Mayor Don Plusquellic to appear on NewsNight Akron

Eric Mansfield, Steve Hoffman to interview mayor about his proposal for creating a college endowment fund

KENT, Ohio — Feb. 28, 2008 — PBS 45 & 49’s weekly news show, NewsNight Akron, will welcome Akron Mayor Don Plusquellic to the show for the first time on Friday, Feb. 29 at 9 p.m. The program repeats on Saturday, March 1 at 5 a.m.

NewsNight Akron host Eric Mansfield and panelist Steve Hoffman will conduct an in-depth interview with the mayor about his proposal to sell Akron’s sewer system to provide scholarships for thousands of Akron students. They also will discuss the mayor’s other plans and ideas that were outlined in his recent State of the City address.

Plusquellic describes his proposal, called “Akron Plan for the 21st Century,” as a method that will assure that future graduates of Akron’s public high schools are not deterred from obtaining a college degree for financial reasons. It involves creating an endowment fund from the sale or long-term lease of a city-owned asset such as the sewer and sewage-treatment systems.

Mansfield said that the sewer-system proposal is one of the mayor’s most talked-about ideas in a long time. “Some see this as an educational and economic savior, while others say it’s too good to be true,” he explained. “There are a lot of questions about how a plan like this becomes reality.” Mansfield said the discussion will help local residents understand the proposal and how it might affect them.

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About NewsNight Akron
NewsNight Akron airs every Friday night at 9 p.m. on PBS 45 & 49 and offers spontaneous, lively, in-depth discussions about issues that affect the lives of people in greater Akron. Hosted by Eric Mansfield, Akron-Canton news anchor for WKYC-TV3, NewsNight Akron features a roundtable discussion with a panel of local journalists that covers both breaking news stories on topics such as education, the community and local business, as well as ongoing subjects including elections and major news stories. Serving as regular panelists on the show are Steve Hoffman, political writer at the Akron Beacon Journal; Jody Miller, editor and publisher of Bath Country Journal; and Ed Esposito, Joe Jastzremski and Larry States, all of whom are members of the Rubber City Radio Group news staff.

About PBS 45 & 49
PBS 45 & 49 is owned and operated by Northeastern Educational Television of Ohio, Inc., a private, nonprofit corporation and consortium of Kent State University, The University of Akron and Youngstown State University. A trusted community resource, PBS 45 & 49 uses the power of commercial-free television and related services to enrich the lives of people through high-quality programming and educational services that teach, illuminate and inspire. The only broadcast television service that reaches all of northeast Ohio, PBS 45 & 49 is available to 1.8 million households and 4.6 million people in the Cleveland and Youngstown designated market areas. In an average week, over 500,000 households tune in. Through funding from eTech Ohio, the organization provides K-12 educational technology training and instructional television programming to 21,500 educators and 257,400 students in eight Ohio counties. For more information about PBS 45 & 49, visit www.pbs4549.org or call 1-800-554-4549.