http://www.wksu.org/news/ WKSU News Headlines en-us Copyright 2010, WKSU Radio Thu, 2 Sep 2010 10:41:43 -0400 WKSU RSS Generator 1.1 East Canton High School remembers fallen soldier killed in Afghanistan Akron City Council approves November ballot issue to fund police and fire services Summit County judge to rule on DNA evidence of police captain convicted of murder WKSU's Amanda Rabinowitz reports. http://www.wksu.org/news/story/26210 Thu, 02 Sep 2010 09:49:57 -0400 Amanda Rabinowitz Ohio Baubles, bangles and beads are joining the bubbling fountains in The Avenue at Tower City. WKSU's Kabir Bhatia reports. http://www.wksu.org/news/story/26199 Thu, 02 Sep 2010 00:00:00 -0400 Kabir Bhatia Arts and Entertainment A new report from the Ohio Supreme Court shows that after a four-year decline, Mayor's Courts are handling more cases again. These are courts run by villages and small towns outside the state judicial system. They hear cases involving local laws, and most often, speeding tickets -- often tied to towns with notorious reputations as speed traps. Defenders of Mayor's courts say they are more efficient than municipal courts and add revenue to cash-strapped towns. They haven't won over former State Representative Larry Wolpert from Ohio's 23rd district near Columbus. He led the fight to do away with Mayor's Courts. And he lost. He says it's time Ohio did away with them, "there's no overview, they're not court of record,they basically have no rules. They're totally ad-hoc based in that little community." Cuyahoga Falls mayor Don Robart believes his city's move to mayor's court two years ago will save money. According to Robart, "hosting the municiple court cost Cuyahoga Falls 8 million dollars over the past 20 years." Two counties lead the state in the number of Mayor's Court cases, Hamilton County surrounding Cincinnati, and Cuyahoga County. WKSU's Jeff St. Clair reports. http://www.wksu.org/news/story/26197 Thu, 02 Sep 2010 00:00:00 -0400 Jeff St. Clair Ohio Douglas Prade was convicted of murdering his ex-wife in 1997. He has insisted since the time of his arrest that he is innocent. And now he's trying to get new DNA tesing in the case. Summit County Common Pleas Judge Judy Hunter heard arguments about that Wednesday. WKSU's Tim Rudell reports WKSU's Tim Rudell reports. http://www.wksu.org/news/story/26208 Wed, 01 Sep 2010 21:23:42 -0400 Tim Rudell Crime and Courts Next year, Cuyahoga County will print all ballots and election materials in both English and Spanish under an agreement between the Board of Elections and the U.S. justice department. The board voted along party lines -- Democrats Sandy McNair and Inajo Davis Chappell voting for the settlement. Republicans Jeff Hastings and Rob Frost voting against. Ohio Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner cast the tie-breaker in favor of the agreement. Jose Feliciano, head of the Cleveland Hispanic Roundtable, says the bilingual ballots will empower citizens who were educated in Puerto Rico. WKSU's Kevin Niedermier reports. http://www.wksu.org/news/story/26207 Wed, 01 Sep 2010 17:46:24 -0400 Kevin Niedermier Politics The CSPA will vote on the tentative agreement Wednesday night. It is the only one of the city's unions that agreed to concessions both this year and last year. The concessions include furloughs, a wage freeze and a delay in longevity pay. Union President Chuck Victor says failure to ratify an agreement would result in layoffs. WKSU's M.L. Schultze and Alison Ritchie report. http://www.wksu.org/news/story/26206 Wed, 01 Sep 2010 17:39:33 -0400 M.L. Schultze and Alison Ritchie Ohio Akron Mayor Don Plusquellic says a personnel clerk is responsible for a mix-up this week in police layoff notices, and the police union is responsible for the layoffs themselves. The city is laying off 40 police officers unless the union makes contract concessions. Akron sent out the notices beginning last week before it discovered it made a mistake calculating seniority for six officers. So it rescinded those six layoff notices, and sent new ones to six others. Union President Paul Hlynsky blasted the mayor and maintains