The Sound of Ideas

Connecting skilled workers with in-demand and available jobs in Northeast Ohio can be challenging for businesses. Each year, Team NEO, a private, non-profit economic development organization focuses attention on the demand and supply imbalance in the region's workforce. This year, Team NEO's "Aligning Opportunities" report looked specifically at K-12 students and young adults and how they could factor into closing the talent gap regionally. We're going to talk about the report and the workforce landscape for young people in Northeast Ohio to begin Wednesday's “Sound of Ideas.” Later in the hour, we will hear from Dr. Amy Acton. She's currently running for the 2026 Democratic nomination for Ohio governor.

Retired Shaker Heights pediatrician and grandfather Dr. Arthur Lavin founded Grandparents for Vaccines to encourage child vaccination by sharing stories about deadly but preventable diseases.

A bevy of new bookstores have opened across Northeast Ohio over the past several years, in line with a national trend of growing demand for local retailers.

The Cleveland school board will decide, likely at its Dec. 9 meeting, whether to approve a massive consolidation plan presented this week by CEO Warren Morgan. The plan calls for closing 18 buildings, ending leases on five others and operating 29 fewer schools in the district. Some schools will relocate. Some, like Collinwood and Glenville high schools, will merge. Morgan said consolidation is needed because of a 50% decline in enrollment since the turn of the century, massive projected budget deficits and a desire to offer better services for students in a more concentrated district. We will begin the Friday “Sound of Ideas Reporters Roundtable” with the school consolidation plan and discuss the rest of the week's news as well.

The American Heart Association has new guidance on choking response for infants, children and adults, and for treating individuals with suspected opioid overdose.

We will recap the 2025 election results with some of the winners and discuss levy and school board results in Northeast Ohio districts.

The ongoing federal shutdown means that some Head Start organizations have run out of money and are cutting services.

The future of food stamp benefits is uncertain as the federal government shutdown continues into its second month. We'll hear how leaders in Tuscarawas County are preparing for increased food insecurity.

SNAP benefits, also known as food stamps, for roughly 1.4 million Ohioans could run out on Nov. 1 if the government shutdown continues.

We'll talk to a national advocate and a leader from Cleveland's Joseph & Mary's Home about the challenges people experiencing homelessness face, and the organizations serving them.

Not all tariffs are created equally. Northeast Ohio business owners and an economics professor discuss the pros and cons of tariffs in the region.

Akron recently became the third city nationwide to join Work for America's "Spotlight City" initiative, a program aimed to hire displaced federal workers for jobs in local government.

This week, the Ohio House passed two property-tax related bills. Supporters say the bills will provide more than $2 billion in tax relief over the next three years and say the measures are the most significant property tax reform in decades. But according to others, the bills won't help all Ohio property owners and claim the bills do not go far enough in overhauling the current system. Separately another proposal from Ohio Sen. Andrew Brenner a Republican from Delaware County would completely reshape school funding. We will talk about the House bills as well as the proposal from Sen. Brenner to begin Friday's “Sound of Ideas Reporters Roundtable.”

Bibb is running against community activist Laverne Gore who declined to participate in a candidate interview.

Millions of K-12 students participate in afterschool and out-of-school-time programs nationwide. But, according to the DC-based advocacy group Afterschool Alliance, for every 1 student enrolled in a program, five more are waiting to be able to join. The Alliance spotlights the work and achievements of afterschool and out of school time programs, which also include summer programming, with the Lights On Afterschool nationwide event which will be Oct. 23. The programs, advocates say, are critical for Ohio's workforce, providing safe places and activities for students whose parents work. But some programs are concerned about the future of their funding. Later, we will talk with the Community West Foundation about its efforts to create a financial safety net for the nonprofit organizations providing a safety net for those in need.

The agriculture industry in Ohio is dealing with issues like an aging population, trade war over produce and big corporations wanting to buy up valuable farmland.

Just in time for Halloween, local historians chat about Northeast Ohio's many creepy corners, and cinephiles discuss their favorite horror films.

