This weekend will provide great opportunities to get out and support some outstanding local talent.

Easy Street Productions showcases a local cast in Disney's Beauty and the Beast this weekend at the De Yor Performing Arts Center (W. Federal Street, Downtown). According to this Vindy article, Easy Street has invested a great deal into staging the show, which features a "revolving stage and beautiful costumes." It's a musical for the whole family...and did I mention that it features a local cast?

Performances are taking place this Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, and the show has been held over for next weekend as well. Go here for more information and ticket purchases.

Also this Saturday night, The Stage at the Oakland Center (220 W. Boardman Street, Downtown) will provide an open mic venue for local performers of all varieties. This will mark the one year anniversary of The Stage, featuring a social hour at 7p.m. and performances from 8-11p.m. There will be an array of local performers, including musicians, comedians, dancers, and even a sideshow act. And did I mention that this is all local talent? Find The Stage on Myspace here, and follow The Stage's blog here.

Another event happening this Saturday has received so much chatter that I probably don't need to mention it (but I'm going to anyway because it's just too exciting). Of course, I'm referring to the Kelly Pavlik/Jermain Taylor bout for the WBC middleweight title. Though not taking place locally, the match features local boxer Kelly Pavlik and will air Saturday on HBO at 10p.m. In anticipation of the fight, HBO filmed a 30-minute feature titled Countdown to Taylor-Pavlik, which is viewable on YouTube in three parts: Part 1, Part 2, and Part 3.

Visit the Team Pavlik website here, and Kelly Pavlik's Myspace page here.

Get out this weekend and see what Youngstown has to offer!

On this, the anniversary of Black Monday, we remember the events and aftermath of a day that has had a profound impact on the city of Youngstown and its surrounding communities. Thirty years ago, the Youngstown Sheet & Tube Company announced shutdowns and massive layoffs at its Campbell Works, and other local steel operations soon followed suit.

Steel had been the backbone of the local economy for decades. Suddenly, the industry that directly or indirectly employed several thousands of local residents, had all but disappeared. In response to Sheet & Tube's announcement on Black Monday, a group of local religious, civic, and political leaders formed the Ecumenical Coalition of the Mahoning Valley, hoping to acquire and reopen the Campbell Works under community ownership. Though their efforts ultimately proved unsuccessful, member of the Coalition did what they could to protect the future of Youngstown.

Three decades have passed since Black Monday, and those born in the generation since have taken their cue from those activists that once fought to keep local steel jobs. This generation is just as passionate, only the fight is no longer for steel. The new fight is against apathy.

In the aftermath of steel's collapse, a population exodus left parts of the city vacant and subject to blight. Suburbanization, though not exclusive to Youngstown, also contributed to this condition. The city was in a state of decline, and a sense of apathy set in. Apathy and negativity continued to debase the city and its residents for years. This could have signaled Youngstown's demise. Yet today, we are in the midst of a Youngstown renaissance.

It's difficult to say what has changed, but there has definitely been a positive shift in recent years. Perhaps it is tied to the city's innovative 2010 plan, which has been repeatedly recognized as a model for the shrinking city. Maybe it has to do with the fresh political landscape, led by a mayor who makes it his priority to engage the citizenry in the governing process. It is probably a combination of these, compounded by the efforts of a new generation that sees the possibilities for Youngstown apart from the steel industry that built it.

With a profound respect and love for our steel heritage, this generation is finding new ways to connect past to present. While passionate about preserving the physical reminders of Youngstown's prosperity under steel - mansions owned by steel magnates, worker housing inhabited by employees of Sheet & Tube, grand downtown buildings funded by a robust industrial economy - this generation is also passionate about engaging in Youngstown's present and moving it toward a bright future.

Of course Youngstown is not without its problems, but this generation is intent on meeting challenges with innovative solutions. Ideas alone, however, will not make the difference that is needed. There must be corresponding action. And with the growing number of action groups in Youngstown, there are plenty of opportunities to get involved.

If you're looking for a way to help, look no further. Here are links to some of the groups that are putting their ideas into action:

Youngstown Cityscape - with a mission to "revitalize downtown Youngstown and gateways through beautification, education and preservation"
The Center for Altruism - providing human resources for Youngstown's community development (most recently working with Iron Soup to clean up and restore Campbell's historic Sheet & Tube worker housing)
Treez Please - a reforestation group that is planting "pocket parks" in vacant lots on the city's north side
Wick Neighbors - redeveloping Youngstown's Wick district and Smoky Hollow neighborhood
Neighborhood Groups - citizen groups working to improve neighborhoods throughout Youngstown
Defend Youngstown - "a movement dedicated to the progressive advancement of the city of Youngstown"
The Stage - at the Oakland Center for the Arts, an open mic venue fostering the talents of the local creative class

Please let me know if your group is not listed above. Or, if you don't see what you're looking for on this list, why not start up your own action group? A neighborhood watch, a clean-up detail, a blog in which you can put for your ideas for the betterment of the city - the sky is the limit.

