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Ohio to Spend $169 Million Building Electric Vehicle Charging Stations Near Highways in Next Five Years

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Ohio to Spend 9 Million Building Electric Vehicle Charging Stations Near Highways in Next Five Years


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Mark Oprea

Electric cars outside Tri-C’s Advanced Technology Training Center on Wednesday. Northeast Ohio could see a dozen new charging stations in the next five years, thanks to a federal grant program.

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Ohio should be an easier state to drive in for Tesla, Rivian and other EV owners by the end of the decade.

That’s the overall goal underlying an announcement of a massive funding package by state electric vehicle advocates Wednesday morning, one that intends to inject hundreds of millions of dollars into bringing Ohio’s lackluster EV charging station stock up to speed.

And the data doesn’t lie.

Just in April, a report from S&P Global Mobility ranked Cleveland well near the bottom of the top 50 U.S. cities for registered owners of electric vehicles, a stat owed to both the high point of entry for said vehicles and, undeniably, the deficit of charging stations across the state.

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On Wednesday, in a lecture room at Tri-C’s Advanced Technology Training Center , Grace Gallucci, the director of the Northeast Ohio Area Coordinating Agency, and experts on alternative energy infrastructure spoke promisingly to a packed room about how $169 million in federal grant dollars would be doled out across Ohio in the next five years.

Priorities in that spending money—spread out amongst NOACA, the Sustainable Ohio Public Energy Council and the Ohio Department of Transportation—were made clear: power stations for Ohio EV drivers should be conveniently placed. That is to, one day, have 9 out of 10 Ohioans within a 25-mile radius of an EV charging station.

“We have a pretty extensive alternative fuel corridor network,” Breanna Badanes, a spokesperson for DriveOhio, said. “But it’s clear that there are still plenty of gaps throughout the state, particularly in Southern Ohio, some in Northwestern Ohio. So that’s kind of what we’re here to talk about: planning for these future phases when we can build outside of the alternative fuel corridors, what we still need to prioritize as a state.”

click to enlarge Breanna Badanes, a spokesperson for DriveOhio, at Tri-C on Wednesday. - Mark Oprea

Mark Oprea

Breanna Badanes, a spokesperson for DriveOhio, at Tri-C on Wednesday.

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Ohio currently has 1,578 stations in sum, those mostly on private land and relatively close to highways and shopping centers. Many are in areas with higher income levels, an issue of equity speakers on Wednesday said its charging station spending plans to address.

As of June, there a dozen new charging stations planned in the greater Northeast Ohio area, and only one so far in construction, a station west of Akron. A Pilot EV station, funded in part with federal dollars, opened off I-71 in Columbus in December.

These future stations, for which $56 million has been spent thus far, follow guidelines listed by the National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure program, which dictates a state must build a station every 50 miles off major transportation corridors and include at least four Fast Chargers of at least 600 kilowatts of combined power.

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Katie Zehnder, vice president at HNTB, a transportation infrastructure firm, reminded attendees on Wednesday that Ohio’s push to become more EV-friendly is based on—just like bike lines and crosswalks—the premise that infrastructure creates culture.

The same goes, she said, for encouraging more electric usage at commercial enterprises, such as equipping UPS and DHL trucks with the on-road power they need to make the switch sustainable.

A recent survey of freight riders testing out new electric trucks showed Drive Ohio that driving EVs led to employees taking fewer sick days, less gas engine vibration, and led to “less back issues.”

“Which I was admittedly kind of shocked by at the time,” Zehnder said about the study. “Ride and drives, just exposure to EVs, that’s really the best thing. Because once people get into these vehicles, they really seem to enjoy them.”

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’27 DE Munir Lewis Commits to Louisville

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’27 DE Munir Lewis Commits to Louisville


LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Make that a trio of commitment in the Class of 2027 this week for the Louisville football program.

Cleveland (Oh.) Brush defensive end Munir Lewis announced Wednesday that he has committed to the Cardinals. He’s the third commit in the last four days for UofL, Bradenton (Fla.) Cardinal Mooney defensive lineman Kaleb Exume committing on Sunday and Tampa (Fla.) Carrollwood Day two-way athlete Brooklyn Maxey doing so on Monday.

Lewis chose Louisville out of a top seven that also consisted of Ohio State, Michigan State, Illinois, Vanderbilt, Virginia Tech and Purdue. He also held offers from Cincinnati, Minnesota, Wisconsin plus several others, and made multiple visits to UofL’s campus – including this past Friday for the spring game. He’s set to return for an official visit this May.

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The 6-foot-5, 245-pound defensive end is regarded as the 23rd-ranked prospect in the state of Ohio, the No. 50 edge rusher in the Class of 2027, and the No. 592 recruit in the nation, per the 247Sports Composite.

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Lewis was an explosive force for Brush as a junior this past season. He collected 55 total tackles, 13.5 for loss, nine sacks, four pass breakup, a forced fumbles and over 20 quarterback pressures. He helped Brush finish the 2025 season with a 6-4 record.