After a yearlong battle, the city of Cleveland and the Haslam Sports Group announced a deal this week in which the city ends its objections to the Browns move to Brook Park. The city will get $100 million over 15 years from the team, money to raze the existing stadium and to help Cleveland revitalize the lakefront without the Browns. The city dropped its lawsuit and its challenge to a permit allowing the new complex to exceed Federal Aviation Administration height restrictions. The story begins our discussion of the week's news on the Friday “Sound of Ideas Reporters Roundtable.”

Kidney stones are a common ailment that affect 1 in 10 people in their lifetime.

The Ohio Domestic Violence Network recently reported a 37% increase year-over-year in domestic violence-related fatalities. Franklin and Cuyahoga counties lead with the most documented cases.

The two organizations entered into an operating agreement on Oct. 3 to switch the format of 89.3 WCSB to the new terrestrial home of Ideastream's 24/7 jazz service. The decision and communication to students has been criticized by fans of WCSB.

We'll discuss the latest impact of the shutdown on Northeast Ohioans with the congressmember and policy experts.

Gov. Mike DeWine took executive action this week to temporarily ban the sale of "intoxicating hemp" products in the state. DeWine said the products represent a consumer product emergency. The order bans the sale of unregulated products that contain THC derived from hemp including candies and drinks. THC is the psychoactive compound found in the cannabis family of plants. DeWine's executive order is for 90 days. We will begin the “Sound of Ideas Reporters Roundtable” with the governor's executive action. The Ohio House this week passed -- with some support from Democrats -- two bills that proponents say will give property owners some tax relief. The two bills, which the Senate now takes up, make changes to how property taxes are determined and how schools and other local entities collect the money raised from levies. Eleven protesters have paid nearly $400,000 in restitution in a pretrial diversion program that, if all stipulations are met, will null charges they incurred while protesting the war in Gaza at Case Western Reserve University last year. The protesters, ages 20 to 25, splashed red paint on buildings and sidewalks. They were charged with breaking and entering, possessing criminal tools and vandalism. They spoke publicly last weekend, saying the university is making an example of them in order to quash pro-Palestinian protests. Early voting is underway for the November election. And in addition to levies and mayoral an council races, there is a robustly contested battle for four open seats on the Akron Board of Education. Eight candidates meet this week for a debate sponsored by the Akron Press Club in partnership with Ideastream Public Media, the Akron Beacon Journal and Signal Akron. Our Anna Huntsman was one of the journalists posing questions to the candidates. People are packing independent music venues. That's a good thing. But the venues aren't turning a profit. That's troubling. So says a new report from the National Independent Venue Association on the impact of small music clubs on the state's economy, which estimates the more than 300 clubs made $3 billion last year. Students, alumni and supporters of student-run WCSB college radio at Cleveland State University held a protest this week after the university announced an agreement with Ideastream Public Media to switch to an all-Jazz format programmed by Ideastream.

Local federal workers could miss paychecks and area organizations could see funding cuts because of the standoff in Washington D.C.

Over the summer, Edgewater Beach had to be closed to swimmers three times due to a discharge of untreated water and sewage into the lake after heavy rains. The release at the Edgewater outfall—a huge pipe at the back of the beach—happens when storm runoff and rain overwhelm the system. Cleveland's system is a combined one where stormwater and sewage are held in the same pipes before being treated. When runoff from torrential storms adds to the mix, the outfalls provide a release point to prevent the system from backing up and flooding houses and businesses. Now, the Northeast Ohio Regional Sewer District has developed a plan to eventually eliminate the outfall onto Edgewater Beach. It involves the construction of a new tunnel called the Edgewater Beach Surge Tunnel to divert away excess runoff and combined sewage. We will begin Wednesday's “Sound of Ideas” with a discussion about the project with the CEOs of the Northeast Ohio Regional Sewer District and the Cleveland Metroparks. Later, we'll talk about how pet waste, especially that left on the ground, can impact runoff and impact our groundwater and waterways.

