A most unusual way to arrest the guys who closed down Cleveland intersections with antics: Today in Ohio

CLEVELAND, Ohio - Authorities arrested four men Thursday in Columbus and seized four cars stemming from a wave of street takeovers in Cleveland in late September.

Cleveland police said the Columbus men – Sayvion Lewis, 22; Cameron Parsley, 22; William Whitted, 25; and Deshawn Crane, 28 – took part in the Sept. 28-29 takeovers that commandeered city streets and parking lots.

CLEVELAND, Ohio - Four men were arrested in Columbus stemming from street takeovers in Cleveland in late September.

We're talking about the investigation on Today in Ohio.

Listen online here.

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: .

You can now join the conversation. Call 833-648-6329 (833-OHTODAY) if you'd like to leave a message we can play on the podcast.

Here's what else we're talking about today:

So we have talked a good bit about how Cleveland police were unable to stop the hot rodders who took over intersections in the city a few weeks ago. But now they have caught some of them, but not in Cleveland. How did the arrests happen?

Let's do one election story today. What was an unexpected statewide trend in Donald Trump's Ohio victory?

What unusual step is Cleveland taking to stop treating mental health crises like criminal events?

Is Mike DeWine making good on his promise to come up with a plan to reduce gerrymandering now that Issue 1 has failed?

Braver Angels, the group that brings together people of unlike minds for organized conversations, was much in the news in recent years. What is it saying about its role after Tuesday's election?

Years after it was uncovered as a scandal, has the trend of kids staying overnight in the Jane Edna Hunter county building finally ended?

Michigan environmental officials are doing something novel to analyze the causes of Lake Erie Algae. What is it?

A whole lot of people who have not seen their electric rates increase in many, many years are about to start seeing rate hikes. Who are they, and how much are rates going up?

Who will decide whether the mayor of East Cleveland can remain in office while he deals with a slew of federal corruption charges?

What is Mealsgiving?

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Read the automated transcript below. Because it's a computer-generated transcript, it contains many errors and misspellings.

Chris Quinn (00:01.175)

I just doing a double check to make sure it is Friday. It's been a long week. I thought yesterday was Friday. It is indeed Friday and it's today in Ohio. The News Podcast discussion from cleveland.com and the Plain Dealer. I'm Chris Quinn here with Lisa Garvin, Leila Tasi and Laura Johnston. Laura, we have talked a good bit about how Cleveland police were unable to stop the hot rodders who took over intersections in the city a few weeks ago, but now they've caught some of them.

Not in Cleveland. This is one bizarro way to solve these crimes. How did the arrest happen?

Laura (00:36.401)

Well, they worked with Columbus and they worked with other law enforcement to go after these folks because remember, it took a couple days and then there was like one person who got arrested, whereas there was a big street takeover in Columbus about a week later after the one in Cleveland, which was September 28th. And all of a sudden they got 200 arrests and pounded 69 cars and they called it Operation Burnout. So Cleveland helped Columbus and now Columbus is helping Cleveland. They work with the US Marshals, the State Highway Patrol.

the FBI and the Columbus police to arrest four men. And this investigation is still going from those takeovers where have been multiple intersections, East 55th and Woodland, Lee Road and Miles, 105th and Martin Luther King Drive. They blocked an ambulance from passing through. They shot a police officer twice with pellets from an airsoft gun. They lit fires on Interstate 90, blocked traffic. So just basically wreaked havoc all over the city with their cars.

And now we're finally charging some of these people.

Chris Quinn (01:40.375)

I just thought it was interesting that they got the Cleveland transgressors in Columbus. They caught them in the act in Columbus and they said, but they were in Cleveland. We know they were in Cleveland. So we've kind of solved the Cleveland thing too. I'm glad they're cooperating. I'm glad that they're drilling down on this. Those activities, even though it's not rape and murder and all the other ugly stuff we talk about.

Laura (01:51.877)

Right.

Chris Quinn (02:05.835)

It gives the perception to a lot of people of lawlessness on the streets and they've just got to stop it. There's nothing more aggravating, I think, when you're driving through a city to get stuck in an intersection while hooligans just defiantly break the law the way they have.

