Cuyahoga Falls City Council

February 10, 2025

6:30 p.m.

Brian Ashton – at large

Rachel Loza – Ward 1

Meika Marie Penta – Ward 3

Michael Brillhart – Ward 5

Susan Spinner – Ward 2

Mary Nichols-Rhodes – at large

Dana Capriulo – Clerk of Council

Russ Balthis – President – at large

Jerry James – President Pro Tem – Ward 7

Frank Stams – Ward 8

Joe Siegferth – Ward…

By Isabella Schreck

The Summiteer

Nearly all of the state and federal representatives serving Summit County have brought forth legislation since the start of the new congressional session Jan. 3, and some have begun to discuss the state’s controversial higher education-focused Senate Bill 1. 

U.S. Rep. Democrat Emilia Sykes, who serves the county’s 13th district, has introduced two acts as of Jan. 25. 

Summit County’s Ohio State Rep. Bill Roemer (R-Richfield), Sen…

By Phil Keren
The Summiteer

The city of Stow kicked off 2025 by opening an 8,000-square-foot facility that will offer programs for senior citizens and provide a venue for parks and recreation department events.

 

Hundreds of people attended the grand opening and open house for the Stow Community & Senior Center, 5344 Fishcreek Road, on Jan. 12. There were performances by the Stow-Munroe Falls String Orchestra and magician Jason Alan, as…

By Jeremy Brown
The Summiteer

If you’re a senior in the Hudson area and you’re looking for something to do, the Hudson Senior Network has you covered.

Twice a month, the Hudson Senior Network holds events for registered members, which includes wellness classes, luncheons, book clubs, mahjong, bi-monthly speakers, field trips and more.

In 2019, David Basil, then mayor of Hudson, saw the need for a senior center in the city, so…

By Phil Keren
The Summiteer

A brewpub that was part of the revitalization of downtown Cuyahoga Falls sold its property to a restaurant group at the end of 2024.

 

Ohio Brewing Co., 2250 Front St., sold its building and contents to Monven Group, the parent company of Burntwood Tavern and Leo’s Italian Social, both of which have locations in downtown Cuyahoga Falls.

 

Brothers Chris and Michael Verich founded Ohio Brewing…

By Tom Hardesty
The Summiteer

In a 3-1 vote, the Stow-Munroe Falls Board of Education selected Tina Merlitti as its newest member at its Jan. 13 organizational meeting. Merlitti, a resident of Munroe Falls, fills the vacancy left by former board President Nancy Binzel, who resigned effective Dec. 31, 2024, with three years left on her four-year term.

Merlitti, a former member of Akron City Council, was chosen from 12 candidates who…

Staff report

The Stow community will come together on Sunday, Feb. 9, to honor the life of Latoia Philpott, who died in a homicide on Jan. 27. Police say her boyfriend, Benjamin Asiedu, shot her six times before turning the gun on himself. 

City leaders announced that a vigil will be held from 1-2 p.m. at the Stow Community & Senior Center (5344 Fishcreek Rd.), offering friends, family and neighbors a…

By Julie Erickson

Hudson City Council

Jeffery L. Anzevino              Mayor

Chris Foster,                         President of Council (Ward 2)

Christopher A. Banweg,     Council Member (At-Large)

Michael W. Bird                   Council Member (Ward 4)

Patricia L. Goetz             …

By Andrew Tobias
Signal Statewide

This story was originally published by Signal Statewide. Sign up for their free newsletters at SignalOhio.org/StateSignals.

Homer Weekly realized the state had a big problem around 2017, when the private driver’s ed school he ran with his wife in Morgan County started seeing students from places farther and farther outside his small southeastern Ohio community. 

“We were getting students from Westerville,” Weekly said, referring to the…

According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), H5N1 bird flu is widespread in wild birds worldwide and is causing outbreaks in poultry and U.S. dairy cows with several recent human cases in U.S. dairy and poultry workers. The best prevention is to avoid sources of exposure:

Saturday, March 1, 9:30 a.m. - 12 p.m.

