The Sound of Ideas

For an estimated 5 million Americans, every beat of their heart can be heard in their ears as a constant "whooshing" sound making it difficult to sleep or concentrate and contributing to anxiety and depression. The condition is known as pulsatile tinnitus or P-T. Those who treat people with P-T say the condition can go undiagnosed or misdiagnosed due to its rarity and the difficulty in determining the underlying cause. On Wednesday's “Sound of Ideas” we will meet a local woman who developed the condition and the doctor who used a surgical procedure to help reduce most, but not all of the noise she was hearing. Also on the show, up first, we talk about the current labor dispute at a locally owned coffee chain and the recent closure of a café in Lakewood. Why are coffee shops currently flashpoints in the larger discussion regarding worker's and unionization? Finally, the Tennis in the Land tournament returns this weekend to the Flats. The tournament is now in its fifth year and brings to Cleveland some of the up and coming stars of the professional women's tennis tour. We'll talk to the tournament director about this year's event and plans.

Educators at a variety of levels are re-examining the "literary canon" and bringing new works into the classroom. "Romeo and Juliet" and "Of Mice and Men" might be moved to make room for more modern, diverse voices.

Every day, more than 100,000 people in the U.S. are waiting for an organ transplant, yet an average of 13 patients on the transplant list die each day. Experts in organ procurement and advocacy from Northeast Ohio will discuss the disparities and inequities in the organ donation system, and why some organs are going to waste.

Ohio electric customers will soon stop propping up two coal plants with subsidies tacked onto their bills. The Public Utilities Commission of Ohio voted to zero out the charges as of Aug. 14. The subsidies were part of the scandal-tainted House Bill 6 that also bailed out nuclear power plants. Former Ohio House Speaker Larry Householder and former Ohio GOP Chairman Matt Borges were sentenced to prison for their role in a bribery scheme connected to the passage of the bill. We will begin Friday's “Sound of Ideas Reporters Roundtable with the removal of the subsidies and why the audit is being requested. School kids have sick days and snow days. Should they also get days for mental health care? Senator Willis Blackshear, a Dayton Democrat, has introduced for the third time a bill giving K-through-12 students up to three "mental health days" per school year. Robbery, felonious assault, breaking and entering and auto theft are down in Akron, according to the city's new crime report, which also shows there has been a slight increase in shootings, more burglaries and a sharp decrease in overdose deaths. And, Cleveland firefighters will get a huge pay increase, 21 percent, under a new three-year union contract with the city. Plus, we'll cover other stories of the week too.

President Donald Trump's executive order, "Ending Crime and Disorder on America's Streets" aims to crackdown on homeless encampments and involuntarily place unhoused individuals in treatment for mental health and addictions. The efforts reverse the decades-old "housing first" policy, used locally and nationwide.

It's been one year since Ohio began recreational marijuana sales for adult use. The launch of recreational products came less than a year after voters approved a citizen-initiated statute in 2023, paving the way for both recreational marijuana sales and home cultivation. The recreational market joined the state's existing medical marijuana program, which has been in operation since 2019. According to Crain's Cleveland Business, total legal cannabis sales in the state have reached $2.8 billion as of this month, including more than $600 million in recreational sales over the past year. The voter-approved statute allows lawmakers to make adjustments to the law. While a number of proposals have been discussed, efforts to pass legislation codifying some of those changes have been tabled until after the summer recess. So where do recreational marijuana sales stand in Ohio?

Lead poisoning, an irreversible diagnosis, poses a significant threat to children under the age of six. Cleveland's lead-poisoning rates are nearly four times the national average.

Several community groups in Akron are rallying to curb violence through events like the city's National Night Out program, which aims to make neighborhoods safer, more caring places to live.

Commuters on Cleveland's West Side had better have a mug of patience in the cupholder beside them: A $173 million dollar construction project starts Aug. 4 and will impact traffic on Interstate 90 through October of 2028. Earlier this week on that stretch of highway, commuters may have needed a pontoon. I-90 in Lakewood and Rocky River was under water after a deluge. The construction project aims to fix the flooding. We will begin Friday's “Sound of Ideas Reporters Roundtable” discussing the I-90 project.

Four fair housing agencies, including the Fair Housing Center for Rights and Research in Cleveland, have filed a class action lawsuit against DOGE and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, hoping to restore funding that it says helps keep residents in their homes.

After losing $50 million last year and on track to go deeper in the red this year, the MetroHealth System announced yesterday that it's laying off 125 non-medical workers, freezing non-clinical hiring and scrapping an executive bonus program.

The U.S. Labor Department unveiled a plan to deregulate industries and reduce employer compliance costs. The proposal targets rules affecting wages, safety and working conditions across sectors such as home health care, agriculture, construction and mining.

