Akron Beacon Journal
Akron apartment complex owner faces mounting tenant complaints
Pablo Paredes said living at the Towers at Summit Ridge apartment complex is like “living in a third world country.” It’s an experience he knows all too well, having fled a fraught political situation in Ecuador in 2024 for the United...
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New renderings reveal vision for Quaker Square
With an embrace of the modern and a nod to the past, new drawings show what a revived Quaker Square could look like. Towering windows, a courtyard and a high-end rooftop restaurant are all entering the mix for consideration in the rebirth of the...
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Offering Safe Passages to Buchtel CLC students
On weekday mornings and again in the afternoons, adults in neon orange vests will be standing at the corners and along the sidewalks of the busy streets that surround Buchtel Community Learning Center. h They aren’t crossing guards, nor are they...
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Celebrated designer speaks to Akron roots
“The reason that I’m here at this time is to express how important my connection to Akron, my upbringing, just everything about what this community gave me to then carry forward to touch lives globally.”
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How do sports bettors really watch games?
Remember when watching sports was a simple thing? Nowadays, broadcasts of pro sports games are accompanied by statistics on the screen showing the over and under of players or the odds of either team winning, followed by a huge logo for sports betting...
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Spring into Akron’s food scene
Summit County welcomed five new restaurants to its food scene in March. One of them is a returning steakhouse serving American Wagyu steaks, flaming butter cake and smoked cocktails in Bath Township. Northfield Center became home to a new eatery...
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ANGRY
In early April 2024, Nolan Jones was in a Chicago hotel room after a brutally rough first few games to start the season for him. It was a low point, and it was about to get much, much worse. Jones, then an outfielder with the Colorado Rockies, had...
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Baseball feels right at home once again
Baseball is back in Northeast Ohio – and the fans are, too, with the Cleveland Guardians and their minor-league affiliate Akron RubberDucks marking their first home stands of the season. h Summerlike temperatures in the upper 70s greeted the...
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Foundation created by Summa sale starts path
Staff at the Trailhead Community Health Foundation of Greater Akron have been hard at work growing their team and setting up the organization since its creation in October. h The health grantmaking and fundraising organization launched with proceeds...
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Forewoman discusses FirstEnergy mistrial
The jury forewoman in the bribery trial of two former FirstEnergy executives said she wanted to convict on nearly all charges up through the March 31 hung jury announcement. “I felt that there should have been conviction,” said Jackie Steward, Juror...
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Hung jury dismissed in FirstEnergy execs’ trial
State prosecutors plan to retry two former FirstEnergy executives on bribery and other charges after jurors in the weekslong trial announced March 31 they couldn’t reach a verdict on any of the charges. The jury deliberated for nine days, telling...
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Drag performer decries bill to restrict shows
When drag queen Bryanna Nagy, 25, of Cuyahoga Falls first learned of an Ohio bill that would restrict drag shows deemed obscene, she was disgusted and disheartened. Nagy, whose stage name is Lady B Davenport, said the bill that restricts drag shows to...
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Large Cuyahoga Falls crowd protests Trump
An estimated 2,000 people rallied in downtown Cuyahoga Falls at the amphitheater as part of the nationwide No Kings protests on March 28. Among the signs seen were “We are melting the wrong ICE,” “No War with Iran,” “This is not the America I want to...
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War spurs India to rekindle Russia ties
NEW DELHI – As India’s diplomats negotiated an accord that would ease punitive U.S. tariffs on the South Asian country’s exports in January, New Delhi slashed its purchases of Russian crude oil in a move that was widely seen as a painful concession to...
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Owner lives in a castle; tenants live with risks
Residents of Spring Hill Apartments live about 200 miles from their building’s owner, but a galaxy away. Spring Hill sits in one of Akron’s poorest ZIP codes, where the median household income is $20,000 to $25,000 per year. Gerald Krueger – the...
