Local mother's passion has message for all of us

I shot a story today on an Akron mother who really impressed me with how she's taken an idea at home .. and turned it into a home business that helps her family financially while creating zero waste. (Videographer Mark Smilor records as Devona makes a new creation.)

Devona Brazier has combined her keen eye at the thrift store with the sewing skills handed down from her grandmother to create unique kids clothes that she sells from home on the Internet web store.

Her story will be featured Monday as part of our "30 Days, 30 Ways to Save" series.

Devona started what she calls "the perfect mom business" 18 months ago .. and sells just enough to pay for her daughter's gymnastics lessons and at least one tank of gas per month. Yet, with word of mouth and positive feedback, she's already earned more this year than all of last year.

I was amazed at how she took a men's dress shirt and with a few cuts and a some basic stitches turned it into her favorite creation: "daddy's old shirt"; it's a transformation from a man's dress shirt (figure a $2 shirt at the thrift store) into a cute little dress for a toddler daughter sold on her site for $35. Not bad, eh? She actually makes about 20 different products from thrift store clothes and sells 7-8 of them on-line.

My point here isn't so much as a commercial, but as a wake-up call to all of us to say "hey, isn't there a way we can use our hobbies and talents a few hours a month to make either a side income?"

I can't really sew .. make that I don't sew .. nor can I make birdhouses from pine ... nor can I write an advice column on how to make your life better.

But maybe if I look hard enough, I can find my own "daddy's old shirt" that can help me put a tank of gas in my car too. With so many struggling to make ends meet, I just wonder how many are trying to find a way to make/save more money versus just accepting economic defeat.

It's nice to be inspired every once in a while .. and today I was certainly that.

By the way, I don't have daughters, but I spoke to a friend of mine here at the station who has two teen daughters and told him about "daddy's old shirt." He said, "oh I would have been all over that when my girls were younger."

If not D.A.R.E., than what?

I'm just returning from a morning appearance at Northwest Middle School in Canal Fulton. I was the guest speaker for 100+ sixth graders who were graduating from the D.A.R.E. program. They've spent the last 10 weeks learning about resisting drugs and alcohol ... all while making good decisions to avoid trouble.

It's an odd juxtaposition considering our lead story last night was about three men busted for flying 66 pounds of cocaine into a local airport. I got paid to report on someone who misused drugs while at the same time I'm telling local kids to stay away from them.

I told the students, "if only those three idiots had had D.A.R.E. when they were your age, maybe they would have made better choices."

It's an easy illustration, but the bigger picture I fear is how best to really educate today's kids about the dangers of drugs and alcohol.

Several national studies downplay the real effectiveness of D.A.R.E., and quite a few police departments, including Akron and several others here in the area, have discontinued the program .. usually citing a lack of funds.

My question is: if not D.A.R.E., than what? What program will teach our kids about the dangers that await them? Not that D.A.R.E., was the be-all-end-all of education programs, but at least it was something for some kids whose parent(s) don't teach them about what's out there. Even for parents who do talk to their kids about this topic, D.A.R.E. adds extra education and reinforces what kids hear at home.

Do we need a similar program at the high school level? Is this a topic that should be added to health classes?

Maybe it's a bit extreme, but should we make questions about avoiding drugs part of the Ohio Graduation Test? I mean, it doesn't do Sandy and Sammy much good to know the three branches of government if the only one they'll be seeing is the judicial branch because they got busted selling weed.

I think local law enforcement and educators should have a summit on the issue ... and come up with a new approach. Something that touches on a topic that our kids are already seeing way too much of on youtube and the boob tube.

As a parent, I don't have the answer here .. but I just feel like someone needs to ask the question ... if not D.A.R.E., than what?

Marc Dann puts his head in a vice

Considering the number of public verbal condemnations coming Marc Dann's direction from members of his own party -- including Governor Strickland's threat of impeachment -- I can only imagine how many calls are coming his way behind the scenes.

The media tank around the Attorney General's office has grown from piranhas to sharks to killer whales -- all thirsting for blood. Can you blame them? On Friday, Dann stood on the side of the tank with a bucket full of political chum.

