CLEVELAND, Ohio - When Ohio Republican legislators cut library funding in the House version of the state budget, libraries geared up to fight.
Days later, while the legislators haven’t backed down on eliminating the libraries’ 1.75% share of state taxes, they’re tossing a few more million dollars their way. We’re talking about Ohio’s beloved libraries 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:
We predicted yesterday that Statehouse Republicans would have to yield eventually on their plans to strangle Ohio libraries. They didn’t completely capitulate, at least not yet, but they showed signs of breaking. What happened?
The House’s final budget did more than slightly increase library money. It also would end the practice in Ohio of counties electing their coroners. This doesn’t apply in Cuyahoga and Summit counties, where medical examiners are appointed, but why would the House use a budget – with no hearings where people could testify – to end a practice that has existed for decades?
What else did the House slip into the final version of their budget before it goes to the Senate?
We have another potential giant impact from the Trump Administration, this time affecting Cleveland. How much is at stake with the community development block grants that have been a staple of cities for decades?
With Mike DeWine and the Ohio Legislature taking big steps to block solar power development in the state, we wondered how far we might be falling behind other states. The answer is a surprise.
Democrats think they have the chance to win some Ohio Congressional seats now held by Republicans. Why, and who is being targeted?
Gov. Mike DeWine made his strong feelings known again Tuesday about schools and cell phones. What did he say?
What are we doing here at cleveland.com to provide an accurate measure of the Trump Administration’s impact on inflation?
Dirt bikes have been big news in Cleveland Columbus, with riders taking over streets and intersections as police crack down. They’re also at the center of a theft ring that was broken with indictments in Cuyahoga County. Fortunately, these thefts do not appear to involve violence. How did they work?
More Today in Ohio
- The U.S. vs Ohio: Should the state be stocking our rivers with non-native fish: Today in Ohio
- “They hate public schools:” How Ohio’s property tax ‘relief’ plan would strip $4.2 billion from education
- “If you’re not going to the games, it’s largely not going to affect you:” Breaking down the Browns stadium deal
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Read the automated transcript below. Because it’s a computer-generated transcript, it contains many errors and misspellings.
Chris Quinn (00:01.653)
The statehouse shenanigans continue with a pretty weird thing inserted into the latest House budget bill. just got a scratch in our heads. You’ll be scratching your head too. It’s Today in Ohio, the news podcast discussion from cleveland.com and the Plain Dealer. I’m Chris Quinn here with Courtney Astolfi, Lisa Garvin and Laura Johnston.
Laura, we predicted yesterday that state House Republicans would have to yield eventually on their plans to strangle Ohio libraries. They didn’t completely capitulate, at least not yet, but they showed signs of breaking what happened.
Laura (00:40.312)
Well, they are boosting funding for now. They’re giving more money to the libraries, but they aren’t backing down on this plan to end the century old system that gives libraries guaranteed money. That’s one point seven five percent of state tax revenue, which obviously guaranteed know that you’re going to get it and don’t have to come begging every two years to the legislature. House finance chair Brian Stewart said.
We’re bumping it up a little bit. feel like they’ve heard the outcry from the libraries, from all of the library patrons throughout the state, but they’re still not giving in. This is about $5 million per year over current spending levels. So 490 million in fiscal year 2026, 500 million in 2027, less than what was projected under Governor Mike DeWine’s proposed budget, which was about 531 and 549 in those two years.
So it’s clear DeWine is not on board with the House changes here. He went to Ohio Library Day with the State House event hosted by the Ohio Library Council. He wouldn’t speculate on whether he’d use a veto. He called it a V word. But it’s clear that he believes the library should get that defined spending.
Chris Quinn (01:52.827)
You’re giving us a much more positive spin than I would have. They gave a tiny bit more, but it is not anywhere near the increase that is part of the formula. We’ve had a formula for a century that says libraries get a percentage of the total spending to build and educate people, give them what they need. They cut that, seriously cut that. And now with the pressure coming, they gave a tiny increment more, but it’s not what...
Laura (01:55.758)
Yeah
Laura (02:03.075)
Right.