Laura (02:10.363)

Mm-hmm.

Laura (02:23.249)

Well, and you don't know what's going to happen next. I believe it'd be terrifying, right? You don't know if they're going to hit your car. You don't know if there are going to be police that come through and create a chase. You don't know if they're going to start shooting. I mean, there were airsoft guns. We don't know if they have real guns. So yeah, think this is creating mass chaos throughout the city. And the four guys that we're talking about who were arrested, all 20-somethings, all men, they are from Columbus.

So this isn't just a bunch of Clevelanders or a board who are just like, let's just drive around the city. This is organized over texts and social media and calling more people to come just to do this in a city. So they're charged with aggravated rioting, disruption of public service, and possession of criminal tools.

Chris Quinn (03:08.247)

That name airsoft gun two is so misleading. These are supercharged BB guns. And if you get hit with one, it stings. This is not some little soft pellet that's hitting you. It is a solid P just like a BB, a little bit bigger and it's fired under pressure. And so if you get shot with that, you're not, you're not going to laugh it off. It's going to hurt like hell. You're listening to Today in Ohio. Let's do one full election story today. Lisa, what was it in?

Laura (03:31.535)

Right?

Lisa (03:37.035)

Chris Quinn (03:37.887)

unexpected statewide trend in Donald Trump's Ohio victory?

Lisa (03:42.638)

Well, of course it was no surprise that Donald Trump won Ohio by 11 points, but that's three points higher than he did in the 2020 election. But his support grew in all but three counties. So 85 of 88 counties saw Trump support increase. It decreased in only three, Claremont and Southwest Ohio. It decreased by just under a point.

Delaware, two-tenths of a point, and in Union County, almost two points decrease in support for Trump there. Now, it increased more than five points in six counties. Mahoning was the highest at 7.6, Trumbull, 6.1, Monroe, 5.8, and Jefferson, 5.5. These are all on the eastern border with Pennsylvania, and these are counties that have shifted from blue to red in recent years.

Also above Five Points, Kyoto County in southern Ohio and Clark County, which includes Springfield where we had that flap over the Haitians that have made residence there.

Chris Quinn (04:45.749)

Yeah, it was just a wholesale increase over 2020. And 2020 was before he tried to overthrow the government with his insurrection. Just a surprise that people in the middle would not hold that against them. He is a convicted felon. is not a convicted rapist, but he lost the civil case for sexual assaulting a woman. And he's going back to the White House. It still surprises me that his margin increased. I thought he'd win.

I didn't think it would be by a bigger margin.

Lisa (05:16.896)

And as we did, go ahead, Laura.

Laura (05:17.029)

But as I was to say, I've been reading a lot this week, know, trying to the steps that he came back from from 2020 to to win so big and to win over the hearts and minds of Americans. And when he was convicted, he got like a slew of money like that wasn't a negative thing. He turned that into a rallying cry. It's really amazing marketing.

Chris Quinn (05:41.951)

One thing we should be careful about, there are some people that saw because all the states went, even the swing states went, that it's a mandate, but none of those states were lopsided. This was close in all of those states to say that he has a mandate, I think would be a mistake. He has more than half of the vote, barely. And so a whole bunch of America still doesn't trust him. And he's supposed to serve both groups, not just those who support him. We'll see if he does.

You're listening to Today in Ohio. We have a one unusual step is Cleveland taking to stop treating mental health crises like criminal events.

Leila (06:21.281)

Well, this week, Cleveland City Council introduced Tanisha's Law. This is a proposal that's named in memory of Tanisha Anderson, who was a woman who died in police custody in 2014. And this proposed law would dispatch unarmed behavioral health clinicians instead of police for certain emergency calls involving mental health and substance use issues. The proposal was developed with input from Anderson's family and from law students from Case Western Reserve University.

and it's backed by council members Stephanie House Jones, Rebecca Moore and Charles Slife. And they really envision a dual response approach, a co-response, co-responder model that pairs clinicians with trained officers and a care response model that would send clinicians alone to these lower risk calls. So if this gets passed, it would also establish a department of community crisis response to oversee this initiative.

and make sure that the funding is sustainable. The council members are aiming to refine the law over the coming months and gather insights from police and healthcare workers and dispatchers to make sure that it's effectively implemented. And Tanisha's family and advocates believe that this measure could prevent similar tragedies, while city officials, including Mayor Bibb, are really reviewing the proposal to determine whether or not it's compatible with Cleveland's consent decree on police reform.

