Signal Akron

2 days ago | signalakron.org | Arielle Kass

Three projects to build more than 140 housing units in or near Akron’s downtown were awarded more than $12 million in Ohio tax credits Wednesday. All three projects will transform former office and industrial space into housing: the Akron Soap Co. and Federal Warehouse buildings and two former B.F. Goodrich buildings that are part of the Canal Place complex at the south end of downtown.

4 days ago | signalakron.org | Andrew Keiper

The University of Akron under President R.J. Nemer is laser-focused on cutting costs and balancing its budget, part of his four-year financial plan. The first step? Voluntary faculty buyouts and reducing the number of majors offered at the university, a contentious process that raised the ire of some faculty and students but already has saved the university just under $3 million.

4 days ago | signalakron.org | Arielle Kass

A program that will help some renters avoid evictions by making lawyers available to represent them was approved Monday by Akron City Council. In a 13-0 vote, council members agreed to spend $250,000 annually for three years, beginning this fall, on a pilot program intended to reduce the number of evictions. The program is slated to start Sept. 1.

4 days ago | signalakron.org | Andrew Keiper

Akron’s Kenmore neighborhood can breathe a sigh of relief. The area is getting a new school. After more than a month of doubt about whether the plan to build a new combined Miller South School for the Visual and Performing Arts and Pfeiffer Elementary on the site of the old Kenmore High School, the Akron Board of Education on Monday night approved an amended plan to move forward with the project as planned.

4 days ago | signalakron.org | Brittany Moseley

On a recent balmy morning, members of the Greater Akron Audubon Society gathered at Brust Park in Munroe Falls. Armed with binoculars, the group had a mission: the summer bird census. Every June since 1978, chapter members have spread across Summit County for 10 days to count all the birds they see and hear. This year’s summer bird census was June 6-15. The goal of the breeding bird census is to track trends in the types and numbers of species.