CLEVELAND, Ohio - Gov. Mike DeWine wants to double taxes on sports betting companies to raise money to build professional sports stadiums and support youth sports.
The supermajority of Republicans in the Ohio legislature does not. Why? We’re talking about who the legislators are beholden to on Today in Ohio.
Editor Chris Quinn hosts our daily half-hour news podcast, with editorial board member Lisa Garvin, impact editor Leila Atassi and content director Laura Johnston.
You’ve been sending Chris lots of thoughts and suggestions on our from-the-newsroom text account, in which he shares what we’re thinking about at cleveland.com. You can sign up here: https://joinsubtext.com/chrisquinn.
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Here’s what we’re asking about today:
Mike DeWine is not giving up on his proposal to use sports betting taxes to pay for sports stadiums, even though the Ohio Legislature is in the pockets of the industry and fighting him. What did he say Wednesday?
That this was a subject of heated debate proves how dysfunctional and in the pocket of utilities our lawmakers are, but what ended up being good news for consumers in the energy bill that passed the Ohio House on Wednesday?
Our readers say they want more stories about the local impact of Donald Trump’s executive orders, and one was aimed at fair housing grants. Donald Trump, obviously is no friend of those in need of shelter. What happened Wednesday in this matter that affects Cleveland?
Ohio has a bunch of public pension systems, but it is the teachers’ system that has most of the controversy. What’s the proposal to make it financially sound, and why is that controversial.
Last week, Ashtabula County has a single case of the measles – the first in Ohio this year – and we wondered whether it could be contained. Not so much, evidently. Do we now have a full-fledged outbreak?
It took culture warrior Jerry Cirino two years to get his bill – likely the most damaging piece of legislation in Ohio in years – to the finish line. What is the only thing standing in the way of his wrecking of higher education in the state?
The Trump administration seems bent on ending healthcare research for reasons it has never articulated, and that will have a big impact on Ohio. The federal government is not the only source of money for these medical trials, though. How much did pharmaceutical companies spend on them in Ohio in 2023, the most recent year data is available?
We wondered in this podcast at the end of last year, when news broke of the Intel Columbus plant faltering, whether Ohio would get its hundreds of millions back. DeWine spokesman Dan Tierney wrote to me to say no money had been paid, and I corrected our podcast the next day. Turns out, Tierney was full of it. The state has paid Intel hundreds of millions, and Attorney General Dave Yost told us this week what the chances are of getting it back.
Lastly, some truly awful news for greater Cleveland commuters. What is it?
More Today in Ohio
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Read the automated transcript below. Because it’s a computer-generated transcript, it contains many errors and misspellings.
Chris Quinn (00:01.127)
We thought we might be finished talking about how to finance sports stadiums in this state, but we’re not. First up on Today in Ohio, the news podcast discussion from Cleveland.com and The Plain Dealer. I’m Chris Quinn here with a smaller crew today. It’s Lisa Garvin and Lara Johnston and Lisa, you’re talking stadiums. Mike DeWine is not giving up on his proposal to use sports betting taxes to pay for them.
Even though the Ohio legislature is in the pockets of the industry and fighting him tooth and nail, what did he say Wednesday?
Lisa (00:35.438)
Yeah, he was at a luncheon yesterday at the Columbus Metropolitan Club and he forcefully defended his plan to double the sports betting tax to 40 % to fund pro sports stadiums and youth sports in Ohio. That would raise $288 million in just two years and create a permanent fund for all stadiums for pro sports.
He said in his speech that 99.5 % of online gambling money goes to out-of-state companies that don’t employ Ohioans or give to our state economy. And he says, you know, we just can’t always afford to give millions of dollars from our general fund and said, pretty much we’re crazy if we don’t do this.
So the Ohio House Finance Committee is preparing to strike that betting tax increase very soon from the budget. They say that the Republicans in the chamber are uneasy about any kind of tax increase. And DeWine isn’t saying if he’s going to do a line item veto on that when it reaches his desk.
