Search results for

Grammy Award-winning composer and jazz trumpeter Terence Blanchard returns to Cleveland Saturday to perform music that he says he hopes will “heal” a nation torn apart by gun violence. In 2015, Blanchard and his E-Collective Group addressed the growing tension between the African-American community and law enforcement with their recording “Breathless,” but he said in a 2017 interview with ideastream that he felt there was more to say about the subject.

State Board of Education members will vote this week on whether to ask for a delay in the implementation of the final phase of the state’s A-F grading system. The 2017-2018 report cards, expected in September, will be the first time schools receive an overall grade. Those summative grades for schools and school districts are made up of more than a dozen smaller measures including academic progress, graduation rates and K-3rd grade literacy

Behind-the-scenes work isn’t always recognized, but this week Akron Civic Theatre Executive Director Howard Parr receives the Ohio Governor’s Award for arts administration. Never a performer, Parr said a college gig as a volunteer stagehand sparked his interest in entertainment production.

After several years of economic woes, Cleveland’s historic Karamu House got some good news this week. The century-old theater and cultural center landed a $1.5 million gift from the George Gund Foundation. Karamu CEO Tony Sias was shocked when he got word of the Gund gift. “It far exceeded our request,” he said. And it was a vote of confidence for an institution that had to cut half its staff two years ago and had its non-profit status yanked by the I.R.S.

The head of the Ohio realtors' association says the partial shutdown of the federal government is making it harder for prospective homebuyers to get a loan. When it comes to financing a home purchase, roughly 1-in-5 buyers rely on the help of an FHA loan, which is basically a mortgage that's insured by the Federal Housing Administration. But since the partial government shutdown went into effect, delays in the approval process are starting to stack up, said Anjanette Frye, President of Ohio REALTORS.

Akron officials are vowing to do better with the next “snowmageddon.” They knew the city was going to get a lot of snow last weekend but their trucks focused more on keeping expressways clear. After 15 inches fell, residential streets were left largely untouched. On Tuesday Akron Public Schools had to cancel classes because residential streets hadn’t been plowed. Nineteen school buses became stuck Wednesday and eight more on Thursday.

NPR's Lulu Garcia-Navarro and Weekend Edition Puzzlemaster Will Shortz play a word game with KQED listener Tracy Starr of Oakland, Calif.

Cuyahoga County is taking over East Cleveland’s emergency dispatch system, continuing the county’s years-long effort to consolidate 911 call taking. County council signed off this week on the plan, which East Cleveland City Council approved last year.

A group of pastors and volunteers involved with the Cleveland Ten Point Coalition walk the streets of the Mt. Pleasant neighborhood one night a week. They try to reach out to young people in the east side community in an effort to prevent youth violence. The program began in Cleveland last fall. They met Friday with national and regional leaders to discuss next steps including adding more boots on the ground, raising awareness for more volunteers, and securing funding for stipends, said Regional Ten Point Director Reverend Charles Harrison.

Cleveland’s division of police will staff its neighborhood districts based on volume of calls under a new plan awaiting a federal judge’s sign-off. The division is adopting what’s called a “workload-based” approach. Police analyzed calls for service in 2016 based on location, time of day, type and other categories. Cleveland plans to staff its five districts and three daily shifts based on that data.