Chris Quinn (02:19.723)
the wine put in according to the formula. They’re still defying the will of Ohioans. They’re getting the headlines they want. They’re restoring library funding. No, they’re not. They’re giving a tiny bit more.
Laura (02:20.611)
Right.
Laura (02:29.486)
No, no, no, they’re not. Right. Under the DeWine plan, under that point, sorry, 1.75 % that they’ve been getting for a century, it’d be $531 million next year, $549 the year after that. That is quite a bit more than $490 and $500 million.
And I agree, this feels like a little pittance saying, pat you on the head. We heard your concerns. We’re giving you more money, but it still means the legislature is in charge and those libraries would have to come every two years and beg for their supper. And we’ve seen the way that these Republicans just slash out budget ideas. We talked about, I don’t know, five of them yesterday, including newborns. They are not in a head space and there’s no guarantee that they would give this money every year and they could
just as quickly slash that. no, I don’t think this is a win for the libraries. And I think that people are angry and they’re letting the legislators hear it.
Chris Quinn (03:26.623)
Right. think the strategy here was to get media spin. They gave money to the libraries. Gong were that newsletter that comes out actually said they restored the library funding, which they didn’t restore the library funding, but they’re getting what they wanted. They’re getting that spin. Not here. They’re still sticking it to the libraries. They’re still laying in a long range plan where they can cut their funding because the libraries have to beg every year instead of going with the century old formula. What threw me
Laura (03:36.398)
Chris Quinn (03:55.509)
was Mike DeWine kind of justifying it by saying, well, know, the pandemic money is over and we got to get back to our budgeting plan. You know what? For 100 years, the budgeting plan was given a percentage of the budget. So that’s complete hokum coming from the governor. It’ll be interesting to see whether this continues. I think they’re going to have to capitulate again or they’re going to go to the Senate and say, will you please fix this for us? Because we’re taking a merciless beating. And it’s just going to get worse. Like I said yesterday,
Laura (04:06.465)
Right.
Chris Quinn (04:25.419)
This will become a campaign problem for Republicans in 2026 if they don’t resolve it in 2025.
You’re listening to Today in Ohio. The House’s final budget did more than slightly increase library money. It also would end the practice in Ohio of counties electing their coroners. This doesn’t apply in Cuyahoga and Summit counties where medical examiners are appointed because of charters. But why would the House use a budget with no hearings, no reason explained, no testimony from people who know what the impact of this is?
to end a practice that has existed for decades, if not more than a century. Courtney.
Courtney (05:08.021)
Yeah, under this new budget plan, we got this kind of wild curveball that would shake up how most counties in Ohio review and investigate their deaths. County coroners under this new system would be appointed by their respective county commissioners instead of this election system we’ve had as far back as, you know, anyone can remember decades and decades. And like you kind of pointed out, Chris, this kind of came out of nowhere.
There were no discussions. There were no hearings. This is a fundamental change that affects 86 counties out of the 88 in Ohio. And it was just kind of flopped into this proposal. We did get a few comments from Ohio finance committee chair, Brian Stewart. Stewart, you know, kind of talked about how many Ohio counties have coroner vacancies. He described it as, you know, being hard to find people who are both willing to serve in this, you know, medical role.
and who also want to run a political campaign to hang on to that job. And he kind of said this was like a nonpartisan thing. He said, I don’t think there’s a Democrat and a Republican way to sign a death certificate. But as you point out, this is a fundamental change to county government and doesn’t really feel like there was any preparation or discussion ahead of time.
Chris Quinn (06:28.457)
If you want to do this, you can make an argument that voters really aren’t equipped to assess the medical knowledge of somebody running for this highly technical job. It’s fine to make that argument. That’s why Cuyahoga and Summit County moved to appointing them because they believe they could get more professionalism. But you don’t do it as a budget item without bringing in coroners and county council or county commissioners.
to talk about it. You might hear from county commissioners that say, what are you talking about? We’re not qualified to pick these people. We don’t want to change the system. It’s a gigantic change. This is the way it has gone since the beginning. And if you want to do that, propose a bill. I just don’t get how they keep trying to sneak these moves in. And it makes you suspicious. Automatically, this is sleazy. Is it?