Chris Quinn (01:32.689)
Look, this isn’t what they think of as a tax increase. A tax increase is a sales tax increase. It’s a property tax increase. It’s something like that. This is a tax on a business that has no investment in Ohio. They don’t have brick and mortar. They don’t employ anybody here. And they’re the only ones who pay it. The sports betting companies are in overdrive telling lies about how this is going to cost Ohioans money. It won’t cost them any money. Really, this is the no brainer of no brainers.
And I think it’s the best illustration we’ve ever seen about how crooked the legislature is because not doing this, the only reason you don’t do this is for bad reasons. It’s because you’re crooked somehow because it’s such an obvious win. The people who profit off of sports in Ohio will help pay for the stadiums that provide the entertainment for which their customers bet.
It’s just the clearest thing I’ve ever seen and yet these crooks in the legislature are in the pockets of these companies and they won’t do it.
Lisa (02:37.39)
Yeah, it’s pretty frustrating and they say, know, it’s a high tax and I think Ohio might be number six, but there are states ahead of us that are charging 50 % tax on sports gambling. So there you have it. And the Democrats in the chamber, including Terrence Upchurch of Cleveland, Danny Isaacson of Cincinnati and Dontavious Jarrells in Columbus, they wrote a letter of concern to their GOP colleagues. say that the, you know, the project taxes and escrow fund
probably won’t be enough to cover that $600 million state-backed bond so they’re really worried about that and they urge a thorough independent review of that plan.
Chris Quinn (03:13.373)
Well, DeWine could veto that because he clearly doesn’t like the Haslam proposal, even though it’s supposed to be paid back and they’ve put in money to pick up any shortfall. But forget the Haslam plan. This is just clear as can be. They’re making billions of dollars in a new industry of sports betting. The tax that we originally set was completely arbitrary.
So they’re acting like, this is a 300 % increase. They just made it up. They could have set that tax at whatever they wanted to start. And it’s not really a tax. No Ohioan would pay it. There was a time in this state when something was so crystal clear, people would have been screaming. It’s just like, what is wrong with you guys? Of course you’re going to do this. But we become a state of sheep. Nobody’s speaking up. And so these lawmakers run roughshod.
Lisa (03:46.618)
Mm-mm. Mm-hmm.
Chris Quinn (04:04.773)
It’s gross. They’re they’re just pigs at the trough. I mean, I can’t believe this one isn’t going to happen when the wine suggested it. The lights just went on and it was like, of course we should do this. This is the only way to get this problem taken care of forevermore. Surprise, surprise. We’ll see what he does. They have the power to override him, but you know, if he vetoes it, it brings so much attention to the crookedness of these guys that maybe some of them peel away and
Lisa (04:29.082)
Mm-hmm.
Chris Quinn (04:33.287)
then the Haslums have to get behind this instead of their original plan, which they should. You’re listening to Today in Ohio. That this was a subject of heated debate proves even more how dysfunctional in the pocket of utilities our lawmakers are. But what ended up being good news for consumers in the energy bill that passed the Ohio house on Wednesday, Laura?
Laura (04:54.894)
Well, finally, five years after we realized how corrupt HB6 was, we are getting rid of the provision in it that requires us to subsidize coal plants, including one in Indiana. This is just taking people’s money, just the customer’s money, and giving it to utilities for coal plants and outdated technology, because otherwise they wouldn’t be making enough money. So this vote on Wednesday was nearly unanimous and
So far, they have collected $679 million through these electric bills since 2016. So think about that. This has been going on nearly 10 years. It was solidified and made more secure in the 2019 House Bill 6 bill that is the one that sent the biggest corruption scandal in Ohio history. And this now is part of the sweeping energy legislation. We’ve talked about it a couple of times on this podcast.
that it’s meant to make energy more competitive, hopefully lower some prices for consumers. And now if the House and the Senate agree on the competing versions of the bills, it goes to Mike DeWine for his signature.
Chris Quinn (06:01.787)
What was surprising though, it was nearly unanimous on the floor, but in the committee before it got to the floor, a bunch of Republicans were fighting to preserve those subsidies for a longer period of time. Why on earth would you do that? What possible, what?
