Cuyahoga Falls soldier's plight upsetting

Needless to say, Eric Lancaster's situation is upsetting to anyone in uniform. The more he told me about being turned away when he sought help, the more frustrated I became.

I first learned of Eric's emotional journey a year ago when his mother, Peggy, contacted me to see if I could meet with her son and reinforce his spirits, offer advice. He's certainly been through a lot .. and readjusting to the United States again is tough on anyone who has been overseas.

I'm hopeful that some local veterans will reach out and offer support to him .. at least until the Army can figure out what it's going to do . .and the Pentagon completes its investigation.

Our soldiers don't deserve to be turned away .. and any commander worth his commission should at least call a soldier who goes AWOL .. and not just go along with some scheme to erase him from the roster.

This one really upsets me .

Ethics, Social Media, and beating the competition

Had a great time today at Kent State University .. taking part as a panelist is a discussion on Social Media and ethics. The event was put on by Poynter and covered a great number of topics that apply directly to how journalists do their craft.

The event was streamed live .. but you can watch it here: http://new.jmc.kent.edu/ethicsworkshop/2009/?page_id=8

Would love your feedback .. Eric

Odds and Ends on a Friday ..

Scribbles in my notebook .. and stuff on my brain on this wet Friday afternoon.

I'm looking forward to seeing tonight's NewsNight Akron since I wasn't on the show today. Ed Esposito was nice enough to host in my place so that I wouldn't be in a conflict of interest in the discussion about candidates for Akron School Board. (My wife, Lisa, is one of nine who will be on the ballot for four seats). I'll probably step aside at least once more before the November election for the same reason.

I saw Bruce Kilby a few weeks back at the Board of Elections. He was dressed in a camouflage pants, boots, and a black-and-gold shirt as I recall. He looked like was ready for war going door-to-door to campaign. It illustrates to me of how much is at stake in the Sept. 8 council races. I'm also hearing that Anthony Dilauro might be a real surprise in Ward 5. He's spent a lot of money on signs in a race of four for the Democratic nod with the winner facing Republican write-in candidate Dwight Pulos in November.

$195,604.18 for the Recall that ended with a status quo? Wow! As a taxpayer I'm speechless.

I'd expect more layoffs from City Hall to be announced sooner than later. The 120+ employees taking the buyout incentives will help but are still pretty short of the mandated goal of a balanced budget.

Sandra Kurt's bold move in Ward 8 to secure the Summit County Democratic Party's nomination will limit her competitors use of any DP tools. Apparently the rules state that if enough of the Precinct Captains support one candidate -- in this case Kurt -- the others are prohibited from even using the party's fax machine. A written rule or not, some are crying foul .. that so much is at stake with these council elections that voters need to get the most they can from each candidate. Thoughts?

An Akron Police officer told me that he met a man and his sons from Ashtabula who were downtown looking for the Aeros game. He said he had good seats and wanted directions to Jerry Uht stadium. The officer told him that he had never heard of that stadium, and that the Aeros play at Canal Park. Long story short, the tickets were indeed to see the Aeros play .. but the game was in Erie.

And finally .. a U of A professor recently rode the "Roo Express" along with the students during a jaunt across campus. She tells me that the song playing on the speaker system was Adina Howard's "T-shirt and panties" which is one of the filthiest sets of lyrics you'll ever hear. She said some of the students seemed to be singing along, but thought the U of A should show better judgement in what's appropriate to play on campus transportation.

UPDATE: City of Akron says 106 take buyout saving $6 million

New info released from the COA around 4:30 p.m. today says that 106 employees have taken the buyout and that it will save the city around $6 million, which is about half of what's needed.

We still don't know how the cuts spread out across the departments (police, fire, water, etc..) but I'd say that's an amazing start for financial savings, but the adjustment to city services is just beginning. Eric

Akron extends buyout incentives, says 75 have taken separation deal

Akron is extending its deadline for employees to take the buyout. 4 p.m. today (Friday) had been "Zero Hour" but now it's been extended until Aug. 24th at 4:30 p.m.

Mayor Plusquellic's letter to city employees indicates that 75 employees have accepted the incentive to step down, and I can only assume that Law Director Max Rothal is one of them. (His retirement was announced earlier today with Cheri Cunningham now taking over.)

The number is higher than I expected. Most city employees with whom I've spoken in the last few weeks have told me that they doubted many of their co-workers could afford to take the risk.

