Opinion, Akron Beacon Journal

Published Feb. 23, 2023

Christine Fowler Mack resigned last week as the superintendent of Akron Public Schools. The previous Friday, without fanfare, I tendered my resignation from her Long Term Operational Planning Task Force. Here’s why.

The task force was billed as a “small and representative group of stakeholders” that would help to design a long-term operational plan that supports academic achievement, health and well being and equity goals while “most fully realizing the potential of our schools as community anchors.”

The group was indeed small, with mostly APS employees attending most meetings, and its recommendations were far from equitable.

At our second to last meeting, the former Morley Health Center was introduced as a potential site for a National Inventors Hall of Fame STEM high school. So was closing more neighborhood grade schools and leaving APS-owned Kenmore High School vacant. This made it clear to me that APS continues to value short-term expediency while giving insufficient attention to the role schools play in strengthening Akron’s residential neighborhoods.

APS’s facilities approach has weakened the fabric of our neighborhoods and people’s ties to both the school district and the city, as parents continue to move their students – and tax dollars – to the suburbs. Nowhere is this truer than in Kenmore, Akron’s second largest neighborhood. Once home to 10 APS schools, Kenmore is now left with a renovated middle school, a trio of grade schools and a vacant Kenmore High School property, located a mere block from where our agency, the city and grassroots investors are doing the hard work of revitalization. Rather than contributing to our efforts, APS is now considering the opposite: decommissioning Pfeiffer Elementary, the only remaining grade school north of Kenmore Boulevard.

Kenmore has felt the district’s shortsightedness directly as two previously decommissioned grade schools, Smith and Lawndale, were sold to someone without the capacity or capital to keep the properties secure, let alone serving as community assets. The buildings were repeatedly vandalized, set on fire and, in Lawndale’s case, razed, leaving behind only vacant land, unpaid taxes and bitter neighbors.

In 2003, APS and city leaders promised to rebuild Pfeiffer when Kenmore and the rest of Akron taxpayers passed a 0.25% income tax increase, which they did. More promises broken, but it’s a familiar refrain. Mere months ago, community leaders asked that Kenmore High School not be left vacant and were tantalized by the prospect of a STEAM school at the site. Not only is it clear the district had no intentions of bringing a STEAM school to Kenmore, it intends to retreat even further outside of Kenmore. Is this equity? Is this realizing the potential of schools as community anchors?

If APS truly believes in “encouraging kindness in our communities,” it can start with kindness to our communities. For Kenmore, that means a functional Pfeiffer Elementary School and a renovated and reused Kenmore High School building.

Mayor Horrigan has gone on record stating the city will not engage in land swaps until APS has a plan for Kenmore High School. Yet, with 10 months left in his term, APS and its Long Term Operational Task Force have no plan. With a new superintendent on the horizon and a slate of candidates vying for Akron mayorship, we ask this: Will you keep Akron’s promises to its neighborhoods? Because we’re mobilized and paying attention.

Tina Boyes is a candidate for Akron City Council in Ward 9.

On May 29, 1851, in an area of downtown Akron that looked a whole lot more like Kenmore Boulevard than the urban area we know today, Sojourner Truth delivered her iconic speech known as “Ain’t I A Woman?” which challenged the exclusion of women of color from the Women’s Rights Movement. On Friday, Feb. 17, Sojourner Truth Project Committee Chair Towanda Mullins and Education Committee Lead Margaret Maurer will share insight into how our city is honoring this important part of Akron’s history as part of Srina Tea House & Cafe’s Black History Month Celebration.

In commemoration of the 100th anniversary of the 19th Amendment, a committee of local Summit County Women raised funds to commission local artist Woodrow Nash to create a statue of Truth. the statue will be located in what will be called Sojourner Truth Plaza, located at the United Way of Summit & Medina Counties office on South Main Street in downtown Akron. This monument will serve as an ongoing opportunity to educate the public on the progress made over the last 100 years and honor the fight for voting rights for all women — especially many women of color who were excluded from voting until the 1960s.

“Sojourner Truth being an abolitionist, suffragist, preacher, we all stand on her truths,” Mullins said. “We are very proud here in Ohio to have this rich history, and we’re simply just trying to honor the past.”

This is a free event will start at 3 p.m. with music, food, tea and drinks with The Sojourner Truth Project presentation starting at 4:30. For more information, visit the Facebook event page.

Do you and your partner love music? Have you dreamed of getting married on stage where some of your favorite musicians have performed?

If this sounds like you then you’ll get your chance on Thursday, March 30, 2023, when the Akron Municipal Court partners with Kenmore’s Rialto Theatre to host wedding ceremonies from 11 a.m. – 1 p.m. with Judge David Hamilton officiating.

The Akron Municipal Court began offering wedding ceremonies in locations away from the courthouse during the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic when they were forced to stop hosting weddings inside the courtroom, and in May 2021, as social distancing continued to be a challenge, the court worked to identify outdoor venues throughout its jurisdiction.

