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This is one of a series of interviews highlighting the winners of the 2017 Anisfield-Wolf Book Awards. Find more here.

Progressive Field, home of the Cleveland Indians baseball team, will be open to full capacity June 2 and masks will be optional for all fans, the team announced Tuesday.

The Trump administration is ordering a halt on evictions nationwide through December for eligible tenants. Evictions are on hold, but rent is still due, and the tab keeps building through the moratorium. When it ends, tenants may have trouble covering months of back rent. Melanie Shakarian, director of development and communications at The Legal Aid Society of Cleveland, wants to see rent assistance to help ease the burden for tenants and help landlords.

Whether it’s an All-Star Game, a Final Four tournament or a pro-sports draft, hosting big events costs local organizers money. A bill signed by Gov. John Kasich this month will give cities, counties and local host committees more help hosting such events.

2019 will be a big year for the two largest universities in Northeast Ohio. Both the University of Akron and Kent State are simultaneously undergoing a search for a new president and both will likely keep the candidates secret. University of Akron interim president John Green prefers to use the word “confidential” when describing the process of hiring a new president. He says it’s a trend among universities around the country.

June 22, 2019, marks 50 years since the last time the Cuyahoga River burned. Throughout the year, regional and local events will celebrate the crooked river’s revitalization. After taking place in August for the last three years, the Great Lakes Burning River music festival will celebrate its 18th year on June 22. River Rally, a national conference, will convene in downtown Cleveland the week of the anniversary. And stand-up paddleboarders will travel almost six miles along the Cuyahoga, marking the day the river burned.

When Governor-elect Mike DeWine is sworn into office next month, a new director will take over the Ohio Department of Natural Resources (ODNR). Her name is Mary Mertz. In her first term as ODNR chief, Mertz says she and DeWine want to build the agency. “Bring the experts, give them every opportunity, build the agency, and do some great things,” said Mertz. She plans to take on issues involving Lake Erie.

It was a wild ride for Ohio farmers this year. President Trump’s trade war with China cut off exports for many farmers, and it’s affecting their plans for 2019. After President Trump announced tariffs on Chinese steel this spring, China retaliated with a 25 percent tariff on American soybeans and other agricultural products. Medina County farmer Tom Trout says the export market for soybeans completely dried up and prices dropped. “You give the market what it wants, and right now it’s telling us it does not want more soybeans,” Trout said.

After nearly two decades in a basement, the LGBT Community Center of Greater Cleveland on Friday will officially be out in its new home. The spacious 15,000 sq. ft, two-story building with lots of windows in the Gordon Square Arts District is a far cry from that basement. The center will still offer outreach, education and training programs, as well as new programs taking advantage of more space and amenities like a state-of-the-art kitchen.

Just 13 Ohio counties will be eligible for a waiver for heightened Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) requirements in the face of a federal rule change beginning in April. That’s compared to 42 counties with a waiver now. Federal regulations require able-bodied adults without dependents (ABAWD) to work, go to school, get work training or volunteer for 20 hours a week to qualify for food assistance. Otherwise, they can only receive SNAP benefits for three months out of every three years.