A humiliation for the whole world to see: Mike DeWine takes Matt Huffman and Jason Stephens to the woodshed: Today in Ohio

Here’s what else we’re asking about today:

The people behind the shareholder lawsuit against FirstEnergy for its corrupt ways have an interesting target for a deposition as well as some interesting depositions already in hand. Who are we talking about?

The Ohio Senate passed a bill that should help people move on past mistakes they have made in the past. And it’s a bipartisan bill, which is nearly unheard of. What did they do?

Jim Jordan is blasting away, in very public fashion, against a fellow Ohioan, but his fellow Ohioan is not having any of it. What’s the dispute about?

Taxpayers have a distaste for public employees who double dip, meaning they meet their public pension requirements for retiring but then stay on the job collecting a salary. Cuyahoga County government has grappled with it since the new charter government formed. What is Chris Ronayne’s take on it?

We know that Cleveland State University, like many higher education institutions, is in financial trouble. On Thursday, we got a good look at just how bad things will get if the school does not take some dramatic steps to stop the bleeding. How bad?

First we got a Frontier Airlines crew base at Cleveland Hopkins International Airport, which helps expand our travel choices. Now is Akron Canton getting its own crew base?

Who doesn’t hate Live Nation? They’ve had a near-monopoly on tickets for years and gouge everyone with ridiculous fees. No end of performers have tried to get around using them because of their abusive ways. So, for people who abhor this company, what’s the good news from Thursday?

How can we know for certain that more than 1.2 million birds crossed into Cuyahoga County on Monday night, and who are the people who very much want that information?

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Read the automated transcript below. Because it’s a computer-generated transcript, it contains many errors and misspellings.

Chris (00:01.719)

I’m of a generation when we were traveling in our family cars, when we were messing around in the backseat and getting into trouble, you would get the warning from your dad, don’t make me stop this car. Well, Mike DeWine stopped the car yesterday. He took the children who are Matt Huffman and Jason Stevens, stopped the car, slapped him silly, used the constitutional emergency powers he has to make them do their jobs.

Leila (00:17.288)

You

Chris (00:31.223)

and put Joe Biden on the ballot, a shameful example for the whole world to see of how incompetent and childish our legislative leaders are. It’s Today in Ohio, the news podcast discussion from cleveland .com and The Plain Dealer. I’m Chris Quinn here with Lisa Garvin, Laura Johnston, and Leila Tassi on our final episode before we head into the summer. We will not be here Monday because we’re off.

And what did you all think about Mike DeWine getting up at five o ‘clock yesterday saying he’s out of patience, that it’s preposterous that these bozos can’t do their job and having to exercise emergency powers to force them to come back to Columbus and do it.

Lisa (01:14.734)

It’s amazing it took this long.

Chris (01:17.655)

Well, we’ve we’ve said a couple of times on here. Where has he been? And he addressed that. He said, look, I was I’m waiting. I’ve been waiting. I’ve been patient. My patients gone. And I believe most of Ohio’s patients got. Here’s the thing about this. This isn’t Republican Democrat. Everybody in Ohio knows Joe Biden has to be on the ballot. It’s basic fairness. But Matt Huffman and Jason Stevens are absolutely incompetent. They just cannot get it done. Little surprise that Mike DeWine is favoring the Huffman solution, which would.

laura (01:45.984)

Yes!

Chris (01:46.967)

banned foreign money in campaigns, although he does point out you can’t donate foreign money to candidates. Why should you be able to donate it to issues? But the reporters hounded him saying, hey, look, the House has a version two that’s a permanent solution. And DeWine did back off and say, yeah, yeah, yeah, I’ll take whatever solution I can get, but this is ridiculous. Get it done. Look, this is shameful, shameful, shameful for Ohio.

Lisa (01:47.086)

Mm -hmm.

Mm -hmm.

Chris (02:13.783)

This is the simplest thing, which DeWine said. This is so easy. We’ve always done it before. The worst leaders in the history of this legislature, they cannot do their job. Why would the House welcome Matt Huffman into be House Speaker next year, given his abject failures as a leader? Shameful. The governor had to say, children, I’m going to have to take the belt off, get to work.

laura (02:39.648)

Well, the fact that even JD Vance applauded this and said, this is the solution we need to allow Joe Biden to be on the ballot. JD Vance, who is as Trumpy as they come, is saying, hey, put Biden on the ballot. So it is ridiculous that it got to this point. DeWine said that. He said, this is ridiculous. It’s an absurd situation. I’ve been patient. My patience has run out, and the patience of the people of Ohio has run out too. And I have been in that situation where I stopped the car and was like, you let me know when you’re ready to go again.