Laura (06:06.22)
Yeah.
Laura (06:15.714)
Yeah, they called it an exit ramp that like it would be too disturbing for companies to have to deal with this loss of money abruptly.
Chris Quinn (06:22.043)
I know, but what possible reason would you have as a lawmaker to continue our dollars going into the coal plant? It’s again, they’re all in the pocket of big business and they don’t represent Ohio. In this case, there were enough people going, no, no, no, this looks really bad. I wish the same people would speak up on sports betting and the right thing happened. But all of those Republicans that were trying to take care of AEP and the coal plant,
Laura (06:40.27)
Mm-hmm.
Chris Quinn (06:49.597)
Their names and faces ought to be emblazoned everywhere because it makes no sense. What they were saying about the off-ramp, total nonsense because you just named the total amount of dollars these companies have gotten for coal.
Laura (07:02.956)
Right. So state representative Andrea White is a Dayton area Republican. She’s the one who called this an off ramp. She actually made this argument. I mean, with her name on it, that for an individual, she said in aggregate, we’re just talking an extra twenty seven dollars per customer through the end of twenty twenty six. And it would signal to the business community and investors that the state won’t just, quote, pull the rug out from under you. Like if you get a corrupt deal and we’ve been paying it from all these customers for
going on a decade, we’ll let you keep it little bit longer just so you figure it out, how to make more money off of people. I mean, it is so absurd that it’s just $27 a month. Like, we need to be paying this.
Chris Quinn (07:45.285)
She’s trying to preserve corruption. Basically, that’s what it is. She’s trying to preserve corruption and put her name on that. Shame, shame, shame. This legislature is the worst. You’re listening to Today in Ohio. Ohio has a bunch of public pension. I’m sorry, missed one. Our readers say they want more stories about the local impact of Donald Trump’s executive orders and one was aimed at fair housing grants. Donald Trump obviously is no friend of those in need of shelter, Lisa.
Laura (07:47.415)
Yes.
Chris Quinn (08:14.599)
What happened Wednesday in this matter that affects Cleveland?
Lisa (08:18.608)
A Missouri federal judge has blocked cuts to fair housing grants in a lawsuit that was filed by the Cleveland Fair Housing Center for Rights and Research and three other organizations in Massachusetts, Texas, and Idaho. So this temporary restraining order requires HUD to restore all funding immediately. Cleveland was to receive over $112,000 for fair housing initiatives programs. In a letter February 27th, they said that money that they got
that the money was revoked by the government, by Doge. So the Painesville Fair Housing Center also got a letter. They serve Geauga Lake and Ashtabula counties and their director, Patricia Kidd says they had to lay off staff, they had to put their building up for sale and they might have to close.
permanently. They say that the TRO is a significant victory for fair housing and that the people that they serve every day. The feds have a deadline of tomorrow to file a status report with the court to confirm compliance with this order.
Chris Quinn (09:21.007)
Ultimately, I suspect the Supreme Court will say the president has the power to do this and these agencies will be crippled. But it was nice to see the brakes put on so that this could be done thoughtfully. Donald Trump is cutting stuff left and right with no idea what the ramifications are, just so he can put out his blather and say, I’m saving money. But it has huge ramifications locally, which our readers are clamoring for more information about. And we should stop.
We should breathe. should think about the people that are affected by cuts like this, which these judges seem to be saying.
Lisa (09:57.498)
Well, I’m glad to see the judiciary standing up to the Trump administration because of course they’re now trying to delegitimize the judicial branch of the government and hear judges saying, wait one, I don’t think so.
Chris Quinn (10:09.127)
Right, and our congressional delegation, the Republicans are nowhere to be seen. They just don’t, you don’t see them, they don’t say anything. And Bernie Moreno keeps throwing out red herring flags of nonsense to make it look like he’s working, which is not getting through to anybody. People are furious with him for his lack of presence and lack of availability. So he sends us goofy press releases about idiotic actions he’s taking while ignoring this, the people aren’t buying it.
