Earlier this week, Democratic Cleveland Mayor Frank Jackson announce an ambitious new plan to overhaul the city's failing public schools. Ohio Governor John Kasich, a Republican, quickly announced his support for the plan. The reason these two politicians find themselves in agreement over the plan is because Jackson's school overhaul includes many of the same tenants as the controversial, Kasich-backed Senate Bill 5.

Jackson's plan calls for changes to state law, which would give the Cleveland Metropolitan School District more autonomy. It also plans to eliminate seniority as the deciding factor for employee layoffs and assignments, and will require differentiated pay to attract talented teachers and principals. Furthermore, it would require that Cleveland schools and unions start future contract negotiations without carryover items from previous agreements. The plan would also provide targeted funding for year-round schools, high-performing charter schools and other initiatives.

In his State of the State speech on Tuesday in Columbus, Gov. Kasich said:

“I’m counting on Cleveland to deliver the goods. We can change urban education in Ohio and change the urban education in America. And that is worth fighting for and risking for.”

A Pennsylvania university is causing quite a commotion after it announced that it will offer the Plan B emergency contraceptive pill at a vending machine in its health center.

Shippensburg University will offer the pill for $25 in a machine located in a private room in the health center. The pill is only legal for those over 17-years-old, but the school determined that all of is 8,300 are over that age.

University spokesman Peter Gigliotti says that anyone can't just walk in from the street and purchase the pills:

"The machine is in a private room in our health center, and the health center is only accessible by students. In addition, no one can walk in off the street and go into the health center. Students proceed to a check-in desk located in the lobby and after checking in are granted access to the treatment area."

Since the school doesn't have any students aged 17 or younger, they're safe for now. But should any younger students enroll in the future, they may legally be required to remove the vending machines. As many other larger universities and colleges across the country do have younger students, Shippensburg's vending machine policy couldn't be perfectly duplicated everywhere.

On Tuesday a federal appeals panel in San Francisco ruled that California's infamous Proposition 8, which bans same-sex marriage, is unconstitutional. This decision would lead to the Supreme Court's consideration of the highly controversial social issue.

The panel overturned the proposition by a 2 to 1 vote. Proposition 8 was approved by 52 percent of California voters in 2008, and thus amended the state's Constitution to limit marriage to a man and woman.

U.S. Circuit Judge Stephen Reinhardt wrote in his decision:

“Proposition 8 serves no purpose, and has no effect, other than to lessen the status and human dignity of gays and lesbians in California, and to officially reclassify their relationships and families as inferior to those of opposite-sex couples. The Constitution simply does not allow for laws of this sort.”

Reinhardt, appointed by Jimmy Carter, was joined ruling the proposition unconstitutional by Judg Michael Daly Hawkins, who was appointed by Bill Clinton. Judge N. Randy Smith, who was appointed by George W. Bush, dissented.

Cleveland was infamously named the United States' most miserable city in 2009. In 2010, after much public outcry the year prior, Forbes.com decided to push Cleveland down to the No. 10 spot on its list. Last year, Cleveland fell a couple spots further down the list, coming in at No. 12.

Forbes looks at 10 factors in determining the nation's most miserable cities, including: violent crime rate, property tax rates, commute, political corruption, pro sports team performance, and others.

Miami, Florida, came in as the country's most miserable city in 2011. Forbes.com explains that aside from all the glitz and glamour the city offers, most Miami residents are struggling to make ends meet. Detroit and Flint, Michigan, took the No. 2 and No. 3 spots, which Forbes blames on the decline of the auto industry.

The top 10 Most Miserable Cities for 2011, according to Forbes.com, were:

#1 Miami, Fla.
#2 Detroit, Mich.
#3 Flint, Mich.
#4 West Palm Beach, Fla.
#5 Sacramento, Calif.
#6 Chicago, Ill.
#7 Fort Lauderdale, Fla.
#8 Toledo, Ohio
#9 Rockford, Ill.
#10 Warren, Mich.

Jim Tressel, who has been without a job since being forced to resign amid a scandal at Ohio State University, has been hired by the University of Akron. Tressel was named Akron's vice president for strategic engagement at a press conference held on Thursday by college President Luis Proenza.

Tressel was said to have been helpful to Akron during its search for a new head coach.

Baldwin-Wallace College in Tressel's hometown of Berea was also said to have been interested in Tressel, as well as Wittenburg University. Sources said Wednesday night that Tressel had goals outside of athletics.

