Message from Mayor Kapszukiewicz
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The Cal Ripken, Sr. Foundation and the City of Toledo this week
unveiled
a new youth development park located at Danny Thomas Park in the Old South End neighborhood.
The name Cal Ripken is synonymous with excellence, and so it is no surprise that his foundation has produced a world class sports facility. Toledo is the only city in Ohio that has been awarded a Ripken field, and children of all ages will benefit from this investment for many years to come.
The Rick and Nancy Corbett Athletic Complex, presented by Group1001, features a 75,000-square-foot multisport synthetic turf field that will be used for football, soccer, and baseball/softball and provide local youth with a safe outdoor place to play.
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I want to thank Cal Ripken, Jr., Rick Corbett, Toledo-native and project donor; Melissa Jacobs, Vice President, Sponsorships, Group1001; Steve Salem, President and CEO, Ripken Foundation; Chris Amato; Joe Rideout; Mike Anderson, and so many others. This project would not have been possible without their generous support.
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The facility will serve as the central location for the YMCA of Greater Toledo and The Believe Center programs, directly supporting thousands of youth who are exposed to high-risk factors. I am excited to see after school programming take shape at the field, such as organized team sports.
Lights Before Christmas and Hensville Lights
Also this week, I want to congratulate the Lights Before Christmas at the Toledo Zoo and the Hensville Lights, which are both being highlighted across the state as part of the 2019 Ohio Holiday Lights Trail presented by Tourism Ohio’s "
Ohio. Find It Here
." campaign.
The Toledo Zoo & Aquarium’s annual Lights Before Christmas presented by KeyBank features more than 1 million lights, the award-winning Big Tree, and more than 200 illuminated animal images.
The Hensville Lights presented by Toledo Edison and Lexus of Toledo features 200,000 holiday lights that decorate the buildings along St. Clair Street with a special dancing light show in Hensville Park synced to music. I hope you will join us and enjoy these and other great attractions in Toledo this winter.
"Carrots Are Great, But We Need Sticks Too"
There has been a lot of excellent reporting on the toxic algal blooms that strike Lake Erie every year. Our local media in particular has followed this story with tenacity.
This issue is so important, the national media is following the lead of our local media. The Chicago Tribune worked on
this article
for months. It does an excellent job explaining the problem and what we need to do to address it.
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Toledo Ranks 31st For U.S. Cities For Integrating Immigrants, Up From 82nd Last Year
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Mayor Wade Kapszukiewicz announced that Toledo has been honored among the American cities for integrating immigrants in the
2019 NAE Cities Index.
Rising from the 82nd spot in 2018, efforts taken over the past year have boosted Toledo's rank to 31st on the 2019 New American Economy (NAE) Cities Index.
Toledo finished 31st overall, with an overall score of 3.38 out of 5, up significantly from 2018 (2.58 score, 82nd overall). The improvement was largely attributable to a significant increase in the city's policy score, which jumped from 2.4 to 4.0. The city ranked 21st (out of 100) in the policy section.
“The Cities Index is a powerful tool that gives cities new insights into how they can more effectively address the needs of immigrants and build a stronger economic backbone for their whole community,” said Kate Brick, Director of State and Local Initiatives, New American Economy. “This year’s results were exciting — Midwestern cities are becoming leaders in adopting a welcoming approach to immigration and they are reaping countless benefits from this strategy.”
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2020 Martin Luther King Jr. Day Essay Contest
Presented by HRC’s Youth Empowerment and Engagement
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Essay Prompt: What does equality mean to you?
- Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. is a renowned civil rights leader who fought for equality, and he stood up for marginalized communities whose voices were silenced. Think about what equality means to you, your community, and those who may be of a different background from yourself. Write a two page, double spaced essay explaining what equality means to you, and how equality is able to impact our society.
- Please be sure to use a quote of Dr. King’s and proper citation if drawing from other sources.
How to submit your essay:
- All essays are to be submitted to mayor@toledo.oh.gov by 5 p.m., Monday, Jan. 6.
- Emails should include name of contestant, email address, grade, and school.
- Please label the subject of the email as “2020 MLK Day Essay Contest."
- Entries must be prose; no poetry.
- Essays must be typed; Times New Roman Font, size 12, double spaced, 1-2 pages.
