WKSU News: Local governments and schools could see $113 million in rebates

Tuesday, May 14, 2013 Local governments and schools could see $113 million in rebates Also in morning headlines: Cuyahoga County plans to review how missing persons data is handled; State ready to hear about plans to increase school safety by WKSU's AMANDA RABINOWITZ	Morning Edition Host Amanda Rabinowitz

Local governments and schools could see $113 million in rebates

Cuyahoga County plans to review how missing persons data is handled

Medical examiner's office officials enter Castro's home

Drop-off site set up for non monetary donations to kidnap victims

State ready to hear about plans to increase school safety

Cleveland board to vote on contract that sets new teacher standards

Union won't take up fired gay teacher's complaint

Lottery sales down

More criminal records cleared since new law went into effect

Local governments and schools could see $113 million in rebates
Local governments and schools in Ohio could see almost $113 million in rebates from the state insurance fund for injured workers under a proposal from the governor. Gov. John Kasich's office on Monday released a breakdown of employers that could see a payout from the $1 billion rebate plan he proposed earlier this month. The Kasich administration says the Ohio Bureau of Workers' Compensation would return $112.8 million to nearly 3,800 local governments and schools under the plan. The bureau's board must still approve the idea. They meet at the end of the month to consider it. Read more from the Columbus Dispatch

Cuyahoga County plans to review how missing persons data is handled
In the wake of the Cleveland kidnapping case that broke last week, Cuyahoga County Executive Ed Fitzgerald says the county plans to review how missing persons data is handled. He points to concerns over Michelle Knight’s case. She was reported missing a day after she disappeared in 2002, but a year later her entry was removed from the FBI’s national database. Police couldn’t find anyone to confirm whether or not she was still missing. Knight was found alive along with two other women in the west side home of Ariel Castro. Fitzgerald has followed the case, and while he wouldn’t discuss possible charges, he said the penalty should be severe. So far, Castro is charged with kidnapping and rape. He remains held on $8 million bond and has been placed on suicide watch. Cuyahoga County Prosecutor Tim McGinty says he’ll look into whether the crimes warrant the death penalty.

Medical examiner's office officials enter Castro's home
Some nervous moments on Cleveland’s Seymour Avenue when officials of the Cuyahoga County Medical Examiner’s office entered the home of Ariel Castro, the man accused of holding three women hostage for about a decade. Cuyahoga County Prosecutor Timothy McGinty quickly issued a statement, saying his office requested forensic photographv"in preparation of trial." He says it’s standard practice. Castro is accused of kidnapping and rape in the attacks. A Cuyahoga County grand jury is expected to hear the case within weeks.

Drop-off site set up for non monetary donations to kidnap victims
A fund has been set up for Amanda Berry and her daughter, Gina DeJesus and Michelle Knight. Now there’s a drop off location for people wishing to give non monetary donations of cards and gifts. The Family Ministry Center on Fulton Road replaces previous drop off points at Cleveland police stations in the First and Second districts. The new drop-off location opens today and will remain open through June 22. Click here for more information

State ready to hear about plans to increase school safety
Members of the state school board are ready to hear from some of Ohio's top law enforcers and policymakers about ways to improve school safety. The board is trying to determine how best to update policies and increase advocacy efforts about school safety. The invited speakers for the hearing in Columbus include Attorney General Mike DeWine, Department of Public Safety Director Tom Charles and Rick Baron, the executive director of Ohio Homeland Security. Also on the list was the superintendent of schools in Chardon, where a shooting killed three students and wounded three more at a high school in February 2012. The teenager who pleaded guilty in that case is appealing his sentence of life in prison.

Cleveland board to vote on contract that sets new teacher standards
The Cleveland school board will vote today on a tentative agreement with the teachers on union on a new three-year contract. Under the deal, teachers would have to gather so-called Achievement credits to move up the pay scale. Much of those credits would be based on teacher evaluations. Teachers would also add 40 minutes to their work day and would also pay more into their healthcare. But, in exchange, the union would get a 4 percent increase in base pay in the contract’s first year, and a one percent increase in the third year. The details of the contract align closely with the Cleveland Plan the state legislature passed last year. The union will vote later this month. Read more from State Impact Ohio.

Lottery sales down
Fewer gamblers bought Ohio lottery scratch-off tickets during the past year, and competition from the state's new casinos and racinos may be having an impact. Instant tickets are the lottery's most popular game with more than $1.4 billion worth sold every year. But sales have fallen 4 percent — or $57 million — over the past 12 months, compared with the previous year. Most of the decline was in the past six months, according to an analysis of Ohio Lottery Commission numbers by The Akron Beacon Journal. Lottery Director Dennis Berg said the four new casinos and racinos probably have had an impact. Casinos have opened during the past year or so in Cleveland, Toledo, Columbus and Cincinnati. Some retailers say the economy has affected scratch-off sales, too.

Union won't take up fired gay teacher's complaint
A gay teacher challenging her firing by a central Ohio Catholic school says the local union for Catholic educators decided not to proceed with her complaint. Carla Hale said Monday that the grievance committee for the Central Ohio Association of Catholic Educators isn't supporting her efforts to get back her job as a physical-education teacher. Hale also filed a complaint with the city of Columbus, which prohibits firings based on sexual orientation. Hale says she was fired from Bishop Watterson High School after her mother's published obituary included the name of Hale's partner and someone complained. Bishop Frederick Campbell in Columbus said Hale was fired not because of sexual orientation but because she violated the church's moral teaching by having what he described as a "quasi-spousal relationship" with a woman. Read more from State Impact Ohio

More criminal records cleared since new law went into effect
More people with a criminal past are clearing their records since a new law went into effect in Ohio. In Cuyahoga County the number of people since January who had their records expunged is nearly twice that of all last year. The law helps people avoid ‘collateral sanctions’ from convictions that prevent future employment. J. Dean Carro is director of the legal clinic at the University of Akron. He’s also seeing increased numbers of people applying for expungement, which he says has an economic benefit. The law limits the types of crimes for which a judge can seal the records, including violent crimes and traffic related crimes. But excluded people can obtain a certificate of qualification for employment if they can prove they’re rehabilitated despite a criminal past.