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Today in Ohio
Today in Ohio - Sept. 6, 2024 Is Ohio in danger of losing the mammoth microchip plant under construction near Columbus?
Ryan Reynolds here for I guess my hundredth mint commercial. No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no More chips to start today in Ohio. It's the news podcast discussion from Cleveland.com and The Plain Dealer. I'm Chris Quinn here today with Rick Rowan, filling in for Laura Johnston, along with Lisa Garvin and Layla Tassie. Rick, just a few years ago, uncountable cars sat on lots, unsellable because of a shortage of computer chips, and Intel announced an enormous factory to be built near you down near Columbus. Today, Intel is hemorrhaging money. Does that mean Ohio could lose the big plant? Well, that's the big question, and Mike DeWine's answer seems to be no. At the very least, he's projecting confidence that it's not going to go by the wayside here. The governor told reporters on Thursday that he had spoken with Intel CEO Pat Gelsinger about a month ago. That was around the same time the company said it would be laying off 15% of its workers and suspending a long existing dividend that goes to its shareholders. DeWine said to reporters that there's no sign that anything is not going to happen here. His quote was, "Every sign is going to continue here." The state has a huge financial incentive to make sure that's the case. Intel's factory in New Albany is considered the biggest economic development project in state history, and the state is paid up to help make that happen. Those pledged more than $2 billion to subsidize the project through grants, infrastructure spending, tax credits, and that doesn't even count the truckload of federal money that's going into this project as well. National reporting is painted a pretty bleak picture for Intel. It's stock prices cratered this year. It took a $1.6 billion loss in the second quarter, but construction continues outside of Columbus. I drove past it not too long ago, and they were well at work. DeWine warned it would be premature to speculate about what the state might do if Intel doesn't make good on its promises here, which include thousands of jobs that already have been pushed back by a few years. For Intel's part, they're saying that the project remains an important part of their long-term plans. There's a significant kind of national security aspect to this. Let's face it. It ships power everything. It's not just computers and cars. It's pretty much any piece of electronics out there. America runs on electricity. Having chips that are made overseas is dangerous, because if we get into some kind of disagreement with the country where they're coming from, we can lose access to them. It was a great development to see chip factories being planned, not just here, but Arizona, upstate New York. You've seen a lot of effort to bring them here, and the president got involved saying it's a security issue. You would hate to see a threat to this, not just because of the economy of Ohio, but what it could mean to the future development of the country. I never trust when people say nothing to see here and nothing to see here. You're right. Their stock price is cratering. They're taking drastic steps, but you do hope it's a temporary blip and that this does come through. You're listening to today in Ohio. Oh, hey, our governor Mike DeWine thinks one way to a prosperous future is through innovation hubs, which he created first in Cincinnati and then Cleveland, Northeast Ohio, claimed the third one Thursday, Lisa. Where is it? What does it mean? Yeah. Governor DeWine announced the Greater Akron Polymer Innovation Hub yesterday. It's going to draw $31.2 million in state money and $10.4 million in local sources. And this will be encouraging polymer research and participants will create new polymers for electric vehicles, medical devices, improve semiconductor performance, and then make polymer production more sustainable. Akron is the perfect place for it. It's Rubber City. It's home to 150 polymer related manufacturing companies and this new innovation hub will ensure that it stays a global mecca for polymer research and production. So about $25 million will go to build a polymer pilot plant, $16.6 million to promote research and development, training scientists and researchers and helping startups in the field. They estimate by 2031, this will have created 2,400 jobs for Northeast Ohio, $43 million in additional tax revenue and draw $75 million in research funding. So I've been around a long time. I'm kind of jaded. I remember enterprise zones back 20, 30 years ago and other projects like this, that when they're announced, they sound grand, but you can't really measure them. The line will be long gone before you can measure the success of this. And you don't really go back and look at the success of the old ones. I mentioned enterprise zones. Does anybody have any clue as to whether those which were created in Cleveland and other cities paid off at all? If Cleveland neighborhoods are rebounded with lots and lots of jobs and economic development because of enterprise zones, I don't think so. So I'm always a little jaded when I hear things like this. It's a big money dump, but will it actually have the impact that they predict? It's hard to say. Yeah, it's the $64,000 question, but Akron is a federal hub. The Biden administration