Kent plans road closures for eclipse activities
In preparation for throngs of people anticipated in the area for the April 8 solar eclipse, Kent will close off several streets to help control the crowds in downtown Kent.
The streets include portions of Water Street between Locke Lane and Portage Street; Main Street between Depeyster and Gougler; and Erie Street between Franklin and Depeyster, said Dave Ruller, city manager.
The closures will run 4 to 10 p.m. on Sunday, April 7 and 3 a.m. to 10 p.m. Monday, April 8.
According to information from the city, there will be a laser light show at the Hometown Bank Plaza at 8 p.m. April 7. The event also will include food trucks.
For the first time in more than 200 years, Northeast Ohio will be in the path of totality for the celestial event, said Michelle Hartman, the director of the Kent Area Chamber of Commerce.
"The last total solar eclipse visible in Ohio was in 1806," Hartman said. "The next total solar eclipse in the U.S. is going to be in 2044. However, we will not see a total solar eclipse in Northeast Ohio until 2099, so probably for many of us, we may not be here."
This means huge crowds of people from around the country could descend on Northeast Ohio. Hartman said that more than a half-million people could come to the northern part of the Buckeye State to see the eclipse.
"We've learned from the 2017 total solar eclipse that millions of people will travel to see this," Hartman said. "They will take the shortest drive. Youngstown is not going to experience this. They're going to want to go somewhere where they can see this and experience it, so they're going to come to Kent."
That April in Ohio generally is overcast and rainy should not dampen enthusiasm for the event, said Joan Seidel, the commissioner for health at Kent City Health Department.
"People will come, it will not matter about the weather because the eclipse will happen regardless," Seidel said. "So for anybody who's concerned about 'this is northeastern Ohio, we're not going to have the eclipse,' we're going to have the eclipse. There may be some clouds in the sky, but we'll still have it."
Council puts temporary moratorium on marijuana businesses
Kent has become one of the latest municipalities to place a moratorium on adult-use cannabis operators, testing laboratories and individuals required to be licensed by the Ohio Revised Code.
The moratorium will be in place until the state releases its guidelines and regulations. The delay, City Manager Ruller said, will allow the city to review the state's guidelines after voters in November approved the recreational use of marijuana for those 21 and older.
Several communities, including Barberton, Norton and Hudson, also have put temporary moratoriums in place.
Concerns came up at Wednesday's meeting about whether the moratorium would impact current sales of cannabis products, including at Haymaker's Market.
Kent Law Director Hope L. Jones said the delay should have no impact on cannabis products currently being sold.
"We do not want to limit the sale of hemp or CBD oils that have been sold at the Haymaker's Market in the past," Jones said, adding that the legislation approved by Council "specifically indicates that adult use cannabis is not affected by the legislation."
Reporter April Helms can be reached at ahelms@thebeaconjournal.com.
This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Kent plans road closures for eclipse activities
