This week on Crooked River Cast, Robert and Tom bounce from music and a little boots-on-the-ground reporting to some very big Ohio questions. Robert kicks things off by talking about a CD he listened to with his youngest daughter, while Tom brings in a photo from Gregory showing an East Cleveland City Schools billboard that gets the guys talking about what “career ready” really means. From there, Ohio’s massive AI ambitions, surveillance cameras, Burke Lakefront Airport, Statehouse legislation, voting rules, and some genuinely good Ohio stories round out the show.
🎸 What’s Robert Listening To? “The Warning”
Robert starts things off on a more personal note, talking about listening to a CD with his youngest daughter from The Warning, the Mexican rock trio that has been getting plenty of attention. If you’re curious what Robert has been listening to lately, check them out. And yes, as the guys point out, the videos actually look like people playing instruments rather than something cooked up by AI.
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🔗: The Warning
🪧 Boots on the Ground: “We Make Them Career Ready”
Tom jumped in with a boots-on-the-ground report from Gregory, who sent along a photo of an East Cleveland City Schools billboard featuring the message, “WE MAKE THEM CAREER READY.”
Naturally, that opens the door to a conversation about what schools are actually preparing students for, what “career ready” means, and whether the message on the billboard matches the reality students are facing when they leave school.
Your one and only webmaster found a news segment connected to the billboard and the East Cleveland schools discussion.
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▶️ YouTube: East Cleveland City Schools “We Make Them Career Ready” news segment
🤖 Ohio Wants to Be the AI Capital — But at What Cost?
Then the conversation gets considerably bigger — literally.
Tom brings up the massive AI data center project planned for Piketon, Ohio, which is expected to become one of the largest AI computing projects in the world. The project is promising 35,000 construction jobs and 2,500 long-term operating jobs, an enormous economic opportunity for southern Ohio.
But the story isn’t simply about jobs and investment. The guys dig into the concerns surrounding a project of this size, including what happens to the surrounding communities, infrastructure and environment when an AI facility of this scale arrives. It’s another example of Ohio finding itself directly in the middle of the country’s rapidly expanding AI economy.
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🔗: Hope and concern swirl for Ohioans around ‘world’s largest datacenter’
📹 Flock Cameras, Surveillance & Who’s Watching?
Robert brings out the Flock camera discussion with a couple of hilarious video clips that take the whole “we need more cameras” argument to its logical conclusion.
First up is the Darth Vader spokesperson, making the case for more surveillance. Then comes another clip suggesting that if cameras are such a good idea, maybe we should just go ahead and put them in all the government offices, too. Now there’s an idea!
Robert’s clips definitely bring some humor to what could otherwise be a pretty dry conversation — and the Darth Vader cameo is hard to beat.
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▶️ YouTube: Darth Vader spokesperson
▶️ YouTube: More Cameras — Let’s Put Them in All Government Offices
✈️ Burke Lakefront Airport: Moreno Says the Conversation Is Over
From surveillance cameras, Robert moves into the latest fight over Burke Lakefront Airport.
U.S. Sen. Bernie Moreno has now made his position clear: he isn’t going against the FAA on closing Burke. The FAA administrator is also opposed to shutting down the airport, effectively putting another major roadblock in front of Cleveland Mayor Justin Bibb’s effort to close it.
That means the fight over the future of the lakefront airport isn’t disappearing anytime soon — but the federal government isn’t exactly making the shutdown easy.
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🔗: FAA administrator, Sen. Moreno say shutting Burke Lakefront Airport is a non-starter
🐀 Critter Corner
And then it’s time for Critter Corner, where the Ohio Statehouse delivers another reminder that apparently one bill is never enough when you can pack several different ideas into one legislative package. Gov. Mike DeWine signed 13 bills into law, including legislation dealing with carbon capture, the so-called “Success Sequence” and laser hair removal.
Carbon Capture Comes to Ohio
House Bill 170 gets the guys into the carbon-capture debate. Ohio is moving ahead with a legal framework for carbon capture and storage, while questions remain about how the technology works, what happens when captured carbon is stored underground and what the long-term implications could be.
The conversation includes both a WTOV News 9 report looking at concerns surrounding carbon-capture projects in the Ohio Valley and a Shell explainer showing how the technology is supposed to work.
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▶️ YouTube: Critics Warn of Carbon Capture Project Risks Across Ohio Valley
▶️ YouTube: How it works: Carbon Capture and Storage
📚 The “Success Sequence” Gets Added to the Mix
Next up is Senate Bill 276 and the “Success Sequence” — the framework built around graduating high school, getting full-time work and marrying before having children.
The guys get into the criticism surrounding the legislation, including the fact that SB 276 started out dealing with school psychologists before picking up additional provisions. That’s one of those Statehouse moves that makes you wonder how many bills can fit inside one bill.
The discussion also looks at the WTOL11 coverage of the legislation and the broader debate over what belongs in an Ohio public-school curriculum.
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▶️ YouTube: WTOL11 — Senate Bill 276 / Success Sequence
⚡ Quick Hit: Laser Hair Removal
And because apparently Ohio legislation can’t be allowed to remain predictable, the guys hit a quick one on House Bill 377, dealing with the use of light-based medical devices for hair removal.
Yes, laser hair removal made it into the Statehouse conversation. That’s Ohio for you.
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🔗: House Bill 377 — Ohio Legislature
🗳️ Judge Puts Ohio’s Voter Citizenship Requirement on Hold
The show then turns to another Ohio legal fight as a federal judge blocks the state’s requirement that people provide documentary proof of citizenship when registering to vote at a Bureau of Motor Vehicles office.
The law is on hold while the state appeals. The ruling says the requirement conflicts with the National Voter Registration Act and creates an additional burden for people registering through the BMV. The guys dig into what the ruling means and where the issue goes from here.
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🔗: Judge puts proof of citizenship requirement for voters registering at Ohio BMVs on hold
🔗: Judge blocks Ohio from requiring proof of citizenship for voter registration
🌟 Good Things
📚 Ohio Kids and Dolly Parton’s Legacy
The show closes out with a story that is a pretty easy reminder that some things really do make a difference.
Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library has delivered books to children across Ohio since the program expanded here in 2019. More than one million Ohio children have received free books through the program, with nearly 28 million books distributed.
That’s a heck of a legacy — and a good example of philanthropy that actually reaches families where they live.
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🔗: Ohio children benefited from Dolly Parton’s philanthropy
🇭🇺 Cleveland’s Hungarian Festival
Next up is one of Northeast Ohio’s great traditions: the 70th Annual Hungarian Festival at German Central Park in Parma.
The festival celebrates 75 years of Hungarian scouting in greater Cleveland and brings together food, culture, music and community — exactly the kind of Northeast Ohio tradition worth keeping alive.
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🔗: 70th Annual Hungarian Festival
🎆 Labor Day Weekend Around Northeast Ohio
And finally, if you’re looking for something to do before summer officially checks out, there’s no shortage of Labor Day weekend events around Northeast Ohio — festivals, fairs, fireworks, flea markets and plenty of opportunities to get outside.
Because around here, Labor Day weekend isn’t just the unofficial end of summer. It’s one last excuse to get out and enjoy Ohio before the weather starts changing.
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🔗: Top Labor Day Weekend Events Across Northeast Ohio
📢 Subscribe & Share
That’s another Crooked River Cast in the books — with AI, surveillance cameras, airports, Statehouse legislation, voting rules, books, festivals and a little rock music thrown in for good measure.
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