Here’s some good news/bad news as we begin this Friday.

First the good: We made it to Friday. Now the bad or not-so-great news: you may be spending this weekend indoors.

A big wave of Arctic air will send temperatures sliding downward beginning today. Then Sunday the second act moves in, a snowstorm bringing the potential for heavy snow, including here in Northeast Ohio, while in some places in the mid and deep South possible catastrophic ice accumulations are predicted.

Complicating the situation: a regional salt shortage that may impact road clearing efforts.

The story begins our discussion of the week’s news on the “Sound of Ideas Reporters Roundtable.”

Power outages could result from the winter storm this weekend but even on calm weather days, Ohio is having a hard time keeping up with rising energy demand.

One main driver of that increased demand: data centers. Columbus has become a key location for these centers, with one report concluding it's the second-largest hub in the Great Lakes region. But those centers are popping up everywhere including in Stark County for instance.

If you're heading to Downtown anytime soon, you should know that the city has updated its rates for on-street parking and enforcement. The new digital, coinless metered system will give drivers the opportunity to park at a meter for up to four hours, but at increasing hourly rates and enforcement will be extended seven days a week—except in Ohio City where Sundays will not be enforced.

Cleveland City Council members are not yet sold on the Bibb administrations "pedal to the metal" approach to shut down Burke Lakefront Airport to open the acreage to lakefront redevelopment. Mayor Justin Bibb has said he would like to see Burker shuttered by 2029.

The future of Burke Lakefront will be the topic of our next “Sound of Ideas Community Tour” on March 4.

Property owners in Ohio's largest counties are among those that will see their next property reappraisals delayed by a year. Sixteen counties including Franklin, Cuyahoga and Hamilton are pushing back the process. Cuyahoga will next appraise properties in 2031.

Fewer Ohioans are enrolled in Affordable Care Act or Obamacare plans after additional subsidies to offset costs put into effect during the pandemic expired last month.

Guests:

-Gabriel Kramer, Reporter, Ideastream Public Media

-Kelly Byer, Economic Development Reporter, The Canton Repository, USA Today Co. network

-Karen Kasler, Statehouse News Bureau Chief, Ohio Public Radio/TV

Reaction to City Club forum with Center for Christian Virtue

The Center for Christian Virtue began as an anti-pornography group more than 40 years, but has since become what the Cincinnati Enquirer recently called a "policy powerhouse" in the state, influencing hundreds of bills, from expanding Ohio's EdChoice voucher system to banning transgender students from using bathrooms that align with their gender identity.

The Center's President Aaron Baer spoke at The City Club of Cleveland Friday, amid protestors on the street, and following an open letter from members of the LGBTQ community and nonprofit leaders who pointed out the group's designation as an anti-LGBTQ hate group in 2023 by the Southern Poverty Law Center.

City Club CEO Dan Moulthrop said the group's major influence in shaping state laws is why he invited Baer to speak.

On Thursday's "Sound of Ideas," we're going to spend time talking about this organization and its impact in the state, and discuss the reaction to Baer's invitation and speech.

Guests:

- Jessie Balmert, State Government Reporter, Cincinnati Enquirer

- Greg Lawson, Senior Research Fellow, The Buckeye Institute

- Maria Bruno, Executive Director, Ohioans Against Extremism

- Tom Sutton, Ph.D., Professor Emeritus of Political Science, formerly at Baldwin Wallace University

Cleveland extends paid street parking hours and increases rates, city leaders discuss

On January 1, the city of Cleveland implemented new rules for street parking Downtown and in Ohio City. Paid parking hours now run from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m., seven days a week.

Formerly, street parking was free after 6 p.m. on weekdays and always free on weekends.

Ohio City will follow the same schedule, though Sundays will remain free. The changes include higher standard rates, with additional increases possible in special event zones.

City officials say the goal is to improve turnover and availability in high-demand areas. Some residents and business owners, however, have raised concerns about the added cost for evenings and weekends.

The changes come as downtown activity continues to rebound from the COVID-19 pandemic. According to Downtown Cleveland Inc., foot traffic and visitor activity reached more than 90% of pre-pandemic levels in 2023.

And while leisure travel has largely returned, business travel is gaining momentum too— up 7% last year and bringing nearly $200 million in revenue to Cuyahoga County.

Wednesday on the "Sound of Ideas," we'll discuss how will these changes shape daily life downtown, and what might they mean for Cleveland's future economic development.

Guests:
- Matthew Moss, Senior Strategist, Thriving Communities, City of Cleveland
- Lucas Reeve, Senior Advisor, City of Cleveland
- Sam McNulty, Co-Founder & Owner, Market Garden Brewery

Speaker revisits site of historic 1854 Frederick Douglass address

Later in the hour, we will talk about a historic speech delivered by abolitionist Frederick Douglass at Western Reserve Academy in Hudson.

Douglass' great-great-great-grandson Kenneth Morris Jr. will be at Western Reserve Academy on Jan. 23 as the capstone for the school’s weeklong observance of the life and legacy of Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.

Morris will be in the same space that Douglass delivered his historic commencement address in 1854 when the site was known as Western Reserve College.

In the speech, Douglass debunked the faulty science that underpinned pro-slavery arguments.

The commencement address was the subject of an award-winning documentary, “Just and Perfect” produced by Western Reserve Academy and featured present-day students reciting portions of the speech.

We will talk to the film's writer and producer about the film and the speech.

Guests:
-CeCe Payne, Writer and Producer, “Just and Perfect,” Bicentennial Special Projects Manager, Western Reserve Academy
-Iiyannaa Graham-Siphanoum, Associate Dean for Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Belonging, Western Reserve Academy

Former Ambassador for Global Criminal Justice Beth Van Schaack was in Cleveland, and sat down for a conversation with CWRU's Michael Scharf.