I first met Dann on election day 2006. I was told to "swing by" a church in Cuyahoga Falls that was one of the polling locations because we believed Dann would be there shaking hands. I think Betty Montgomery was also coming through town, and we were more interested in talking with her than Dann .. but wanted to get Dann to balance the story journalistically.

I was taken by how friendly Dann was with the voters .. and how personally down-to-earth he presented himself. He seemed more like a local public defender who believed in the good of poor clients than the stereotypical hardcore prosecutor. He gave me a brief interview and I wished him luck, not really giving him much of a shot to win that night.

That night, sure enough Dann did win. Surprising to a lot of folks then, and on Friday Dann said even he was surprised.

I wonder how surprised he is now that he's still in office today.

I also interviewed him a few weeks after he took office for an investigative story about how professional solicitors keep much of the money we donate to charities as "operations" costs. Dann became a hero within the story vowing to become more aggressive in forcing solicitors to give $$ to charities; He also promised to make donation data easier for consumers to access so they can find out who's really getting their money. A year later, I checked with Dann's office to see what, if any, of the promises Dann made had been fulfilled; a staffer told me that the data access remained unchanged.

With the Presidential vote just six months away and Ohio key to the Democrats' hopes for retaking the White House, the Buckeye State needs a clean political runway for the Dems to take flight.

It's as though Dann's head is now in a vice .. yet he's the one who pretty much put his noggin inside the grips and gave those in the workshop every reason to tighten the jaws. Only in Dann's case, he's added the additional dare of "I'm not quitting no matter how hard you squeeze my skull."

State Democratic Chair Chris Redfern says Dann will be tossed out of the Democratic Party while local, state, and federal leaders are signing letters urging Dann to step aside. U.S. Senator Sherrod Brown, Lt. Governor Lee Fisher, Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner, and Treasurer Richard Cordray are pushing for Dann's exit as well.

It's times like this that you need a close friend and/or or political ally but at 3 a.m. is there anyone who will take Dann's calls right now?

He sure as heck can't call Jessica Utovich any more, right? Wasn't he embarrassed enough by the 2,000 emails he and Jessica shared going public last week? Does he really want to wait until she sits down with a TV reporter like me and does an exclusive interview to give up the dirt? Does he really want his family to sit through that? Is he sure she doesn't have any pictures or recordings?

That's what Dann can expect as he solidifies his bunker at the AG's office ... never again able to hold a press conference without questions about why he isn't resigning and/or what he did or didn't do while his lieutenants were watching "Old School." All because he's standing his ground.

Under that kind of pressure, I doubt Dann will last a week .. but then again, I was wrong about him once before.

Marc Dann Deposition shows condo was active place

A few passages that stand out from my first reading of the 157 page deposition Marc Dann gave on April 22nd. You can read it all courtesy the Plain Dealer by clicking here.

For the most part, Dann is grilled about the activities at the condo he shared with Anthony "Tony" Gutierrez, who led Dann's general services office and Leo Jennings, his communication director.

Gutierrez came under fire when he was accused by two employees he supervised — Cindy Stankoski and Vanessa Stout — of sexual harassment. Dann fired Gutierrez for his conduct and Jennings for allegedly telling someone to lie on an employment application. He also fire Ed Simpson, his policy chief, for failing to address the problems.

The other player in this saga is Jessica Utovich, Danns' 28-year-old scheduler. She resigned voluntarily today but published reports say she admits to a "close relationship" with Dann while spending the night at the Dann-Jennings-Gutierrez condo from time-to-time. As you'll see, Dann is quizzed about Utovich's activities at the condo, but he tries to deflect them. You'll also find that Dann's wife, Alyssa, apparently had attitude-and-then-some with the young women lurking around the office.

Update .. the Columbus Dispatch has since added transcripts of the some of the 2,000 emails Dann and Utovich shared.

