COLUMBUS — Officials have locked the doors to the Ohio Statehouse as thousands of union protesters gather on the grounds to oppose a bill that would strip public employees of collective bargaining rights.

Ohio Public Safety spokesman Joe Andrews says about 1,000 people have been allowed into the Rotunda and Atrium for a 4 p.m. committee hearing on the bill. Additional visitors are being directed to an off-site theater, where the meeting will be simulcast. The Statehouse halls, meeting rooms and basement area remain mostly empty.

Andrews says access is being denied to visitors without appointments in the interest of safety.

Attorney Don McTigue (mik-TEYEG’) says his office has contacted the attorney general’s staff on behalf of labor organizations in an effort to gain access for as many people as possible.

ELYRIA — Police took a man into custody for a robbery of Fifth Third Bank about 15 minutes after this afternoon’s holdup.

They arrested the man at Building C of the Carriage House apartments on Washington Avenue.

The man, who did not display a weapon, asked for and was given $250, according to a teller at the Broad Street bank.

The robber left on foot about 2:45 p.m. but reportedly offered someone $50 to give him a ride to Washington Avenue near the library.

He was arrested about 3 p.m.

Elyria police and the State Highway Patrol responded.

Check back at Chroniclet.com for more on this story as it becomes available.

CLEVELAND — Cordell Smith, the Elyria man who had been on the run from authorities in connection with an August murder, turned himself in today.

Smith

According to Tony Keffer, U.S. Marshals Service task force coordinator for Lorain County, Smith, 18, arrived with an attorney and turned himself in to Cleveland homicide detectives about 2 p.m.

“Smith was asked if he wanted to give a statement,” Keffer said, but said he didn’t know if he made one or not.

Keffer said he didn’t know if Smith told authorities where he’d been hiding.

U.S. Marshals unveiled Friday that Smith was one of a trio of Elyrians wanted in connection with the Aug. 28 murder of Kari Myers on West 95th Street in Cleveland.

Clint Jackson, 19, was arrested without incident Thursday at 454 Cambridge Ave. in Elyria, and Jason Innes, 18, was found at the Lorain County Detention Home on an unrelated charge.

Myers, 21, the mother of a 2-year-old, was shot in the chest during a robbery as she walked with her boyfriend and cousin about 3:45 a.m. She was found lying in the sidewalk and died a half-hour later at MetroHealth Medical Center. Her companions were not hurt.

An anonymous tip led to warrants being issued for the three for charges including aggravated murder and robbery, Keffer said.

CLEVELAND — President Barack Obama says he wants to learn about the success and the failures of small business people to better understand what the federal government can do to help the private sector prosper.
Obama is in Cleveland to promote his retooled economic pitch, which focuses on government initiatives that foster innovation and entrepreneurship.
Obama was […]