The City of Akron is working with the FBI to determine how much information hackers obtained in an attack on the city’s website.
A group calling itself "The Turkish Hacking and Security Platform" took responsibility via Twitter for yesterday's cyber-attack, which also hit municipal websites throughout the US.
Akron spokesman Rick Merolla says the names, addresses and Social Security numbers of 8,000 Akron residents who filed their 2012 taxes electronically was posted online. The FBI was called in right away.
Akron’s IT experts initially noticed the attack yesterday and are still working to repair the breach.
Resources for protecting your online identity are available here.  Kabir Bhatia reports

The family of the man shot and killed by a University of Akron police officer during a traffic stop yesterday says he had suffered from health problems over the years, but was getting on his feet again recently.  WKSU’s Kabir Bhatia reports they also can't understand what led to the shooting.  Kabir Bhatia reports

There is now a formal policy for selling water from area conservancy lakes to frackers, and other short-term users. The Muskingum Watershed Conservancy District Board approved it today.  Tim Rudell reports

Cleveland’s Horseshoe Casino will host the World Series of Poker in 2014, but first organizers have to find space to hold hundreds of players competing for $10 million in prizes.  (more)

As Congress and the Justice Department step into the scandal involving the IRS targeting of conservative groups, Ohio Tea Party members are paying close attention.  Karen Kasler reports

Ohio’s jobless rate ticked downwards again in April. But it still hasn't dropped below the big low it hit in December. Republicans say Ohio continues on the right path; Democrats say graduation could spike the next month's numbers  Karen Kasler reports

Is the “Utica Shale Play” in Ohio going to be an economic boon, or a big bust…a pipe-dream, or a mainline to a revival of the State’s fortune?  Those are questions a lot of people have been asking, and as WKSU’s Tim Rudell reports, the Ohio Department of Natural Resources has weighed in on the positive side.  Tim Rudell reports

A Florida man who used forged documents to sell hundreds of dilapidated houses across Ohio will spend the next two years in prison.  (more)

The House Agriculture Committee has passed a new farm bill, which would cut the $80 million-a-year food stamp program. Ohio’s U.S. Sen. Rob Portman says the current food stamp program needs to be changed; however, he says that does not necessarily mean cuts.  - none - reports

The Boston Marathon bombing has not dampened enthusiasm for this weekend’s Rite Aid Cleveland Marathon. But the 36th running of the Cleveland event will be different from past years.

  Kevin Niedermier reports

Whether for a quiet dinner by candlelight or a big noisy feast, food brings us together. In today’s Quick Bite, WKSU’s Vivian Goodman reports that concern about food, especially about access to healthy choices, can also unite the community.  Vivian Goodman reports

Kent State University’s baseball team is playing the University of Akron tonight (Thurs) at Canal Park in downtown Akron.   The Zips have used the Akron Aeros’ stadium for all of its league games this year. The owner of the Aeros says that’s one way of giving back to the community.  Mark Urycki reports

The City of Akron's website is down as officials try to figure out how they were hacked earlier today.

The Turkish Hacking and Security Platform has taken responsibility for the attack via Twitter, releasing thousands of names, addresses and Social Security numbers online.

Akron spokesman Rick Schmahl says IT experts are working to repair the site.  Kabir Bhatia reports

A 2,000 year old pipe from the ancient Adena culture is now the state’s official artifact. Gov. John Kasich signed legislation to that effect Wednesday, alongside a case holding the pipe in front of dozens of students from the Columbus School for Girls.  Karen Kasler reports

UPDATE: The University of Akron reported this afternoon that the gun the officer saw with was a black-metal BB gun that looked like a .45 caliber pistol.

University of Akron police are investigating the fatal shooting this morning by one of their own. The shooting happened after the officer -- whose identity the university refuses to provide -- pulled over a man for a traffic stop. WKSU’s Kabir Bhatia reports.  Kabir Bhatia reports

The state’s first formal report on oil and gas drilling in Ohio last year shows the Utica shale is starting to produce as projected.

The state has soared from two producing wells to 87, and production of oil from the shale has nearly doubled since 2011. Production of natural gas was up about 80 percent.

The Ohio Department of Natural Resources, which issued the report, says production from hydraulic fracturing could outstrip convention vertical wells as early as 2015. The report quotes Natural Resources Director James Zehringer saying the numbers “make a compelling statement about the staggering amount of oil and gas resources Ohio’s shale appears to contain.”

Earlier reports had raised questions about whether Ohio’s oil and gas expectations may have been inflated. And environmental groups are concerned that fracking, and the disposal of its wastewater, could pollute ground water supplies.