Chris (03:06.887)

That’s this! That’s exactly what this is!

laura (03:09.536)

But I agree, they are acting like children. I was disappointed that, I mean, if he’s going to go so far at five o ‘clock, by the way, it had to be five o ‘clock, to call out the legislature and come back and fix the problem. I wish that it was just like a straight solution, one sentence, you know, fix it rather than still playing politics, whether, you know, you won’t be allowing foreign money.

Lisa (03:23.542)

I wish that it was just like a straight solution.

Chris (03:33.015)

Well, it could be. It could be that though. I mean, Jason Stevens may tell Matt Huffin, look, I’ll pass a one sentence thing if you pass a one sentence thing. They can work it out. The problem was, well, come on, if you get together and you don’t do the right thing, you look even worse. I mean, what Mike DeWine basically did was a public shaming, saying you clowns can’t do your job. You’re not serving the people of Ohio.

laura (03:42.784)

They’re gonna work it out? Really? Really?

Chris (04:00.311)

You are ridiculous. Then and now look what I have to do. I mean, he really he stopped the car. I mean, the whole world can see what a joke we are. It was in the headlines everywhere. Mike the wine has to call the legislature back. And look, this isn’t just Matt Huffman and Jason Stevens. It’s every Republican in there. Matt Dolan is in the Senate. You know, Jerry Serino is in the Senate. Where were they? Where were they to saying, look, Matt?

Stop playing games. Don’t put a poison pill in. We look like fools because they are fools. It’s the worst legislature we’ve ever had. It’s the result of gerrymandering. Good for Mike DeWine.

laura (04:37.696)

Right? And the Republicans in the past have said, we don’t really want to do anything for the Democrats without getting something in return. It’s like, this is not for the Democrats. This is the people of Ohio who deserve to vote on their candidate of choice. Like, let’s not think about partisan all the time. Let’s think about the people we represent.

Chris (04:44.151)

Yeah, I know.

Chris (04:56.567)

Now let’s see if they get it done or if they bring even more shame upon their names. You’re listening to Today in Ohio. The people behind the shareholder lawsuit against First Energy for its corrupt ways have an interesting target for a deposition as well as we now know some interesting depositions already in hand. Laura, who are we talking about?

laura (05:16.992)

We’re talking again about Governor Mike DeWine. We knew his running mate, Lieutenant Governor John Husted, was on the deposition list. Now we know that DeWine is. And this is coming from the investors in First Energy who filed a lawsuit almost immediately after the HB6 scandal broke in July of 2020. They wanted to pose DeWine’s former chief of staff and current senior advisor, Laurel Dawson. There’s been a connection between her and Sam Randazzo, the former head of the PUCO.

and DeWine’s former legislative affairs director, Dan McCarthy. There’s 10 other people total. And they don’t say why they wanted to oppose DeWine, but describe him on the others on the list as third parties. Jones and Dowling, the folks from First Energy that are charged, they wanted to oppose 87 additional people, including Senator Bill Seitz, who you love to talk about in this podcast.

Chris (06:09.335)

Well, and they’ve been deposed, it turns out, which I was surprised by. I wonder how many times they took the fifth.

laura (06:15.296)

We’ll find out eventually. These are going to be public record and part of the court file.

Chris (06:21.783)

We hope, we hope. You’re listening to Today in Ohio. In another big news lawsuit involving that big East Palestine train wreck, we have a sizable settlement. We know how much, who gets it?

Leila (06:33.192)

This is on the heels of a $600 million settlement with residents and business owners in East Palestine. Now Norfolk Southern has also agreed to pay $310 million to settle a lawsuit filed by the U .S. Department of Justice. And included in this are $235 million for cleanup efforts by the federal government. That eliminates the cost to taxpayers. There’s also $15 million in civil penalties for violating the Clean Water Act.

