio Issue 1 anti-gerrymandering amendment appears heading for defeat

COLUMBUS – Ohioans on Tuesday appeared to reject an amendment that would have created a new citizen-led commission in charge of drawing legislative districts, opting instead to keep the old politics-dominated system.

With nearly 80% of the vote tallied, Issue 1 was trailing with 45.5% of the vote, unofficial tallies from the Ohio secretary of state showed. The issue was opposed by 54.5%.

The issue trailed by more than 400,000 votes.

Decision Desk, a race calling service used by media companies, called the issue as going down to defeat. The Associated Press, which cleveland.com and The Plain Dealer use, had not announced its call in the race as of 10:50 p.m.

Opponents of Issue 1 roared at an Ohio Works election gathering in Columbus as Ohio Republican Party Chair Alex Triantafilou declare the issue was going down to defeat.

Triantafilou led the crowd in an “O-H” “I-O” cheer as the crowd cheered.

Ohio Senate President Matt Hoffman, a contender for Ohio House speaker in the next General Assembly, praised Gov. Mike DeWine’s efforts for stopping the amendment. DeWine, in July, said the plan in Issue 1 was the wrong approach.

“We were dead in the water in July, and Gov. Mike DeWine turned this thing around,” Huffman said.

Issue 1’s backers had sought to strip politicians of power that Republicans wielded to draw themselves historic supermajorities in the state legislature and a two-to-one advantage in the state’s congressional delegation.

The independent commission made up equally of Democrats, Republicans and political independents would have drawn new maps next year for the 2026 elections, and then every decade.

But Republicans, who dominated the political map drawing process, opposed the issue. They argued it would set up a process that would empower a panel that voters could never hold accountable. That commission, they argued, would be unchecked on spending power.

And the amendment itself, with a goal of making maps with representation proportional to Ohio’s voting trends, they claimed, would require gerrymandering – the very problem that Issue 1 aimed to change.

Backers of the amendment were far better funded than its opponents, raising about $40 million at last count. But Republican opponents erected a major hurdle for the reform campaign in the language voters saw on their ballots.

Backers of the amendment had argued that Republicans stacked the deck against the amendment with ballot language, written by Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose’s office, that claimed the amendment would require gerrymandering, the very thing backers said they wanted to eliminate. The GOP-led Ohio Ballot Board approved the language, which Issue 1 proponents said was purposely meant to confuse voters.

But the Republican-led Ohio Supreme Court sided 4-3 with the Ballot Board, leaving intact most of a Republican-authored ballot summary that paints the proposal in an unfavorable light.

Among other things, the court’s Republican majority let stand wording stating that a proposed new redistricting commission is “not elected by or subject to removal by the voters of the state” and would be “required to gerrymander” congressional and legislative districts.

Issue 1 was backed by a bipartisan coalition led by former Ohio Supreme Court Chief Justice Maureen O’Connor, a Republican, and arose out of frustration that despite amendments approved overwhelmingly in 2015 and 2018 to stop excessive political gerrymandering, the practice continued. Support for each of those issues eclipsed 70%.

But when the new system set up by the amendments was put to the test, Republicans who dominated the redistricting ignored the rules in the constitution.

And when the Ohio Supreme Court served as a check on the commission, rejecting maps as unconstitutional, the GOP mapmakers used them anyway. The seven-member Ohio Redistricting commission includes five Republicans and two Democrats.

With Tuesday’s vote, that system for redistricting remains in place.

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Cleveland, OH

Arraignment for teen accused of murder at Cleveland deli

Published

6 hours ago

February 27, 2026

Press Room

Arraignment for teen accused of murder at Cleveland deli

CLEVELAND, Ohio (WOIO) – The 17-year-old boy accused of a deadly shooting at a Cleveland deli, pleaded not guilty at his arraignment in Cuyahoga County Court of Common Pleas Thursday.

Royal King was indicted on the charges of aggravated murder, murder, felonious assault, carrying concealed weapons, and improperly handling firearms in a motor vehicle.

King will continue being held on a $1 million bond at the Cuyahoga County Juvenile Detention Facility.

He will return to court on March 2 for a pre-trial.

Royal King(Fiscalía del Condado de Cuyahoga)

King is accused of killing Jahari Stegall, 17, on Sept. 19, 2025 at the E. 185th Deli in the city’s Northshore Collinwood neighborhood.

PREVIOUS STORY: Teen identified after shooting death at Cleveland deli

King allegedly drove to the deli in a stolen car and walked through the aisles.

Security cameras then show Stegall walking through the parking lot.

King allegedly met Stegall at the door with a gun in his hand and shot him in the back of the head before fleeing the scene.

Cuyahoga County Prosecutor Michael O’Malley said Stegall was a good kid who barely knew King.

U.S. Marshals arrested King on Oct. 29, 2025 at home on E. 147th Street in Cleveland.