You’re listening to Today in Ohio. Ohio is a bunch of public pension systems, but it is the teacher system that has most of the controversy. Laura, what’s the proposal to make it financially sound? Why is that controversial? And I’m going to not participate in this conversation because my wife will soon be benefiting from this pension fund.
Laura (10:57.57)
So I just get to talk the entire time. All right. So this is the STRS, State Teachers Retirement System. They want a four percentage point increase in the contributions because they want to meet lawmaker demands for a healthier, more stable system. This has gone back and forth over years. We’ve talked about this pension fund before, this idea of the more stable, they need to have enough money to be able to pay out all the retirees. And it’s what is called a mature system so that right now,
There are not really enough working teachers to pay for all of the people who are retiring. That years ago, it used to be one to four, so that four teachers would be supporting a retiree, and now it’s one to one, I believe. So they need more money. Right now, teachers and districts each pay 14 % into the pension system. That is obviously a total of 28%. SCRS wants to bump that to 32%.
and both sides say they already pay enough money that nobody wants to pick up that extra 4%. I’m not sure why they don’t think about just splitting this down the middle. mean, if you’re going to tell people they’ve got to pay more, no one is going to say, yes, please sign me up for that. But if it needs more money so that we can remain solvent forever so that people get their retirement that they have planned for, you’ve got to make some adjustment.
Chris Quinn (12:21.075)
The public pensions in Ohio are different than a lot of the pensions for private industry and the people don’t have to wait till they’re 65 to retire. They can retire actually quite young if they have a certain number of years in. Have any of the pension systems talked about changing that and saying you can’t retire till you’re 65? mean, the age. Well, no, what I’m saying is the life expectancy has
Laura (12:27.576)
Mm-hmm.
Laura (12:43.148)
Like normal people, is that what you’re gonna say?
Chris Quinn (12:49.819)
gotten way longer over the decades and there hasn’t been an adjustment. So people are taking money out of this system for a lot longer periods and the rest of America doesn’t get to retired 55 or 50 or whatever. I’m surprised that’s not part of the discussion because that would probably make all of these pension systems, the state runs more solvent if you had people starting later. And why wouldn’t that be a fairness issue?
Lisa (13:19.216)
But as a pensioner from Texas, I will say the longer you’re employed, the more your payout is. So, you know, by extending the retirement age, it means you’re being going to pay them almost 100 % of their salary.
Laura (13:33.058)
Well, and the thing is, I think...
Chris Quinn (13:33.553)
Well, the way it works, and at least the police pension, is it’s a formula based on the last five years of your pay. So it’s based on what you make, and then you get the standard percentage. Has anybody looked at this on a public pension level that, they’re all going to be upside down? And with the people living longer and the population trends, why aren’t they questioning the rules on when people
pull out.
Laura (14:04.312)
So what they are questioning right now is this idea of a funding requirement. That’s the number of years a plan has to close the gap between what it owes its retirees and the money it actually has, because these are not 100 % funded, right? And right now it’s at 30 years and they could change that to 20 years, which would mean even though if it has the exact same money, it looks worse because their requirements made it tighter and harder to get to. I think the problem with changing anything, and I agree with you, Chris, that
you have to look at the reality of the situation is that people feel like they were promised something. And if you change the rules, they’re like, that’s not what I signed up for and that’s not fair.
Chris Quinn (14:43.987)
Yeah, well, when I started working, Social Security let you take your money out at 65. Now it’s 67. They changed the rules and it’s because it wasn’t solvent.
Laura (14:53.494)
I and I at a newspaper where we had a pension and because it was so underfunded, they ended up freezing everybody who was working, right? So the retirees were getting money, but all my money that the company was paying into every week went to retiree and it wasn’t adding up in my account. So I am not banking on getting any money out of that pension at all for the years that I worked.
Lisa (14:54.608)
worked at a newspaper where we had a pension and because it was so underfunded they ended up briefing everybody who was working, right? So there was retirees who were getting money, but all my money that the company was paying into every week went to retiree and it wasn’t adding up in my account. So I am not banking on getting any money out of that pension at all.
