Ohio bill would allow puppy mill bans: The Wake Up for Thursday, April 18, 2024

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The U.S. Humane Society has received more than 1,500 complaints about Petland, the only national pet store chain in the U.S. that still sells puppies.

Dozens of Ohioans have sent Ohio Attorney General their grievances, including that they paid thousands of dollars for dogs from Chillicothe, Ohio-based Petland, only for them to quickly turn ill or die.

But cities in Ohio couldn’t pass their own laws to protect the puppies or their would-be families. That’s because in 2016, Ohio lawmakers passed a “preemption” bill.

So Toledo, which in 2013 passed local legislation prohibiting the sale of non-rescue dogs from retailers, could not enforce its own law.

Reporter Jake Zuckerman detailed the problems with Petland and preemption last month.

Now a proposal from Democratic Ohio Rep. Michele Grim, who represents Toledo, and Republican Rep. Sara Carruthers, from Butler County, would reverse the preemption. But the bill faces long odds of passage.

— Laura

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Puppy laws: Ohio cities could again have the power to prohibit retail puppy sales within their borders under a new bill introduced by a bipartisan pair of state lawmakers, reports Jake Zuckerman. State Rep. Michele Grim, a Toledo Democrat, told the Ohio House Government Oversight Committee this week that retail pet stores are “notorious” for buying dogs from high-volume breeders known as puppy mills, whose animals have been connected to premature death and expensive health complications.

Biden ballot: A top legislative Republican said Wednesday that one way or another, President Joe Biden will appear on the ballot in Ohio despite an obscure state law that threatens to block him over the scheduled date of this year’s Democratic National Convention. Jeremy Pelzer and Andrew Tobias report that Ohio Senate President Matt Huffman said the specifics will depend on whether Democrats propose an administrative fix or a legislative one. But he suggested he thinks even a lawsuit likely would be successful.

Today in Ohio: Republican Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost has rejected a Democratic proposal meant to get around a legal technicality that could prevent President Joe Biden from appearing on the ballot here this November. We’re talking about whether the law is constitutional and how it’s denying Ohioans’ right to vote on Today in Ohio, cleveland.com’s daily half-hour news podcast.

RV housing: State officials are looking at purchasing hundreds of recreational vehicles with millions in state money to provide temporary housing for Ohioans who lost their homes to a tornado last month. Jeremy Pelzer reports the idea comes as state officials say they need to step up to help the 250 or so displaced families living near Indian Lake in Logan County, as they expect that any federal disaster aid for them will take months to be approved, if it comes at all.

Housing problems: Ohio has a wide range of housing problems, from skyrocketing property costs and property taxes to a need for more housing in general. Jeremy Pelzer reports a state senate committee on Wednesday unveiled a broad list of recommendations, including speeding up building permit applications and making it harder for local residents to challenge local housing development decisions. The sweeping proposal also suggests expanding financial assistance for poorer Ohioans’ housing costs, including allowing Medicaid recipients to put benefits toward housing.

Spousal rape: The Ohio General Assembly is on the cusp of closing what sponsors call an “archaic” loophole in state law – an exemption to sex crime penalties for those who rape or violate their spouses – but the bill’s fate remains uncertain in the Senate. Jake Zuckerman reports that the legislation makes a simple change: It says husbands, like any other aggressor, can be held criminally accountable for rape, sexual battery, unlawful sexual conduct with a minor, gross sexual imposition, and sexual imposition when the victim is their spouse.

Mayorkas impeachment: Hours after swearing in its members for an impeachment trial of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, the Democrat-controlled U.S. Senate on Wednesday voted along party lines to dismiss the charges forwarded by U.S. House of Representatives Republicans who wanted to remove him from office. Sabrina Eaton reports U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown, a Cleveland Democrat, voted to dismiss the charges, while U.S. Sen. JD Vance, a Cincinnati Republican, opposed doing so.

Broadband service: Ohio Congress members on Wednesday urged passage of bipartisan legislation that would extend a soon-to-expire federal program that subsidizes broadband internet service for more than 1 million Ohioans, Sabrina Eaton reports.

EMS billing: Cleveland City Council agreed this week to outsource billing for emergency medical services, reports Courtney Astolfi. The move means city workers will no longer be handling EMS bill collections and they’ll instead be handled by an outside firm which has yet to be hired.