the layoffs are a sham, as are the city's budget projections. Plusquellic defends the layoffs as necessary and the mix up on notices as an honest mistake by a clerk. And he fired back with a litany of police misdeeds over the years. WKSU's Kabir Bhatia and Tim Rudell report. http://www.wksu.org/news/story/26205 Wed, 01 Sep 2010 17:18:30 -0400 Kabir Bhatia and Tim Rudell Government Akron and Summit County have merged health departments. After a year of negotiations, the president of the county health commission and Akron's mayor signed a deal effectively folding the city's health department into the county's. WKSU's Tim Rudell reports. http://www.wksu.org/news/story/26204 Wed, 01 Sep 2010 17:15:51 -0400 Tim Rudell Government The two sides generally agree on the issues contested. The staff union is demanding a long-term contract to guarantee pensions, job security, and health care benefits. The OEA worries about accepting that, because the union depends on dues from working teachers, and next year there could be big layoffs. WKSU's Bill Cohen reports. http://www.wksu.org/news/story/26203 Wed, 01 Sep 2010 17:02:46 -0400 Bill Cohen Ohio Continental Airlines C-E-O Jeff Smisek says the soon-to-be merged Continental/United airlines is still committed to Cleveland...and he dismisses a report that flights to and from Hopkins Airport could be cut by more than 80-percent. WKSU's Kevin Niedermier says Simsek is denouncing the report r as a distortion of the facts. WKSU's Kevin Niedermier reports. http://www.wksu.org/news/story/26201 Wed, 01 Sep 2010 16:26:31 -0400 Kevin Niedermier Economy and Business Mayor Don Plusquellic says he feels terrible about a mix-up in layoff notices in the Akron Police Department, but won't blame the clerk who made the mistake. He does, however, continue to blame the Akron police union for the layoffs themselves. The city says without contract concessions, it must lay off 40 officers. It sent out the notices beginning last week before it discovered it made a mistake calculating seniority for six officers. So, it rescinded those six layoff notices, and sent them to six others. Union President Paul Hlynsky blasted the administration, saying it's playing with people's lives, has created a sham financial crisis and doesn't need to lay anyone off. Today (Wednesday), Plusquellic blasted Hlynsky, saying he's picking on a clerk whose department has been cut by two thirds. WKSU's M.L. Schultze and Tim Rudell report. http://www.wksu.org/news/story/26200 Wed, 01 Sep 2010 16:19:46 -0400 M.L. Schultze and Tim Rudell Government A Northeast Ohio man was among five soldiers killed when a bomb exploded in Afghanistan Monday. Army Staff Sgt. Kevin Kessler was 32 and a graduate of East Canton High School, where he was remembered for an ornery but never-failing smile. The school district is dedicating a new building tomorrow (Thursday) and will have a moment of silence for Kessler. He was assigned to the 4th Brigade Support Battalion, and his unit was attacked in the Arghandab River Valley of Afghanistan. He and the other four who were killed were all based at Fort Carson, Colo. WKSU's Kabir Bhatia reports. http://www.wksu.org/news/story/26198 Wed, 01 Sep 2010 14:37:55 -0400 Kabir Bhatia People First Energy has applied to keep a historically troubled power plant operational for the next two decades. The Akron-based energy giant has applied to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to extend the operating license of the Davis-Besse Nuclear Power Station another 20 years past its current expiration date of 2017. First Energy shut the plant for four months this year after discovering problems with cracked nozzles in the reactor head. First Energy spokesperson Todd Schneider says those issues and others will be resolved. Chris Wallis reports. http://www.wksu.org/news/story/26195 Wed, 01 Sep 2010 11:24:34 -0400 Chris Wallis Environment U.S. Senate candidates Lee Fisher and Rob Portman will hold three one-hour debates before the November election. They'll be in Toledo, Cleveland and Columbus and will be conducted by the Ohio Newspaper Organization, a consortium of the state's