Christopher Hardesty is the inaugural executive director of the Downtown Akron CDC, which aims to redevelop vacant spaces and help struggling businesses stay in place.

Historians note that a famous trial from 1925 regarding the teaching of evolution still matters today, as the classroom is still a battleground for controversial ideas.

Local millennials push back on generational stereotypes and open up about what it's really like to navigate adulthood in a dramatically changing world— from managing student debt and chasing career stability to redefining success and identity in the age of social media.

Two development projects in Cleveland will include permanent supportive housing units for veterans experiencing homelessness as well as older adults and individuals with disabilities.

Free clinics, a key safety net provider for people who are uninsured and underinsured, are likely to see a demand for their services increase in the coming years. We'll talk to free clinics in Northeast Ohio about the plan to meet that demand.

Kirsten Ellenbogen, CEO of the Great Lakes Science Center, is one scientist who signed onto a paper about better communication strategies for scientists and researchers.

Bibb said this week he is looking for ideas to develop the Downtown lakefront — without the Browns. Is the fight all but over?

The "Sound of Ideas Community Tour" stopped in Peninsula, at Happy Days Lodge, to discuss the 50th anniversary of Cuyahoga Valley National Park.

This month, the U.S. ended federal protections from deportation for thousands of migrants from Nicaragua and Honduras. This week, temporary protections were set to end for Afghani immigrants, but an appeals court temporarily blocked the effort.

Policy changes are coming to Medicaid, the federally and state-funded health insurance program, including additional work requirements, and new eligibility checks every six months, instead of once a year.

Dan Gilbert's Bedrock company is developing in Downtown Cleveland while the Haslam's are pushing for a new Brown's stadium in Brook Park; both hope it benefits the region.

Republican lawmakers will be back at work later this month, interrupting their summer recess, to consider overrides on three of Gov. Mike DeWine's budget line-item vetoes, all focused on property taxes. The governor used his red pen 67 times to strike out items in the massive $60 billion-dollar two-year operating budget. He signed off on the budget at the end of June. We will begin Friday's “Sound of Ideas Reporters Roundtable” with a discussion on why lawmakers are taking the unusual step of returning during summer break to address these specific vetoes. Plus, the anticipated summer blockbuster "Superman" has swooped into theaters with some predictions looking at a $200 million global box office haul by the end of the weekend. Directed by James Gunn, the reboot brings Superman back to his hometown. Two Glenville teens, Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster, created the "man of steel." Superman debuted in Action Comics in 1938.

The Cleveland Clinic is in the third year of a first-of-its-kind brain study that was launched in 2022. The aim of the study is to identify biomarkers for neurological disorders earlier and either slow the progression or stop the progression all together. It's estimated that 1 in 6 people worldwide live with a neurological disorder—a broad term that can include Alzheimer's, epilepsy, multiple sclerosis, Parkinson's, and stroke among others. The study is expected to last for 20 years. Currently, more than 3,500 people from 46 states including Northeast Ohio are taking part in the study. But more participants are needed. Later, we talk to historian and author Brandy Schillace, Ph.D., about her new book, “The Intermediaries: A Weimar Story.” The book traces the story of the founding of the Institute for Sexual Science, the world's first center for homosexual and transgender rights.  We conclude the show with the latest episode of our podcast, “Shuffle.”

Hundreds of thousands of lives have been lost to the ever-evolving opioid overdose epidemic. We will discuss where Cleveland and Cuyahoga County stand with regards handling the crisis. Wednesday on the "Sound of Ideas," we'll start by talking about where Northeast Ohio stands in the approach and treatment of those impacted by opioids. We'll also discuss why we're seeing different shifts in drug overdose deaths, and what we can do to prevent a future spike.  Later, we talk to Case Western Reserve University world affairs professor, Kathyrn Lavelle, Ph.D. She has written a book that traces U.S involvement in the Arctic from the founding of the nation up through present day.

AAA predicts that a record 72.2 million Americans will travel during the week of July 4, crowding the roads with extra traffic. Meanwhile, it's the so-called 100 deadliest days of summer -- the time from Memorial Day to Labor Day when the most traffic crashes occur.

Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine signed off on the state's new two-year operating budget at the deadline late Monday night into Tuesday. The $60 billion dollar spending plan includes money for a new Browns stadium in Brook Park. The state will chip in $600 million taken from unclaimed funds held by the Ohio Department of Commerce. The budget also flattens Ohio's income tax down to a single bracket meaning everyone, minus those who are exempted, will pay the same 2.75% tax rate. DeWine, however, did strike 67 elements from the budget using his line-item veto. It's by far the most he's used the line-item veto. For comparison, on the last operating budget, DeWine used the veto pen 44 times. Statehouse leaders have questioned why the governor removed elements of the budget viewed as property tax relief. Later, we bring you an excerpt from the 11th and final episode of the "Living for We: Keep Ya Head Up" podcast.

