Community News – The Oberlin Review

Democratic Candidates Look to Defeat Rep. Jordan in 4th Congressional District

November 15, 2019

Several Democrats have filed paperwork to challenge Republican Jim Jordan in the 2020 Ohio 4th District Congressional election, a seat he has held since 2007. Democrats Shannon Freshour, Jeffrey Sites, and Mike Larsen have announced their candidacy for the position ahead of the Dec. 18 filing deadline. Representative Jim Jordan is a founder of the far-right House Freedom Caucus. He also serves on the Committee on the Judiciary and Committee on Oversight and Government Reform. Previous attempts to unsea...

Residents Respond to Construction of Pyle South Amherst Road Roundabouts

November 8, 2019

After almost a year of planning and discussion between residents and city officials, four roundabouts on Pyle South Amherst Road were completed last Friday. The roundabouts were part of a larger repavement project that also included cement stabilization, resurfacing, the addition of pavement markings, new signage, a golf cart crossing. The project began after Public Works Director Jeff Bauman applied for and received an Ohio Public Works Commission grant to repave the 20-year-old pavement. This ...

Newly-Elected City Council Members Set Priorities for Term

Lila Michaels, Layout Editor

November 8, 2019

After a competitive race for Oberlin City Council, voters elected seven of twelve candidates into office on Tuesday, Nov. 5. Four incumbent councilors, Heather Adelman, Kristen Peterson, Kelley Singleton, and Linda Slocum were re-elected for another term. Ray English, Elizabeth J. Meadows, and Mary Price will replace three current councilors. Ronnie Rimbert was the only incumbent candidate who ran but was not re-elected. Bryan Burgess, who served as council president, did not run for re-election because he was term-limited. Councilmember Sharon Pearson also did not run for re-election. Following the election, Councilmembers English, Peterson, and Slocum each spoke of their commitment to environmental sustainability....

Unknown Substance Causes Emergency at Walmart, Mercy ER

November 1, 2019

An unknown substance originating in the Oberlin Walmart parking lot left seven people sick or unresponsive on Tuesday. Some of the exposures occurred in Mercy Allen Hospital and resulted in the hospital employing its emergency management plan and temporarily evacuating its emergency room. Chemical testing is still ongoing, but Chief of Police Ryan Warfield says he suspects the substance was fentanyl. The exposures began when police responded to a call reporting a suspicious individual walking i...

Shopping Center Plans Raise Concern at City Council Hearing

November 1, 2019

Plans are in motion to develop a 28-acre shopping center at the intersection of Ohio State Route 58 and U.S. Route 20 in Oberlin. The proposition was met with resistance from community members at a City Council hearing on Oct. 21. The property belongs to Oberlin Fire Chief Robert Hanmer, who intends to sell it to Carnegie Management and Development Corporation if the plans are approved. Carnegie Management expects to spend $10–15 million on construction, and predicts that the development could brin...

Democratic Debate Propels Ohio to Center Stage

November 1, 2019

Twelve candidates for the Democratic Party’s presidential nomination descended on Westerville, OH, on Tuesday, Oct. 15, to take part in a three-hour debate hosted by CNN and The New York Times. Many of the candidates came out swinging, attempting to highlight ideological divides and set themselves apart from the field. Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren became a lightning rod for critique from other candidates, especially on the issue of health care. Other clashes focused on foreign polic...

Gibson’s Bakery Files Cross-Appeal

November 1, 2019

Gibson’s Bakery has filed a cross-appeal in the ongoing lawsuit that the bakery’s owners brought against Oberlin College and Vice President and Dean of Students Meredith Raimondo. This cross-appeal comes after the College’s Oct. 8 decision to appeal the June jury verdict finding the College and Raimondo responsible for libel and intentional infliction of emotional distress related to a series of 2016 student protests against the bakery. The jury initially awarded the Gibsons $11 million in compens...

Despite Zoning Challenges, Lorain Street Food Truck Opens

October 4, 2019

After over a year of searching, Steel Magnolia — the only food truck currently located in Oberlin — has found a home on 408 E. Lorain St., near IGA. The truck serves a mix of soul food and traditional Caribbean cuisine and was opened by Oberlin native Shontae Jackson who runs it with her mom, Sarah Jackson, and 17-year-old daughter, Tanzania. Sarah says that seeing her daughter succeed has been incredibly fulfilling. “Ever since she was a little girl, it’s been her dream,” Sarah said...

Toni Morrison Honored at “Bench By the Road” Ceremony

October 4, 2019

Campus and community members gathered at the Toni Morrison Society’s “Bench by the Road” to celebrate the life and work of the late Nobel Prize-winning author Toni Morrison last Friday. Attendants honored Morrison, who grew up in Lorain, Ohio, by reading passages from the author’s seminal works, The Bluest Eye and Beloved. “The tribute was wonderfully warm and solemn — exactly the atmosphere you’d want to honor an amazing writer and intellectual who is now transitioning into our cultural an...

City Council Candidates Engage With Voters

Rachel Serna-Brown and Anisa Curry Vietze

October 4, 2019

Eleven local candidates running for Oberlin City Council met with voters at The First Church in Oberlin for Tuesday’s Community Candidates Night. The event was organized by Oberlin’s chapter of the League of Women Voters with the goal of giving voters the opportunity to ask the candidates questions about local issues. In previous years, Community Candidates Night has showcased candidates for other offices in addition to City Council, such as Ohio State Senate, the county auditor’s office, and local judicial spots. College Science Librarian Alison Ricker — who is a member of Oberlin’s LWV and helped organize the event — explained why this year’s event only focused on council. “The only candidates who spoke were ...

City Council Prepares to Release Next Greenhouse Gas Inventory

September 27, 2019

The City of Oberlin’s Office of Sustainability has completed a 2019 iteration of a greenhouse gas inventory, which will be released on the city’s web page in the coming weeks. The inventory is the latest of four, dating back to 2007, and was performed in order to prioritize how to spend the city’s Sustainable Reserve Fund. “[The greenhouse gas inventory] is what we’re going to look at as a guide when we start looking at what initiatives are really going to be the most important and in...

Property Records Reveal Gibson Family Holdings

Nathan Carpenter, Editor-in-Chief

September 20, 2019

Property records obtained through the Lorain County Auditor’s office reveal that the Gibson family, who recently won a $25 million judgement in the lawsuit they filed against Oberlin College and Vice President and Dean of Students Meredith Raimondo, own property within Oberlin city limits worth approximately $1.7 million, a sum figure not previously discussed in the media. The value assessments are calculated by the auditor’s office using tax information and in-person assessments. The figure does not include properties owned outside of Oberlin or controlled through Off Street Parking, Inc. — a corporation in which David Gibson owns a majority stake. While the Gibson family’s property ownership was not a key element...