Cavaliers All-Star point guard Kyrie Irving has been chosen as the cover player for NBA Live 2014 - the new video game by EA Sports.

On his twitter page, Kyrie Irving commented on the announcement stating "...dreams really do come true."

Truly a unique opportunity and blessing, dreams really do come true!! #NBALIVE14

— Kyrie Irving (@KyrieIrving) June 10, 2013

The game was unveiled at E3, the Electronic Entertainment Expo, in Los Angeles on Monday.

Akron's own LeBron James is also in the spotlight. 2K Sports recently announced James will be the cover athlete for "NBA 2K14," which is set to be released in October.

Akron Children's Hospital has been ranked among the nation's best hospitals for child care, according to the rankings released by the U.S. News and World Report.

Akron Children’s was ranked in the top 50 in all seven of the specialties that were included in the reports. The hospital ranks 22nd on the list in orthopedics which moved up 13 spots from last year.

In Cleveland, Rainbow Babies and Children's Hospital ranked 2nd in neonatology and 7th in pulmonolgy. Children's Hospital Cleveland Clinic ranked 8th in neurology and neurosurgery.

Click here to view an interactive map and a full list of the rankings.

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Press Release:

Akron Children’s Hospital has been ranked in seven pediatric specialties in U.S. News & World Report’s 2013-14 Best Children’s Hospitals rankings, available online today at www.usnews.com/childrenshospitals.

Akron Children’s was ranked:

22 in orthopedics
26 in cancer
28 in neurology & neurosurgery
29 in pulmonology
31 in urology
32 in diabetes and endocrinology
37 in nephrology

“To be ranked alongside the best children’s hospitals in the country is really a testament to our pediatric specialists and the work they do every day in caring for our patients,” said Shawn Lyden, executive vice president. “Through their superb clinical care, research and work in educating future doctors, they have really put us on the map.”

A highlight of this year’s rankings was seeing Akron Children’s orthopedics program move up 13 spots to reach 22nd place.

“This is a great honor and I credit our higher ranking with the super specialization we have achieved in recent years,” said Kerwyn Jones, MD, chairman of the Department of Orthopedics. “Specialization has allowed us to achieve higher quality for the patient and a greater research interest level for the surgeon.”

Dr. Jones and his seven fellow pediatric orthopedic surgeons have become known for their expertise in such areas as surgery of the spine, back, hips, feet, arms and knees. As they have focused their practices in these areas, they have been able to delve into clinical and basic science research, study best practices, and present and publish their findings for peer review.

The department has the expertise to treat issues ranging from common fractures to sports-related and traumatic injuries, as well as highly specialized orthopedic concerns such as early onset scoliosis, brachial plexus injuries, ACL tears, spina bifida, skeletal dysplasia, limb lengthening, and hip reconstruction.

Akron Children’s also saw its neurology and neurosurgery and childhood cancer and blood disorder programs each move up nine places to 28 and 26 place, respectively.

“Our goal is simply to be the best we can be for the children of our region,” said Lyden. ”Our growth, our quality and safety initiatives, and our desire to recruit top medical talent all come back to that.”

For families of sick children, the Best Children’s Hospitals rankings provide quality-related information, such as survival rates, adequacy of nurse staffing, and procedure volume. Since their 2007 debut, the rankings have put an increasing emphasis on data that directly reflect the hospitals’ performance over the opinions of physicians.

This year, U.S. News surveyed 178 pediatric centers to obtain data such as availability of key resources and ability to prevent complications and infections. The hospital survey is made up of 75 percent of the rankings. A separate reputational survey in which 1,500 pediatric specialists – 150 in each specialty – were asked where they would send the sickest children in their specialty made up the remaining 25 percent.

A group of high school students and the University of Akron are teaming up to create a giant "tattoo" on the outside wall of the Angel Falls Coffee Company in Akron’s Highland Square.

Elisa Gargarella, director of the Arts LIFT program at the University of Akron, says a tattoo artist will work with 14 high school students from the Akron Public School district to create the large mural.

"The ultimate goal for those kids is that they eventually become the inheritors of these spaces, that they're going to live and work in and make a difference in."