That’s the highest amount allowed by law under these circumstances. There’s 25 million in there for a 20 year community health program that includes mental health services for people who live and worked in East Palestine at the time. There’s 15 million for long -term monitoring of ground and surface water over 10 years and another 15 million for private drinking water monitoring for 10 years. A federal judge is going to oversee compliance with the terms of the settlement. Norfolk Southern says,

It expects to spend about $1 .7 billion on the cleanup effort and the safety measures. The settlement also includes a number of other provisions, including that the company is required to improve coordination with government officials during an emergency, like a chemical spill, or before there’s a chemical burn, like we saw in this case. Norfolk Southern also agreed to upgrade its rail cars that carry hazardous materials.

They’ve agreed to lower train speed limits and improve the car’s braking systems. And they have to install systems that detect overheated wheel bearings, which was such a critical factor in this derailment. This does not affect a lawsuit that was filed by the Ohio attorney general’s office over the derailment. However, that case remains ongoing.

Chris (08:21.879)

There were a couple of people that came out very publicly to blast it, but it seemed like sour grapes, because they weren’t part of it.

Leila (08:27.112)

Yeah. Yeah, Yoast, the attorney general, Dave Yoast and US Senator JD Vance, they were questioning this settlement. They put out a joint statement that said that the Justice Department would have helped East Palestine and nearby communities more if federal attorneys had negotiated against Norfolk Southern with all the facts, which they said could only come with the full investigative report of the National Transportation and Safety Board. That report on this incident won’t be finalized until June 25th.

Chris (08:56.887)

Yeah, that –

Leila (08:57.032)

But Joost and Van said, you know, the people deserve full compensation, but they also deserve to know the full truth about what caused this derailment and why this vent and burn tactic was deployed.

Chris (09:07.735)

It felt like sour grapes. Yost was saying, he didn’t even tell me about it beforehand. I’m a plaintiff in the case and I should know. But because these guys play politics with everything, I don’t have any wonder why the Democratic administration will not fill them in ahead of time because they just take cheap shots. I don’t really think there’s a lot we don’t know about this train wreck. So I’m not sure what they’re talking about with…

Leila (09:12.264)

Ha ha ha.

Leila (09:29.736)

All right.

Chris (09:32.375)

with full facts you could get a lot. There’s a lot of money being spread around. And more importantly, the checking of the health effects for the long term, including mental health effects, which was cool to see. This seems like a really good settlement. And I, you know, I just, it’s Yost and Vance not getting to take credit for it. I think that they’re whining about it. You are listening to Today in Ohio.

Leila (09:42.6)

Right.

Lisa (09:44.206)

seems like a really good settlement. I think it’s just a man.

Chris (09:55.703)

Lisa, the Ohio Senate passed a bill that should help people move on past mistakes they have made in the past, and it’s bipartisan, which is nearly unheard of these days. What is it about?

Lisa (10:05.87)

And it was unanimous. Senate Bill 37 passed unanimously through the Senate and it helps eliminate barriers for people with criminal records. So what SB 37 does, it eliminates driver’s license suspensions in several conditions as a penalty for not paying their court costs or truancy from school. It also allows the defendant to argue that their driver’s license suspension makes it less likely that they’re going to be able to pay child support because they can’t get to work.

It also allows those with suspended licenses to get them restored if they wouldn’t have lost it under these new rules. It reduces to one year the penalty period for those convicted of failure to provide proof of insurance more than once in five years. And then it’s removed from their driving record. And also they’ve reduced from five years to one that they have to file proof with the Bureau of Motor Vehicles about their proof of insurance.

Bill co -sponsor Bill Blessing, the Republican from Cincinnati says, no license means people can’t get to work and they’re much more likely to re -offend. The only opposition to this bill that we know of is from the Ohio Prosecuting Attorneys Association. They say it reduces flexibility for prosecutors and judges, but it got support from the ACLU and the Ohio Manufacturing Association and Americans for Prosperity.

So interesting, I didn’t know this, that a lot of these are failure to provide proof of insurance. That’s why people get their driver’s license suspended. About 96 ‚000 a year on average, 37 % of all suspensions are because of this and only 6 % for drug offenses.