President Donald Trump has threatened to invoke the Insurrection Act to quell ongoing anti-ICE demonstrations in Minnesota in the wake of the shooting death of Renee Good by a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent.

Protests have erupted nationwide after Good's death, and there have been many in Northeast Ohio communities, including Cleveland, Akron and Kent.

This week, social media has been filled locally with unverified reports of ICE activities in Cleveland. Noted immigration attorney Margaret Wong said there were reports of ICE agents in Cleveland and offered advice about people's rights should ICE agents come to their door.

Cleveland Police took the extraordinary step on Wednesday to issue a statement saying it's not its job to enforce general federal immigration law.

We will begin Friday’s “Sound of Ideas Reporters Roundtable” with a discussion of CPD’s statement and rising concerns over ICE.

FirstEnergy is asking the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio to lower reliability standards for power outages, basically allowing for more outages that last longer before its determined that standards weren't met. A first hearing is scheduled for next month.

The Cleveland Clinic announced yesterday that it intends to earn certification as a Level 1 trauma center at its Main Campus by 2028, its second Level 1 trauma center in the region, after Akron General.

Cleveland Clinic main campus leader Dr. Scott Steele said he sees a need for this top tier of trauma care within the Clinic's own system. But Cleveland already has Level 1 trauma centers -- operated University Hospitals and also by MetroHealth, which called for the clinic to reconsider and claimed patient costs would rise as a result of the clinic's actions.

An effort to repeal a new state law that makes changes to the recreational marijuana statute passed by voters and also bans intoxicating hemp suffered a setback this week. A group trying to prevent Senate Bill 56 from going into effect and allow voters to decide whether to repeal it in November had its petition summary language rejected by Attorney General Dave Yost.

We've heard a lot about the Browns planned move to a new enclosed stadium in Brook Park from the Cleveland perspective. Now, we're getting a bit more insight into how the mega project could impact Brook Park. This week the Northeast Ohio Areawide Coordinating Agency or NOACA held a meeting about how the stadium could impact traffic.

The Canton Hall of Fame Village has secured financing that could jump start the stalled construction on a massive indoor water park. "Game Day Bay" sits at the front of the Village property was started in 2022 but has been sitting unfinished since 2024.

All this week on Ideastream Public Media you've been hearing reporting about the firefighting crisis facing Ohio. 70% of Ohio's fire departments are at least partially staffed by volunteers. Those volunteer positions are getting harder to fill as current volunteers near retirement. The reporting is a collaboration between Ideastream and The Ohio Newsroom and you'll find all the stories on our website as "Sound the Alarm".

Guests:

Glenn Forbes, Deputy Editor of News, Ideastream Public Media

Abigail Bottar, Reporter, Ideastream Public News

Karen Kasler, Statehouse News Bureau Chief, Ohio Public Radio/TV

Ohio's psychiatric hospitals are primarily serving patients who face criminal charges due to a rise in long-term, court-ordered stays, according to reporting from The Marshall Project - Cleveland and KFF Health News.

The fatal shooting of a woman by an ICE agent in Minneapolis has led to protests across the country, including several in Northeast Ohio.

Cuyahoga County Board of Public Health officials are urging parents and guardians to vaccinate children against measles, mumps and rubella, all potentially life-threatening, but preventable diseases.

Ideastream reporters examined how volunteer fire departments across Ohio are run and how those departments often deal with staffing shortages and financial challenges.

It's a midterm election year and the Ohio governor's seat is up for grabs as there is no incumbent.

The presumptive nominees for the two major parties finalized their tickets this week. Presumptive Republican nominee Vivek Ramaswamy, the businessman and former presidential candidate and Department of Government Efficiency partner, selected Senate President Rob McColley of Northwest Ohio as his running mate.

Dr. Amy Acton chose the former leader of the Ohio Democratic Party -- and an active fly in the Republican ointment on social media, David Pepper. Get ready for the Doctor....Pepper campaign.

State and local health experts urge us to get a flu shot, even though the shot doesn't seem to be matched up well with the current strain of virus.

Flu cases are on the rise statewide and in Northeast Ohio, flu-related hospitalizations doubled this week, according to an Ideastream report. Year-over-year cases are higher as well and we are still several weeks away from peak flu season.

And we've got measles to worry about, too. Three kids in Cuyahoga County have them.

The East Cleveland City School District is riding high after being released last month from state oversight, which had been in place for more than seven years.

Gov. Mike DeWine spent much of the week refuting what he called disinformation spread on social media alleging fraud in the state's day care system. The online videos specifically target day cares run by Somali immigrants. Ohio has the second largest population of Somalis in the nation.

Police in Akron bring their own long guns to work, but Akron's mayor says they should use only department-issued weapons. He inserted that new rule in the capital budget he submitted to city council this week. The issue of personal long guns has become a concern for community members after 15-year-old Jazmir Tucker was shot dead by an officer using his own gun in 2024.

Swearing in for Cleveland's smaller sized city council happened this week, and grumbling about leadership followed not long after. The council, slimmed down to 15 from 17 due to population declined, features 3-new members -- and one returning member who cast a no vote on a perfunctory approval of council's rules, saying leadership does not seek broad input from its members.

Guests:

-Anna Huntsman, Akron-Canton Reporter, Ideastream Public Media

-Conor Morris, Education Reporter, Ideastream Public Media

-Karen Kasler, Statehouse News Bureau Chief, Ohio Public Radio/TV