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“Craziness” Mother Throws Infant Child Out The Window Before Boyfriend Sets Her On Fire

Haz Matthews — Sun, 05 Feb 2012 17:59:15 +0000

A mother threw her 18-month-old son to safety just moments before she was allegedly set on fire by the child’s father.
31 year old Tiffany Lawson, from Ohio, had been sprayed with lighter fluid while holding on to her toddler son.

Drenched in the flammable liquid she raced to an open second floor window closely followed by her boyfriend Kevin Ford Jr. Police said Lawson yelled out to a neighbor below who had heard her arguing with Ford and dropped her son to the ground. Seconds later she was allegedly set on fire by Ford.

Lawson managed to rip off her burning clothing and jumped out of the window of her home in Cleveland, Ohio. She broke her elbow and arm in the fall and suffered burns to her hand and leg.

Ford Jr. fled the scene but was later arrested and is expected to be charged with attempted murder.

Source.

Saving Our Daughters From the Streets!

Dauphne Walker — Sat, 04 Feb 2012 15:45:35 +0000

http://madamenoire.com/134607/saving-our-daughters-from-the-street-lisa-williams-living-water-for-girls/

She came in kicking and screaming. Bound by law enforcement, this 12-year-old child was cussing and fussing as she entered the Living Water for Girls home. She was angry and rightly so. After all, this girl had been bought and sold as a prostitute in hotel rooms and in strip clubs since she was nine years old.

Her rage didn’t subside once she got in the home. She went to throw a piece of furniture when the home’s founder and operator, Lisa Williams, stopped her.

“Sweetie, we’ve got seven acres out here and we’ve got a whole lot of trees and everything else, if you want to throw something you can go outside and throw something but you don’t break up furniture in this house. That’s not what we do here and you’re not going to fight my staff because that’s not what we do here.”

The girl, unmoved, turned to Williams screaming at the top of her lungs, “You don’t understand I’ve been fighting all of my life. All I know how to do is fight!”

These are the types of girls Williams’ home rescues. Girls who have been exploited by adults who want to have sex with them for their pleasure and perversion.

While the job is not always easy, it was something Williams had to do. She was compelled to act by an article she read in the Atlanta Journal Constitution. Accompanying the article was a picture of a 10-year-old girl in an orange jumpsuit with shackles around her ankles. She, and not the men who had bought and sold her, was being charged as a prostitute. Williams was outraged. But instead of reading the article and dismissing it from her mind, like many of us often do, she took it upon herself to do something. Initially, she solicited friends to raise money for another organization; but in 2007, she decided to start her own refuge for prostituted girls.

It was with that goal in mind that Williams went out into her community, knocking on doors to raise money and awareness for the problem and the home she intended to build to help solve it.

“I believe if people knew that this was happening in their own backyards, in their own communities, to their own daughters and sisters, they too would be outraged and would want to do something. And so with that as our premise, we began to tell the story and people began to say ‘how can I help?”

In one year that generosity translated into a quarter of a million dollars. With those donations and partnerships with local churches, sororities and law enforcement, Williams was able to build a safe refuge.

Living Water for Girls, located in Georgia, is a three story house tucked away from the noise, hustle and danger of the nearby city. Today, the thirteen girls living in the house receive the treatment and care many of them have been missing for years. Living Water not only pays for room and board but education, medical and dental services and therapy. Services that cost $30,000-40,000 a month.

Spirituality is also a part of the healing the girls receive while they’re in the house.

“I happen to be a Christian and I believe that a part of the healing has to be with our spirituality. I don’t think you can heal some of the wounds of the physical abuse and the mental abuse. But your spirit has to be healed as well.”

The girls who come to the house from referrals from either law enforcement, parents or the girls themselves. While Living Water is literally saving lives the girls, they don’t always walk in with gratitude.

“They don’t see themselves as victims. They have been arrested, most likely. They have charges on them. All the while, they’ve been the victim but have been treated like criminals. So they’re angry. And besides all that they have had their innocence ripped from them. They have been sold like cattle. I would be angry too and they are. They’re hostile. So we understand that. We don’t expect them to come in and say, ‘Thank you for rescuing us. We’re so glad to be here.”

