Federal grant to help connect downtown CLE to Lake Erie: The Wake Up for Thursday, Oct. 17, 2024

Whether or not the Cleveland Browns extend their lease at the lakefront stadium, Mayor Justin Bibb plans to reconfigure the city's waterfront.

A wide stretch of Ohio 2 now separates downtown from Lake Erie. The goal of the North Coast Connector is to better link the two by demolishing the Main Avenue bridge and remaking the Shoreway as a boulevard all the way to East 18th Street.

The West Third Street bridge would be revamped and the city would build a new transit center, plus a pedestrian land bridge near the Mall, to let Clevelanders easily access their greatest asset.

The full project is expected to cost $447 million. A federal grant will at least help it get started, with a groundbreaking planned for 2027.

— Laura

Overnight Scores and WeatherGuardians vs New York Yankees: ALCS Game 3, 5:08 p.m. today, Progressive Field, Cleveland. : TBS, truTV, Max. : WTAM AM/1100, WMMS FM/100.7.

Northeast Ohio weather forecast: Cold morning as sunshine returns

Top StoriesWaterfront connector: The U.S. Department of Transportation has awarded Cleveland nearly $59.7 million to help turn the Ohio 2 Shoreway around Huntington Bank Field into a "pedestrian-friendly boulevard." Courtney Astolfi reports that Mayor Justin Bibb said the federal money will help City Hall "reimagine our waterfront access, transform outdated infrastructure, and build a safer, more vibrant connection between our residents, the lakefront, and the Port of Cleveland."

Distracted driving: Car crashes overall, as well as those attributed specifically to distracted driving, have fallen statewide in the past year and officials say it's because a new state law prohibits most phone use while driving, reports Jake Zuckerman . Preliminary data from the year starting Oct. 5, 2023, when enforcement of the new law began in earnest, shows there were 15,400 fewer car crashes compared to the prior year.

Rock Hall: The annual Rock & Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony is coming home Saturday to Cleveland's Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse and an incredible lineup of stars will be headed to town to celebrate. Michael Norman reports the list of inductees, performers and presenters who will be in attendance might be the Rock Hall's biggest show ever, certainly bigger than anything Cleveland has seen since it began hosting the inductions on a semi-regular basis in 2009.

Storm response: Lakewood City Council this week identified key shortcomings in the city's response to the destructive August tornadoes that left hundreds of thousands of Northeast Ohioans powerless for several days. Cory Shaffer reports a lack of backup generators for both public and private buildings, like community centers and high-rise apartment buildings, and the inability of some buildings to connect to a generator left officials scrambling to meet basic needs to the city's most vulnerable residents.

Today in Ohio: Ohio House Speaker Larry Householder is scheduled to go to trial in Cuyahoga County in April for more charges stemming from the House Bill 6 scandal. On Today in Ohio , cleveland.com 's daily half-hour news podcast, we're talking about how Householder is accused of illegally using campaign funds to defend himself in a federal trial.

Statehouse and PoliticsIssue 1: An analysis of state Issue 1 and the costs of overhauling Ohio's redistricting process estimates the new map-drawing commission would need $5.7 million to operate in its first year. Robert Higgs reports the analysis predicts the single largest expense in 2025, its first year of operation, will be for litigation, at more than $2.6 million.

Senate campaign finance: Democratic U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown's campaign accepted nearly $31 million in contributions between July and the end of September, an eye-popping amount that easily breaks Ohio's record for quarterly fundraising in an Ohio U.S. Senate race. Jeremy Pelzer reports Republican challenger Bernie Moreno's joint fundraising committee raised a still-impressive $10 million during that same time.

Congressional campaign finance: In the Northeast Ohio congressional race that political pundits deem the state's most competitive, incumbent Democratic Rep. Emilia Sykes of Akron took a big fundraising lead over GOP challenger Kevin Coughlin, reports Sabrina Eaton . Sykes raised $1,309,682 during the three-month period covered by the latest report, of which $290,761 came from political committees. Her campaign spent $2,310,862 from July through September and had $1,368,076 in the bank at the month's end.

Election overview: Ohio voters will help chart a course for the state and country when they cast their ballots in the 2024 general election. Here's a report on the basics .

Drop boxes: In Cuyahoga County, the Board of Elections is using a workaround to accept absentee ballots: stationing staff members at the drop boxes to handle the forms, reports Molly Walsh .

Northeast Ohio NewsPublic restrooms: New public restrooms could be coming to downtown Cleveland if approved by the Cleveland Planning Commission. Megan Sims reports the city of Cleveland will go before the planning commission Friday in hopes of bringing Portland Loo's gender-neutral, freestanding public restrooms.