Laura (15:19.99)
And I know with never thought that was fair to me because I was the one doing the work, but they were like, well, we have to be fair to the retirees. So it’s up to the management of these pensions to look and be like, here’s how we’re going to make it as fair as possible for everyone.
Lisa (15:21.646)
Hmm.
Chris Quinn (15:33.085)
But the state is the manager of the pension. It’s a shame because pension systems are so superior to what people have today. And most people in private in the private world don’t get access to pensions. It’s really become a benefit of public work. But it really it was the best system for making sure people were going to be OK post work. And we’ve crushed that. And it’s a shame that it’s become like that.
Laura (15:45.805)
No.
Lisa (15:52.835)
Mm-hmm.
Laura (16:00.76)
But how many times have we talked about the government having to bail out pensions because they just are not sustainable, especially in an industry that’s not growing?
Lisa (16:10.992)
But lot of it’s poorly managed. A lot of it’s because of poor management, not, you know, funding.
Chris Quinn (16:11.217)
There’s this... Right.
Chris Quinn (16:16.626)
or bad people buy up companies and raid the pension funds. I there are ways to make them work, but private employers don’t want to be in that business anymore. And so that’s why everybody’s left on their own. You’re listening to Today in Ohio. Last week, Ashtabula County had a single case of measles, the first in Ohio this year, and we wondered whether it could be contained. Nope, nope, nope.
The vaccination issues have raised their ugly head. Do we now have a full fledged outbreak, Lisa?
Lisa (16:49.08)
Yes, we do. According to the Ohio Department of Health, they’ve confirmed a measles outbreak in Ashtabula County. There are now 10 confirmed cases. Nine of them are linked to the first confirmed patient we talked about on this podcast last week. We now know that he’s an adult male. There’s also one case in neighboring Knox County. So this stuff is spreading fast.
And ODH director, Dr. Bruiser Vanderhoff says, the Knox County case was actually from a visitor who exposed others in Knox County and nearby counties. So it’s kind of like a Typhoid Mary thing here. None of the people who were confirmed were vaccinated. Vanderhoff says he’s disappointed, but not surprised given the Texas, New Mexico outbreak among unvaccinated people there. I didn’t know this, but an outbreak is actually three.
or more related cases. They have to be related to each other. There are right now 378 cases in the U.S. as of March 20th. It’s probably much higher now. Vanderhoff says, you know, this stuff can be brought into Ohio by people who travel where measles is spreading. He says nine of 10 people exposed to measles will get sick if they are not vaccinated.
Chris Quinn (17:56.349)
Look, the anti-vaxxers have caused this. This was such an easy thing to keep down. we just, everybody got vaccinated, measles would be gone. And we know that in red counties like Ashtabula, fewer people are vaccinated. I’m sure this is not the last we’ve heard of this. You just hope that there aren’t children that that whose parents are knuckleheads who get it and then face dying. It’s, this is a horrible disease.
Laura (18:24.334)
talked to my neighbor about this this week and she said, I would be so angry if I had a newborn who could not be vaccinated, right? Like these unprotected babies, like you have to be six months old at least to get your shots and you don’t have a choice. So you were endangering people that have no other choice. you know, so I guess you just keep your kid at home. mean, they they’re not just affecting their own health.
Lisa (18:31.984)
Mm-hmm.
Chris Quinn (18:45.425)
Yeah, it’s... it’s morons.
Lisa (18:48.184)
It also made me rethink it too. mean, of course I was, you know, I was born in 57. So there are some doctors saying I should probably get an MMR booster, you know, so I might do that, but it’s made me rethink going, you know, I’m not far from Ashdabeel County. So, I mean, it’s like, makes me nervous about going out and you know, I’m redoubling my hygiene protocols.
Laura (18:57.262)
Mm.
Chris Quinn (19:09.779)
We’re talking about anti-science morons who are endangering the public health. They buy the nonsense they see on Facebook and now from our own federal government health department, taking vitamins or something in the foolish belief that that’ll protect them. When science has provided us the protection, all we’ve got to do is follow science. But when people are too dumb to understand science, they go down this road and now people are going to be hurt.
