The City Club of Cleveland Podcast

More than 22 million Americans have lost their jobs since the onset of the pandemic. As a result, in early January, American households were $40 billion behind in utility bills and $32 billion in rental arrears. A stimulus package that earmarked $25 billion in rent and utility assistance helped some as did a federal moratorium on evictions, issued first by the Centers of Disease Control, followed...

Alexei Navalny, an anti-corruption investigator and Russian President Vladimir V. Putin's most prominent critic, is determined to challenge the authoritarian leader and change Russia\'s political system. He was arrested on January 17 upon returning from Germany, where he spent five months recovering from a nerve-agent poisoning that he blames on the Kremlin. Putin has denied being involved. Navaln...

Right now, the United States is experiencing a period of unprecedented social upheaval and a racial reckoning - partially caused by the coronavirus pandemic - that is forcing us to confront vulnerabilities in the economic system. The economic chaos created by the pandemic illuminated the deep economic and occupational inequities that have persisted for decades, resulting in a hollowed-out middle c...

In 2021, Cleveland faces a mayoral election. Leading up to the primary, the City Club will be speaking with candidates seeking the city\'s highest office.\r\n\r\nWith more than 35 years of experience as a nationally recognized attorney, Dick Knoth has developed expertise in governance, complex business matters, and intellectual property.\r\n\r\nBeyond his experience as trusted counsel, Knoth has m...

9to5: The Story of Movement is the latest film from Academy Award-winning documentary filmmakers Julia Reichert and Steve Bognar. The film chronicles the previously untold story of the founding of 9to5, an organization started by a group of secretaries in Boston in 1972 in response to rampant discrimination, unfair pay, lack of upward mobility, and sexual harassment in the workplace.\r\n\r\nTheir...

In March, the Urban Land Institute Cleveland and the City of Cleveland will present a virtual symposium, Building a 21st Century City: The Future is Now!. The Symposium will focus on how Cleveland can embrace advances in technology, mobility, and economic inclusiveness to result in a more competitive and smarter city, ready for the changing technology of the 21st century.\r\n\r\nNew Jersey has eme...

In 2016, the United Nations declared internet access a human right. Making the internet as a public utility has been discussed for decades, and the call to finally make the move to provide access to all was felt like never before at the onset of the COVID-19 shutdowns.\r\n\r\nNearly 15 percent of American homes have no internet access. Advocates of the push for internet as a public utility say lac...

\"The opposite of poverty is not wealth. The opposite of poverty is justice," Bryan Stevenson, Founder and Executive Director of the Equal Justice Initiative.\r\n\r\nThe COVID-19 pandemic has proved devastating for many across the country, but due to disinvestment and systemic policies, African Americans and communities of color have been disproportionately affected.\r\n\r\nAs Cleveland Public Lib...

Over the past four years, former President Donald J. Trump elicited unprecedented loyalty from his base and also managed to maintain a tight grip on many Republican lawmakers. Many Republicans stood by Trump throughout his presidency and if they rebuked him, they did so in private. In many cases, voters demanded loyalty to Trump, and lawmakers stood by him for four years to ensure their own reelec...

In 2021, Cleveland faces a mayoral election. Leading up to the primary, the City Club will be speaking with candidates seeking the city\'s highest office.\r\n\r\nJustin Bibb is a Cleveland native who grew up in Mt. Pleasant on the southeast side of the city. He currently serves as the Chief Strategy Officer of Urbanova, a start-up focused on solving the unique challenges faced by midsized cities.\...

We all benefit when everyone has the opportunity to pursue their educational dreams, and education is often called the great equalizer. However, it can be argued that the current system stacks the deck in favor of advantaged students. At the same time, government funding for public colleges and universities is flat or falling, and public funding for need-based aid in states like Ohio remains inade...

With both the Pfizer and Moderna COVID-19 vaccinations approved and ready for distribution, it would appear that the United States is finally reaching the beginning of the end of the pandemic. However, decisions regarding the COVID-19 vaccination distribution process

On December 11, 2020, the Northeast Ohio Areawide Coordinating Agency (NOACA) adopted a new policy prioritizing racial and economic equity when making regional decisions about highway interchanges. NOACA is the first metropolitan planning organization (MPO) in the state to require this level of analysis for proposed highway interchange projects. Previously, decisions were made primarily focused on...

