What the Flock?

Today on the Akron Podcast, we've got an update on the Northside Marketplace. The police caught some bad guys. There were more issues at the zoo. We'll talk a little derby. We'll talk a little Highland Square.We'll get a report card about the superintendents for Akron Public School. How did that first year go? Speaking of school and kids, we've got something about summer programs.And hey, Big Brother's getting an upgrade and some cities are going, yeah, I don't think so. It's the Akron Podcast for July 24th. Our website is akron podcast.com.Hey, if you ever wondered if Big Brother is getting an AI upgrade, well, here's your answer.Several Ohio state agencies, including the Bureau of Workers Compensation, the state Fire marshal, and the Department of Rehabilitation and Correction, are paying thousands of dollars to access Flock Safety's growing network of AI powered license plate cameras. The cameras don't just read license plates. Oh, no.They can identify the vehicle, make, model, color, bumper stickers, dents and other features, making it possible to track where a car has been. State officials say the technology helps investigate fraud, fires, prison, contraband, drug trafficking, human trafficking.But they've been a little less eager to explain exactly how they're using it. Meanwhile, civil liberty groups argue the system amounts to a warrantless mass surveillance. Yes, we call it Big Brother.And several Ohio cities are pushing back. Dayton literally put black plastic bags over its cameras. Kent banned future contracts.And Columbus is promising reforms after thousands of searches were linked to federal immigration enforcement. So, yes, your bumper sticker may now have a better memory than you do. Alright, we got some more news on Highland Square.They're saying now that Akron is one step closer to making Highland Square a little safer and a little nicer.City Council unanimously approved a plan that will collect an extra $100,000 a year for the next three years from property owners along a quarter mile stretch of West Market Street.The money will fund a new special improvement district focused on weekend security, better lighting, security cameras, parking improvements, neighborhood cleanup, murals, banners, and even ambient music. Property owners will pay about $40 per foot of street frontage, with larger properties paying significantly more.Supporters say the goal is to make Highland Square a safer, more welcoming destination while addressing the late night problems that have plagued the district.So we get this cool district with these shops and such and correct me if I'm wrong, it sure looks like this is going to say like, well, you know, maybe we don't need all these shops here because who. I mean, that could be a serious amount of change which is going to do what? Have them leave.Which means we'll be back to a section of West Market street with nothing on it. Maybe that's what they want, because if there's nothing there, then there's nothing for people to congregate around. But I applaud it.I just, to me, I go. And I noticed it's, it was like almost unanimously, I'm like, mm. Because somebody went, hey, wait a minute.Won't that just drive business out of Akron? So I guess, you know, to be determined, the other option would be just to, you know, teach our kids to behave.Remember when we had that one superintendent and we paid him boatloads of money to go away well after the first year the Akron public school superintendent, Mary Outley, is getting high marks from the school board after her first full year on the job. In her year end evaluation, board members called her performance exemplary.And they were praising her leadership, her budget management and oversight of major construction projects. Improving the third grade reading score, well, that remains a work in progress, which goes back to again, can we teach our kids how to behave?That's up to you. The the parents don't make the teachers be those giant babysitters. But preliminary data shows gains in early literacy and kindergarten readiness.Awesome. Now looking ahead, and this is a big one. The district still faces a projected $27 million budget deficit next school year.That means more spending cuts are likely as school leaders work to balance the budget while protecting the classroom instruction. But congrats on doing a good job and best of luck to you. With that deficit? That's insane.Akron students are staying active and learning this summer through the fifth quarter program. That's a partnership between you, Success Summit and Akron Public Schools.This is now in its third year and the program has grown from two sites to 11 specifically camps across Summit county, combining hands on learning with sports, STEM leadership and community problem solving. One of those camps, called Camp Move, helps students build healthy habits while improving math, science and technology skills.This year, more than $100,000 was invested in the program, including 15,000 for Camp Move. Organizers say the goal is to prevent summer learning loss while teaching resilience, teamwork, communication and leadership.Students even present real solutions to community challenges at the end of the program. That sounds cool. Maybe this will teach them to behave. It's a novel idea.Parents interested in the next summer's camps are encouraged to sign up after spring break. I will put a link in the show notes that shows you all of the different camps.There's soccer, there's all sorts of stuff and you can see when they are where they are, it'll all be out@akronpodcast.com. Well, the derby was here. And even with all the smoke and some shutdowns, they pulled it off. And here are the winners.In the stock division, that's people from 7 to 13 in age. The local winner was Theodore McFall from Akron. The rally winner was Amos Miller, 