Month: August 2014

By George Tanber TOLEDO Ohio (Reuters) – Dangerously high levels of toxins from algae on Lake Erie left 500,000 people in Toledo, Ohio, without safe drinking water on Saturday and sent many driving to other states in search of bottled water. The crisis affects the state's fourth-largest city and surrounding counties, forcing most restaurants and the Toledo Zoo to close. Ohio Governor John Kasich declared a state of emergency for the region, freeing up resources for the Ohio National Guard and state workers to truck safe water to people who need it. City officials said in a statement that Lake Erie, the source of local drinking water, may have been impacted by a "harmful algal bloom." In response to the Toledo crisis, Chicago is doing additional testing on Lake Michigan water as a precaution, and expects results in a day or two, city spokeswoman Shannon Breymaier said.

By Brendan O’Brien (Reuters) – A North Carolina man died and 20 people were hospitalized due to apparent drug overdoses during a pop and dance music festival in Maryland, authorities said on Saturday. Tyler Fox Viscardi, 20, of Raleigh, North Carolina, died after being taken to the hospital at 9 p.m. local time Friday after he attended an all-day Mad Decent Block Party festival in Columbia, about 20 miles (32 km) southwest of Baltimore, the Howard County Police Department said in a statement. Authorities said Viscardi died of an apparent drug overdose, and investigators are working to determine what type of drugs were in his system. A 17-year-old Virginia man, who attended the same event, was in critical condition suffering from what appears to be a drug overdose, according to the department.

TOLEDO, Ohio (AP) — Ohio Gov. John Kasich (KAY'-sik) says all of the state's agencies are working to bring water and other supplies to areas around Toledo where some 400,000 are being told not to drink from the city's water system.