Events Calendar
Most Read Stories
Akron police investigate teen mob attack on family
Man found hanging at playground in Stow
Robbery suspect's body left at Akron hospital
FBI asked to investigate attack on white family near Firestone Park
Relatives doubt story of suicide
Man shot in back near Akron park
Blogs:
Pets:
Zeke, the basketball playing dog
The Heldenfiles:
Friday Notebook
Patrick McManamon:
For your Saturday entertainment …
Akron Zips:
Opponent outlook: Kent State
Browns Bulletin:
Quick thought on Browns rookies
Tribe Matters:
7-11-09 Morning Highlights
Cleveland Browns:
Stallworth test showed marijuana
Kent State Sports:
Men's Basketball Scheduling update
Cleveland Cavaliers:
Andy’s Signed According to ESPN
All Da King's Men:
Baby Got Barack !
Blog of Mass Destruction:
The Rogue Bush White House
Akron Law Café:
New Wiretapping Revelations from Inspector General
Varsity Letters:
Report: Ontko selects Wisconsin
See Jane Style:
Oh Baby!
Car Chase:
Where do We Go from Here?
Let's Talk Real Estate:
Closings….Not the Good Kind!
Ohio Travels with Betty:
Margy inquires-when is a Taste of Hudson?
Sound Check:
LeVert II live performance Saturday night — "Dedication" album due July 13,
HRLite House:
DDI One of Best Places to Work
Akron Gamer:
Video game sales drop in May
Mary Beth Breckenridge
Taking chore out of pool care
Ken Christensen wants to take the fear out of swimming pool maintenance. Christensen drew on the expertise he developed as a pool technician to write I Love My Pool! The Perfect Pool in Five Easy Steps. The book introduces readers to a swimming pool's filtration system and chemistry and teaches them how to test and clean the pool. There's also information on pool heaters, safety and pool-related products, as well as some just-for-fun additions like recipes for poolside drinks and instructions for creating a spa experience.
Chic footrest to comfy bed
No room for a guest bed? No problem. Bedding manufacturer Hollandia International packs a lot of sleeping room into a small space with its Convertible ottoman, which opens into a single bed.
Take Note: Parade of Ponds to showcase area water features
Dip your toes into the world of water gardening during the Parade of Ponds, a two-weekend tour that starts July 18. The self-guided tour features more than three dozen water features throughout the area, many of them installed by do-it-yourselfers. It's organized by Hoffman's Garden Center to raise money for the burn center at Akron Children's Hospital.
Tour of homes goes global
NEW FRANKLIN: Nancy and Ted Sliwinski's home is a live-in travelogue. One shelf holds an ornate metal plate from Iran; another, a doll from China. A trio of hookahs occupies a corner of the dining room, and a vividly painted door from a Bedouin hut hangs in the hallway.
Italian festival savored
Food, music, heritage to be celebrated this weekend at Lock 3 Park in Akron
This weekend, everyone's Italian. You don't need a red, white and green branch on your family tree to be one of the paisanos when the Summit County Italian-American Festival takes over Lock 3 Park and the vicinity from Friday through Sunday.
Americana reigns in home decor, along with renewed patriotism
Three cheers for the red, white and blue. Americans have been using their homes to display their patriotic pride almost since Betsy Ross stitched the first stars and stripes together. This time of year, especially, we love to wave our flags and revel in all things American.
Fireplace is 90% energy efficient
You can warm up in style, indoors or out, with the EcoSmart Fire Tower. The contemporary fireplace was designed by Milanese architect and designer Celeste Dell-Anna and Simona Righi from Italian design studio Intentions. It burns denatured ethanol, a form of alcohol that creates no harmful emissions and doesn't require ventilation. Because it burns with 90 percent efficiency, the fireplace qualifies for the federal government's 30 percent energy-efficiency tax credit for biomass stoves.
20 area students win Green Spaces awards
Twenty students from Akron-area schools were honored this week in Project EverGreen's Art of Green Spaces Competition.
Learn to knit outfits for baby
A little bit of yarn and a lot of whimsy go into the projects in Wacky Baby Knits: 20 Knitted Designs for the Fashion-Conscious Toddler.
Here's the truth about laundry
Not everything Mom taught us about doing laundry was on the mark. The Whirlpool Institute of Fabric Sciences sets us straight with these laundry myths and facts:
Fungus could ruin Ohio tomato, potato crops
Ohio's farmers and vegetable gardeners are urged to be on guard against a disease that has the potential to destroy tomato and potato crops.
'Public Enemies' plane lands at air museum
Rides are available on 1929 Ford Tri-Motor featured in new movie
GREEN: This was the cutting edge of travel in the late 1920s. The Ford Tri-Motor was the embodiment of automaker Henry Ford's vision for public air transportation, a boxy aircraft that could carry eight passengers at what was then a speedy 100 mph.
Rain barrels turn into art
Rain barrels are good for the Earth, but they're not always easy on the eye. So a group of young artists has set out to change that.
Spend weekend enjoying sewing
Dust off the sewing machine and sharpen the shears. Heather Ross wants to get America sewing again. Ross is a lifelong sewing enthusiast who designs fabric, fashion projects, sewing patterns and stationery goods. Her new book, Weekend Sewing, is intended to inspire people to carve out time for sewing as a creative outlet, as she does.
Simple trick retrieves lost item
Sometimes the best ideas are the simplest. That's the case with a gem I encountered from Family Hack, a blog created by the Davis family of Charlottesville, Va.
Bug spray uses plant extracts
Could this be the end of hard-core chemical warfare against creepie crawlers? Terminix has introduced a natural pest-control spray called SafeShield made primarily from plant extracts. The spray is designed to target common household pests, including ants, roaches, flies and spiders.
