On Tuesday, June 9, 2015, the League of American Bicyclists recognized Oberlin, Ohio with a bronze level Bicycle Friendly Community (BFC^SM) award, joining 350 visionary communities from across the country. With the announcement of 42 new and renewing BFCs today, Oberlin, Ohio joins a leading group of communities, in all 50 states, that are transforming our neighborhoods.

???We applaud this new round of communities for investing in a more sustainable future for the country and a healthier future for their residents and beyond,??? said Andy Clarke, President of the League of American Bicyclists. ???The growing number of leaders taking up bicycling as a way of solving many complex community problems is encouraging. We look forward to continuing to work with these communities as we move closer to our mission of creating a bicycle-friendly America for everyone.???
 
The BFC program is revolutionizing the way communities evaluate their quality of life, sustainability and transportation networks, while allowing them to benchmark their progress toward improving their bicycle-friendliness. With this impressive round, there are now 350
 
BFCs in all 50 states. The bronze level BFC award recognizes Oberlin???s commitment to improving conditions for bicycling through investment in bicycling promotion, education programs, infrastructure and pro-bicycling policies.Over the past few years the Oberlin Community has made significant improvements for cyclists.  Oberlin College received bronze level for the University category in the fall of 2013. This spring Oberlin City Council passed the first Complete Streets policy in Lorain County.  In addition, there have been improvements in the downtown area for designated bicycle parking that increases safety for bicyclists and pedestrians.  Continued efforts are planned to assist Oberlin's move from bronze to silver level designation in the future.The BFC program provides a roadmap to building a Bicycle Friendly Community and the application itself has become a rigorous and an educational tool in itself. Since its inception, more than 800 distinct communities have applied and the five levels of the award ??? diamond, platinum, gold, silver and bronze ??? provide a clear incentive for communities to continuously improve.To apply or learn more about the BFC program, visit bikeleague.org/community.
 
About the Bicycle Friendly America^SM ProgramThe Bicycle Friendly Community^SM, Bicycle Friendly State^SM, Bicycle Friendly Business and Bicycle Friendly University^SM programs are generously supported by program partner Trek Bicycle Corp. To learn more about building a Bicycle Friendly America, visit www.bikeleague.org/BFA
 
The League of American Bicyclists is leading the movement to create a Bicycle Friendly America for everyone. As leaders, our commitment is to listen and learn, define standards and share best practices to engage diverse communities and build a powerful, unified voice for change.

Each January is a new start for many people.  If offers a proactive person the opportunity to start again. Regardless of whether a person believes in New Year???s Resolutions, making commitments at the start of a new year can teach a person how to make, set, and work toward achieving goals. 

Oberlin, Ohio ??? January 14, 2015 ??? Today, Oberlin officially advances to the Semifinal round of the Georgetown University Energy Prize, a national competition that is challenging communities across the U.S. to rethink their energy use. At a press event in Washington, D.C. today, Oberlin was announced as one of the 50 communities who are leading the way on energy efficiency.

???Oberlin has made a commitment to reducing its greenhouse gas emissions below zero by the year 2050 and energy efficiency is a huge part of that equation. Right now, the average Oberlin home is losing an estimated $450-500 per year in missed energy savings at today???s energy prices. We have access to efficiency programs that will, in most cases, nearly triple a homeowner???s investment. Some income-qualified programs pay for all the work. Collectively, over the course of the two-year competition, the status quo in Oberlin will lose us nearly $8 million. So while winning the $5 million prize purse will help these efforts, we have an opportunity to ???win??? a far greater amount of money in the process. And those savings will continue after the competition ends.??? ??? Sean Hayes, The Oberlin Project

Over 200 Open Houses at Over 100 Tour Sites, 7 Guided Tours Across Ohio will showcase clean energy and green design in events throughout local areas. Oberlin is offering a guided tour on Saturday, October 5 from 10 am ??? 3 pm. The public is invited to take the FREE ???Green Energy Ohio Tour??? and network with friends and neighbors using renewable energy, energy efficiency, and green design. 