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This courtside cop has all of the right moves
Cavaliers fans have likely spotted Cleveland police officer Chris Porter’s dance moves as he works security for home games at Rocket Arena or seen him in videos on social media. So what’s the story behind the Cavs’ dancing cop? “It became an...
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Innerbelt Master Plan receives mixed reviews
The Rev. Gregory Harrison grew up in the neighborhood decimated by the construction of the Innerbelt. The recently released Innerbelt Master Plan — a guidebook to the city’s redevelopment of the area — doesn’t adequately account for the harm done by...
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Teen’s mom pushes for sextortion bill
The mother of a Streetsboro teen who took his life after becoming a victim of sextortion has given hundreds of presentations to schools and organizations. She and her husband started a foundation that has awarded $25,000 in scholarships. Now, Tamia...
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ICE agents deployed to Cleveland Hopkins
Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Homeland Security Investigations agents showed up at Cleveland Hopkins International Airport on March 23 to help provide security, but not all travelers welcomed their arrival. Cleveland Hopkins is reportedly...
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‘Carrying his light and joy forward’
George Howley was never one to stay quiet when his family needed him. The first time he and his parents were in the intensive care unit due to George’s rare genetic mitochondrial disorder, his temperature was bottoming out, and he was showing signs of...
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MILLIONS IN REVENUE, BUT AT WHAT COST?
Sports betting is big business in the Buckeye State. h Ohio’s sports gaming market surpassed $10.3 billion in total wagers in 2025, just two years after sports betting became legal in the state, according to the Ohio Casino Control Commission. That’s a...
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Could pharmacists offer more than meds?
Ohioans feeling sick need to make an appointment with a primary care doctor or visit an urgent care or emergency room to get tested for common illnesses. That could soon change if state lawmakers pass a bill to allow pharmacists to test and treat...
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Zippy mascot, artist show staying power
Zippy, the kangaroo mascot of the University of Akron, is a symbol of perseverance and determination. So is the artist behind the beloved character. Joseph T. Dick, 96, better known as “Joe,” is a celebrity at the Gardens at Cuyahoga Falls, a senior...
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Ground zero for meteorite hunters
You could separate the rookie meteorite hunters from the pros by the tools they carried March 18 at River Styx Park in southern Medina County. Metal detectors were mostly for folks new to space rocks, like a man who said he took off work to search for...
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Helping girls succeed on and off the court
At just 24 years old, Jada Haines, known affectionately as Coach Jada, has come full circle at Ladies First Akron, the basketball organization that shaped her as a player and a young woman. h From the courts of her childhood in Akron to guiding the...
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Closing arguments begin in bribery trial
Making his closing argument in the state’s case against two former FirstEnergy executives March 16 before jury deliberations begin, prosecutor Matthew Meyer displayed a November 2019 text message conversation between the defendants. In one of the...
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Akron turns green for St. Patrick’s Day Parade
B’gosh and begorrah! Downtown Akron turned several shades of green on Saturday, March 14, during the St. Patrick’s Day Parade. The Ancient Order of Hibernians and the city sponsored the 43rd annual event, which began at noon and traveled north on South...
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TRADING, GAMING, PREDICTING
A Northeast Ohio man was playing blackjack at a Florida casino when his phone rang. It was a friend who had nudged him into Gamblers Anonymous two years before. h When the Ohio man answered — with the ding, ding, ding of slot machines echoing behind...
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Daughter uses AI to bring memories to life
At age 77, lifelong Akron resident Theresa Singleton has lived a long and fulfilling life — one that she keeps quietly stored away in her memories and in the stories she tells. h She was separated from her four siblings at age 9 when her mother passed...
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Ice cream, anyone?
A changing of the guard has happened at the Highland Square landmark Mary Coyle ice cream shop. Michael Trecaso, who owned and operated Trecaso’s Mary Coyle Fine Italian Cuisine & Ice Cream in the neighborhood for 39 years, sold the property and...
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Husted’s testimony cut short in bribery trial
An attorney for ex-FirstEnergy executive Michael Dowling and a prosecutor took about one hour to question U.S. Sen. Jon Husted, R-Ohio, March 11 in the bribery trial of Dowling and his former boss at FirstEnergy, Chuck Jones. Judge Susan Baker Ross...
