AKRON
Rally and march
AKRON: A rally and march to urge Congress to “Put People First” as it debates how to address the looming fiscal cliff will be held at 4:30 p.m. Wednesday at the federal building at Main and Market streets in downtown Akron.
Participants will push for Congress to protect social and jobs programs, preserve Social Security, continue tax cuts for low- and middle-income individuals, cut military weapons and base spending, and raise taxes on the wealthiest people and corporations.
The event will feature several speakers and is sponsored by numerous individuals and groups in the Akron area. For more information, call the American Friends Service Committee at 330-928-2301.
Budget award
AKRON: The city has received a “2012 Distinguished Budget Presentation Award” from the Government Finance Officers Association of the United States and Canada.
The award recognizes how well the budget serves as a policy document, a financial plan, an operations guide and a communications device. The city has received the honor every year for the past several decades.
Finance Director Diane Miller-Dawson also received a Certificate of Recognition for Budget Presentation.
“This is a great honor,” Miller-Dawson said in a news release.
The Government Finance Officers Association is a nonprofit professional association serving more than 17,500 government finance professionals throughout North America.
STATE NEWS
Legal ruling sought
CHARDON: The attorney for an 18-year-old charged in a school shooting rampage that killed three students in Ohio wants comments made by the suspect’s family kept out of his trial.
The attorney for T.J. Lane said his family members had private conversations in a Northeast Ohio police station and didn’t know they were being recorded.
The Plain Dealer newspaper reports that prosecutors believe there is no privacy in a police interview room and that they should be allowed to use the statements at trial.
A judge in Chardon near Cleveland will hear arguments over the issue at a hearing on Wednesday.
Investigators say Lane admitted shooting at students but couldn’t say why.
He faces a maximum sentence of life in prison without parole if convicted of the shootings last February.
— Associated Press
More holiday travel
COLUMBUS: The AAA says around 3.5 million Ohioans plan to travel 50 miles or more from home during the holiday season.
The auto club says that’s an increase of nearly 2 percent over last year.
This year the holiday travel period spans 11 days — from Dec. 22 to Jan. 1 — and covers two weekends.
Nationally, 93.3 million people are expected to travel at least 50 miles. That would be an increase of 1.6 percent from 2011.
Year-end travel numbers have gradually improved with the economy over the past few years. This year’s numbers will be the second highest in the past decade.
Only 2006-2007 saw higher numbers with 93.7 million travelers nationally, including 3.7 million Ohioans.
The majority of Ohio travelers — 3.2 million — will go by car.
— Associated Press