eight largest newspapers. The Cleveland debate will be at the City Club on October 8th. Other details on dates and locations have not yet been announced. Portman, a former congressman and trade representative, and Fisher, Ohio's lieutenant governor, are running to succeed retiring Senator George Voinovich. WKSU's M.L. Schultze reports. http://www.wksu.org/news/story/26194 Wed, 01 Sep 2010 11:21:27 -0400 M.L. Schultze Politics Ohio veterans won't be taxed on their bonuses after all. That's the word from the IRS. Statehouse correspondent Bill Cohen reports. WKSU's Bill Cohen and Casey Braun report. http://www.wksu.org/news/story/26193 Wed, 01 Sep 2010 10:04:12 -0400 Bill Cohen and Casey Braun Ohio State telling people to avoid contact with water at LaDue Reservoir Akron mistakenly notifies six police officers of lay-offs Summit County celebrates the opening of its new animal shelter WKSU's Amanda Rabinowitz reports. http://www.wksu.org/news/story/26192 Wed, 01 Sep 2010 09:07:05 -0400 Amanda Rabinowitz Ohio Hall of Fame pitcher Bob Feller's recently disclosed leukemia hasn't kept him away from his regular spot in the Indians press box, while Hall of Fame running back Jim Brown is severing all his ties with the Cleveland Browns. WKSU commentator Terry Pluto talks about the approach of the two men and the two teams. WKSU's Amanda Rabinowitz reports. http://www.wksu.org/news/story/26191 Wed, 01 Sep 2010 05:45:24 -0400 Amanda Rabinowitz Sports Last night the candidates vying for the most powerful county-level position in the state participated in their last forum before next week's partisan primaries. Seven candidates for Cuyahoga County executive...three Republicans, three Democrats and one Green party member, took questions at Cleveland State University. WKSU's Kevin Niedermier reports. http://www.wksu.org/news/story/26189 Tue, 31 Aug 2010 22:17:58 -0400 Kevin Niedermier Government Here are exerpts provided by the White House on President Obama's speech tonight on the war in Iraq. The speech will air at 8 p.m. on 89-7, WKSU... http://www.wksu.org/news/story/26188 Tue, 31 Aug 2010 18:28:02 -0400 Politics Akron says it mistakenly notified six police officers they are being laid off, and is rescinding their layoff notices. But now it will be laying off six other officers. The city said today (Tuesday) that it miscalculated the seniority of some officers when it sent out notices over the past four days. But now six other officers who thought their jobs were safe will get notices tomorrow (Wednesday) that they're the ones who will lose those jobs. The city is laying off 40 police officers, saying it can't avoid the cuts unless the police union makes contract concessions. The union has questioned the city's math and motives. The contract dispute has gone to fact finding. WKSU's M.L. Schultze reports. http://www.wksu.org/news/story/26187 Tue, 31 Aug 2010 17:56:07 -0400 M.L. Schultze Government The state is now telling people to avoid all contact with the water in LaDue Reservoir. It upgraded the advisory on the reservoir based on the results of the latest testing for toxic algae blooms. The reservoir is in southern Geauga County and is connected to Akron's drinking water supply. But state officials have tested the treated drinking water separately and say it is safe. Another area reservoir, East Branch, is under an algae advisory at lower levels than LeDue. WKSU's M.L. Schultze reports. http://www.wksu.org/news/story/26186 Tue, 31 Aug 2010 17:42:26 -0400 M.L. Schultze Environment Provisions in the ethics code would prohibit county officials from accepting certain gifts of hiring relatives. David Freel, executive director of the Ohio Ethics Commission, said the county is trying to set a higher standard than just what's legal. Alison Ritchie reports. http://www.wksu.org/news/story/26185 Tue, 31 Aug 2010 17:04:02 -0400 Alison Ritchie Ohio A national conference of railroad supply companies was held Tuesday in Columbus for the 3-C project. WKSU's Bill Cohen reports. http://www.wksu.org/news/story/26184 Tue, 31 Aug 2010 16:24:23 -0400 Bill Cohen Ohio The dispute over who is hosting the Gay Games