Chris Quinn (07:49.722)

It's a great idea. I'm just surprised that it's coming from Cleveland City Council. Do you know who proposed it?

Leila (07:55.189)

Well, it comes from, no, I don't know. We know that those council members who are at the forefront of this are some of the more progressive thinkers on council. So I don't know if it came from them or if it's something that came from Tanisha Anderson's family. I know that they have been in touch with the family. So it sounds like it kind of percolated from that relationship. I don't know, but it is a brilliant idea.

You know, I can imagine that proponents are going to argue that this approach might ultimately reduce costs by decreasing the demand on police resources and emergency medical services and the criminal justice system over time because studies in other cities with similar models have shown that sending trained clinicians instead of police to mental health crises not only improves the outcomes for those in crisis, but it also lowers the long-term costs associated with

the repeated emergency calls and arrests and hospitalizations. So this kind of investment, think in the long term, could save the city money.

Chris Quinn (09:00.451)

What I like about it is it institutionalizes the idea of treating mental health as mental health. Everybody talks about it and there's been talk about sending a social worker with the police, but to give a department equal standing changes the whole dynamic. And I think a lot of good could come from this, such an interesting idea coming out of Cleveland City Council. You're listening to Today in Ohio.

Is Mike DeWine making good on his promise to come up with a plan to reduce gerrymandering in Ohio now that issue one has failed? Laura.

Laura (09:35.023)

Well, that's a really good question. There was a whole lot of urgency about it when he talked in July saying, you know, this is not the way issue one is not the right way. I want to do it like Iowa does it. And I want the legislators to take it up next year. But now that issue one has failed, it doesn't seem quite so urgent. And Bob Higgs talked to a whole bunch of people, the leaders of the legislature about it, and they're all receptive saying,

Yeah, we could look at it, nobody seems in a big hurry to do it.

Chris Quinn (10:07.993)

I would be interested to see what they can come up with. It's a huge challenge in Ohio, as we've discussed, to carve up the districts because Democrats are so heavily concentrated in the cities. We were in a kind of an urgent situation. If issue one passed, it would have taken effect immediately. It would have affected elections in 2026. Without that urgency, they have until the 2030 census now to come up with a new plan.

My bet is they won't. My bet is they're tickled to death that their gerrymandering plan stands and having supermajorities feels good. And so it won't happen unless there's another citizen initiated plan.

Laura (10:50.831)

That's, I definitely see that that is a possibility. think it depends on what the voters want, right? Because the voters have said they want to end gerrymandering. So there's always the possibility of another citizen's group taking this up. DeWine said that if lawmakers wouldn't act, he would gather signatures himself and take a constitutional amendment directly to voters. That's what he said in July. He said, I will do everything that I can to get it on the ballot by initiative. That's the backup plan.

So it depends if he's going to be held accountable to that.

Chris Quinn (11:22.521)

Come on, he's done in two years. He can let this slide. I just don't see it, I think.

Laura (11:26.415)

He could let it slide, if he really believes in it, know Mike, Mike Dewine is a man of values and if he really thinks it should be done, I would hope that he would act.

Chris Quinn (11:36.939)

Yeah, we'll see. You're listening to Today in Ohio. Braver Angels, the group that brings together people of unlike minds for organized conversations was much in the news in the past few years. Lisa, what is it saying about its role after Tuesday's election?

Lisa (11:40.938)

Lisa (11:53.122)

Well, they say that they still have a role and they're going to keep plugging along, but it's going to be an uphill battle. So Braver Angels, for those who don't know, is the largest nationwide organization that brings conservatives and liberals together to reduce partisan friction and help them build skills to have civil discourse on hot button issues. Its Ohio coordinator, Nancy Miranda of Euclid, said politicians on both sides and the media are catering to the extremes and ignoring those in the middle.

