Reporting Public Policy

A Reporting Project of the Kent State University School of Journalism and Mass Communication

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Local Law Enforcement Actively Working To Expand Diversity

Becca Sagaris 0 Comments , , , ,

By Becca Sagaris, Shelby Reeves and Sara Al Harthi KENT, Ohio — The Merriam-Webster definition of diversity is “the practice or quality of including or involving people from a range of different social and ethnic backgrounds and of different genders, sexual orientations, etc.”  Diversity in general in any workplace environment is important to ensure inclusion among all people involved, both staff and community. It is especially important in law enforcement to decrease the opportunity to abuse their power and increase their understanding of the people they serve, improving law enforcement’s relationship with the community. “Diversity within our department means having different groups well-represented within our agency,” Michael Lewis, the Administrative

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Infrastructure infrastructure and development 

City of Kent to rehabilitate bridge using funds from ODOT

Chris Ramos 0 Comments , , ,

The Sunrise Bridge in Kent which sits above Fish Creek and connects Sunrise Drive to Gale Drive has been approved for rehabilitation funding by the Ohio Department of Transportation (ODOT).  As part of their Municipal Bridge Program, ODOT allows municipalities all throughout Ohio to request funding for bridges should the bridge be eligible for aid. The City of Kent’s application for funding totaled $612,000.  For a bridge to be eligible for funding it must be owned by a city, village or RTA, it must be open to vehicular traffic and be structurally deficient among other criteria according to the program. The full list of requirements can be found here.  The

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infrastructure and development 

Cuyahoga County works with local entrepreneurs on road maintenance

Chris Ramos 0 Comments , ,

As drivers travel along road after road on their way to work or running errands, they confront variables such as the volume of traffic or the weather. However, one thing remains a constant: painted road markers.  Lane stripes, crosswalks, turn lanes, yield stripes; these painted markers help organize and facilitate traffic. They’re also expensive and require tremendous labor, a point emphasized by Sam Bell, who is a part of the Cuyahoga Heights Transportation Advisory Committee. A long time mechanic, he also used to run an auto repair shop in Cleveland Heights.   Bell recalled a time in which the committee was planning a large scale resurfacing project for Noble Road in

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Group Project K-12 Education Schools Uncategorized 

2018 worst year for school shootings

Morgan Hallam 0 Comments

In 2018, 113 people were killed or injured in school shootings around the United States. The US Center for Homeland Defense and Security and the Federal Emergency Management Agency says 2018 had the highest number of incidents ever recorded, going back to 1970. The earliest record of school shooting was in 1940 at the University of Virginia. He was shot while trying to break up a riot on campus. He died three days later and was buried at the campus cemetery. It’s been almost 20 years since the Columbine High School in Littleton, Colorado happened on April 20, 1999. There had been school shootings before in the country, including at

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Group Project Uncategorized 

Drugs in Public Libraries: Is it an issue?

Andrea Gump 0 Comments , , , , , , ,

  Librarians were once fighting overdue books, but nobody ever thought they would have to fight overdoses too. Stacey Richardson, the Director of the Kent City Free Public Library, sat down to talk with me about the opioid epidemic. She explained to me that this is not just happening within the homes or streets of our community, but it is happening in the free public library not even a mile away from Kent State University’s campus. I want listeners to pretend like they are taking a step into the Kent City Public Library, and I want them to ask themselves what they would see. People, desks, computers? I want them

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Group Project Health Heroin Epidemic Ohio 

A face to the opioid epidemic

William Kovach 0 Comments , ,

When I was first introduced to John Hallisy, 25, he seemed like any other college-aged, 20-something. What I didn’t know is that he was having battles outside of booze-related hangovers and the occasional final exam. Hallisy, now clean from herion for about three and a half years and completely sober for about one  year, was struggling with addiction. Not many knew of this issue in his life initially. But when they did find out, he received the same stigmatism that many former addicts face. I remember people who I was close with were worried about if he was going to steal their things and pawn them for drug money. However,

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Group Project 

Breaking Down Ohio’s Drug Courts

Joseph Ciccolini 0 Comments

Ohioans took to the polls to vote no on Issue 1, which would have reduced sentencing for drug offenders by making the offenses misdemeanors as opposed to felonies. The change in law would have effectively crippled the drug courts and their ability to keep offenders in jail. Keeping drugs users in jail is sometimes for their own good and many courts set up systems to attempt to help these individuals overcome their addiction. Drug courts in Ohio are one of the more effective way in helping abusers get help and the passing of Issue 1 would have nullified that ability. Ohio Supreme Court Chief Justice, Maureen O’Connor, wrote an article for The

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Budget cuts Group Project Public Policy 

Public libraries: a new chapter of funding, education and technology

Caelin Mills 0 Comments

The cost of knowledge: the state of funding in Ohio’s public libraries By: Caelin Mills Funding public libraries remains the most crucial aspect of maintaining the role libraries play in communities across the country. Despite this, many voters are unaware of the sources of funding and importance of locally sourced funding Read More >   As technology advances, libraries direct more money to innovations By: Dylan Reynolds As Americans change the way they consume media, public libraries are keeping pace, updating the types of materials they offer to reflect the needs of their communities.  Read More >   Educating the new-age librarian By: Faith Riggs With the rise of technological advances in

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How Ohio is decreasing veteran homelessness

Linda Stocum 0 Comments , ,

By Linda Stocum In Ohio, 10,095 are homeless on any given night. About 862 of those homeless are veterans. That is down from about 1,200 from 2013. Here is a comparison by a graph.   Infogram There are many organizations in Portage County that are tackling the problem.  The Freedom House, a long-term veteran shelter created in 2005, has expanded its eight-bed program to over 120 beds across multiple counties. Colleen Reaman, a retired worker from the Freedom House, explained it’s growth from one house to multiple facilities.  “It started in a small house in 2005 on Willow Street in Kent, and they didn’t even know. They thought, ‘I think we

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