Nick Castele

Weeks from retirement, Cuyahoga County Sheriff Clifford Pinkney arrived at a council hearing with his personal attorney and refused to answer almost any questions about the county jail system.

Updated 7:19 p.m., July 15, 2019

The federal judge presiding over nationwide opioid litigation has partially lifted an order that shielded years of drug sales data from public view.

U.S. District Judge Dan Polster on Monday ordered the release of data on opioid sales from the Drug Enforcement Administration’s Automation of Reports and Consolidated Orders System dated on or before Dec. 31, 2012.

An estimated 30,000 Ohioans live within 650 feet of an underground natural gas storage well, according to a study published this week in the journal Environmental Health.

The study examined storage facilities in six states, finding that 65 percent of wells are in urban and suburban areas. The wells hold natural gas before delivery to businesses and households.

Advocates for reforms at the Cuyahoga County Jail are trying to keep the pressure on county leaders, seven months after a U.S. Marshals Service report called conditions at the facility “inhumane.”

A coalition of activist groups rallied outside the Justice Center on Monday morning before packing a justice reform meeting chaired by the county executive and presiding common pleas judge.

Can Cleveland prevent its old housing stock from poisoning a new generation of children?

That question is at the heart of today’s Lead Safe Home Summit at the Huntington Convention Center of Cleveland downtown. The summit brings together health experts, city officials, nonprofit leaders and others to grapple with how to protect children from lead paint.

NASA’s Glenn Research Center is playing a key role in the mission to take astronauts back to the moon and on to Mars, Administrator Jim Bridenstine said during a visit to Cleveland Monday.

“The moon is our proving ground for how do we live and work on another world, so that we can go to Mars,” Bridenstine said. “And the sooner we can prove that out on the moon, the sooner we can move on to Mars.”

Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine is ordering the state to conduct monthly inspections of the Cuyahoga County Jail, threatening "additional legal action" if conditions at the facility don't improve.

The governor's office has also asked the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction to more than double the staff of the bureau that conducts jail inspections, according to a Thursday news release.

The mayor of Lordstown says his village is still waiting to learn whether GM will sell its idle auto plant to electric truck maker Workhorse.

Mayor Arno Hill said he met with GM and Workhorse officials in Columbus earlier this month. But he still has questions, such as who would invest in the plant and whether the company would ask for incentives.

“Right now, we’re just in the wait-and-see mode,” Hill said. “Ideally we’d like to get another General Motors product, so people don’t have to move out of town. But if that doesn’t happen, get us some answers.”

Cuyahoga County Council banned single-use plastic bags with an 8 to 3 party-line vote Tuesday evening, requiring businesses to offer reusable or paper bags to retail customers.

The ordinance is set to take effect Jan. 1, 2020. It was originally drafted for Oct. 1 of this year, but councilmembers agreed businesses needed more time to prepare.

“We’re not going to solve the entire plastic pollution problem by banning plastic bags,” said Democratic Councilwoman Sunny Simon, who sponsored the measure. “However, it’s a huge start and it’s going to make a big difference.”

A national civil rights organization says Cleveland’s water department applies tax liens for unpaid bills disproportionately in majority-black neighborhoods in Cuyahoga County.

The NAACP Legal Defense Fund said its full report, which is expected to be released in June, will examine what it calls a crisis in water affordability in black communities.

The organization released a summary report Wednesday showing 11,000 liens were attached to properties between 2014 and 2018, around. In most years, around two thirds of the liens were in majority African-American census tracts.

The Cuyahoga River has come a long way since the fire 50 years ago. But it still faces an environmental threat in the form of stormwater and development.  

Rainwater rolling off asphalt and rooftops can carry contaminants into the watershed. Local government agencies across Northeast Ohio have laid out rules for developers to limit the harmful effects of stormwater.

Cleveland’s coalition to prevent lead poisoning says the city should require landlords to protect tenants from lead paint.

The Lead Safe Cleveland Coalition, which the city announced in January, plans to submit its recommendations to City Council on Wednesday.

A Cuyahoga County grand jury has indicted the former warden of the troubled Cuyahoga County Jail and two corrections officers, Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost’s office announced Thursday.

Prosecutors accused former warden Eric J. Ivey of ordering an officer to turn off his body camera during an incident involving the death of an inmate. Yost’s office accused Ivey of lying to investigators about the incident.

The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame gave Cleveland City Council an initial look Wednesday at the museum’s $35 million plans to build an expansion along the North Coast Harbor, connecting the building with the Great Lakes Science Center.

The 50,000-square-foot expansion would sweep between the Rock Hall and science center in a low arc, offering new spaces for exhibits, classrooms and performances.