Odds and Ends

A number of issues to share.

So Akron City Hall has finally appointed a Police Auditor. Three sources confirm it's the same person and all seemed thrilled with the person chosen. He's a retired State Trooper, African-American, with ties to the area. I shouldn't name him yet until his name is officially tossed out to the lions, but his credentials seem solid for such a pressure cooker of a job. It's apparent that his appointment will be made public at the same time that city leaders discuss the Vinson investigation. Stay tuned.

Joe Finley wants a perfect 10. He wants to debate Mayor Plusquellic in all 10 city wards. The Mayor isn't even considering the possibility but will probably agree to one or more get-togethers to talk about the issues. Politically, Plusquellic has nothing to gain by giving attention to a longshot challenger, but Finley has plenty to gain by every chance he can get the Don into the ring. I'm not sure what a debate would really gain us here. I fear the two could really get nasty in a hurry, and that doesn't help. I'm hoping to get each on NewsNight Akron in August for a long-format interview; we'll see what we can work out with their campaigns.

Among the emails I've received lately (my computer is still a mess at work so I'm only seeing a fraction of the emails I should be) are a great many complaints about repetitive Time Warner spots during the Akron-Canton News. Just know that I agree with the frustration and I'm forwarding some of those complaints to the TWC folks to see what can be done. I also received a nice email from a young lady in Cleveland asking me if I could help her pay for college and another note from a man in Avon Lake asking if I knew whether a rumor involving Jane Fonda and POW groups in SE Asia were true. Anyone want to tackle those responses?

That local CBS station set up a liveshot in their 4 p.m. news today right outside our window. They were going live to talk about the Moonda verdict and wanted to show the Federal Courthouse in the background. While the reporter was talking, a van got stuck in traffic right behind the reporter. Two women inside looked at each other and gestured whether they should lift their shirts and flash the reporter on live TV. Luckily they didn't. The reporter got a bit flustered once her story was finally playing and the group in the truck took off. Still, considering the reporter was Catherine Bosley, someone flashing her would have been on-air irony to the Nth degree.