Chris (11:49.047)

Yeah. And look, people need to have insurance and anybody that’s been hit by an uninsured motorist knows the pain of it. But we’ve done plenty of stories about how the license has been used unfairly and kept people in very difficult straights. You need a driver’s license to get to work. You need a driver’s license to take care of your family. And the way that the license suspension has been used, there’s just a venal thing in all sorts of situations.

has served to keep people in poverty and the less we do of that so that people can thrive, the better it is for the community. You’re listening to Today in Ohio. Jim Jordan is blasting away in a very public fashion against a fellow Ohioan, but Laura, his fellow Ohioan is not having any of it. What’s this dispute about?

laura (12:37.024)

This is about a deadly ATF raid in Arkansas. And stick with me because normally I think Jim Jordan is just yelling at the moon. But I think this is a really confusing case that is really worth investigating. And the ATF is doing an investigation. So the gun owner is named Brian Malinowski. He was executive director of the Bill and Hillary Clinton National Airport at Little Rock.

And his attorney told Jordan’s committee, which is the select subcommittee on the weaponization of government, that he started collecting guns around six years ago, that he didn’t know that he was doing anything wrong, that they hadn’t warned him. And they came before dawn to break into down the door of his home. They like covered up the ring camera. So he thought there were intruders coming in and shot. And what happened is an ATF.

officer got injured and Malinowski died, which is not an outcome anybody wants to see.

Chris (13:38.551)

Yeah, but get into how he took on Steve Dettelbach, the head of ATF, and how Dettelbach responded.

laura (13:45.856)

So he, right. So I mean, I think Jordan and Dettelbach have gone on it a bunch of times in the past. And Dettelbach is saying, hey, you’re using this example to manipulate government and that, you know, you don’t need to use real life things to try to get what you want. And he said that these are dangerous operations. They’re handled by people with decades of law experience.

And the reason they don’t have body cams is because they’re still working on it. Only a third of their offices have that. So yeah, this is not the first time Dettelbach and Jordan have gone back to back because they’re talking about this specific case, but then there’s also years and years of regulations that ATF wants to put on gun owners. And Jordan is one of those Republicans that basically thinks there should be no requirements or regulations on the gun owners.

Chris (14:37.335)

The one thing that Dettelbach is usually vulnerable on is the poppycock answer he gave about why they don’t have cameras. Body cameras have become standard issue for law enforcement because of the kinds of work ATF does. They should all be wearing them. It’s ridiculous that they’re not. And to say it’s a work in progress, he needs to make that happen overnight. That doesn’t pass the sniff test. So good for Jordan for letting him have it on that.

laura (15:03.424)

You just said good for Jordan, so write this down that you sided with Jim Jordan today. But I agree. What was it, a decade, you know, 15 years ago that we were getting on all of the local police departments about having body cams. And if they can have them, you would think federal officers would.

Lisa (15:10.126)

Thank you.

Chris (15:21.975)

Yeah, they should have them. You’re listening to Today in Ohio. Taxpayers have a distaste for public employees who double dip, meaning they meet their public pension requirements for retiring, but then stay on the job collecting a salary and a pension. Cuyahoga County government has grappled with this since the new charter government formed Laila. What is Chris Ronane’s new take on it?

Lisa (15:26.83)

Thanks for your time.

Leila (15:44.872)

Well, this is really interesting because as Caitlin Durbin points out in her story, Ed Fitzgerald, who served as the first county executive under the county’s charter form of government, had banned double dipping. This was in the era immediately following the massive county corruption scandal that gave rise to the creation of the new county government structure. And it seemed at the time like the right thing to do for a fresh start. But that ban went by the wayside at some point during the Buddhist era, I presume, because we can

Lisa (15:45.838)

interesting because as Caitlin Durbin points out in her story, Ed Fitzgerald, who served as the first county executive under the county’s Charter for the government, banned double dipping. This was in the era immediately following the massive county corruption scandal that gave rise to the creation of double dipping.

Chris (16:14.007)

What a shock.

Leila (16:15.208)

Because we can really point to numerous examples of double dippers dating back to at least 2021. So now under Chris Ronane, double dipping is actually being codified as an acceptable practice, but with guardrails for how and when it can occur. As of March, the county’s handbook requires employees who get rehired to the same job or one similar to take a 10 % pay cut.

but it does not require them to retake the civil service exam if they’re rehired within the year. Departments also have to submit a new request form justifying the reemployment, and they have to provide a succession plan. The rehires must then be approved by the department director, director of human services, and Ronane’s chief of staff. This policy came about in response to concerns that some council members had during the November confirmation hearing for the county’s fiscal chief.

