Regional News Stories Archive: December 2002

New Legislation On Charter Schools
Originally aired Monday, December 2, 2002
Last fall's Supreme Court decision upholding school vouchers gave a victory to school choice supporters. Now charter schools are at center stage in the choice debate. New legislation on charter schools is expected to clear the Ohio Senate shortly, and head to Governor Taft's office for his signature. As ideastream's Bill Rice reports, some aren't happy with it.

Lessons Learned From Davis-Besse
Originally aired Monday, December 2, 2002
It's been nearly a year since the Davis-Besse nuclear plant near Toledo was shutdown due to unprecedented corrosion damage. It may still be several months before plant owner FirstEnergy is ready to ask federal regulators for approval to reopen. But the lessons learned by what happened at Davis-Besse are already having an impact on the U.S. nuclear industry. The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has at least temporarily increased its oversight of the 68 other nuclear plants that could develop Davis-Besse's problem. And FirstEnergy is planning major design innovations that would be the first of their kind in the U.S.. But critics say some lessons have yet to be learned, much less passed on. ideastream's Karen Schaefer reports.

Catholic Sex Abuse Indictments
Originally aired Wednesday, December 4, 2002
Yesterday a grand jury handed down the first indictments in the Cleveland Catholic Church sex abuse scandal. The intensive 7-month investigation reviewed tens of thousands of doucments and heard testimony from more than a thousand alleged victims of child sexual abuse. But critics charge that the Church still has to answer for fifty years of covering up abuse by men and women trusted by parishioners. County prosecutors say there will likely be more indictments brought against the Cleveland Diocese, some possibly from out of state. Ideastream's Karen Schaefer reports.

Accents: Bilingual Education - Part 1
Originally aired Wednesday, December 4, 2002
Here in Northeast Ohio, our history is one of new arrivals from all corners of the world speaking many languages. No matter how diverse the native backgrounds of immigrants, all share a common challenge - making their way in an English-speaking culture. Many first generation immigrants don't learn English, although that's probably less true today than in the past. But it falls to Ohio's public schools to make sure their kids do. As part of our series Accents, we take a two-part look at how we educate those with limited English skills. Today, 90.3's Bill Rice takes us to a western suburb for a firsthand peek at bilingual education in action.

Accents: Around Noon: Interview and Concert
Originally aired Thursday, December 5, 2002
Cleveland State University professor Mark Tebeau describes how he sent a group of student researchers into the community to explore the story behind Cleveland's Cultural Gardens. (You can hear the results each week in our Accents series.) We'll also treat you to the live stories and songs of Irish musician Sorca McGrath.

Accents: Cleveland Cultural Gardens - Story 3
Originally aired Friday, December 6, 2002
The neighborhood surrounding Cleveland's Cultural Gardens is much different than when the first statues were erected in Rockefeller Park nearly eight decades ago. The area was once a destination for a variety of European immigrant groups. By the end of World War II, more and more of the city's white residents were heading to the suburbs. At the same time, southern blacks continued to arrive in large numbers, populating places like the Glenville neighborhood. As part of our examination of ethnicity and immigration in northeast Ohio, we've developed a unique partnership with Cleveland State University. Students in a local history seminar have researched a series of stories about the significance of the gardens. Today, as class member Tiffany Curtin reports, there's a plot of land that's waiting for an identity.

Accents: Kabul to Cleveland
Originally aired Friday, December 6, 2002
Every year Greater Cleveland absorbs thousands of new immigrants. Some come for economic opportunity. Others come because they have nowhere else to turn. Over the years, Cleveland Catholic Charities' Migrant and Refugee assistance program has resettled people from the Balkans, southeast Asia, and Africa. This year, the agency broke new ground by welcoming a handful of families from Afghanistan. This morning, we revisit their experience, with a story heard here first in August as ideastream's Accents series continues. While the Refugee assistance program has roots in Northeast Ohio's storied immigrant tradition, ideastream's April Baer reports, it's now paving the way for a different crop of newcomers.

Preparing for the Worst:
Originally aired Monday, December 9, 2002
A whole generation of American children has reached adulthood without bearing that distinctive circle-shaped scar on the upper arm. These scars are the mark of vaccination for smallpox, a scourge many presumed to be wiped out. But the rise of terrorism an the threat of biological weapons has put smallpox back on the medical radar screen. A conference in Cleveland next week will brief health care personnel on how the plan to provide smallpox vaccinations will work here. The director of the Case Western University School of Medicine's Center for Sciences, Health and Society, Dr. Nathan Berger, heads up the conference. He's with us by phone.