As the Fourth of July weekend approaches, water safety and drowning prevention guidance is crucial. In the last month, more than five people have died by drowning in Northeast Ohio and dozens more have been rescued on the Cuyahoga River.

On Friday, the Supreme Court ruled that lower federal judges had overstepped their authority by imposing nationwide injunctions that blocked President Trump's executive order curbing birthright citizenship.

Ohio's new two-year $60 billion operating budget is off to Gov. Mike DeWine. The budget passed through a reconciliation committee, and both chambers of the legislature this week. The budget is massive coming in at 5,000-plus pages laying out a mix of spending, tax cuts and policy measures. One of the most watched items: whether the state should pick up part of the tab for the Browns domed stadium in Brook Park. The final budget came down on the side of the Senate plan to tap the state's Unclaimed Funds to pay $600 million toward the project. The operating budget contains many other spending details including for schools and libraries. It also includes a change to the state's income tax –essentially flattening the tax so that everyone who's required to pay state taxes pays the same percentage regardless of what they make. Gov. Mike DeWine can still use a line-item veto to strike out elements of the budget if he chooses to do so.

We'll discuss the latest strikes in Iran, and the greater role the U.S. is playing in the Middle East.

Generation X, born between 1965 and 1980, is often called the "sandwich generation" because many are simultaneously caring for their aging parents while still supporting their own children. On Tuesday's program, we'll talk to local Gen Xers about life, societal pressures and growing up before the start of the digital age.

A panel of foreign policy experts discusses the radical foreign policy changes happening in the second Trump administration, from tariffs to policy in the Middle East.

Ohioans have told lawmakers they need to do something about increasing property taxes. While a grassroots effort to put a constitutional amendment before voters to abolish property taxes works to collect petition signatures, a number of other bills and proposals are taking shape at the Statehouse. One of those bills would reduce property tax collections by $3.5 billion is getting pushback. House Bill 335 would eliminate the 1% property tax value that schools and local governments can levy without voter approval. It's known as inside millage. The bill is sponsored by Republican state Representative David Thomas of Jefferson, in Ashtabula County. Schools and local governments say the bill would be cataclysmic for school staffing and public services. Property taxes and what to do about them begins this week's discussion of news on the “Sound of Ideas Reporters Roundtable.”

Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. recently removed members of a vaccine advisory panel for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Experts say this could impact vaccine rate, availability and insurance coverage.

The center is celebrating this milestone and Pride Month amidst a slew of changing laws and orders on the state and federal levels, from banning gender-affirming care to prohibiting DEI programs at public universities.

Between a low supply of houses and sellers accepting cash offers, the housing market for first time buyers is tough right now.

Ohio Senate Republicans passed their version of the budget on Wednesday which included money for a new domed Browns stadium and would over the course of the budget reduce the state's income tax brackets to a flat tax. No Democrats in the Senate voted for the budget. Now negotiations move to a conference committee to work out differences between the Senate and House versions which will then be signed by Governor Mike DeWine who has line-item veto power.  We will begin the Friday “Sound of Ideas” Reporters Roundtable with the Senate version of the budget and the potential compromises that could come in the reconciliation process.

A new trail connecting Downtown Cleveland to the city's west side and creating new one-way streets are aimed at fostering more pedestrian activity and safety.

We will talk with academics in politics and law about a newly implemented travel ban as well as the call-up of the National Guard and Marines in Los Angeles.

Public schools are waiting to see how Ohio will fund K-12 districts, as lawmakers debate different proposals in the next operating budget which needs to be finalized, passed and signed by the end of June.

On the "Sound of Ideas" we will talk to several people living with ADHD, and a doctor who works in diagnosis and treatment.

The Ohio Senate this week revealed its initial budget proposal, and it included $600 million for a Browns stadium in Brook Park, but from a new funding source. Instead of backing bonds -- borrowed money with interest -- as the House proposed, the Senate proposed taking $1.7 billion from the state's unclaimed property fund to create a Sports and Culture Facility Fund, $600 million of which would be directed toward the Browns project.  The city of East Cleveland currently has two people claiming the title of mayor. The president of the city council, Lateek Shabazz, was sworn in Sunday days after the conviction of Mayor Brandon King. Back in February, Cuyahoga County Probate Court Presiding Judge Anthony Russo had appointed Sandra Morgan to the post after King was suspended pending trial. City council members say the conviction ended that temporary appointment, and the charter says the council president moves into the job. The interim mayor, Sandra Morgan, says she's going nowhere until the judge says she done. We will begin Friday's “Sound of Ideas Reporters Roundtable” discussing the Senate budget including the funding to education as well as the East Cleveland mayoral situation.