Laura (19:38.479)
It’s like when did science and medicine and the environment become the bad guy i do believe those are all related those kind of thought.
Chris Quinn (19:44.915)
I think it’s dopes who can’t understand it and would rather read tarot cards or something.
Lisa (19:52.112)
of course Galileo, you know, he was thrown in jail for his beliefs about the solar system, so...
Chris Quinn (19:55.539)
I know. Yep, these are the people that would jail them and now they’re facing measles. You’re listening to Today in Ohio. It took culture warrior Jerry Serino two years to get his bill, likely the most damaging piece of legislation in Ohio in years, to the finish line. What is the only thing standing in the way of his wrecking higher education in this state, Laura?
Laura (20:21.75)
It’s Mike DeWine and I love that you call Jerry Serino a warrior because a lot of Republicans agree with you. Christina Rogner is one that we quoted saying, you know that he’s going to make education better for all of us. I can’t see it and I do not see Mike DeWine facing off against Super Republicans on this. He said he’s going to sign it even though academics and students and Democrats have all begged him to veto because what this bill could do is make college classrooms basically a bastion of
of disinformation. If you’re going to have to accept that people are allowed to spout their opinion that the Holocaust did not happen, I really don’t know what you’re going be learning in college anymore. This is a 76 page bill that bans DEI, gives greater power to students over professors’ jobs, and requires entertaining academic discussion on all topics of beliefs, even if they’ve been disproven. And the point that Sereno is trying to make is that
Chris Quinn (20:53.341)
Nonsense.
Laura (21:19.63)
college campuses have become way too liberal and so we have to protect students from that, from that kind of indoctrination.
Chris Quinn (21:27.315)
You use the word super Republicans. That’s a frightening thought. You probably meant super majority of Republicans, but super rep. The this is just the worst kind of thing because we need our best and brightest to stay in Ohio. We need to attract the best and brightest from other states. But why would the best and brightest go to school in Ohio? Knowing this nonsense is what they face. This is so bad.
Laura (21:32.992)
No, actually, I kind of meant super Republicans because they seem so powerful in this state.
Chris Quinn (21:55.965)
for economic development, it’s bad for the future workforce, we’re gonna lose the best professors. I mean, our colleges are gonna be dumb. And because of this bill, professors are gonna give everybody a good grade because their future depends on the ratings they get from students. So there’ll be no rigor to grading and the degree you get from Ohio State University will be worthless toilet paper, because it won’t mean that you did anything rigorous. That’s what he’s doing.
Laura (22:09.646)
Mm-hmm.
Chris Quinn (22:25.971)
And I don’t think Mike, the wine will be taught. I think you’re right. And it’s a shame because it really clouds the future.
Laura (22:33.742)
In case people are thinking we are overstating this and really just being doomsday sayers on this, Jerry Serino said at a January 23rd press conference that student has the right to feel comfortable in the classroom expressing beliefs that deny Holocaust or believe that the earth is flat. And the professor could respond by explaining evidence against these beliefs, but they have to respect the student’s First Amendment and intellectual diversity rights. I mean, that is bananas.
Lisa (22:51.926)
I mean, that is bananas.
Chris Quinn (22:56.659)
Yeah.
Chris Quinn (23:02.855)
Yeah, I wouldn’t go to school in Ohio if I were a kid. And if I had kids, I’d be saying you should go elsewhere. This is the doom of the future. It’s not false predictions. This is bad news. The only thing you can hope is that the pendulum eventually swings. These knuckleheads all get thrown out or jailed because of whatever they’re doing.
Laura (23:23.778)
Yeah, with all of the educated population we have from our colleges.
Lisa (23:24.105)
with all of the educated population we have for college.
Chris Quinn (23:26.853)
Yeah, but maybe the pendulum swings, we get rid of this and we salvage something because I do think we’re going to lose the best and the brightest other states. Go ahead.
Lisa (23:38.128)
It has been, I was just gonna say it has been heartening to see we’ve seen a lot of students and faculty protesting SB1, which is really heartening. So they are paying attention.