Candlelight Vigil to be Held for Slain Priest
Originally aired Monday, December 9, 2002
A candlelight vigil is scheduled today at 5:30 PM for a Cleveland priest who was killed Saturday. Police have arrested a suspect in connection with the death of a Cleveland priest, who was killed Saturday. The suspect's name is not being released, and no charges have been filed. But a spokeswoman with Cleveland Mayor Jane Campbell's office reavealled the suspect is a seminarian. The community of Slavic Village has been shocked and saddened by the death of the pastor of St. Stanislaus church. He was found dead Saturday amid the remains of a fire. ideastream's Renita Jablonski has the story.

Making Change:  Farmers’ Market Boom
Originally aired Tuesday, December 10, 2002
Over the last decade, the number of Farmers' Markets in this country has increased by nearly 80%. One reason for their popularity, of course, is the fresh food and charm of the markets, but it also affords you direct contact with people who grow the food. Economically, they benefit farmers, neighborhood stores and the entire community. As part of Making Change; Reinventing Our Economy, ideastream's Shula Neuman explains how one woman's quest for fresh food had a ripple effect on the entire region.

Accents: Russian Family
Originally aired Wednesday, December 11, 2002
If someone were to ask whether or not you are an American, you probably wouldn't hesitate to say yes. But, for many, that isn't an easy decision. Even in a city as ethnically diverse as Cleveland, a foreign accent can label you as an outsider. ideastream is conducting an in-depth examination of Northeast Ohio's immigrant culture through a special series of radio and television reports called Accents. This morning, David C. Barnett takes us to the home of a local family that's trying to establish a new identity.

Accents: Arabic Family
Originally aired Thursday, December 12, 2002
For many area immigrants, it's a struggle to assume an American identity while maintaining their cultural heritage. Some local Muslim women were attacked or threatened in the days after September 11th, because their traditional garb suddenly became a symbol of the enemy for some Greater Clevelanders. ideastream is conducting in-depth examination of Northeast Ohio's immigrant culture through a special series of radio and television reports called Accents - Northeast Ohio's Identity Crisis? This morning, David C. Barnett takes us to a local home where the old world is blending with the new.

New Standards for Botanical Supplements
Originally aired Thursday, December 12, 2002
Whether you take ibuprofen for headaches or echinacea to stave off the common cold, you'll be glad to hear there are people out there making sure the medicines you take actually work. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration determines whether foods, drugs and dietary supplements are safe for human consumption and in what amounts they should be taken. But another organization that's been around for more than a century has been helping to protect the quality of those medications. The United States Pharmacopeia a non-profit organization that works to ensure that more than 3,400 prescription and non-prescription drugs, nutritional and dietary supplements contain what they say they do. Recently USP established a new advisory panel on botanicals. Those are supplements like black cohosh and St. John's Wort available over-the-counter to treat problems ranging from menopause to depression. ideastream's Karen Schaefer spoke with the head of dietary supplements at USP, David Roll. Roll says his organization has been setting standards for medications since modern medicine began.

Accents: Cleveland Cultural Gardens - Story 4
Originally aired Friday, December 13, 2002
Northeast Ohio is made up of people from more than 70 nationalities. One of the largest symbols of the area's ethnicity is located within Rockefeller Park, on Cleveland's east side. But the Cleveland Cultural Gardens represents only 24 different ethnic groups. So what does it take to get a garden? A group of Cleveland State students taking a local history seminar explored that question this semester. As class member Ellen Shepherd reports, planting a garden can be a long process.

New Runway Expands Hopkins’ Service
Originally aired Monday, December 16, 2002
Last week officials cut the ribbon on a new 7,000-foot runway at Cleveland Hopkins International Airport. It's the only runway to be commissioned at a major U.S. airport this year and most government officials and business leaders agree it will be a much-needed engine for economic development in the region. But the current five-year, $1.5 billion expansion project has sparked concern from some communities worried about noise from increased air traffic. One suburb of the landlocked airport is facing the loss of nearly 500 homes if a controversial third runway is built by 2015. And the city of Olmsted Falls is returning to court over the impact to water quality of nearby Abram Creek. ideastream's Karen Schaefer has this report.

