Kabir Bhatia

The effects of the coronavirus are being felt everywhere from our region's parks to small businesses. This week we're answering listener questions on a range of topics being impacted by the virus.

Several of Cleveland’s most well-known arts institutions are adapting operations to connect with people during the coronavirus pandemic.

Life as we knew it in Northeast Ohio has been grinding to a halt because of the coronavirus. You’ve been asking WKSU’s OH Really? about everything from risk factors to home remedies. We've been gathering answers to your questions about the virus.

Summit County Public Health is adjusting to life with coronavirus, and it’s impacting the agency’s staffing.

The health department has issued 26 layoff notices, many for clerical positions or for people who worked face-to-face with the public.

Summit County Public Health Commissioner Donna Skoda says about half the agency’s 200 staffmembers have been reassigned to work on the response to coronavirus.

Kent State University President Todd Diacon says the school will refund students’ room and board this semester. In a Thursday Facebook Live session, Diacon outlined Kent’s response to the Coronavirus pandemic. He says the refunds could cost the university about $12 million.

The news of how the coronavirus is affecting Northeast Ohio is changing daily. One week ago, only a few dozen tests had been conducted in the state. And schools, bars, restaurants and sporting events were all operating as usual. As of this past weekend, all of that has changed. 

Beginning at 11 a.m. Saturday Cleveland Clinic patients will be able to have a drive-through COVID-19 test with a doctor's order. 

The Clinic and University Hospitals (UH) announced Saturday morning that they are partnering to offer the service to the community.

Drive through testing with a doctor's order will be available Monday for UH patients. 

The testing site will be open seven days a week from 11 a.m.-7 p.m. It is located in the garage of the jointly-owned W. O. Walker Building in University Circle, 10524 Euclid Avenue, Cleveland.

The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame is postponing its 2020 inductions amid concerns over Coronavirus.

The ceremony had been slated to take place May 2 in Cleveland. Ticket holders will still be able to attend once a new date is set. An email is being sent to outline the procedures for refunds.

Rock Hall CEO Greg Harris says, in the meantime, fans can connect with the past 35 years' worth of inductees through a new website.

To paraphrase a quote from the 1990s sitcom "NewsRadio": Winter in Northeast Ohio is the best seven months of the year.  But that may not be true in the future. The four warmest winters on record occurred in the past decade.  This edition of WKSU’s OH Really? answers a listener question about how climate change might affect Northeast Ohio in the future.

A Kent State University student who returned to the U.S. amid Coronavirus concerns is disappointed that her study abroad program was cut short.  But she hopes to someday return to Italy.

There’s just one weekend left to get a taste of maple sugaring in the Cleveland MetroParks. The climate in Northeast Ohio makes it ideal for collecting sap from maple trees.

Cleveland City Council is considering an ordinance that would declare racism to be a public health crisis. Councilman Blaine Griffin says it’s the first step toward addressing how racism affects society.

Lori Lightfoot is the mayor of the third largest city in the country, but she grew up in Massillon and often speaks about its influence on her. Lightfoot returned to Stark County over the weekend to speak at the Urban League’s Black and White Ball. She touched on an array of subjects from her hometown to Super Tuesday and even who she's rooting for to get into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.  

Two Northeast Ohio universities are bringing home students studying abroad amid the ongoing threat of coronavirus.

The Centers For Disease Control has issued a Level 3 warning for travelers to Italy, meaning all non-essential travel is to be avoided.

So Walsh University in Canton has made arrangements to bring back students studying outside of Rome after just one week of what had been an eight-week trip. They're expected to return to Canton Monday night.

Nine Akron couples took a major leap over the weekend. They got married on Leap Day at a historic spot not usually open for weddings.

Canton City Council will decide Monday night whether to accept about $59,000 from the U.S. Department of Justice for new police body cameras.

The cameras will replace existing units that are almost five years old. The package also includes software that is more technologically advanced. Department spokesman Lt. Dennis Garren says it will make it easier to edit videos.

Officials with the Downtown Akron Partnership are excited about a project that will add even more apartments to the city and preserve an historic building.

The CitiCenter Building opened in 1931 as the Akron YWCA. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1982.

Suzie Graham with the Downtown Akron Partnership says preserving historic buildings – while also adding living space – is crucial for the city.

Akron officials are taking a “deep dive” into how they spend, and are finding that minority-owned businesses are not getting a fair shake when it comes to city contracts. That’s according to Mayor Dan Horrigan, who told the crowd at his annual State of the City address that the city also wants to hire a more diverse workforce.

About 60,000 drivers pass through northern Summit County on Route 8 each day. For the past year, a $58 million reconstruction project has closed a third of the expressway. The roadwork was delayed last week, but is expected to begin Monday night.

A landmark Cleveland restaurant that opened in the late 1920s and has charged the same prices for decades is getting ready to call it quits. When the owners of Old Fashion Hot Dogs retire next month, they may take a 92-year old recipe with them.

The Cuyahoga Falls Parks & Recreation Department is putting together a Continuous Improvement Plan for the first time in 20 years. And officials are asking for input from residents – and from people in neighboring communities.

A bill that would give Ohio employers up to $25,000 in tax credits for training truck drivers has passed the state House and is on its way to the Senate.

State Rep. Reggie Stoltzfus (R-Paris Twp) from Stark County authored the bill, and says he’s seen first-hand in his manufacturing business how a lack of drivers can delay shipments. 

Futsal combines soccer-like play on a basketball-like court with baseball-like scores. A semi-professional league known as the National Futsal Premier League came into existence in 2008. This year, Akron has joined the league with The Vulcans. At this point, they’re 5-and-1 on the season.

The Akron-Canton Regional Food Bank has announced an $11.5 million plan to expand operations in Akron and build a new facility in Canton.

The majority of the “Growing For Good” campaign will go towards a new building near downtown Canton, slated for construction this spring on the former site of a Fishers supermarket. In Akron, they’ll add refrigeration space and storage. CEO Dan Flowers says currently, they sometimes have to turn away donations of fresh fruits and vegetables.