Reporting on lead prevention spurs Cleveland’s lead-safe rental law

The Plain Dealer of Cleveland tackled the problem of childhood lead poisoning in its city with a series of stories that included a solutions-focused look at how other cities were doing a better job of preventing poisoning in the first place. The reporters said the solutions stories were key in sparking change because they showed Cleveland (https://www.cleveland.com/healthfit/2015/10/how_rochester_stopped_using_ch.html#incart_big-photo) had options it wasn’t pursuing. Most recently, in July 2019, the Cleveland City Council passed a landmark law requiring any property built before 1978 to be certified as lead-free before it can be rented.