What Happened Now? A Cleveland Newsletter Issue 695: November 20, 2024

"What Happened Now?" is a lively roundup and analysis of the top stories of the day in Northeast Ohio from News 5's Joe Donatelli. It’s like getting the news from a friend who says not everyone should be on Facebook. Subscribe Here.

Another local official cannot resist posting his feelings on social media: A few weeks ago, it was the Portage County sheriff dehumanizing illegal immigrants. Now, it’s the mayor of University Heights, where city council members have censured Mayor Michael Dylan Brennan after a Facebook post that was critical of residents who voted for Donald Trump, as well as certain council members, reports Kaylee Olivas.

• Trump is already breaking people’s brains, and he’s not even in office yet. It’s perfectly reasonable for a local politician to have strong feelings about who wields power. But when you voice those concerns in a way that’s divisive to the community you serve … at the cost of your reputation … when you have nothing to gain from sharing your feelings … you can’t be surprised when half your community is massively disappointed in the choices you’re making. 

Climate Change: Farmers don’t want to hear the words. Conservatives say it’s bunk. Some Democrats have stopped talking about it. That’s why climate change is out. And “soil health” is in, reports Ideastream.

The top reason why ballots were rejected in Cuyahoga County in the November election: The voter was not registered, reports Signal Cleveland. Sigh. Big Sigh. The No. 2 reason was no/improper ID. Ceaseless Sighing Sounds

The Cavs finally lost: But they gave Boston a game in the second half. 

Well deserved: After his debut season, Cleveland Guardians manager Stephen Vogt has been named the AL Manager of the Year. Credit to the Guardians for replacing a Hall of Fame manager with the guy voted best in the league. 

Stipe Miocic pens farewell letter to fans: He lost his last bout but not his sense of perspective. “What an incredible way go out! I started this journey fighting in local bowling alleys & ended it selling out Madison Square Garden. It truly doesn’t get batter than that.” An epic run for Eastlake North’s own. Read it all.

What would mass deportations do to Ohio’s economy? It would be disruptive, I said, asking the word disruptive to do a lot of work in this sentence. The Ohio Capital Journal has a story on the possible impacts:

• Who: Immigrants in Ohio are taxpayers, consumers, business owners, doctors, software developers, professors, cooks, health care workers, and college students.
• Costs: An AEI/Brookings/Niskanen study reports a massive reduction in the number of immigrants in the United States would cost the country 0.1 to 0.4 percentage points in GDP in 2025. In Ohio, weighted for Ohio’s foreign-born population, that would mean somewhere between $330 million and $1.3 billion in lost gross state product. 
• Invisible costs: What decisions local law enforcement make around prioritization could have a significant impact on Ohio’s economy. Municipal police departments, sheriff offices, and the state highway patrol will have to decide how much to defer their work from policing violent crimes and property crimes to carry out federal immigration policy. 

There is only one way out, and it is through your wallet: The Ohio Police and Fire Pension Fund (OP&F) needs more money, or it will need to cut benefits. Two Republican state reps have introduced a bill to increase employer contributions from cities to the fund. The problem: that solution may bankrupt cities, reports Morgan Trau. Where do cities get money from? You can see where this is going. 

Atlas Obscura names Ohio a place to visit in 2025: These are some very nice words from a very cool travel guide – “Imagine a U.S. state with islands, white sand beaches, astounding cave systems, and peaceful nature trails. Imagine that same state is home to spine-tingling urban legends, one of the best amusement parks in the world, historic marketplaces, and a free art museum with a collection to rival the Met’s. Lucky for us, this isn’t a fictional wonderland: Welcome to Ohio, the Midwest’s overlooked gem.” Some cool destinations on this list.