Odds & Ends on a Monday

Our newsroom is kinda quiet today .. which doesn't happen often ... so I'm playing catch-up with a lot of unfinished business today. A few notes to pass along:

I'm waiting on a videotape copy of Jennifer Brunner's deposition in the Arshinkoff case. I'll have it in the next hour and use it in a story on tonight's late newscasts. If it sounds anything like it reads, I'll expect a lot of bickering.

There's more to come on Akron's "Forgotten Families." I've acquired the housing department citations issued to the building's landlord. In addition to cleaning up the roaches, rats, poor lighting, and overcrowding that our story documented, the landlord was also ordered to fix issues with mold, wiring, ventilation and a half-dozen more issues. He's also being fined $100 for failing to accurately fix a previous lead paint problem in which a child received medical treatment.

What's most troubling to me is that a third grader from this same group of immigrants was bitten by a rat while she was sleeping. I'm told this happened in a nearby house on Blaine Avenue. The girl was treated by a school nurse and other medical professionals and will be O.K. I'm still trying to pinpoint a few specific details -- to include whether the same landlord owns that property -- but I do have confirmation that the girl was bitten by the rat at home.

The trial of two Tallmadge athletes for rape and hazing began today, and I can't help but roll my eyes that something like this is in front of a judge. The two teens reportedly used a straw on a 15-year-old boy for their dumb prank, but their attorneys argued today that there was no rape because there was no penetration. Considering we're dealing with immature teens here, I can't help but wonder how this whole thing got out of control and what impact this experience will have long-term on the alleged victim.