Guardians Win the Central; World Series Path Set: CLE Daily
Plus, things to do this week, dark money is flooding our election cycle, and remembering that Tom Hanks got his start in Cleveland.
by Ron Ledgard | Sep. 28, 2026 | 5:00 AM
Photograph courtesy Associated Press
⚡️ Cleveland Sees Biggest Utility Bill Jump in Ohio This Year. Electric costs rose 28.1% year-over-year in the metro area, part of a statewide surge that's put energy costs at the center of the governor's race.
🎻 Cleveland Orchestra Musicians Are on Strike: Players walked off the job at 12:01 a.m. Friday after months of bargaining failed to close the gap on pay and health care costs, canceling a Michigan concert and putting the ensemble's European tour departure in question. Musicians performed a free chamber concert Saturday at Plymouth Church in Shaker Heights while talks continue.
🥊 Future Olympians Are Throwing Punches Downtown This Week: The 2026 USA Boxing National Open opens competition today at the Cleveland Public Auditorium, running through Saturday and drawing PeeWee-through-Elite division boxers from across the country. Cleveland has sent a boxer to five consecutive Olympics, most recently Morelle McCane, the city's first female Olympic qualifier, in 2024.
ICYMI: Remember our fall color guide from earlier this month? Naturalists now say peak colors will hit in mid-October, and this year's summer rains should spare us a repeat of 2025's rushed, drought-shortened season. The Ohio Department of Natural Resources' fall foliage map is now posting weekly updates.
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Today's Trivia
This Cleveland attorney, the first African-American to serve in the Ohio Senate, is referred to as the Father of Labor Day.
Sports: Guardians defend their AL Central title.
By Cleveland Magazine
The Guardians are in the playoffs for the third year in a row as the American League Central champions. And because the AL is relatively weak this season, they enter the playoffs as the No. 2 seed behind the top-seeded Tampa Bay Rays.
With a bye, they don't play until Saturday at Progressive Field.
The Schedule for the Best-of-Five Series:
Game 1: Saturday, Oct. 3 at Progressive Field
Game 2: Monday, Oct. 5 at Progressive Field
Game 3: Wednesday, Oct. 7 (Away)
Game 4 (if necessary): Thursday, Oct. 8 (Away)
Game 5 (if necessary): Saturday, Oct. 10 at Progressive Field
The opponent will be decided in the wild-card round that happens this week.
Talk of the Town
A crypto-backed super PAC is spending $30 million to take down Sherrod Brown — again. Fairshake, funded mainly by Coinbase, Ripple and Andreessen Horowitz, is repeating the playbook that helped unseat Brown once before, escalating after Senate Democrats blocked debate on a crypto-friendly bill.
Charter schools in Cuyahoga County had far more state tests flagged for irregularities than Cleveland's public schools. A Signal Cleveland analysis found seven of a dozen charters under review had over half their exams flagged, mostly for last-minute wrong-to-right answer switches. Six of the seven are run by the same for-profit operator, ACCEL.
Every Cavaliers game will now air exclusively on iHeartMedia stations, reaching well beyond Cleveland. The team named iHeartMedia its official radio home, with WTAM 1100 AM and WMMS 100.7 FM as flagships and all 82 regular-season games, plus preseason and playoffs, simulcast on 19 stations from Youngstown to Toledo to Erie, Pennsylvania. Play-by-play voice Tim Alcorn returns for his eighth season, and studio host Mike Snyder enters his 35th.
A Coca-Cola strike that started with 50 workers in Indiana has spread to Akron, Toledo and Twinsburg. More than 300 Teamsters walked off the job at Coca-Cola Consolidated facilities in a solidarity strike, effectively shutting down the company's Ohio operations over wages and health care.
International student enrollment is dragging down Northeast Ohio college numbers. Cleveland State University's international enrollment dropped by a third this fall — nearly 400 students — contributing to a 5% overall enrollment decline shared with Kent State University, both of which cited visa policy changes. The University of Akron and Youngstown State University held steady, crediting stronger retention.
Cleveland police have two new miniature ponies, and the public helped name them. Grace and Valor joined the Mounted Unit to help with community outreach and officer wellness — equine therapy that Chief Annie Todd says has become a proven resource for officers after critical incidents.
