Who is Getting a Marijuana Dispensary

Dave Jackson
00:00:01.440 - 00:17:08.650
It's the Akron podcast for Friday, May 23rd. We got some news about Wayne Dawson who's getting a pot dispensary. Some great news from Metro rta. What the heck is going on at Cedar Point?

The mayor and police are still fighting things out about getting people paid. If we could all just please quit shooting each other as well as is gambling going to get easier to do in Ohio?

And some tips if you're attending concerts at Blossom. Our website is akron podcast.com hey, let's start off with some good news, shall we?

If you watch Fox 8 in the morning, you are probably familiar with Wayne Dawson. Wayne left a little while back because he was fighting cancer and the good news is he's not coming back just yet. But he is now cancer free.

So, so glad to hear that. I'll put a link to the story out in the show.

Notes he if you are a fan of Steinle's restaurant that was over in Firestone park, it's going to open up with new ownership, but they're not, you know, peddling food. It's a different kind of consumption. It is going to be a marijuana dispensary. Yep.

Akron city council on May 19 voted 13 to nothing to permit marijuana business. It's called Teresana to open a dual medical and I always want to put medical in quotation marks and adult use dispensary at 235 East Waterloo Road.

Again, it was formerly the restaurant Steinle's and the properties. Realtor Michael Bolan with Cutler Real Estate said the diner closed in late 2023 and the sale of the property to Tarasana is pending.

Now they've got other dispensaries in Upper north in Ohio. And so look, I've heard great things. I'm not, I do not partake, but I've heard great things medically about marijuana dispensaries. We shall see.

But if you live in Firestone park, you know, might be in walking distance. Hey, lock three is kicking off tomorrow, May 24, but there's a lot of things going on downtown all summer and Metro RTA just announced this.

It's kind of cool. They're offering free rides on Saturdays and Sundays in June, July and August. It's actually the fourth year for free fair summer weekends.

That means 27 days of free rides on 22 eligible routes.

They say with so many weekend events in our area, and most notably Akron's 200th year celebration, riders have the opportunity to get to and from community events and celebrations. Removing transportation. You know, if there's any kind of barrier to that, said Molly Becker, Metro's public relations and marketing director.

So free weekend rides begin June 1st and end August 31st. Hey, I'm very happy to report that nobody got shot at Cedar Point. They've been having a bad time.

They had three alpacas escape from their petting zoo.

And now a Shaker Heights student has been charged with a misdemeanor after an altercation took place between himself and Stowe students at Cedar Point over the weekend.

A Stowe parent, whose name is not being used because their daughter is a minor, told the Stowe Monroe Falls school board on May 19 that her child was on a Kimpton Middle School class trip.

So right there, we got junior high kids, and they, of course, went to Cedar Point out in Sandusky, and basically the parents said her daughter was one of three girls who were struck by another student from Shaker Heights when somebody cut in line or something like that.

And the Sandusky police said the altercation happened after a group of students from Shaker Heights cut in line for the Iron Dragon roller coaster, and they were confronted by three students from Stowe. And then the authorities said, basically, the Stowe girls are watching. They basically kind of say, oh, we're just. We're not cutting. We're.

We're waiting for other students or something like that. But they said a Shaker boy clocked three of the girls in the back of their head, causing them all to. To have concussions.

And that's where I'm like, you know, look, I'm sorry to hear anybody got assaulted, but a concussion, I don't know about that, but I was just like, they're all. This is just one of those where I'm like, look, if nobody's got permanent damage or whatever. But I. Come on.

Now, it's interesting because the Akan police is always looking for, you know, new cadets or whatever, and yet we got problems getting them paid.

Last on the 13th, Akron City Council, with the support of the mayor and the city administration, voted to reject a fact finders report regarding the city's ongoing contract negotiation with the police union. And so the mayor released the following statement.

The city deeply values and appreciates the work of our officers and wants them and all employees to be appropriately compensated. But the recommended terms of the fact finders report are finally untenable. Or, I'm sorry, are financially untenable. In other words, no way, Jack.

