Ray Horner Show

Chapel Hill Mall is being sold once again, and according to the soon-to-be-previous owner, it will be sold for far less than he paid for it. But the area has experienced a massive downturn in recent years, even before the pandemic. What is the future of it?

Dan Horrigan, the mayor of Akron, joined the Ray Horner Morning Show to talk about reconfiguring and the zoning of not only Chapel Hill Mall itself, but the area, as well. Horrigan hopes for the redevelopment to be a “job creator,” especially with its close proximity to Cuyahoga Falls and Tallmadge. He points to the redevelopment of the Rolling Acres area, from its dead mall status a decade ago to becoming an Amazon fulfillment hub.

The mayor also touched on the “hot” real estate market in Summit County, as well as the possibility of outdoor events in 2021, with curfews being rescinded and people getting vaccinated.

WAKR and the Ray Horner Morning Show are featuring a member of the black community in Akron who have made an impact by their courage and leadership.

Tara Samples is the councilwoman in Ward 5, and while she is a household name now, it wasn’t always easy. Tara talks about her upbringing and journey from becoming a teen mom to working in city council, to being a candidate for the lieutenant governor of Ohio.

Akron’s Celebration of Black History this month is brought to you by the Akron-Summit County Public Library and the Metro Regional Transit Authority.

WAKR and the Ray Horner Morning Show are featuring a member of the black community in Akron who have made an impact by their courage and leadership.

Glenn Gillespie has not only been active in the community, but he’s fed the community, as well. Glenn talks about his rise through culinary school and working nearly every position in the restaurant industry to becoming the owner of Edgar’s Restaurant.

Akron’s Celebration of Black History this month is brought to you by the Akron-Summit County Public Library and the Metro Regional Transit Authority.

For the better part of a year, from the beginning of the pandemic, many have wondered the origins of COVID-19. Did it come from animals such as bats in a wet market, or was this a virus in a laboratory that escaped, whether accidentally or not?

Dr. Richard Londraville is a biologist from the University of Akron, and he took the listeners into the lab on the Ray Horner Morning Show and cleared up some questions. Dr. Londraville believes this virus was politicized at the outset, which is why a year later some still wonder if it was animal or lab-born. He also mentioned the mutations and variants, and the concerns about how they will affect an individual's immune system.

Dr. Londraville also talked about the latest news from Johnson & Johnson, which further estimates that these will be annual vaccine doses.

Darryl Brake - Black History Month

Now that the middle of February is approaching, Ohio is seeing a sizable drop in cases and hospitalizations, down from their peak in mid-December. That does not mean people should let their guards down, according to medical professionals.

Dr. Cliff Deveny is the president and CEO at Summa Health Systems, and he joined the Ray Horner Morning Show to talk about a variety of COVID-19 related topics. First of all is that drop in cases, and he believes it has more to do with the mitigation tactics and change of behavior in people rather than the vaccine, at least for now.

Speaking of that vaccine, Dr. Deveny touched on the vaccine distribution and how Summa finds out about a new shipment of doses on a week-by-week basis. And while COVID-19 numbers are down, ICUs are quite busy with patients suffering from other afflictions, some of which were issues they have put off due to the pandemic. Dr. Deveny says the emergency rooms at Summa are safe and urges the residents not to delay care.

Black History Month - Judi Hill

Single-digit temperatures will be a constant in the Akron area this week, especially overnight. For those less fortunate, the city has warming stations available.

James Hardy is the deputy mayor of the city of Akron, and he joined the Ray Horner Morning Show to talk about those warming centers and how they are set up. The centers will be open from 8:30 AM till 10 PM, and they are located at Summit Lake Community Center, Mason Park Community Center, Lawton Street Community Center, and Patterson Park Community Center.

Hardy has a background in education, and he also shared his thoughts on how the schools, especially locally, have fared in the last eleven months during the pandemic.

The frigid temperatures, along with the ongoing pandemic, has given many in the Akron area some cabin fever, and some are itching to get away to greener and warmer climates. But how safe are the airports in 2021?

Very safe, according to Ren Camacho, president and CEO of the Akron-Canton Airport. Camacho joined the Ray Horner Morning Show to talk about the sanitization methods they continue to do going forward.

Camacho says CAK will be used as a testing site for those concerned about possibly catching the virus on the plane or from their destination.

Dorothy Jackson - Black History Month