Decades of Failure

Today in Ohio reviews the Cleveland Lead Paint problem.  Start listening at 10:55.

CDC denies Milwaukee’s request for help with unsafe lead levels in public schools

The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has denied a request from Milwaukee’s public health department for assistance in managing unsafe lead levels in the city’s public schools, citing the loss of its lead experts in mass firings last week across federal health agencies. “I sincerely regret to inform you that due to the […]

Cleveland’s must address inadequate steps to end lead poisoning in children: editorial

Published: May. 07, 2025, 6:00 a.m. Cleveland’s children have been plagued for decades by exposure to lead, an environmental hazard that causes irreversible harm. But Cleveland is in danger of forfeiting $11.9 million in federal funding for lead abatement because City Hall again failed to spend the money fast enough.The Plain Dealer By Editorial Board, cleveland.com and […]

Cleveland enlists workers across City Hall to tackle backlog of lead-safe applications

  Sean McDonnell, cleveland.com CLEVELAND, Ohio — Cleveland has cleared a backlog of 1,200 lead-safe applications ahead of schedule after enlisting volunteers from across City Hall to tackle the logjam. The cleared backlog lets the city refocus on the bigger issue: trying to make real progress on preventing childhood lead poisoning. The bureaucratic bottleneck was originally expected to […]

A state investment to help Cleveland rid dwellings of lead paint poisoning will save many, many young lives: editorial

Nearly one-in-five Cleveland children continue to have elevated levels of lead in their blood.City of Cleveland By Editorial Board, cleveland.com and The Plain Dealer Good intentions can produce unintended and undesirable consequences. That evidently is what’s happened to Cleveland Mayor Justin Bibb’s commendably toughened lead-paint-safety requirements that instead have seemingly added to already unacceptable delays […]

As Trump threatens cuts, Bloomberg steps in to fund new Cleveland City Hall staff

Cleveland City Hall. Interior of grand hall. January 23, 2023. Joshua Gunter, cleveland.com   Sean McDonnell, cleveland.com CLEVELAND, Ohio — As the Trump administration threatens to strip cities of federal funding, Cleveland is set to receive a boost from Bloomberg Philanthropies, which is stepping in with a $1.5 million donation to fund three new employees at City […]