Now that you know the backdrop .. here's a few passages to peruse from Dann's deposition:

(page 86)
Q. -- your wife was accused of staring and glaring at Cindy and Vanessa; did you ever hear that?
A. I heard it since this has all gotten underway and read it in the newspaper.
Q. At the time this happened, it was not brought to your attention?
A. No, sir.
Q. Did you ever hear that Ed Simpson admonished your wife about the way she acted
toward these two ladies?
A: No.
Q. Okay.
A. Ed and Alyssa have a separate relationship, so I don't know what -- you know, I'm not privy to all their conversations with each other.
Q. But the question was you're not aware --
A. No.
Q. -- that he had admonished her about her --
A. I'm not aware whether he did or not.

(page 98)
Q. Did you ever hear that Vanessa Stout sent Tony an e-mail on his cell phone that was raunchous in nature?
A. I've learned that since this investigation's gotten underway.
Q. Did you learn also the fact that his wife became aware of that e-mail on his cell phone?
A. I -- again, I read that in the newspaper. And I may have read it in the complaint that generated this investigation.
Q. Do you know whether or not your wife was told by Tony's wife about this situation?
A. I don't know.
Q. Okay. Did you ever hear there were rumors -- about rumors in the office of Vanessa and Cindy Stankoski having relationships with management personnel?
A. No.

(page 100 .. discussion about Tony having a gun in his car ..)

(page 105 ... told Tony to clean up his act, and that his drinking had put the office in a "bad position")

(page 106)
A. Once the investigation got underway, I became aware that he was doing it.
Q. Okay. Were you ever made aware of the fact that Tony was telling employees about his mob connections back home and his influence in the office because he was your roommate?
A. No, I was not aware of that.
Q. Were you ever told about employees being afraid of what they may say or talk about because he was talking about his influence in the office with you?
A. No. But I'm curious and anxious to hear that.

(page 106 -- Utovich's job is changed around the time Dann claims he came clean with his wife about an affair with a co-worker)
Q. Would you tell me why Jessica Utovich's office was moved to the 15th floor.
A. I think her job was changed. Jessica Utovich?
Q. Yes.
A. Yeah. Her job was changed from my scheduler to the head of the travel office.
Q. Jessica Utovich was hired at a level of about $34,000 a year; is that correct?
A. I don't know. I had no involvement with setting her salary.
Q. Do you know how she got the raise of $10,000?
A. I don't have any personal knowledge of how she got the raise of $10,000. I'm told, after this -- again, after I learned about the raise, that the promise was made to her when she started that they would start her at a relatively low salary. She replaced somebody who was earning $70,000 a year. And if she were successful for a period of time, based on the reviews of her supervisors, that she would get an increase. And I only found that out because I was copied on the e-mail and I asked. And that's why the raise. And there were a number of administrative staff raises that were -- after we implemented the lawyer raises, there were a number of administrative staff and senior staff raises that were addressed, and that was one of them. It was with a group of raises.
Q. So it's your understanding that she got a raise because of basically a promise to her because her former -- her predecessor in that job was paid more money?
A. No. What I said was I had no personal knowledge of why she got the raise. I was told that she -- one, there was a promise made that her salary would be reviewed after her performance was evaluated. I'm aware that her performance was evaluated, because I looked at her personnel file, and was evaluated by Colleen Brown, who was her supervisor. And I'm also aware it was raised -- and then the decision to raise it was made by somebody other than me.
Q. When she got a raise, did her job duties change?
A. They changed -- I don't know what -- again, I'm not personally aware of the timing of the raise. I know her job duties --
Q. The raise was given to her when she was still a scheduler.
A. Okay.
Q. She did not change into the travel office at that time. She was still a scheduler.
A. Right.

Watching Marc Dann melt down

Earlier today, we streamed Marc Dann's press conference live on WKYC.com .. click here to watch the first part, and here to watch the rest. (we had sattelite issues which is why it's in two chunks).

Update: the Plain Dealer has uploaded the 160+ page transcript of Dann's deposition.

I can't believe what I've been hearing. It was shocking enough to hear Dann say that he was firing two men who were close to him in his administration for their roles in a sexual harassment case involving staffers at the Attorney Generals Office .. but now Dann has just admitted to an affair of his own. He won't say who it was with, but didn't deny it was a woman from his office who resigned rather than ask investigators' questions.

He says he broke it off a few months ago .. and told his family back then as well. He also says he never expected to win the election and that he's been turning around his behavior and that of others in his office for the last few months.

