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Good morning, Cleveland! This is The 216 Scoop: AI is booming, data centers are humming, and your neighborhood transformer is quietly begging for mercy ⚡🤖🧯

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John Petkovic & Jude Perez

“We wish we had more energy,” Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang recently said while addressing the impact of AI on the country power grids.

Clevelanders will be saying the same thing if FirstEnergy gets its way.

The power provider has asked the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio to relax reliability standards for its three Ohio utilities.

The proposal would allow the companies more time to restore power after outages and permit more frequent outages per customer annually. The Cleveland area ranks fifth in the country when it comes to power outages.

Blackouts doubled in the past decade due to severe weather and have accelerated with AI -- which accounts for 5% of total power demand.

Data center energy usage is set to double by 2028 and triple in five years.

Wholesale electricity costs have risen by 267% compared to five years in areas with significant data center activity.

This summer alone, data centers accounted for a 10-15% increase in local electricity bills – and comes on top of the doubling in prices between the summers of 2023 and 2024.

State lawmakers have introduced Ohio House Bill 427, that would allow utilities to adjust their “smart thermostats” to ease strains on the grid that have increased due to data centers.

The 30-year mortgage rate is heading below 6% in 2026 and the housing market is heating up.

At The Conrad Team, we see buying a house a financial decision as well as a home.

We make financing simple, personal, and smart — guiding you from application to keys with the best rates and flexible loan options that fit your life (not just your credit).

Let us help you become a wealth builder.

Visit us at 13593 Pearl Road, Strongsville, or call 440.225.9297 to start your journey.

Groundhogs are cute and all. But we need something ferocious to scare this frigid, snowy beast of a winter.

Summon those furry, scary Slovenian monsters to send old man winter into a nursing home.

Cleveland Kurentovanje is coming back for a14th year -- Feb. 7-14 in the St. Clair-Superior neighborhood.

The eight-day festival is a sort of Mardi Gras, whose roots go back to pagan times. It’s also a celebration of ethnic and neighborhood pride.

It attracts 100,000 people and culminates with one of the city’s most popular and colorful parades filled with clanging bells, laughs, beer, food, music.

Of course, there are also the stars of the parade: those fuzzy, feisty monsters adored in sheepskin costumes that hop up and down and all around to scare winter away.

They’re called kurenti – ancient, mythological Slovenian creatures who summon mythical powers to deliver us spring and fertility. Info.

Ideastream and CSU’s collusion in a hostile takeover of WCSB became one of the city’s biggest -- and unlikely -- stories of 2025.

It’s the story of the little student-run radio station that could. The community loved it – not just for its music and personalities, but also for its heart and passion.

It quickly escalated into a story about the powerful vs. the powerless that resonated fire and wide, even with those that casually listened to WCSB.

The loss of a cultural jewel that served the city for a half-century sparked a boycott, protests and the unanimous condemnation of Cleveland City Council. It received national attention.

And now there are concerts taking place in its honor.

At 7:30 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, Philly punk legends the Dead Milkman will perform at the Grog Shop. Part of the proceeds will go toward former staff members as they try to establish a radio station. Info.

TK Kirkland: The King of Hip-Hop Comedy has shared stages with N.W.A., Jay-Z, and Eminem. He brings his raw, unfiltered jokes – and 50 Cent tales -- to Funny Bone for five shows, starting 7 and 9:30 p.m. tonight. Info.

Nocturnal: Dress in black, dim the lights and sway to the strobe lights at Goth, dark-wave, synth-pop and industrial play. The dance party hits Foundry at 9 tonight. Info.

NEO Rewind Series: David Bowie in NEO: Arts activist and musician Thomas Mulready and his band Vanity Crash roll out a multi-media show that honors the role Cleveland played in the icon’s career. 8 tonight at Bop Stop; 7 p.m. Sunday in Beachland Tavern. Info.

Eurocraft Beer Festival: Slovenian sausage, potato salad and pierogi will be paired with Euro-style beers by area breweries and music by Festa Bend and North Coast Prost at the Slovenian National Home. 5 p.m. Saturday. Info.

👉 View Listing on Zillow

Hey, Cleveland: Your sports dynasty is here.

The Cleveland Crunch is back and plays its home opener at 7 p.m. Saturday against the Chicago Mustangs at Wolstein Center.

The indoor soccer team has won five indoor soccer championships – three during its first go-around and two more since returning in 2020.

This season marks the Crunch’s debut at Wolstein Center, after having played its home games at the Soccer Sportsplex in North Olmsted. Info.

Hector Boiardi – aka Chef Boyardee — started his culinary path to fame in Cleveland, when he opened his first restaurant, Il Giardino d’Italia, in 1924. Located on East 9th and Woodland, it exposed countless Clevelanders to Italian cuisine. His spaghetti sauce became so popular that customers wanted to take it home, prompting him to start bottling it – which led to the iconic brand known for its pasta kits and canned-food empire. Follow our Instagram and Facebook pages to see more about Cleveland’s first celebrity chef.

Ooh and don’t forget! Tag @The216Scoop on Facebook & @scoopcle on Instagram to get your photos in the Scoop!

54°F 🌡️ 37°F | 🌧️ (Windy with Rain) | 80% | 💨 ↑ ≈ 20-30 mph (≈ 17-26 knots)

42°F 🌡️ 27°F | 🌧️➔❄️ (Rain changing to Snow) | 75% | 💨 ↑ ≈ 25-35 mph (≈ 22-30 knots)

28°F 🌡️ 24°F | ❄️ (Lake Effect Snow Showers) | 40% | 💨 ↑ ≈ 15-25 mph (≈ 13-22 knots)

_{Please note that weather conditions can change rapidly. For the most up-to-date information, consider checking a reliable local weather service.}

Home vs. Timberwolves, 1:00 PM January 10 (Saturday)

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