named Akron, one of 31 regional innovation and tech hubs. So they're also eligible for federal grants, but you're right. The other day, I dug up an old opportunity corridor pamphlet that we were given as editorial board members years ago and it's like, "Oh, there's supposed to be 10 of these. There's only one." I know. I know. There's been some development on the Carter way down close to where the clinic is, which might have come anyway. But for the rest of it, other than a cold storage building, you haven't seen anything. And this thing's been available now for years. You crash your fingers and you hope this means good things for Akron. It's just when you make this kind of long-term investment, what do you see? I just don't know. Whether it works or not, I thought one thing that was interesting about this that we didn't really talk about was that the state was dumping money into Akron, Toledo, and Dayton with this money that they put into the budget, which there's always these questions about spurring economic development around the state. You often see it in Columbus. There's been a ton going on around Columbus and I think there's some sensitivity to that within the state and they're looking at some of these other smaller cities outside of the three seas. Well, let's face it, John Houston will be running for governor in a couple of years and he's not going to want those cities to feel like they've been slighted at the benefit to Columbus. You're listening to today in Ohio. We are in a Cleveland moment when affordable housing is at its most limited but Habitat Humanity thinks it has one solution for dealing with that. Layla, how is it spending almost two million dollars to get more people housed? Habitat is tackling this affordable housing crisis here by building 19 modular homes across the city of Cleveland. Modular homes are constructed off-site and then assembled on location, which makes that process faster than traditional builds. Two of these homes were just unveiled in the Detroit Shoreray neighborhood. Both of them offer 1,350 square feet of living space and that includes three bedrooms, two bathrooms, a basement and modern features like a mudroom and wide doorways. And as you said, Chris, this is a two million dollar project that aims to take home ownership and make it really accessible to people earning 30% to 80% of the area's median income. The CEO of Greater Cleveland Habitat, John Lytton, explained that these homes won't be rentals. Instead, the buyers will own their homes from day one with no down payment. And applicants would have to contribute 200 to 300 hours of community service as part of their commitment, whether that's volunteering on future builds or attending workshops on financial literacy and home maintenance. The county executive Chris Renee really praised this effort, he called it a wonderful contribution of the community. He emphasized the need for a more affordable housing in Cleveland and Cayuga County. The broader goal here is to build or restore 400 homes across the region so more people can achieve the dream of home ownership. Families will start to move into these houses on West 83rd Street by Christmas. So those interests in applying can find more details on Habitat's website. The term modular homes is scary because I think some people interpret that to mean mobile homes or things that deteriorate and it's nothing of the sort. I wish they would come up with a new name. These are stick-built homes just like many of the houses in Cleveland but they're assembled in pieces in a factory which actually allows much greater precision when the factory work is being done, you don't have any of the outdoor variables. The trick is that after you bring those pieces to the site on a flatbed truck, you've got to stitch them together effectively because otherwise it doesn't work and you have to have a stable foundation but these can be quite lovely when they're put together right and in much better shape and the insulation and things are much more precise when you do it this way. So it's a very cool idea, they're not inexpensive, I mean let's face it, what does it work out to about 100,000 each, how many houses are there, 18 you said? Yeah, something like that, right, right. I was really taken by the photos of the interior of these homes, it's quite nice, you know I've written some about Habitat in years past one of the families that we featured in our Greater Cleveland series, got a home that had been restored by Habitat and first of all the quality of that rehab was terrific. They took this vacant and abandoned house in Cleveland and by the time they were finished it was as nice as any home that you'd find new in a suburb and the financing model for that project was that the family was required to contribute so many hours of sweat equity into the project and in exchange they would have no down payment and a zero interest mortgage. Now it sounds like these modular homes come with no mortgage at all, was that your read on that? I mean and if that's true, I mean my understanding of the modular homes is that they appreciate just like any traditionally built home does. So if these families are coming in with no mortgage, that is the gift of immediate equity in their homes and that's unbelievable. And they're getting homes that are in good shape. When you're hanging the cabinets in the kitchen walls in a controlled factory setting, you're