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Akron police investigate teen mob attack on family
Woman, 75, charged with beating fawn to death
Akron woman found dead at Brimfield Township store
Man shot outside his Akron home during robbery attempt
Man shot in back near Akron park
Man admits repeatedly biting 2-year-old
Tragic day puts man on path to be Pinnacle owner
Blogs:
Pets:
Dogs' Bark: Not fair! Study shows pups get jealous
The Heldenfiles:
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Patrick McManamon:
More on Varejao
Akron Zips:
Opponent outlook: Kent State
Browns Bulletin:
Quick thought on Browns rookies
Tribe Matters:
Wedge challenges relievers
Cleveland Browns:
Stallworth test showed marijuana
Kent State Sports:
Men's Basketball Scheduling update
Cleveland Cavaliers:
Andy’s Signed According to ESPN
All Da King's Men:
Does Medicare Have Lower Administrative Costs ?
Blog of Mass Destruction:
CIA Did Mislead Congress
Akron Law Café:
Breaking Story: CIA Lied to Congress about Secret Program
Varsity Letters:
East basketball update
See Jane Style:
Oh Baby!
Car Chase:
Where do We Go from Here?
Let's Talk Real Estate:
Closings….Not the Good Kind!
Ohio Travels with Betty:
Margy inquires-when is a Taste of Hudson?
Sound Check:
LeVert II live performance Saturday night — "Dedication" album due July 13,
HRLite House:
DDI One of Best Places to Work
Akron Gamer:
First 24 'Guitar Hero 5' songs announced
Published on Thursday, Jan 08, 2009
AKRON
Residents flee fire
AKRON: A neighbor on North Union Street heard an alarm Wednesday morning and alerted several neighbors of a fire inside the house, firefighters said.
No one was injured. As many as six people had to be assisted with housing by the American Red Cross.
A cause has not been determined. Firefighters responded to 24 N. Union St. about 8:40 a.m. The fire was located in a bedroom and confined to a bed.
Damage has been estimated at about $40,000.
College job finalist
AKRON: University of Akron Provost Elizabeth Stroble is a finalist for the presidency at Webster University in Webster Groves, Mo., a suburb of St. Louis.
She will visit the campus on Wednesday for interviews. The other finalist, interim Webster President Neil George, will be interviewed the next day.
The private, nonprofit university operates more than 100 campuses around the world for 22,000 students.
Stroble also has been a finalist for other top jobs, most recently Otterbein College in Ohio.
New associate dean
AKRON: William S. Jordan III, the C. Blake McDowell Jr. Professor of Law at the University of Akron School of Law, has been named associate dean.
Jordan received his bachelor's degree from Stanford University and his law degree from the University of Michigan. He has worked for the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and has been in private practice. He joined UA in 1985.
He will make $163,576 in his new position.
Carjacker sentenced
AKRON: Summit County Common Pleas Judge Elinore Marsh Stormer sentenced an Akron woman to six years in prison Wednesday for her role in the carjacking of a pregnant woman at Summit Mall in December 2007.
Marquita Ross, 22, of Lakeshore Boulevard, pleaded guilty last month to robbing Medina resident Rebecca L. Jacobs as she was parking her Toyota 4Runner sport-utility vehicle.
Ross approached Jacobs and demanded the woman's car keys as she was unlocking her vehicle.
Ross was sentenced to three years for aggravated robbery and three years for a gun specification.
An accomplice, Antony B. Jeffries, 29, of Akron, was sentenced to 10 years in prison in July for his role in the crime. He pleaded guilty to brandishing a gun at Jacobs and telling her to get out of the car and to leave her purse.
Jeffries led police on a short chase, abandoned the car on Neptune Avenue and ran away. He was caught a short time later.
BARBERTON
Contract approved
BARBERTON: Classroom aides, secretaries, cooks and other non-teaching staff members in the Barberton school district will receive wage increases and pay more for health insurance under a new contract.
Barberton school board members Tuesday approved the three-year contract, ratified by members of American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees Local 265 late last year.
The nearly 150 employees will receive pay raises of 2.5 percent in each year of the contract, effective Jan. 1.
District Treasurer Ryan Pendleton said it took only three days to reach an agreement. Union negotiators, he said, were aware that health-care costs are increasing each year. ''We very much appreciate that understanding.''