She said, this is what the public is listening to. Several Braver Angels chapters sent pairs of left and right members to polling places across the US to promote philosophy of stopping political divide. And like I said, she really hopes that the polarization will get better after the election. They really want to try and solve it, but she admits it's going to be an uphill battle. And there's another group called Fighting to Understand. It's kind of a partner organization with Braver Angels.

Its executive director, Ted Wetzel of Mayfield, says that the two-party system is failing us. It paints us into two corners with no room for gray. And this group holds dinners with people of opposing views to discuss tough topics in a civil manner.

Chris Quinn (13:08.343)

The problem with these groups is that the people who attend are not the people we need to attend. The people who are entrenched in their views are perfectly happy with them and they're not looking to be persuaded. They're not looking to hear from the other side. Certainly the people I've been hearing from this week I don't think would have any interest in a braver angels type session. And I don't know how you get past that. I don't know how you get people on the far sides.

to at least hear the views of those they oppose. They're not getting it in the news they follow. Certainly if you watch Fox News, you're not getting anything about what is on the other side, so you can't build empathy. I love these groups. I just, don't know how you get to the people who most need to start having empathy for those who don't agree with them.

Leila (13:56.245)

think this is the kind of thing they should be baking into the curriculum of public schools. You know what I mean? Like teaching these sorts of communication skills and empathy in civics classes, that would be remarkable. Then we'd be raising a generation of adults who don't behave the way we do.

Laura (14:16.975)

That's a really good point, Leila, instead of saying, hey, in college, you have to read the US Constitution or the Declaration of Independence. Like, yes, yeah, I completely agree. We should all learn to see each other's point of view.

Leila (14:24.053)

Right.

Chris Quinn (14:28.845)

Well, the story did quote Lauren Copeland, our friend over at Baldwin Wallace University, who works very hard in the college level to have those conversations and bake it in. Maybe she can help design a curriculum that might be used in high schools and even in middle schools to get people to see it. What's sad is about what you're saying there though, Leila, is it's only going to happen in the future generations.

that the adult generations that exist today are cooked and you're not going to change their minds.

Leila (15:00.363)

Yeah, sadly, yes, you're right. But we need to start looking to that future generation because this is this one's done. We're done. Sorry.

Chris Quinn (15:09.453)

Well, there was, I read a story about, think it was in the Plain Dealer, was a story, I think, about a guy who just wants people to join clubs of their interest because in clubs that are not politically based, you hang out with people who don't agree with you and see them more as human beings. It's an interesting idea because we don't have any of those social situations and everybody sits at home.

Laura (15:35.217)

That's the idea of that bowling alone book, right? Which is from the year 2000, I believe. So this is not a new idea that we've had fewer and fewer groups of people getting together and people are going to church less. They're not joining those Elks clubs. Actually, when we did our youth sports series, someone pointed out, this is about the only place that a lot of people from different political backgrounds congregate, right? Their kids are going to school together. So.

Chris Quinn (15:40.091)

Right.

Chris Quinn (15:59.939)

Right.

Laura (16:01.349)

They come and play sports together. And especially if you have a club team, then you have kids from all sorts of different geographical areas and school districts. So you are mixing with people of different backgrounds. You just all are rooting for the same team, which is fascinating. I talked to you yesterday about the fact that we don't go into the office as much anymore. So, I mean, in the old days, you know, watching the office, for example, the show, you had all these people that spent all this time together and they did not disagree on their basic principles.

but they had to get a lot.

Chris Quinn (16:33.101)

get you listening to Today in Ohio. Years after it was uncovered as a scandal, Lela has the trend of kids staying overnight in the Jane Edna Hunter Cuyahoga County building finally ended.

Leila (16:46.167)

Well the answer is not yet, but they're making big strides to get there. County Executive Chris Ronane, who promised to address this issue during his campaign, is following through with a major renovation at the center's tea suites. This facility, which already supports youth with complex behavioral needs, is being expanded to offer 50 beds, including emergency beds for kids who just need a safe place for a night or two.