Michael Chambers. He had retired on August 30th and he was rehired the very next day, September 1st. Chambers had served 40 years with the county and naturally wanted to retire. But after he notified the county of his plans, Chambers said Ronane asked him to stay. So he agreed. He told counsel that there’s a lack of talent and not enough newcomers to the world of public finance. And he had a skill set and institutional knowledge that Ronane valued. That said, Chambers’ job was never posted.

So how do we really know who’s out there? We don’t always have to hire from our small talent pool here. So I do take issue with that a little bit, but you know.

Chris (17:46.775)

I gotta tell you, I think this is like term limits, that the voters want term limits even though they’ve been pretty clearly proven to be bad for government. There’s a distaste for this and it just seems so misplaced. If you want to attack the public pensions because they let people retire too early, okay fine, you could do that. But if I have somebody that’s very qualified and doing great work for me and his

pension or her pension allows them to retire. They can retire and go work for somebody else. I mean, there’s nothing to stop you from taking your well -deserved pension and moving on. So if I’m the employer and I really value the work they do, why wouldn’t I keep them on? I can’t believe they’re cutting their pay by 10%. That boggles my mind. It’s like, just because I’m taking my pension, I’m worthless. My work is worthless.

I don’t understand the anger about this. The public pension system allows it. And so what do you do? Do you just leave it? What if you had a Jim Recaus working in the finance office and he could retire? You’d get mad because he retired and continues to collect his pay? Or would you be glad you had somebody competent doing the job?

Lisa (19:00.334)

And I’d like to point out as a pensioner that, you know, a lot of times the job that you do for the state or the county or whatever public sector is often worth a lot less than what you would get in the private sector. And in Texas, where my pension is from, you had to stay out of employment, stayed employment for six months after you retired and then you could go back.

Chris (19:02.391)

Ha ha ha ha.

Chris (19:22.519)

I just don’t get it, Lou. I’m not sure why they’re so fixated on this, except the public just doesn’t like it, I guess.

Leila (19:31.272)

Yeah, I mean, you don’t think that that’s a distasteful practice. There are even public officials who have refused to do it. I mean, Jay Westbrook, remember city councilman Jay Westbrook, he was one who famously, when he retired, he retired. He refused to be a double dipper. And I really respected that. I think the problem here is that there is no succession planning. That’s why we keep ending up with the same old crew coming back after they’ve retired.

Chris (19:35.799)

No, I mean

Lisa (19:36.814)

No.

Chris (19:48.983)

But I don’t get it.

Leila (20:00.552)

I think public administration needs to view its industry the way other businesses in the private sector view theirs. You have to begin recruiting and cultivating the workforce in a way that prepares younger generations to step into leadership roles. The double dipping is a sign of poor planning and poor stewardship of these institutions.

Chris

would you have opposed Eric Gordon taking a pension and staying as CEO of the schools?

Leila (20:29.224)

I mean, I tend to side with the sensibility of the public that doesn’t like this practice. I mean, yeah, Eric Gordon was a great leader, and I totally understand the law allows this practice. There’s nothing illegal about it. It feels yucky though, it does. I mean, the majority of people who are not in public work can’t do this, and that’s what irks everybody, and we’re all paying into it. It’s like, you know.

Chris (20:46.967)

Well, it’s the disparity.

Leila (20:57.672)

And then there are some people who are triple dippers and stuff. I don’t know. It’s like, how’s this? Doesn’t feel good.

Chris (21:01.303)

You’re but you’re resenting you’re resenting people that have good pensions because we don’t have good pensions and and I would argue and well, they pay a lot for their pensions. I would argue and like Lisa said, they do make less money and they do get the benefit. I would argue that we all ought to be able to have better pensions. There was a time in this country when most people did have pensions and that’s all been wiped out to save money. But the public employees still have them.

Leila (21:08.264)

But we’re paying for those pensions. We are paying for those pensions.

Lisa (21:08.43)

Mm -hmm.

Leila (21:26.824)

Yes.

