June 2009
1 post
Meet the Scum Fucks
Tober has been out of prison three days and already he’s back on the circuit.
Standing on a footpath next to a grove of trees in Golden Gate Park, he loudly solicits passers-by to consider purchasing his wares.
“Hey! Hey, you! You want some weed? I bet you do,” he calls out to a group of 20-somethings walking by. He’s been out of the game while serving a four month prison sentence for breaking the...
April 2008
1 post
I am not a white bitch
Daily Kent Stater March 13, 2008
There is a campus group that is nearly untouchable.
It is one of the largest and most powerful student groups, able to turn campus upside down with a single phone call. Very few columnists or reporters have had the gall to speak against the group’s policies, because the Stater is very afraid of them - and they have good reason to be.
They are immeasurably...
March 2008
1 post
Admitting it is the first step
Daily Kent Stater March 10, 2008 A couple of weeks ago, while checking out photo gear to journalism students in Franklin Hall, a young black student came in and asked to borrow a camera. Our exchange went a little something like this: “I need to borrow a camera for a couple hours.”
“And you’re from Uhuru I take it?” I froze, realizing I had just assumed -...
August 2006
2 posts
Teen's death a mystery
Akron Beacon Journal Aug. 22, 2006
A scruffy gray-and-white cat lounged in the sunshine Monday outside Dwight David Donovan’s Kenmore home. The cat is one of many strays, Donovan said, brought home by his 18-year-old daughter, Melissa. On Saturday, police found Melissa’s body in a vacant house on Edgewood Avenue. “I felt like the world had been pulled out underneath...
Heartache left in wake of Lakemore flash flood
Akron Beacon Journal Aug. 2, 2006
Bessie Hopkins paced back and forth in her empty living room, her feet making the sodden wood beneath her feet bow with every step. She hung up the phone and her eyes welled with tears. Her insurance company had informed her the water damage from Monday night’s storm would not be covered. “I’m not OK,” she sobbed. “I’ve lost...
July 2006
1 post
Heavy rain, high winds inflict pain in region
Akron Beacon Journal July 11, 2006
A thick fog had settled onto the valley Monday evening as Larry Rogers solemnly watched his business float away.
“I just retired, so I was slowing down,” he said. “I guess I’m really going to slow down now.”
Rogers has owned and operated Pine Run Woodwork for 25 years.
When storms in Ashland County caused major flooding...
September 2005
1 post
Ellet fights fire with fire
Akron Beacon Journal Sept. 9, 2005
Jackie Isaly is no stranger to hard times.
The strain from years of lost loved ones, car accidents and charred memories makes her hand shake as she raises a cigarette to her lips day after day. It is a habit, she says, she can’t quite kick because of stress.
As she sits on the steps of her home in Akron’s Ellet neighborhood and fingers the gold...