13 from Washington.In the superstock division, that's kids 19 to 18. Drew Brand was from Omaha, Nebraska, age 141 as well as the rally winner was Alicia Swinderman, she's 13 from Rittman.In the masters division, that's kids 10 to 20. The local winner was Dawson Crum, age 20 from Akron. And then the rally winner was Melvin Spoelstra, age 13 from Iowa. So call me.I guess it's just sentimental. I know the derby's not anywhere near as popular as it used to be, but I could hear it from my backyard and it brought back a lot of memories.And it looks like the kids still have a lot of fun. There's. I'll put a link to the show notes the Signal. Akron had a great story about why kids do this. And that's kind of what it boils down to.It's fun when it's, you know, not 110 degrees outside. Man, somebody needs a new hobby. This is probably the second, if not third time someone has called in a bomb threat to the Akron zoo.What you got against the animals, buddy? Holy cow. But the police came and they cleared the whole zoo. You know, they closed it down and it was reopened the next day. But like, get a hobby.Well, score one for the good guys.The Akron Police Department Narcotics Unit, those detectives and the Drug Enforcement Administration dea, they worked with the Summit County Sheriff's Office, the Ohio State highway patrol and the US Marshals Service. And they concluded a 15 month long investigation.And working with all those agencies, they looked into a large drug trafficking organization that was operating in Akron. That's according to the police department.Now, the investigation led to Federal indictments of 15 individuals and two others were indicted on state of Ohio narcotics charges. Authorities uncovered a drug trafficking pipeline operating between Akron and Pennsylvania. They seized more than 15 pounds of meth. Wow.How breaking bad of them? Approximately 50 grams of fentanyl and two handguns, according to the department.And the following people were indicted in the US District Court for the Northern Ohio District on conspiracy to to distribute meth and possession with intent to distribute. Again, meth. So Clarence Daniels, age 44, Larry Finch, age 43.Nicholas Helfrich, age 45 Ricardo Allison, 44 Sheldon Bell, 36 John Townsend, 42 Bryce Dittman, 27 Tyler Smith, 28 Anthony Ronneker, 45 Marcus Nixon, 45 John Koza, 45 Earl Breckenridge, 57 Jasmine Thomas, age 30 Samantha Lenz, 31 and Craig Kinsillo, age 62.Now these indictments are the direct result of the strong relationship between the Akron Police Department and our local and state and federal enforcement partners in an ongoing effort to dispute drug trafficking organizations in our community, said the police department. So there you go. We caught some bad guys. Well, this isn't very surprising. It's sad to hear.It's the end of an era for Akron's most unique small business hubs.The Northside Marketplace announced it will permanently close on July 31, saying ongoing financial challenges kind of like, I don't know, not paying your rent, you know, things like that made it impossible to continue. The closures leave about 140 vendors looking for a new home, and some say they had little warning. Wow.Others say they've been dealing with payment issues for months, and that's what I reported on earlier. Now the good news. Many of those vendors may get a fresh start at the Mercantile.That's a new locally focused marketplace, and it's opening this September at Cascade Plaza downtown.In the meantime, marketplace leaders are encouraging the community to stop by before the end of the month and support these local makers, artists, restaurants and small businesses one last time. This is one of the reasons I do this show. I had no idea this even existed.But if you've been meaning to check out Clayton Bailey's wonderfully weird World of Wonders exhibit, well, time is running out.This free museum is inside Akron's historic Polsky Building, and it's going to close at that location on August 1st as the University of Akron begins renovations to transform the building into the Knight center for Creative Engagement.The exhibit, featuring Bailey's quirky collection of robots, Bigfoot skeleton, a demon dog and other oddities, has called the Polsky building home since 2021. Organizers say the exhibit will reopen at a new location, but but they haven't announced where that's going to be yet.Until then, you can catch it Thursdays and Fridays from 4 to 8pm and Saturdays noon to 4 through August 1st. Again, it's inside the Polsky Building. All right, let's head over to the event calendar.Couple on here I didn't realize, and I check these all the time and they sneak in comedian Kevin Nealon, you might remember him from Saturday Night Live is going to be up in Cleveland at Hilarities again. Stuart Coperlin, the drummer from the Police, will be doing a Q and A at the Kent Stage. That's also on the 24th.And this one snuck in the Motor City Madman. Ted Nugent will be at the Northfield Rock Scino.That's also on the 24th with Train at Blossom Music center on the 25th, the Stanley Jordan Trio on the 29th, and Evanescence will be at Blossom Music center on the 30th. If we look at August, it's already shaping up really nicely. At Blossom.You got Chicago and Sticks, you got Riley Greene, which is his cowboy, as it gets to her, that's going to be at Blossom. Laney Wilson will be doing a show at the hall of Fame Stadium down in Canton, as well as this one I've not heard of. I guess it's Galia Volt.She's a, I believe, Norwegian, some sort of European blues singer. She's going to be at the Kent Stage. Motley Crue and Tesla and Extreme will be at Blossom Music Center.If you've never seen Extreme, holy cow, what a band. The wallflowers, celebrating the 30th anniversary tour, will be at the Kent Stage.And Brett Young, who's a country singer, will be at Lock 3 on 29 August.