Positive Plus: Yvonne Pointer is the activist and founder of Positive Plus, a support group for women who have lost children through violence. She told members of Cuyahog County Council's Health and Human Services Committee on Wednesday that she's trying to flip the script by amplifying the stories of the victims and the impact violence is having on their families, reports Kaitlin Durbin .

Distracted driving grants: North Ridgeville has received almost $60,000 to cover overtime for officers to crack down on impaired and dangerous driving. Lucas Daprile reports the funding comes from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and was distributed by the Ohio Department of Public Safety.

: Almost one out of three refugees who came to Ohio in the last year settled in the Cleveland area, usurping Columbus as the Ohio place where refugees are most likely to relocate, reports Zachary Smith . More than 4,300 refugees came to Ohio during the last federal fiscal year running from October 2023 through September. Of them, almost 1,400 came to Cleveland.

Special Olympics: Cleveland has officially bid to host the 2030 Special Olympics USA Games, reports Marc Bona . The bid was submitted in partnership with Special Olympics Ohio, Destination Cleveland and other entities.

Crime and CourtsStreet takeover: A Cuyahoga County grand jury is expected to hear the case of a South Euclid man accused of participating in a massive, citywide street takeover in late September, reports Lucas Daprile . Jordan McDonald, 25, of South Euclid, was arrested and charged with tampering with evidence, failure to comply with a police order, disrupting public services, aggravated riot and possession of criminal tools.

Car break-ins: Police arrested three youths accused of breaking into 14 cars Tuesday night in the Detroit-Shoreway neighborhood. Authorities say the youths, ages 14, 16, and 17, were in a stolen car when detectives tracked them down, Olivia Mitchell reports .

Fatal shooting: A Cleveland man charged with fatally shooting a woman while she was walking her dog in 2019 pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 15 years in prison, reports Sean McDonnell . DaJuan Evans, 24, admitted to killing Sheila Wallace, 58, in McGowan Park on the city's West Side in January 2019.

Giant Eagle: The parents of a 3-year-old boy who was fatally stabbed outside the Giant Eagle in North Olmsted sued the supermarket chain on Tuesday. Adam Ferrise reports Jared and Margot Wood, the parents of Julian Wood, said in the lawsuit that Giant Eagle was negligent when it stopped hiring armed security guards to work at the store in the months leading up to the attack.

Child porn: An Akron police officer, accused of creating and distributing child pornography, has been indicted on 11 felony charges in Trumbull County. Sean McDonnell reports Geoffrey Parker, a four-year veteran of the Akron Police Department, was arrested on Aug. 16.

Child enticement: An Indiana man has been arrested in Stark County for attempting to lure a child into his vehicle. Jackson Township police say Adam Prather was arrested about 6:45 p.m. Tuesday after he offered money to a 4-year-old boy to get into his car, Olivia Mitchell reports .

Wrong-way driver: A Fairport Harbor police officer's cruiser was struck by a driver going the wrong way on Tuesday afternoon. Olivia Mitchell reports that a silver Hyundai Tucson was heading north in the southbound lane of High Street when the incident occurred and there were signs of intoxication with the driver.

Arts and EntertainmentBlack Keys: Akron's own The Black Keys will be coming home to play a free show at The Akron Civic Theater on Oct. 25. In addition to the Black Keys performance, there will be complimentary food and drink available for attendees. Doors will open at 5 p.m. and the event is on a first-come, first-serve basis, Malcolm X Abram reports .

Wine lists: Aside from being another menu on the table, a wine list is an often overlooked yet integral part of the dining experience at most restaurants, reports Alex Darus . It may seem like a restaurant owner or beverage director makes a list out of a few bottles that they personally like and calls it a day. But the amount of thought that goes into a completed wine list can sometimes be comparable to that of the food menu.

New bistro: Chef Doug Katz is opening a restaurant next week in the Van Aken District in Shaker Heights, the community where he grew up. Katz describes the menu at Kiln as an American bistro with Midwest inspiration, reports Paris Wolfe .

Ann Arbor: Ann Arbor, Michigan, population 120,000, has everything you want in a regional travel destination: several terrific attractions, some great dining, interesting shopping and an outsized nightlife, reports Susan Glaser .

You're all caught up Don't forget, you can always find the latest Cleveland news by visiting cleveland.com . If you value the hard work of Cleveland journalists, consider becoming a cleveland.com subscriber .

— Curated by content director Laura Johnston with contributions by by Cliff Pinckard.

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