Sound of Ideas

Gun violence tends to surge during the summer months, and though gun violence in Cleveland dropped by 24% from 2023 to 2024, the city's latest available data, children are still most at risk to die by gun violence. Firearms have been the leading cause of death in teens and children nationwide since 2020. Many major cities around Northeast Ohio have invested a lot into their efforts to reduce gun v...

Attorney General Dave Yost reflects on 25 years in Ohio politics This is Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost's final week in office. He announced last month he is stepping down to take a job as the vice president of strategy for the Christian, conservative legal group, the Alliance Defending Freedom. Yost could not run for re-election to the attorney general office because of term limits. He planned t...

University Circle Master Plan University Circle is one of Northeast Ohio's most valuable assets, home to cultural institutions like the Cleveland Museum of Art and Severance Hall, while bringing in thousands of visitors to the region each year. But problems with the layout of the area have created barriers to visitors and residents alike. Confusing traffic patterns, as well as dangerous intersecti...

Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine has paused a sales tax break for data centers after the state Department of Taxation underestimated the cost of the exemption by nearly $1.6 billion. Cleveland is looking to invest in housing in the historically redlined East Side neighborhoods of Hough, Central and St. Clair-Superior by combining public funds and foundation money. Akron’s first civic assembly focused on hous...

Ohio Medicaid Fraud Allegations For months, there have been headlines coming out of Minnesota that millions of dollars have been taken from taxpayers through Medicaid fraud. Now, there are claims that Ohio's Medicaid system has also been taken advantage of, particularly as it relates to how individuals are providing in-home caregiving. The issue is also being politicized, with Vice President JD Va...

The World Health Organization has flagged loneliness and social isolation as a major public health concern especially for older adults. The organization says about 100 deaths per hour worldwide can be attributed to poorer health outcomes associated with loneliness. In the U.S., the over 65 demographic is growing rapidly. COVID-19 prevention measures and other factors such as financial constraints...

Cleveland is known as the birthplace of rock and roll, as in the 1950s DJ Alan Freed coined the phrase. The city is stands at the center of iconic rock moments, from The Beatles' first concert in 1964 at Cleveland Municipal Stadium, to David Bowie's 1972 Ziggy Stardust U.S. debut. The region is home to rockers like The James Gang, Devo, The Black Keys, Nine Inch Nails, and more. But with all that...

The cities of Cleveland and Brook Park settled a long-standing disagreement this week that will clear the way for the Cleveland to redevelop the I-X Center. For decades, the two cities had been involved in a dispute over land involving a never-built runway at Cleveland Hopkins International Airport. Cuyahoga County and the city's pro sports teams want to ask voters to increase the current "sin tax...

"Dangerous" and "vicious" dog law impacts animals, owners, rescue groups, dog wardens and humane officers A new Ohio law took effect in March, aiming to deal with "dangerous" and "vicious" dogs. It was inspired by a brutal attack on an 11-year-old girl named Avery Russell while she was on a playdate, and so the law is being called "Avery's Law." Avery was so badly injured that she was put into an...

Ask a Gardener Temperatures have topped out in the upper 80s this week, and with that many have begun spending more time outside in their gardens. But how should a novice green thumb approach these wild temperature swings that we've been experiencing here in Northeast Ohio? Is it too late to put seedlings in the ground? Or too early to clear away leaf cover and other debris from your beds? Wednesd...

West Side Market updates Cleveland's historic, 114-year-old West Side Market has been undergoing major change in recent years. First, it went through structural change, moving from longtime city management to nonprofit management back in 2024, something that residents and vendors had been calling for for years to improve conditions at the market. Now it's going through a major revitalization, as o...

The Class of 2025 was the largest graduating class in U.S. history, as more than 3.8 million high school seniors and 2.1 million college seniors walked across their respective commencement stages, ready to start their next adventure. For the Class of 2026, that next adventure will take place against an uncertain backdrop. Expectations are being shaped by a tough job market with high unemployment,...

