Message from Mayor Kapszukiewicz
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As I write this Friday morning, we are getting ready to start Toledo Jeep Fest this weekend.
As you all know, Jeep has been woven into the fabric of our municipal history for decades and we are all better for it. I hope everyone has an amazing time and I want to thank the downtown businesses and residents for their understanding. All of the events are listed at
ToledoJeepFest.com
.
Post your pictures on Twitter and Facebook with #ToledoJeepFest.
On another topic, we followed through today on a promise to push for a total maximum daily load for Lake Erie. Toledo and Oregon filed a
joint Amicus Memorandum
in U.S. District Court seeking the creation of a total maximum daily load for Lake Erie.
As the motion says: The failure of the nonpoint polluters to change their behavior or share in any cost of the clean-up of Lake Erie will continue to burden the cities and damage the environment.
We need to hold the nonpoint sources accountable and this is one way we can do it. We support the efforts of the Environmental Law & Policy Center and Advocates for a Clean Lake Erie who have pushed for years to get tougher regulations for polluters. Toledo and Oregon taxpayers, as well as the water ratepayers in the entire Toledo region, are paying hundreds of millions of dollars for equipment, technology, and chemicals to treat our lake water. We need the problem to be fixed at the source and I believe a Total Maximum Daily Load is necessary for that effort.
Toledo will spend $527 million on the Toledo Waterways Initiative Program by 2020 and more than $500 million on infrastructure improvements to improve water quality, yet there are no regulatory requirements on the vast majority of polluters who are responsible for the harmful algal blooms that happen every summer on the lake.
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Trash Container Assistance
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Triad Residential Solutions Inc
., which provides support and services to people with developmental disabilities, has run a Toledo refuse assistance program since 2010.
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People with developmental disabilities are employed to move refuse and recycling containers to the curb on pickup days for some Toledoans who are physically-disabled and senior citizens.
"We started with 30 houses and now we are up to 600," said Wendy Bejaige, Triad executive director. "We serve the physically-disabled and senior citizen populations."
Crews of three people and a driver go to designated Toledo homes to take the trash and recycling containers to the curb. They return the next day to place the containers back. The service is free.
"The people doing this are those who we serve here at Triad and we pay them to provide the service," Ms. Bejaige said. "They are giving back to the community."
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Kindergarten through third-grade Toledo area youth graduated Friday from the Safe-T-City TORCH program.
The TORCH program curriculum is designed to provide safety tips for children with developmental disabilities.
Every summer the Toledo Police Department sponsors the Safe-T-City Program at no cost. This program is held at the Scott Park Shelter House, 2201 Nebraska Avenue, next to the
Scott Park District Station
. Safe-T-City is a child pedestrian and traffic safety program combined with a life safety course.
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Streets, Bridges, and Harbor
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Streets, Bridges, and Harbor crews this week began rehabbing property that will become the new Junction Park at Junction and Nebraska avenues.
The project's goals include strengthening the presence of arts and culture in the neighborhood; installing art that is reflective of the neighborhood heritage and that builds on the original park plan.
A $30,000 grant from the National Recreation and Park Association is helping to fund the work, that includes clearing the site of debris and constructing an outdoor entertainment space.
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Toledo Jeep Fest is this weekend, Aug. 10-12. Organizers anticipate 1,200 to 1,500 vehicles will be part of the event. The schedule of events is listed at
www.toledojeepfest.com
.
The free, family-friendly community festival is organized by the Lucas County Convention & Tourism Bureau, the United Automobile Workers, the Lucas County Board of Commissioners, the City of Toledo, and many others.
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Ottawa Park Concert Series
The next FREE Ottawa Park Summer Concert is 6 p.m., Saturday, Aug 11.
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This year's Pollyball tournament is 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., Saturday, Aug. 18 at International Park in East Toledo.
The tournament has raised about $1 million for breast cancer support and awareness and the beneficiary this year is the YWCA of Northwest Ohio's
ENCOREplus program
,
which is a comprehensive breast cancer education and resource center. Visit the
Pollyball
website for more information.
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By The Numbers
(
year-to-date
)
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51,572
potholes filled
278
water main breaks repaired
926,461
feet of sanitary sewers cleaned
5.3 million
pounds of debris removed with street sweepers
1,649
trees trimmed
1,414
illegal signs removed
5,784
vehicles towed
2018 Grass Mowing Update:
- 834 properties were mowed by 40 partners, Aug. 2-9
- 11,455 properties have been mowed since the start of the 2018 program
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Sign up for Toledo text alerts
here
.
We are now using text alerts for road work, in addition to news like leaf collection and boil water advisories. The 2018 construction projects map can be viewed
here
.
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SSOE Group, a worldwide engineering company that was started and is based in downtown Toledo, celebrated its 70th anniversary this week. Founded and headquartered in Toledo in 1948 by A.H. Samborn & Associates, SSOE Group has grown to have 22 offices across the United States, China, Germany, India, Malaysia, and Mexico. SSOE is Ohio’s largest engineering firm, and throughout its tenure the company has won numerous regional and national awards for its healthy workplace culture and its company-wide standard of excellence.
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Toledo In The News
Loan approved for downtown water farm
The owners of Balance Pan-Asian Grille moved a step closer Tuesday to their dream of urban farming with the approval of a $405,000 Lucas County Builds loan to construct an “aquaponics” facility downtown that will grow fresh produce.
Peter Ujvagi nationally recognized for immigrant rights advocacy
Peter Ujvagi still hears the sound of playing cards shuffling in the border patrolman’s hands before being dealt around the table. He remembers peeking through the cracked-open window and glimpsing the card game as his family of six crept around the military post in the bitter cold, trying for the third time to escape Hungary for a better life in the west.
Writer fulfills dream to finish musical while battling cancer
It's a dream coming true for Gretchen Zyndorf. She had a few ideas that became a few characters and later a musical. Now, with the help of so many volunteers, her dream is coming to life on stage, despite her terminal cancer. The Captain of the Crossing Guard is an idea Gretchen had about two and a half years ago. It's the story of a sixth grader who has to choose her successor to lead the crossing guards at her school. A musical that Gretchen wanted to write to inspire families to value everyone and all of their struggles, big and small.
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