While they might not be glad to be there, Williams and her staff never force any girl to stay in the house if she truly doesn’t want to be there and in time the girls begin to appreciate the opportunities they’ve been given.

But it’s not exactly cakewalk in the house, while their lives are exponentially better than they would be if they were still on the street, Williams expects a lot from her girls and enforces strict rules or tough love to make sure they stay on track. Williams has her girls on a strict schedule.

“I used to be a military officer so the tough love and the strict love may come from that as well. I believe we’re up and we’re ready to get our day started at 6 o clock in the morning. And we’re sitting down for breakfast and we’re getting ready for school or going them off to school at 7:30 or 7:45. That’s not an option to do those kinds of things. If we don’t get them educated, we lose them. They will always be dependent on some man or some woman and I refuse to allow that to happen to my girls. And sometimes it means pushing them out of their comfort zone and I’m willing to do that if it’s going to help them survive and not just survive but to become a thriver one day. “

Williams is also tough in the fact that she doesn’t sugarcoat the realities of the situations. Often times the girls start “honeymooning” as Williams calls it about their former lives and express desires to leave the house and go back to them. Williams paints a clear picture of what will happen to them if they do:

““You know what’s going to happen to you when you get back to that pimp? He’s going to beat you. Then he’s going to put you on the floor and kick you in your face. You already know what’s going to happen. I’m not going to pretend that when you go back to him is going to be a honeymoon period. He’s going to tear you to pieces.”

Williams knows keeping the girls in the house can literally be a matter of life and death.

“I can’t allow them to do that because I know that it may very well be the last time I see them alive or as a whole person and they’re too precious for us to let them believe something that’s not true.”

World Renowned Psychologist, Dr. Robin L. Smith In Cleveland

WZAK — Sat, 04 Feb 2012 13:11:49 +0000

Cleveland, Ohio- 93.1 WZAK welcomes world renowned Psychologist, Dr. Robin L. Smith

Dr. Robin Smith has a warmth to her that invites listeners to open up about anything; we are so excited to have her on WZAK and look forward to a compelling show.

“Cleveland, this is a fantastic time and I’m excited to be coming to WZAK to create our one on one moment to be real and raw as we remove “the mask” in a safe environment where we can talk about anything. We will listen and learn from the intimate truths of our heart on this journey of really taking life seriously. There is no time to waste, let’s make every breath count.” Dr. Robin L. Smith~

Like Dr. Robin L. Smith on Facebook Click Here

Go to DrRobinSmith.com to learn more

LOCAL NEWS: Cleveland Ranked 12th Most Miserable City

WZAK — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 22:18:28 +0000

CLEVELAND, OH (WOIO) - Forbes Magazine lists Cleveland as the 12th most miserable city in the country. The magazine ranked cities across the country on things like taxes, crime, corruption and sports teams. Miami topped the list as the most miserable city, followed by Detroit, Flint, Michigan, West Palm Beach and Sacrame... Read more..

LOCAL NEWS: “Driveway Robber” Surrenders to Police Officers

WZAK — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 21:43:10 +0000

CLEVELAND, OH (WOIO) -

The man accused of attacking and terrorizing women in their own driveways has surrendered to police.

20-year-old Anthony Lilliard turned himself into police Friday.

Fourth District investigators say all of the attacks happened off Lee Road near the Cleveland/Shaker border. They believe Lilliard is to blame for all of the crimes. “There are a number of robberies in the area. We’re not saying he’s responsible for all of them…but we want to either tie him into them or exclude him from that” says Sgt. Dave Rutt with CrimeStoppers.

Among the women attacked, a 77-year-old grandmother. “This guy came up. He ran right up beside me in my driveway and he took my purse,” said the victim.

Lilliard has a prior drug conviction. One of his alleged victim’s feels he should get the book thrown at him if convicted.

http://www.19actionnews.com/story/16666254/serial-robber-targeting-women

Article Courtesy of WOIO 19 Action News

LOCAL NEWS: Cuyahoga County Executive Proposes Services Offered to Cities

WZAK — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 21:36:15 +0000

Cuyahoga County Executive Ed FitzGerald has a new plan make county services available to cities.