Accents: Cleveland Cultural Gardens - Story 5
Originally aired Wednesday, December 18, 2002
The Cleveland Cultural Gardens represent the identity of two dozen different ethnic groups living in northeast Ohio. But these days the park is struggling to retain its identity as a whole. Throughout our Accents series, students in a local history seminar at Cleveland State University have taken us on a tour of the gardens and its history. In our final installment of stories on the gardens, class member Monica McMahon takes a look at what they can mean to northeast Ohio today and in the future.

Accents: Bilingual Education - Part 2
Originally aired Wednesday, December 18, 2002
Several states have been battlegrounds over how best to educate non-English speaking public school students. Efforts to kill so-called bilingual education, where students are taught in both their native tongues and in English, have succeeded in California, Arizona and, most recently, Massachusetts. All three states favor what's called the "immersion approach," which requires students to leave their mother tongues at home and use only English at school. There's been no such movement here in Ohio, but a continual quest to find the best recipe for helping foreign-born students adjust and thrive is very much alive. As part of our series Accents, ideastream's Bill Rice looks at one school district's approach to bridging multiple language barriers.

African Journalist
Originally aired Wednesday, December 18, 2002
News-gathering is often a difficult and sometimes dangerous job outside the U.S., where local reporters can face political, social and even economic constraints. Journalists from many African nations have a particular challenge in getting their stories out to the world. Last week a radio journalist from the small East African nation of Malawi stopped by the WCPN studios. Owen Fletcher Zimoya is in the U.S. to learn more about western journalism. He talked with ideastream's Karen Schaefer about the state-supported radio corporation he works for in Malawi.

Accents: Wrap-up
Originally aired Thursday, December 19, 2002
Cleveland ranks high when it comes to being one of the most ethnically diverse cities in the nation. That diversity is praised constantly by political and community leaders, but rarely has it been treated as a real tool to spur economic development and develop stronger ties between the area's communities and neighborhoods. Throughout the last five weeks, our Accents series has examined issues of ethnicity and immigration in northeast Ohio, ranging from its history to its implications in education, business, and our personal lives. Today, as we begin to wrap up our series, ideastream's Renita Jablonski considers what we have, and what we need to do to take full advantage of the region's multi-cultural assets.

Making Change:  Big Box Stores
Originally aired Friday, December 20, 2002
Despite a sluggish economy, this holiday shopping season is expected to have a 4% increase in sales over last year. That's a pretty modest improvement, according to the National Retail Federation. Not surprisingly, one survey found that more than half of all shoppers intend to make their purchases at discount department stores. The boom in the number of discount and so-called "big box" stores has prompted many consumers to make different choices about where they shop. As part of Making Change: Reinventing our Economy, ideastream's Shula Neuman reports on how the influx of national retail chains doesn't necessarily mean locally-owned stores are in trouble.

Best Place to Manufacture - Part 1
Originally aired Monday, December 23, 2002
Cleveland is working toward changing its manufacturing-based economy to high-tech. But during the transition, factories will likely remain the city's bread-and-butter. Cleveland's coffers depend on the payroll and property tax dollars that come from its factories. There are about 2,000 manufacturers in Cleveland. Each has an average workforce of around 30 people. With so much money at stake, you might think the city is very accommodating to the needs of these companies. But many plant managers say it is not. ideastream's Mike West has the first of a two-part report on the challenges of keeping cleveland factories in the city.

Best Place to Manufacture - Part 2
Originally aired Tuesday, December 24, 2002
The city of Cleveland and the suburbs both want to keep and attract factories. They provide jobs and a tax base. For many manufacturers leaving Cleveland is becoming an attractive option. In Part 2 of our series on manufacturing in northeast Ohio, ideastream's Mike West explores why factories leave, and what the city is doing to try and keep them.

Davis-Besse Documentary
Originally aired Friday, December 27, 2002
At a time when the Bush administration has been calling for new sources of electricity, the troubles at the Davis-Besse nuclear plant near Toledo have been a thorn in the side of operators, lawmakers, and regulators alike. The reactor with a hole in its head has made national headlines and its impact may be even more far-reaching. For the last nine months, ideastream's Karen Schaefer has been following events at the plant. She prepared an in-depth look at what's been happening at Davis-Besse - and what the outlook for the future might be.