Cutts update .. and some other stuff

Had a chance to muddle around today on the Bobby Cutts case. Seems prosecutors are still waiting on some medical tests to come back and for final autopsy rulings too before they can proceed to a grand jury. End result: we may not know for a few more weeks yet how Jessica actually died and/or if Cutts will face the death penalty.

Beware of a potential scam involving the Ohio Department of Taxation. I spoke to a 65-year-old North Akron woman who received an authentic-looking letter from ODT claiming that she was the victim of identity fraud and that she needed to mail copies of her birth certificate and social security card to a certain address right away. The letter also provided a phone number where she could pay for ID theft protection. I told her it definitely meets the criteria of an ID Theft scam. First, there's no reason for the ODT to need your birth certificate and/or SS card. Second, in Ohio, it's the Attorney General's office and not the ODT that provides relief from ID Theft. I'm guessing she was targeted because she's over 60+ years old, but just be aware if you or someone you know gets the same letter.

Thanks to Ohio Media Watch, I've set my DVR for 3 a.m. on Saturday. That's when PBS 45/49 is replaying a one-hour special on Akron's loss and rebirth of TV news. I guess it aired last night but I didn't know it was on. I was interviewed for the show more than a year ago, but I never saw the finished product. A great number of folks did and weighed in on the OMW blog .. http://ohiomedia.blogspot.com/2007/07/dvr-alert-pbs-4549-special-on-akron-tv.html. My Executive Producer, Chris Hyser, said he heard that he was shown in the piece and was none too happy. He likes being behind the scenes (he worked at the old 23 news at WAKC too) and wants to stay that way. I 'll weigh in with some thoughts after I see the special, but I'm certainly looking forward to seeing some of the WAKC news clips.