   M.L. Schultze reports

The Ohio High School Athletic Association has once again voted against a plan to try to diminish the advantage private schools have in the state’s athletic playoffs.

The so-called “competitive balance” proposal lost by 19 out of the nearly 640 votes cast by high school principals this week. That vote was a shade closer than earlier proposals that lost in 2011 and 2012.

An element of each proposal is some kind of formula that would account for the ability of private schools to draw athletes and other students from a broader area than most public high schools can. If schools draw too many students from outside their area, they would be forced to compete against bigger schools.  M.L. Schultze reports

Cuyahoga County is launching a $250,000 initiative to establish a county-wide missing persons bureau. County Executive Ed FitzGerald says key to the effort will be a liaison who will administer a county-wide web site and two sheriff’s deputies who will focus on missing person’s cases.

FitzGerald says the efforts began before three women who had been missing for a decade were discovered imprisoned in a west-side Cleveland home last week. And he says the accelerated effort is to ensure lessons from that case are adopted.  M.L. Schultze reports

Ohio’s U.S. Sen. Rob Portman says President Obama should have known a year ago the IRS office in Cincinnati was targeting conservative groups. 
Portman wrote a letter in March of 2012 raising questions about why tea party and other groups were being grilled by the IRS and having trouble getting their nonprofit status approved.

The response then, he says, was to deny it was happening:  M.L. Schultze reports

An energy-savings program led by a Northeast Ohio group is serving as a national model for energy efficiency. WKSU’s Jeff St.Clair reports, the national attention comes at the same time lawmakers in Columbus are deciding whether to scrap the state’s efficiency rules.

   Jeff St. Clair reports

Cleveland Browns owner Jimmy Haslam says he’s working to repay trucking companies and restore the reputation of his Pilot Flying J business. Haslam spoke to trucking company executives at a seminar in Indianapolis this morning, answering questions screened by his lawyers about alleged fuel rebate fraud that’s the target of an IRS and FBI investigation. 

Haslam says about 250 trucking companies likely have been affected and he’s continuing to contact each one personally. He hopes to have refunds issued, with interest, by middle of July.  And, Haslam reiterated that he had no part in the alleged scheme.  Amanda Rabinowitz reports

Fine art will play a prominent part in the annual celebration of our crooked river.  River Day will bring the traditional clean-ups, cookouts and concerts.  But that’s just the start of a steady flow of riverside events, including a painting contest along the banks of the Cuyahoga.  Vivian Goodman reports

This Saturday marks the 33rd anniversary of an explosion in Washington state that killed 57 Americans. It was the volcanic eruption of Mt. St. Helens.

Fine-art photographs of that destruction are on display now at the Cleveland Museum of Art. At the same time, an exhibition is running on an even more deadly eruption. It’s titled “The Last Days of Pompeii” and contains both art and remnants of that cataclysm.  Mark Urycki reports

A former director of the FBI is now working on behalf of truckers in a class-action suit against Cleveland Browns’ owner Jimmy Haslam.

Louis Freeh will investigate Pilot Flying J, Haslam’s Knoxville-based company. It was raided by the IRS last month, and is accused of cheating truckers out of fuel rebates.

NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell says Haslam has agreed to work with authorities, and the league does not expect Haslam to step down.

A full-page ad in Tennessee newspapers included civic and political leaders supporting Haslam, whose brother, Bill, is the state’s governor. 

Louis Freeh’s firm was in the news last year after investigating  the Penn State sex abuse scandal. The company is not commenting on the case.

Calls to Pilot/Flying J were not returned on Wednesday afternoon.  Kabir Bhatia reports

The Cuyahoga County grand jury has indicted 13 Cleveland firefighters in a shift-switching scandal that broke two years ago.  M.L. Schultze reports

Nearly three years ago, the job placement agency serving the City of Cleveland and Cuyahoga County took an about-face in how it operated. The change focused less on job seeker’s needs and more on the employer’s.  (more)

Democrats in the Ohio House have introduced a bill that would require an individual who is served protection orders to temporarily hand over their firearms to police for a cooling-off period. Democratic State Rep. Nickie Antonio of Lakewood says doing so would save lives.  Jo Ingles reports

Some Ohio conservatives are divided in their reaction to news that the IRS was targeting conservative groups in investigations of their nonprofit status.  (more)

For years, the Ohio High School Athletic Association has been trying to figure out how to level the playing field for high school sports. About 17 percent of the the association's 800-plus members are private schools, and they have won more than 40 percent of the state titles in recent years.

