RubberBuzz || Akron Unleashed: February 2006

2.10.2006

Tomorrow, Tomorrow

Tomorrow is Saturday. The weekend is so lovely, but what is there to do? Shovel your sidewalk? Nope. Do laundry? It'll only get dirty again. Get wasted and pass out until 5 pm? Okay, but what do you do when you wake up with a hangover? Why not head out to Highland Square and see some art?

Saturday February 11th the second of a series of art events at Square Records and Revival.

At Revival: Anna S. Wallace gelatin prints.
At Square: We Are Campfire. Printers who make shirts for people who like good typography, good humor and good design. 12 designs will be available for purchase at Revival.

Square Records and Revival are located at 824 & 822 W. Market St. in Highland Square. This event is free and open to the public. Starts around 7 pm.

Talk about Akron art. Anne Wallace is a prof at The University of Akron. And one of the We are Campfire guys, Micah, is a teacher at Hoban. So by going to Square Records and Revival, you're supporting the arts and education.

Revival

(joe :: Tomorrow, Tomorrow)

2.09.2006

Is that really a Conflict?

The Setup:

City and school officials overseeing Akron's $800 million school construction project have approved a kitchen-equipment contract that raised ``conflict of interest'' concerns.

The lowest bidder on the Jennings Community Learning Center project, Brysco Foodservice Equipment & Design of Pittsburgh, is owned by the same company that designed the new kitchen, S.S. Kemp of Cleveland.

S.S. Kemp has the consulting contract to design the kitchens in all the city's new schools, which will double as community centers.

Brysco already had won subcontractor bids to supply smaller kitchens for the Voris and Resnik elementary school projects.

The Opinion:

That's a little shady. Wait... I shouldn't jump to conclusions. Maybe S.S. Kemp didn't design a kitchen with the specific goal of using equipment that a company owned by the same parent company they are could provide at the best price. Maybe Brysco's like the Value City of institutional kitchens. Maybe it's a legitimate deal. The school board did choose the supplies/equipment that will be used in the kitchen. In any case, the whole situation is going before the school board.

The BJ :: School contract raises concerns of conflict

(joe :: Is that really a Conflict?)

Jazz

Before it was destroyed a few decades ago, the Northside are of Akron was home to amazing jazz clubs. There's a long article in The BJ about jazz and the current lack of jazz in Akron, but here's the part I found most exciting:

Jazz fans could have another regular place to find the music they love. Akronite Jacob Ward is a promoter, artist manager and singer-songwriter who also owns Dreamstate Records, Dreamstate Studios and Studio B. Working with another local jazzman, Terence Hazly, and others, he plans to turn Musica, the small room adjacent to downtown coffee shop Mocha Maiden, into a weekly jazz spot in the spring. Ward reasons that most of the jazz musicians who play Cleveland regularly are from the Akron/Canton/Kent area and that with a lot of cooperation on the part of musicians, bar owners and perhaps the city, Akron could easily become Northeast Ohio's jazz hub.

The BJ :: Where'a all that Jazz?

(joe :: Jazz)

2.01.2006

Voter Woes

You gotta bring more then a smile with you if you plan on voting in any election after May; be prepared with some ID.

The version of an election-reform bill that Gov. Bob Taft signed into law Tuesday requires voters to provide a driver's license, utility bill or other identification before casting a ballot. Current law, effective through the May primary, calls for a voter to say name and address and sign the poll book next to an image of his or her signature.

Taft's signature came hours after the GOP-dominated House and Senate passed the measure along party lines. Democrats argued that the ID requirement makes it hard for seniors, low-income people and disabled people to vote.

I guess the GOP's arguement is that this will curb voter fraud. If they really want to fix that problem, they should ban those extra-vote-giving Diebold voting machines.

The BJ :: Voter-ID bill signed into law

(joe :: Voter Woes)

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