🌱 Legal Marijuana + Death Row Perspective + Scary School Bus Video

Marijuana legalization advocates won't stop rolling. When it comes to changing the law, if at first you don't succeed, toke toke 😶‍🌫️, er, try try again. And if you care about justice, you want to hear what Joe D'Ambrosio has to say. ⚖️

Let's get started on Thursday's news.

Weather: Rain and drizzle in the mornin'. ☔ High: 61, Low: 45.

Recreational Marijuana Backers Try Again

😮‍💨 Two lawmakers from Northeast Ohio are advancing another bill designed to legalize cannabis for adult recreational use. State Rep. Casey Weinstein, D-Hudson, and State Rep. Terrence Upchurch, D-Cleveland, face an uphill battle in the GOP-dominated legislature, however, which has rejected or ignored previous efforts.

The bill has been framed by The Coalition to Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol. It would:

• allow people ages 21 and older to grow, possess and purchase marijuana
• impose levy a 10 percent tax on pot purchases
• funnel collected taxes to addiction research and job creation

“Legalizing cannabis would create good-paying jobs and generate significant revenue for our state,” Upchurch said.

Learn more on cleveland.com

• Meanwhile, Ohio marijuana regulators are changing the legal definition of THC. The new rule allows more variations of THC in medical marijuana products. (cleveland.com)

Death Row Exoneree To Speak At Cleveland Museum of Art

⚖️ A death row exoneree, Joe D’Ambrosio of North Royalton, will speak at an in-person event called “An Expensive Mistake,” detailing his harrowing 20 years on death row as an innocent man and the subsequent financial – and moral – costs to Cuyahoga County. The Saturday is sponsored by The Church of the Western Reserve and the #NoDeathPenaltyOH campaign.

• D'Ambrosio's view: “Cuyahoga county has a terrible track record of wrongful convictions and it’s cost the county millions of dollars. Relentlessly pursuing the wrong person, especially when you’re trying to get a death sentence, is not only an enormous financial waste but it means that the real killer is still free on the streets. ... Ohio is so close to getting rid of the death penalty and I can only say, the sooner, the better.”

• Looking back: In 1989, D'Ambrosio was sentenced to death for the murder of Anthony Klann. His body was found in Rockefeller Park. In 2010, it was revealed that Cuyahoga County prosecutors did not divulge several pieces of exculpatory police evidence. A Catholic priest was instrumental in exonerating D'Ambrosio.

• When: The in-person event takes place at The Cleveland Museum of Art, 11150 East Blvd., Cleveland, on Saturday, April 23, at 2 p.m.

• Online: If you're interested, you may also watch online. Register at this link.

For more information contact: Allison Cohen at 513-787-9399, allison@otse.org

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Today's Top 5

1. Harrowing video from several angles shows a Mack truck narrowly miss a school bus full of children Tuesday. The brakes on the truck went out. The frantic trucker began blowing his horn and begging the motorists ahead of him to move as his semi tractor-trailer barreled toward them in Medina County. (News 5 Cleveland)
2. The FOX 8 I-Team has learned the fire chief at Cleveland Hopkins International Airport does not have state certifications needed for firefighters and paramedics.A state agency tells us it is investigating. (WJW FOX 8 News Cleveland)
3. The Ohio Army National Guard will send an undisclosed number of M-113 Armored Personnel Carriers (APCs) to Ukraine for use in that country's fight against Russian aggression. The M-113 APCs are used to move soldiers and equipment across a battlefield while providing protection from small arms fire and artillery. (Patch)
4. A man who killed his ex-girlfriend and took the child they shared was found dead in his car Tuesday morning on Cleveland's West Side with the youngster in the back seat. The child was unharmed. (Cleveland 19 News)
5. Northeast Ohio home sale prices are rising while the number of homes sold is down. At the high end, Geauga County's average sale price is $435,000, while the lowest is $147,752 in Columbiana County, according to MLS figures analyzed by cleveland.com. In Cuyahoga County the average sale price is $234,000. (cleveland.com)

Featured House For Sale

This Beachwood ranch house offers spacious rooms, soaring vaulted ceilings with newer skylights and five bedrooms! Grand entryway with double doors steps down to light filled living room with dual fireplace. A massive dining room looks out over a custom "California Room" enclosed porch with lots of light through the wall of windows. The master suite has a glamour bath.

• Address: 24410 Greenwich Ln, Beachwood
• Price: $799,900
• Square feet: 3099
• Bedrooms: 5
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This listing appeared on redfin.com, Patch's national real estate partner. See more photos of the listing courtesy of BHHS Professional Realty.

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Picks To Click

• Karen Small talks new restaurant Juneberry Table, Ohio City's growth, future of Flying Fig with Doug Trattner
• Federal judges create May 28 showdown for Ohio state legislative redistricting
• Gabriel Arias gets a taste of the big leagues in record fashion during Cleveland Guardians debut
• MLB hitting leader Owen Miller 1 of 3 Guardians added to COVID list
• Four from area land on All-Ohio hockey first team

Cleveland Social

• Cleveland Browns: ""Denzel Ward has been one of the best cornerbacks in the NFL since his rookie season in 2018." — Andrew Berry" (Instagram) "Denzel put the league on notice in his very first start ✌️⁣ ⁣ 📺: #NFLDraft on @NFLNetwork | April 28-30" (Instagram)
• Cleveland Metroparks: "You've been waiting. We've been watching. Yellow trout lily has bloomed! -MC, Naturalist" (Facebook)
• Cleveland Museum of Art: "TONIGHT (7:30 pm) #CMAPerformingArts presents Zakir Hussain For the very first time, Zakir Hussain, Kala Ramnath, and Jayanthi Kumaresh join forces as TRIVENI." (Instagram)
• Cleveland Museum of Natural History: "Topped. Off. 🏗 The Museum commemorated a major milestone in its transformation project by “topping off” our new structure with a 3,000-pound steel beam signed by all employees and Panzica Construction!" (Facebook)
• The Cleveland Museum of Art: "Happy #EarthMonth from #CMAConservation! In our ongoing efforts towards sustainability, #CMAConservation is proud to make an earth-friendly commitment to glove recycling with @Terracycle." (Facebook)
• Nextdoor Neighbor, Gordon Square: "One last reminder! - Please join us at Forest City Brewery 6:30-11, to help raise funds for some Direct Aid action in Ukraine! " (Nextdoor)

More from our sponsors — thanks for supporting local news!

Events:

• Cuyahoga County Solar Co-op Online Info Session Round 2 (April 21)
• Sounds Of St James FREE Concert Series (April 23)
• National Hug A Plumber Day (April 25)
• Goldfish Swim School Cleveland East Side Hiring Event (April 27)
• Taxes in Retirement Webinar - AM & PM! (May 2)
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Missed yesterday? We got ya: 🎤 Our Local 'Idol' + Rabbi Sex Bust + Heinen's & Mitchell's Ice Cream Make A Deal