Now that it's out in the open that there were some kind of "sexcapades" taking place at the condo shared by Dann and the two senior staffers who have now been fired for misconduct, Dann's credibility is shaky at best. Dann also admitted that knowledge of his own sexual misconduct probably contributed to other staffers feeling comfortable crossing that line.

Dann says he won't step down because he's still doing a good job at "customer service" within the AG's office. Reporters are grilling him on how he can fire other staffers for misconduct while not disciplining himself.

Considering the sharks that swarmed around Bob Taft's mistakes, the GOP will be going for Dann's jugular.

What a mess for Ohio .. more to follow .. Eric

Looking for your input for "The Long Road Home"

As a journalist, sometimes you simply gather the facts of a topic and craft a story that makes sense for the time allowed on the evening news.

Then there are stories that really become a passion. This is one of those for me.

After finishing my first documentary for PBS last fall, I walked away having heard a common thread from a great many journalists and veterans alike: what happens to our veterans after they get home? Do they get their jobs back? Do they find happiness in their relationships? How do the ones with PTSD cope with being "normal" again?

That's how "The Long Road Home" came to be. Fortunately, I have a newsroom with leaders who support my projects.

My idea was to find a cross-section of local troops who returned from battle to share what they're feeling and facing. Included in the series is a couple struggling to reconnect after a 17-month separation, a college student who feels like a loner after serving on the front lines of the initial invasion, a local entrepreneur who used his writing to help him overcome the pain he left behind in Iraq, and a single mother trying to adapt to managing two little kids again after spending a year supervising dozens of soldiers.

I'm hoping that other veterans and their families will see these stories and know that they're not alone. I'm also hoping that those who've found success with the transition will share those techniques and programs that worked for them.

My thanks to WKYC assignment editor Dani Fink who took me down memory lane in her blog. Dani is a doll to work with .. and she really knows her stuff. I had no idea that she had hung on to some of the old photos I sent back from the dessert in 2003-04.

Anyway, if you're a Facebook person, you can find a link to the series on a special page there. Most of all, I hope you'll give the series a look .. and that we all can be sensitive and supportive of the hundreds of local troops and their families who are indeed on "The Long Road Home."

Thanks for listening .. Eric

Busy Thursday ... VA process for troops needs to change

I've spent the day putting out newsroom fires, moderating a panel discussion, and pushing forward with my upcoming sweeps series "The Long Road Home."

I had a great experience with the Akron Press Club luncheon today, moderating a panel discussion on our local veterans and if we're taking good care of them. We had guests from the VA, the Veterans Service Commission, and the Attorney Generals office. The entire discussion can be seen on Time Warner Cable beginning May 13 at 7 p.m.

Among the issues that has always stuck with me is that troops returning from war have to go out on their own and register with the VA. Why doesn't the VA come to the troops to make sure they get signed up?

When I got off the plane, my out-processing included briefings from the VFW, the American Legion, someone selling soldiers' life insurance, but no one from the VA. Over and over again, I was told by the military "oh the VA will take care of that" or "you can take that up with the VA."

Later, after I signed up at the VA office in Akron, I learned that not everything I was told by the military about the VA was accurate.

The VA rep on today's panel told me that locally, only 37 percent of veterans are signed up with the VA and are using the health facilities or receiving benefits. Wouldn't that number go up if we could just get the VA in front of the troops as they come off the plane?

After the panel discussion, it was nice to catch up with Cindy Carney, who works at Oriana House. Years ago, Cindy was a top victim advocate with Summit County Victim Assistance. I would work through her when it came to interviewing victims and their relatives. It was great to have her as a go-between with families that had been through so much and who didn't need the media swarming them. Cindy also went above and beyond in helping a great many of these families. Victim Assistance's loss .. certainly Oriana House's gain.

Meanwhile .. at the office .. I've spent the afternoon writing for my upcoming series on how our local veterans are adjusting. Just interviewing these troops has brought back a lot of memories for me. I'm hoping that their stories really hit home with veterans and their families -- especially those who may feel like they're alone and have no one to connect with.

43 newscasts left ... til the Akron-Canton News signs off May 30th.