Nutrition misinformation is spreading faster than ever, often disguised as expert advice. In 2022, more than 58% of adults turned to the internet for health or medical information. Today, experts explore how misleading claims gain traction and offer tips to help people separate fact from fiction.

In 2023, Ohioans voted to guarantee reproductive health care access in the state. Since then, lawmakers in the Statehouse continue to propose laws that advocates say are in conflict with what voters decided.

Ohio Auditor Keith Faber this week formally requested the state attorney general begin legal proceedings to appoint a receiver to oversee the finances of East Cleveland. A new state law approved as part of the last budget, and which went into effect Tuesday, allowed the move. East Cleveland is pushing back, accusing the state of cutting off local government funds to the city and saying a state commission meant to guide finances failed. We will begin our discussion of the week's news with East Cleveland's finances and what happens next between the city and state.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that one in five children in America has obesity. One new solution might be GLP-1 weight loss drugs.

Last fall, the NuPoint Community Development Corporation (formerly the Union-Miles Development Corporation) launched a neighborhood history project called Southeast Side Stories. The idea is to document the stories of the Union-Miles, Mt. Pleasant and Lee-Harvard neighborhoods and those in between as well. Using a mix of first-person interviews and multimedia, including vintage photographs and film, the project chronicles the deep roots families have built in the area across generations. Also on the show, we begin with an interview with the president of Slovenia, Nataša Pirc Musar. She addressed the United Nations General Assembly last week in New York and then traveled to Cleveland. The city is home to the largest population of Slovenians outside of their country.

Shelters say that lives are at risk as overcrowding has persisted since the pandemic. They say they're out of space and out of time to help animals in their care, especially dogs.

The harm reduction approach aims to reduce the negative impact of substance use disorder. In Portage County, health officials and Kent State University community members are working toward shared goals by distributing tools such as Naloxone.

A clash erupted this week between Mayor Justin Bibb's administration and Cleveland City Council, led by its president, Blaine Griffin. A council aide downloaded thousands of unredacted documents from a public records database, one he was allowed to access. The administration says some of those documents contained sensitive information, such as addresses, Social Security numbers or medical information that is typically redacted before public release. According to Griffin, Bibb's people called for the council aide's firing, which he characterized as a strong-arm tactic. The aide did nothing wrong and is going nowhere, he said. The story begins our discussion of the week's news of the Friday “Reporters Roundtable.”

The university's Inamori International Center for Ethics and Excellence will award Oscar Chacón with the 2025 Inamori Ethics Prize for his work in human rights and immigration justice.

An advisory committee for the Centers for Disease Control made changes to vaccine recommendations in a meeting last week that was described in media reports as tense and chaotic. The Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices or ACIP changed advice on COVID vaccines to a "shared decision-making model." It also changed its recommendation regarding the combined childhood vaccine for measles, mumps, rubella and varicella or chicken pox (MMRV). The committee recommended that children under 4 not be given the MMRV vaccine and instead recommended an MMR vaccine and a separate shot for varicella (chicken pox). The committee tabled a decision on whether to delay the birth dose of the Hepatitis B vaccine for newborns. To begin Wednesday's “Sound of Ideas,” we're going to talk about the recommendations coming out of the ACIP meeting and what those recommendations mean for those seeking COVID-19 or the MMRV vaccine. Later, Brian Katulis, a senior fellow at the Middle East Institute joins the program to talk about the Trump administration's foreign policy in that region. 

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved Zepbound for the treatment of obstructive sleep apnea in adults with obesity. Local experts discuss other advances in treatment, including nerve stimulation devices placed under the skin.

