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It’s up to Ohio municipalities to decide whether they want to allow recreational marijuana dispensaries within their borders. As an enticement, they get to collect 36% of the tax at those businesses.
That’s what voters approved, anyway.
Now state officials want to take that incentive back. They say the voter-approved statute didn’t create the appropriate mechanism for divvying up those tax dollars and they instead want to send money to county jails, police training, mental-health initiatives and more.
The state has already collected $30.3 million in recreational marijuana tax revenue since sales started in August.
Who knows if the cities will ever see a penny?
— Laura
Overnight Scores and Weather
Cavs vs. Brooklyn Nets: Cavs won’t be denied the Central Division title, get comeback win over the Nets, 109-104
Northeast Ohio weather forecast: Cloudy and cooler
Top Stories
Marijuana taxes: While the recreational marijuana law Ohioans approved initially enticed municipalities to allow dispensaries within their city limits with the promise of extra tax dollars, this bait-and-switch could leave those cities empty-handed, report Cory Shaffer and Sean McDonnell.
Browns buy-in: The Browns are offering the state new assurances in their quest for $600 million in aid for a new covered stadium in Brook Park, report Rick Rouan Jeremy Pelzer. Browns owners Jimmy and Dee Haslam have been pursuing $1.2 billion in public aide for the $2.4 billion stadium they plan to build next to Cleveland Hopkins International Airport.
Today in Ohio: Why did Ohio reject a $500 million solar farm? Opponents did not want the panels to mar the agricultural landscape. We’re talking about the foolishness of denying green energy projects when the state so badly needs more energy on Today in Ohio, cleveland.com’s daily half-hour news podcast.
Statehouse and Politics
School vouchers: Laura Hancock reports nearly 40% of state spending on private school vouchers goes to families at the top income brackets in the state – people who make six- and seven-figure salaries or more, a recent state report shows.
Censorship worries: College professors who testified Tuesday against a bill that would make sweeping changes on Ohio campuses argued the legislation would result in self-censorship, Laura Hancock reports.
Antisemitism investigation: Two Ohio universities are under investigation by the Trump Administration for civil rights violations related to allegations of antisemitic harassment on campus, reports Anna Staver. U.S. Education Secretary Linda McMahon wrote a letter to 60 schools on Monday, including Ohio State University and the University of Cincinnati.
Northeast Ohio News
Fair housing: A Painesville nonprofit that enforces federal fair-housing laws in three Northeast Ohio counties could shutter permanently this fall after President Donald Trump’s administration gutted most of its funding, reports Megan Sims. Since receiving a grant termination notice from HUD on Feb. 27, the organization is barely able to get by.
Taxing district: Downtown Cleveland Inc. says it has the support it needs to continue taxing downtown businesses through a special improvement district, even if Cuyahoga County does not become part of it – but the businesses could end up paying more, Kaitlin Durbin reports.
Witch hazel: Like a magic wand, witch hazel casts its spell over the snow-bound woods January through March across Northeast Ohio. Spotting witch hazel is much easier now that the woods are full of snow. Witch hazel is the earliest woody shrub to bloom as we pass through winter to spring.
Rent increase: A recent study found that Cleveland, among large U.S. cities, had the largest median increase in rent between 2023 and 2024, reports Megan Sims.
Municipal court: Cleveland Municipal Court is set to reopen today following a cyberattack, but the court’s website will remain down for the time being, Lucas Daprile reports.
Fires: Firefighters responded to calls at a vacant house and a car just minutes apart on the same street Tuesday on Cleveland’s West Side, reports Olivia Mitchell.
UA grant: The National Science Foundation has awarded the University of Akron $660,421 to fund a program that examines semicrystalline polymers, a type of plastic used in everything from grocery bags to high-performance fibers, reports Sabrina Eaton.
Business and Health
Unemployment: Ohio’s unemployment rate rose in January, the highest it has been in more than two years, reports Molly Walsh. That state’s unemployment rate increased to 4.6% in January, up from a revised 4.5% in December.
Pandemic poll: In a new Pew Research Center poll, about three-quarters of Americans said the pandemic took a toll on their own lives and nearly three-quarters (72%) said the pandemic did more to drive the country apart than to bring it together, reports Julie Washington.
Crime and Courts
Mercy Health: Lorain officials dropped contempt of court charges against Mercy Health Lorain Hospital’s president and settled a lawsuit filed by the healthcare provider over the disbanding of its police force. Adam Ferrise reports that a joint statement by the hospital and city and county officials on Tuesday said the nine-member hospital police force will be reinstated as part of the settlement.
Prison sentence: An East Cleveland man who pleaded guilty Tuesday to killing his grandfather was sentenced to four years in prison after family members asked for mercy, David Gambino reports. Terrell Graves, 21, was originally indicted by a Cuyahoga County grand jury on aggravated murder charges in the Oct. 13, 2023, shooting death of 67-year-old Ernest Rumph.
Arts and Entertainment
Ask Yadi: Can you say no to children’s fundraisers? Yadi Rodriguez writes there is nothing wrong with saying that you aren’t interested or don’t have a need for what they are peddling this time.
Great Northern: A trio of restaurants are headed to Great Northern Mall, reports Marc Bona. The restaurants, which are all projected to open this year, are among several tenants and events the mall announced recently.
CLE Ballet: Cleveland Ballet dancers will perform “Impressions of Picasso” at 7:30 p.m. Friday in the Cleveland Museum of Art’s Gartner Auditorium, reports Paris Wolfe.
St. Patrick’s Day: With St. Patrick’s Day falling on a Monday this year, locals plan to spend the entire weekend celebrating. Alex Darus lists more than 30 events taking place across Northeast Ohio to help you get in the St. Patrick’s Day spirit, culminating with the parade downtown.
RTA options: The Greater Cleveland Regional Transit Authority says it will add capacity to its rail service on Monday to accommodate people going to and from the St. Patrick’s Day Parade, Rich Exner reports.
‘Electric State’: With its stellar cast, graphic novel-inspired visuals that reimagine Monument Valley as a robot wasteland and a timely message about humanity’s increasingly tenuous relationship with technology, this tale of misfit toys (err, robots) could’ve been — should’ve been — a darker, more surreal live-action “Toy Story” for the AI age. Instead, Joey Morona reports “The Electric State” lacks, well, electricity.
Chris Trapper: Grammy nominated singer-songwriter Chris Trapper has traveled the world over, performing to a dedicated and ever-growing fan base with nothing but his guitar and his songs. Peter Chakerian reports Trapper will perform many of these songs at an intimate, small-hall appearance at Treelawn Social this Friday.
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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