getting solid construction, it's good quality stuff. It's so easy to think, oh it's manufactured housing, it must be crap, it's mobile homes and it's not. If you look at the pictures as they deliver it, this stuff's high quality and you're right, it'll go up in value, it creates a nice neighborhood. There's some design limitations when you're doing it this way, again you've got to be able to bring the pieces in on a flatbed truck so you know building mansions that way. But I think it's a tremendous idea. It's still expensive, there are other methods that people are trying to use with 3D printing level technology with concrete that have gotten the expenses down, but for some reason that kind of thing really isn't coming to Cleveland. But it's a cool story and people should check out the pictures there on Cleveland.com. You're listening to today in Ohio. People in Northeast Ohio have made clear they want more access to that big lake that's it's north of us. As we have so few ways to get out on it, what's the big news from the metro parks and the foundry on an expansion of our access, Rick? The metro parks announced plans for the Patrick S. Parker Community Sailing Center at the East 55th Street Marina. It's billed as a world-class community sailing center that's going to give the public more access to sailing opportunities. And to that point, I was kind of stunned to read this note in the story. Apparently 90% of Lake Erie Shoreline in Cuyahoga County is privately owned and that means limited access to the public. That plus economic barriers for many have made it difficult for the public to access the lake and to participate in water sports. One of the aims of the center is to tear down those barriers. It's the first of its kind on Lake Erie. It's going to have two new buildings and include multipurpose learning spaces, indoor and outdoor community areas, concessions and dining, rooftop deck, overlook tower, a boathouse that's going to act as a sailing hub, it's going to be fully accessible to those with disabilities. And it's envisioned as a year-round community anchor and lakefront destination for sporting and community events. There's going to be education components, retail, marine operations, of course recreation and dining. It will have public programs to bring the benefits of sailing to those who historically have faced those economic barriers I mentioned before. And it's going to have year-round sailing STEM program and for schools and community partnership organizations that's going to be under the operation of the Cleveland Foundry, which is going to offer boating safety and education classes, water safety certification classes to the community. This is going to cost about $15 million and it sounds like it's going to be paid for largely through philanthropy and state and local grants, constructions supposed to be done in 2026. Look, I have no doubt that someday in the future we will shut down Burke Lakefront Airport and greatly expand Lakefront access because all that land, Taffa downtown, it's Lakefront. Until then though, this kind of project is dynamic and you've got to salute them. The people at the Foundry have done wonderful things down on the river in making not a place for rowing and bringing in lots of city kids to get the use of the river. This will expand that in a big way. It's tremendous. Brian Zimmerman at the Metro Parks keeps hitting them out of the park. He just keeps tackling projects, delivering them in a big way and making the recreational experience better. I think it will be wonderful. I expect a lot of people use it. Lisa, you spend a lot of time down by the water. What do you think? Oh, yeah. I think, and actually, I spend a lot of time right there at the Foundry because they're like some Adirondack chairs right on the river and I'll sit there and watch people rowing. So I believe this is going to be right around the corner from the Foundry or right along the same stretch of river, which is near Merwin's War. No, no, no, I think this is going to be on the lake, right? Oh, it's going to be on the lake. Okay. Okay. It's going to be over on the lake. So it's going to give some significant lake for an access. It's a cool project. We can't wait to see it. Congratulations to all for bringing it home. You're listening to today in Ohio. The first month of legal recreational marijuana sales is in the books and to paraphrase Bob Dillon. I feel so all alone because everybody must be stoned. How much do you know I would spend on legal weed, Lisa? Yeah, today is the one month anniversary of recreational sales. So since then we've seen $44 million in sales. There was $11.1 million in the last week of August, 18th to the 31st. And that was up from 10 and a half the week before. So total receipts so far are 551,737 sales. The ounces of flour are dropping. The price is now down to $254.60 an ounce. That's down about $4 and then manufacturing products have kind of stayed steady. They've been averaging about $30.41 and prices are the same for medical marijuana, but they don't pay the 10% sales tax, of course. And they no longer have to pay that medical fee, the $50 patient fee of their $25 caregiver fee. The division of cannabis control says they don't really need that revenue and they wanted to ensure the survival of the medical program when recreational became legal. Here's a question for you. There's nobody that feels any kind of stigma walking