Cleveland, OH
Ohio to Spend $169 Million Building Electric Vehicle Charging Stations Near Highways in Next Five Years
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.
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.
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.”
Mark Oprea
Breanna Badanes, a spokesperson for DriveOhio, at Tri-C on Wednesday.
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.
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.”
Subscribe to Cleveland Scene newsletters.
Follow us: Google News | NewsBreak | Reddit | Instagram | Facebook | Twitter
CLEVELAND, Ohio (WOIO) – A U.S. Navy warship will be commissioned in Ohio on Saturday for the first time in 250 years.
The USS Cleveland is docked on Lake Erie ahead of the 10 a.m. ceremony.
Commander Bruce Hallett has commanded the USS Cleveland for more than two years.
“It is extremely exciting to be able to bring the USS Cleveland here to Cleveland and to be able to commission this ship here — obviously to introduce it to the city so that they can see the ship that bears their name,” Hallett said. “This has been a long time coming.”
The ship’s hallways are named after Cleveland streets, including East 9th and St. Clair Avenue.
A mural honoring the city of Cleveland is displayed on board. The Navy says it is rare to see something like this on a warship.
“Amazing mural, right? We’re so proud to have that on board,” Hallett said. “We’re just pretty much in awe when we saw all the stuff that we have in the city, and now we have it as part of the Cleveland. We love it as a crew.”
The ship’s weight room was outfitted by the Cleveland Browns with flags, towels, and mats.
“The Browns came and added their own touches to that weight room,” Hallett said. “So it’s all swagged out with all kinds of Cleveland Browns stuff now.”
The ship carries a crew of about 90, including two sailors who grew up in Cleveland.
The USS Cleveland is the final Freedom-variant littoral combat ship to be commissioned in the U.S. Navy.
Copyright 2026 WOIO. All rights reserved.
A trio of locally made films will grace area screens, here is your Movie Nerd Report for the week of May 11-17.
Thursday evening will bring the red-carpet premiere of “The Last Shop On Walnut” at the Cedar Lee Theatre (2163 Lee Rd Cleveland Heights, OH 44118) . The film, which was written and directed by Jason Richardson, was mostly shot in Ravenna. It stars Peter Lawson Jones and Cleveland native Kym Whitley. The screening will benefit the Charles & Margaret Jones Endowed Scholarship Fund at College Now. Tickets can be found at this link.
Can’t make the premiere? The Cedar Lee will be playing the film for at least a full week starting Friday!
Advertisement
“Blood & Rust” the debut feature from Kent State alumni Jeremy Herbert, will be coming to Cranked Up TV on May 19 and The Ashland Cinema (212 Center Street Ashland, OH 44805) will be offering a screening of it this Friday evening at 7 p.m., and it is free!
Sunday at 3:30 p.m. the Capitol Theatre (1390 W.65th Street Cleveland, OH 44102) will present the directorial debut of Frank Calo IV in “Last Call”. Sounds like this one is poised to sell out so click here to grab your tickets.
Over at the Cleveland Cinematheque (11610 Euclid Ave Cleveland, OH 44118) :
Cleveland is fortunate to be one of the five select cities of the Future of Film Is Female Series which highlights films from female and nonbinary filmmakers. The first film in this series kicks off Thursday at 6:30 p.m. with the Midwest road trip film, “Dreams In Nightmares.”
Thursday at 9 p.m. and Friday at 9 p.m. they will present a 4K Restoration of the Dutch classic “Malpertius,” which features Orson Welles.
Friday at 7 p.m. and Saturday at 4:30 p.m. they will present the Italian dramedy “The Last One For The Road.”
Saturday at 6:30 p.m. and Sunday at 7:35 p.m. they will present a documentary that explores the effects of colonialism on Northern Argentina in “Our Land.”
Saturday at 8:50 p.m. and Sunday at 5:45 p.m. they will present a 4K Restoration of the Argentinian film “The Headless Woman”
Sunday at 3:30 p.m. they will present the documentary “Four Rational People,” which looks at the Emerson String Quartet’s final performance.
More information about the films and ticket prices are at: cinematheque.cia.edu
At the Nightlight Cinema (30 N High Street Akron, OH 44308):
One of the most acclaimed films of the year is the Canadian drama “Blue Herron,” it is the feature debut of Sophy Romvari, who gained attention for her short films.
They also will be playing the documentary “Steal This Story, Please,” which highlights independent investigative journalist Amy Goodman.
More Information about the films and ticket prices are at: nightlightcinema.com
This weekend there are a trio of new films opening in wide release: The first is one that I would recommend if you are a horror fan – “Obsession”. This film continues a trend where we are seeing Youtubers become filmmakers, in this case it is 26-year-old Curry Barker. This is a spin on “be careful what you wish for” when a young man makes a wish for his crush to love him more than anything else in the world, and it gets increasingly disturbing from there. I personally loved it and thought the performance from actress Inde Navarrette will make her a star.
“Is God Is” is a revenge tale which was based on an award-winning play by Alesha Harris. Harris makes her feature directorial debut and currently the film stands at 95% fresh on Rotten Tomatoes!
The other film opening is the latest from director Guy Ritchie, the action-thriller “In The Grey” with Jake Gyllenhall and Henry Cavill.
Rounding out this busy week are some anniversaries hitting screens in “Top Gun” and “Top Gun: Maverick” for one week to commemorate the 40th Anniversary of Tony Scott’s original, and the original “Shrek” is also playing for one week to commemorate its 25th Anniversary (Anniversaries like this are making your resident movie nerd feel old!).
Lastly, I just wanted to wish congratulations to my longtime friend Dave Huffman, who has just been named the new director of The Cleveland Cinematheque! If you have ever attended some of the Late Shift Series back in the day at the Cedar Lee or Capitol, or the 12 Hours of Terror, you know that Dave is a huge cinephile and I am certain will do a great job at the Cinematheque!
Until next week my friends, see ya at the movies!
CLEVELAND, Ohio (WOIO) – Firefighters battled a grease fire inside a restaurant in the city’s University neighborhood Tuesday morning.
Flames broke out at BurgerIM in the 11400 block of Euclid Ave. around 9:20 a.m.
Cleveland Fire Lt. Mike Norman said there was grease in the hood of the stove, and when someone started cooking, it started the fire.
According to Lt. Norman, the sprinklers inside the restaurant put out the flames.
At this time, damage is estimated at $25,000.
The apartment building was evacuated as a precaution.
Since the fire was inside a restaurant, health officials will now respond to the scene and determine when they can reopen.
There were no injuries.
Copyright 2026 WOIO. All rights reserved.
-
Montana3 minutes agoLawsuit seeks to “cement legality” of corner crossing in Montana
-
Nebraska9 minutes agoStarting fires helped contain a Nebraska wildfire — and ignited another – Flatwater Free Press
-
Nevada15 minutes agoBest Nevada high schools for athletes? One study has revealed a top 25
-
New Hampshire21 minutes agoDAY 4 Now, What To Do About Taxes in NH?
-
New Jersey27 minutes agoBest burgers in New Jersey? 15 spots for classic and inventive burgers
-
New Mexico33 minutes agoFind out how New Mexico hospitals rank for patient safety
-
North Carolina39 minutes agoNorth Carolina couple accused of causing vulture invasion sued by furious town: ‘Not good neighbors’
-
North Dakota45 minutes agoDust storms rage in North Dakota and South Dakota