That summer, couples were married at the Springfield Lake Gazebo, Hower House and Akron Art Museum.

“It was incredibly well-received, Judge Hamilton said. “We heard such positive feedback from both the couples and the venues [that we] continued the trend of hosting off-site weddings all year long.”

Realizing the changes the pandemic had necessitated were evolving into something positive for couples as well as local businesses and organizations, the court began looking at the many special and unique locations within the City of Akron and its surrounding townships to identify spaces that would give the couples they marry a special experience.

While the court considers practical issues such as parking and location when picking locations to host the ceremonies, the most important factor is whether or not a venue has the potential to become a place where couples can create lifelong memories and return to – especially on their anniversary.

“When we choose wedding venues, we like to think that the venue will instantly become part of the couple’s history.” Judge Hamilton explained. “The Rialto Theatre is so charming and fun and we wanted to find a special venue for March 30, also known as ‘330 Day.’”

Love will certainly be in the air at The Rialto on March 30 and it won’t be the first time vows have been exchanged at the theatre – local musician Dave Barbusci married his wife Elizabeth at The Rialto in 2020.

“If you are getting married you should definitely consider checking out the Rialto [as a venue],” Dave said. “We are glad we did – my wife had the time of her life.”

How can you book your 330 Day wedding at The Rialto Theatre?

Appointments are first-come, first-served and must be scheduled and paid for before the date of the ceremony. Time slots will not be added once all appointments are booked.

Prior to the ceremony, couples must obtain a marriage license from Summit County Probate Court. They then must pay a cash-only ceremony fee at the Akron Municipal Court in the Harold K. Stubbs Justice Center, located at 217 S. High St. in Downtown Akron between the hours of 8:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m. Monday through Friday.

The fee is $25 for those in the court’s jurisdiction, Akron, Fairlawn, Bath, Richfield, Springfield Township, Lakemore and the Summit County portion of Mogadore. There is a $40 fee for those residing outside the jurisdiction.

It is suggested to contact the Akron Municipal Court’s Chief Service Bailiff Patricia Williams at (330) 375-2592 to ensure space is still available before obtaining a marriage license or for any further questions regarding scheduling.

Couples are welcome to invite friends or family to witness the ceremony if they wish, however the court asks that the total number of guests be limited to ten guests or less than ten guests.

More information about Akron Municipal wedding venues can be found at https://www.downtownakron.com/newsitem/akron-municipal-court-announces-wedding-venues-for-january-february-and-march-2023

By Corey Jenkins, Kenmore Neighborhood Alliance

For the first time in Kenmore’s recorded history, vinyl aficionados, crate diggers, and lovers of music on physical media have a shopping destination on Kenmore Boulevard.

But Juju Bonz Records – which will celebrate its official grand opening on Saturday, Feb. 18 at noon with an open house, live music, and a ribbon cutting by City of Akron officials – is much more than just a record store. It’s a place for community music makers and creatives to come together to network, make plans, and learn from one another.

In addition to selling new and used records, tapes, CDs and even 8-track tapes, Juju Bonz offers clothing, jewelry, magazines, rock and roll memorabilia and more. Visual artists can also consign their work there.

“Juju Bonz will be whatever the Kenmore community needs it to be beyond just a record store,” co-owner Julia Bentley explained. “Our last shop changed over time. Music and art are alive and can change, and so will this.”

Formerly known as Frankenstein Records, the business is the 16th to find a home in the Kenmore Boulevard business district in the past two years, said Tina Boyes, executive director of Kenmore Neighborhood Alliance. Another, Buzzbin Art & Music Shop, relocated to Kenmore from downtown Canton, where it served as a temporary home for the record store.

Gradually, the record store became a place where musicians and concert goers would hang out and network during COVID-19 when alcohol sales ended at 10 p.m.

“So much of the revitalization of Kenmore Boulevard centers on celebrating and building on our assets,” Boyes said. “Our musicians, our music businesses: those are assets. What’s missing are the additional gathering spaces: welcoming places where art and ideas can be exchanged. Juju Bonz is exactly the right place at the right time.”

The store will serve as a place for musical discovery, whether it’s by sitting on one of their couches and listening to music you’ve never heard or by spending some time in “The Wreck Room” – a DIY recording studio located in the back of the store where artists can experiment with the recording process.

“I want this to be an engaging space for the community to try something they’ve never tried before, whether it’s art or music,” Julia said.

Julia hopes to host alcohol-free or “dry” shows at Juju Bonz to give music lovers of all ages a safe and comfortable place to enjoy live music without alcohol. It’s a fitting use for a building once home to Alcoholics Anonymous meetings.

“Or, if someone just wants to hang out and play a game or read a book or talk music, this is the space.”

Juju Bonz Records is located at 989 Kenmore Blvd. It is open noon to 9 p.m. Tuesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday, and noon to 7 p.m. on Wednesday and Sunday. Extended hours will be available after Buzzbin and Rialto shows too. For up to date information, visit Juju Bonz on Facebook or buzzbinkenmore.com/juju-bonz-store.