Project AED checks status of defibrillators across NE Ohio

I'm very proud that Project AED is kicking off today as our newsroom takes a critical look at where these life-saving devices really are.

Here's a preview of our project's goal:




I'll write more later, but for now, if you've ever wanted to see how easy it is to save a life, this video is for you:

140+ let go at Akron General

Akron General let go of more than two percent of its work force today. I'm already getting emails and calls from stunned employees who are out of work.

Did you see this coming?

Here's an excerpt from one employee who kept a job but says staffers are calling it "Bloody Friday" even though it's Tuesday:

"Everyone is shocked, worried, and scared. We heard it was going to happen, but thought they were rumors because the date kept changing. It's not all at once. They are calling in one by one. The rumor was only part time and on call positions, but full-time employees are being laid off too.

They shut down Pastoral care and diabetes center. I've run across people laid off in housekeeping, dietary, dietitians, and maintenance too.

They are passing out papers to employees who didn't lose their job. It says: 'Unfortunately, we have come to a point where we have no choice but to reduce our staff. Today, directors and supervisors will be meeting with 142 of our employees to let them know that they will be laid off. All these employees will receive priority rehiring throughout the Akron General Health systems as opp. become avail.... more information at our upcoming town hall meeting sched to start the week of March 16th. any question please contact H.R. at 330-344-1891'

Employees who lost their job are given blue papers and sent to H.R."

Romona Robinson shares why she loves what she does

Hope you had a chance to see today's article about Romona Robinson in the PD. If not, you can read it here.

The interviews were done a few weeks ago, and I wasn't sure when the article would actually reach print.

I can tell you this much, Romona is quite focused every night on preparing for the broadcast. We've had several heart-to-heart talks about the tough stories before they make air, and I really hope viewers "get" how much the rough stories -- like last week's mass shooting -- really impact those who cover the news, to include the anchor who must deliver it.

The PD put some of the interview on video, although the newsroom is sure to give reporter Mike O'Mara grief because he's in so many of the photos :)

Channel 3's anchor Romona Robinson goes solo on evening news

Mass shooting in Cleveland challenges the senses .. and the vocabulary

Standing on West 89th Street last night in Cleveland, I really struggled to find the right words to describe it. To describe the emotion of the moment while wrapping the facts so that viewers understood the bottom line -- a manhunt was underway for a killer.

Journalists, especially broadcast journalists, use words like "tragic", "brutal", and "horrific" so often that when a story with six people shot, including murdered children, words like those don't seem to strong enough.

What I saw and felt were two extremes. Complete silence in some parts of the neighborhood where residents, relatives, and first responders all seemed to be coping with the initial shock of a family disaster. Meanwhile, other pockets of the street were painful as a new relative or close friends showed up every few minutes .. and then began to wail .. all of it right in front of the mob of media.

What's O.K. to record? What's not? What's legally O.K. to record but ethically a no-non? Is it ever O.K. to hit the red button on someone's devastation?

I had several flashbacks while I was out there last night .. both to my time in the war ... and to my own brother's murder in 1984. The feeling of a warm night, mass tension, helicopters circling, and the constant presence of heavily-armed warriors -- in this case police officers -- who were focused on a mission took me right back to the desert. Meanwhile, the pain and shock that relatives and friends were enduring standing in a dark street .. while surrounded by on-lookers, neighbors, and reporters ... certainly had me contrasting this night with the relatives, friends, and neighbors who stood outside a North Akron house in 1984 as the police and coroner handled the shooting that claimed my brother.

As the scene developed last night, a fellow journalist told me that he "hoped that bastard gets what's coming to him" when talking about Devon Crawford, the suspect who was now on the run. Many of us who were there last night have children, so to cover an event where the loss of life includes kids affects us. It should affect us, shouldn't it?

Just before my 11 p.m. liveshot, a man approached me to ask if I knew the names of the victims. He said that he had just heard about Crawford being on the run and that Crawford had recently married his daughter. He must have thought I was a detective (in my long black coat and tie, I'm often confused for a detective at crime scenes) and he thought I'd have the info. I told him he probably needed to head down the street to the officers to get the info he needed. About 45 minutes later, he came back and told us that his daughter and grandchildren were dead and that he was headed to the hospital for a grandson who survived. He was calm and composed .. still very not believing that this was real.

So .. weighing it all .. my mind raced. How do I find the words for a TV liveshot? How do I find the right way to explain to the viewers what's happened. Do I begin with the death toll? or the manhunt? Do I focus on details about the victims? or the suspect?

A few minutes before ER ended on NBC, I really didn't know what I was going to say when Romona tossed out to me to start the 11 p.m. broadcast. I had a few bullet points of the basic facts, but phrasing it was a whole different challenge. Our two-minute segment went well, but I probably couldn't do it again if I tried -- at least not in the same way.

And when the 11 p.m. news ended ... and I'd done my job .. I wish I could tell you that I felt some level of satisfaction, because I didn't. I just felt numb. I guess the one thing I've learned in this business is that no matter how good or bad of a job I do in telling a one-night story like this, someone else is beginning the lifetime journey of making sense of this overwhelming loss.

Local veteran, wife need help getting jobs .. can you help this Marine or our other new veterans?

First Energy layoffs top 300 .. 250 others "reassigned" ..

The official word from First Energy is 335, and about half of those jobs are in Akron.

That hurts. Those are real families with real needs, and it's not like there's jobs waiting here in town for them.

Those who are "safe" aren't necessarily feeling that way. Relieved? Probably. Not safe.

A source tells me that 250+ others have been "reassigned" with no relocation or pay cut. Another 25 were given "offers" that include a pay cut and/or reassignment ... which could lead to severance.

I'm told that FE didn't waste time getting right to the point with each employee so they knew where they stood. By mid-morning, conference calls were in play across the company so everyone knew the score.

As one employee told me, "it was definitely more humane than what happened at the PD."

Question is .. is FE done? What is it that didn't happen in the economy that felt it needed cuts like these? Are people not paying their electric bills? Using less power?

Thoughts?

First Energy Layoffs could top 1,000

We should know more in the next two hours as to how bloody it's gotten at First Energy.

Today was rumored to be "black Tuesday" with major layoffs coming, and that appears to have happened.

One worker tells me that 156 employees have been let go in the Energy and Delivery sector. Not sure how many of those jobs are local.

Others tell me that the company line seems to be a 10 percent cut across the board, which would mean about 1,400 employees being let go, but none is confirmed yet. Another told me that the layoffs might be capped in the "low hundreds."

Again, nothing announced publicly yet.

Last week, a company spokesman would only confirm that a restructuring was underway and that employees "would be the first to know." That was last week .. leaving employees to have a great many sleepless nights over the weekend.

This morning, a FE spokeswoman told AkronNewsNow that a formal release is due out later today with all of the specifics.

It just hurts so much to even write that another major employer is cutting a significant amount of jobs.

Stay tuned.