The Mayor's release indicates that some employees thought they aren't eligible when in fact they are. Still, even with 75 folks stepping forward, Plusquellic warned of tough days ahead:

"Make no mistake - as agonizing as it is for me to consider - there will be layoffs in September of permanent, full-time city workers on multiple levels in order to fill a projected budget deficit of approximately $12 million before year’s end. I would hate to see someone miss this opportunity for a one-time cash payout, and then suffer the loss of their job when this alternative is being made available to all."

Plusquellic said last month that approximately 260+ employees would need to take the buyout in order for the city to meet budget. Hopefully the voluntary furloughs that at least three of the unions have agreed to take will also make a difference.

Still .. I can't help but wonder how our city will operate later this year with what could be a 10 percent drop in overall employees. For example, whether 30 police officers take the buyout or 30 are let go, the net result is still 30 fewer officers.

What are your concerns?

No myth about viewer's reaction to Health Care Interview

I've received quite a few emails today .. from folks who took issue with last night's FOCUS issue with Dr. Jason Johnson, a political science professor from Hiram College.

Monica and I invited Johnson to come on and analyze some of the key complaints about the health care proposal, specifically whether they are myths. I always find it interesting that viewers seem to think that we should beat up people whom we've invited to come as guests. Does that make any sense? Again, we asked him to come on the air with us .. so should we beat him up? Especially a guy who is not in the health care field and doesn't have a stake in the plan?

Some viewers felt that Johnson was too open about being in favor of the program or is flat out Pro-Obama on this topic. I invite most to watch the interview again .. and to understand its intent.

Everyone seems to have an opinion on the topic .. but just because someone calls one of the charges -- the "death panels" for instance -- to be a myth, is not the same as saying that you endorse the health plan.



I'll agree the Johnson editorialized a bit on the final points, but he also took aim at President Obama at the end of the interview for failing to follow through on his part of developing the plan.

We plan a great many more segments on this topic, including an upcoming town hall meeting here at TV3.

Again, few people email to tell you when they like a segment .. so I don't read too much into the idea that criticism filled my in-box.

Catching up ...

Scribbles in my busy notebook:

More layoffs and changes are all but certain at Akron City Hall .. and don't be surprised if they go as high as cabinet members or department managers. Lifeguards and law clerks will only save so much. As for how many police officers may go -- either via layoffs or from the buyout incentives -- that's anyone's guess. I did speak to a 30-year veteran who was taking the buyout because "I'm tired of the younger officers who don't want to work for what they have and want everything handed to them." His words, not mine.

Lately I've seen some local parents who have set me off. First, a woman walking her young child to school (good so far) while wearing a jacket with Scarface on the back holding up a few handguns. I mean, what heck kind of message is that to show your child? Second, I saw a woman with her three children on Exchange Street and she was wearing a shirt that said "Do I look like a F*(*)()*g People Person?". Again, here's a mom who has her young children walking beside her, and that's the message she shows the world? Note to parents -- your kids see what you do and how you act! So wake up!

I keep getting emails about an unreleased 911 call from the Lux fight. To date, everyone tells me that it doesn't exist, so I'm starting to believe it was urban legend that got away from people who were looking for a smoking gun. For the record, the initial tips that I received about the incident alleged that Mayor Plusquellic used much, MUCH stronger language in his 911 calls. As we've since heard, that wasn't the case. If another call of substance truly exists, it's bound to come out. If not, let's move on.

The Ernie Tarle-Dave Reymann debacle is just that. Regardless of who was right or wrong, it makes our city look bad .. and it makes a great many voters ask "just who the heck is running for council these days?"

I had a chance to take in the Hall of Fame Game Sunday night. Hot and humid, but a lot of fun. Before the game, I had a chance to shake hands outside the stadium with an interesting combination: Fred Biletnikoff and Eric Metcalf. One is a Hall of Famer and the other is a Browns player who just couldn't find the right niche to be effective but who did provide some electric touchdowns. Both men were very nice and shook hands with a lot of fans.

My days have been busier with no end in sight. The ever-changing business requires me to shoot video and even edit sometimes (four out of five days last week for example), which reduces the amount of time to blog, twitter, and write on Facebook too. It's a busy world for journalists trying to feed so many platforms. Want to see my shooting skills in action? Click here and take a look at this photo from the Plain Dealer. You can't see my face, but it's me in a shirt and tie and sporting a camera. That story ended up as our lead story at 7. Guess that makes me a "full service" journalist.

More later ..