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Cleveland, OH

Ohio EMA expanding traveler alert system

Published

18 hours ago

February 26, 2026

Press Room

Ohio EMA expanding traveler alert system

OHIO — The Ohio Emergency Management Agency, in partnership with the National Weather Service offices in Wilmington and Cleveland, is partnering with Lamar Advertising to help expand the Ohio Traveler Alert System to more parts of the state.

What You Need To Know

Ohio EMA said the system will soon include areas of greater Cleveland, Toledo and the Cincinnati Metropolitan area

The system first launched in 2024 for parts of Dayton and Columbus

The goal is to deliver real-time severe weather alerts to travelers through digital billboards

Ohio EMA said the system will soon include areas of greater Cleveland, Toledo and the Cincinnati Metropolitan area.

“Severe weather can make driving difficult and dangerous,” said Gov. Mike DeWine, R-Ohio. “By expanding the Ohio Traveler Alert System, our goal is to get critical weather alerts to more drivers in real-time.”

The system was launched in 2024 in the areas of Dayton and Columbus. If there’s severe weather, digital billboards display messages alerting travelers about certain conditions, such as high winds, snow squalls, ice and flooding.

“Collaborations like these are the backbone of community safety,” said Sima Merick, Ohio Emergency Management Agency executive director. “When we work together, we strengthen our ability to protect the people we serve. OTAS is a prime example of these partnerships.”

Ohio EMA said the communication and messaging on billboards is not only an effective way to communicate to Ohio residents but also to travelers who may not be familiar with the area.

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Cleveland, OH

Iman Shumpert Claims Kyrie Irving Left The Cavaliers To Beat LeBron James

Published

1 day ago

February 26, 2026

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Iman Shumpert Claims Kyrie Irving Left The Cavaliers To Beat LeBron James

Former NBA guard Iman Shumpert played an important role in the Cavaliers securing their only championship in franchise history. He was there to help them win it all, and he was there to watch it fall apart when Kyrie Irving forced a trade to the Celtics in 2017. In a recent appearance on ‘Club Shay Shay,’ the former Cavs guard broke down what really pushed Irving out of Cleveland, and why he wasn’t surprised that he wanted to leave.

“Hell nah. Kyrie is a Kobe guy,” said Shumpert. “Kyrie wanted to beat LeBron, and that’s okay. People like to say ‘Oh, that was dumb’ because you’re a team-up kind of guy. That’s not Kyrie. Kyrie is like ‘The only way I can be crowned the best is if I beat the best. I got to go head-to-head with you; I can’t team up with you.”

It’s easy to forget now, but Irving was once the star of the show in Cleveland. In the years before LeBron’s arrival, he was the only hope for the Cavaliers and was treated like an MVP because of it. When LeBron arrived, all that changed, and it was something that Irving never fully accepted.

“Let’s say you got your momma’s crib. And then they just bring you a new brother,” Shumpert added. “Then your momma’s like ‘Well, you were the one to get the house key and do whatever you want, but now you don’t get to drive the car.’ For people not to understand that’s what happened, and then be like ‘Oh, he should have put his pride to the side.’ Why?”

Irving didn’t leave the Cavaliers because he hated LeBron. He left because he wanted to do his own thing and build his legacy outside No. 23’s shadow. As a longtime Kobe fan, he’s competitive at heart and would rather go against his competitors than join forces with them.

So while Irving made the most of his stint with James (one championship in three Finals appearances with the Cavs), he was never in it for the long haul. Playing alongside LeBron was something he never signed up for, even though he remains on good terms with the basketball legend today.

Shumpert Gets Real On Playing With LeBron

Irving ended his partnership with James early, and it’s something critics still talk about today. When people often forget, however, is that it’s not so easy to play with the King. Besides his enormous presence, he holds everyone accountable with his sky-high basketball IQ. In the end, however, it’s all for the best as he makes everyone better on the court.

“He is Chat GPT of the NBA,” said Shumpert on James. “This is the best way I could describe [him]. You can ask him anything, he knows. He knows the coaches, he knows the assistant coaches, he knows the player development coach. I don’t even have the mental capacity for all that sh*t. It took about a month for me to get used to him saying ‘X1, X2, X3, X4,’ he is really programmed for this. I never dealt with somebody who had the balls enough to look a coach in the eye and say, ‘I’m not running that.’”

James doesn’t just dominate with his physical skill and size. He uses his mind to get ahead of opponents and exploit their biggest flaws. With an unmatched mental game, James frequently outsmarts the enemy, and it’s the secret to his unprecedented NBA longevity.

In the end, Kyrie got to experience the best of both worlds. He played and won with LeBron James in the city where he was drafted. It taught him a lot and put his name in the history books. But Kyrie wanted more, and going out on his own was the best way to ensure he could play out his career on his own terms.

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