Ray Horner Show

Summit County Health Commissioner Donna Skoda discusses mask requirements, enforcement, and COVID-19 with Ray.

On Tuesday, Governor Mike DeWine announced a mask mandate for seven Ohio counties that are in the red category, meaning higher risk. Summit County is one step lower in the orange category, but could a mandated mask policy happen here?

Akron mayor Dan Horrigan joined the Ray Horner Morning Show to discuss the continued social distancing efforts, as well as the enforcement of masks. According to Horrigan, there is a possibility masks may be mandated in public places throughout Akron or all of Summit County as early as next week. Due to the spread of COVID-19, the mayor also talked about how different the summer has been and will be for 2020 due to concerts and parties in the park being canceled.

Horrigan also touched on the topic of police reform, which he admits should be accomplished, though he is not in favor of defunding the department.

As for the ballpark operations, Curtis Danburg touches on the day-to-day process of readying the stadium, the players, and everyone and everything else in order for a season to go on.

Bob DiBiasio has been a member of the Cleveland Indians staff for over 40 years, and he talked about the calls for changing the team’s name, which has been around for 105 years. DiBiasio says they are exploring all options at this time.

Over the Independence Day weekend, it was announced that the Washington Redskins will have their name changed in the near future, mainly due to major brands and retailers refusing to sell products with their name and logo on them.

The inevitable demise of the Redskins name prompted many to wonder the state of the Cleveland Indians. The Indians phased out their former logo, Chief Wahoo, by the 2019 All-Star Game, and many wondered how long their team name would hang on.

First, the Ray Horner Morning Show panel, made up of Ray Horner, Chris Keppler, and Tony Mazur, discussed this topic, the possible mascot opportunities, and any fallout this change may receive from some hardcore fans.

On the morning of the announcement of mask mandates in seven counties, Ohio governor Mike DeWine joined the Ray Horner Morning Show to discuss a slew of issues, most of which were related to COVID-19.

The governor talked at length about the continued fight against the virus in Ohio, from the urging of social distancing to the importance of mask use. He also touched on the spike in cases Ohio has seen, and he says he does not want to close the state down again as long as businesses and citizens comply.

DeWine also mentioned the recent school guidelines passed by the state. Teachers and administrators will be required to wear masks, and face coverings is strongly recommended for students from grades three and up.

Though it was inevitable at this point, the Minor League Baseball season, from Triple-A to low-A ball, has been canceled. That means Canal Park, which houses the Double-A Akron RubberDucks, will be mostly vacant in 2020.

RubberDucks general manager Jim Pfander joined the Ray Horner Morning Show to discuss the cancelation of the season, one in which they never got to play one game. While many minor league teams will suffer during the pandemic, and some being eliminated altogether, Pfander believes the RubberDucks under owner Ken Babby will remain afloat.

Canal Park’s gates will not be shuttered for the entire summer, though. Fourth of July fireworks will be held at the ballpark, and a July 11th matchup between Archbishop Hoban and St. Vincent-St. Mary will give the seniors a final sendoff.

Today is July 1st, and normally this is the time for students, parents, and faculty to mentally gear up for another school year ahead. The issue is, this will not be a normal school year.

Akron Public Schools superintendent David James joined the Ray Horner Morning Show to discuss the protocol, the state guidelines, and what problems the district may encounter. James mentioned both the in-person and remote learning that students of all levels will take in, and also talked about the question marks in regards to transportation and social distancing.

If everything goes according to plan, the first days for students to return to Akron Public Schools is August 27th and 28th.

Though it is July and the high temperatures have consistently been in the 80’s and 90’s, this Coronavirus continues to spread across most areas of the country.

Donna Skoda is the health commissioner for Summit County Public Health, and she stressed the importance of cloth face masks and social distancing during this time. She also warned parents and grandparents that, though younger children may either show mild COVID-19 symptoms or none at all, they may still be carriers.

Skoda also talked about some potential road blocks as far as testing down the pike, and she also shared information on contact tracing.

:17 - With the bigger cities behind hit hard with COVID-19, a lot of city dwellers are interested in leaving their digs for houses in more remote areas. The morning show panel talked about how the Akron area has the best of three worlds: diverse downtown areas, convenient suburban settings, and not far from farmland and forests.

5:43 - On that same topic, Leslee Salhany from Berkshire Hathaway talked about the hot housing market.

12:16 - Police reform has been on the minds of many, even before the death of George Floyd. But the question is, how will cities and communities go about reforming the police? CBS News law enforcement analysts Paul Viollis explains.

18:02 - Due to a 1971 interview in Playboy magazine, John Wayne is the latest victim of cancel culture.