Is it more Democrats are winning these roles than they’re comfortable with and it starts to build a Democratic bench and they want them to be Republicans? Why not do this in the open? It’s the hallmark of this government, Matt Hoffman in particular, to sneak stuff through without full examination and it often blows up in their faces as a result.
Courtney (07:43.439)
And like you said, there’s a full debate to be had here that was not had. And personally, I can see like you maybe some pros of moving to this system. You know, these are specialized medical professionals. I don’t know if voters have necessarily the best grasp on who would be better qualified. You know, okay, so there’s that argument, right? But on the other side of that coin, I think there is a strong case for wanting the independence from your coroner.
Wanting that independence from the political system of the county commissioner politics. You know, if if corners are brought under the appointing power of county commissioners, is there a concern that maybe they would be less independent in making their rules? Would they team up with the sheriff’s office? I just that you can imagine a whole host of effects that it would really be nice to explore those before we make such a fundamental change.
Chris Quinn (08:38.603)
What’s really happened here is the super majority Republicans in the House and the Senate have abandoned Ohio’s time-honored process of passing legislation by introducing bills and having full examination before taking it to a vote. Through the budget every two years and through the end of session, lame duck session at the end of the two-year sessions, they are passing hugely impactful legislation
with no discussion, none, and abandoning passing it during the way they’re supposed to. At some point, you would think people would get upset about this because this is completely not transparent. This is not the way American government is supposed to work. They’re sitting in back rooms, this cabal run by the Senate president and the House speaker, deciding what to do, ordering up their Republican colleagues to pass it.
and we never hear about it until it shows up and is voted upon. It’s terrible what they’re doing.
You’re listening to Today in Ohio. Lisa, what else did the House slip into its final version of their budget without discussion now that it’s going to go to the Senate?
Lisa (09:51.281)
Well, there’s a whole laundry list of things that they added. They added a couple of social issues. One of them that would ban Medicaid funding to mental health services that promote or affirm gender transition. They also want to ban menstrual products from being available in public men’s restrooms across the state. They’re raising BMV fees for vehicle registration by five bucks.
Public official pay raises are gonna get 5 % a year through 2029 and a yearly COLA of up to 3 % indefinitely. This includes like county and township officials, Ohio Supreme Court, state municipal judges. This was the second attempt at this, without law, they dropped the lawmakers from this pay raise this time. A big one, a limit. Sure.
Chris Quinn (10:34.199)
Stop there. Stop there a second because remember they tried to do this last year and and Matt Huffman when he was Senate president killed it because he said we should have a full discussion about this in a separate bill. So what do they do now? The House not on well, it’s under Matt Huffman. He’s the speaker. What do they do? The exact same thing that he said was inappropriate not six months ago.
Lisa (10:38.886)
Right.
Lisa (10:57.559)
Right, right. Although they did leave themselves out of the equation this time. maybe he thinks that’s an improvement. The big one is they are calling, the House budget is calling to eliminate the Ohio Election Commission, which is a three-person board that ensures timely filing of campaign finance reports. Under this bill, complaints about finance reports would be filed with the Secretary of State’s office for state and multi-county races or local boards of elections for local races.
the attorney general would handle any complaints that involve the secretary of state. And it doesn’t sound like a good system to me.
Chris Quinn (11:34.635)
Think about what we’ve talked about here. They’re going to abolish a check and a balance against their abusive campaign funds. They’re passing legislation completely in secret now with no transparency. All the while, while they’re rescuing wrestling, there is something completely askew with the Ohio legislature and this proves it. Now it’ll go to the Senate if they pass the whole thing today. It’ll go to the Senate, but I don’t have any faith that the Senate will be any more transparent than the House was.
Lisa (11:49.201)
Mm.
Chris Quinn (12:04.843)
You’re listening to Today in Ohio. We have another potential giant impact from the Trump administration, this time affecting Cleveland. Courtney, how much is at stake with the community development block grants that have been a staple of cities for decades?