Northeast Ohio Congressman Max Miller, a Republican from Bay Village said in an opinion piece in the "Washington Times" that his constituents are afraid to come into the city because of crime. He wants the National Guard to deploy to Cleveland as it has done in Washington, D.C. and is being considered for other cities such as Chicago. But Gov. Mike DeWine says state-agencies will be tasked with crime-related duties in Ohio cities not troops. We will begin the Friday “Sound of Ideas Reporters Roundtable” with the call by U.S. Rep. Miller and others for the Guard to come to Cleveland and where Mayor Justin Bibb stands. It's been over a week since the conservative activist Charlie Kirk was assassinated while addressing an audience on the campus of Utah Valley University and since then, we've seen the limits of free speech put to the test. People across the country were punished for their reactions to Kirk's death, from the high profile canceling of ABC's Jimmy Kimmel Live show after pressure from the F.C.C. to local officials being suspended or resigning due to comments critical of Kirk that they made on social media. It's that time of year when schools are the ones getting graded. The state report cards measuring last year's academic performance for Ohio's more than 600 public school districts came out this week. Reading scores are down half a percentage point statewide, while math scores went up almost two points. In Northeast Ohio, Akron Public Schools jumped up an entire star in the state's 5-star rating system, from 2.5 to 3.5, meanwhile Cleveland went down from 3 to 2-and-a-half stars. Cleveland City Council publicly reprimanded one of its own this week. Members voted to formally censure Ward 1 Councilman Joe Jones for misconduct and unprofessional workplace behavior. It's the first censure in 50 years for council. Three unions representing educators in Ohio are suing over an element in the state budget that changes the makeup of the board overseeing teachers' pensions. The unions say the budget measure is unconstitutional and takes away the voice of teachers on the State Teachers Retirement System Board which oversees teachers' retirement money.

The shooting death of conservative activist Charlie Kirk has sparked a new debate over how employees are allowed to post on social media, and what repercussions should be.

Canton For All People, started its work in 2021 with a goal of improving the rental and home ownership landscape for the city's lower- and middle-income families. The group is getting both regional and national attention for its work. We will begin Wednesday's “Sound of Ideas” with a conversation with the executive director of Canton For All People about its work on many fronts to get individuals and families in Canton into safe housing and highlight the latest "Sound of Us" series built around the organization's work. Later, we will talk about the fall migration of birds that is underway as hundreds of species head south for the winter. The annual natural spectacle is the focus of the Headlands Birding Festival at the Mentor Headlands Beach State Park. Naturalist, artist and writer Julie Zickefoose will discuss her writing and art that has focused on nature. She will be a keynote speaker at the festival. We will end the hour in conversation with author Claudia Rowe. She sat down with Ideastream's Anna Huntsman to talk about her new book, “Wards of the State: The Long Shadow of American Foster Care.”

DigitalC, a Cleveland-based nonprofit is expanding its internet access services to 450 public housing households across the Forest Park, Brewster Homes and Diggs Homes neighborhoods in Detroit.

Artificial intelligence is accelerating the need to develop more energy systems, as new data centers that require a lot of electricity are being built in Ohio and the Midwest. We'll discuss whether nuclear power could be a viable alternative energy source.

A bipartisan committee of Ohio lawmakers will begin work on a new congressional map for the midterm elections, meeting on Sept. 22 with an end-of-October deadline for a map to pass with bipartisan support. But is bipartisanship even remotely possible? This week Democrats unveiled their own redrawn map, one that would give Republicans a slight advantage in eight districts with Democrats holding a slight advantage in seven. Ohio currently has 10 Republicans and five Democrats serving in the U.S. House. The speaker of the Ohio House, who presides over a supermajority of Republicans, immediately called the democratic effort a gerrymander, even as democrats say the republican gerrymander is what they're trying to solve. We will begin the Friday “Sound of Ideas Reporters Roundtable” with the beginning of the redistricting efforts and whether this time the two parties can work together on a map.

Global Cleveland, a local nonprofit organization, hosts its annual Welcoming Week beginning Sept. 12. This year's events include an International Job and Resource Fair and a panel conversation on Sub-National Diplomacy.

Voters in Cleveland Heights overwhelmingly approved a recall of Mayor Kahlil Seren--the first person directly elected to hold the job of mayor in that city. We'll talk about the recall vote as well as several other results from the September primary in Cuyahoga County. The primary winnows ward and mayoral races down to two candidates who advance to the November ballot. Later, we hear from All Things Considered Host Scott Detrow about the mission of NPR as public media faces a loss of federal funding.