Owen MacMillan

Five years later, the city will now pursue actions that are more than symbolic. Kent leaders have hired a consulting firm specializing in sustainability to recommend policies that will reduce the city’s greenhouse gas emissions.

The City of Kent has begun a plan to overhaul the entrance to the city on state Route 43, as part of a joint renovation process with the Kent City School District and Davey Tree.

Kent City Schools will maintain the presence of a Kent city police officer in the district after city council extended its contract for the program through June 3, 2023.

The City of Kent will initiate a “lateral transfer” hiring program for employees after city council unanimously approved the measure on Aug. 3.

The City of Kent will begin requiring all retailers of tobacco products to apply for a license with the city in an effort to curb the sale of vape products to underage people.

Kent City Council voted 6-3 to pass a resolution condemning the Supreme Court ruling on Roe v. Wade and the Ohio House Bill 69, or the “Heartbeat Bill,” which went into effect in its wake.

The Freedom Township Trustees voted unanimously to remove Ben Fashing from the township’s Board of Zoning Appeals (BZA) following a hearing on Thursday night.

The Kent Police Department is investigating an alleged robbery at the Kent branch of Huntington Bank on the morning of May 31.

After Sheriff Bruce Zuchowski took office in 2021, his chief deputy assured Portage County commissioners that getting body cameras was a priority. Over a year later, Zuchowski has not adopted the technology, even as much smaller police departments in the county outfit their officers with cameras and county commissioners say they would provide the necessary funding.

At 9:32 a.m. on May 14, a Garrettsville police officer and a Portage County sheriff’s deputy responded to a 911 call about an armed woman trying to break into her neighbor’s house in Windham Township. 

Before she was killed, Cora Baughman entered her neighbor’s garage with a gun and demanded to speak with him, the neighbor told dispatchers in two calls to 911 on Saturday morning.

The woman killed in Windham Township during a confrontation involving neighbors and law enforcement officers was identified as 66-year-old Cora Baughman, according to an Akron Beacon Journal report.

Members of the Rootstown High School girls soccer team were in tears Monday night asking the Rootstown Board of Education to extend the contract of their head coach, Jason Opritza.

The Crestwood Local Schools Board has decided to postpone a resolution which would have banned social and emotional learning (SEL) from the district.

The Board of Education of Crestwood Local Schools is set to vote tomorrow on two resolutions banning critical race theory and social and emotional learning from the school curriculum.

Geraldine Hayes Nelson defeated Timothy Moon in the Democratic primary for Portage County commissioner, and Mike Tinlin overcame Ed Dean to secure the Republican nomination.

Suffield resident Matt Kelly edged out Deerfield Township fiscal officer Kristy Elliot in the Republican primary race for county auditor by an initial count of 4,313 to 4,099, according to an unofficial tally. 

The Kent City Council voted unanimously this week to once again close Franklin Avenue to car traffic to provide more outside seating and give a boost to nearby businesses.