Courtney (12:19.629)
Yeah, in Cleveland, we’re looking at roughly $28 million here that we don’t, we don’t know if it’s coming this year is basically the takeaway. know, Donald Trump has been slashing grant funding left and right across the country in a huge variety of ways the last several weeks. And while we haven’t heard anything specific on CDBG funds that go to cities, Cleveland is starting to ring the alarm bells here because they usually get from the feds.
their estimates by now for how much money they expect to receive this year that helps Cleveland plan what programming and how to spend that money in the upcoming months. And we have those estimates usually at this time by now. Amid all these cuts, we have not gotten those estimates and that’s leading council president Blaine Griffin to be quite concerned here. He told his fellow council members during a Monday meeting that
You know, this could be the case where they wake up one day and have to lay off Cleveland’s entire community development department. Now the community development department has about 80 staffers. Its main mission is affordable housing and neighborhood level development. That is like the city office that handles that, the bulk of that kind of work. And a good chunk of its budget is supported by these CDBG block grants. Hence why you have Griffin saying we might have to lay off.
many dozen employees who handle this work for the city. Now at the same time, this money that Cleveland gets roughly about 30 mil every year, a good chunk of that money also goes to support the community development corporations, the nonprofits that are located in neighborhoods all around the city that kind of are meant to be like the grassroots boots on the ground, community development fomenters out in their respective communities. Think of Ohio City, Inc. They’re credited.
in large part of helping to bring back that part of town over the last 20, 30 years. These development corporations, some are more effective than others, you know, that’s for sure. But there’s a lot of important work that happens there. And we’re being told by the head of Cleveland Neighborhood Progress that 12 out of Cleveland’s 18 CDCs could be temporarily shut down by the end of the year if this money doesn’t come.
Chris Quinn (14:37.335)
All right, this this will surprise people who listen, but I hear from a lot of Republicans that say they’re glad that Donald Trump is trying to reduce what they see as wasteful government spending. We’ve criticized them for the reckless way they’re doing it while acknowledging there’s probably room for cuts because nobody’s really brought efficiency to government in a long time. But these people I hear from talk about how this money goes to people that aren’t earning it.
When you say there are 81 people in the community development department, and we’ve had people covering City Hall for a long time, we know that’s wasted money in many cases. They’re not doing 81 people the work of 81 people. Think about it. That’s 10 more people we have that are in our newsroom. Do you think they’re doing as much work as we do? Not a chance. So in some ways, this is the squirrel, the blind squirrel finding the acorn.
If they’re cutting CDBG money, they may actually cut some waste in Cleveland. And when you talk about the CDCs, you mentioned the ones that are known for getting work done and do a great job, but they have a terrible spotty history in this city. I would argue that probably half of them don’t deserve to live. so them losing their money, I don’t know how much of an effect that would have. We’ve seen council people.
Some council people use those CDCs in horrible ways. Look at Ken Johnson, a convicted city councilman, what he did with his. So in some ways, even though I don’t think Donald Trump has any idea what’s going on in the Community Development Department of Cleveland, they may have tapped into a place where there is government waste.
Courtney (16:15.311)
Yeah. So you are tapping into something that’s definitely palpable and definitely felt out there in the community. Some people are skeptical of different CDCs. It really depends on which one you’re talking about. As for the community development department itself, you know, I think there’s been a recognition under Mayor Justin Bibb’s administration that that department has not historically the last, you know, at least 10, 15, 20 years has not been
as productive as everyone wants it to be. You know, I think there is an acknowledgement within City Hall that we got to get the community development department moving. So that is out there. That is very real. It is worth noting though that under BIV, you know, two or so years ago, him and director Alyssa Hernandez have been working on a big reorganization of that department. They’ve been trying to get the infrastructure, people and positions in place to make it much more productive using those federal dollars.
Chris Quinn (16:44.863)
You
Courtney (17:13.079)
So if the cuts happen now, those efforts to improve that department, I’d say are totally kneecapped.
Chris Quinn (17:20.087)
I always thought community development was the kind of the poster child for the malaise of City Hall. And I think anybody that’s covered it feels the same way. We were all marveling. They have 81 people. Because I defy you to find an impact that measures up to 81 people. It’ll be interesting if they lose the money, whether any resident in Cleveland notices.
