Much has changed in our community over the last few years. We have witnessed leadership change in City Hall and in several key anchor institutions. We’ve seen political change at every level of government. We’ve seen slow economic progress, and a continuing erosion of the middle class, with cascading effects on all our civic systems. We’ve seen the rise of talented artists and community builders who are energizing our community with their new ideas. We’ve seen educators wholeheartedly embracing efforts to connect student learning to career possibilities.
While we can celebrate improvement in many areas, there is no denying that our challenges are deep and complex and much work lies ahead. In this opinion piece, Michael Douglas from the Akron Beacon Journal’s editorial board discusses Akron’s changes and its problem-solvers.