Nick Castele

Ohio

Ohio dad and @signalcleveland reporter. Learned @MedillSchool. Ubi caritas et amor Deus ibi est. Send me news tips: [email protected], (216) 296-3192.

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Articles

Mayor Justin Bibb pitches the 'Cleveland era'

5 days ago | signalcleveland.org | Nick Castele

Mayor Justin Bibb has been trying out a new catchphrase: “Cleveland era.” He debuted the slogan at last month’s state of the city talk, where it served as shorthand for economic optimism. “If we’re blessed to get a second term, and as we approach our final year in this first term, it’s time to embrace a new economic agenda,” he told his interviewer, WKYC’s Russ Mitchell.
Blaine Griffin won't challenge Justin Bibb for mayor this year

1 week ago | signalcleveland.org | Nick Castele

Blaine Griffin has decided not to challenge Mayor Justin Bibb in this year’s election. Instead, the Cleveland City Council president will run for a third full term representing Ward 6, he told Signal Cleveland on Thursday. Griffin dropped the news first during an interview on WTAM 1100. Griffin, who passed on running for mayor in 2021, had previously declined to say whether he would run against Bibb in 2025.
Cleveland considering TIF district to spur East Side housing

1 week ago | signalcleveland.org | Nick Castele

Mayor Justin Bibb says he wants to take a tool used for Cleveland’s downtown development and put it to work in city neighborhoods. That tool is the tax increment financing district, also known as a TIF district. City Hall created a downtown TIF district last year to support new construction in the heart of the city. Within the district, new property tax revenue helps to pay for such work as road and sewer upgrades around new projects.
Cleveland City Council members defend sheriff's downtown patrol

1 week ago | signalcleveland.org | Nick Castele

The three Cleveland City Council members who represent downtown say Cuyahoga County Council shouldn’t put a halt to a special downtown patrol of sheriff’s deputies. Kerry McCormack, Richard Starr and Stephanie Howse-Jones signed a letter this week arguing that a safe downtown is crucial for big events, from Cavaliers’ games to shows at Playhouse Square.
MetroHealth board considers renaming diversity & equity committee

1 week ago | signalcleveland.org | Nick Castele

The MetroHealth board will consider dropping the words “diversity” and “equity” from the name of one of its committees — two words that President Donald Trump’s administration has been trying to root out from public agencies, corporations and universities. The Heath Equity and Diversity Committee voted this week to name itself the Population and Community Health Committee. That recommendation now goes to the full board of trustees.
Despite federal cut, Cleveland Peacemakers say work will go on

2 weeks ago | signalcleveland.org | Nick Castele

Cleveland Peacemakers Alliance lost a $2 million federal grant last week that helped the anti-violence group intervene — with a human touch — soon after a family’s loved one is shot and taken to a hospital. That money helped pay for Peacemakers’ staff. It also enabled the group to visit victims’ families bearing food, money for groceries, a hotel room or a donation toward a funeral, according to Executive Director Myesha Watkins.
No deal yet for vacant Cleveland CVS; DigitalC passes city audit

2 weeks ago | signalcleveland.org | Nick Castele

City Hall has put a number on the empty drug store on West Boulevard that’s become a political hot potato. In mid-February, the City of Cleveland sent what it called a non-binding letter of intent to negotiate for the property, starting at $725,000. The vacant building near Cudell Park has turned into a rallying cry for neighborhood activists and council candidates, causing headaches for City Council.
Mayor Justin Bibb says D.C. isn't coming to save Cleveland

3 weeks ago | signalcleveland.org | Nick Castele

Mayor Justin Bibb did not contrast himself with potential reelection opponents in his State of the City talk Wednesday. Instead, the mayor made President Donald Trump — and the threat of federal cuts — the main adversary in his hour-long remarks. He decried the prospect of U.S. Justice Department cuts to anti-violence grants. He warned that hospital systems and grocery stores could suffer if Congress cuts Medicaid or food benefits.
Cleveland officials have new power to fine nuisance properties

3 weeks ago | signalcleveland.org | Nick Castele

Cleveland is making it easier for the city to declare a home or business a nuisance to neighbors, which allows the city to fine property owners over such illegal activity as drug use, excessive noise, gunfire and stunt driving. City Council members signed off on the update to the city’s criminal nuisance laws Monday. The law lowers the legal bar that city officials must clear in order to name a property a nuisance.
Cyberattack stalls lawsuit over Shaker Square apartments

3 weeks ago | signalcleveland.org | Nick Castele

Cleveland’s two-year lawsuit against a Shaker Square-area landlord was set to go to trial Feb. 25. But days before that, a cyberattack halted the wheels of justice across Cleveland Municipal Court. A magistrate postponed the trial. It was one more bump in the city’s case against Shaker Heights Apartments Owner LLC, the owner of the set of apartment buildings along Shaker Boulevard. In a February trial brief, the city’s lawyers previewed their arguments.