andrew0816

$3 million earmarked to look for problems at Mansfield GM site Ontario site will benefit from $499M trust BY LOU WHITMIRE • NEWS JOURNAL • OCTOBER 21, 2010 ONTARIO -- An environmental trust will spend $3 million on the vacant Mansfield-Ontario General Motors Stamping facility, according to the Ohio Attorney General's office. The money will go toward site investigation, potential soil excavation and ground water monitoring. Former General Motors manufacturing sites in Elyria, Moraine, Parma and Toledo also will benefit from the deal announced Wednesday between General Motors, the U.S. Department of Justice and 14 states, including Ohio. Attorney General Richard Cordray said the size of the environmental trust is unusual. Read More...

Richland County corn growers happy about corn yields, price More ethanol use in fuel approved, increasing corn demand BY LOU WHITMIRE • News Journal • October 18, 2010 MANSFIELD -- Farmers bringing their corn crop to the Town and Country Co-Op on North Main Street last week had varying opinions about the Obama administration saying gas stations can start selling fuel with more ethanol. Dale Hershey, of Ashland, drove his John Deere tractor pulling two orange wagons full of corn into Town and Country. "I don't believe it," he said of the Obama administration's decision. Read More...

Cincinnati is such an amazing and beautiful city, I also plan on visiting the city again. Thanks for sharing your wonderful pictures.

North central Ohio not sharing in U.S. growth of factory jobs BY BRYAN BULLOCK • NEWS JOURNAL • OCTOBER 13, 2010 MANSFIELD -- Jobs are not easy to come by in this economy, but they have been a little more abundant in an unexpected sector: Manufacturing. Blue-collar employment has declined nationwide every year since 1998, but it's up 1.6 percent during the first nine months of 2010. "September was the 14th consecutive month of growth for U.S. manufacturing," said Norbert Ore, chairman of the Institute for Supply Management's national survey of manufacturers. "Manufacturing continues to grow faster than the rest of the economy." Read More...

Ummm, not that I want to add to this craziness, but Church's Chicken is the sh*t. Popeye's, KFC, and Chic-fil-a do not compare.

Sure, you don't. ;) We all know that you have a secret obsession with Cleveland and that sometimes you just can't contain your love for the city. :D Should I bring back the I LOVE CLEVELAND AVATAR!?!?!?! :D Please don't. The time that you did have that avatar was possibly the most disturbing time on UO. :)

Sure, you don't. ;) We all know that you have a secret obsession with Cleveland and that sometimes you just can't contain your love for the city. :D

Perhaps you should ask him a different question, he could easily find the answer here.

Richland County hit hard by Great Recession BY BRYAN BULLOCK • NEWS JOURNAL • OCTOBER 4, 2010 MANSFIELD -- Richland County residents have been battered by the economic recession the past two years. Household incomes are down significantly, unemployment has been at record highs and more people are living in poverty, according to data released this week by the U.S. Census Bureau. The county's median household income dropped 7.6 percent from $42,578 in 2008 to $39,350 in 2009 -- more than twice the decline of the national rate during the same period. Household incomes in Richland County dipped an additional 2 percent from 2007, the year economists say the Great Recession started, to 2008. Sharlene Neumann, director of Richland County Job & Family Services, said she is not surprised by the news. Her agency's waiting room is routinely packed with residents seeking cash, food and health care assistance. Its phones have been so busy, calls are overloading its system and causing technical issues. Read More...

Downtown demolition underway Written by Kate Sheafer Tuesday, 28 September 2010 19:13 Mangled steel, wooden planks and giant holes have replaced the Rock Café and Our Father’s House Family Church, marking the first building demolitions of Kent’s downtown revitalization project. Workers began the project’s first phase on Friday by knocking down the familiar buildings on South Water Street, paving the way for a new downtown. “There’s an incredible amount of excitement generated out in the community,” Dan Smith, Kent economic development director said. “With the demolitions, you really get a sense of the magnitude of this project.” While dump trucks haul the remaining debris from the first buildings, crews will continue to prepare the remaining five structures for demolition. Read More...

Image from kentwired.com Risman Plaza area to double in size soon Written by Jessica White Tuesday, 28 September 2010 18:44 images The Risman Plaza area will double in size next year, Tom Euclide, associate vice president for facility planning and operation said. Construction for a new “student green” in front of Risman Plaza will begin in the spring of 2011, Euclide said, and is expected to be finished by fall of the same year. The green will be directly in front of Risman Plaza and stretch to Summit Street. As hinted by its name, the green will be mostly grass, but will also have a performance stage, clock tower and several sidewalks connecting the space to Risman Plaza. Read More... Some older news... New recreation fields coming soon Written by Darian Thomas Tuesday, 21 September 2010 19:03 The plans for the new recreation fields are in and are expected to be ready for the Fall 2011 school year and intramural season. “As of right now, not much construction on the fields is being done, mostly just demolition,” Kim Rufra, associate director at the Student Recreation and Wellness Center, said. ”The architects are still talking about the setup of the fields.” According to the plans, the proposal includes two lit recreational fields, two tennis courts, a basketball court and an irrigation and drainage system to keep the turf in good condition. Read More...