Laura (23:44.462)
Mm-hmm.
Chris Quinn (23:48.185)
And they’re all being ignored. The testimony against this is overwhelmingly against this. The people that testified in favor it were few and far between. Nobody wants this except the lunatics fringe of the statehouse. The people like Jerry Serino. You’re listening to Today in Ohio. The Trump administration seems bent on ending health care research for reasons it has never articulated. And that will have a big impact on Ohio.
But the federal government is not the only source of money for medical trials. How much did pharmaceutical companies spend on them in Ohio in 2023, the most recent year for which data is available, Lisa?
Lisa (24:30.384)
Yeah, the study was funded by the pharmaceutical industry. They found that Ohio was among the top five states in economic impact generated by industry funded clinical trials. It equaled $2.4 billion in 2023. That was 1,400 clinical trials and supported over 136,000 jobs in our area.
We were the highest in the Midwest. The only one that was really close to us was Pennsylvania at 1.9 billion. At the top of the national list is Florida at 8.3 billion, Texas at 7.7, and California at 7.2 billion. So we are way up there and you know, our medical center is nationally known. So you know, this makes sense. But I was surprised at exactly how many jobs were affected by this.
Chris Quinn (25:18.911)
And Big Pharma, of course, has a vested interest in the studies it funds because they’re trying to develop drugs that they can make a lot of money on. But it’s good because those drugs could help people who are ailing. The federal government funds studies with less regard to that and that we’re going, if we lose that because of Trump’s animosity towards science, it’ll affect quite a few jobs. It’s interesting to know so much private work is being done.
Lisa (25:45.028)
And I will say this, having worked at a big cancer center, is that some rare diseases often don’t get a lot of funding, you know, and so it’s up to the NIH to kind of fill that gap.
Chris Quinn (25:56.859)
Yeah, and that’s what we’ll lose. You’re listening to Today in Ohio. We wondered in this podcast at the end of last year when news broke of the Intel Columbus plant faltering, whether Ohio would get its hundreds of millions of dollars back. Mike DeWine spokesman Dan Tierney listened to that podcast and wrote me to say no money had been paid. I corrected our podcast the next day. Turns out Tierney was full of it.
The state has paid until hundreds of millions. And Attorney General Dave Yost told us this week what the chances are of getting it back. Laura, not good.
Laura (26:36.462)
Yeah, it’s close to null. The state signed the $600 million grant contract in 2023. So that’s the money we’re talking about. Intel pledged to invest $20 billion in this new complex in New Albany, promised to create 3,000 full-time equivalent jobs, have a payroll of at least $405 million per year by the end of 2028. And that is part of the $2 billion deal overall that Intel was offered. But we know now that Intel’s
if they ever open this plant won’t be till 2030 or 2031. It will not meet the deadline. So Dave Yost, the attorney general who is running for governor, said that even if Intel misses that deadline, the wording of the agreement is so broadly written that it’d be hard, maybe not impossible, to get back any of the $600 million. And the Department of Development could argue that Intel is taking, or that they need to take it into account market conditions. So.
I don’t think the state is ever going to go after this money. And they could say, you you have to wait till 2028 and make sure they don’t have that, that kind of payroll. But it’s pretty clear now that they’re not going to fulfill that obligation. I can’t see that they’d want to create tension anymore. So with Intel than they already have.
Chris Quinn (27:54.205)
Well, I do believe based on all the buzz that’s out there, that other companies will buy this plant, take it over, and then it will come. That Ohio’s investment actually will still pay off. There’s going to be a massive need for chips. Intel is a special case of mismanagement. Other companies can step in and keep it going. So I’m not so sure. Them missing a deadline.
Laura (28:01.219)
Mm-hmm.
Chris Quinn (28:21.285)
might not be all that meaningful. If five years from now that plant is roaring, employing high paid employees to generate much needed chips that are not offshored, it’ll be a good news story. We’ll all be glad it’s there. They’re going through some trouble now.
You’re listening to Today in Ohio. Lastly, some truly awful news for greater Cleveland commuters. Laura, what is it?