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Past Zippy mascots share their memories
Matt Kappler stood on the court of the Moda Center in Portland, Oregon, during a timeout at the Akron vs. UCLA 2022 NCAA Tournament game, looking into the crowd. Some 15,000 people stared back, and maybe 1,000 were Akron fans. Except they weren’t...
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1976 ‘Miracle of Richfield’ reversed fortune for Cavs
Despite growing up in Northeast Ohio, Dick Snyder didn’t have warm, fuzzy feelings when he learned the Seattle SuperSonics had traded him to the Cavaliers in May 1974. “I actually hated being traded to the Cavaliers because, at the time I went there,...
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Akron area gets 3 new restaurants
Three restaurants with distinctly different personalities opened in February in the Akron area. That includes a new wings and jojos takeout spot in Akron’s Sherbondy Hill neighborhood and a new restaurant in Barberton that does playful takes on viral...
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‘Nobody cared’
Hundreds of souls rest at Schneider Park, interred on the grounds when it was used as a graveyard for the Summit County Infirmary and, before that, a “poor farm.” Jane Greenland’s nine-year mission to gain official recognition for the buried dead was...
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Coalition works to prep Akron for ICE
Immigration and Customs Enforcement hasn’t yet arrived in Akron, but one group is preparing concerned community members for the possibility. The Akron ICE Watch coalition is facilitating training seminars and canvassing the city with know-your-rights...
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Ohio bills seek to add protections for pets
Two Senate bills in the Ohio legislature could, if passed, offer greater protections for pets in the Buckeye state. The two bills were promoted in a news conference on March 5 at the Humane Society of Summit County. Both Sen. Casey Weinstein,...
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DIY skate park coming to Kenmore
Gary Dean is applying the Akron skateboarding community’s do-it-yourself ethic to bring a neighborhood-and-user-designed skate park to Kenmore’s Prentiss Park. In 2024, Prentiss Park was awarded $150,000 through the Akron Parks Challenge grant. Ward 9...
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Acme grocery chain celebrates 135 years
A 135th anniversary is an awfully big one. That’s how long Akron-based Acme Fresh Market has been in business. The venerable grocery store chain, founded in Akron in 1891, is celebrating its latest milestone with lots of customer engagement. Acme...
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Summit Ridge tenants detail ‘disgusting’ woes
Sue Christopher said her apartment at the Towers at Summit Ridge was “disgusting” when she moved in 10 months ago, and conditions haven’t improved much. Christopher and many other tenants — some speaking anonymously for fear of retribution from...
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‘Not going to keep him alive on machines’
PLAIN TWP. − Jon Smith snored away as usual on that Saturday night in November. He’d dozed off during the Alabama-LSU football game on TV. It was an ideal chance for his wife, Meredith, to phone their oldest daughter, who was away at medical school but...
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WHERE FUNDS FALL
Read the comments on nearly any social media post about an Ohio school district seeking a tax levy to avoid financial cuts and you’ll likely see someone ask about the Ohio Lottery. “Just a question where does all that lottery money go that’s supposed...
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Area hospitals using AI to improve care
There is a treasure trove of artificial intelligence-powered medical technology out there. h Northeast Ohio hospitals are increasingly partnering with tech companies to meet their specific needs and improve patient care through customized AI workflows....
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Akron man channels loss into youth program
TOP: Dominique Waters, founder of the Akron Sneaker Academy, holds a family photo with his siblings and cousins. Waters’ late brother, Douglas, is in the lower right corner. The pain of losing his brother to gun violence in November 2024 still shapes...
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Barberton doubles up on title anniversary
BARBERTON – Jack Greynolds Jr. sat in a booth at Magic City’s Remarkable Diner and experienced strong emotions as he reflected on his father’s legacy. Powerful memories of the late coaching icon Jack Greynolds Sr. came flooding back because the 50th...