Courtney (17:46.263)
And, you know, zooming out, okay, it’s not in the best place where we want it to be the department now. Maybe some of the CDCs aren’t in the best place we want it to be. But this money still represents an important chunk of money and some of the only dedicated funds outside recent ARPA investments for affordable housing in Cleveland, which we know is a crisis in which we know we need more of. So you’ve got kind of one hand and the other hand with this one.
Chris Quinn (18:11.829)
You’ve got a crisis, you’re not really seeing evidence that they’re getting on top of it. Look, I’m hearing from people, they’re sick of wasted tax spending. And this is an example of it. This is the kind of thing that you would hope would come together. If you have 81 people working in that department, show the work, prove that they’re actually earning their pay. I defy you to be able to do that. You’re listening to Today in Ohio.
With Mike DeWine and the Ohio legislature taking big steps to block solar power development in the state, we’ve talked about this many times on the podcast, we wondered how far Ohio might be falling behind other states. The answer is a surprise, Laura.
Laura (18:55.63)
We’ve actually done quite well so far, but we are slipping now in comparison to other states because of Republicans’ opposition to clean energy. So in 2024, the state generated 4,000 gigawatt hours of electricity from solar power. That’s more than double from 2023. That was only about 1382. And that amount was enough in 2023 to supply electricity to about 390,000 homes.
And we’ve been steadily increasing in 2020. We are just at 164 gigawatt hours. So this sounds pretty good. We’re 12th nationwide in power generation, leading all Midwestern states. If you look at the other top 11, California is by far the first, Texas, Florida, Nevada, North Carolina, Arizona, Georgia, Virginia, Colorado, Utah, and New Mexico. Those all make sense. But we are falling. North Carolina is gaining on us. They’ve got
projects in the works and Illinois is much friendlier to solar. And that’s because of things like Senate Bill 52, which Ohio passed in 2021 that allows those local governments to restrict or ban solar wind projects. And we’ve talked about this on the podcast, how they’re saying they don’t want to ruin their rural agricultural way of life with solar panels, even if they were going to graze sheep in between them. this
This is heartening to me. feel like if we can correct the ideas that people have, then we’d be off and running and could really compete here. this is now, you know, we don’t want to get worse.
Chris Quinn (20:33.463)
Well, what it says is the previous administrations had the right idea that to absorb the power from the sun and have real green energy. It’s the latest folks who are in the pockets of the gas and oil company. And now Donald Trump’s pushing coal again. I’m sure we’ll get on that train. They’re to blame. And so while we’re seeing good numbers, it’s the residual effect of people that were enlightened.
Laura (20:38.434)
Mm-hmm.
Laura (21:02.488)
Mm-hmm.
Chris Quinn (21:02.633)
And now we’re a few years away from seeing the negative effect of the people who are operating in the dark. Proper kind of symbolism there for what we’re talking about.
Laura (21:13.486)
All right, we’re not behind yet. That’s what I was I found surprising and heartening about this this look that Molly Walsh did. So we could still catch up and we’re never going to be California. But we do have a lot of flat rural land that could be ripe for solar. And apparently some people think Ohio is sunny enough. I mean, not hanging out on the North Coast in in March where it looks pretty gray, but it is sunny outside my window right now. And I think the further south you get, the better off you are for that. So, I mean,
This is going to be one of those things I feel like that Ohioans need to take in their own hands and do the research themselves because their legislators are not thinking clearly.
Chris Quinn (21:54.23)
No, they’re-
Courtney (21:54.231)
What’s interesting here is that North Carolina is really jumping up in the rankings. You know, it’s not just, we keeping up and pace with everybody else? Other people are finding ends to stoke solar in their own states. And in North Carolina, the political situation is similar to ours. It’s all Republican controlled, but they found a way.
Laura (22:11.406)
Yeah. Right. In Raleigh alone, more than 1,500 solar installations were recorded in 2024. Think about that.
