Akron news

• $12 million, rock-splitting, tunnel-boring Rosie debuts for cameras

  25-05-2017 23:59
  
  With rain falling steady, Rosie’s makers pulled back the white tarps covering the two sections of her body exposed to the elements. Her back three sections were tucked somewhere out of sight inside a steel building at the Robbins Co., a Solon manufacturer of massive tunnel bores.Before a row of television cameras and cellphone videographers, Akron Mayor Dan Horrigan spoke his four “favorite words” into a microphone — “on time, on budget.” Then, he opened his g
  
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• Cedar Point’s new Point Plummet water slide not for the faint of heart or heights

  25-05-2017 21:22
  
  I had 109 chances to turn back. Yet I braved each step along the way as I climbed the stairs to face the plunge. Mind you the thought of standing atop a six-story water slide inside of a tube where the floor drops out beneath your feet is daunting enough but couple that with 60-degree temperatures, a brisk wind off Lake Erie and rain — what more reason could you have to say no to the new Point Plummet water slide attraction? The Plummet is the star attraction of the new Cedar Point Shores
  
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• Ohio lawmakers ask Trump to kill E-Check

  25-05-2017 19:30
  
  Mostly conservative members of the Ohio House have resolutely asked President Donald Trump and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to eliminate the 20-year-old E-Check program and other “burdensome” air quality initiatives they say choke the economy and peeve motorists. House Resolution 85 passed Wednesday. The measure creates no law but, rather, asks Trump and his U.S. EPA administrator, Scott Pruitt, to amend the Federal Clean Air Act to do away with the regular emissions chec
  
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• KSU gift not lost in translation; gets $1 million for language translation program

  25-05-2017 17:21
  
  Kent State University has received a $1 million gift for its language translation program, already one of the leading such initiatives in the country.The donation from the Gawlicki Family Foundation of Hartford, Conn., will fund the development of a “distance learning” translation studies program that will include online courses.Kent State is the only school in the country to offer degrees in translation at all three levels — bachelors and master’s degrees in translation
  
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• Bond is set at $7 million for man charged with setting Akron fire that killed two adults and five children

  25-05-2017 17:16
  
  The attorney for an Akron man arrested on charges related to a house fire that killed seven people argued for a bond during his arraignment Wednesday morning.Akron Municipal Court Judge Ann Marie O’Brien had denied Stanley Ford a bond during his initial court appearance Tuesday. O’Brien agreed Wednesday to set a bond, but made it extremely high — $7 million or $1 million for each of the fire victims.O’Brien, in explaining the bond she chose, said seven lives were lost in
  
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• Blossom Music Center bans most purses and bags; orchestra performances not affected

  25-05-2017 14:33
  
  Just days after a suspected terrorist bombing killed concertgoers in England, Blossom Music Center on Wednesday announced a more restrictive policy on items that can be brought into popular music shows.While not citing Sunday’s attack at the Ariana Grande concert in Manchester, the Cuyahoga Falls venue said the tightening of carry-in rules that were more relaxed than arenas’ and stadiums’ is effective immediately and will “provide a safer environment for our fans and expe
  
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• Stow police handle 12 crashes on state Route 8

  25-05-2017 14:15
  
  STOW: City police are warning drivers to slow down in rainy conditions after they handled 12 crashes on state Route 8 within a 24-hour period.One of those crashes involved a police vehicle. Police posted on their Facebook page that a cruiser was struck and sustained minor damage while an officer was handling a crash on Route 8 “by someone who did not allow themselves ample room to pass around him.”The officer wasn’t in the vehicle at the time.Police also posted photos of some o
  
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• Hudson breaks ground on new Splash Pad

  25-05-2017 14:14
  
  HUDSON: The city and the Kiwanis Club of Hudson broke ground this week on the new Splash Pad play area being built in Veterans Way Park.The water area, which will feature 12 in-ground mounted sprays, is expected to open in July. The project has been estimated to cost $200,000.
  
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• Estranged husband calls deadly Akron house fire “a tragedy”

  25-05-2017 14:13
  RAVENNA: The estranged husband of a woman who was killed along with six others in an Akron house fire called the blaze “a tragedy.”Patrick Boggs was arrested shortly after the fire on an unrelated parole violation and detained in the Portage County Jail.He had previously spent about 12 years in prison for dowsing his wife in kerosene and threatening to set her on fire.Boggs told WKYC Channel 3 on Wednesday: “I’ve been free of all charges. It’s a tragedy what happene
  
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• ArtsinStark hits $1.6 million fundraising goal

  25-05-2017 13:55
  
  CANTON: ArtsinStark raised $1.6 million in its annual fundraising campaign, surpassing its goal by $1,000, the Canton Repository reports.“This was a very tough campaign,” ArtsinStark CEO Rob Hankins told the newspaper.Read the full Repository report here.
  
