Good Morning, Cleveland! It's Wednesday, June 17, and here is what you need to know.
Trolley tours roll through Cleveland streets again
A local teacher is bringing trolley tours back to Cleveland, hoping to change the way people think about the city. Brittany Haywood-Webb founded Sightsee in CLE, offering guided trolley tours past landmarks such as Playhouse Square and the Arcade. Her trolley is named "Big Shirley." Haywood-Webb says she wants to showcase the city's hidden gems. The trolley also offers a park-and-ride service for Cleveland Guardians home games. More details on booking a tour are available on our website.
Your phone may now show Cleveland fire trucks nearby
Cleveland firefighters now have a new tool to help them reach emergencies faster by alerting drivers when a fire truck is approaching. The system, called Safety Cloud, sends a real-time visual alert to navigation apps like Waze and Apple Maps. The alert appears when firefighters activate their emergency lights and sirens. Fire officials say distracted driving is a major challenge. They believe the extra warning will give drivers more time to pull over. The system costs about $11,000 and is currently being installed across the department's fire trucks. Officials say the alerts will eventually expand to police cars and ambulances.
Family sues Airbnb after teen killed at Bath Township party
The family of a teenager killed at an Airbnb party in Bath Township has filed a lawsuit against the rental company and the property owner. Elijah Wells, 18, died after a shooting at the home last November. Nine people were shot in total during the massive birthday party. Wells' mother and another shooting victim filed the lawsuit this week. The suit also names the party organizers and three murder suspects as defendants. The lawsuit claims Bath Township zoning laws strictly ban short-term rentals in residential areas and accuses Airbnb and the property owner of ignoring those rules. It also says the rental platform ignored the dangers of large parties. The three suspects accused of opening fire are currently facing murder charges.
Fairmount Center for the Arts opens expanded Chardon space tonight
The City of Chardon is celebrating the growth of the arts in the community today as Fairmount Center for the Arts cuts the ribbon on a new, expanded space. The new building, located on Water Street, more than doubles the organization's space. The expansion features new studio spaces and additional rooms for music, dance, theatre, and visual arts classes. The center hopes the new spaces will increase capacity for those classes, enabling it to offer more experiences to all members of the community. The official ribbon cutting is tonight at 5 p.m. The center is offering some classes this summer, with a full schedule launching in the fall.
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Your forecast
Wednesday will start dry, but more storms, with a better chance of severe storms, will move in on Wednesday evening and into the wee hours of Thursday morning. This will be the most widespread shot of not only rain but also severe weather across the entire viewing area, but the best chance will be west of I-77. All severe hazards will be on the table on Wednesday evening and Wednesday night, which means we will see the threat of damaging winds, isolated large hail, and evening isolated tornadoes. Storms will likely exit early on Thursday. It will remain gusty on Thursday, though.
Traffic impact
The southbound lanes along Westlake's Dover Center Road between Dellwood Drive and the Bay Village border will be closed. The closure will last through Thursday. The detour takes drivers along Cahoon Road.
The ramp from Ridge Road to I-480 eastbound is now closed. ODOT will reopen the ramp in August following pavement repairs. The detour is Brookpark Road to State Road to I-480 eastbound.
View our News 5 Traffic Map to see any road closures or delays due to weather or crashes.