in Cleveland is heating up, with letters from lawyers over everything from trademarks to art work. But all sides still say they want the games in Cleveland in four years. Hundreds of receipts, documents and e-mails involving the city of Cleveland, the Federation of Gay Games and the Cleveland Synergy Foundation document growing concerns in the spring and early summer over the foundation's ability to host the games in Northeast Ohio in 2014. And now a letter from the attorney for the federation to the attorney for the Synergy Foundation demands that Synergy stop using any material related to the Gay Games and stop presenting itself as the host because that's "factually incorrect and misleading." The federation pulled the plug on Synergy in early July, saying it had violated the licensing agreement to host the games. That's about the same time Cleveland was raising questions about how little private money the foundation had raised for the games and about documentation for money the city had advanced to Synergy. Valarie McCall is chief of government affairs for Mayor Frank Jackson. She says she doesn't want to exaggerate the problems, but "These are taxpayers' money and we have a fiduciary responsibility to the public to ensure the trust. ... We live in Cuyahoga County right now and we're going to ensure we do everything by the books, here." Synergy's attorney, John Climaco, would not comment on the record, but the group has insisted it is the legal licensee for the games, and has fulfilled it obligations. The city fronted Synergy nearly $67,000 to win Northeast Ohio's right to host the games and approved $700,000 more to get the games going. Beyond the trademark demands, the letter from the federation also demands the return of artwork loaned to Synergy by a federation board member. WKSU's Vivian Goodman reports. http://www.wksu.org/news/story/26183 Tue, 31 Aug 2010 16:13:28 -0400 Vivian Goodman Sports Parts of the new federal health care reform law will begin Wednesday. Additional health care reforms will be put in place later this month, including one that allows parents to keep their adult children on the family health care plan until age 26. However, opponents of the new law say it's an expansion of government that will have negative repercussions. WKSU's Jo Ingles reports. http://www.wksu.org/news/story/26182 Tue, 31 Aug 2010 16:13:18 -0400 Jo Ingles Health and Medicine The Federation of Gay Games is demanding that Cleveland Synergy Foundation stop representing itself as the host of the games in Cleveland and Akron in 2014. The San Francisco-based governing body for the games notified Synergy in July that it was terminating its license, a move Synergy is fighting. That was about the time that the city of Cleveland was raising questions about Synergy's lagging fundraising and documentation of some of its expenses. The city had authorized more than $750,000 toward the games. In a letter dated Monday, attorneys for the Federation demand that Synergy stop using any Gay Games logos and other materials, saying it risks infringing on copyrights. It also wants back private artwork loaned to Synergy by a federation official. Synergy and its attorneys would not comment on the record. But it has said that it remains the legal licensee for the games. Meanwhile, the City of Cleveland wants more documentation regarding the money it gave Synergy to bid for the games and begin staging them. I talked earlier today with Cleveland's Chief of Government Affairs Valarie McCall and the President of the Greater Cleveland Sports Commission, David Gilbert. WKSU's Vivian Goodman reports. http://www.wksu.org/news/story/26181 Tue, 31 Aug 2010 15:41:50 -0400 Vivian Goodman Sports Cuyahoga County officials are planning ways to re-hear thousands of property tax cases after a lawyer affirmed this week that the way the county has been doing things for years is illegal. WKSU's Kevin Niedermier reports that Monday's legal opinion more than doubles the backlog of cases involving hundreds of millions of dollars in real estate taxes..... WKSU's Kevin Niedermier reports. http://www.wksu.org/news/story/26179 Tue, 