Laura (28:46.766)
Good luck if you’re driving from 480 to 77 this summer because construction barrels are truly the hallmark of spring in Northeast Ohio and the two major ramps connecting 480 to 77 will be closed spring and summer so bridge decks can be replaced. The reason they’re doing full closures is it’s safer, it’ll be faster, but it’s going to force about 16,000 drivers every day to find new routes.
And the routes are not good ones. I mean, they’re like getting out the highway, turning around and getting off the other way. So.
Chris Quinn (29:17.907)
Yeah, well, think about it. I mean, one of them is go past if you want to go north and you’re heading east, you’ve got to drive all the way down to Transportation Boulevard where there’s soon to be construction vehicles because the jail’s going in and go get off, cross the highway and get back on to go. That is going to create a backup of incredible proportions. And the other way, I think you drive all the way down to State Road, right?
Laura (29:34.807)
Yeah.
Laura (29:43.104)
Yeah, it’s just not good. So we’re talking about 480 East to I-77 North and 480 West to I-77 South. That starts Monday, April 28. At the same time, in case you’re thinking, well, I’ll just use 176. OK, well, that ramp from 176 North that allows you to access I-71 South, West 14th Street, and Steelyard Commons is also going to be closed for bridge deck work.
Lisa (30:07.865)
God.
Laura (30:08.898)
So these are all kind of in the same vicinity, probably affecting the same people. Use that to access the Metro Health Campus too. That lasts through November. So yeah, if you want to go 480 East to I-77 North, you’re supposed to get off at Transportation Boulevard and then get back on and then Brook Park Road for the other way.
Chris Quinn (30:23.503)
Yeah, this is gonna be bad. Yeah. So.
So I wonder if employers that are affected by this allow people to work from home. It’s just going to be bad. There’s no way around it to have that much confusion with thousands of drivers. There’s no easy fix for this. What kind of knucklehead decided to have construction on ISA 176 at the same time their cousin exits to 77? Does anybody actually talk to each other anymore and say, well,
Lisa (30:56.944)
Oh, I’m sure they do. Yeah, they...
Laura (30:57.644)
mean, this is all ODAI.
Chris Quinn (30:59.795)
But you’re creating a nightmare. Why wouldn’t you do that in phases? Let’s do 77’s ramps first and then come back and do the next part because you’re taking the relief road and making a mess of that too. don’t see how this works. I’ve lived in other cities where they’ve done massive highway things that just create commuting nightmares for the long period of time.
Laura (31:15.254)
Mm-hmm. Yeah, absolutely.
Chris Quinn (31:29.297)
That’s what this will be. Although I guess this one’s only through summer if they meet their deadline.
Lisa (31:34.136)
Yeah, September.
Laura (31:34.35)
True, yeah, I mean, that’s the full summer and it could always get pushed back if there are delays. I agree with you, it’s already backed up on 176 when people are trying to go west, to go on 90 West. makes me not wanna get on to 480 at all this year.
Chris Quinn (31:46.498)
right.
Chris Quinn (31:54.173)
But you got that new car that you want to ride around in and look cool. Look cool, mom, in the Jeep.
Laura (31:58.638)
I don’t think the Jeep is like the best highway car. I don’t think that’s why you buy a Jeep.
Lisa (32:04.976)
That’s my way to Parma. I mean, take 480 West all the time and I usually get off around Ridge Road or Tiedemann or whatever. it’s not just going to be the people who want to take those exits. It’s the people who don’t want to take those exits too. It’s going to be terrible.
Laura (32:19.276)
Right. And our newsroom is right there at Tiedemann on 480.
Chris Quinn (32:21.275)
I know, I-
Lisa (32:23.543)
Yep. Mm-hmm.
Chris Quinn (32:24.827)
Yeah, I’m not looking forward to this at all. I it’s going to be a nightmare. We’ll see. You’re listening to Today in Ohio. That’s it for the Thursday episode. Thanks, Lisa. Thanks, Laura. Thank you for listening. We’ll be back Friday to wrap up the week of news.