- Name, email, grade, and school must be on the top left hand corner of each page.
- Only one essay per student will be accepted.
- Essay must be an original work. Any essay that is plagiarized will be disqualified.
- Entries after the deadline will not be considered in the competition.
Who can apply?
- All Toledo high school students, grades 9-12, are invited to enter this contest. One submission per student will be accepted.
How winners are selected?
- Originality, content, creativity, grammatical structure, and relevance to the prompt.
- Each grade will have one winner.
Scholarship Awards:
- Contest winners will be invited to two recognition ceremonies at the 2020 Martin Luther King Jr. Unity Celebration.
Scholarships:
- First Prize: $1,000 scholarship
- Second Prize: $750 scholarship
- Third Prize: $500 scholarship
- Fourth Prize: $250 scholarship
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2019 Leaf Collection Program
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Access the interactive leaf collection map at
this link
.
Sign up for leaf collection text alerts at
this link
.
City crews have collected more than 11,000 cubic yards of leaves so far this season.
For the week of Nov. 18 – Nov. 23, leaf collection will occur in areas as follows (The following areas will receive two passes):
In zip code 43614:
- Airport Highway on the north, Byrne Rd. on the east, Heatherdowns Blvd. on the south, Eastgate Rd. on the west
- Heatherdowns Blvd. on the north, Byrne Rd./Detroit Ave. on the east, I-80 on the south, Eastgate Rd. on the west
- Glendale Ave. on the north, Detroit Ave. on the east, Byrne Rd. on the west
- Glendale Ave. on the north, the Maumee River on the east, I-80 on the south, Detroit Ave. on the west
- Arlington Ave. on the north, Amherst Dr./Broadway St. on the east, Glendale Ave. on the south, Byrne Rd. on the west
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The 2019 Blade Holiday Parade
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Don't miss out on the annual Blade Holiday Parade,
10 a.m. to 12:30, Saturday, Nov. 16
, in downtown Toledo, sponsored by Monroe Superstore. Bring the family down and enjoy giant balloons like Cookie Monster, Kung Fu Panda, Cheshire Cat, and Kermit the Frog. Local marching bands, clowns, horses, floats and much more will kick off the holiday season. Be sure to stay for the full parade as Santa will be making his debut for the holiday season!
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Contrasts
, concert time: 7 p.m., Nov. 17 at The Toledo Club.
The program: Szymanowski – Three Caprices of Paganini for Violin and Piano, Op. 40, Bartók – Contrasts, Dohnányi – Sextet
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By The Numbers
(year to date)
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162,504
potholes filled
3,634,617
pounds of debris cleared from streets with street sweepers
6,177,911
pounds of debris cleared from alleys
231
water main breaks repaired
1,714,760
feet of sanitary sewers cleaned
46,243
feet of storm sewers cleaned
2,284
illegal signs removed
1,183
trees trimmed
8,374
building inspections
2,117
contractor licences
46,907
EMS runs
5,821
fire runs
11,053
cubic yards of leaves collected
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United Way of Greater Toledo
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The United Way of Greater Toledo invites you and your office to join them at an upcoming event:
United & Thankful
.
On Friday, Nov. 22, 11 a.m. to 1:30 p.m., more than 500 volunteers will assemble 3,000 weekend meal kits for local children in need.
Thanksgiving is just a few weeks away and this can be an incredibly difficult time for food-insecure children, who depend on breakfast or lunch meals they receive at school. We don’t want kids to go hungry over the long, weekend break. If you’re interested in helping out, or financially supporting, you can do so at
this link
.
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Baseball royalty visited Toledo Wednesday as the city unveiled a new multi-sport field designed to keep kids busy and revitalize a neighborhood.
Hall of Fame infielder and 19-time all-star Cal Ripken, Jr., and his Cal Ripken, Sr. Foundation, partnered with the city of Toledo to install a 75,000-square-foot synthetic turf field at Danny Thomas Park.
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Buffalo Soldiers donate uniforms to local students
Toledo's Buffalo Soldiers are helping dozens of local students not only get new clothes but with valuable advice as well. Once a month the group visits Ella P. Stewart girl’s school to encourage the girls and teach them about safety. On Thursday, the group dropped off brand new sweaters, socks and ties for the girls.
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