We can make Youngstown the place that we want it to be. Once defined by the steel it produced, Youngstown is being redefined by its citizens, their ideas, and their efforts to rebuild the city. We hold the future in our hands.

There are some exciting projects in the works on Youngstown's north side. What they have in common is bringing long-vacant spaces back to useful life.

The first project will establish inviting community green spaces in the neighborhood around Wick Park. The newly formed reforestation group Treez Please started by planting a red oak tree in Wick Park this past weekend, and plans to continue their mission by planting "pocket parks" in some empty lots on Broadway Avenue. To read more about their efforts, click here.

I love the idea of taking something with a negative connotation - a vacant, empty lot that stands as a reminder of what once was - and changing it into a positive - a lush, inviting, green space that speaks of renewal and rebirth. If you would like to know more about this project, all are invited to attend the next meeting of Treez Please this Thursday, September 20th, at 5:30 p.m. at the First Unitarian Universalist Church of Youngstown at 1105 Elm Street.

On Wick Avenue, YSU is working to reopen the historic Wick-Pollock Inn. Once home to Porter and Mary (Wick) Pollock, the original structure, designed by architect Charles H. Owsley in 1893, has belonged to YSU since 1950. YSU leased the building to a private partnership in 1986. The group built on a 62-room addition and operated the inn from 1988 to 1998, when the inn closed and the group could no longer meet its financial commitments. The site has languished, empty, since then. Though efforts to reopen the Inn have foundered in the past, the latest plan would use the Inn as a training ground for YSU's hospitality management students. The restoration of the Inn and its carriage house are part of YSU's Centennial Plan, marking the University's 100th anniversary in 2008.

A group of YSU students has already taken on the project of restoring the Wick-Pollock Inn's historic gardens. The Student Government Association, along with YSU's grounds department and a volunteer student/staff workforce, set to restoring and replanting the garden in the fall of 2006, and completed the project in the summer of 2007.

Restoration and beautification are happening all around! Let's keep moving forward, and continue to effect the change that we want to see, together.

Do you know what day it is?

It is Chris Barzak World Domination Day! That's right, local author Chris Barzak has achieved global dominion with the publishing of his first novel, One for Sorrow, which is being released by Bantam Books TODAY! And I was lucky enough to score an advanced copy! I'm no literary critic. But I do know when a book is good. When it's plot compels you to keep reading to follows its twists and turns. When you find yourself thinking about the characters as though they are your own friends or acquaintances. When you can identify with the situations in which the characters find themselves, experience and empathize with their ups and downs, and care about what happens to them.

And One for Sorrow is a good book. I'm still in the middle, but I can't wait to find out what happens to Adam and Jamie and Gracie and how their intertwined stories will resolve. I wish I could take the day off of work to finish the book, that's how good it is. But alas, I can't take the day off, and Chris Barzak World Domination Day has yet to be declared a national holiday (although I'm sure it's only a matter of time). So I'll have to be content to wait until after work to get my fix. I love it when I can lose myself in a book, and live someone else's life for a while. And One for Sorrow is the perfect novel in which to lose oneself - haunting, compelling, engrossing. I can't say enough about it.

Oh, and did I mention that Chris Barzak's global headquarters are in Youngstown?! Yes, he is one of our own (the book is even set in a rural town near Youngstown).

For more information about Chris Barzak and One for Sorrow, check his blog out here. Or, check out these upcoming events to meet the author in person:

- The big One for Sorrow book reception at the Oakland Center for the Arts in Downtown Youngstown on September 1, from 7 to 11 PM (featuring wine, food, live music and art inspired by the book)

- Books signings at:
Borders in Niles, OH, September 15, 2-4 PM
Mac’s Backs in Cleveland Heights, OH, September 22, 5 PM
Youngstown State University Poetry Center Reading, October 2, 7 PM
Barnes and Noble in Boardman, Ohio) October 9, 7 PM
Book Club Discussion Group at Barnes and Noble, Boardman, OH, October 18, 7 PM

Congratulations Chris!

Why is it that some towns have such a strong historical preservation ethic and others don't? Is it the government leaders, the public, or both? Does it have to do with education levels? Does it have to do with a strong or weak economy? I'm not asking these questions rhetorically...I really want answers. Anyone?

Maybe it all boils down to individuals who are willing to make an investment in preservation. I was impressed by the story of Stevie Halverstadt of Lisbon, Ohio in this morning's Vindy feed. Halverstadt and her sister, Renee Lewis of New York City, have been restoring Lisbon's Jacob Picking building (couldn't find a picture of it) for almost a year. According to the Vindy article, it's the oldest brick building in Ohio, dating to 1803 (so why can't I find any pictures of it?).