Oh, how I wish I could save this building and all of the other architectural gems in the city.

I am glad that you all enjoy this set and I encourage those of you haven't been to Akron in a while to visit. CDM, I love that you love Akron. :)

Wow, quite impressive. This town is kick*ss, the architecture is amazing and I love the viaduct. Thanks for sharing!

Richland, Ashland counties jobless numbers drop in August MNJ.COM • SEPTEMBER 21, 2010 Unemployment fell 0.9 percent in Richland County and by 0.8 percent in Ashland County in August, according to figures released today. Read More...

I had a project for school that involved taking pictures of the block that I was working on, but I couldn't just walk around my block and I decided to take a walk around downtown Akron.

^You're welcome. :-D

Development group combats job losses RCDG encourages more public participation BY SHERYL POTTS • NEWS JOURNAL CORRESPONDENT • SEPTEMBER 18, 2010 MANSFIELD -- North central Ohio is a region reeling from plant closures and job losses. The Richland Community Development Group is trying to combat that scenario. The organization aims to foster home-based economic development. Director David Baldwin said during its first six months, the group is compiling assets, incubating ideas and building connections. Now it is looking to take the next step. Read More...

I took these pictures on a Sunday afternoon; needless to say, not many people are downtown at that time. Downtown is far more active during the week days. Around 10,000 people work downtown and a lot of our community events take place on the square. Also, Friday days and nights are pretty busy in the Carousel District. There is a farmers market their during the day and a lot of families take their kids to the carousel. On Friday nights, the stores stay open later, there is usually a concert on Temple Court, and the bars stay pretty busy. With that said, downtown is pretty dead after 5 the rest of the week, unless there is something special going on. Urbansurfin, the OSU branch in Mansfield is about 4-5 miles away from downtown and on the edge of the northern section of the city. So, I think that has a lot to do with the lack of a connection between the city and the college. However, NCSC, the local community college that shares the campus with OSU, is starting a downtown Urban Education Center. Hopefully this will add a connection between the city and the college.

CDM and JRC, you're welcome! :) C-dawg, I am unsure what the future holds for Mansfield. I know that I don't plan on returning to Mansfield after college and I know that most of my friends in college don't plan to return either; although I do know of people who have returned after college and others who want to return. However, Mansfield does have several things going for it. For example, Gorman Rupp and Mechanics Bank are expanding and have been adding jobs. Also, AK Steel has brought back all of the people that were laid off and I believe they have added more jobs. This has countered some of the job loses, but the unemployment rate is still pretty high. So, to me the future seems unclear but I hope that things get better. Clueless, thanks! Ink, I am not going to miss the Ambassador. It was an eye sore, was not pedestrian friendly, and was a hot bed for criminal activity (in its dying days). The only bad thing about the demolition is having an expansive, empty lot to try and redevelop; hopefully in a pedestrian friendly way.

I was recently in Mansfield and took pictures of the Mechanics Bank project, NCSC Urban Education Center project, the streetscaping project, and the demolition of the former Ambassador Hotel. The photos can be found here.

I was recently in Mansfield and took pictures of the Mechanics Bank project, NCSC Urban Education Center project, the streetscaping project, and the demolition of the former Ambassador Hotel. The photos can be found here.

I went back to Mansfield last weekend and decided to check on the progress of some random projects going on in the city. The streetscaping project is pretty much finished. However, Main St. and Walnut St. had nothing done to them because the city is looking into making them two-way streets instead of one-ways. Construction has begun on the Mechanics Bank Project The future location of North Central State College's Urban Education Center This is the site of the recently demolished Ambassador Hotel

Gorman-Rupp expecting to buy Arizona pump maker NEWS JOURNAL STAFF REPORT • AUGUST 31, 2010 MANSFIELD — The Gorman-Rupp Company has reached a preliminary agreement to purchase Arizona-based National Pump Company, the Mansfield manufacturer announced today. “National comfortably fits our operational philosophy with its profitability based on its long-established quality products, expertise, and brand reputation for its deep-well vertical turbine pumps and other products in markets that are complementary to our established markets,” Gorman-Rupp CEO Jeffrey Gorman said in a statement. National CEO Roger Jeschke and COO Allen Hobratschk will remain with National Pump after the acquisition. Read More...

That is disgusting and I hope that no one actually ate that nacho pizza cake. What did you think about the tank? It's a work of art and should be displayed in museums across the country. :D