Cleveland Indians abandon controversial logo

As of the 2019 season, the smiling face of Chief Wahoo will no longer adorn the Indians’ uniforms, according to the New York Times.

Since 1948, the Cleveland Indians have sported Chief Wahoo on their uniforms. The bright red Native American caricature has been a source of racial tension nationally, and pressure for change has won out.

For decades, many in the Native American community have protested the logo to no avail, believing it to be a racist representation. The Indians have moved away from Chief Wahoo in recent years, in favor of the “block C” logo.

Last season, commissioner of baseball Rob Manfred pressured Indians’ team executive Paul Dolan to eliminate Chief Wahoo as part of an initiative to increase diversity and inclusion within Major League Baseball.

The decision has inspired some to push for further change, calling not only for the logo removal but for a change in team name. However, longtime fans of the team have reacted in anger, with protests of the logo change being organized online.

The retirement of Chief Wahoo has also raised calls for other professional sports teams, such as the Atlanta Braves, to change their names to be more inclusive.

Two men rob Citizens Bank Wednesday

Late Wednesday morning, two 20-year-old armed men walked into a Citizens Bank on Puritas Avenue. One of the men, carrying a handgun, jumped over the counter and demanded the bank tellers to lay on the ground, according to Cleveland.com.

The men, who were wearing hoodies with bandanas over their faces, proceeded to remove an unknown amount of cash from two bank drawers. They ran away from the bank and got into a parked maroon or red jeep. Nobody was hurt during the robbery.

As of press time, Cleveland police and the Federal Bureau of Investigation are still searching for the suspects, who were caught on camera.

Ohio Supreme Court upholds pro-gun ruling

In effort to tighten the regulation of local gun laws, the city of Cleveland appealed an unfavorable April 2017 ruling to the Supreme Court of Ohio, who decided not to hear the case, accoring to Cleveland.com. This decision upholds a ruling by the Ohio 8th District Court of Appeals striking down a gun offender registry and several gun ordinances.

A surge of gun violence between 2014 and 2015 led Cleveland Mayor Frank Jackson to propose various regulatory ordinances, which were approved by City Council. The District Court of Appeals, however, denied the ordinances.

Jackson, who claimed the proposals would increase residential safety, expressed his disappointment. He said to Cleveland.com, “The laws the city proposed and that were enacted by our City Council are reasonable and do not conflict with any state gun regulations.”

The Ohio General Assembly has restricted the ability of local municipalities to enact laws which go beyond the regulations of state gun statutes. After last April’s decision, Ohioans for Concealed Carry President Jeff Garvas described the decision as “unsurprising.”