FIghter Jets Come to Town

Hey, never mind those fighter jets.

A Denny's went out of business and free laundry for all.

Hey, you need to get ready.

The US Air Force F16 Viper demonstration team will be in Akron as part of the Props and Pistons Festival at the Akron Fulton Airport.

And we need to know that throughout Akron area you're going to see some low flying, high performance military aircraft.

So don't freak out.

So from Thursday, August 13 through Saturday, August 16, the Akron area will experience increased aircraft activity including training and practice flights leading up to the weekend's demonstrations.

The US Air Force F16 Viper Demo Team will perform its incredible high performance aerial demonstration during the festival featuring the F16 Viper operations at speeds, altitudes and maneuvering profiles that may be very noticeable from surrounding neighborhoods.

Residents may hear loud jet engine noises and see military aircraft operating at lower altitudes than normally expected.

This activity is planned and it's associated with the air show so there is no cause for for alarm.

Which is brilliant because I can see that airport from my backyard The Akron Urban League has furloughed its top administrative leaders, including President and CEO John Williams, who took that role in 2024.

They're citing financial pressures from rising costs, declining individual donations and uncertainty around federal funding.

Larry Chadwick, VP for Workforce Development, Education, Marketing and it is now overseeing daily operations.

Board Chair Jolene Lane emphasized the move wasn't a reflection of the furloughed leader's performance and said the board has adopted a financial stabilization plan following an independent assessment.

The goal, she said, is to protect grant funded programs serving Summit county while while positioning the organization for long term stability.

The Urban League joins other Akron nonprofits including I have no idea how to pronounce this CanAPI Can API and the international Institute of Akron that have recently faced funding crises tied to federal cuts or policy shifts.

The Urban League has served Akron Black's community since 1925, running programs for entrepreneurs, youth and job seekers.

So see what happens when you don't donate things.

Go away.

Highland Square Their historic Leonora hall has been acquired by Grace House Akron.

It's a nonprofit hospice serving indigent, unsheltered or caregiverless patients thanks to an anonymous donor's gift.

So if you're the anonymous donor, thanks, because this is hospit, basically for homeless people.

The nonprofit says it's still in early evaluation mode, with Representative Jen Boroff stating they'll spend the coming months conducting due diligence before deciding the site's future use, though they're interested in it becoming a hub for community collaboration the Property sold for $2.7 million after closing in October 2025.

When the daughters of Divine Charity, who operated Leonora hall as a covenant and women's shelter alongside the neighboring Francesca residence, they announced they could no longer afford to keep it running due to rising expenses and flat revenue.

The site is massive.

It's over 139,000 square feet, including a mansion, a five story building and an indoor pool.

So it'll be interesting to see how that folds out.

Hey, I got a tip for you.

If you've never really supported the police, you just think they're corrupt.

I make jokes about how, you know, we had our instances with shooting people.

Go to YouTube and type in body cam footage.

You will have a completely new respect for the men and women in blue.

And speaking of them, the Akron Police Department and Summit County's Department of Public Safety, they just had a pretty good Monday.

According to a release of from Congresswoman Amelia Sykes office, they're getting $174,000 in federal funding courtesy of the US Departments of Justice Burn Justice Assistance Grant program.

Easy for me to say.

In other words, Uncle Sam is delivering this.

Now where is that money going?

Well, for Akron police, it's filling equipment gaps everywhere from community relations.

We hear that a lot here, don't we?

Community relations, swat, patrol, detectives, the crime scene unit.

Basically, everyone gets a little something under the tree this year.

Part of it is also feeding a new initiative called secure.

And of course that's an acronym which stands for Strategic Equipment for Community Understanding, Response and Enforcement, because apparently every program needs an acronym that sounds like it was workshopped by a committee.

Now, meanwhile, the Summit County Public safety folks are putting their cut towards training.

They're sending staff to things like National Forum on Criminal justice and a Homeland Security Continuing Ed workshop.

So less new gear, more brain gains.

And don't expect this to disappear overnight.

The funding covers a period stretching all the way from October 2024 through September of 2028.

Time to hop over to Kenmore, where Prentice park has a new outdoor skate park built on what used to be unused tennis courts, and it's being framed as a cornerstone of a broader revival of Akron's skateboarding scene.

The $150,000 project was funded through an Akron Parks Challenge granted and championed by Ward 9 council member Tina Boys.

It includes a quarter pipe, banks, ledges and flat bars and was designed to be especially welcoming to beginners and kids.

Project leaders Gary Dean and Alex Yost.

They describe it as a living, breathing space that will keep evolving based on how skaters actually use it in contrast to the more advanced Akron skate park near the airport.

Now the Akron skate scene had nearly died out after local shops like Megapolis and Rubber City Rollers those closed and it kind of left what skateboard brand founder Michael Chill called a gap.

With no new generation to pass the torch to, now three things are converging to revive it.

Polymers 2025 skate film, lighter than Air Force, featuring 30 plus regional skaters shot around Akron's post industrial landscape.

The need skate shop, which opened downtown in February as a community gathering spot.

And first glance, a Kenmore youth center that runs a seasonal indoor skate park since 2000.