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• Betty Seiberling, park activist and widow of retired congressman, dies at 96

  25-05-2017 04:30
  
  Elizabeth “Betty” Seiberling, the widow of retired Akron congressman John S. Seiberling, died Tuesday night in her sleep, friends confirmed to the Beacon Journal on Wednesday. She was 96.The Conservancy for Cuyahoga Valley National Park posted a notice on its website honoring Mrs. Seiberling, an avid supporter of the park and a dedicated conservationist.John Seiberling co-sponsored legislation that established Cuyahoga Valley National Recreation Area in 1974.The Conservancy said Mrs.
  
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• Student with spina bifida takes the longest walk of his life across graduation stage

  25-05-2017 04:12
  
  When people talk about Bryce Swartz, one word tends to come up repeatedly: Inspiration.Bryce’s peers at Norton High School will tell you the many reasons they chose him as homecoming king this year — his friendly demeanor, his words of encouragement, his cheers from the sidelines at sporting events. His parents will tell you the challenges he’s overcome since birth, each one done with a smile.But on Tuesday evening, Bryce inspired an entire room of people — and overcame h
  
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• Green and school district reach $1.5 million settlement over tax breaks

  25-05-2017 03:28
  
  GREEN: The Green school district will get about $1.5 million from the city this year to end an 18-month-old dispute over tax breaks the district said were costing it much-needed income.The school board unanimously passed the agreement Monday during its monthly board meeting without having complete figures. Those figures were added Tuesday before the council meeting at which the seven-member body unanimously agreed to the settlement package.In anews release issued after the council meeting, Mayor
  
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• Man with spina bifida takes the longest walk of his life across graduation stage

  25-05-2017 03:19
  
  When people talk about Bryce Swartz, one word tends to come up repeatedly: Inspiration.Bryce’s peers at Norton High School will tell you the many reasons they chose him as homecoming king this year — his friendly demeanor, his words of encouragement, his cheers from the sidelines at sporting events. His parents will tell you the challenges he’s overcome since birth, each one done with a smile on his face.But on Tuesday evening, Bryce inspired an entire room of people — an
  
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• Nutritional tips to avoid formation of kidney stones

  25-05-2017 01:52
  
  Here are some nutritional tips from Akron Children’s Hospital renal dietician Natalie Lussier on ways to avoid the formation of kidney stones:• School-aged children should drink two liters, or eight cups of water a day; three liters or 12 cups is recommended for teens and adults. Lots of water helps dilute the substances that may potentially form stones. Try adding lemon to the water. Adding citrus fruits, which include citrate, a natural kidney-stone inhibitor, can help even m
  
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• Blossom Music Center bans purses and most bags at concerts

  25-05-2017 01:51
  
  Just days after a suspected terrorist bombing killed concertgoers in England, Blossom Music Center on Wednesday announced a more restrictive policy on items that can be brought into shows.While not citing Sunday’s attack at the Ariana Grande concert in Manchester, the Cuyahoga Falls venue said the tightening of carry-in rules that were more relaxed than arenas’ and stadiums’ is effective immediately and will “provide a safer environment for our fans and expedite entry.&rd
  
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• New Akron Children’s Hospital Kidney Stone Clinic offers one-stop shop for increased population of kids, teens getting kidney stones

  25-05-2017 01:43
  
  When 6-year-old Blakely Kopatz first saw blood in her urine in January, her mother didn’t know what to make of it.Blakely had no other symptoms, other than a mild stomachache. The thought that Blakely might have kidney stones did not cross her mother’s mind. She didn’t have the intense pain of a kidney stone that her mother, Angela Fisher, had experienced once as a young woman.Over the next two months, Blakely was diagnosed with a urinary tract infection and strep throat after
  
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• Bob Dyer: Tribe’s scoreboard fails math

  25-05-2017 01:14
  
  When I see grammatically incorrect public signage, I cringe. One of my readers wigs out when he spots incorrect public math.Bob: I have been a math teacher for the past 38 years. In addition to teaching in the public schools for 35 years [at Aurora], I have also taught math at Kent State University and Hiram College for the past 30 years.You are obviously a very talented writer and columnist, but I would like to give you a chance to be what you always really wanted to be: a math teacher —
  
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• Regional news briefs — May 25, 2017

  25-05-2017 00:40
  
  AKRON BEACON JOURNALHoliday hours at BeaconAKRON: The Beacon Journal Customer Service Call Center will be open 7-10 a.m. Saturday, Sunday and Memorial Day.Customer service can be reached at 330-996-3600, or toll free at 800-777-2442.Regular daily business hours of 6:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. will resume Tuesday. The Public Service Counter inside the Beacon Journal will be closed Saturday-Monday.Regular business hours of 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. will resume Tuesday.AKRONSewer work to close streetAKRON: Crouse St
  
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