Liberty Park/Nature Center

9999 Liberty Rd., Twinsburg

Join us as we reap the fruits of our labor by enjoying a traditional pancake breakfast with our own Liberty Park maple syrup. As we wrap up breakfast, there will be a presentation and discussion about the notable history of maple syrup production in and around Summit County. Registration…

Staff report

Home improvement company Home Genius Exteriors has donated more than $320,000 worth of windows and doors to Habitat for Humanity chapters in Summit County and western Pennsylvania.

The donation marks the beginning of a partnership between Home Genius and Habitat for Humanity that will allow customers to donate their old windows and doors after new installations.

"When a community business reaches out to us offering a partnership, it's a great…

By Tim Troglen
The Summiteer

Summit County needs to jump on the Groundhog Day bandwagon.

“How so?” you might ask. 

Let me tell you. 

I’m sure Pennsylvania’s own Punxsutawney Phil brings in a ton of cash with celebrations fueled by food, souvenirs and festivities as the nation’s best known-rodent is celebrated yearly for his prognostication of the end of winter.

Phil is a cash cow.

Why not get a local rodent or…

Tom Hardesty
The Summiteer

Residents of Stow and Silver Lake are about to get another option for their internet service.

Metronet announced this week that it plans multimillion-dollar investments for both communities, with the Evansville, Indiana-based company saying its 100% fiber-optic network will provide service of up to 5 gigabits per second for residents and 10 gigabits per second for businesses.

“We are excited to gain access to another internet option, creating…

Staff report

A Stow woman was fatally shot inside her home Saturday in what police say was a murder-suicide involving her boyfriend, a Summit County sheriff’s deputy.

Officers responding to a report of a possible suicide at 3:57 p.m. Jan. 27 discovered the bodies of Latoia Renee Philpott, 41, and Benjamin Asiedu, 43, inside a residence in the 4100 block of Meadowlark Trail, according to the Stow Police Department.

The Summit County…

By Tom Hardesty
The Summiteer

The Stow-Munroe Falls community is mourning the loss of SMF High School educator Jimmy Mashburn, 32, who was killed in a two-vehicle crash on I-77 in Green early on the morning of Jan. 21.

According to reports, Mashburn was driving his pickup truck northbound on I-77 when his vehicle struck the rear of a disabled semi-truck in the right lane shortly after midnight. Mashburn was pronounced dead…

By Tom Hardesty
The Summiteer

Kim Polatas was recently named as the new executive director of the Tallmadge Chamber of Commerce.

According to the Chamber, Polatas was chosen to lead the organization due to her wealth of experience in leadership, community engagement and business development, and she will play a key role in advancing the Chamber’s mission to support local businesses and foster economic growth in Tallmadge.

“I’m honored to step into…

Staff report

The city of Hudson has announced that it is not considering a joint recreation center with Stow at the LifeCenter Plus property, as previously reported.

“We have established a committee to explore various options, including discussions with neighboring cities to learn about their recreation centers,” Hudson City Manager Thomas Sheridan said in a statement posted Jan. 18 to the city’s website. “Currently, LifeCenter Plus is not being considered as a…

Saturday, February 1, 10 - 11 a.m.

Liberty Park/Nature Center

9999 Liberty Rd., Twinsburg

Join a naturalist to see which birds visit our viewing area. Bring a mug and your bird questions – we’ll provide warm beverages and birding insights. Make it a total “birdy” day: Hand-feed the chickadees or stay to help count birds for Project Feeder Watch. For more information, call 330-865-8065.

Saturday, February 1, 1…

By Tom Hardesty
The Summiteer

Update Jan. 23, 2025: We've reached out to Hudson and Stow officials and published a new article here. We're continuing to report on the rec center issue to learn more about past efforts and future solutions.

Update Jan. 20, 2025: Officials in the Hudson city administration have disputed that a join purchase of LifeCenter Plus is under consideration. We're working on a follow-up article to learn…