Teams of sleek, lean, highly-trained law enforcement personnel will take-over Lock 3 in downtown Akron this Saturday (May 19), demonstrating their methods for attacking the bad guys, and some of them don’t even eat Kibbles ‘N Bits.

Akron’s 2nd Annual “K-9 Challenge” is sponsored by the Akron Police Department, and will include 15 teams of dogs and handlers from Summit, Stark, Tuscarawas and Wayne Counties.

The Olympic-style competitions begin at 10 a.m., and will continue until completed - about 2 p.m., at Lock 3, 200 S. Main Street. Parking is free in the State Street parking deck. It is open to the public and admission is free.

A smudge of paint on Howard Finster’s thumb turned into a successful art career and international acclaim. There's still time to see Finster's groundbreaking exhibit, "Stranger in Paradise: The Works of Reverend Howard Finster," at the Akron Art Museum through June  3.

This is the first major retrospective of the folk art icon, offering visitors an in-depth look at the life and career of a visionary artist represented in the museum’s collection.

“We’ve been wanting outsider or folk art because we actively collect it,” said Ellen Rudolph, Akron Art Musuem's interim chief curator. “We already have a few of pieces at the museum, so it was a wonderful chance to show more of his works.”

(The following is an installment of a weekly radio broadcast by Civic Commons, which brings communities together through conversation and technology.)

When is a super sweet Turkish pastry like a multi-million dollar real estate deal? When the multi-layered phyllo dough looks just like the multi-layered financing dough (and tastes just as sweet at closing). Join Dan and Noelle as they take a look at the complex world of development financing, where every layer is both savory and fragile at the same time.

Guests: Kevin O'Brien, Cleveland State University; Ryan Sommers, Grey Fox Capital; Ari Marin, MRN Ltd.

A project at The University of Akron to develop S.A.R.A., an interactive smartphone application that converts videos into unique sound and visual compositions, has received a $20,000 grant from the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA).

UA is one of 78 nonprofit organizations nationwide to receive Arts in Media grants from the NEA. Totaling $3.55 million, the grants support the development, production and national distribution of innovative media projects that can be considered works of art.

Markus Vogl, an assistant professor of art at UA’s Mary Schiller Myers School of Art, is developing S.A.R.A. in collaboration with Margarita Benitez, an assistant professor of art at Kent State University. Vogl and Benitez are Kent residents.

Throughout the United States today, more than 500,000 children are in foster care – in fact, by one estimate, there are now some 12 million alumni of the foster care system nationwide. With May being National Foster Care Month, Summit County Children Services has planned several activities to honor its nearly 450 foster parents and express the agency’s sincere appreciation for the love, care, hope, guidance, and nurturance they provide to the abused and neglected children of our community.

This year’s theme for Foster Care Month in Summit County is, “Be the Sunshine in a Child's Life, Foster a Child,” which was created by Charles & Shannon Woods of Uniontown. Promotional buttons with this theme have been distributed to the agency’s foster parents.

Summit Artspace Gallery and guest curator Brian Shellito are organizing a unique outdoor art experience this summer for both artists and the public. Streetscapes: Akron in Plein Air will, for the second time, bring together talented local artists to paint urban landscapes along downtown Akron streets. Spectators will be encouraged to visit the creative work sites and witness the process.

Plein Air is a French term meaning “open air.” Painting in plein air refers to painting out-of-doors, a practice of landscape painters for 500 years. On July 27, 28 and 29, participants in the Streetscapes: Akron in Plein Air competition will set up their easels in designated sites downtown to produce paintings. The artworks will be turned in at Summit Artspace at the end of each day for consideration by specially selected judges for inclusion in a gallery show Aug. 10 through Sept. 15.

Gallup CEO Jim Clifton recently spoke at the annual meeting of University Park Alliance (UPA). Here is a man who travels the world, gathering information about cities, countries and economies. Engage him in conversation, and he can quote economic statistics from a dozen different locales.
So when he spoke to nearly 600 people at our annual meeting, it was encouraging to hear him speak of many of the same elements for economic success that we are building upon in Akron.

Clifton, who has just written the book, “The Coming Jobs War,” argues that America’s future economic strength and standing as the world’s largest economy depends on whether we can nurture entrepreneurs on the local level. In his view, innovative, proactive and collaborative leadership within the nation’s cities will be essential to our prosperity and ability to create new jobs.

The Akron Digital Media Center is celebrating its new location and wants the public to get in on the action.

The ADMC will host an open house event May 17 from 4 to 6 p.m. at the the Akron-Summit County Public Library. Admission is free and refreshments will be provided as well as the chance to win prizes.

The ADMC is a nonprofit digital media group that works to enhance coverage of community news and information. The media center launched in 2010 to help engage citizens in digital storytelling and the project has trained more than 550 Akron area residents. Training was previously conducted at the local newspaper, the Akron Beacon Journal. The center reopened in February in a newly created space in the Akron-Summit County Public Library's Main Library in downtown Akron.

Boy would I love to see my mother. I have not only graduated, I have graduated with a bachelor's degree. She would ask, “Baby what is that?”  And then, I would have to explain it to her.

I never minded, because my mother took me to the library, and church. This was exciting for me. I began to learn at a great rate, and then, she couldn’t get me to put the books down. So, we faced another dilemma.  My mom thought that I thought that I knew everything. My mom would get really upset about conversations we had, until she needed to know something. I waited for those moments, and so did she.

A first for Bridgestone Americas' new multi-million dollar technical center in Akron was recently hosting the Summit County Historical Society's (SCHS) 2012 annual meeting. The center's three-story atrium was the venue for the society's meeting, appointment of officers and a talk by University of Akron assistant professor of English, David Giffels, on Harvey S. Firestone's iconic statue outside of the building. Leianne Neff Heppner, the society's executive director, stated in her welcoming remarks that this was the first group to meet at the tech center. The elegant luncheon was served on Firestone china by AVI Catering Services and was attended by 65 people.

Hans Dorfi, manager – Advanced Tire Technology, talked of the building's green footprint and all of its environmentally friendly features, such as having a white roof. Using their own energy-saving Firestone industrial building products, it reflects the sunlight and makes the building more energy efficient. The use of many glass surfaces also lets in more natural light. He mentioned that the positioning of the Harvey Firestone statue and monument influenced how the building itself was situated. Dorfi further stated, "Bridgestone Americas has its roots in the Firestone family and the Bridgestone family, and we want to keep that heritage alive - the heritage of innovation, quality and social responsibility which is important to the community."