Bobby Cutts, et al ..

Good Morning .. my head is still spinning from a trip to Charleston, WV and back with my son Jacob for a soap box derby race .. but a few things are worth sharing this morning ..

I finally have a source whose willing to say definitively that Bobby Cutts took police to the area at Top-of-the-world where Jessie Marie Davis' body was recovered. There has been much speculation about whether Cutts confessed to her murder or just to finding her body and disposing of it. There's been equal speculation about whether he told them where to find the body or took them there. My source tells me that three vehicles went to the scene on that Saturday afternoon and that Cutts, already in cuffs, gestured to the specific area from the backseat of a deputy's car. Once men in the other vehicles found Davis' remains, Cutts was immediately driven back to the jail as investigators began processing the scene.

I really like Larry States' (WAKR) idea of modifying the Knight Center for University of Akron basketball. While the idea of a new arena -- probably across the street from Canal Park -- would stimulate the area financially, the millions that could be saved by renovating the Knight Center could be big. There's two major parking decks already within just a block and students living in the new Quaker Square dorms would be able to mosey across the street to games. In fact, the rooms that will remain available as a hotel would be good for the guest teams. With the Knight Center struggling for business as it is, a remodeled Knight Center arena could be a good way to better use that facility and meet the demands for a new downtown arena at the same time.

I heard a great untold story from the All-American Soap Box Derby a few weeks back. Apparently a champ from Japan arrived but his car got lost in the flight somewhere. With the days ticking away, a number of volunteers and AASBD employees broke out a new kit and put it together so the boy would at least have something to drive in the big race. His car did finally arrive the night before the race, although he had no time to practice with it on the big hill or do any work on it. Still, it's great to know that everyone was willing to pitch in and help with a young man in need.

If you haven't had a chance to sample Ed Esposito's blog (it's linked to the right) you're missing out. Actually, you should have been a fly on the wall after we taped NewsNight Akron this past Friday. Ed, Jody Miller, Larry States, and I stayed in the studio and debated the state of media organization in Akron versus the expectations of the public for its media. It was heated and colorful to say the least. Maybe we'll move that debate in front of the camera when we have a slow news week.

I'm hoping that my investigation into document handling at the Fairlawn Bureau of Motor Vehicles creates some change in the system. The Department of Public Safety is now reviewing the volume of papers discovered floating around the parking lot and discarded in the dumpster at the BMV. Dozens of papers showed local customers' license and Social Security Numbers and appear to be documents that most thought were shredded. While some documents in the dumpster were indeed shredded to bits, there's something wrong how easy I was able to build a database of 30 Akron residents' complete personal profiles in just minutes using papers tossed out by a local franchise of state government. Here's my shameless plug: The two-part investigation airing tomorrow (Monday) on TV3 and 6/11 and Akron-Canton news at 6:30/10. Tell me what you think.