Akron Police have issued a warrant for the arrest of a suspect they believe was responsible for the February 9 hit-skip crash that took the life of 47 year old Akron resident, Jimmy Fletcher, as he was riding an electric bike on South Arlington Street.

They're asking for tips to help them find 23 year old David Ferren, who they believe was driving the white 2013 Chevy Cruze involved in the crash.

Farren is described as a white male with brown hair and hazel-colored eyes. He is approximately six feet, four inches tall and weighs around 188 pounds, with a tattoo on his right arm.

Ferren is charged with Aggravated Vehicular Homicide, and was identified as the suspect based on evidence gathered from the vehicle which was found last Thursday, March 7, in Ashtabula, and then towed back to Akron for processing.

If you have any information that can help find Ferren, please contact the Akron Police Department Detective Bureau at 330-375-2490 or 330-375-2Tip.

Citizens may also provide anonymous information to any of

the following:

• The Summit County Crimestoppers, call 330-434-COPS.
• Text TIPSCO with your tips to 274637
• Download the Akron PD app and submit information by texting Tips411 or accessing the link at www.AkronCops.org.

It would be such a hassle to show up to vote on March 19th, only to find out that your polling location has changed, which is why it is a very good thing that the Summit County Board of Elections has posted this list today.

Check it out to make sure you go to the right place to vote.

Please note, they are also planning to send out notices by mail to voters in the affected locations.

Polling Location Changes in Summit County, Ohio
for March 19, 2024 Primary Election
• Christian Healthcare Ministries located at 800 Wooster Road North, Barberton, OH 44203 is
permanently closed as a polling location. Voters assigned to precincts Barberton 1-A, 1-B,
1-C and 2-B will vote at Barberton High School located at 555 Barber Road, Barberton,
OH 44203.
• Church in the Falls located at 837 Chestnut Boulevard, Cuyahoga Falls, OH 44221 is
permanently closed as a polling location. Voters assigned to precincts Cuyahoga Falls 2-A
and 2-B will vote at DeWitt Elementary School located at 425 Falls Avenue, Cuyahoga
Falls, OH 44221.
• St. Thomas Eastern Orthodox Church located at 555 South Cleveland-Massillon Road,
Fairlawn, OH 44333 is permanently closed as a polling location. Voters assigned to precinct

Fairlawn 1-A will vote at Grace Church – Bath Extension located at 565 South Cleveland-
Massillon Road, Fairlawn, OH 44333.

• St. Thomas Eastern Orthodox Church located at 555 South Cleveland-Massillon Road,
Fairlawn, OH 44333 is permanently closed as a polling location. Voters assigned to
precincts Fairlawn 2-A and 3-A will vote at Crosspoint Alliance Church located at 855
Rothrock Road, Copley, OH 44321.
• Hudson High School Auxiliary Gym located at 2500 Hudson Aurora Road, Hudson, OH
44236 is permanently closed as a polling location. Voters assigned to precincts Hudson 4-A
and 4-C will vote at Hudson City Schools Administrative Office at Evamere located at 76
North Hayden Parkway, Hudson, OH 44236.
• Hudson High School Wrestling Room located at 2500 Hudson Aurora Road, Hudson, OH
44236 is permanently closed as a polling location. Voters assigned to precincts Hudson 1-C
and 4-D will vote at Hudson City Schools Administrative Office at Evamere located at
76 North Hayden Parkway, Hudson, OH 44236.

• Coventry Fitness Center located at 3089 Manchester Road, Akron, OH 44319 is
permanently closed as a polling location. Voters assigned to precincts Coventry Twp A and
C will vote at Coventry High School located at 1135 Portage Lakes Drive, Coventry
Township, OH 44319.
• Voters assigned to precinct Twinsburg Twp A are now permanently assigned to vote at
Twinsburg Community Center – MultiPurpose Room located at 10260 Ravenna Road,
Twinsburg, OH 44087.
• Schumacher CLC located at 1020 Hartford Avenue, Akron, OH 44320 is closed for the
March 19, 2024 Primary election. Voters assigned to precincts Akron 4-J and 4-L will vote
at Lawton Street Community Center located at 1225 Lawton Street, Akron, OH 44320.
• Voters assigned to precincts New Franklin 4-A and 4-B who previously voted at Apostolic
Church Annex will now vote at Manchester Middle School located at 760 West Nimisila
Road, New Franklin, OH 44319.