Chris (21:31.543)

they’re a good benefit. I just look at it as, yeah, look, I look at the people that I’ve seen retire from our newsroom in the past five years. We are diminished. They were hugely talented and probably at their best toward the end because of all the experience they bring to it and then snap of the fingers, they’re gone. If I could get more time because of some trick of the accounting, I would take it because I hate to lose.

Leila (21:40.04)

Mm -hmm.

Chris (21:58.871)

competent, competent people. It’s just, it’s one of those debates that we’ll have forever. And you’re right, there’s a public distaste for it, but I don’t get it.

Leila (22:08.008)

I just think if you’re going to continue working, continue working. And when you’re ready to retire, retire.

Chris (22:13.335)

Why should you sacrifice the money if you’re entitled to the money?

Leila (22:15.624)

Well, I mean, no, you shouldn’t if you’re entitled to it. Go ahead. Go ahead. The law lets you do it. Do it. I mean, but it’s I think the law should not allow it is my point.

Chris (22:26.039)

Yeah, well, we’ll see what you think in 20 years when you’re closer to that age. I know, but but you might think differently as you start to see people with experience heading out the door. You’re listening to Today in Ohio. We know that Cleveland State University, like many higher education institutions, is in big financial trouble. And on Thursday, we got a good look at just how bad things will get if the school does not.

Lisa (22:26.862)

Hmm.

Leila (22:29.48)

I don’t have a pension. So there you go. I’m never going to be in that situation.

Leila (22:37.64)

Well, I have to work till I’m dead, because I don’t have a pension.

Chris (22:55.607)

take dramatic steps soon to stop the bleeding. Lisa, how bad?

Lisa (23:00.91)

Yeah, Cleveland .com and the Plain Dealer through a records request got a 144 page report from CSU Steering Committee, which says they are on track to lose $153 million over the next five years, which would completely wipe out their reserves. Expenses at the school remain flat as enrollment has dropped 2 .5 % since 2018 -2019 school year. They used to make $500 in revenue per student, but they’re now

losing $800 per student in revenue. There were also some recommendations to the Board of Trustees in this report. Under way already is a $9 million faculty and staff buyout. Other things, $21 .2 million in staff reductions in management, leadership, budget management, and technology departments. A half a million dollars in cuts to athletic programs. There are currently $6 .9 million in the negative in athletics.

due to NCAA requirements for Division I teams. They also have cuts across facilities, research, athletics, and they’re floating the possibility of Cleveland State partnering with another institution, for instance, a two -year community college, or being acquired and turned into a satellite campus. They would only do this, the report says, if cost savings would be achieved.

Chris (24:23.575)

got to do something because things are dire. We get back to though to what we’ve been saying for months is that there should be an organized approach statewide to this. It’s a state university. All the state universities except for the big ones are in trouble. Why not be organized about it instead of leaving them to figure it out themselves? Ulysses Nikita today in Ohio. First, we got a Frontier Airlines crew base at Cleveland Hopkins International Airport, which helps expand our travel choices.

Laura, now is Akron Canton Airport getting a crew base?

laura (24:56.512)

They could be. They could be getting one from Breeze, which is only three years old, but it’s been growing rapidly at Akron Canton since it debuted in 2021. It’s now the largest carrier serving all of, well, sorry, a third of all the passengers at CAK. And they added their 10th destination, the longest ever flight they’ve ever had from Akron to LAX, started that on Thursday. So they have eight crew bases that are staffed by pilots, flight attendants, and mechanics.

at places like Providence, Charleston, South Carolina, New Orleans, Utah, and Fort Myers, Florida. So they could be adding one in Akron. They said it’s easy to access in Summit County, close parking, short security lines. It matches their product. And it’s been really successful for them.

Chris (25:44.599)

It’d be interesting to see what additional destinations we would get. All of a sudden, these crew bases, the destinations are exploding like we talked about last week. We had a dozen new destinations starting just in a week’s time.

laura (25:57.792)

Right. They’re talking about Phoenix or San Diego to add, which would be really nice. I did fly Breeze once to New Orleans. I had a delay for a couple of hours on a Friday night. And these are one of these airlines that they only fly certain days. They only have about one flight a day. So if you are delayed, there’s not much you can do about it. But I had no problem. And they were so nice that when they originally canceled a different flight.