The Western Reserve Plan was announced Wednesday afternoon during the State of The County Address at Cleveland’s City Club.

The Western Reserve Plan will focus on these 12 key areas:

Implementing a practical strategy for creating a functioning, county-wide metropolitan government.
Establishing Greater Cleveland as a center of entrepreneurship and job growth.
Designing a place-based development strategy which recognizes the centrality of downtown Cleveland to the region as a whole.
Aligning and coordinating both public and private resources around our most pressing human service needs.
Identifying education, from early childhood forward, as the central factor in individual and community success.
Embracing a health and wellness culture which mirrors the excellence of our major medical institutions.
Incorporating economic inclusion as a guiding principle in our economic development strategy.
Branding our metropolitan area as an international city which harnesses the energy of our younger generations.
Adopting a collaborative approach to the foreclosure crisis- from prevention to restoration.
Honoring the service of our veterans by giving them priority in hiring, training and education.
Protecting our county by leading a county-wide public safety initiative.
Creating a culture within county government which implements nationally recognized good government practices and innovations.

Ed FitzGerald explains the county-wide metropolitan government below:

Regional strategies/services/metro government

It’s time to be brutally honest about the discussion which has been taking place regarding the possibility that we will regionalize our services, our governments, or both. First, the discussion has been going on for almost 100 years. And that says it all.

Although there have been examples of progress, and for the first time the county has assisted in those discussions, we are not on a trajectory to any serious form of shared services, strategies, or consolidated government. We just aren’t, and it’s time to stop pretending that we are. When this concept was first seriously proposed in the first half of the twentieth century, some of its proponents knew that time was of the essence. At that time, about 80% of the population of the county was contained in the City of Cleveland, and they feared that as population inevitably migrated outwards, it would make it more and more difficult to create a regional approach to government. They were right, and that’s exactly what happened.

So for 100 years, we have had an interesting philosophical discussion which gets us almost nowhere we haven’t already been. The comparison of us to what other metropolitan areas have done are, frankly, usually ill-informed. There is no place in the country which has our level of fragmentation, with home rule powers for cities, which has just spontaneously combined in any meaningful way. Cities and counties, such as Indianapolis, that have merged usually consist of a central city surrounded by undeveloped and unincorporated areas.

But there is a way to get there. And we can do it without forcing anything on any city.

To read more of the speech, click on the link below:

http://downtown.woio.com/news/news/70384-ed-fitzgerald-proposes-plan-make-county-services-available-cities

Article Courtesy of WOIO 19 Action News

LOCAL NEWS: LeBron “Bling” Continues as Center of Investigation

WZAK — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 23:34:07 +0000

SUMMIT COUNTY (WOIO) –

A pricey LeBron James pendant remains the focus of a police investigation in Wadsworth.

Vaneisha Robinson says she purchased the diamond encrusted piece of jewelry at a yard sale for a mere $5. Robinson had the basketball jersey-shaped pendant appraised and found it to be worth a cool $10K. Upon learning the value, she placed it for sale on eBay.

Robinson says she received a call from Maverick Carter’s mother, Katherine. Maverick, a close friend and CEO for James’ marketing company, claimed the pendant had been stolen from him.

According to police, Katherine told Robinson that LeBron wanted to buy the pendant back and urged her to come to her Wadsworth home. Robinson went to the home, but instead of LeBron, she was greeted by a number of angry people who allegedly threatened her and stripped her of the pendant.

“Kathy gave me a hug. She said you just missed Brony. I didn’t feel comfortable going in by myself,” said Vaneisha Robinson.

Police were called to the scene and determined the pendant in question did, in fact, belong to Carter.

Maverick says the pendant was stolen but Vaneisha’s attorney Matthew Bruce says carter never filed a police report.

Vaneisha is filing an amended lawsuit asking for possession of the pendant and damages.

