AROUND THE REGION
Ohio Turnpike warns of scam asking for toll payments
Ohio motorists are being warned to once again be on the lookout for a mobile scam requesting payments for unpaid tolls, according to a social media post from the Ohio Turnpike and Infrastructure Commission.
The text message scam is referred to as “smishing,” a combination of SMS (short message service) and phishing (scammers claiming to be representatives of an organization).
“The Ohio Turnpike does not request its E-ZPass customers to make payments by text. Collections of unpaid tolls and/or toll violations do not occur by text either,” according to the X post.
Motorists should be aware that all links from Ohio Turnpike’s E-ZPass accounts should only appear from http://ezpassoh.com and http://ohioturnpike.org.
Ohioans who have unpaid tolls can pay online at the Ohio Turnpike’s website at https://www.ezpassoh.com/ select-login-type.
Akron City Council approves plan to spend federal, local funds on housing
Akron City Council on Monday unanimously approved an outline for how it would spend nearly $8.59 million — most of it coming from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) — for affordable housing and community development priorities. The budget now goes to HUD for approval.
The executive summary of the Akron’s 2024 Consolidated Action Plan says the city intends to provide neighborhood revitalization grants and loans, assist nonprofit housing projects, assist businesses, supply “matching grants and loans to businesses for exterior improvements” under the Great Streets Akron program and more.
The total amount includes about $5.85 million in Community Development Block Grants, $1.48 million in HOME Investment Partnerships and $528,000 in Emergency Solutions Grants.
Roughly $725,000 for the plan will be generated by the city through program income, coming from repayment of loans Akron has issued over decades for various projects.
New software cited as reason for county’s sewer services billing errors
The Summit County Department of Sanitary Sewer Services (DSSS) announced Wednesday that the department has been implementing a new utility billing software that has led to issues for some customers in Stow, Hudson and Akron.
According to DSSS, some customers received a bill with an incorrect due date or a bill for the first time in several months. If a customer received a bill noting a July 19 due date, the correct due date is Aug. 19. Customers with automatic withdrawal will see a payment withdrawn on July 19.
Customers with any billing questions can call 330-9262400 and select option 1.