Starting in 2025, the T-Suites will include units designed specifically for young people with specialized needs, like teen girls who are recovering from trafficking and kids whose disabilities contribute to criminal behavior. The aim is to provide stable, supportive spaces so that every child entering county care has a safe, suitable place to go instead of lingering in an office building, which was a terrible scenario with the Jane Edna Hunter building.

Kiga's Director of Health and Human Services, David Merriman, notes that this shift is about more than just adding beds. It's a move toward treating the root causes that put kids in crisis in the first place. The initial investment is significant here, but the county is really optimistic that over time, the expanded services will ease demand by stabilizing the lives of kids and reducing the need for emergency placements.

Chris Quinn (18:04.097)

It's amazing that it's taking this long to get it taken care of. I this problem emerged before Chris Ronane became county executive and he's wrapping up his second year. It was a monumental issue, I guess, and took a lot of resources to fix.

Leila (18:20.809)

Yeah, I am a little concerned about the long-term sustainability of the funding, aren't you though? I mean, there's high upfront costs and everything, but can the county realistically expect state reimbursements and levies to keep pace as this demand kind of fluctuates and grows? I mean, I don't know, even if the solution works well, what's the plan to ensure enough foster homes and long-term placements for these kids once they're stabilized? There are a lot of pieces to this puzzle that have to come together.

Chris Quinn (18:25.784)

Yeah.

Chris Quinn (18:50.093)

That's why I get concerned when the county starts to expand its purview with things like sustainability, because it has basic, a basic job it's supposed to do. And one of the most important roles is taking care of kids like this. and when you start to spread your resources to places that are not part of your, your role, you deplete them. But at least we're making progress for now. We'll have to keep our eyes on it to make sure it continues.

You're listening to Today in Ohio. Michigan environmental officials are doing something novel to analyze the causes of lake eerie algae. What is it, Laura?

Laura (19:28.027)

Well, thank you, Michigan, because Ohio's certainly not doing much to help this. But what they're doing is they've added these five, these water quality monitors and five sub watersheds in the southeast corner of the state, because that's where the Detroit River flows into Lake Erie. So they feed directly to the lake or one of the tributaries. Stony Creek, there's that's the headwaters of the Saline River and the Nile Ditch. They flow toward the River Raisin that enters Lake Erie south of Detroit, even though

So that's not as big of a flow. But then there's also the Lyon Creek watershed. What really causes the problem though is the Maumee River. It's Ohio. It begins in Indiana, flows across Northwest Ohio. It's all this farm territory. takes in all the phosphorus, all the fertilizer, all the manure that flows when rain falls into the lake. So while this is great news, Michigan's kicking in $5 million to pay for this.

and it's going to monitor like 50 locations at water levels, turbidity, conductivity, which is the solids in the water, it's not gonna solve the problem. And in Ohio, we haven't done this kind of work. We've basically given incentives to farmers to help stop some of the runoff, but I don't see the political will here to do the same thing Michigan's doing.

Chris Quinn (20:50.357)

It just seems like it would make a lot of sense if everybody did this together. We have a Great Lakes Compact and there's all sorts of talk and meetings and sessions every year in our unified approach to the Great Lakes. It's just odd to see a single state saying, well, we're going to do this because we need to do it and nobody else really joining in.

Laura (21:10.947)

Yeah, and they're not the big problem here. And, know, we obviously we have an international agreement with Ontario to reduce phosphorus by 40 percent. And we are nowhere near meeting that. I think they've just thrown up their hands and said, you know, no, I mean, Mike DeWine has made this a key part of his H2 Ohio plan, and they are doing the incentives and teaching farmers. But it's not cheap and

Chris Quinn (21:12.887)

Right.

Laura (21:39.141)

we're not making it mandatory. I don't really think we're ever going to get there at this rate.

Chris Quinn (21:44.409)

All right, you're listening to Today in Ohio. A whole lot of people who have not seen their electric rates increase in many, many years are about to start seeing rate hikes. Laila, who are they and how much will their rates go up?

Leila (21:57.143)

These are a whole lot of Cleveland public power customers and yeah, they haven't seen a rate increase in over 40 years, but they're about to start paying more for their electricity. Starting in 2025, residential customers will see their bills go up by about $6 a month with another $4 increase following in 2026. For the average household, that translates to roughly an 11 % overall increase in monthly bills by 2026.