Saving wildflowers: Ohio has historically been home to more than 1,800 native plants. Of those, the future of more than one-third are in danger from overdevelopment, invasive species, climate change and more. Paris Wolfe reports the conservation horticulturists at Holden Arboretum have a quiet mission to preserve all of Ohio’s native wildflower species.

Home sales: The median single-family home prices in Cuyahoga County continue to climb as the real estate market nears its busiest season, reports Megan Sims. March median home prices increased to $163,900, according to an analysis of county data collected by cleveland.com.

Cancer research: A protein found in the liver called LRG1 may be what drives the spread of colorectal, pancreatic and other cancers, say researchers at Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine. CWRU researchers plan to study just how the LRG1 protein functions, with the intent to leverage it to stop cancers from spreading, Gretchen Cuda Kroen reports.

Office conversions: CBRE said 119 office-conversion projects are either underway or already done in 2024, up from an annual average of 45 between 2016 and 2023, reports Sean McDonnell. Nearly 1.7% of the U.S. office supply, about 70 million square feet, was undergoing some kind of conversion in the first three months of 2024.

Shriver adviser: Journalist, author and activist Maria Shriver will serve as chief visionary and strategic adviser of the Cleveland Clinic’s new Women’s Comprehensive Health and Research Center, reports Julie Washington. The center is an initiative dedicated to helping women navigate their healthcare and receive specialized care, focusing on access, connectivity, education, research and innovation.

13-year-old killed: A 13-year-old boy was fatally shot Tuesday in Cleveland’s Brooklyn Centre neighborhood, reports Olivia Mitchell. The Cuyahoga County Medical Examiner’s Office identified the victim as Javier Smith Santiago. He was shot at about 5:20 p.m. near a residence on Riverside Avenue, near West 39th Street.

Slow chase: A Cleveland man was arrested and accused of stealing his grandmother’s car and leading officers from several departments on a long, slow chase. Westlake police attempted to pull over Nathaniel Blevins early Wednesday morning on Interstate 90 for a missing tail light before the 26-year-old pulled off the highway and entered Avon, police say. Molly Walsh reports that police say Blevins led officers through West Side suburbs for more than 90 minutes, eventually driving down Lake Road in Bay Village.

Sister’s murder: Jason Iverson was armed with a semi-automatic pistol and an irrational rage over his children choosing to stay with his sister instead of him when he gunned down Mercedes Iverson, who was seven months pregnant, and Trea “Norbert” Carter III at a Labor Day picnic in Maple Heights, reports Cory Shaffer. He was sentenced Wednesday to life in prison.

Akron chief: Akron is a step closer to having a new police chief after the city announced that its deputy chief, Brian Harding, is the final candidate for the position, reports Molly Walsh.

Fentanyl deaths: A Cleveland man is accused of selling fentanyl to two men who died from using the drug during a one-week span. Adam Ferrise reports Kendale Ware, 23, was charged Wednesday in federal court in Cleveland with three counts of drug trafficking and two sentencing enhancements for causing the death of two people in November 2022.

Ask Lucas: What can you do if your neighbor is a hippie who won’t cut the lawn? Lucas Daprile writes your “hippie” neighbor is a bug in a human body that is slowly trying to erode your quaint livelihood by upending the most fundamental norms of civilized society. (Also, lawns are bad for the environment.)

CLE Orchestra: The Cleveland Orchestra is headed to eastern and northern Europe this summer on a two-week tour, with performances in Austria, Germany, Finland, Slovakia and Switzerland. Susan Glaser reports the tour, which kicks off Aug. 26 in Berlin and concludes Sept. 7 in Vienna, includes eight performances in six cities.

CLE Ballet: Cleveland Ballet’s Board of Directors has appointed former board member Larry Goodman to the position of president and chief executive officer, reports Paris Wolfe.

Pearl Harbor: Nearly 1.7 million people toured Pearl Harbor last year, making it one of Hawaii’s most-visited destinations. But don’t call it a tourist attraction, said actress Jamie Lee Curtis, who narrates a powerful self-guided audio tour of the site. It’s a national cemetery, reports Susan Glaser. More than 900 U.S. soldiers remain entombed under the water nearly 83 years after the surprise attack on Dec. 7, 1941.

Don’t forget, you can always find the latest Cleveland news by visiting cleveland.com. If you value the hard work of Cleveland journalists, consider becoming a cleveland.com subscriber.

— Curated by Laura Johnston with contributions by Cliff Pinckard

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