“I think I am probably shocking them that I didn’t fold and that I just didn’t go away,” said Vaneisha Robinson.

http://www.19actionnews.com/story/16664160/lebron-bling-remains-at-the-center-of-an-investigation

Article Courtesy of WOIO 19 Action News

LOCAL NEWS: University of Akron Officially Welcomes Jim Tressel

WZAK — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 21:27:34 +0000

AKRON, OH (WOIO) -

After years as the head football coach at Youngstown State University and The Ohio State University, Jim Tressel was named VP of Strategic Engagement at the University of Akron.

The official announcement was made during a 10AM news conference on Wednesday morning.

“The first thing I’m going to do is listen, and learn and become a part of the team,” Tressel said. “I’m not the offensive coordinator or the defensive coordinator, I’m just on the team.”

Tressel will make $200K a year in the new position.

“I don’t really have any interest in coaching in the NFL, and so the commitment I’ve made to anyplace that I’ve gone is that I’m going to work everyday like I was going to be there forever,” said Tressel. “And, quite honestly, every place I’ve ever coached, I would have been happy to be there forever, because they are special places. So my commitment to the University of Akron is that I’m going to work as if this is the last place I’ll ever work.”

19 Action News has learned Tressel will help with fundraising. Akron would like a new arena to go with the brand new football stadium.

http://www.19actionnews.com/story/16656719/jim-tressel-to-take

Article Courtesy of WOIO 19 Action News

Ustream Live: A Date w/ Eric Benet In Cleveland

WZAK — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 18:08:20 +0000

Soul Singer Eric Benet is in Cleveland today and we are Ustreaming live. You may not have been a WZAK VIP winner but you can still experience it LIVE. watch below. Live video by Ustream Read more..

LOCAL NEWS: Sonic to Open New Drive-In on Cleveland’s East Side

WZAK — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 21:28:04 +0000

After months of anticipation, Mayfield Heights residents will finally get a taste of SONIC Drive-In’s famous Cherry Limeades, Tots and Premium Beef Hot Dogs. The Mayfield Heights SONIC Drive-In opens to the public at 6 a.m. on Feb. 1.

“We are thrilled to open the Mayfield Heights SONIC Drive-In and invite guests to experience the indoor dining area,” said Frank Cuevas, director of operations and marketing for North Coast Drive-Ins, LLC., SONIC franchisee for the Mayfield Heights drive-in. “We look forward to serving residents and delivering the fun Carhop service SONIC Drive-Ins are known for across the country.”

The Mayfield Heights SONIC Drive-In is located at 5836 Mayfield Road, Mayfield Heights, Ohio, 44212, and officially opens to the public at 6 a.m. on Wednesday, Feb. 1. A ribbon cutting ceremony with local dignitaries will be held on Feb. 10.

The new SONIC features a different look than a traditional drive-in with 16 drive-in stalls, 32 outdoor patio seats and the first Ohio SONIC with an enclosed dining room area with seating for 65 people. In the indoor dining area, guests can experience a warm and inviting environment with seven flat-screen LED TVs which will show sports games and events, free Wi-Fi and SONIC’s signature skating Carhops. The Mayfield Heights SONIC also features a double drive-thru.

With the full menu available all day, customers can enjoy a Breakfast Burrito to start their morning or as a late night snack. The Mayfield Heights SONIC Drive-In will be open from 6 a.m. to 11 p.m., Sunday – Thursday and 6 a.m. – Midnight, Friday and Saturday.

SONIC, which specializes in made-to-order fast food, is known for its specialty menu items and personal Carhop service. Unique drink combinations make SONIC Your Ultimate Drink Stop!

SONIC’s slow-melting ice, helps drinks stay cool and keeps them chilled longer while maintaining flavor. Menu favorites include TOASTER® Sandwiches (sandwiches served on thick Texas Toast), Footlong Quarter Pound Coneys (hot dogs with chili and cheese), Premium Beef Hot Dogs, Tots and a variety of Ffrozen Favorites® treats made with Real Ice Cream and Fountain Favorites® drinks.

http://mayfield.woio.com/news/business/70246-sonic-drive-opening-mayfield-heights-location

Article Courtesy of WOIO 19 Action News