These hikes are part of a larger plan by Cleveland Public Power to tackle rising costs and invest in much needed infrastructure upgrades like transmission lines and substations. And the utility has faced growing financial pressures from rising supply costs and increased worker wages and upcoming debt payments for past projects. Without the new rate hikes, CPP risks dipping below cash levels that are needed to satisfy their bondholders.

CPP officials say that while these initial increases won't fully cover the estimated $18 to $20 million per year that they need for infrastructure improvements, it will help boost the current annual spend from $5 million to $10 million by 2026. And city council, I believe, gave final approval to the rate hikes this week with the possibility of those additional increases after 2026 to keep pace with the city's energy needs.

Chris Quinn (23:22.777)

It's a little deceptive to say they've never had rate hikes because the city put in other fees that weren't rate hikes and they were found to be illegal.

Leila (23:27.051)

Yes, that's right. Subject of an ongoing long time piece of litigation that is.

Chris Quinn (23:34.522)

Yeah, yeah. mean, it was sleazy, but they were trying to say, our rates are lower than our competitors while putting all sorts of fees. It's what cities do when they're not raising taxes. They add garbage fees and recycling fees and things. And now that they can't do that, they have to raise the rates. But it is amazing that it's 40 years since they've gone up.

Leila (23:56.833)

Exactly.

Chris Quinn (23:58.369)

You're listening to Today in Ohio. Lisa, who's going to decide whether the mayor of East Cleveland can remain in office while he deals with a slew of federal corruption charges?

Lisa (24:08.524)

The Ohio Supreme Court has appointed a panel of three retired judges who will determine if East Cleveland Mayor Brandon King should be suspended after his indictment for theft in office. They'll make their decision in about two weeks time. The panel is Lisa Sadler, former 10th Court of Appeals judge and former county judges William Finnegan of Marion County and William Woods of Franklin County. So prosecutor Mike O'Malley had asked the Supreme Court to remove King. This panel

can only remove King temporarily. If they do remove him, King cannot return to office until his charges are dismissed, he's acquitted, or if his conviction is overturned by the Supreme Court on appeal. Now, King can only be permanently removed by a recall election, but he survived two of those so far in 2022 and 2023. And he is currently accused of using $75,000 in city money to pay companies owned by him or his relatives.

and giving a city-owned car and a gas car to former Councilman Ernest Smith, who's also charged. And I believe Mayor King is going to be arraigned today in common police court.

Chris Quinn (25:17.429)

I don't understand how this is even a question. The records are pretty clear that he was using the position to enrich himself and the Citizens East Cleveland should not have to keep enduring that when the information is now public. so I'm glad they've appointed the judges. I would think this would be a slam dunk. You're out until this is cleared up. And then if he's convicted, he's definitely out. You're listening to Today in Ohio.

Laura, let's wrap it up. As we're done with the election, we're heading to the holidays. Thanksgiving is ahead. What is meals giving?

Laura (25:54.403)

This is the idea of spreading love by way of food, which I think sounds like a wonderful idea. the idea, this came up from restaurateurs and what they want to do is basically, you know, share the love before Thanksgiving, get everyone together from restaurants to individual families and celebrate the holidays. So there's this group called RAKE. It stands for Random Acts of Kindness Everywhere. Ricky Smith is the founder. And that's who came up with this.

He used to feed folks at the Salvation Army in East Cleveland around Thanksgiving, but instead his group of restaurateurs are gonna close their restaurant, I think it's Cordelia, for an evening of food and community. They'll serve 1,000 meals on Tuesday, deliver another 1,000 across the community, and they're asking everybody who wants to to join in this to spread the love through food.

Chris Quinn (26:46.773)

It's a good idea and you're right this week as we've got all the rancor that we've seen in the nation. It's nice to end with a positive story. You're listening to today in Ohio. That's it for the election week of news. Come back next week. We'll be talking about the news again. Thanks Lisa. Thanks Leila. Thanks Laura. Thank you for listening.