WKSU News: Two more UA athletic director candidates drop out

Thursday, August 13, 2015 Two more UA athletic director candidates drop out Top headlines: G.R.E.A.T. looks to bring and retain more international students to Ohio; Nearly 200 apply to be on Cleveland's police-community relations commission by WKSU's AMANDA RABINOWITZ and CORY YORK	Morning Edition Host Amanda Rabinowitz

Morning headlines on Thursday, August 12, 2015:

Two more UA athletic director candidates drop out

G.R.E.A.T. looks to bring and retain more international students to Ohio

Nearly 200 apply for Cleveland police-community relations commission

Eight counties in western Ohio declared natural disaster areas

ResponsibleOhio gets approval for pot legalization ballot issue

Ohio receives $600,000 to help low-income kids take tests

Indians to do more renovations, consider new scoreboard

Judge turns down NEXUS pipeline's request for restraining order

Two more UA athletic director candidates drop out
Two more candidates for athletic director have withdrawn from consideration at the University of Akron. The Beacon Journal reports that Tony Hernandez from University of Miami in Florida and University of Maryland's Kelly Mehrtens have decided to pass on the job. Brian Wickstrom, from the University of Louisiana at Monroe, also pulled out of the running this week, citing concerns about the university's massive budget deficit and recent cuts, including the baseball team.

G.R.E.A.T. looks to bring and retain more international students to Ohio
The state of Ohio has launched an initiative to help bring in more international college students and encourage them to stay local after graduation. Global Reach to Engage Academic Talent or G.R.E.A.T. for short, aims to increase Ohio's share of international college students from 4.1 percent to 6 percent, which officials say would generate an estimated $1.2 billion for the state and support 17,000 jobs. The initiative will promote the state as a global destination for post-secondary education.

Nearly 200 apply for Cleveland police-community relations commission
Nearly 200 people have applied to be on Cleveland’s new commission aimed to improve relations between police and the community. The applicants, listed on the selection panel's website on Wednesday, include activists, religious leaders, politicians, attorneys and others. The Commission is part of an agreement between the city and the U.S. Justice Department after a blistering report showed police routinely use excessive force. The city has until September 10 to appoint the 13-member commission and a monitor.

Eight counties in western Ohio declared natural disaster areas
Eight western Ohio counties have been designated as natural disaster areas after months of heavy rain and flooding. The U.S. Department of Agriculture tag means farmers there can seek federal assistance including emergency loans. They also can get guidance on applying from local Farm Service Agency offices. The counties are Butler, Darke, Defiance, Hamilton, Mercer, Paulding, Preble and Van Wert.

ResponsibleOhio gets approval for pot legalization ballot issue
The state's elections chief says Ohio voters will have the chance to decide this fall whether marijuana should be legalized for medicinal and recreational use. Secretary of State Jon Husted says ResponsibleOhio's legalization proposal met the state's signature requirements to qualify for the November 3rd ballot. Organizers had initially fallen short of valid signatures.

Ohio receives $600,000 to help low-income kids take tests
Ohio is the recipient of about $600,000 in a federal education grant to help low-income students take advanced-placement exams. Ohio was one of 38 states to receive a slice of the U.S. Department of Education money. The grants are used to help pay for the students to take approved tests to get them into advanced-placement classes at their schools.

Indians to do more renovations, consider new scoreboard
The Indians are getting set to kick into phase two of renovations to Progressive Field. The second phase will focus on adding more local concessions, building a new club behind home plate for season ticket holders and opening up the concourse. Private funds will pay to remove a large section of seats along the third-base line. The stadium's non-profit landlord, Gateway Corporation will vote on the proposal later this month.

The Indians could be the latest team to get a new scoreboard. The Plain Dealer reports Progressive Field's non-profit landlord -- Gateway Economic Development Corporation -- has approved a $16 million request to update the scoreboard above the left field bleachers. It still has to be approved by the city and Cuyahog County. Both the Cavs and Browns installed new scoreboards last year.

Judge turns down NEXUS pipeline's request for restraining order
Summit Common Pleas Court Judge Margaret Rowlands has turned down a natural gas pipeline’s request for temporary restraining orders to force unwilling landowners to let company surveyors onto their property. NEXUS was seeking the orders against owners of 56 parcels of land in southern Summit County. Rowlands said no to the request and set an October 26th trial date for Nexus to argue for a permanent injunction giving it access to the properties. The 36-inch NEXUS natural gas transmission line is proposed to run from Columbiana County through a dozen other northern Ohio Counties to Michigan and then Canada.