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Akron deploys new trucks to fix potholes
Akron has a new tool in its toolbox to battle potholes in the city. h The first DuraPatcher truck actually arrived in the fall, but city officials say it took a bit to get used to the equipment, which requires just a single operator to fill a...
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More wintry weather due in Greater Akron
Winter is still hanging around Greater Akron. A winter weather advisory was in effect for Summit and Medina counties until 1 a.m. Feb. 24. By the time everything is said and done, the weather service said, some communities could see a half a foot of...
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What do Epstein files tell us about Wexner?
Few people were as connected to child sex offender Jeffrey Epstein as billionaire retail giant Les Wexner. h For more than a decade, Epstein controlled much of Wexner’s life, from managing his money to building Wexner’s yachts. Personally, they were so...
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Frustrations continue
The problems at Spring Hill Apartments started on day one for Cassandra Pate. “I had black mold in my freezer that I had to clean out when I moved in,” she said. Pate said her building at 1221 Everton Drive has been without consistent hot water since...
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AI used to expedite radiology care
Northeast Ohio hospitals are turning to artificial intelligence to provide patients with faster, more accurate results after undergoing CT scans, mammograms, MRIs and other tests. h Summa Health, University Hospitals and Cleveland Clinic all have...
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UA could change the future of heart valves
Patients across the world might someday have a piece of Akron in their hearts. h A University of Akron research lab received a $200,000 American Heart Association award to fund the development of a new generation of heart valve implants. h The...
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Special canines give comfort in crises
It had been less than a week since the mass shooting at Apalachee High School in Winder, Georgia. The 2024 incident killed two students and two teachers; nine others were injured. h The school’s students and staff were returning to the building to...
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Civil rights icon ‘kept dream alive’
The Rev. Jesse Jackson, a towering civil rights icon who battled alongside the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., negotiated global hostage releases and shamed corporations for their lack of diversity and failure to support voting rights, died Feb. 17. He...
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‘He creates belonging’
Leland Snell’s credibility as a transformation coach and wellness instructor is tied to his lived experiences. Between 2017 and 2020, Snell was homeless. During that period, he wrote his book, “Smoking Mirrors,” entirely on his cell phone while...
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What FirstEnergy workers have said in bribery trial
Testimony in the criminal trial of two former FirstEnergy executives has shifted from a focus on former top Ohio utility regulator and energy attorney Sam Randazzo more toward the defendants. Prosecutors are trying their case against former...
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A vote cost a Summit County judge her party endorsement
For years, Summit County Common Pleas Court judges — Republicans and Democrats — routinely crossed party lines to elect the court’s administrative and presiding judges. But for the majority-Democrat bench, a Summit County Democratic Party bylaw could...
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Falls couple engaged in classroom where they met
Hillary Yanok, left, and DJ Nivens reminisce at Crust and Cocktails over a scrapbook detailing their times together. It was not exactly love at first sight. For one of them it was. The other, not so much. Hillary Yanok was a relative newcomer to...
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1860s-era farmhouse available for rentals
It’s not often a place steeped in history makes history itself. For the first time, the Western Reserve Historical Society is allowing visitors to stay overnight in one of its historic buildings. The Cranz Farm Inn is nestled in the Cuyahoga Valley...
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Kent State key to origin of Black History Month
Professor and Africana Studies Chair Mwatabu Okantah at Oscar Ritchie Hall at Kent State University on Feb. 11. Long before Black History Month became a national observance, the push to dedicate more time to honoring Black history was already taking...
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Ex-lawyer recounts Randazzo concerns
A former lawyer for FirstEnergy said he wasn’t sure why the company agreed to pay Sam Randazzo hundreds of thousands of dollars each year for five years. h Mark Hayden formerly worked as an attorney at FirstEnergy Services Co., a subsidiary of the...
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Former Copley coach faces $4.8M judgment
A former Copley coach accused of bilking investors out of $200 million now faces a multimillion-dollar judgment for the amount he personally profited from his alleged Ponzi scheme. A visiting judge in Summit County Common Pleas Court recently issued a...
