Sticker shock in Streetsboro didn’t stop city leaders from voting unanimously Monday to give $49,990 to The Thrasher Group, a West Virginia project management firm, to prepare a construction and design plan for a 1,200-capacity outdoor amphitheater.
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RSA Food Shelf is thankful for new digs coming next year
The Randolph-Suffield-Atwater Food Shelf distributed over 90 holiday baskets to clients on Monday at the Randolph Community Center. Volunteers hope to move similar operations closer to home soon, at its new building next to the Knights of Columbus Hall in Randolph.
Marijuana petition passes after a recount, now heading for Kent City Council
A referendum on whether Kent should erase criminal penalties for possessing up to 200 grams of marijuana will likely go before voters after the Portage County Board of Elections validated 13 more votes in a contested ballot initiative.
Board of Elections will review the Kent petition to decriminalize marijuana this week
A ballot initiative to decriminalize recreational marijuana in the city of Kent is not quite dead. On Friday the Portage County Board of Elections directed its staff to review three “part-petitions” containing a total of 59 signatures prior to the board’s next meeting on Nov. 23.
Police chiefs field questions on force and accountability at community forum
Three Portage County police chiefs fielded questions from residents Thursday about police policies around use of force, community oversight and mental health crisis intervention.
Construction begins on a new fire station in Brimfield
Brimfield Township broke ground on an $8.2 million fire station that trustees hope will get them through the foreseeable future. The project is underway near the intersection of state Routes 18 and 43.
One seat left to fill on Kent’s Architectural Review Board
Kent City Council voted to approve several board appointments at Wednesday’s meeting but left one position on the Architectural Review Board open.
Hardesty: How I’m spending my Thanksgiving this year
Our big family Thanksgivings of yore are still fresh in my mind, the mirth and merriment of the turkey feast inevitably followed by a chorus of snoring as one family member after another, bellies full, drifted off to sleep in front of a television. Life was good.
Op-ed: Aurora school board used kids as the ‘canary in the classroom’
My 8-year-old daughter tested positive for Covid last week, but she was far from alone — 55 of the children attending Leighton Elementary School in Aurora (plus an additional four teachers) tested positive for Covid in the last two weeks alone. One school, nearly 60 Covid positive cases.
Neighbors are worried about giving free rein to KSU housing complex developers
Residents of Chadwick Drive in Kent pleaded with city council members on Wednesday to become more engaged in the planning of a proposed 1,000-resident housing development that Kent State plans to build on the site of the former Allerton apartment complex.
Kent City Hall construction will begin next year, with $9 million bond sale
The city of Kent expects to begin construction early next year on a new City Hall, with help from $9.1 million in bonds the city will issue and sell.
Commissioners name Collins as director of the county recycling agency
Moments after accepting Bill Steiner’s resignation as director of the county recycling center, county commissioners named acting director Dawn Collins as his permanent replacement.
The director of the county recycling center submitted his resignation
Portage County Solid Waste Management District Director Bill Steiner is resigning effective Friday, Nov. 12. The board of commissioners will decide whether to formally accept his resignation at its next meeting on Nov. 18.
New Mantua roundabout will improve safety, ODOT says, but locals expect disruptions
Mantua Township is getting a $2.2 million roundabout at state Route 82 and Chamberlain Road to improve safety at one of the most dangerous rural intersections in the state of Ohio.
Where would everyone park? Streetsboro amphitheater would use grassy areas if needed
After reading about a proposed 1,200-capacity outdoor amphitheater in Streetsboro, many Portager readers wrote in with concerns that only 100 parking spaces are planned — especially since there would be overflow space for 600 more patrons.
Aurora reopened its elementary school after a Covid outbreak canceled classes
Aurora schools reopened Leighton Elementary on Monday, with a new “masks mandatory” policy, after administrators closed the school Friday because of a coronavirus outbreak.