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Remember the mess of Ohio’s unemployment system at the start of the pandemic?

Thousands of Ohioans waited for weeks for their first payments, or lingered hours on hold, trying to straighten out their cases. And that was before Ohioans had their identities stolen in massive fraud schemes.

Now, more bad news: We’ll be waiting even longer for a revamped system after top officials in the company hired to replace it have been indicted.

- Laura

Overnight Scores and Weather

Northeast Ohio Tuesday weather forecast: Heavy rains continue

Statehouse and Politics

Senate debate: Democratic U.S. Rep. Tim Ryan and Republican J.D. Vance both said Monday they had agreed to two debates next month, one on Oct. 10 in Cleveland and another on Oct. 17 in Youngstown. Andrew Tobias reports that the Cleveland debate will be hosted by WJW Channel 8, while the debate in Youngstown will be hosted by WMFJ Channel 21, a Youngstown TV station.

Northeast Ohio News

Cleveland’s Promise: Keeping the attention of a class of 9- and 10-year-old students is always challenging, but on virtual learning, it’s an art. Mrs. Sharon Lenahan has learned the nuances of the craft over the past few years through growing pains, when school buildings were closed during the height of the coronavirus pandemic. Hannah Drown reports as part of the Cleveland’s Promise series.

East CLE: In the span of a month, seven current or former East Cleveland police officers tacked their names onto a long-running roster of officers charged with committing crimes while being paid to solve them. The seven, including Chief Scott Gardner, are part of a deepening investigation involving local and federal officials, reports Cory Shaffer. At least 23 East Cleveland police officers have been charged with criminal conduct in uniform since 1998.

Council response: East Cleveland City Council members say they are angered and concerned about the police department as officers are indicted, reports Olivia Mitchell.

Appointment inquiry: When labor leader Dave Wondolowski was forced to give up his seat on Cuyahoga’s elections board to avoid a conflict with serving on the port authority, it seems one of his other public offices may have been overlooked, Kaitlin Durbin reports. Wondolowski has also served on Ohio’s Public Utilities Commission’s nominating council since the start of the year, which one community member recently asked the Cuyahoga County Prosecutor’s Office to investigate as a potential violation of the Cleveland-Cuyahoga County Port Authority agreement.

County stimulus: Cuyahoga County Council is set to introduce roughly $900,000 in new American Rescue Plan Act funding Wednesday, reports Lucas Daprile. The six funding proposals include $250,000 to renovate a charter school, $173,930 for snow equipment, $100,000 to train more nurses to respond to childhood sexual trauma and more.

Cleveland stimulus: Cleveland is expected to approve $5 million in COVID-19 stimulus funding for an affordable housing project that has been in the works for years, reports Lucas Daprile. If approved, Cleveland would spend $4,919,291 of its American Rescue Plan Act funds on the Woodhill Homes affordable housing project.

School tech: Cleveland Metropolitan School District has been focused on offering “digital acceleration” to its students this year by adding new technological resources for students like Wi-Fi on buses, a universal identification badge and interactive displays, reports Alexis Oatman. While students have already been able to use the badges on RTA buses, a new partnership with Cleveland Public Libraries will allow students access to resources within the library, such as logging on to computers, checking out books and other digital content.

Rosh Hashanah: Sunday marked the beginning of Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish holiday more commonly known as the Jewish New Year. Members of the Northeast Ohio Jewish community gathered at Riverside Park in Chagrin Falls on Monday to celebrate Rosh Hashanah during a special “Shofar at the Falls” service hosted by the Chabad Jewish Center of Chagrin Falls. Joshua Gunter has photos.

Business and Healthcare

TV sports: Bally Sports+ has officially launched in Ohio, bringing live Cavaliers, Columbus Blue Jackets and Columbus Crew games back to the screens of many cord-cutters throughout the state, reports Joey Morona.

Guardians gear: Need some Guardians gear to update your Cleveland sports wardrobe? Joey Morona has 10 must-have items.

Dental school: Northeast Ohio Medical University announced Monday that it plans to pursue creation of a College of Dentistry. The university anticipates receipt of $1 million earmarked by the state of Ohio toward developing the new dental college, but estimates it will take $25 million to launch and sustain the program, Gretchen Cuda Kroen reports.

Crime and Courts

Jail lawsuit: The family of a man whose death marked the first in an historic string of inmate deaths at the Cuyahoga County Jail settled its lawsuit with the county and MetroHealth for $550,000. Adam Ferrise reports that the lawsuit argues officials ignored warning signs that Larry Johnson might attempt self-harm and failed to conduct required 15-minute checks on inmates the day Johnson died.

Shooting trial: Two defense attorneys told jurors Monday that a pair of long-serving Cleveland police officers lied on the stand about witnessing a 2006 shooting that resulted in two men spending 15 years in prison for a crime they didn’t commit, Cory Shaffer reports. Justin Herdman, who spent four years as U.S. Attorney prosecuting federal crimes based in part on the testimony of police officers, and Columbus-based attorney Diane Menashe both said during closing arguments that Daniel Lentz and Michael Keane did not witness shots being fired from the car their clients were in or at Lentz during a later foot chase.

Twins sentenced: Identical twin brothers received identical prison sentences Monday in a scheme that ripped off more than 2,000 AT&T customers for some $2.1 million. Luis and Jorge Socarras, both 27, of Miami, crisscrossed the country, buying iPhones, iPads and Apple watches at brick-and-mortar stores until Mayfield Heights police arrested them in 2020, Adam Ferrise reports.

Arts and Entertainment

Artisan chocolate: Cleveland Chocolate Co. in Tremont took five awards in prestigious “Americas Bean-to-Bar and Craft Chocolatier Competition” from the International Chocolate Awards organization. Paris Wolfe reports the 10-year-old competition recognizes the best work of artisan chocolate makers who create bars from traceable, fine cacao.

Guardians costume: One baseball tradition requires rookie players to dress up in embarrassing costumes on their way to the final road trip of the regular season. This year’s theme by the Guardians raised eyebrows, with 12 players wearing orange prison jumpsuits, each carrying a ball and chain.

Rockin’ the RV Life: It’s a football-themed podcast this week as the Kinzbachs sit down to talk with Axel Hoyer, the father of NFL quarterback Brian Hoyer. Hoyer shares the inspirational story of his son’s rise from a high school quarterback to his college days at Michigan State and then the NFL, Mike Rose reports.

Marvel movie: Marvel is coming back to Cleveland to shoot scenes for its upcoming film “Blade” in November. Based on the length of the shoot, the variety of background talent needed and Marvel history, reports Joey Morona, you could be looking at a pivotal action scene with a large crowd and Cleveland standing in for another big city.

You’re all caught up

Thanks for joining us this week in our redesigned Wake Up format. We appreciate the feedback you provided about our new look. Don’t forget, you can always find the latest Cleveland news by visiting cleveland.com. If you value the hard work of Cleveland journalists, consider becoming an cleveland.com subscriber.

— Curated by Laura Johnston with contributions by Cliff Pinckard

Officials indicted in company hired to overhaul Ohio’s antiquated unemployment system: The Wake Up for Tuesday, Sept. 27, 2022