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Social media is reshaping research on substance use
When you think of tools for studying substance use and addiction, a social media site like Reddit, TikTok or YouTube probably isn’t the first thing that comes to mind. Yet the stories shared on social media platforms are offering unprecedented insights...
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HEALING HER WAY
One minute, 15-year-old Calais Weber was watching the multicolored flames of an experiment in her chemistry class at Western Reserve Academy in Hudson. h The next, she was engulfed in flames. h Calais stopped, dropped and rolled, but the unbearable...
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Vrabel’s journey from Walsh to Super Bowl
As the head coach of the New England Patriots, Mike Vrabel is positioned to deliver a pregame speech on Sunday, Feb. 8, before his team faces the Seattle Seahawks in Super Bowl 60 at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, California. h Back in Vrabel’s old...
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Cavs ambassador sees himself in Akron’s ESL students
ACleveland Cavaliers radio announcer is drawing on his own experience struggling to learn English to help international students in Akron gain proficiency and confidence to pass their required state exams. h Rafael Hernández-Brito, known as Rafa “El...
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Vacant South Akron building condemned last year
“I drove down toward Main Street and got as far as Wilbeth Road, but the smoke was so thick I was coughing, and my eyes were burning. I didn’t get any closer than that. I didn’t see the fire itself, I just drove through the smoke for a couple of blocks.”
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Defense: Randazzo stole from his clients
A defense attorney for a former FirstEnergy executive said all criminal charges against his client should be dropped because the regulator he is accused of bribing stole money “unbeknownst to everybody.” Steven Grimes, a lawyer for ex-FirstEnergy...
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Complex to spotlight Akron’s Black history
Terrence Shelton remembers the years before the Akron Innerbelt, walking through a thriving and safe community, unafraid of his surroundings and enjoying a familiarity with neighbors. h That past is gone, but Shelton is involved in a project that he...
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New president, CEO once the world champ
Dennis VanFossen Jr. went from being an International Soap Box Derby World Champion to helping others try to achieve the same milestone. The Canton resident was named president and CEO of the Akron-based organization in November. Both VanFossen and...
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Littered single-use plastic bags aren’t just an eyesore. They can flow into natural waterways and leach small plastics “This journey has provided many learnings, which have led to several evolutions of our grocery bag program.”
Giant Eagle spokeswoman
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Stained glass finds salvation; can church?
As Akron developer Tony Troppe works to preserve a historic Akron church, he’s collaborating with the Akron Art Museum to display a stained glass window from the site. h Troppe said he’s serving as chief facilitator on the rehabilitation of the former...
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Akron Children’s uses breakthrough drug
Dr. Deepak Ozhathil, an Akron Children’s Hospital burn institute surgeon, holds a vial of Aurlumyn, an intravenous drug used to treat frostbite. As extreme cold temperatures persist across the region, Akron Children’s Burn Center is using a new...
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THE LAST LAUGH?
The owners of a comedy club in Cuyahoga Falls are hoping they are not the ones left with the last laugh. h The Funny Stop, situated in a plaza on State Road, is up for sale and time is running out to find a buyer before it closes for good. h Nidal...
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Warming centers, shelters at capacity
This week’s extreme cold weather has Akron’s warming centers and overnight shelters busy and seeking volunteers. The Haven of Rest Ministries shelter is averaging between 230 and 240 people per night, compared to its usual 162, according to the Rev....
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Greater Akron braces for prolonged freeze
It is shaping up to be a dangerously cold week in Greater Akron. h As the region digs out from a major winter storm that dumped as much as a foot of snow in some communities, dangerously low temperatures are expected for the next several days. h Summit...
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Dirty plants forced back into service
CHICAGO – In Chicago’s working-class Pilsen neighborhood, a 1960s-era oil-fired power plant rises up from an industrial lot behind Dvorak Park, which in warmer weather is packed with children climbing on its colorful playground and zooming down...
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