Chris Quinn (22:20.715)
You’re listening to Today in Ohio. Democrats think they have a chance to win some Ohio congressional seats now held by Republicans. Lisa, why did they think that and who is being targeted?
Lisa (22:27.313)
.
Lisa (22:32.465)
I don’t know. just, I’m thinking dream on pink whiskers here, but, um, yeah, the democratic congressional campaign committee added three Ohio Republican representatives to their 2025 list of districts to target. So they are Max Miller of Bay village in the seventh district, which is Medina, Wayne parts of homes in Cuyahoga counties. He won that last year with 51 % of the vote.
The 10th district with Michael Turner of Dayton, that’s all are parts of Montgomery, Greene and Clark counties. He won with about 57.6 % of the vote. And in the 15th district, Mike Carey of Columbus, that’s all are parts of Franklin, Madison, Fayette, Shelby, Clark and Miami counties. And he won with 56.5 % of the vote. So the DCCC is thinking that these were weaker showings versus their Democratic and independent candidates.
And it indicates that Trump policy blowback is starting to work. And they think that that blowback will be more evident by 2026. So, also they don’t have any candidates to run against these three Republicans, although they’re working on that. I don’t know who’s on their short list, but none of these three that they’ve named, Turner, Kerry, and Miller have appeared on any list of vulnerable incumbents. And only Turner has been on the DCC list before.
Chris Quinn (23:53.739)
Yeah, the problem right now is you listed where their districts are. That’s all about the change because they’re redrawing those congressional maps because of our redistricting law. From what I hear, Miller is going to be moving further south and may not even have Rocky River and Bay Village anymore. And so if I were a Democrat, I’d be waiting to see where do the maps show because maybe they make some of these people stronger. Maybe they make some of these people weaker. Maybe...
Lisa (24:17.393)
Mm-hmm.
Chris Quinn (24:22.549)
They make other candidates weaker. Maybe Dave Joyce ends up being targetable. they are smart to start planning now for a revolt against Trumpism. All these people that have lost huge amounts of wealth in their 401Ks are not going to vote for Republicans in 2026. I if things continue as they are, if we do enter a recession,
There’s going to be a movement to throw these bums out because they will not do their job and take back the power over tariffs, which Congress has given away. So smart move.
Lisa (24:59.611)
But I don’t even, yeah, it is a smart move, but I’m trying really hard to think of any Democratic candidates who are in the pipeline that they would be working towards getting them to run. Can you think of any?
Chris Quinn (25:12.457)
No, but I think at that point, it’s going to be anybody but you kind of thing. I don’t care who it is. You Republican, you’re done. I can’t believe how lame you are. Look, these Republicans are all standing by while Donald Trump single-handedly tanks the world economy. mean, people are, they’re not looking at their 401k balances because they don’t want to see just how much money he has vanished in his foolish pursuit of proven
proven wrong strategies. Tariffs are not an answer to fortify the economy. Pretty much every economist knows that, but nobody says it. The Republicans are all, yes, sir. I mean, think about the screaming they did when Biden injected money into the economy and we had inflation. They were screaming about what he did to the economy. Can imagine what they would have said if Biden was the one that took all the money out of their 401k and they’re all standing quietly by?
Yes, sir. Yes, sir. It’s just the Republicans have turned into sheep and the taxpayers are going to want their heads. So anybody who runs could probably win. And it’s smart to plan for it. mean, things could turn around and memories are short. But if you don’t plan ahead, there won’t be an ability to take back the government from people who trying to turn into a dictatorship. You’re listening to Today in Ohio.
Governor DeWine made his strong feelings known again Tuesday about schools and cell phones. Laura, what did he say?
Laura (26:44.396)
He wants them banned during school and he’s backing this new Ohio Senate bill from Jane Timkin that would prohibit students from using cell phones during the school day. Dwyane actually asked the legislature to do this and this was a step from last year when he signed House Bill 250 that required all school districts to pass a policy by July 1st of this year to specify when students can and cannot use their phones. And most schools already have policies in them.