Public schools say private schools have an unfair advantage because they can draw talent from several communities. A vote ending today aims to strike a so-called competitive balance. WKSU commentator Terry Pluto says the proposal is complicated, and even if it passes, will only help the situation slightly. 

  Amanda Rabinowitz reports

Tuesday night, the Cleveland school board unanimously agreed to what city and union officials are hailing as a groundbreaking teacher contract for Ohio. The union rank and file will vote later this month and ratification is expected. The contract spells out a new basis for teacher pay hikes. Raises merely for lasting another year in the job are out; so are automatic bumps for an extra degree. Instead, “pay-for-performance” is in. StateImpact Ohio’s Ida Lieszkovszky has this report.  Ida Lieszkovszky reports

The IRS has admitted to targeting conservative groups for enhanced scrutiny during the 2010 and 2012 elections and WKSU’s Jeff St.Clair reports an Ohio group was one of the first to raise the issue.  Jeff St. Clair reports

The search for Kent State University’s next president is getting underway. The Board of Trustees is starting to build a search committee to find a replacement for President Lester Lefton, who announced last month he is retiring in July of 2014.

Trustee Richard Marsh is heading the search. He says the committee should be formed by this summer, and will include a representative from the city of Kent as well as university officials. Meanwhile, Marsh says the trustees will begin looking five-to-10 years ahead to determine what type of president the university will need.  Kevin Niedermier reports

Ohio Gov. John Kasich has some ideas for ways to help senior citizens in the Buckeye state.   Jo Ingles reports

Honda says it is bringing back its so-called "supercar" Acura NSX after suspending production in 2005. And it announced today (Tuesday) the new high performance two-seater will be built in Ohio. For Ohio Public Radio WOSU’s Tom Borgerding reports.

   (more)

The union that represents a Catholic School teacher fired after disclosing she is gay is refusing to back her. Carla Hale is trying to regain her physical ed teaching job at a Columbus Catholic High School. But the Central Ohio Association of Catholic Educators will stay out of the fight. For Ohio Public Radio, WOSU's Tom Borgerding reports.  (more)

The Cleveland Teachers Union and the School District have reached a tentative agreement on a new three-year contract. The deal would replace the district’s current promotion system – one that rewards teachers for years of experience – with one that would reward performance instead. The school board is set to vote on the agreement tonight and the union will vote later this month. State Impact Ohio’s Ida Lieszkovszky has these details.ovember.  Ida Lieszkovszky reports

School safety is one top topic for the state Board of Education. But one idea that’s been making the rounds is likely to end now. Ohio Public Radio’s Karen Kasler reports from today’s board meeting.  Karen Kasler reports

A trio of major downtown Cleveland development projects will split Cuyahoga County’s share of Ohio’s casino tax revenue, if County Council approves. County Executive Ed FitzGerald has announced that Playhouse Square would receive $4 million for the theatre district’s renovation. 

Another $1.5 million would go toward turning the old East Ohio Gas building into apartments. And $1.5 million would go to phase two of the East Bank project, which includes bars, restaurants and residential space.

FitzGerald says the funding is necessary to keep downtown’s development momentum going. He points out that the casino tax revenues are only a small part of the cost of the projects.  Kevin Niedermier reports

Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine announced today that a comparison of Ariel Castro's DNA to the nationwide pool of DNA profiles has returned no matches. The FBI ran the nationwide Combined DNA Index System (CODIS) search this morning, comparing the suspect's DNA to every DNA sample previously submitted to the system.

Last week, forensic scientists with the Attorney General's Bureau of Criminal Investigation (BCI) compared Castro's DNA against all DNA submissions statewide, also returning no results.

DNA samples from the suspect's brothers, Pedro Castro and Onil Castro, were also tested and compared to the state and national CODIS submissions.  No matches were returned.    Jeff St. Clair reports

Prosecutors say they may seek the death penalty for Ariel Castro. But as Brian Bull of member station WCPN reports, one expert in capital punishment says putting Castro on death row will be tough.  - none - reports

A proposed law seeks to deal with the small percentage of people who -- research shows -- commit more than half of the violent crimes in Ohio.

Ohio Public Radio’s Karen Kasler reports that what sounds to many like a great solution, is also starting to get some pushback.
  Karen Kasler reports

The discovery of three women missing for a decade has refocused attention on other missing persons cases in the region.  Akron teenager Taylor Robinson was last seen nine days ago.

Her mother is addressing Akron City Council, thanking everyone for their support and help with the search, and aksing  anyone with information on the case to speak up.  Tim Rudell reports