into a liquor store because liquor's been legal for decades and decades. But I wonder if because marijuana has been illegal for so long and all the reformateness nonsense that went on to make you scared of it, if people are feeling it as some people as they walk in, like they're furtive and they go in and get out quickly, or if they just consider it like any other kind of shopping, they go to the store and they get what they want. I do know because I've been to a couple of dispensaries since they opened and there were a lot of first timers at the first one I went to in Wycliffe, a lot of first time. And my age, like in their 50s and 60s, they didn't seem to be like they were being furtive or secretive or anything, I think recreational is kind of giving people permission. So they're feeling free, none of that stuff in the past is sticking to it. They feel like it's legal, I'm going to the store, I'm getting some weed. You're listening to Today in Ohio. We talked about this the other day, but I don't know that we stressed quite enough the uniqueness of the situation and why that is so. Leila, in letting us all know way ahead of time that Cleveland is bidding for the 2030 Special Olympics, what does destination Cleveland hope thousands of Ohioans will now do to support that bid? Well, so instead of waiting until this bid is concluded, destination Cleveland is announcing their plans really early because they're hoping to rally Ohioans behind the bid. And the big ask here is for volunteers, not money. David Gilbert, who's the CEO of Greater Cleveland Sports Commission and Destination Cleveland, explained that the city needs 10,000 volunteers to pull off this massive event. And that's four times the number that helped with the 2016 Republican National Convention in Cleveland. The goal is to show the selection committee that Cleveland has the community passion and commitment to make these games the best they've ever seen. The games would take place in June or July of 2030 and they'd bring 5,500 athletes, coaches and officials to Cleveland, along with 10,000 or so friends and family and 100,000 spectators. The events expected economic impact would be about $70 million. But Gilbert says that the real legacy would be the mark that it leaves on the city and the state leading up to the events. Cleveland is competing with Nashville and both cities have already begun their public campaigns. The Cleveland effort is driven by a coalition of local powerhouses, universities, hospitals, government leaders, major corporations. They're leaning into Cleveland's history of successfully hosting big events from the MLB All-Star Game to the NBA All-Star Game and the NFL Draft. So if you're out there listening and you're interested in supporting this big bid, you can take the Cleveland Pledge which is a commitment to volunteering and supporting the athletes and you can sign up on the Special Olympics page at thisiscleveland.com. So it's a big publicity thing to get as many people saying I want you here as possible. Yeah, I mean, that sounds like it. I mean, this would be so great for Cleveland to win this bid, right? With that much community participation, the games would, I think, leave a lasting legacy here by inspiring greater inclusivity and awareness for people with disabilities. But also it would spark permanent infrastructure improvements or foster partnerships between local organizations. It could even inspire long-term volunteerism and engagement within the community. I really hope that this volunteer drive catch is fire and helps Cleveland stand apart from the other city. Yeah, I just don't think they're doing enough to spark it. I mean, why wouldn't you then, if you want everybody to do it, why wouldn't you have a moment at the Guardians game where somebody comes on the loudspeakers and says, look, we're trying to get the Special Olympics in 2030. Pull out your phone, go to this website right now, sign the pledge and get tens of thousands of people to do it. That's a great idea. We're doing it at the Browns game this weekend or do it at the first Cabs game. It seems like we need to do more as a city than just have Dave Gilbert saying, hey, we're doing this. Please go. Right. Anytime people get together because you could, you could overwhelm them. You could get 100,000 people saying it, but I just don't know that they're thinking big enough just yet that there's a way to energize the community that's better than this. You could also approach our local corporations and corporations are always looking for ways to get their workforce involved and in events like this and volunteerism and it looks good, it feels good and I think that much the way we used to do corporate giving and things like that, this could be a way to tap into that. Yeah. Just something big because I, do you feel it? Do you think everybody who saw this has gone and filled out the thing yet? I don't know if people are paying that close of attention. Let's hope so. You're listening to today in Ohio. Back to the waterfront, Rick, what decades old company that had a big role in cleaning up the Kyoga River is going out of business? So the Samsel Supply Company, which is a maritime construction and industrial supply business plans to close its doors by the end of this year. The company was founded in 1958, but it said Thursday that it's going to close in two months. It already had sold its warehouse and other buildings