And would create unsustainable cost obligations, jeopardizing staffing and service levels across all departments and put the city's short and long term fiscal health at risk.

Throughout this process, our goal with these negotiations has always been to reach a fair, fiscally responsible agreement that supports our officers and all our employees, while ensuring that we can preserve vital city services and protect Akron's financial future.

If costs rise too sharply, the result isn't better public safety, it's fewer officers on the streets and that reduced capacity to serve the residents.

We remain hopeful that the conciliation process will result in a conclusion that protects the public safety and the long term interest of Akron residents. Now, the director of finance for Akron, Steven Fricker. And let's face it, it's fun just to say Fricker, sounds like you said something dirty.

More than 54% of Akron's general fund is currently dedicated to to police and fire operations. And these recommendations would have increased that share even further.

The fact finder's recommendations would have required the city to find new revenue sources, deplete our general fund, or make deep cuts across the departments, including public safety, in order to balance the budget. So it's something they're working on and the mayor is just like, look, we're trying, but we can't bankrupt the city, we, or just cut the police.

They're trying to hire more right now. And it's. It's a hard situation. I don't envy the mayor at all. And speaking of police, y' all, we all gotta quit shooting each other.

We kind of need more police. Uh, I was surprised. There was one report here that a Lyft driver in Sherboni Hill got shot in the leg. Luckily nobody was, you know, seriously.

Well, I would call a gunshot a serious wound. A 46 year old woman was shot multiple times in Akron. The an Akron booked a high school was struck by gunfire.

That was one that I was like, you gotta be kidding me. At high schools it's kind of scary when young folks are getting into that. But yeah, it was struck by gunfire.

They confirmed this was not the only incident involving Akron Public School this week. And that's when I come on, you know, we can't be cutting the police force because we can't stop shooting at each other.

The school resource officer was alerted to high school building being struck by a bullet at approximately 8:46am on, on May 19th. Where the bullet was found. Exactly. And who found it was not yet confirmed.

But Michael Murphy said the investigation led officers to determine the initial incident happened the day before. That's when officers were sent to the area of reports of Juveniles running from the 600 block of Dorchester Avenue. According to again, Mike Murphy.

Witnesses reported spotting an individual with a gun walking near the school and in on Glendora Avenue and said additional calls indicated multiple gunshots were heard in the area. It's kind of spooky in a way, but the investigation underway following the damage to Booktol is ongoing.

It's believed to have occurred outside the school hours over the weekend. There were no injuries. That's the good news.

But, man, it just seems like every time you turn around, somebody's getting shot or in this case, they're shooting the building. I work too hard for my money to do this, but Ohio lawmakers are looking at making it legal to gamble. From your smartphone. Yeah.

It's a massive expansion on gambling. The proposed bill would allow Ohioans to gamble online via devices connected through in state casinos and racinos.

The expansion follows previous legislation of casinos in 2009 and sports betting in 2023. And while some worry about impacts on existing lottery and casino businesses, studies suggest online expansion increases overall gambling revenue.

My whole thing is I remember when the lottery started.

I'm old enough to remember when we didn't have a lottery and, and then we did, and they said we'll never have to pass another school levy again because of all the money that's going to come in from the gambling. And yet we just had to pass something to keep the library updated. So that's my only thing.

It just seems like this, all this gambling is just a great way to, you know, a lot of times it's, it's people that really don't have the money to gamble and then they get in trouble and, and then they turn to crime. And I'm painting with a really wide brush. But people, you know, the house, it's geared towards the house winning.

And if you win anything, stop while you're ahead. We talked about Blossom having cheaper tickets this year for some of their shows. Here's some other tips.

The concert season, it's officially going now, so that's the good news. But how do you get around? What are some things? Number one, if you want to park, you know, or be dropped off using Uber or Lyft.

They say the key to a good experience at Blossom is to arrive early, whether that's to be in your own car or using something like, you know, Uber or Lyft. We're not talking 30 minutes or an hour early.

