If Akron City Council approves a proposed ordinance regulating the release of police body cam videos; you'll be able to view them online within 7 days of the incident.

That would be a first, not just for Akron; but for any city in the US, according to Akron City Council President, Margo Sommerville. She says voters made it possible when they approved a City Charter amendment designed to ensure more police transparency and accountability.

WAKR Morning Show Host Ray Horner talked to Sommerville about how the new ordinance would work.


Wednesday, 16 June 2021 07:24

Hey Bobby! - 6/16/2021

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Time now for Hey Bobby!, a weekly Cleveland Indians segment with VP Bob DiBiasio and WAKR's Ray Horner.

Ray and Bobby chatted this Wednesday about the passing of Jim "Mudcat" Grant, Shane Bieber heading to the IL, and MLB's crackdown on foreign substances being used on the baseballs.

Hey Bobby! is powered by NECA-IBEW.

Thursday, 17 June 2021 09:36

UPDATE: Arrest Made in Dragway 42 Shooting

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New: The Wayne County Sheriff's Office has announced one arrest in the Dragway 42 shooting in West Salem on Sunday. 

Now charged with felonious assault is Jonathan Paul Roman Perez from Cleveland. According to a Facebook post from the Sheriff's Office (see below), the arrest comes after investigators reviewed several pieces of video and several photos taken at the time of the shooting. 

Perez, who was wounded in the shooting, is currently under guard at a local hospital from where he will be transported to the Wayne County Jail. 

Previous: The Wayne County Sheriff still looking for the man who pulled a gun at the Dragway 42 in West Salem Sunday, opening fire, leaving one man dead, and at least one other person shot.

The sheriff's office released the frantic 911 calls made as the situation was unfolding, the first call about a disorderly driver: 


The suspect has not yet been apprehended. The Wayne County Sheriff's Office is reviewing security and cellphone footage and is asking the public's help in their investigation. 

The man who was killed has been identified as 33-year-old Luis Cuevas from Cleveland, an innocent bystander according to the sheriff's office. 

A new law proposed by City Council this week would require Akron Police to release body camera footage within seven days of a deadly force incident.
 
The ordinance calls on police to share at least three different video angles, when available, of any such incident, and then release any subsequent video or audio recordings within 30 days of that incident. The measure only pertains to use of force incidents that result in death. 
 
While currently anyone can request a release of body camera footage as it pertains to any police interaction, the new ordinance would not require a request for the footage to be released. It would be the responsibility of the department to make the applicable footage available to the press and to the public. 
 
If passed, Akron would be the first city in Ohio to specifically define the state's requirement of a "reasonable amount of time" when making body cam footage public. 
President Joe Biden is on his first trip overseas, as he has taken part in both the G-7 and NATO summits. Now, he has quite a task in meeting with President Putin from Russia.

Dr. David Beer is a professor of political science at Malone University, and he joined the Ray Horner Morning Show to recap Biden's visits throughout Europe and what they will mean in terms of continuing positive relations in the EU. On Wednesday, Biden will meet with Putin, and Dr. Beer believes that the two leaders may project strengths in the meeting, especially with Putin, who is not one to back down from rhetoric.


Friday, 11 June 2021 08:53

Bases & Balls with Jim Rosenhaus - 6/11/2021

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Time now for Bases & Balls, a weekly segment with WAKR's Ray Horner and Tribe broadcaster Jim Rosenhaus!

Today, Rosey and Ray opened the conversation about the "Bradleys" in Bradley Zimmer and Bobby Bradley, the "Rosarios" in Amed Rosario and Eddie Rosario, and the impact of having Terry Francona in the dugout.

Bases & Balls is powered by Jennings Heating & Cooling.


The summertime sun and heat are upon us, and in Akron, Ohio, that also means it is "orange barrel season."

Justin Chesnic is with ODOT District 4, and he joined the Ray Horner Morning Show to talk about the latest projects happening throughout the area. The $161 million project at the Kenmore Leg is about replacing the pavement, and the plan is for that stretch to be closed for 150 days.

Other projects include widening and repaving Interstate 77 between the Central Interchange and Arlington Road, the repaving of a stretch of Route 8, and finishing the ramps and surfacing on I-76 in the Barberton/Norton area.


The days of contact hitting in baseball are long gone, and old school baseball fans yearn for the days of the Rod Carew or Wade Boggs opposite field slap hit.

ESPN baseball analyst Tim Kurkjian joined the Ray Horner Morning Show to talk about the changes to Major League Baseball these last few years. Kurkjian mentions the "three true outcomes" for hitters, which are home runs, strikeouts, or walks. Lots of home runs are being hit, too many strikeouts are occurring, and not nearly enough singles are being hit. That also plays into how dominant the pitching has been, and some have openly questioned the use of foreign substances on the baseballs.

Kurkjian also talked about the American League overall and how he is surprised by the first two months of the Francisco Lindor-less Cleveland Indians.


Once the calendars flipped to 2021, there was a major demand by the American people for vaccines. As the year went on, availability of it increased, and those who want to get a vaccine can do so without issue. But vaccinations have stalled, and mass vaccination sites have shut down.

Donna Skoda is the commissioner of the Summit County Health Department, and she joined the Ray Horner Morning Show to answer some questions about the vaccines, why there is still hesitancy about them, and how to educate the younger population about the importance of the inoculations. Skoda also talked about natural immunity, which some figures have said those who have had COVID-19 can be immune anywhere between 90 days and 10 months.


A colorful and creative art installation in downtown Akron has developed into something much more, with an Augmented Reality experience you can access through your mobile phone on Instagram.

Find out how that works, how that changed the creative process, and get some insight into what local artists think about non fungible token digital artworks known as NFT's.

Featured guests include artsis Alexandria Couch and Micha Kraus, along with Bill Myers, from S-3 Technologies, and Kelli Fetter from the Downtown Akron Partnership.

Audio courtesy of Akron ArtsNow.

 

**Please note, this program is also available as a podcast on Apple, Android, Spotify, and Stitcher.

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