History: Before he was Tom Hanks, he was a Cleveland intern.
By Vince Guerrieri
Tom Hanks got his start not in Hollywood, but at a Lakewood auditorium, interning with what's now Great Lakes Theater. He spent three summers there beginning in 1977, and the training stuck: "I still can't" show up late or unprepared, he told Cleveland Magazine in 2009 — a lesson from his "first 72 hours" on the job.
The Grind: Hanks did it all as an intern before earning his Actors' Equity card playing Grumio in The Taming of the Shrew, touring Ohio with the company and becoming an Indians fan in the lean years.
The Payoff: A 1978 Cleveland Critics Circle award for best actor convinced Hanks to go all in — he sold his Volkswagen, moved to New York, and by 1980 had landed his breakout role in Bosom Buddies.
More Things To Do This Week
Trick or Treat Wine & Cocktail Trail (Oct. 1-2): Starting this Thursday and extending through the month of October, a handful of Grand River Valley vineyards are participating in this adult trick-or-treat experience. For just $10 at each location, sample wines and Halloween-themed cocktails at each of the spots on your trail card. Completed cards are entered for a chance to win an Overnight Wine Country Getaway Package! $10 per location, various locations, debonne.com
Stan Hywet Hall & Gardens Ohio Mart (Oct. 1-2): This near 60-year tradition is back on Thursday and through the weekend. At peak fall color, the historic estate will look its best. With more than 150 artisans, shop handmade designs, seasonal food and vintage products. Guests are also able to take a self-guided tour of the Manor House during their visit. $19, 10 a.m.-5 p.m., 714 N. Portage Path, Akron, stanhywet.org
Cleveland Monsters Home Opener (Oct. 2): Hockey season is back! Catch the Cleveland Monsters at Rocket Arena as they take on the Grand Rapids Griffins for their first game of the season. The first 5,000 fans will receive a 20th anniversary magnet schedule and car magnet. It is also 1-2-3 Friday, meaning Coke products are $1, hot dogs are $2 and Labatt Blue is $3 for the night. $20-$188, 7 p.m., 1 Center Court, Cleveland, clevelandmonsters.com
Fall Fest at The Yard (Oct. 2): For the closing night of the Yard at Stonewater, it is open to the public for a bigger Fall Fest experience than ever before. With live music, Putt-Putt, pumpkin decorating and delicious food and drinks, this is the perfect night out with the family to celebrate the early days of fall. Free, 5 p.m.-11 p.m., 1 Club Drive, Highland Heights, stonewatergolf.com
Friday's Trivia Answer
Warner and Swasey in Cleveland were instrumental in developing what firearm, said to have made the Roaring '20s roar? Thompson Submachine Gun (Tommy Gun)
Check back tomorrow for the answer to today's question.
From the Editor
Follow the money this election cycle, and it leads somewhere strange.
Artificial intelligence and its need for data centers is straining the power grid, and Cleveland's electric bills jumped 28.1% this year — the steepest increase in Ohio.
Lawmakers want to ease the pain with a gas tax holiday, funded by a fight over Browns stadium money. Meanwhile, a crypto super PAC backed by Coinbase and Ripple is spending $30 million to unseat Sherrod Brown, again, without ever mentioning crypto.
AI, utility costs and dark money are quietly deciding what this race is actually about.
— Ron Ledgard, Managing Editor
Let us know what is on your mind at conversation@clevelandmagazine.com.
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Ron Ledgard
Ron Ledgard is Cleveland Magazine's managing editor and a Pittsburgh native who has made his peace with Cleveland (except on Sundays). He's a University of Pittsburgh graduate, a veteran of The Athletic and the Akron Beacon Journal, and was there for every chapter of LeBron's Cleveland story. After two decades of chasing deadlines and box scores, he's happily landed in magazines. He's a sucker for a long story done right, the kind you save for a Sunday morning (before kickoff, of course). When he isn't editing, he's out on a trail, trying a new restaurant or hunting for the next great thing to do. Sports is his subject of choice, and coffee is his fuel. Most Starbucks baristas in the area greet him like the Cheers crowd greeted Norm.
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