Mayfield Heights, Ohio

Mayfield Heights, Ohio, City Council voted 6-1 against a petitioners' request to rezone a 7.7-acre Parkland Boulevard parcel back to office use, clearing the way for voters to decide the matter directly via Issue 107 on the Nov. 3 ballot. The move follows an Ohio Supreme Court ruling upholding the Cuyahoga County Board of Elections' decision to let residents vote on whether to rezone the site for Sommers Development Group's proposed 61-unit townhome project, reversing council's May approval. Opponents, including nearby Woodhawk Drive residents and business owners, cite safety and land-use concerns, while Sommers Development maintains the project followed a thorough, fully vetted approval process.

A Cuyahoga County grand jury has indicted Dae'juan Moton, 24, on two counts of murder and four counts of felonious assault in the Oct. 2 fatal shooting of Al Rice, 45, outside Piada Italian Street Food in Mayfield Heights, Ohio. Prosecutors say a brief verbal exchange between Rice and Moton inside the restaurant escalated after both men walked to their vehicles; Rice approached Moton's car and was shot multiple times, with additional shots fired toward two friends who were present, one of whom returned fire without hitting Moton. Rice died at Hillcrest Hospital, and his death was ruled a homicide. Moton is held on $1 million bond and barred from contacting victims' family.