All impacted voters have been mailed polling place change cards. Contact Director Lance E. Reed and Deputy Director Pete Zeigler with press inquiries.

Any registered voter may find their correct polling location for the March 19, 2024 Primary Election by visiting the Precinct and Polling Location Info link at www.summitcountyboe.gov, or by clicking here.

April 8th is going to be a big day in Northeast Ohio, with thousands of of visitors from all over the country expected flock here for the first total solar eclipse of the sun visible from this area since 1806.

It will quite literally be the chance of a lifetime, as the next one like it, won't be until 2099.

With that in mind; state, local, and federal offiicials got together recently to discuss their plans to keep people safe from the kinds of things you can naturally expect when big crowds gather, like traffic jams, accidents, and unusually high demand for bandwidth on mobile phone networks.

But they're also planning for things like people inadvertently damaging their septic systems, sustaining eye damage, and even drowning in Lake Erie, in their rush to sky gaze, take pictures, and generally bask in the glory of a dark and mysterious celestial event.

So, get ready to stay safe, healthy, and super astronomically amped, as we count down to the totality!

Listen now. 

When someone is experiencing a mental health crisis; sometimes things get out of hand, police are called, and the person just really needed help winds up hurt, in jail, or in the hospital.

Now, the City of Akron is attempting to respond in a new, more effective way. 

The Summit County Outreach Team (SCOUT) will be composed of a clinician from Portage Path Behavioral Health, a paramedic from Akron Fire, and one officer from the Akron Police Department, who will respond to calls for assistance in situations where the person is not believed to be a danger either to themselves or the community.

This new effort is a pilot project, and will start out with only one team and vehicle available Monday through Friday, 8:30AM-4:30 PM, with the goal of expanding both the hours and number of team members in the future.

This kind of response is sorely needed, according to Akron Fire Chief, Joseph Natko, who was one of several speakers at a Press Conference on Tuesday. He says that last year, they responded to more than 5,000 emergency calls for mental health issues, and there were likely many more that went unreported.

To find out more about this new program, that is a collaboration between the City of Akron, The Summit County ADM Board, and Portage Path Behavioral Health, watch the video (below) of Mayor Shammis Malik's press conference.

Akron Mayor Shammis Malik says the city's next police chief will be chosen from within its ranks only.

This is differeent from the nationwide search they had been planning, and also different from what they did several years ao, when they chose their last Chief, Steven Mylett, who recently resigned.

Malik says they discovered that Ohio State law mandates that any opening above entry level in public safety forces has to be filled from within, while the Akron City Charter says it has to be done "whenever practicable", which doesn't, according to their extensive legal analysis; trump State law.

Because this surprise twist in their hiring practices means they won't get to "cast a wide net" for qualified candidates as they had hoped to do; Malik says they are planning to ask Akron voters in November, to pass a charter ammendment that would specifically allow them to do external searches for both Police and Fire Chiefs going forward. 

In the meantime, to keep the Police Chief search on track; the City will select a candidate from within their own ranks, with the department's two Deputy Chiefs getting first shot at the job. But, if one of them declines to apply; then the field can be opened to also include all of the department's Captains as well.

Currently, Akron has two Deputy Police Chiefs; Acting Chief Brian Harding, and Deputy Chief Jesse Leeser. 

Malik says the city will give them two weeks to apply for the position, and until they do; he won't be reveal who has applied, and who has not.

