Streetsboro considering changes to door-to-door sales laws
- Wendy DiAlesandro. Streetsboro City Council’s safety committee on May 11 considered tweaks to local law affecting door-to-door salespeople and solicitors.
Local government
Brimfield has never paid Kent for its $44,000-a-year dispatch contract
- Wendy DiAlesandro. How is it that the City of Kent has been providing free dispatching service for Brimfield Township fire and EMS for years?
Kent State cancels trial agreement with Flock Safety after pushback
- Wendy DiAlesandro. Kent State University’s administration and police had intended to use license plate readers on campus, but reversed themselves after public outcry became apparent.
Extreme weather risks are growing in Northeast Ohio
- Wendy DiAlesandro. If recent weather seems wonky, that’s because it is. That’s the word from Portage County Emergency Management Agency Director Ryan Shackelford, whose job it is to track potential disasters and help communities respond to them.
Kent schools levy passes; Streetsboro, Ravenna, and JFS all saw losses
- Rachel Abbey McCafferty. The Kent City School District got a decisive win in Tuesday’s election, as its 9.8-mill additional tax levy passed 3,125 to 2,225.
County roundup: Atwater residents request Waterloo Road dedicated to Dale Loudin; Brimfield, Randolph, Suffield news
- Roger Gordon. Members of the Atwater High School Class of 1963 Jim Manion, Jerry Michael, Chuck Brockett and Steve Crites attended a recent board of trustees meeting to talk about a request they have made to the Portage County Engineer’s Office.
Documenters: Franklin Township Trustee meeting for April 28, 2026
- Noell Wolfgram Evans. Scott Rudlosky offered a proposal to add some disc golf holes at the township parks. He proposed a pilot program that could be started with a $500 grant he recently received specifically for disc golf.
Documenters: Maplewood Career Center Board of Education meeting for April 16, 2026
- Julie Erickson. The featured program for the meeting was a walk-through of the Applied Engineering and Machining lab, which has been led by Mark Hamilton for the past 14 years.
Bill could push school districts into more frequent levy votes
- Amanda Smith. A proposed Ohio bill would push school districts back onto the ballot more often, reversing years of work in some districts to stabilize funding and reduce voter fatigue. At the same time, recently passed laws mean schools are already dealing with changes to how revenue grows over time and how much taxes can grow in relation to property valuations.
County roundup: Data centers still top of mind; Aurora, Ravenna, Shalersville and Streetsboro news
- Roger Gordon. The planning commission forwarded a resolution to Streetsboro City Council to put a 12-month moratorium on accepting applications for data centers and/or cryptocurrency centers.
Hiram hires interim fire chief after disagreements between department, mayor
- Jeremy Brown. Early this year, a dispute between Hiram Mayor Anne Haynam and former Hiram Fire Department Chief Bill Byers came to a head.
Ravenna passes data center moratorium, and it's not alone
- Wendy DiAlesandro. Heading off a local landowner’s apparent desire to site a data center on his property, Ravenna City Council on April 20 unanimously authorized a one-year moratorium on such facilities.
Ravenna considers new form of government and other major changes
- Wendy DiAlesandro. Ravenna city leaders are thinking about big changes, including adopting a city manager form of government, consolidating the city and township and creating a fire district.
County roundup: Rootstown announces Memorial Day plans, plus news from Paris
- Roger Gordon. The Rootstown Lions Club’s Annual Rootstown Memorial Day Parade and Flag Raising will be held Monday, May 25.
Ravenna City Council rushes to block potential data center proposal
- Wendy DiAlesandro. When the topic is data centers, Ravenna city officials seem split. Local administrators say a proposal to site a data center within city limits is no big deal, but City Council’s planning committee is racing to impose a one-year moratorium on such facilities.
Hiram engages the community to imagine a new village downtown
- Jeremy Brown. The recently formed Downtown Hiram Revitalization committee is currently surveying the community about what the future of the village should look like, and they’re hosting events like a spring festival.
Legislative update: Local reps take bipartisan action against data centers
- Savana Capp. Steve Demetriou (R-Bainbridge Twp.) and Heidi Workman (R-Rootstown) introduced H.B. 710, legislation that addresses the public costs and community impacts associated with data center development in Ohio. As large-scale data centers continue to expand in the state, the legislation aims to protect taxpayers, ratepayers, farmland and local communities from expenses associated with economic development.
County roundup: Spring cleanups pop up around Portage County
- Roger Gordon. The Village of Hiram’s Downtown Revitalization Spring Fest will be from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday, April 26 on Hayden Street. Approximately 25 vendors, five of which are food trucks, will be selling a variety of goodies.