Lewis is the 12th commitment in Louisville’s 2027 recruiting class, which is on pace to be the best in school history. he joins a class that not only ranks as the best class in the ACC, but the No. 8 class in the nation, per the 247Sports Composite. Four of their commitments are regarded as four-star prospects by the composite.

He’s also the latest in a budding pipeline to the state of Ohio, which has been championed by Executive Director of Football Personnel and Recruiting Vince Marrow. Five of Louisville’s 12 commitments in the 2027 cycle are from the Buckeye State, with three hailing from the Cincinnati area and the other two coming from Cleveland.

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American Cornhole League Cleveland Signature Open | April 24, 2026 | Greater Cleveland Sports Commission

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American Cornhole League Cleveland Signature Open  | April 24, 2026 | Greater Cleveland Sports Commission


Anyone Can Play, Anyone Can Win
American Cornhole League is bringing the heat to the boards in Cleveland with $150,000 on the line. Join us on April 24-26, 2026, for elite competition where amateurs and pros collide. Whether you’re a backyard ringer or a seasoned veteran, this is your chance to…



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Houston Astros at Cleveland Guardians prediction, pick for Tuesday 4/21/26

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Houston Astros at Cleveland Guardians prediction, pick for Tuesday 4/21/26


Garion Thorne gives you a preview, prediction and pick for tonight’s game between the Houston Astros and the Cleveland Guardians.

Few teams needed a win last night more than the Astros.

Houston came into Monday’s action having lost 12 of its past 14 games, while also having lost nearly as many pitchers — at least it feels that way. Just take a quick glance at this club’s IL. Hunter Brown (shoulder), Tatsuya Imai (fatigue), Cristian Javier (shoulder). Those aren’t losses that are easy to survive, and the Astros have understandably been struggling. However, after a dominating 9-2 victory, Houston can at least take a small breath.

Can the Astros make it two in a row this evening? Or will the Guardians bounce back? Let’s preview this AL clash and make a couple picks on the DraftKings Sportsbook.

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Astros vs. Guardians prediction, preview

So, remember that list of injured Astros pitchers I just recited? The consequence of the length of that list, is that you have to start people like Ryan Weiss. That’s not to suggest that Weiss is completely without promise — he was a stud in the KBO in 2024 and 2025 — it’s just that the right-hander’s MLB career has gotten off to a slightly rocky start, and it’s clear that Houston currently prefers the 29-year-old as a reliever. In 14.2 innings of work, Weiss has racked up 18 strikeouts, but he’s also surrendered four home runs, 11 earned runs, and a sixth percentile opponent hard hit rate (54.5%). Weiss isn’t quite built up to be a starter, either. Well, at least not fully, as he threw a season-high 76 pitches in his last outing. That means we’re probably going to have to see a lot of the Astros’ bullpen on Tuesday, which is not a good thing. Houston’s RPs rank 29th in ERA (5.66) and they’ve served up a league-high 1.89 opponent home runs per nine. Yikes.

On the other side of this pitching matchup, we find another starter with little major league experience. That said, Parker Messick already looks like another developmental success story of the Guardians’ pitcher factory. The former second-round pick debuted in 2025, maintaining a 2.72 ERA and a 2.98 FIP across seven starts. If possible, Messick’s looked even better so far in 2026, allowing a mere three earned runs over 25.2 innings. Now, a .200 BABIP isn’t going to sustain. Neither is a 91.4% strand rate. However, when you’re limiting opponents to a 3.3% barrel rate and a 29.5% hard hit rate, you might just get a little “lucky” from time to time. It’s not like the southpaw has been skating by on a soft schedule, either. Messick has faced the Dodgers, the Braves, the Cubs and the Orioles. There isn’t a single cakewalk in there.

That pattern of difficult matchups will continue on Tuesday, as well. For as underwhelming as the Astros’ record is, it’s mostly a byproduct of poor pitching. The offense has actually been one of the best in all of baseball. Houston actually leads all American League teams in wOBA (.350) and wRC+ (124), with Yordan Alvarez leading the charge. He’s been fantastic in left-on-left scenarios, too. In his 36 plate appearances within the split, Alvarez is slashing .448/.528/1.034 with a 315 wRC+. I don’t want to discount Jose Ramirez, who has six homers and 10 stolen bases for the Guardians, yet a healthy Alvarez is easily the best bat in this series. He’s that good.

Astros vs. Guardians pick, best bet

Best Bet: Jose Ramirez 2+ Total Bases (+107)

Weiss has a 6.27 FIP. The Astros’ bullpen has given up the most opponent home runs per nine (1.89). Ramirez probably won’t be in a single bad matchup this evening, and that’s before you factor in that the All-Star is a switch-hitter.

Strong Lean: Ryan Weiss 4+ Strikeouts (+123)

While Weiss’ surface numbers aren’t great, he has managed four strikeouts in two of his three outings where he’s thrown 60+ pitches. He’s struck out 18 in 14.2 innings and I expect he’ll flirt with the 90-pitch plateau on Tuesday.

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