Steve Pickard, AFSCME representative, said in a prepared release that district officials have ''demonstrated that they want to be collaborative in district problem solving.''
COLUMBUS
Tax hike proposed
COLUMBUS: A state task force is recommending that Ohio's 28 cents per gallon fuel tax be increased by 13 cents to raise more money for the state's transportation needs.
The panel also is calling for a state constitutional amendment to allow gas tax revenue to pay for waterway and transit-system improvements, in addition to the highway and bridge construction the money now goes toward.
The 62-member task force, made up of government and business officials, also says the state should consider hiking vehicle registration and driver's license fees by $1 each to raise transportation revenue.
A spokesman for Gov. Ted Strickland says the governor appreciates the panel's work but doesn't think a tax increase is the best idea during a recession.
HUDSON
Council seat filled
HUDSON: The City Council appointed Hal DeSaussure to fill its vacant at-large seat Wednesday.
He will be sworn in Tuesday evening.
The seat opened when Mike Moran was elected state representative in November.
DeSaussure, a Hudson resident for more than 20 years and a partner in the law firm Oldham Kramer, has been active in local government. He has held several positions, most recently as Ward 3 councilman from 1998 to 2003.
In 1995, DeSaussure was on the original Hudson Charter Review Commission that drafted the charter of the newly created city of Hudson following the merger of the former township and village.
MEDINA
Toilet images found
MEDINA: Detectives with the Medina County Sheriff's Office are investigating the discovery of digital images of a woman inside a bathroom believed to have been taken in the county.
Chief Deputy Ken Baca said Wednesday that detectives began their investigation about five weeks ago, after receiving the images — on a CD — from another woman.
Baca said the images show a woman using the toilet.
Baca said no one has been charged. Detectives plan to wrap up their investigation this week and give a report to Medina County Prosecutor Dean Holman, Baca said.
Baca said it will be up to prosecutors to decide what charges, if any, to file.
MEDINA COUNTY
County tax bills
MEDINA: The state has certified tax rates for the county.
Tax bills will be mailed out by the end of January. The bills are also posted at http://www.medinacountyauditor.org.
Taxes will be about $17 lower for a house valued at $100,000 for those living in the Medina City Schools District. Those living in districts sharing boundaries with Wayne and Ashland counties (Creston, Rittman and Black River School districts) also will see a decrease.
Medina City and Buckeye Local Schools have the lowest taxing rate, with residents paying about $1,236 per year on a $100,000 house.
Brunswick Hills Township has the highest tax rate in the county, with residents paying about $1,860 per year on a $100,000 house. Montville and Lafayette townships round out the top three.
OTTAWA COUNTY
Suspect gets bond
PORT CLINTON: A judge in Ottawa County on Wednesday set bond at $250,000 for a Fairlawn man charged in the 2002 drowning death of James Barnett.
Scott Speer, 43, had not posted bond as of 8 p.m. Wednesday and was expected to remain in the Ottawa County Jail overnight, authorities said.
When released, he must wear an electronic ankle monitor and his travel would be restricted to Summit and Cuyahoga counties. He also could not drive a car or boat, and must stay away from the victim's family, authorities and his attorney said.
An appeals court last week overturned the aggravated vehicular homicide and involuntary manslaughter convictions of Speer.
Barnett, a Barberton resident, drowned in Lake Erie after falling off — or being pushed from — a powerboat driven by Speer.
Speer, who was serving a four-year prison sentence, is to receive a new trial, although the Ottawa County prosecutor plans to appeal to the Ohio Supreme Court to uphold the convictions.
STARK COUNTY
Contracts awarded
CANTON: Building a morgue inside the Stark County Jail will cost $427,711 under terms of contracts that commissioners awarded Tuesday.
The general contractor will be Stitle Construction of Salem. Other contractors are D&A Plumbing and Heating of Lake Township and the North Canton firms Feinman Mechanical and Speelman Electric.
The county coroner must move from the Doctors Campus of Affinity Medical Center due to closure of the Perry Township facility.
Also Tuesday, commissioners approved a request from Common Pleas Court judges to reinstate pay for grand jurors' first 10 days of service. Since June, they have been paid only when they convened for 11 or more days. Grand jurors usually meet weekly for three months.
AKRON
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