Sound of Ideas

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.

A local professor from Case Western Reserve University is one of dozens of scientists who are pushing back against a Department of Energy report.

Relay Cleveland, a public history campaign, takes its name from Cleveland’s historic “relay” policy — a system that split school days into half-day sessions in overcrowded, predominantly Black schools.

Cleveland's director of airports talked to the media this week about his opposition to the Browns new stadium complex, which is planned for land near the city-owned Hopkins International Airport. Bryant Francis told reporters that he has not changed his mind about safety concerns he believes the new stadium, because its height encroaches 58 feet into protected airspace, would pose to the airport. He also didn't say specifically what those safety concerns are, while the Federal Aviation Administration issued a "no hazard" finding. We will discuss the airport director’s opposition to the current Browns stadium plan to begin Friday’s “Sound of Ideas Reporters Roundtable.”

Psychedelics like LSD, psilocybin, and ketamine are being tested to treat disorders like PTSD and anxiety.

Human trafficking may seem like a problem that only happens in places far away, but in reality, it happens here in Ohio. According to the United Nations' International Labour Organization, human trafficking impacts more than 27 million people worldwide. And though there's no reliable estimate of human trafficking in the U.S., according to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, it has been reported in all 50 states. To try to better understand this issue, and how it can be stopped., we'll ask how do human trafficking cases occur in Ohio? What's happening to these victims? And how are survivors escaping? Later, over the next few weeks, Northeast Ohio will be in the path of a natural phenomenon. Millions of monarch butterflies will be on the move making their way to wintering grounds in Mexico. We will talk about monarch butterflies, including their migration and conservation efforts with local naturalists.

We'll talk about the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II and the role Ohioans played in the fight against fascism.

A bystander was killed last weekend when a suspect being chased by Cuyahoga County Sheriff's deputies crashed into her car at St. Clair and Addison Avenue. It's raising anew questions about police chase policy and the sheriff’s downtown safety patrol. Sharday Elder, 37, was killed. She was the mother of two. The Cuyahoga County Sheriff's Office formed the safety patrol in 2023 to help Cleveland address downtown crime. In the last five months, three bystanders have died during chases. The story begins our discussion of the news on Friday’s “Sound of Ideas Reporters Roundtable.”

President Trump has taken aim at the Smithsonian Institution and with it, how America tells the story of itself, warts and all.

The "Democracy and Academic Freedom: A Forum" series kicks off on the College of Wooster's campus on Sept 3.

In Ohio, financial problems eventually led to the closure of two institutions: Notre Dame College in South Euclid and Eastern Gateway Community College in Steubenville. Both shut their doors last year permanently. Coming up we will talk about what happens when a college shuts its doors. What about the students, faculty and vibrancy of the surrounding community? Later, Ohio's soggy spring and hot, humid summer have helped fuel an active season for West Nile Virus with cases in moquitoes and humans reported in the region. We'll talk to an infectious disease expert about prevention. Plus, a bill to make drive-throughs safer in the wake of a deadly confrontation in Stow.

The latest "Sound of Ideas: Community Tour" examined the possible future of Lower Shaker Lake, after the Northeast Ohio Regional Sewer District recommended it be drained to prevent flooding.

We learned more this week about the latest hurdle for the Browns' plans to build and move to a new covered stadium in Brook Park beginning in 2029. The Ohio Department of Transportation this month denied a construction permit for the stadium after Cleveland's top airport official said the current design would "permanently and negatively impact" the airspace at Hopkins International Airport. We will begin Friday’s “Sound of Ideas Reporters Roundtable” discussing why the permit was denied and the options the Haslam Sports Group has to move the project forward.