Many Solon Residents Without Power This Morning

First Energy is reporting power outages throughout Cuyahoga County, including Solon, after an early morning storm ripped through the area

As many as 500 to 2,000 people are still without power in Solon at about 10 a.m. after an early morning storm ripped through the area, according to First Energy's Outage Map. Solon City Schools reported that all of their schools had power this morning, so the school day was not disrupted. First Energy has said that more than 25,000 people are without power in Northeast Ohio after a storm with wind gusts reaching 80 mph struck and heavy lightning struck the area. The Plain Dealer reports that the hardest-hit areas include Parma, Parma Heights, Garfield Heights and Warrensville Heights. 

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Solon Comets Football Ranked No. 2 in Plain Dealer Top 25

Comets have great expectations as they head into the season

Nestle Expansion in Solon Would Add 40 to 60 Jobs

Land for the new research and development building on Nestle's Solon campus needs to be rezoned by vote in November before the facility can be built

Nestle officials told the Plain Dealer the new research and development building it's planning to build in Solon will create 40 to 60 jobs. But first the land for the facility, about 18 acres off Cannon Road, must be rezoned from residential to industrial. To accomplish that, Nestle officials are seeking to change the zoning by ballot. The company collected 1,500 signatures and submitted them to the city last week. If enough signatures are certified as authentic registered voters, the rezoning will be voted on Nov. 8. City officials have thrown their support behind the project. Ward 5 Councilwoman Nancy Meany, who represents the area in question, has said she looks forward to having discussions between residents and the company so they can…

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Plain Dealer: Solon Man Pleads Guilty to Armed Robberies in Federal Court

Three people were sentenced in federal court Friday for robberies in Solon, Bedford and Cleveland, according to the newspaper

Tony Bankhead II, of Solon, was sentenced to 20 years in prison Friday for his role in a string of armed robberies that included the Donato's Pizza in Solon, according to the Plain Dealer. Also sentenced were Brittney E. Burks, 22, of Toledo and Keith J. Freeman, 23, of Toledo. From the newspaper: The charges arose out of armed robberies of Donato's Pizza in Solon on May 23, a Kentucky Fried Chicken restaurant in Cleveland on June 5, the Blue Fig restaurant in Solon on June 6 and an attempted robbery of the Cleveland Jewelry Exchange in Bedford on June 7. Another defendant, Marvin Smith of Cleveland, has also been charged with robbery related to the Donato's crime. He will face trial in May, the Plain Dealer reports.

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Solon Schools Analyzing Kasich's Budget

While school officials are still studying the document before commenting publicly, a loss of revenue likely

Ohio Gov. John Kasich released his two-year budget proposal today and it doesn't look good for local governments and school districts. Here's the big picture, from the Plain Dealer:  Local governments and schools districts are hit hard, facing nearly $2 billion less in total payments from the state in 2012 and 2013 under Gov. John Kasich's budget proposal, according to details released shortly after noon. The Local Government Fund is cut by $555 million in the $120 billion, two-year budget which amounts to a 25 percent cut in the first year and a 50 percent cut in the second year. Additionally, the Kasich budget makes tax policy changes raiding a trio of reimbursement fund payments that local governments and schools receive, costing the …

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Plain Dealer: Solon Schools Lost Nearly $1 million Since 2007

Front-page story on Plain Dealer measured losses to Cleveland-area cities and schools from backlog at Cuyahoga County Board of Revisions since 2007

The feature story in today's Plain Dealer broke down how much money school districts and municipalities have lost since 2007 due to a backlog of hearings before the Cuyahoga County board of revisions. According to the newspaper's figures, Solon schools lost $998,042 in revenue since 2007. The city of Solon missed out on $81,327. From the newspaper:  "...The Plain Dealer ha discovered that the masssive backlog of delayed cases has cost schools, local governments and other public agencies more than $21 million since 2007. And that is money that cannot be recovered."

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Chris Mazzolini

12:34 pm on Wednesday, February 23, 2011

Just to clarify, Solon city and school officials had nothing to do with the loss of this revenue. This purely the newspaper's analysis of what's been lost because of backlogs with the county board of revisions. Even if the city wanted to give money to the schools to make up for this, they can't because it's not allowed by state law.   more ›

Plain Dealer: Cleveland State to Close Solon Center

Plain Dealer reports that the center will close because of declining enrollment

The Plain Dealer reports today that Cleveland State University has decided to close its Solon academic center because enrollment is declining. The article cites students shifting to taking online classes, staying at the downtown campus or at the Tri-C campus in Highland Hills. From the article: This semester 163 students are studying at the Solon center, compared to its highest enrollment of 582 students 18 months ago, said CSU spokesman Joe Mosbrook. The university does not know how will it will save by closing the center, but it is basically the cost of the lease, Mosbrook said. ... CSU leased most of the upper floor of a two-story building on Solon Road, near Ohio 91 and U.S. 422 in 2004 in Solon. The 10,000-square-foot center, which …