It has been a busy week wrapped in a heat wave that sent the mercury soaring into the nineties, with the heat index topping 100 -- it IS the heat, AND the humidity. The coronavirus pandemic heated up this week, too: Reported cases of COVID-19 soared in Cuyahoga County and around Ohio; Governor DeWine ordered up a mask mandate for the hardest-hit counties -- now numbering 12, including Cuyahoga, Lorain and Summit. The Cleveland Indians are pondering a name change -- Let's Go Spiders? Guardians? The Cleveland Rocks? Meanwhile, some doubt that we'll see any sporting events anytime soon, pro or collegiate -- the Ivy League, for example, canceled all fall sports and the Big 10 says it will only play in-conference games. Will there really be a chance to beat Michigan on the gridiron this year or is a canceled season on the horizon? And another bummer -- the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony, scheduled to take place here and postponed from May to November, is now cancelled. Republican House Speaker Larry Householder's office is reinstituting its work from home policy after a House employee was put on administrative leave following a positive COVID-19 test, how are lawmakers responding? Representative Nino Vitale made national headlines this week and Governor Mike DeWine responded, we dig into their latest disagreement. This week on the Roundtable we hear from ideastream host and producer Glenn Forbes, ideastream reporter Nick Castele, and Ohio Public Radio Statehouse News Bureau Chief Karen Kasler. Later in the program, we talk to Cuyahoga County Council Member Shontel Brown, who also is chair of the Cuyaghoga County Democratic Party. She'll chat with us about the county's decision to declare racism a public health crisis, and of course the impact of COVID-19 on Cuyahoga County residents.

Guests:
Glenn Forbes, Host/Producer, ideastream

Karen Kasler, Ohio Public Radio Statehouse News Bureau Chief

Nick Castele, Ohio State Senator & Senate President

Shontel Brown, Cuyahoga County Council Member