LO_21_14 )n The Streets And Online - FirstEnergy Said What?!
Posted: Wed Jul 16, 2025 4:30 pm
Here we are more than halfway through the month of July. The dog days of summers, or dawg days, if you are a Grateful Dead fan. Air conditioners cranking, refrigerators keeping food and drinks cold. Well maybe.
In this issue of the Lakewood Observer we look at the current discussion/battle between FirstEnergy and the City of Lakewood. The discussion is about the recent power outages. FirstEnergy has put together a plan of updating equipment and probably having it fixed by 2027. Until then there will be rolling blackouts with no warning. While this is outrageous in its own right, what adds to the outrage is that they are saying the exact same thing to Barberton and other cities.
Let’s not forget this is the company that was fined $20 million dollars just a year ago, for being found complicit in $61 million in bribes, and $1.3 billion in money from the state for a bailout of their nuclear power plants.
Basically telling us to paraphrase, “We are going to try and promise what amounts to Third World power to Lakewood for the next two or so years.” Excuse me?
So while 99.9% of Lakewood pays their energy bill on time, FirstEnergy took our hard earned dollars and instead of updating equipment used that money to scheme and scam our tax dollars through illicit means.
From the Ohio Capital Journal, reporter Marty Schladen. August 2024
Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost settles with FirstEnergy for $20 million
Unannounced amount dwarfed by scale of epic utility ripoff that featured more than $61 million in bribes and a $1.3 billion bailout…
At just $20 million, the settlement amounts only to less than a third of the bribes Akron-based FirstEnergy paid and it is dwarfed by the benefits Ohio utilities have received from ratepayers as a consequence of the corrupt legislation those bribes paid for.”
If you are not outraged by this, you should be.
As always the Observer covers that, and other hot topics in Lakewood. Sports, Education, Entertainment, Health, Finance and more. Celebrating 20 years of Lakewoodites saying no to corporate media, while covering the city we live in and love as no other city has ever seen.
Isn’t it time you stepped up and joined this history-making community project?
You can start by going out and picking up a printed copy in over 100 businesses, offices, apartments and mailrooms.
And, or, download the digital version here.
https://s3.amazonaws.com/media.lakewood ... sue_14.pdf
Stay safe and hydrated this summer.
peace/love