Author

Amanda Garrett, Akron Beacon Journal
Amanda has covered news across the state of Ohio for more than 20 years. She specializes in making complex stories easier to understand, often through narrative storytelling. She's covered everything from public corruption and terrorism to spelling bees and Santa Claus. Before landing at The Akron Beacon Journal in 2015, she worked for 14 years at The Plain Dealer in Cleveland, mostly on the projects/enterprise team. Before that, she wrote for smaller dailies in Northeast Ohio, The Cincinnati Post and the Raleigh/Durham News&Observer. Amanda has a special interest in eldercare, having paused her own career for three years to care for her own parents in failing health. She and her husband, the senior editor at The Plain Dealer, share a home with a 90-pound dog, three cats and a never-ending stream of news.
What would you ask Trump, Biden? These Northwest Ohio voters have ideas
By: Amanda Garrett, Akron Beacon Journal - October 26, 2020
Every time Jinnifer Trubey checks her phone, another news story pops up about President Donald Trump. “It’s something about Trump, something he tweeted… or how (Nancy) Pelosi wants to impeach him,” Trubey said. “I don’t mind it because I like to stay in the know, but it seems like every five minutes there is another […]
Southeast Ohio town grapples with unusual conflict over masks, COVID-19
By: Amanda Garrett, Akron Beacon Journal - October 25, 2020
Cheryl Gordon keeps a “Stand with Smitty” sign hanging in her front window. It supports Logan-Hocking School resource officer Chris “Smitty” Smith, who made national news last month after he told a woman attending a football game that she had put on a mask because of the pandemic rules — or leave. When the woman […]
Southwest Ohioans unite in concern for country’s future
By: Amanda Garrett, Akron Beacon Journal - October 24, 2020
The 39-year-old Trotwood woman’s absentee ballot arrived a couple of days earlier, but she still hadn’t filled it out. “It’s voting time and I still don’t know where either side stands on the issues…all I’ve heard is a lot of bickering,” she told a group of fellow Southwest Ohioans during a Your Voice Ohio (YVO) […]
Northeast Ohioans improvise while they hope for end to COVID-19
By: Amanda Garrett, Akron Beacon Journal - October 23, 2020
It was just a little more than 24 hours after President Donald Trump left Walter Reed hospital after falling ill with COVID-19. Trump — who received experimental drugs not available to other Americans infected with the disease — continued to downplay the pandemic, telling Americans “don’t let it dominate your lives.” Yet in Northeast Ohio, […]
Ohioans retreat into safe groups, crave post-election unity
By: Amanda Garrett, Akron Beacon Journal - October 22, 2020
Ohioans are exhausted during the final run up to the 2020 presidential election. They’re worried about COVID-19, about where the United States is heading, about the vote, both the mechanics of how it will work — or won’t — and about who will ultimately win. Most are avoiding any face-to-face political conflict outside their pandemic […]
In richly diverse conversation, Ohioans share desire for unity
By: Amanda Garrett, Akron Beacon Journal - October 22, 2020
Karen Smith choked on tears when she tried to explain the year leading up to the 2020 presidential election. “My life became a train wreck, honestly,” Smith said. She lost a wedding, her job and in-person medical appointments she depends on because of the pandemic. She can’t talk to her “ultra conservative” family about anything […]