31 Aug 2010 13:51:50 -0400 Kevin Niedermier Government James Traficant's supporters are jubilant after the Mahoning County Board of Elections decided the former congressman and convicted felon has enough valid ballot signatures to run again for Congress. Werner Lange is a volunteer with the Traficant campaign. He says after a hard fight to get Traficant on the ballot, his supporters expect a sweet victory in November. And Lange says he's not looking for political allies. Chris Wallis reports. http://www.wksu.org/news/story/26178 Tue, 31 Aug 2010 10:21:31 -0400 Chris Wallis Politics Mahoning County Board of Elections allows Traficant to run as an independent Illegal closed-door sessions lead to backlog of Cuyahoga County tax cases Judge orders mental health treatment for bear owner after fatal attack WKSU's Amanda Rabinowitz reports. http://www.wksu.org/news/story/26177 Tue, 31 Aug 2010 09:48:07 -0400 Amanda Rabinowitz Ohio The national Center for the History of Psychology is in Akron. Who knew? Not that many people. That's one reason why the Smithsonian-affiliated archive and museum is moving into a big new home. WKSU's Tim Rudell reports. WKSU's Tim Rudell and Christopher Wallis report. http://www.wksu.org/news/story/26169 Tue, 31 Aug 2010 00:00:00 -0400 Tim Rudell and Christopher Wallis Science and Technology The alliance also wants immunity for people who call 9-1-1 when they've witnessed an overdose. WKSU's Jo Ingles reports. http://www.wksu.org/news/story/26176 Mon, 30 Aug 2010 17:38:10 -0400 Jo Ingles Health and Medicine State Auditor Mary Taylor says the Ohio Lottery Commission is -- for the most part -- doing things right. The agency had nearly $2.5 billion in sales in the year ending in June and is in sound financial shape. But Republicans have questioned how the lottery is running, and Taylor launched the review over the objections of the agency. She is the running mate of Republican gubernatorial candidate John Kasich. But her audit includes no findings against the lottery, and endorses the lottery's switch to a new vendor and its process to evaluate vendors. And it says, overall the lottery is well run. Taylor does say it could save money by cutting 30 staff positions and closing two regional offices. WKSU's M.L. Schultze reports. http://www.wksu.org/news/story/26175 Mon, 30 Aug 2010 17:31:47 -0400 M.L. Schultze Ohio A legal opinion issued today says the Cuyahoga County Boards of Revision should redo thousands of property tax assessments affecting hundreds of millions of dollars in property values. All are linked to so-called "closed-door" rulings that never had a legal basis. WKSU's Kevin Niedermier reports on the opinion provided by a Columbus tax attorney...... WKSU's Kevin Niedermier reports. http://www.wksu.org/news/story/26174 Mon, 30 Aug 2010 17:03:06 -0400 Kevin Niedermier Government The new legal opinion says those 16,000 people will have to be offered new hearings to challenge county auditors' assessments of their properties. Cuyahoga County Commissioner Peter Lawson Jones said the county will do whatever it needs to do to expedite hearings. WKSU's M.L. Schultze reports. http://www.wksu.org/news/story/26172 Mon, 30 Aug 2010 16:50:55 -0400 M.L. Schultze Ohio The City of Akron has reached a tentative deal with another of its five unions. The Civil Service Personnel Association will be voting on the package Wednesday. It represents about 350 clerical and administrative workers. And it is the only one of the city's unions that agreed to concessions this year and last year. The concessions include furloughs, a wage freeze and a delay in longevity pay. Yet the union was still facing layoffs when its contract expires next month. The two sides have been negotiating since December. Akron has already reached deals -- including concessions -- with its firefighters and service workers unions. It's gone to fact-finding with police and nurses. WKSU's M.L. Schultze reports. http://www.wksu.org/news/story/26171 Mon, 30 Aug 2010 15:50:41 -0400 M.L. Schultze Government Former Cleveland Indians star Manny Ramirez is expected to be back on the field in Cleveland tonight -- but