In the past four years structures across Kent's landscape have quickly been disappearing.  And 2012 was no exception. The city issued demolition permits for 24 structures in 2012. That's the most in one year since 2009, when Kent started to see a sudden rush of construction work largely in preparation for the more than $100 million redevelopment of downtown under way now. Here's how the number of razed structures spread out over the past four years:  2012: 24 2011: 11 2010: 19 2009: 23 That's 77 total buildings that were erased from the landscape permanently. To be fair, that number includes …

Linda Harvey is excited about returning to her hometown in September. A 1958 graduate of Kent State High School, Harvey is planning the 55th reunion of her graduating class. Harvey, now a Fort Myers, FL, resident, hasn't been home to Kent in five years — right before real progress on downtown's more than $100 million redevelopment started. "This is an exciting time for Kent, and we’re all excited about being there and seeing it," Harvey said. Harvey attended Kent State University School as an elementary student when the teacher training school was located in Franklin Hall on campus. …

As part of this morning's news that Kent State President Lester Lefton is retiring the university's communications office distributed a list to media of Lefton's accomplishments during his seven-year tenure thus far. Lefton's legacy is clear. He helped spark hundreds of millions of dollars in expansion projects both on campus and in the Kent community. It's a bit early to say how that legacy will endure and what it's lasting effects will be, but it's worth noting the accomplishments. There are certainly a lot of them. Here are the 14 bullet points the university distributed to local media …

This week I had the pleasure of being impressed by a handful of powerful student orators by serving as a judge in Kent State University's Hyde Park Forum. The forum, a long-standing tradition at Kent State recently revived, gives students in the College of Communication and Information the chance to persuade an audience of more than 700 on a topic close to the speaker's heart. Hundreds filled the Kent State Student Center Ballroom Thursday night to hear their fellow students speak passionately about topics ranging from the mysterious disappearance of honey bees, to hurtful language and how to…

About a week ago I shared the news of three new restaurants downtown that closed last month mostly due to lackluster sales. For the sake of balance, I pointed to many of the successful, enduring businesses downtown that remain — including other stores that had opened around the same time those that closed first turned on the lights. When I didn't mention his business, and rightfully so, Tim Nightengale at Wild Earth Outfitters contacted me to share the fact that his outdoor outfitter — open less than two years — is doing quite well despite multiple road closures and the other challenges that …

This week we learned three of Kent's newer eateries that opened as part of downtown's redevelopment were forced to close their doors. The Dog Squad and Arctic Squirrel, a gourmet hot dog shop and ice cream parlor, closed their doors one week ago today. Soup joint Funky Ladles also shut down. They're certainly not the first. And they won't be the last. Do you remember Vintage Rehab? The store sold gently used clothing and was one of the first tenants in the first phase of the Acorn Alley redevelopment. The store closed in 2010 after being open slightly more than a year. The silver lining there…

The former lakeside home of a prominent Kent family is going up for auction on the foreclosure block. This month the Portage County Sheriff's Office will auction off the 13-acre Porthouse estate in Sugar Bush Knolls just north of Kent. Cyril and Roberta Porthouse, both deceased, lived in the house throughout the latter half of the last century and most notably helped in 1971 to establish the Porthouse Theatre, a performing arts venue at Blossom Music Center where students at Kent State University hone their skills to this day. The mansion has been appraised at $425,000 for auction, where the …

The spotlight keeps shining on Kent, as the latest operator of the high beam is the New York Times. The newspaper known for its hard-hitting coverage of national politics dedicated some space Tuesday to the partnership between the city and Kent State University that has spurred $110 million in redevelopment downtown. Click here to read the article, titled A Partnership Seeks to Transform Kent State and Kent. If you've been a regular reader of Kent Patch the past two years, you won't find anything new in the article that you haven't already read here. Interviews with Kent City Manager Dave …

From simple and functional to splendidly provocative, four proposals vying to become reality as Kent State University's new College of Architecture and Environmental Design were presented to the public Thursday. The university hosted the four partnerships competing to design the $40 million building by providing a forum so the architects could pitch their ideas for "solving the problem," as one presenter put it. The challenge: capture the renewed town-gown synergy, combine it with the raw energy of architecture studios — filled with bright, young minds — and create a building that represents …

Kent's skyline isn't the only element of the Tree City undergoing a transformation. Multiple key leadership positions across Kent, from posts on Kent City Council to top jobs in the city administration, Kent City Schools and Kent State University all experienced turnovers in 2012. Here are some of the big changes, starting with the city. Kent administration: Kent Fire Chief Dave Manthey took over the department in November following the retirement of James Williams. Subsequently, the department named a new captain to replace Manthey at that post in Dave Moore. Bridget Susel took over as the …

