Summit County

Drug maker Mallinckrodt has reached a $30 million settlement with two Northeast Ohio counties in a federal lawsuit over the opioid crisis.

Mallinckrodt has agreed in principle to pay $24 million in cash to Cuyahoga and Summit counties, plus $6 million in product, Cuyahoga County officials said Friday.

Two drug companies have reached agreements in principle with Cuyahoga and Summit counties to settle the local governments’ federal lawsuits over the opioid crisis.

A new hybrid bird species has been spotted around parks in northeast Ohio.

The bird is a type of warbler resulting from mating between Cerulean Warblers and Northern Parulas.

Park Ranger Ryan Trimbath was the first to spot the bird in 2014 while he was working for the Summit Metro Parks in Deep Lock Quarry.

He says the experience has opened his mind to when people claim to see new species.

A public health advocate is pleased Summit County has now banned businesses from selling tobacco products to anyone younger than 21 years old. The legislation, known as Tobacco 21, lessens the chance for teens to get their hands on popular e-cigarettes, Juuls and other paraphernalia.

The director of population health at Summit County Public Health Cory Kendrick said the use of these products among middle and high school students has resulted in the highest rates of  teen tobacco use in years.

A Summit County program that helps veterans who’ve been charged with a felony is getting a big financial boost.

Valor Court is a program for non-violent felons who have served in the military. Susan Sweeney, assistant court executive officer, says there are a lot of them.

“They’re there. It’s just a matter of having the program capacity to meet the needs.”

Ohio’s foster care system has seen a significant increase in the number of children in protective custody.  It’s one of the ripple effects of the opioid crisis.  Last year, for example, a one-year-old was revived with Narcan after overdosing on an unknown opioid in Akron.  The child and the child's 9-year-old sibling were removed from the home and placed in the custody of Summit County Children's Services.  

Akron’s Quick Response Team has become the first in Summit County to offer residents naloxone kits and training on how to use them to counter the effects of an opioid overdose.

Joseph Natko, the district chief of the Akron Fire Department, says the effort is part of a follow-up strategy with people who recently overdosed.

Summit Metro Parks is experimenting with a new way to teach people about nature.

The district is opening a temporary nature center this week at Summit Lake’s community center in central Akron.

Metroparks’ outreach manager Demetrius Lambert-Falconer says it’s part of an effort to improve the lives of people living near Summit Lake.