Tressel has reportedly sold his home in Upper Arlington to prepare for his new job in a new area of the state.

South University, a for-profit college with campuses in several different states, announced plans to open up a 40,000-square-foot campus in Warrensville Heights. Classes are expected to begin on April 7.

The college will be located on Richmond Road near U.S. Route 422, and will offer degrees in criminal justice, paralegal studies, legal studies, business administration, and other subject areas.

South University has campuses in Austin, Texas; Richmond, Virginia; Montgomery, Alabama; and Novi, Michigan. The college's parent company, Education Management Corp. of Pittsburgh, also runs Brown Mackie College, which has campuses in Akron and North Canton.

Habitat for Humanity, the Christian non-profit that helps build homes for low-income families around the world, says that it plans to foreclose on 25 houses in Cleveland if the homeowners do not respond to warning letters regarding their overdue mortgage payments.

Some of the Cleveland homeowners are more than three years behind in mortgage payments.

John Habat, executive director of Habitat for Humanity's local Cleveland chapter, said that letters are being sent to those 25 property owners within two weeks outlining what they can do to avoid foreclosure. If a response is not received within 32 days, officials will foreclose on te homes.

Habitat for Humanity was one of the country's largest builders in 2010, constructing nearly 4,600 homes. Nationwide, the group's foreclosure rate is less than 2 percent..

Habitat for Humanity has also been forced to take foreclosure steps in Florida and Georgia.

Deeds to the properties are held by Habitat, with homeowners typically getting a 30-year, no-interest mortgage. They are required to make monthly payments, which are usually under $500, and must work at least 500 hours on their homes as well as attend financial literacy and homeownership workshops.

In October 2011, it was announced that Cleveland, Ohio, had been selected as the next city to host Marine Week, the Corps' annual community outreach event. Now it's been announced that Cleveland has been named one of 15 cities where America’s Navy will “come home” in 2012, giving area residents an opportunity to meet sailors and learn about the Navy’s capabilities and relevance to national security.

Cleveland Navy Week will run from August 27 to September 4. The event will commemorate the bicentennial of the War of 1812 and "The Star Spangled Banner." It will feature visits from U.S. Navy ships as well as a variety of special events, including:

• The Blue Angels, the Navy flight demonstration team
• Leap Frogs, the Navy parachute team
• Visiting U.S. Navy ships
• Navy Band musical performances
• Admirals and other senior Navy leaders, who will engage with local corporate, civic, government and education leaders
• Navy simulator and other interactive displays
• Visits to area schools
• Community service projects and events with local sports franchises
• Visits with local veterans

Two Parma Heights bars were busted on Wednesday, accused of permitting illegal gambling inside their establishments. The raids, which were conducted in the afternoon, involved seven different law enforcement agencies and locations in five different cities.

Undercover agents from the Ohio Investigative Unit removed 80 computers, money, and financial records. Investigators raided Good Time Charlie's II on Pearl Rd. and Mr. B's on West 130th.

Julie Hinds, a spokesperson for the Ohio Investigative Unit, said:

"We did a long-term investigation ourselves and Parma Heights police and we found that the complaint was valid."

Cleveland Agent-in-Charge Greg Croft added:

"We were able to receive cash payouts at both locations. It was determined by our investigation that the machines in these premises were actually, in fact, gambling devices, not internet sweepstakes machines as claimed... there were several different gambling violations that were taking place."

Investigators also raided homes in Brunswick and Parma, as well as the Union Vending company in Cleveland.

On Wednesday, the government unveiled their new colorful map of planting zones which has been updated for a warmer 21st century. The official guide, which is printed on seed packets and in gardening books and pamphlets, now reflects what many gardeners have noticed: the coldest day of the year isn't as cold as it used to be and plants that used to be too vulnerable to survive the cold can now make it further up north.

This is the first time that the U.S. Department of Agriculture has updated the map since 1990, and a lot has changed. Entire states like Ohio, Nebraska and Texas, now find themselves in warmer zones.

The new planting guide was unveiled Wednesday at the National Arboretum. It's said to use better weather information and offers more interactive technology in its online version. Gardeners can now type in their zip code and their zone will appear, showing the exact average coldest temperature for each of the 26 zones.

The USDA attempted updating the map once before in 2003, but this caused a bit of an uproar and they decided not to use the map they'd commissioned which featured the warmer weather. The Arbor Day Foundation later issued its own planting guide which reflected the warmer climate zones, and the new federal map is similar to the Arbor Day Foundation map.