Today Kent voters will decide whether or not to raise the city's income tax rate from 2 percent to 2.25 percent in order to build a new station for the Kent Police Department. So I sat down with Kent Police Chief Michelle Lee last week to ask some of the questions that keep popping up about the proposed new building, the fate of the old building and why the city opted for an income tax instead of a property-based tax to pay for the new police station. Before we get too far, here's a quick recap of Issue 11, the 0.25 percent income tax increase that would pay to build the new station: Roughly…

Thousands of costumed — and barely costumed — revelers will pack the streets and sidewalks of downtown Kent tonight for the city's unofficial Halloween celebration. Hundres are sure to drink too much, and a select few will spend part of their night in jail. While hundreds more are sure to lose a wallet, ID, cell phone or, if their lucky, just a part of their costume. Here are my tips for having a safe and happy time downtown. Trust me, I know a thing or two about Halloween in Kent. I've been attending it for years and been covering it as a journalist for almost as many. Travel with friends. …

Have you ever wanted to wear your pajamas for a night on the town? Now you can thanks to the women of the Kent Coterie, and it's all for a good cause. The group, which maintains the Patton House, a historic Victorian home on West Main Street, is holding the inaugural Emma's Pajama Party Oct. 18 to help provide displaced children in Kent with pajamas. The ladies-only event will be held at The Rusty Nail with a dessert-first dinner, silent auction, photo booth, chair massages and other special treats — including a "Pajama-tini" signature drink made of cranberry juice, raspberry vodka, pineapple…

Behind every small business is an entrepreneur hoping to turn their passion into a paycheck. But, as many wise business advisers have noted, hope is not a strategy. Business owners need support to turn dreams into reality. That's why Patch is pleased to announce a new partnership with SCORE, a nonprofit organization with 12,000 business experts nationwide who provide free mentoring to small business owners. The partnership makes sense because we believe that when local commerce grows, the whole community gets stronger. Patch already provides free listings for local businesses and other tools …

While strolling through the construction site of the new Kent State University Hotel and Conference Center one word came to mind: classy. Even though now it's just metal studs and exposed utilities it's pretty easy to see what the end goal is designers are shooting for. As Karen Durepro, construction projects manager for The Pizzuti Companies put it, "it's a true boutique hotel." A huge, open lobby area will stretch the length of the building from Erie Street along South DePeyster Street to Haymaker Parkway. Raised ceilings will highlight a 50 seat restaurant with a 20 seat, full-service bar …

I struggle to find the right words to accurately describe the Holden Garden Project. Expanding? Too much of an understatement. Growing? Too much of a pun. Thriving? Maybe. Blossoming? Close. Or how about "stupendously educational?" Maybe too much over the top. But you get the picture. Since its inception a few years ago the garden beds at Holden Elementary School have taken flight. Parent volunteers work with the help of local groups such as the Kent Environmental Council and Garden Club of Kent to to educate students about natural food. Visually, its success is obvious — especially when …

In a lot of ways, the annual East Williams Street Block Party is just like a lot of other big neighborhood parties around Kent. It's got music. There's alcohol and free food. And partygoers fill the street for several hours on a Saturday to enjoy good friends and good weather. But it's also very different from most other big parties in Kent. The organizers file for a block party permit with the city, so they get to legally close down the street. The music is live — not pumped through crackling, distortion-filled speakers — from the likes of local acts Rio Neon, Root Doctor and Sam Lasko. The …

The high school football season is fast approaching, and the Kent Roosevelt Rough Rider Booster Club needs your help supporting the team this fall. At this point, you may be asking yourself "What exactly does the football booster club do?" My response to you is: what don't they do? Mike Spicer, a longtime member of the booster club, ran down the short list for me of how the booster club keeps between 100 and 150 players (including freshmen) at their best for the 13-plus week season. "The booster club makes sure that the players have snacks and meals during the season to keep up their energy …

It's not very often you can look at a blank canvas and see the exhaustive hours, the days soaked in sweat and the months of preparation behind the effort. But that's exactly what you'll see if you visit the Haymaker Farmers Market today during the Kent Heritage Festival. Elaine Hullihen has spent the past month blasting the layered years of old paint from the abutments of the Haymaker Parkway overpass bridge to ready the surface for a new mural to mark the spot of the farmers market. The local artist and Kent Patch columnist has been working on the mural proposal and design for more than a …

Only in Kent. I was meeting with a few fellow Patchers in Kent Thursday afternoon when we spotted this interesting and cute site downtown. North Canton Patch Editor Morgan Day couldn't resist the urge to capture it. Got your own photos that have "Kent" written all over them? Share them in our Pics & Clips gallery.