Since the kick-off of the holiday shopping season in Fairlawn, Summit Mall is still seeing plenty of festive foot traffic.

"It's going to be a very successful season for us in the fact that the National Retail Federation is projecting holiday sales to rise by 2.8 percent," Kate Anderson said, mall marketing manager.

"We fully expect to reep the benefits too."

With a steady stream of shoppers, Anderson said the newest additions can only help add to this year's success.

"I'm sure our newest retailers like Sephora, BareEssentails, Franchesca's Collections and Aveda and Soma are adding to the traffic," she said.

Anderson says the Apple store is always busy and credits the store for luring more customers to the mall.

A total of seven new retailers joined the mall in 2011. As for food, The Rail restaurant and Taco Bell are new additions this year.

On the web: Summit Mall.

A boil alert is in effect for residents and businesses in Cuyahoga Falls.

The alert is for those located along Bailey Road from Van Buren Avenue to Graham Road.

It lasts until 9 a.m. Thursday morning as the city is looking at having to repair a water pipe.

Residents in the affected area are asked to boil water for a minimum of two minutes before using.

Akron Police report the following incidents took place over the weekend:

• Police arrest a robbery suspect after discovering money hidden under this clothes. Akron Police report Maynard S. Bartholdi Jr., 46, faces aggravated robbery charges. It's believed Maynard passed a note to employees at 316 E. Market St. and told them to hand over all of the money.

Police say Maynard ran off with the cash that they later discovered hidden on his body.

• An Akron resident is charged in a home invasion that involved a gun and a bat.

Police say Maycon G. Alavez, 26, of Clark St. in Akron, kicked in the door of a Chittenden St. home. It's reported Alavez ran into the bedroom of the home and pointed a gun at a victim.  Another person entered the victim's bedroom with a bat. Police say Alavez hit that person with the gun and ran off. Alavez was tracked down by the K-9 unit and was arrested on charges of aggravated burglary and felonious assault.

Two Akron men face aggravated robbery charges stemming from an incident over the weekend.

• Akron police were called to the scene of a robbery at 2357 Briner Ave. involving three men and gun.

Police tried to pull over a vehicle on Cooledge that was approaching Darrow Road. The vehicle did not stop and headed south to a Metro Park. After the three suspects jumped out of the vehicle, that's when police nabbed two of the suspects.

Richard M. Reed, 29, and Obie Hairston, 26, are now facing aggravated robbery charges, among other charges.

Authorities believe they've identified the third victim in the so-call Craigslist killings.

The Associated Press is reporting that Noble County Sheriff Steve Hannum said Saturday that the body of Ralph Geiger was discovered in a shallow grave-- close to where the body of another jobseeker was found.

An ongoing gag order is in place and Hannum did not immediately tie Geiger to the phony farm job ad posted on Craigslist.

Hannum told The Associated Press this investigation is "still ongoing".

Follow AkronNewsNow.com as more details become available.

Previous Coverage:

• The Chapel: Craigslist Suspect Had No Official Role In Church
• Craigslist 'Chaplain' Allegedly Managed Prostitutes
• Craigslist Teen Suspect Says Sorry
• Ohio Craigslist Murders: Teen Suspect Not Eligible For Death Penalty

Police in Canton are concerned about a possible robbery team that they believe is linked to a string of incidents near a city school.

The Canton Repository reports that in two separate incidents, vicitms told police they were attacked by three suspects in their 20s.

The descriptions of the suspects are vague. Authorities believe the same suspects are connected to six robberies near old Lehman High School in Canton.

None of victims report any injuries and Capt. Dave Davis tells the newspaper he wants it to stay that way. Davis said the time of day and the locations of the robberies are reasons police say the incidents could be linked. 

On the web: CantonRep.com

The Springfield police department says Canton Road is now open following the incident on Friday. 

All four lanes of Canton Road at Brittany Boulevard were closed Friday. No injuries were reported.

Previous Coverage:

• Gas Leak Closes Canton Road

If the destination is Afghanistan, be sure to mail out your packages by Saturday.

