Cuyahoga County Council yesterday, in a special meeting, approved a quarter-percent sales tax extension for 40 years. Money generated from the tax will pay for the new jail and possibly a new courthouse. The vote to extend the sales tax was close passing 6 to 5.

Council in September approved the purchase of land in Garfield Heights for the construction of a new jail, but left undecided the sales tax extension.

The quarter-percent sales tax was due to expire in 2027. It was originally approved to pay for construction of the Global Center for Health Innovation or Medical Mart as it was first known.

A flurry of activity at the Ohio Statehouse on Wednesday resulted in the legislature passing HB 68, a bill that contained both the Save Adolescents from Experimentation Act and the Save Women's Sports Act.

If signed into law by Governor DeWine, the bill would ban gender-affirming care in the state of Ohio: prohibiting physicians from prescribing cross-sex hormones or puberty blockers, and from performing any type of gender-affirming surgery on minors. The bill would also establish single-sex sports teams at all levels of education according to the sex assigned at birth, banning trans females from playing on women's sports teams.

Ohio's LGBTQ community is calling on the governor to veto the bill.

Akron Public Schools says it needs to "right-size" the district to account for population loss. The district previously received approval to close several buildings include Firestone Park Elementary. The district also wants approval for a redistricting plan that would change where some students go to school. Meetings are planned for next week.

Cleveland's off-shore wind turbine project has been halted after the project's private development partner pulled financial support. The Icebreaker wind project called for six wind turbines located eight miles off of Cleveland's shoreline. The project was expected to create 500 jobs and generate $253 million for the region's economy.

In 1956, Sanford "Corky" Kurland partnered with Lenny Kaden to open a New York style deli and restaurant featuring great deli meats and the Eastern European and American dishes they had both grown up eating. On Tuesday, owner Kenny Kurland announced that the landmark restaurant and deli would be closing after more than 65 years. Reasons for the closing included difficulties in keeping the eatery afloat during the pandemic and an inability to sell the business.

We will discuss these stories and other headlines from the week on the "Sound of Ideas Reporters Roundtable."

Guests:
-Conor Morris, Education Reporter, Ideastream Public Media
-Ken Schneck, Editor, The Buckeye Flame
-Karen Kasler, Statehouse News Bureau Chief, Ohio Public Radio/TV