On January 6, 2021, supporters of President Trump violently stormed the Capitol after attending a rally on the National Mall where Trump furiously defended his belief that the election had been \"stolen\" from him. Five people died. Many saw it as inevitable, a cumulation of four years of President Trump and his administration testing the invisible boundaries of American democracy. Others called i...

Across the globe, young girls face innumerable challenges when it comes to education. Girls are four times as likely to be out of school than boys from the same background and, in 2016, an estimated 61 million girls were not receiving an education at all. When the COVID-19 pandemic struck it disrupted the education of girls, pulling many out of school to care for sick family members or to join the...

Four years ago, as President Barack Obama was preparing to leave office, the United States Supreme Court looked radically different than it does today.\r\n\r\nSince he's been in office, President Donald J. Trump has appointed a record three new justices to the highest court in the land-Justice Neil Gorsuch in 2017, Justice Brett Kavanaugh in 2018 and finally, Justice Amy Coney Barrett in late 2020...

One of the hallmarks of American democracy is the peaceful transition of power between Presidents. Since President Joseph Biden was declared president-elect, that transition has been anything but peaceful. Violence has shocked the country to its very core. Social media companies stripped President Trump and many of his staunchest supporters of their accounts. What can the new administration do to...

Working a summer job teaches young people communication skills and fiscal responsibility, and introduces them to the basics of business. However, youth summer jobs also have the potential to improve educational outcomes and disrupt cycles of economic inequality and crime. All members of the workforce have felt the impacts of COVID-19, but those who were already most at risk were disproportionately...

In late 2019, Cuyahoga County Council passed legislation creating the formation of the Citizens\' Advisory Council on Equity. For the last several months, the Council has worked on proposed changes to County policies, procurement, structure of County government, and the Cuyahoga County Code. Panel discusses Part II of our series on the work of the Citizens\' Advisory Council on Equity as four of t...

America's legacy cities, once drivers of industry and wealth, have developed unique cultures of grit and innovation to try to overcome major obstacles like changing industries and government policies that steer investments away from communities of color. How do we confront racist systems that drive deep inequities in public health, safety, and access to opportunity in these unique American cities?...

Governmental ethics, transparency, and accountability took center stage a few months ago when Speaker of the Ohio House of Representatives Larry Householder was discovered to have accepted a $60 million bribe from FirstEnergy in exchange for passing HB 6, a $1.3 billion bailout for the struggling nuclear power operator. Common Cause Ohio, the League of Women Voters, and the City Club are partnerin...

Enrique Pe?alosa has spent much of his career advocating for sustainable mobility and quality of life in cities. During his two terms as Mayor of Bogota, Pe?alosa implemented a city model that promoted equity, respect for human dignity, and gave priority to public pedestrian spaces. Mr. Pe?alosa discusses how he advanced equity for all residents through thoughtful transportation planning and urban...

Over the last few years, city mayors and leaders across the United States have been investing in technological solutions to address their residents' most pressing needs, everything from public health and safety to smart mobility to expanded internet access. Two distinguished scholars and recipients of the prestigious Marconi Prize discuss legacy and emerging technologies and how they can be used t...

For nearly 25 years, Ohio lawmakers have been working on a plan to overhaul the way the state\'s public schools are funded. In early November, Senator Peggy Lehner (R-Kettering) and Senator Vernon Sykes (D-Akron) introduced the bipartisan Fair School Funding Plan (Senate Bill 376), a companion bill to the previously introduced House Bill 305. The plan aims to keep local tax dollars in school distr...

There is no institution more critical in the fight for racial equity than education. Yet, our education system remains subject to the very ailments that perpetuate structures of inequity and exclusion. Recently, the Ohio State Board of Education passed a resolution to "condemn racism and advance equity and opportunity for Black students, Indigenous students, and students of color." Statewide leade...