Letters, cards and packages for the troops in Afghanistan will arrive in time for Christmas, if the items are shipped by Sat., Dec. 3.

Christmas Shipping Deadlines:

• If you want your packages to arrive by Christmas at any other military base other than Afghanistan, the deadline is Dec. 10.
• The parcel post mail deadline Dec. 15.
• Regular first class mail: Dec. 20
• Priority mail: Dec. 21.
• Express mail: Dec. 22.

"The busiest day of the year is usually the Monday right before the holiday," Dave Van Allen said, regional U.S. Postal Service spokesperson.

This year, the postal service anticipates about 16.5 billion letters, cards and packages to be sent during the Christmas season.

"That is lower than it has been in past years," he said. "The cards and letters-- people are sending less of those these days."

Tips for mailing:

• Include both to and from information, but only on one side of the package.
• Include the return and delivery inside the package on a card, just in case the original on the exterior of the package is damaged. 
• Remove batteries from toys or electronic devices, wrap or place them next to the item in the mailing package box.
• When mailing framed photographs, wrap the glass separately.

Also, letters sent to Santa Claus require a stamp. Van Allen said the sender will receive a letter in return from the jolly old man.

Click here to track your packages online. 

Get ready for an action-packed show on 1590 WAKR Friday!

25 Hill's Corbin Bernsen will join the 1590 WAKR Ray Horner Morning Show in the 9 a.m. hour, Jeff Brewer is in to talk high school sports and an Akron expert on business will expain how to keep companies and jobs in Ohio.

Listen LIVE on 1590 WAKR AM or streaming online on WAKR.net!

Check out some our top stories on AkronNewsNow.com this morning:

• New Restaurants Coming To Northside Lofts

• Trade Traffic Tickets For Toys

• Summit County Looking To Redevelp Land
•  

Don't forget to answer our Question of the Day on Facebook!

What's your favorite Christmas movie?

We'll share your answers on 1590 WAKR!

From trusting online sources, to posting status updates on social media sites-- an Akron therapist says parents should be involved from the start when it comes to their children and technology.

Katie Filkorn, a mental health therapist from Akron Children's Hospital, joined the 1590 WAKR Ray Horner Morning Show Tuesday.

Filkorn explained how parents can obtain a better handle on how their children use of technology including social media websites, the internet and portable media devices. She advises parents to explain how and why information found online may not always be factual.

How To Better Monitor Children Online by WAKR Lindsay McCoy

She says parents should be involved from the beginning and an open dialogues should be started from usage rules to parental controls.

"Where trust starts to be broken and kids start to get defiant or defensive about it, its when parents are going behind their back, not even communicating to them that this is how things are going to be looked at," Filkorn said.

Tips:

• It's recommended parents establish time limits for computer usage.
• Place a computer in a public place, not a bedroom. As Filkorn said, it's easier for parents to monitor behavior before and after children communicate online.
• Keep the communicationopen.

Filkorn said the devices used today impact the manner in which children communicate, especially when it comes to bullying.

"Kids then don't have the strength to stand up to each other, because now they're all doing over a screen," she said.

Filkorn says she's seeing evidence that problem solving skills are starting to diminish among teens and children.  

A 15-year old suspect faces attempted murder charges after a shooting at a party in Green.

The Summit County Sheriff's Office reports deputies arrived to 49 E. Comet Road at 12 a.m. Saturday, where they found a 22-year old victim with gunshot wounds. The victim suffered wounds to the leg and abdomen.

The investigation shows the victim was part of a verbal fight with the 15-year old suspect. Authorities say the suspect pulled out a .45 caliber hand gun and fired a total of four shots. A second suspect showed off a weapon as well.

After running away from the party, the suspect was turned into the sheriff's office by parents. The suspect faces attempted murder and felonious assault charges. The second suspect was charged with carrying a concealed weapon.

The victim was taken to Akron Children's Hospital and where he is listed in critical condition.