Can hundreds of acres of abandoned industrial land on a neglected section of Cleveland's East Side become an economic engine, providing accessible jobs where employees can walk or bike to work on new multipurpose trails. That's the strategy behind the Midline, an ambitious redevelopment project announced this week. From aspirational development to unwanted development, namely a data center in Slav...

"Law of the Land: Changes for Marijuana" Since 1996, when California became the first state to legalize medical marijuana, there's existed a complicated legal gray area around the drug. Some states have gradually made medical and eventually recreational marijuana legal, all while the federal government still had it classified as a Schedule I drug. That's the federal classification for drugs that a...

Skin cancer prevention methods As we head into the warmer months, more of us are spending time outdoors — whether it's at the pool, on a hike or simply walking around the neighborhood. But with that sunshine comes a risk that often gets overlooked. Skin cancer is the most common cancer in the U.S., and experts say many cases are preventable with simple, consistent habits. Still, there's a lot of c...

Northeast Ohio's Bike Culture National Bike Week happens to fall at a time when many people are paying close to $5 per gallon at the gas pump. Perhaps that's a good reason to hop on two wheels and bike to work or the grocery store. Tuesday on the "Sound of Ideas," we'll explore the cycling landscape across Northeast Ohio. We'll learn about some of Cleveland's newest bike-related infrastructure pro...

They say it takes a village to raise a child, but for parents who don't already have a built-in community, it can be an isolating experience. New parenthood comes with a huge shift in a person's social life, from staying at home more, to less time talking to other adults, exhaustion from caring for an infant and possibly feelings of postpartum anxiety or depression. Establishing friendships with o...

Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost will not finish his term through the end of this year. Instead, he is joining the Alliance Defending Freedom as vice president for strategic research and innovation. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. addressed a crowd at The City Club of Cleveland last night while protesters lined the Euclid Avenue sidewalk outside. An independent review of t...

Travel Woes The price of gas in the US has seen a 50% increase since the war in Iran began back in March, with the national average sitting around $4.53/gal. That's causing headaches for Americans who are making plans for summer travel. Jet fuel prices have also been on the rise, which is leading to increased costs of airfare. Thursday on the "Sound of Ideas," we'll dig into these price increases...

Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost will not finish his term through the end of this year. Instead, he is joining the Alliance Defending Freedom as vice president for strategic research and innovation. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. addressed a crowd at The City Club of Cleveland last night while protesters lined the Euclid Avenue sidewalk outside. An independent review of t...

Why is local journalism on the decline and what can be done about it? Local journalism is on the decline across the country. Recent analysis by the nonpartisan, nonprofit group Rebuild Local News showed that the U.S. has lost three-fourths of its local journalists over the course of the past few decades. The study showed that nationwide in 2002, there were about 40 journalists for every 100,000 re...

The Browns officially broke ground on a new Brook Park football complex this week. The event drew some high-profile guests, including Gov. Mike DeWine and NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell. On the same day, planners hired a new consultant to determine how to develop the Cleveland lakefront without a stadium. Akron City Council appointed a new at-large councilmember this week to fill a vacancy left by...

"Bite Into Books" The National Endowment for the Art's "Big Read" is an opportunity for an entire literary community to read a selected title and pair that reading with programming and events tied to the themes of the book. This year, dozens of branches across the Cuyahoga County Public Library as well as the Cleveland Public Library systems read "Bite By Bite: Nourishments and Jambourees" by Aime...

Social groups help people find community and connection Nearly one in six people globally are lonely, and every year about 871,000 deaths are linked to loneliness, according to the World Health Organization. But making friends as an adult can be difficult. Social isolation spiked during the COVID-19 pandemic, and even when communities reopened, many people never fully rebuilt their social circles....

Preeclampsia Awareness Rates of the serious and sometimes deadly pregnancy condition, preeclampsia, have climbed 25% over the past two decades, yet there is little research on its cause, and no cure besides giving birth, which can lead to a difficult situation when the complication is discovered weeks or even months before the baby's due date. Preeclampsia, which causes high blood pressure, affect...