A lot of schools do ban phones or have the special pouches that you put them in. And the idea is that kids mental health suffer on the phones and that students are more engaged with educational content with and with each other and their teachers if they don’t have the cell phones. The grades have improved. The bullying has decreased. And actually child sextortion, it’s when people access sensitive photos and demand money not to post them publicly.
is actually reduced. So it’s the threat of suicide. I mean, as the mom of a 14 and 12 year old who both have phones, but they have to keep them in their locker in middle school, I am wholeheartedly for this. I do not want my kids on their phones during school. It’s funny though, because not every parent feels the same. saw a conversation on our
our Facebook community page that we’re saying, can’t tell my kids not to have their phone. I want to be able to contact them. I want them to be able to contact me. And then it brings up the issue of school shootings, right? And they think that their kids would be safer if they had a cell phone, which actually is not true because kids would be messaging each other rather than listening to the directions. So I think that’s a bogus argument. this, actually the parents might be harder to sell on this than the teachers.
Chris Quinn (28:26.485)
Now we keep hearing that kids have gotten around it, that they bring in old phones that they hand in and then they secretly have their phones anyway. And you know, we all were in high school. We all could see how easy that would have been to do and just be furtive about it. It’s just like the people in prisons having cell phones.
Laura (28:30.957)
Yeah.
Laura (28:43.992)
But not everyone is going to do that. Not everyone is a rule breaker.
Chris Quinn (28:47.315)
No, but the kids that probably need to look away from their cell phones are the ones who’ll do it. The good students, the ones that don’t have this problem will surrender their cell phones, but the wise guys will not.
Laura (28:59.886)
It’s not just about class though. So like I’ve heard and my kid is not yet in high school, but that when you have the phones at school, kids are not talking to each other. They’re not talking in the hallway. They’re not talking at lunch and you have these quiet cafeterias where everyone’s just pouring over their phones. Like I think that is a really bad idea. These kids need to interact with their peers in real life, have conversations face to face and be a kid, not just, you know, consume media all the time.
Chris Quinn (29:27.191)
You know, I’m supposed to be the old guy in the porch, but you certainly are sounding like the old guy in the porch. These kids today, listen to what they’re doing.
Laura (29:31.406)
Well, as the mom of these kids today who watches the phones, I think my kids are happier without them. When they get grounded and the phones get taken away, their mood improves.
Chris Quinn (29:43.991)
All right. You’re listening to Today in Ohio. Let’s squeeze in one more. What are we doing here at cleveland.com, Courtney, to provide an accurate measure of the Trump administration’s impact on inflation?
Courtney (29:57.293)
Well, our business reporter, Molly Walsh, has assembled this really thoughtful shopping list across four common retailers. We’re talking about Amazon, Walmart, Giant Eagle, and Lowe’s. And in the last couple of days, in the wake of Trump’s tariff announcement, she has gone out with this list of a hundred common household items to document their current prices at these four retailers in the Cleveland area. Her list is just fantastic. I urge everyone to go on and check it out. We’re talking common goods.
that are at risk of being hit by tariffs. Things like tires, coffee, Kerrygold butter, avocados, small kitchen appliances, electronics like laptops and TVs. We just tried to get a very robust list here across a bunch of materials and categories of household spending, personal healthcare, food, you you name it. We tried to get it on this list and she’s going to be going out periodically and checking back to see how tariffs hit those common prices.
Chris Quinn (30:56.417)
We did this for transparency. Unlike the Ohio legislature, we believe in transparency and we figured if we came back in two months and said, look how much prices have risen, people would tell us, you’re making up the originating price to make it look worse. But by putting it out there now saying, Hey, look, everybody can see it. When we come back in two months and say what’s happened or three months or whenever we take a look.
We’ll have this on the record that we did put this out there originally and people cannot question the veracity of it.
Courtney (31:27.777)
Yeah, it’s going to be really interesting to see the results as this filters in over time and potentially affects a whole host of things. So we’ll be reporting back.
Chris Quinn (31:36.597)
All right, you’re listening to Today in Ohio. That does it for the Wednesday episode. Thanks, Courtney. Thanks, Lisa. Thanks, Laura. Thank you for listening. We will return on Thursday.