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• To all veterans, thank you for your service. We'll see you Thursday.

Today’s newsletter is 1,044 words — a 4-minute read.

Cuyahoga County voters approved two property tax increases last week, but the region's public financing debates are far from over.

Why it matters: Are they ever? Even as county officials celebrate a financial lifeline that will stabilize health and human services and stave off staffing cuts, the twin specters of an RTA levy and downtown sports facility subsidies loom.

Catch up quick: Issues 10 and 11 passed comfortably, securing long-term funding for developmental disability services and the county's broader social safety net.

• Together, the measures will cost homeowners an additional $166.50 annually per $100,000 in property value.

The big picture: Two major funding questions are on the horizon:

• 🚍 Public transit: RTA is considering its first sales tax increase in half a century to address mounting financial pressures. Some trustees have expressed reservations about pursuing a levy as soon as May 2027.
• 🏟️ Sports facilities: Gateway Economic Development Corp., which oversees Progressive Field and Rocket Arena, says it's out of money for repairs. The Cavaliers are seeking $37 million for scoreboard upgrades and other enhancements.

What they're saying: County Executive Chris Ronayne is urging caution on the RTA levy, telling Signal Cleveland a coherent transportation strategy is needed.

• "Without a plan, I don't see an easy path to passage, and so I think we need to take a step back, develop a community transportation plan."

Meanwhile, a funding source for the Cavs upgrades is unclear. Ronayne said county and city officials are meeting with the teams to determine how to divide Gateway expenses.

• The goal is to "mete out the cost share between teams, the City of Cleveland and the county," he told Signal Cleveland.

The bottom line: Cuyahoga County's already substantial tax burden makes additional requests politically sensitive — a concern illustrated by the editorial board of Cleveland.com/The Plain Dealer, which opposed Issue 11 as a rebuke to what it characterized as county fiscal irresponsibility.

• "You have to live within your means," their editorial chastised. "Ronayne and the council treat us as a bottomless ATM."

The new movie "I Play Rocky" tells the story behind one of Hollywood's greatest underdog tales — inspired in part by a legendary Northeast Ohio boxing match.

Why it matters: The film, which expands nationwide later this week, revives the unlikely connection between the original "Rocky" and a 1975 heavyweight championship fight at Richfield Coliseum.

State of play: Peter Farrelly directs "I Play Rocky," which features Anthony Ippolito as a struggling Sylvester Stallone who refuses to surrender the starring role in the screenplay he wrote for 1976's "Rocky."

Flashback: On March 24, 1975, Muhammad Ali defended his heavyweight title against little-known New Jersey boxer Chuck Wepner at Richfield Coliseum.

• A 40-to-1 underdog, Wepner stunned spectators by knocking Ali down in the ninth round before losing by technical knockout with just 19 seconds remaining in the fifteenth and final round.

What he said: Stallone later credited Wepner's resilience with helping him create Rocky Balboa.

• "That night I went home and I had the beginning of my character," Stallone wrote in his 1977 book, "The Official Rocky Scrapbook."

Zoom in: A scene in "I Play Rocky" depicts Stallone, played by Ippolito, watching the Ali-Wepner fight on TV at a bar.

Friction point: Wepner embraced his status as the real-life Rocky, but grew frustrated over never receiving compensation.

• He sued Stallone in 2003. The two reached an undisclosed settlement in 2006.
• Wepner has since softened his stance, praising Stallone's performance and expressing regret over how the lawsuit unfolded in a 2024 Forbes interview.

The bottom line: Philadelphia has Rocky's famous steps, but Northeast Ohio helped give the Italian Stallion his fighting spirit.

🚗 Honda announced plans to construct a $3 billion hybrid vehicle assembly plant in central Ohio that is projected to create 2,000 jobs and open in 2029. (Car and Driver)

🏗️ Project Scarlet, the downtown luxury hotel redevelopment, is the first project to agree to pay some of its workers the "living wage" ($16.85 per hour) as a condition of city financial assistance. (Signal Cleveland)

📈 The master plan for the Midline business district envisions 2,500 jobs across 21 sites, totaling 1.5 million square feet of development. (NEOtrans)

📺 Sherrod Brown got the "Saturday Night Live" treatment after a sketch mistook Ohio's newly elected senator for a Black man named "Sha-rod Brown." (YouTube)

Mac's Backs Books has officially moved across the street in Coventry Village, trading its longtime home for a larger storefront at 1807 Coventry Road.

Why it matters: The beloved independent bookstore has been a fixture in Cleveland Heights for nearly 50 years, and its latest move is designed to keep it thriving for decades to come.

Zoom in: Owner Suzanne DeGaetano told Cleveland Magazine the new space will improve accessibility, expand the store's selection of children's books and poetry and double its event space.

• The old store's intimate, multi-floor layout was charming, but increasingly impractical.

What she's saying: "We just felt we needed a bigger space on one floor," DeGaetano said.

• "We want a new generation of booksellers to be able to thrive."

Stop by: The store resumes normal business hours tomorrow after a few days off.

Shedeur Sanders did everything he could on Sunday except complete a pass on a two-point conversion that would have won the game.

Coach Todd Monken's controversial decision to go for two, instead of a potential tie, inspired reader Louise Fazekas Barmann's winning caption this week:

• "2 is my number, not the play I wanted!"

What's next: The Browns host the Houston Texans this Sunday at Huntington Bank Field.

🍿 Sam is so pumped for Oscar season that he spent no less than [redacted] hours updating his movies spreadsheets this weekend.

🎥 Troy has been inspired by Sam's passion and is creating a Letterboxd account.

This newsletter was edited by Tyler Buchanan.