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Ohio: Elyria

June 1, 2009 - 01:24 pm
NEWS FEED: Columbus Dispatch

Inmate to die for burning woman to death in trunk

Daniel Wilson let Lutz out briefly before he ordered her back in the trunk, set the gas tank on fire and left her to die.

It was the second time Wilson walked away from someone who would die as a result of his actions.

Wilson, now 39, faces execution Wednesday for Lutz' 1991 death in Elyria, west of Cleveland.

Wilson has asked Gov. Ted Strickland for mercy, although the Ohio Parole Board has recommended that Strickland not grant clemency.

The Ohio Supreme Court on Friday rejected Wilson's latest request to delay his execution.

Events leading to Lutz's death began May 3, 1991, when she went with an old boyfriend and Wilson, whom she had recently met, to the Empire Tavern in Elyria.

Read More at Columbus Dispatch >
There have been 95 comments posted in response to this story.

June 1, 2009 - 01:24 pm
NEWS FEED: Columbus Dispatch

More payday-lending ammo readied

By Jim Siegel

More than 600 payday-lending stores have closed since lawmakers voted to end the business model that allowed them to charge the equivalent of a 391 percent annual interest rate on a two-week loan. Instead, lawmakers tried to limit the rate to 28 percent.

More than 900 payday-lending stores remain in Ohio, and some lawmakers and consumer advocates say the stores are skirting the intent of the new law by using alternative licenses to continue charging fees that bring them close to the 391 percent interest rate.

Rep. Matt Lundy expects to introduce a bill this week that would cap interest at 28 percent for all loans of up to $1,000 made for a term of three months or less, regardless of what license the lender is using.

Read More at Columbus Dispatch >
There have been 40 comments posted in response to this story.

March 8, 2009 - 07:14 am
NEWS FEED: Cleveland Plain Dealer

Ohio stimulus project proposals underscore infrastructure problems

By Karen Farkas

Search for proposals in your community and thousands of others across the state

Ancient water mains, crumbling roads and bridges, undersized sewer systems spewing waste into waterways.

The extent of Northeast Ohio's aging and neglected infrastructure are painfully apparent in thousands of requests for federal stimulus money that have been submitted by cities, counties and agencies.

Two failing retaining walls on Wiese Road near Riverview Road in Brecksville are considered potentially dangerous for vehicles, pedestrians and bicyclists who visit the Cuyahoga Valley National Park.

An 70-year-old water main in Lyndhurst is causing extremely low pressure at hydrants on Bridgewater Road.

Faulty septic tanks in Kirtland in Lake County could be replaced with a pumping station that would reduce the amount of pollution going into the Chagrin River.

Read More at Cleveland Plain Dealer >
There have been 27 comments posted in response to this story.

February 27, 2009 - 06:08 am
NEWS FEED: Cleveland Plain Dealer

CMHA will receive $35 million in economic-stimulus money

By Tom Feran

Who gets what

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development has provided $417 million in economic stimulus money to Ohio for public housing and other community projects. Here is a breakdown of community block grant awards to Northeast Ohio communities and counties:

Akron, $1,824,341; Cleveland, $6,409,225; Cleveland Heights, $467,840; Cuyahoga County, $1,013,462; Cuyahoga Falls, $189,270; East Cleveland, $299,972; Elyria, $179,686; Euclid, $281,140; Kent, $81,024; Lake County, $375,584; Lakewood, $589,901; Lorain, $328,220; Mentor, $47,861; Parma, $264,096; Summit County, $275,269.

Source: U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development

The Cuyahoga Metropolitan Housing Authority will receive $35 million in economic-stimulus money -- one of the five largest allocations given to a housing agency in the nation.

Read More at Cleveland Plain Dealer >
There have been 27 comments posted in response to this story.

February 20, 2009 - 08:03 am
NEWS FEED: Columbus Dispatch

Fixing payday-loan law is legislators' job, state says

By Jim Siegel

Some had hoped that the commerce department, which regulates the payday-lending industry in Ohio, could act on its own to stop payday stores from charging higher rates for short-term loans than was envisioned last year under the state's new payday-lending law. House Bill 545 capped the annual interest rate at 28 percent.

Lenders are getting around the new law, which was affirmed overwhelmingly by voters in November, by offering short-term loans under Ohio's Small Loan Act. Many are then adding fees for credit checks or for cashing the check they just issued, raising the cost of the loan closer to the 391 percent interest rate that the General Assembly tried to eliminate.

Read More at Columbus Dispatch >
There have been 32 comments posted in response to this story.

February 8, 2009 - 04:45 am
NEWS FEED: Cleveland Plain Dealer

Unemployment hits nearly every area in Ohio, analysis of new claims finds

By Reginald Fields

• Find the three-year unemployment trend for each place in Ohio at cleveland.com/datacentral

But that figure alone doesn't reveal just how deep and far-reaching the pain has become for Ohio's workers.

A Plain Dealer analysis of new unemployment claims by ZIP code shows that almost without exception, people in every community in every part of the state are crying out for help. In some areas, the rise in requests for state aid is jaw-dropping.

In the fourth quarter of 2008, new unemployment claims rose in 98 percent of the ZIP codes over the same period in 2006, according to the newspaper's analysis of state data.

Read More at Cleveland Plain Dealer >
There have been 29 comments posted in response to this story.