Ray Horner Show

The Major League Baseball playoffs are set to being next week, with the Cleveland Indians being a part of it in some capacity. If you’re confused about the playoff bracket, you’re not the only one.

Tribe VP Bob DiBiasio made some sense of the playoff structure on the Ray Horner Morning Show. There is a possibility the Indians will take on their division foes in the Chicago White Sox in the first round of the playoffs, and DiBiasio points to the Tribe’s strong pitching staff giving them an edge in a short series.

DiBiasio praised the way Major League teams have handled themselves during the abridged season, with very few positive tests and punishing those who broke the mandates.

A variety of factors have led up to higher obesity rates, thus, for some, causing afflictions such as diabetes. This does not bode well for many Americans, because diabetes patients are highly susceptible to COVID-19.

Alyssia Diamond is a registered dietician at Summa Health, and she discussed the increase in obesity on the Ray Horner Morning Show. She looked at the rise overall, ranging from lack of exercise, portion control, and the food intake in general. She warned the consumer to double check food labels for added sugar, and she shared some advice on how to manage oneself during a diet.

Each week throughout the pandemic Akron mayor Dan Horrigan joins the Ray Horner Morning Show to discuss a slew of topics that have landed on his desk.

Among those topics has been the side effect to the virus, which is the state of small and local businesses. Horrigan feels the businesses have held together due to grants, but they are in need of additional federal assistance. In other area business news, he also touched on the safe reopening of recreation centers and gave an update on Akron-Fulton Airport.

The Akron mayor weighed in on the shooting at Ellet High School, which injured two and canceled the East vs. Firestone football game at halftime. Horrigan was disappointed in the senseless act after all the work the students, schools, and athletic departments put into fall sports returning, and he suggested not having fans at these games.

Many lockdowns and restrictions have entered their sixth full month during the pandemic, and plenty of questions have centered on the safe return of students and schools and the timeframe of an effective vaccine.

US Senator Sherrod Brown called into the Ray Horner Morning Show to discuss a slew of topics affecting citizens both statewide and nationwide. Senator Brown touched on reopening the schools safely, and how the public schools are in and will be in desperate need for federal help. He also talked about the need for more unemployment and stimulus dollars, as well as listening to science as it pertains to masks and a vaccine.

As each day passes, more information is being learning about COVID-19, and that goes for the common novice to infectious disease experts.

One of those disease experts is Summa Health’s Dr. Thomas File, who also heads up the Infectious Disease Society. Dr. File spoke on the Ray Horner Morning Show about what he and his medical colleagues have learned in these last six months about this novel coronavirus, from the transmission in asymptomatic patients to studying the after effects those who have recovered are experiencing.

Other aspects discussed by Dr. File were on masks and antibodies, the ethnic disparity in cases and mortalities, and how close the United States is to finding a vaccine.

The Cleveland Indians dropped six in a row, including getting swept by the Minnesota Twins, but due to the abridged season and expanded playoff bracket, the Tribe remains in the hunt. However, they will have to keep pressing on without their manager, Terry Francona.

Bob DiBiasio from the Indians joined the Ray Horner Morning Show for his usual Tuesday interview to talk about Tito’s health. DiBiasio says Francona is doing better and is doing what he can to stay in shape, but due to the pandemic and his numerous health issues over the years, he is at high risk.

Bobby D also talked about the standings in the American League, including the much-improved and very competitive AL Central Division, which coincides with the Indians’ recent struggles leading up to the playoff push.

One of the nation’s most essential jobs is the farmer, and the last six months have proven that, no matter the adjustment or obstacle.

Ty Higgins is with the Ohio Farm Bureau, and he joined the Ray Horner Morning Show to talk more about the food distribution and how the farmers have had to be creative. According to Higgins, the supply for meat and produce has increased, which saw many shortages at the beginning of the pandemic.

Higgins also mentioned the relationship between the farmers and Ohio's restaurants. Schools and restaurants make up 40% of the farmers’ product, and the shutdowns in the early spring were devastating to many.

Clyde, Ohio is a small town not far from Sandusky, but it made headlines nearly a decade ago due to a cluster of children coming down with cancer. EPA studies showed it came from toxic sludge in the soil at a nearby park.

Jonathan Walsh is an investigative reporter with WEWS/News 5 in Cleveland, and he has followed this story from when it broke, as he was employed in the Toledo TV market at the time. He has penned a book about this tragic saga, which is called Is My Child Next? The Alexa Brown Story. Alexa was an 11-year-old girl who died, and she was one of 35 other children impacted.

One-hundred percent of the book’s proceeds go to the families affected in Clyde.

There are seven more weeks to go until the 2020 presidential elections, and there have been plenty of questions on registering to vote, as well as the differences between absentee and mail-in ballots.

Lance Reed is the director of the Summit County Board of Elections, and he addressed those questions and concerns on the Ray Horner Morning Show. October 6th is the day where the county and board of elections can send out the ballots for early voting, and Reed suggests voters send in their ballots in as soon as possible.

The Summit County BOE is working with secretary of state Frank LaRose on the latest day to submit an absentee application, which ideally is by October 24th, and to have the ballots postmarked by the 31st.

The pandemic has hit individuals from all walks of life, from the virus itself to the social and economic fallout from the lockdowns. Families are at home more than ever due to remote work and education to unemployment, and that closeness can have its positives and negatives.

A big negative has been the rise in divorce rates, from couples who had shaky marriages leading up to the pandemic to fairly happy marriages that fell apart. Dr. Toni Bisconti is a psychology professor at the University of Akron, and she shared some tips on how to handle stress inside the home. According to Dr. Bisconti, couples have not had this much togetherness in proximity before, and it is imperative for folks to have some alone time.