Dean says he's already noticing the effect seeing new crews of kids skating downtown that he doesn't recognize.

Next week at the super clean laundromat that's at 1739 Britton Road.

The city of Akron's tumble together free community wash day is back.

If you stop by that account, this is next Thursday, August 20th from 11am to 4pm to wash and dry up to three loads of laundry for free.

This program is open to any Akron residential.

I am thoroughly confused and I'll tell you why.

Here sheets could be opening in greater Akron.

It is looking to put a sheets on Arlington Road.

This is north of the interstate, right 77 on the site of a Denny's restaurant to which I kind of go, wait, a Denny's went out of business?

How do you go out of business when you're a rocks throw from an interstate?

But there's not a lot of details about this, just that this is planning on doing it.

Of course, the first sheets in Summit county was the one up in Cuyahoga Falls on Howe Avenue.

It currently operates 850 stores across seven states.

But I'm like, wait, Denny's went out of business?

I just found out about a website that is going to make my life a whole lot easier.

It's called Akron Pulse.

And what it basically does is two guys got together, Byron and who leads the other one?

Mac.

Byron and Matt got together a bunch of nerds and basically they created this website, akron pulse.com and I do my best to check all the different places.

I'm more looking for concerts.

But I was amazed when I went to the website how I mean it's doing everything from flea markets and all the, you know, the porch rocker thing that just happened on all this stuff is at the website.

And they've made it really easy to find stuff.

So I'll still be, you know, monitoring all the concerts that are going on.

But I was really surprised just how thorough this is.

And you can actually kind of filter it to just show certain types of things.

It's actually really cool.

Record this.

It's the 13th.

This will come out tomorrow.

Plx knitters and fiber crafts.

That's at the library.

Android storage is at the North Hill branch library.

The crochet club pencil cases is at the Cuyahoga Falls library.

A lot of that kind of stuff.

Foster care open house is at Mogador High School on today, basically, so you missed it.

This is all the stuff that happened yesterday.

And you can sign up for their newsletter.

There's all sorts of stuff that they're showing movie openings on here.

So this will not be the last time you hear me say the phrase.

According to akron pulse.com Nice job, boys.

There's a new scam in town.

This was being reported by the Kent police.

And what happens is basically, victims first receive a text that appears to come from their bank asking about a suspicious purchase.

And the scammer then calls for the same spoofed bank number and falsely claims that the customer's card has been compromised.

So the caller then claims the bank can collect the compromised card from the customer's home and provide a temporary replacement.

And someone posing as a bank employee may then arrive at the victim's home.

This is elaborate, wearing clothes that appear to identify them as a bank employee.

Police also warn residents not to click any links in unsolicited text because doing so could expose personal information or give scammers access to your device.

So how to spot new bank scam?

Well, number one, banks will never come to your home to collect a debt or a credit card.

My personal favorite is when somebody wants paid in itunes.

Gift cards.

Yeah.

Officials also say banks and law enforcement agencies and the FBI will not ask customers to move money or withdraw funds because of an alleged investigation.

So if someone calls you to indicate that you should pull your funds from a branch while the investigation takes place, that is a hundred percent scam.

This next story is from the mayor's office.

He says it was a sensational weekend for Sherbani Hill.

On Saturday, we cut the ribbon on a new and improved Sherbani Hill park which was revitalized through the Akron Parks Challenge.

Now this project exemplifies together for Akron residents and organizations coming together to co design the park and now activate the space.

They also create a more sustainable and safer park that we'll be able to use for many years to come.

Now that wouldn't be possible without all the hands involved.

So the City of Akron Recreation and Parks, the Akron Parks Collaborative, Akron City Council, the Akron Bengals, Greater Peace Church, and Summit County Public Health.

Very cool.

You know, it's been a while since I've done one of these and it's just sad when it's these really young kids.

A North High school of at a North High school football practice, I guess it's J Air Bell came ready to be a leader.

He was 19 years old.

He's going to be a senior.

He's going to be a great teammate, be a great football player.

And basically on Saturday, Akron police and emergency medical services responded to a shooting at the intersection of Manchester Road in Lakemont Avenue about 2pm so it's in the middle of the day.

This is on August 9th.

And to make a long story short, some car drove past, they shot and he was killed.

It's so sad.

And I'm sure you know, if anybody knows anything about this shooting, please contact the police.

But man, 19 years old, taken from us way too soon.

My heart goes out to the family.

And if you're listening to this on the 14th tonight at the Northfield Park Racino, it's Amy Grant again on the 20th.

We got the free laundry over there if you're looking for that.

From 11 to 4.

This one, I need to go out here.

Hartville Kitchen.

I've been there.

They have great food, but they're having concerts.

And Ricky Skaggs with the Kentucky Thunder will be at the Hartville kitchen on August 21st.

The August 22nd.

We talked about this at North High School, the sixth annual back to school shoe giveaway.

And on August 22nd, Halia Volt at the Kent Stage.

She's a great blues singer.

Motley Crue will be at Blossom Music center on Aug. 24.

The wallflowers will be at the Kent stage also on August 24th.

Josh Groban will be at Blossom Music center on August 28th, and Brett Young will be at Lock 3 on the 29th.