this time wearing a White Sox uniform. The Dodgers are trading Ramirez to Chicago to finish out the final 32 games of the season. The White Sox are hoping he'll help the team's fading hopes of clinching the American League Central Division. Ramirez debuted with the Indians in 1993 and stayed with the team for seven years, where he set the Indians' single-season record for RBIs at 164. Ramirez went from Cleveland to Boston and then spent parts of the last three seasons with the Los Angeles. WKSU's M.L. Schultze reports. http://www.wksu.org/news/story/26170 Mon, 30 Aug 2010 15:14:40 -0400 M.L. Schultze Sports Employees at the Worker's Compensation Council have settled a religious discrimination lawsuit Authorities have found more than 40,000 pot plants in Ohio this month Two new research vessels being built for the Great Lakes Science Center are expected to help strengthen research on Lake Erie WKSU's Amanda Rabinowitz reports. http://www.wksu.org/news/story/26168 Mon, 30 Aug 2010 09:56:33 -0400 Amanda Rabinowitz Ohio About 400 Chrysler dealers, including those from Ohio, are gathering in Detroit today to try to decide if they want to start selling Fiat and Alfa brands. Fiat became the dominant partner of Chrysler when the automaker went into bankruptcy last year, and plans return to the U.S. market in December with its subcompact Fiat 500. Among those in Detroit is Chuck Eddy of Austintown, who told The Detroit News he needs to know more about what Fiat will require in the way of facilities, staffing, capitalization and marketing. WKSU's M.L. Schultze reports. http://www.wksu.org/news/story/26167 Mon, 30 Aug 2010 09:01:50 -0400 M.L. Schultze Economy and Business An Ohio EPA task force says water quality in western Lake Erie has taken a dramatic turn for the worse this past decade after years of improvement. Phosphorus from agricultural runoff is blamed for toxic blooms of blue-green that endanger humans, fish and wildlife. Outbreaks this year led to warnings being posted in East Harbor, near Sandusky, and more than a dozen inland lakes advising visitors to avoid the water. The EPA's Linda Merchant-Masonbrink says we need to better understand how phosphorus moves from the land into the watershed. But she says funding for testing is limited with with the EPA looking at only about a dozen lakes. She's disappointed that after years of success, meeting clean water standards is once again a challenge - "everything improved so much in the 90's, and now we're back to where we started really in the 70's." The EPA Phosphorus Task Force recommends changes to agricultural practices to reduce runoff. They say farmers need to limit the amount of phosphorus-based fertilizers used, and to adjust the time of year they're applied. WKSU's Jeff St. Clair reports. http://www.wksu.org/news/story/26166 Mon, 30 Aug 2010 05:34:57 -0400 Jeff St. Clair Environment Ohio is getting 400 million dollars in federal "Race to the Top" money, including about 30 million dollars for Cleveland and nearly 10 million dollars for Akron. Education officials are now planning on how to spend that money. WKSU's Karen Kasler reports. http://www.wksu.org/news/story/26159 Mon, 30 Aug 2010 00:00:00 -0400 Karen Kasler Education The Ohio Department of Transportation wants more than 11 million dollars in federal funds to begin preparing for electric cars. ODOT is seeking a share of the 600 million dollars the U.S. Department of Transportation has set aside for innovative programs across the nation. If approved, Ohio will use the money to buy nearly 140 electric vehicles for universities and other public and private institutions. It will also set up nearly 900 charging stations across the state. Scott Varner, ODOT's deputy director, says his department is the first leading a unified effort towards an electric future. Chris Wallis reports. http://www.wksu.org/news/story/26153 Mon, 30 Aug 2010 00:00:00 -0400 Chris Wallis Environment The Joffrey Ballet returns to Blossom after a successful concert last season, which marked the first ballet at the summer home of the Cleveland Orchestra in three decades. WKSU's Vivian Goodman