It's best for concert goers to arrive at least two hours before showtime so they have adequate time to park and walk to the amphitheater. I haven't been to a Blossom Music center concert in a while, but I remember it was like you park and then enjoy the hike.

They say attendees using an Uber or Lyft should notify park attendants so they can be directed to Blossom's designated Uber Lyft area.

When using these applications to get picked up, ensure the driver arrives no later than 9pm, about two hours before most concerts end, so they can be directed to the pickup area in the parking lot, which is in this case Lot B. Drivers who arrive later than 9pm will not be able to enter otherwise. Well, wait a minute. What if the concert's not over?

It doesn't make a lot of sense. That doesn't make any sense at all. The first of Blossom's two parking locations is a grassy area that requires a walk to the amphitheater.

Yeah, that's the one I remember. The other is a paved lot recommended for older attendees and people with disabilities.

Parking passes are available, of course, for purchase until 10 days prior to each show, but are subject to sellout before then. If you're looking for restaurants near Blossom, there are a ton. We don't need to know about that. We already know about their schedule.

You can find that out@akron podcast.com Schedule Blossom does not take cash. Keep that in mind that all points of sale at Blossom will only accept credit, debit card, or maybe, you know, Apple Pay or something like that.

The Lawn Chair Policy. They enacted a policy banning concert goers from bringing their own lawn chairs to Live Nation shows. Thank you, Live Nation. Back to November 2023.

If a concert goer wants to sit on a chair in the lawn, well, of course you gotta pay for it. The music industry is so full of crap. But you can.

You're required to reserve lawn chairs through a venue ahead time for a $5 purchase and pick them up on the day of the show. This policy does not apply to the Cleveland Orchestra performances because those aren't run by Live Nation, who are a bunch of weasels.

What to bring or leave at home. So concert goers will not need to put their belongings in clear plastic, vinyl or PVC bags. Oh, I'm sorry, did I say they will not need to?

They will need to. That are no larger than 12 by 6 by 12 inches or a small clutch. Bags no larger than 4 and a half by 6 inches, so they gotta be small.

You're allowed to bring a blanket. Thanks. Food in a clear one gallon Ziploc bag. One bag per person. Water one 20 ounce factory sealed or empty bottle per person.

Other drinks are not permitted. A standard size 3 foot diameter umbrella, ponchos and raincoats. Thanks. Surprised we don't have to rent those.

Pocket sized digital or disposable cameras. Non professional only with no detachable lenses. Small binoculars and non aerosol suntan lotion. What's not permitted? This is the fun list.

Personal chairs or cushions, weapons of any kind. Hey, thanks, that's nice. Alcohol, illegal drugs. So yeah, sure. I'm sure nobody's going to smoke pot at Blossom.

Glass containers, cans, hard or soft edge, large coolers, laser pointers. Yeah, that's a good one. Animals. Except service animals.

So I'll be sure to bring my Service Giraffe, fireworks, GoPros, selfie sticks, iPads or templates, video cameras, drones, golf umbrellas and umbrellas with metal or plastic tips. So you know, rather than having one large umbrella, you got to bring two three foot ones. Okay, that makes sense. Large signs, posters or flags.

Inline skates, skateboards, bicycles or action sports. That makes sense. Wagons or large non collapsible strollers. So sorry you got to carry the kids. I guess if you have a collapsible stroller. Boot spurs.

All right. Any other item that may pose a threat to other guest staff or performers. Aerosol suntan wallet chains or carabiners. Carabiners maybe.

Any other item that may pose a threat or to other guest staff or performers. So there's your A quick guide to going to Blossom. And while we're kind of talking about there, I'll have links to to that article.

There's some other really cool things going on. The Akron Zoo has a lot going on. The dinosaurs are back there. That's kind of fun.

And if you're looking, if you're a bike rider, I will have a link to an article about some bike rides going on. And also if you're looking for a drive in movie, there are only nine left in northeast Ohio. And I'll put a link to that out in the show. Notes.