Lake Erie

President Joe Biden visited Northeast Ohio Thursday to announce $1 billion in funding for Great Lakes cleanup and restoration. Near the mouth of the Black River in Lorain, Biden talked about the 1987 International Joint Commission, formed by the United States and Canada, that identified 43 places in the Great Lakes region where pollution threatened the area's health. “And for decades there was a lot of talk, a lot of plans, but very little progress. It was slow,” Biden said. “That changes today.”

For two intense weeks each July, the camp through Case Western Reserve University immerses students aged 12 to 16 in the world of shipwrecks and how to explore them.

In a special election Tuesday, voters in Toledo said yes to a ballot measure that amends the city charter to include a Lake Erie Bill of Rights (LEBOR). With about 8.9 percent turnout of eligible voters, the ordinance was approved by just over 61 percent. According to the unofficial vote count from the Lucas County Board of Elections, over 16,200 ballots were cast.

Next Tuesday, Feb. 26, the residents of Toledo will have the chance to vote on an unusual (some might even say radical) proposal: whether to give the fourth largest lake in the United States its own Bill of Rights. If the ballot measure passes, it would be a win for the small but growing “rights of nature” movement, which aims to deter activities that pollute the environment by granting legal rights to ecosystems.

A growing industry in Ohio is calling on local, state, and federal officials to take a serious look at water quality issues. Craft brewery owners say...