reports. http://www.wksu.org/news/story/26051 Mon, 30 Aug 2010 00:00:00 -0400 Vivian Goodman Arts and Entertainment Low levels of bacteria causing algae blooms across the state have been found in treated public drinking water in Ottawa county. That water is drawn from Lake Erie. The Ohio Environmental Protection Agency tested eleven public drinking water systems, and found small amounts of microcystin, the algae toxin that could harm the liver, in two of the water supplies. The amounts found are well below World Health Organization guidelines. And consumption advisories have not been put into effect. Chris Wallis reports. http://www.wksu.org/news/story/26165 Fri, 27 Aug 2010 17:35:25 -0400 Chris Wallis Environment Visitors seem to be flocking to Wingfoot Lake despite a toxic algae alert. WKSU's Tim Rudell reports on the first full day of public access to Ohio's newest state park. WKSU's Tim Rudell reports. http://www.wksu.org/news/story/26164 Fri, 27 Aug 2010 16:51:35 -0400 Tim Rudell Environment Attorney General Richard Cordray explained that monitoring sex offenders is a daunting job for local law enforcement officials. WKSU's Jo Ingles reports. http://www.wksu.org/news/story/26162 Fri, 27 Aug 2010 15:21:02 -0400 Jo Ingles Ohio The Cleveland schools have moved from "academic watch" to "continuous improvement" in the latest state report card. It's the equivalent of achieving a "C" on the state's 26 standards which include test scores, attendance and graduation rates. WKSU's Kevin Niedermier reports, that as the district enters this school year under its' sweeping transformation plan, administrators hope to keep up the momentum. WKSU's Kevin Niedermier reports. http://www.wksu.org/news/story/26161 Fri, 27 Aug 2010 15:14:04 -0400 Kevin Niedermier Education This year marks the first time since 1998 that there has been an open seat in the US Senate to represent Ohio, so it was always thought that the contest to win that seat would be aggressive and expensive. Ohio Republican Party chairman Kevin DeWine and Ohio Democratic Party chairman Chris Redfern talk about the race to replace Sen. George Voinovich, and some of the other critical contests on this fall's ballot. WKSU's Karen Kasler reports. http://www.wksu.org/news/story/26160 Fri, 27 Aug 2010 15:07:12 -0400 Karen Kasler Politics The number of Ohio school districts earning "D" and "F" ratings stayed the same last year, compared to the previous year. However, those earning "A" ratings increased 40%. The school grades are determined by 26 factors, including attendance and graduation rates. WKSU's Bill Cohen reports. http://www.wksu.org/news/story/26158 Fri, 27 Aug 2010 13:45:42 -0400 Bill Cohen Education The Cleveland Museum of Art's trustees took almost a year to pick the new director they named yesterday. David Franklin is deputy director of the National Gallery of Canada and known for his scholarship in Italian Renaissance and baroque art. He comes to CMA in the midst of its $350 million renovation and expansion program scheduled for completion in 2013. He says he's not a "builder-director" and doesn't need to be since Rafael Vinoly's architectural plans are set and construction is well underway. But he's excited about hearing from the community about the final phase which includes an enormous glass atrium. And he's planning exhibitions to draw international attention and culminate at the museum's centennial in 2016. WKSU's Vivian Goodman reports. http://www.wksu.org/news/story/26156 Fri, 27 Aug 2010 13:06:14 -0400 Vivian Goodman Cleveland Museum of Art hires eighth director Traficant supporters get a chance Monday to prove he has enough valid signatures Deal to sell minority share of the Cavs to Chinese investment group is dead WKSU's Jeff St. Clair reports. http://www.wksu.org/news/story/26155 Fri, 27 Aug 2010 09:30:26 -0400 Jeff St. Clair Ohio Hot dogs and baseball have a long history. On Thursday, Progressive Field made room for another kind of dog with its first-ever Puppypalooza. WKSU's Kabir Bhatia has more. WKSU's Kabir Bhatia reports. http://www.wksu.org/news/story/26154 Fri, 27 Aug 2010 06:13:42 -0400 Kabir Bhatia Lifestyle