'Our Buildings Are Safe': Cleveland Schools Reopening This Week

METRO CLEVELAND, OH — The long-awaited return to the classrooms has come for thousands of Cleveland area students and teachers.

Teachers in the Cleveland Metropolitan School District were inside school buildings Wednesday for the first time since coronavirus-related closures, Fox-8-Cleveland and others reported. They prepared for the return of 37,000 or so students, about half of whom are slated to go back to in-person learning Thursday and Friday.

“Our buildings are safe, and the District has taken every precaution possible to ensure the health and safety of our students and staff,” CMSD CEO Eric Gordon said in a statement shared by Cleveland.com.

The district and Cleveland Teachers Union agreed Monday night to a return to the classroom plan for this week. The union still had concerns about ventilation, PPE and hand sanitizer before an agreement was reached, according to the Fox report. Union President Shari Obrenski told Cleveland.com the union is confident the district is ready to move forward "based on the amount of progress" over the past week.

Schools will use a hybrid learning model, a mix of remote and in-person classes that has become the norm amid the coronavirus pandemic. Some special needs students were back in person last week; all students are to return for first in-person classes the week of March 22, Gordon said in a letter on the district website. Read the full story from Cleveland.com.

Free TV Streaming Service Launches

Locast, an Internet service that lets television viewers stream local TV channels for free, has launched in the Cleveland area. The service began delivering 70 channels to the 4 million or so people in the Cleveland market, including residents of Akron, Ashland, Ashtabula, Canton, Mansfield and Sandusky, the company said Wednesday.

The service is free to use, but programming is interrupted regularly by requests for donations, Cleveland.com reported. Subscribers can donate $5 a month to skip those messages.

Metro Cleveland Headlines

• Senate Confirms Ohio Rep. Marcia Fudge As HUD Secretary: Ohio Rep. Marcia Fudge, a Cleveland native, was confirmed by the U.S. Senate on Wednesday as the nation’s Housing and Urban Development Secretary. Fudge, who has represented parts of Cleveland and Akron in the 11th District since 2008, was confirmed 66-34 with bipartisan support.
• Westin Hotel Could Close Next Week: The Westin Cleveland downtown hotel could close as early as next week if a judge does not appoint a third party to manage it, a Clevescene.com report states. The Cleveland International Fund seeks to foreclose on the property and filed an emergency motion claiming the owner Optima companies is no longer willing or able to put up funds to maintain the hotel, on St. Claire Avenue NE, which was the Crowne Plaza before 2011.
• Teen From Cleveland A Finalist For Boys & Girls Club Youth Of The Year: Daisjana Walker, a student at East Tech High School in Cleveland, is one of four finalists for the organization’s 2021 Youth of the Year in Northeast Ohio. Other finalists for the award, to be announced later this month, include Akron residents Abrianna Johnson and Karla Rickards, and Jamaria Glover of Sandusky.
• 2020 Downtown Cleveland Annual Report Released: The annual report released by the Downtown Cleveland Alliance highlights $320 million in development, 13 new business retail openings and more than 50 office businesses that relocated or recommitted to downtown Cleveland from 2010 to 2020.
• Joe Tait, Longtime Voice Of The Cleveland Cavaliers, Dies: Joe Tait was the voice of the Cavaliers for the bulk of the team's 40-year existence, and spent time announcing Cleveland Indians baseball games during the 1970s and 1980s.

“We are adamant about not leaving anybody behind, and really putting a lot of effort into educating the public.”

- Dr. Melissa Li-Ng of the Cleveland Clinic, about the clinic's handling of the coronavirus vaccine.

SPORTS TALK: The Cleveland State University men’s basketball team is headed back to the NCAA Tournament. The Vikings’ 80-67 win over Oakland University in the Horizon League championship game this week gives the school an automatic bid in the March Madness field of 68. It is the first NCAA Tournament appearance for Cleveland State since 2009, and only the school’s third overall.

Fans and alums of the Cleveland university have hopes of history repeating itself. In both 1986 and 2009, Cleveland State pulled off first-round upsets in the tournament. In 1986, the Vikings defeated a highly ranked Bob Knight-coached Indiana University team en route to a Sweet 16 appearance. We'll find out on Selection Sunday, March 14, who the team will be matched up with this time.

WEATHER IN A WORD: Damp.

LET’S MAKE PLANS: Fish fry days are back at the Prosperity Social Club on Starkweather Avenue in Cleveland, with spots available to reserve for a timed, curbside pickup on Friday, March 12. Read more about it. Also on the calendar:

• Vaccination Clinic: Garfield Middle School in Lakewood will host a COVID-19 vaccination clinic on Saturday, March 13, with the ability to administer 200 doses that day. Vaccine shots will be given by appointment only, with those receiving their first shots on Saturday set to follow up for a second dose April 10. Read more about it.
• Celebrate St. Patrick's Day: Several Cleveland-area restaurants and bars are beginning the celebration of the March 17 holiday early this year. Cleveland.com has a guide to the best corned beef, beer and music specials planned in the area. Read more about it.
• Mini Photo Sessions: Shoott Photography will offer free 30-minute photoshoots at the Cleveland library Friday morning. Read more about it.

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