In addition, Malik announced that Akron Fire Chief Joseph Natko is retiring soon, but staying on with the city in a newly created position; Assistant to the Mayor for Emergency Management. He will be replaced as Fire Chief on an interim basis, by Deputy Fire Chief, Steven Kaut.

For details, watch this video of the Mayor's Press conference:

The State of Ohio wants to encourage teachers to get students ready for future employment in world where their jobs will be greatly influenced by Artificial Intelligence.

As a result, they just issued a new "AI Toolkit" for K-12 teachers statewide, which they say will "empower policymakers, superintendents, principals, IT staff, teachers, and parents to advance AI literacy in their school districts. In addition, they say it will "provide resources that help promote student privacy, data security, ethics, and other factors."

To find out what that might mean for teachers at Akron Public Schools, I had a conversation with their College & Career Academies Director, Marcie Ebright, who formerly worked for APS as an Instructional Technology Specialist.

Listen now.

Marcie Ebright, Akron Public Schools

A 8th grade girl from R.B. Chamberlin Middle School in Twinsburg Township is missing, and the Summit County Sheriff's office is asking for your help to find her.

They say 15 year old Maria Maaz-Ba did not get on the school bus at 2:30 Wednesday afternoon, and was last seen walking toward Ravenna Road in Twinsburg Township.

Maria is described as 4’10”, approximately 100 pounds, with long dark hair. She was last seen wearing a white sweatshirt and blue jeans. Maria speaks Spanish , and very little English.

In addition, they say Maria may also be using the name Olivia Tiul Xi.

Anyone with information regarding the whereabouts of Maria should contact the Summit County Sheriff’s Office Detective Bureau at 330-643-8639.

Cuyahoga Falls Police say they found the body of 33 year old Chandra Maya Poudel-Rimal, Tuesday morning, in a wooded area near a park, in the 1300 block of Middlebury Road, in Kent.

They allege that her husband, James Rimal, who reported her missing last Wedneday, Feb. 21; killed her, and have issued warrants for his arrest on charges of Murder, Strangulation, Tampering With Evidence, Domestic Violence, Making a False Alarm, and Abuse of a Corpse.

However, in a press release; police do not report that they have him in custody. Rather, they say, he is "hospitalized and not an on-going threat to public safety".

James Rimal

Earlier this week; they put out a plea for help from area residents, and also said rewards were available for information leading to Chandra Rimal's location. 

Financial schemes, scams, and outright swindles are nothing new, with examples dating back hundreds of years, including the Tulip  speculative bubble of the early 1600's, and the South Sea Scandal of 1720. 

Fast forward to more recent times, to Bernie Madoff's gigantic Ponzi scheme, which was discovered in 2008, earned him a 150 year federal prison sentence, to the sub-prime mortgage crisis that spurred a severe economic recession between 2007 and 2010.

With all that in mind, I recently read a fascinating opinion piece in The Washington Post, about a type of investment that has been pretty popular over the past few years, but has now fallen out of favor, because at its heart; a SPAC (Special Purpose Acquisition Company) is based more on an idea of a way to make money, than on actual, provable, rock-solid investing data. As a result, many companies that have gone from privately held, to publicly traded as a result of this type of financing, have gone belly-up, including one in our area; Lordstown Motors.

But still, some investors have cashed in, or at least, are still trying to do so, because while SPACs are on the decline and harder to do because of some new rules just recently put into place by the SEC; they're still legal.

So, what exactly could this mean to the average investor? Does it only impact famous people like former President Trump, for example who is in the process of taking his Truth Social media platform public through a SPAC, or could it possibly trickle down to the likes of regular folks who have their retirement money IRA and 401K accounts?

I'm of course, no Wall Street expert, so I had to call in help from somebody who actually is one; David Pelleg, who teaches Finance at Kent State University.

Listen now to our conversation about SPACS, scams, and all manner of financial wheeling and dealing, which often makes traders rich, and investors sorry.

David Pelleg, Finance Professor, Kent State University