How to cut your cooling costs
Keep cooling costs in check with these tips gathered from heating and cooling experts by the consumer ratings company Angie's List:
New pavilion at arboretum is designed to study seasons
Structure has agricultural calendar like those created by the ancients
A recent addition to Secrest Arboretum is spreading the word about both new research and ages-old knowledge.
Retailer offers plus-size line
Mail-order retailer BrylaneHome has a new line of products designed for its larger customers. The Plus Size Living line features indoor and outdoor chairs, step stools, scales and other items at competitive prices. An oversized dining chair, for example, sells for $69.98; extra-large folding camp chairs are $49.99 to $99.99.
Tips to prevent rose plants from getting fungal disease
Black spot can be a bane for rose lovers. The fungal disease first appears on the leaves of rose plants as irregular black spots and eventually causes the leaves to yellow and drop. The plant is left weaker and more susceptible to other stresses and possibly death.
Outdoor living focus of book
Sean Conway takes the concept of outdoor living literally. The book he's written with Lee Alan Buttala, Sean Conway's Cultivating Life, is dedicated to turning the backyard into a place for cooking, eating, playing, entertaining — in short, carrying out a day-to-day existence.
Historic Ridgewood on tour next Saturday
Early 20th-century homes in Canton neighborhood will be welcoming visitors
One of Canton's most noteworthy neighborhoods is welcoming visitors next Saturday.
Barn shop rounds up funky finds
Hudson woman sells eclectic mix of vintage and modern items in backyard
The first time Gina Bishop opened her barn to sell her quirky mix of furniture and accessories, the crowd was bigger than she expected.
Memories stitched into necktie quilt
Custom keepsake honors Berman Stills, longtime Akron General Medical Center volunteer
When Berman Stills died three years ago, his family was left with a lot of memories and a lot of neckties. Stills loved wearing whimsical ties to his volunteer job at Akron General Medical Center — ties with holiday themes, ties with medical motifs, ties decorated with cartoon characters, children's faces, animals and toys.
Remote device controls bath
Even bathing has gone electronic. North Olmsted's Moen Inc. has introduced technology that lets you set and maintain the temperature and flow of your bath or shower water via remote control — even while you're still in bed. The interface, called ioDIGITAL, is available in a shower, a vertical spa (multiple sprays mounted on a vertical surface) and a faucet compatible with many Moen Roman tub styles.
Traveler writes guide to plants
Daniel J. Hinkley isn't content to fill his garden with common plants. That's why he's traveled the world in search of the unusual.
Ask Mary Beth: How to preserve school diploma
Q: My mother found my dad's high school diploma. What's the best way to preserve it? I might also want to display it.
— Laura Farris-Daugherty
Akron
Take Note: Akron woman wins $10,000 yard makeover
Virginia Robinson's yard is about to get a new look.
Prairie-style home on Hudson tour
HUDSON: The preservation of Jennifer and Denny Baughman's home started years before they moved in. It began with the previous owners, J. Neil and Almalee Henderson, who planted dozens of native trees on the property during their 43 years there and took steps to protect the land from development.
How to treat trees for pesky insect
OSU team's online bulletin has information on different approaches for emerald ash borer
Worried about your ash trees? Updated information on treating trees for emerald ash borer, an insect that threatens ash trees in much of Ohio, is at http://ashalert.osu.edu, the Internet site of the Ohio State University Emerald Ash Borer Outreach Team. Click on ''Fact Sheets/Bulletins'' at the bottom of the page and then ''Insecticide Options for Protecting Ash Trees from Emerald Ash Borer.''
Richfield woman gardens nature's way
RICHFIELD: To Brenda Schult's way of thinking, gardening can be work, but it shouldn't be a struggle. Schult believes in working with nature, not against it.
Products held to real-life tests
Snap up the Handy Switch but forget both the Point 'n Paint, Grill Daddy
Are you fed up with commercials hawking products that don't live up to their claims? Tired of being shouted at by TV pitchmen?
How to harvest Chinese plants
Food gardening gurus tell us to grow what we like to eat. If Chinese food is among your favorites, you might want to check out Growing Chinese Vegetables in Your Own Backyard.
Home drawings could be on file
Q: Where do I find detailed drawings of my house so I can see details of structure and such? I wonder if there are records at the city offices or anywhere.
— Eddie VidmarAkron
Dogs invited to visit garden
Cleveland Botanical Garden is letting the dogs in. From June 7 to Sept. 27, the garden is inviting visitors to bring their dogs on leashes from noon to 5 p.m. Sundays. The dogs are allowed everywhere except Hershey Children's Garden and the garden's indoor areas.
Peat pots go right into soil
Bonnie Plants' biodegradable plant pots reduce the waste created by plastic pots. The company's vegetable and herb plants come in peat pots that can go right into the ground, which means less transplant shock for the plant. It's essential to keep the pots watered before planting, because peat won't hold moisture the way plastic will.
'Does It Work?' More products held to real-life tests
Snap up the Handy Switch but forget both the Point 'n Paint, Grill Daddy
Are you fed up with commercials hawking products that don't live up to their claims? Tired of being shouted at by TV pitchmen?
Photos: Create a sacred place
Button up old house for energy savings (Sept. 21)
Insulating attic, sealing air leaks and upgrading heating system can cut bills, experts say
We used to worry about catching a cold from an old house's drafts. Now we worry about losing our shirts.
Photos: A Centerpiece for the Holidays
If you only had $250, how would you spend it to get the most bang for your buck (Sept. 22)
It's a double whammy: Home energy costs are rising just when most of us can least afford it. With budgets tightening, it's hard to lay out money upfront for energy-saving home improvements, even if we know they're a wise investment.
Photos: Garretsville Christmas Walk