Anyway, the sisters have hired professional firms to restore windows, doorways, woodwork and brickwork. It seems they are paying exceptional attention to detail, reusing the building's original materials or finding old replacements from other demolished structures when the originals can't be reused. The article doesn't say how the building will be used upon completion, but Halverstadt estimates another year or two in the restoration process.

Halverstadt contends that (as paraphrased by the Vindicator), "...is easier and less expensive to restore old buildings than to build new ones that won't last as long." What a concept. I agree wholeheartedly, although this concept is challenged in Youngstown again and again when it comes to the preservation of historic structures. Any preservationist worth his or her salt knows that per-square-foot costs are less expensive for renovation than for new construction. Of course, there are variables, but this is the overwhelmingly true. Maybe it just takes a visionary to be able to look past decay and dilapidation and see a restored, functional building that serves a modern purpose and retains the historic integrity of its environment.

Now, since I couldn't find a picture of the Picking building, and I have yet to post ANY pictures, I will leave you with an image of Lisbon's historic downtown.

Charming, isn't it?

Well, it seems as though I've only gotten around to posting here about once a month. I sincerely want to make an effort to post more often, especially since there are so many interesting things going on in Youngstown to talk about.

Yesterday, I read a Vindicator article about the Youngstown Central Area Community Improvement Corporation (CIC) and the Kress building on West Federal Street. To summarize, Reid Dulberger (the CIC's acting president as well as the Youngstown Warren Regional Chamber's vice president) reported that the CIC will employ a structural engineer to evaluate the condition of the CIC-owned Kress building. The CIC has allowed the Kress building to languish without critical improvements (such as a roof) over the course of several years. And now, the building will probably be deemed beyond repair, making way for its demolition.

I have to say, I am more than a little worried the Kress building will become one in a long line of historically-significant structures that have given way to "progress." It seems that downtown buildings can sit vacant for years without anyone taking notice. Then, conveniently, when one of those buildings is in the way of some planned project, it becomes structurally unsound and has to be torn down. Interesting.

I hope that I am wrong about this. But, if I am not and the Kress is labeled unsound, I don't want to give up on it without a fight. The recent show of support for saving the West Federal medians has demonstrated that there is a concerned citizenry that is no longer willing to let important decisions about the appearance of our downtown be made without public input. I think the retention of the remaining downtown historic building stock is just as important an issue to rally around.

And rally I will. Even if the Kress cannot be salvaged, I will vocalize my protest. I hope that the median efforts will serve as a precedent, rather than an anomaly, and that the public will continue to be engaged in the process of creating/maintaining a downtown that we can all enjoy and take pride in. As Mayor Jay Williams wrote in his blog, "...an active engaged citizenry is a positive sign of a community well on its way to reestablishing its vitality." I couldn't agree more.

So, I see that this story has already been picked up by other Youngstown bloggers, but I'm excited about it, so I'm also posting it here. National Public Radio did a story about presidential hopeful John Edwards' visit to Youngstown, highlighting the 2010 plan to consolidate the city and its services.

The story features quotes from Mayor Jay Williams and YSU's Hunter Morrison, among others, and identifies the 2010 plan's potential to be a model for cities similar to Youngstown. Click to listen.

I've been thinking a lot lately about consolidation, both in the context of our city as well as in my own personal and professional life. A friend of mine recently said something that made a lot of sense to me. "We need to do less things better," she said. Amen, sister.

I think we as humans instinctually think bigger and newer is better, but that just isn't the case. I'll take a small city with focus, that has a passion to do fewer things better, over a big, bloated, trying-to-hold-on-to-its-former-glory city anyday. Check it out, Youngstown. You're not something to be pitied. You are a city that's making bold moves to protect it's future. You're a city that's making people stand up and take notice.

Youngstown, Ohio. My hometown. I grew up here, and went through the requisite "I have to get out of this town" phase that many of my peers have experienced. I'm happy to report that I never moved away. I stayed in Youngstown, went to college at YSU, and found a job in my field, here in my hometown. And I'm happy with my decision. Because these are exciting times to be living in Youngstown.

There's something in the air these days. There are like-minded people who see the potential for change. People with vision are coming together to fight for Youngstown's future. We're making our voices heard. Our message: Youngstown is worth fighting for. Now is the time to get on board.

In the weeks ahead, I will use this blog to write about the changes that are happening and the changes that are needed. I will share my ideas and write about opportunities to get involved and support the Youngstown renaissance. I will learn as I go, and I'll make mistakes along the way, but I'll do it with a passion for the city I love. Youngstown.

These are exciting times!