on Old River Road in 2021 and the owner said that they, the family owned business just doesn't have a new generation to pass it on to. They are well known, as you said, for their connections to the Kyoga River and its cleanup. So back in the late 1960s, when the river and Lake Erie were very well known for their pollution, Frank Samsel started a pollution cleaning part of the business that led him to design a 56-foot tugboat, outfitted with a vacuum, a crane, and a winch. And that tugboat called the Putsferau sucked oil off the surface of the water and it was able to pick up as much as 15,000 gallons of oil in 100 cubic yards of debris in a 16-hour day. It played a key role in cleaning up the river through the 1980s. While Samsel sold off its warehouse and several other buildings to a developer who specializes in historic building renovations, it still owns the Hoshier building and the flats that's home to the Collision Bend Brewing Company. What I don't get is if this is such a going concern, why they're just closing it down instead of selling it, but maybe the value of the real estate is greater than the value of the business and they've just decided to cash out on the real estate because it is in a prime location. It's a shame, though, because if it's a going concern, you'd like to see it keep going. You're listening to Today in Ohio. Why should fans of Jane Austen be excited to be in Cleveland in October, Lisa? Because they'll be surrounded by hundreds of like-minded people. So the Austen Annotated Conference, which they say is the largest in-person conference focused on the 19th century novelist, is going to be held October 18th to 20th at the Hilton Downtown Hotel. It's going to be including workshops, 19th century costume balls, they're going to be focusing on Austen's influences that influenced her writing. They'll also get to participate in local events while they're in Cleveland. They're going to be offered tours of Amish Country, Playhouse Square and Downtown Public Art. It's $340 a person. If you want to do it in person, $175 if you do it by live stream, you have to register by the 26th of this month, but you have to be members of the Jane Austen Society of North America to attend this conference. And in our story on Cleveland.com, there's a link to join that society if you're so inclined. Yeah, I was wondering, Laura's not on the podcast today. I was just wondering if she was a member of this society. It seems like a very Laura thing to do, but I have to ask her when she comes back. You're listening to Today in Ohio. Which Exner, our data guy, has come up with plenty of numbers that show the most spectacular beautiful weekends in Northeast Ohio are the last weekend of September, the first weekend of October. This weekend's supposed to be a little chilly, it tastes the fall, but our next story is something you should consider as we head into the spectacular, sunny, dry weekends, at least that's what the odds are. How did reporter Caitlin Durbin find a way to hike in safety with some like-minded people, Layla? Caitlin joined up with a group of outdoor enthusiasts called Girls Who Hike Ohio. It's a women-only hiking community with 30,000 members across the state, from beginners to more seasoned backpackers, all supporting each other and sharing survival skills, things like that. Caitlin joined one of their ambassador-led hikes in Strongesville recently and described it as a fun, welcoming experience, even though she didn't know anyone at first. And quickly she warmed up to this group. I mean, one of the best things about the group is that you can just show up for these planned hikes. You don't have to worry about navigating the trail alone or setting the pace. They've totally got it covered. And it's not just about the hike. Caitlin noticed how the group quickly bonded, they started swapping stories about life and the outdoors and by the end of the four-mile walk she felt really connected to these folks. The hikes are great for women with different goals, whether it's for fitness or relaxation or just getting out in fresh air and being in nature. And if you're into more intense adventures, the group also organizes backpacking trips, which are great for people looking to gain confidence on the trail. They even run winter camp outs for the more advanced members. So if you're looking to explore Ohio's trails safely while connecting with other women who share your passion for the outdoors, girls who hike Ohio might be a good fit, it's free to join through their Facebook group and you'll need little more than a sturdy pair of shoes and a water bottle to get started. This was part of our summer camp for grown-up series, which I think our reporting staff had a lot of fun working on. This is a lovely story. She does a nice job in making it relatable. And it also is kind of an antidote to what happened during the pandemic when everybody got into isolation. This is a very easy way to go out and have some social life, talk to people, get back into those conversations that we seem to have more of before 2020. So it's a really terrific story. I had a smile on my face the whole time I was reading it, but no guys allowed, I guess. So it's just for women. You're listening to Today in Ohio. That does it for a week of news. Thanks, Layla. Thanks, Rick. Thanks, Lisa. Thank you for listening. We'll be back Monday talking about the news. [MUSIC PLAYING] (upbeat music)