The program is a summer arts apprenticeship program offered by the Myers School of Art at The University of Akron.

Gargarella says the project has an urban twist to it where the students will work with tattoo artist and painter Jesse Strother, co-owner of Good Life Tattoos in Highland Square.

"[The students] learn how to create, use their creative energy to impact the economy, to impact culture , and to impact environment depending on the theme of the program."

Gargarella says a tattoo artist will work with 14 high school students from the Akron Public School district to create the large mural.

The finished art piece will be unveiled on June 28th at a public celebration from 6 to 8 p.m. at Angel Falls Coffee Company on West Market Street.

 

A Summit County Common Pleas judge has ruled that the closing of a portion of Rothrock Road to block traffic to a proposed new Walmart and Sam's Club in Copley Township is legal.

Judge Alison McCarty ruled that the city of Fairlawn can legally shut down access to the road and can potentially erect permanent barricades to block the road.

Copley Township filed the suit about a year ago against Fairlawn over the barriers that were put in place on the busy road. The township claims the city closed the road in retaliation after they learned of the plans to move the stores from Fairlawn into Copley.

McCarty stated in her ruling that the city of Fairlawn wanted to protect the residential neighborhood that would be affected by the development. McCarty stated that Copley was not able to prove the city acted in bad faith.

Currently, a Sam's Club and a Walmart are in the Rosemont Commons shopping center.

A copy of Judge Alison McCarty's ruling is attached to this story.

Police say a 54-year-old man was robbed while collecting signatures around an Akron neighborhood Thursday night.

The victim told police the robbery happened near Neptune Avenue and Firestone Boulevard where he was collecting signatures for an individual who was interested in running for city council.

Police say two men approached the man and demanded money. The suspects fled the scene.

Only a vague description of the suspects was released.

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Akron police are investigating a shooting that happened on the city's north side late Thursday night. 

A 26-year-old woman told officers she was sleeping in her bedroom when she woke up to the sound of gunshots in the 900 block of North Howard Street. 

Police say three gunshots struck the home. No one was injured. Police have not identified any suspects.

The shooting remains under investigation.

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Father's Day is just around the corner. Chances are he'll tell you that he doesn't need anything, but here's a few ideas to spark your creative imagination.
1. Instagram Keepsake Book
If you have tons of pictures - surprise dad with a easy book created by using instagram photos. If you're not the scrapbooking type, this is the perfect gift.

Source:...

Brimfield Police Chief David Oliver says he's going back on his word. He's now encouraging officers to write as many tickets as possible - targeting a specific group.

On the department's Facebook page, Oliver calls the program operation Safe Summer. If an officer finds a child, 12 or under, wearing a helmet while riding a bike - they'll get a ticket for a free ice cream cone.

Oliver says officers are encouraged to write at least one ticket per shift to promote summer safety.

Below is the full post on the Brimfield Police Department's Facebook page.

"Well....some of you have been waiting on me to go back on my word. It has happened....

With all of the talk about writing tickets, all of you have heard me say numerous times... I do not care about tickets. I have changed my mind.

Effective next week, my officers will have a quota for tickets....at least one per shift. We are going to be profiling, too. We will target a specific group, with the express purpose of writing as many tickets as possible. I am strongly encouraging my officers to write as many as they can, every shift, every day...it is called operation Safe Summer...

When operation Safe Summer kicks off next week, officers will hit the streets looking for our target group....kids 12 and under. If a child 12 or under is observed wearing his or her helmet while biking...the child will be stopped and issued a ticket...for a free ice cream cone from Franks Drive-in, located on SR43.

This is the kind of ticket writing I REALLY enjoy....Chief Oliver."

The Akron-Canton Airport unveiled their new aircraft rescue and firefighting facility this morning.

Akron police say a pair of elderly residents were victims of a home invasion robbery late Tuesday night.

Authorities say one of the residents recognized one the men who knocked on the door of the home in the 600 block of Springdale Street.

The victims let the two men come inside the home, but that's when the suspects pulled the hoods of their sweatshirts over their heads and forced the residents to the ground.

The suspects fled with the victims home phone, two television sets, house and car keys, a bank card and $300 in cash.

Only a vague description of the suspects were released.