I got a hundred dollar voucher. So I think the only thing I paid for when I flew to New Orleans was baggage because it’s a cheap airline and you want to bring a bag, you end up paying. But yeah, so I’d love to see more destinations. And I agree that CAK is a really easy place to fly out of. And Susan Glazer talked to a family that was going to LA for the long weekend. They love CAK. And we talked recently about the TSA lines. So maybe more people will go there.

Chris (26:44.663)

Right.

Chris (26:48.599)

You’re listening to Today in Ohio. Who doesn’t hate Live Nation? They’ve had a near monopoly on tickets for years and gouge everyone with ridiculous fees. No end of performers have tried to get around using them because of all their abusive ways. So for people who abhor this company and they are Legion, Laila, what’s the good news from Thursday?

Leila (27:07.144)

The good news is that the Justice Department has filed an anti -trust suit against Ticketmaster and Live Nation Entertainment, accusing them of running an illegal monopoly over live events that squeezes out smaller promoters, gives artists fewer opportunities to play concerts, and price gouges fans. This is a case that was filed in Manhattan with 30 state and district attorneys general, including Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost. This seeks to break up the monopoly that they

say squeezing out these smaller promoters, hurting the artists. The Justice Department accuses Live Nation of a bunch of practices that allow it to maintain the stronghold over the live music scene. Those tactics include using long -term contracts to keep venues from choosing rival ticketers, blocking venues from using multiple ticket sellers, and threatening venues that they could lose money and fans if they don’t choose Ticketmaster. The Justice Department says Live Nation also threatened to retaliate against

one firm if it didn’t stop a subsidiary from competing for artist promotion contracts. And like you said, Chris, we’re all familiar here in Northeast Ohio with these tactics. Live Nation has the exclusive rights to book shows in several venues here, including Blossom, concerts at Northfield Park and the House of Blues. There are a few smaller promoters that book shows at other venues, but Ticketmaster,

which merged with Live Nation in 2010, is the largest ticket seller. During its annual report last month, the company said that Ticketmaster distributed more than 620 million tickets through its systems in 2023, and around 70 % of tickets for major concert venues in the US are sold through Ticketmaster.

Chris (28:45.047)

Everybody hates them. They’re like telemarketers or the airlines. There’s nobody that looks upon them fondly. They’re just scummy and they’ve been scummy for years. And I think lots of people would love to see them busted into pieces so that they would not be able to pull all the nonsense they pull. Buying tickets has been a nightmare because of them for years. So I think a lot of people are glad to see this. You’re listening to Today in Ohio.

Lisa, how can we know for certain that more than 1 .2 million birds crossed into Cuyahoga County on Monday night? And who are the people who are very much in desire of that information?

Lisa (29:25.23)

It would be birders like me and also researchers as well. But there’s a website called BirdCast that tracks migration patterns during the spring and fall with radar. They have a live map that shows overnight migrations and how intense they are. And it’s color coded kind of like you would see a storm radar. And that’s actually what they’re using. So BirdCast was established in 1999 to determine where not to spray chemicals that might harm migrating birds.

but it was mostly dormant until the Cornell Ornithology Lab used its expertise with Oregon State to create models that would calculate bird migration with cloud computing, machine learning, and so forth. And then NOAA partnered with Amazon to use their radar network that usually tracks storms. So the cool thing about BirdCast is you can look at it and see how many birds come by and they usually fly overnight.

And so the best time to see birds is right about dawn and about three hours after dawn. So birders who are wanting to catch birds that normally don’t live or breed here, they can use this to see, you know, where the birds are.

Chris (30:30.199)

Yeah, it was just one of those stories. You think, wow, that’s, that’s technology changing the whole way we’re purchasing a 1 .2 million birds in one night. Yeah.

Lisa (30:38.414)

in one night, but you know this is a major flyway and a lot of them if they’re flying over you know water you know in the fall I guess when they’re going south yeah so they a lot of them rest here overnight and that shows how many birds stayed in Ohio overnight as well.

Chris (30:53.751)

Well, let’s hope it’s a wonderful weekend for birders and for everybody else. It is Memorial Day weekend, the unofficial beginning of December. We hope you enjoy it. Thanks, Lisa. Thanks, Laura. Thanks, Leila. Thank you for listening. We’ll be back on Tuesday talking about the news.