For the last 11 years, the educational non-profit organization Green Energy Ohio (GEO) has sponsored the tour on the first weekend in October tour to showcase the industry across the state. A few years ago GEO changed the "Ohio Solar Tour" name to the"Green Energy Ohio Tour" to more accurately describe the tour that features not only solar, but tour sites with wind, energy efficiency, biomass and other green energy technologies.  

The current Feve location has been a local landmark for so long that it slipped my mind that Matt and Jason???s first location was across the street from Oberlin City Hall.  The Feve began as a coffee shop and has evolved into ???the place to go??? by many locals and others who know about Oberlin.

The public is invited to take the FREE ???Green Energy Ohio Tour??? and network with friends and neighbors using renewable energy, energy efficiency and green design.  There are many open houses and guided green energy tours taking place across the State of Ohio. Oberlin will be participating with a guided tour on Saturday, October 6 from 10 am ??? 4 pm.

For the last 10 years, the educational non-profit organization Green Energy Ohio (GEO) has sponsored the tour on the first weekend in October to showcase the industry across the state. A few years ago GEO changed the "Ohio Solar Tour" name to the "Green Energy Ohio Tour" to more accurately describe the tour that features not only solar, but tour sites with wind, energy efficiency, biomass and other green energy technologies.  

Living in a college town offer residents the opportunity to be a connoisseur of pizza.  I believe that small and locally owned pizza places have a better taste than their chain-owned competitors. In fact, Magpie???s my pie Tex-Mex pizza is what my taste buds crave on a regular basis.  It is my favorite specialty pizza (just ask the servers there, I don???t even have to tell them my order because when I show up they know what I want as soon as they see me walk in - LOL!)

Magpie Pizza is located in the East College Street Complex at 65 East College Street.  Jim and Rachael Strader, residents of LaGrange, are the owners of Magpie Pizza.  Rachel and Jim opened up Magpie Pizza because they liked the sustainable building complex and are encouraged by the resident???s desire for local foods.  In addition, they have a family history of relatives that are restaurant owners.  One family member owns a restaurant in Lorain County and another family member owns a restaurant in New York. Magpie Pizza offers specialty pizzas, salad, and sandwiches.  Prices range from $4.50 for in individual sized pizza to $18 for a large pizza.

Eating ice cream at Cowhaus Creamery is like the taste of beautiful art in your mouth.  Eating at this local creamery is a great experience any time of year because the menu is constantly changing.  Cowhaus Creamery Artisan Ice Cream located at 55 East College Street, Suite 4 in downtown Oberlin, next to Slow Train Caf??.

The owner of Cowhaus Creamery is Joe Bomback and he is an Oberlin College Alumni from Lorain County. He and his wife Debbie (who is from Shaker Heights) love Oberlin and it was their goal to be involved in the community and so they decided to open up Cowhaus Creamery. 

I was walking toward Ben Franklin and noticed that I was 20 minutes late according to the downtown clock as a result of another interview.  I underestimated the enthusiasm of business owners to want to talk to me about their business. I quickly rushed in to Ben Franklin and asked for Krista who was already standing there appearing to be a bit out of breath herself.  She said she had also rushed thinking that she was late for her appointment with me.  This is the camaraderie that takes place in Oberlin when a person spends time shopping in downtown and involved with community events.

Krista told me that each Ben Franklin store is independently owned so the setup and displays are different.  There are some Ben Franklin stores that have turned into a craft store so many younger people are surprised to learn that the Ben Franklin in Oberlin is a variety store filled with books (new & used), office supplies, health & beauty items, household goods, fabric, custom framing, fair trade gift items, snacks,  and candy.  Krista says that her store is ever evolving to adapt to the needs of her customers, which is the reason people should visit often.

It was a rainy and somewhat cold Friday morning as I waited outside the door for Liz Burgess to open the door to begin our interview.  As any normal business owner is, she approached the door looking as though she had something on her mind but as soon as she saw my face she began to smile.  She quickly started her computer and turned on music on low as it to set the atmosphere for the day before we sat down in front of the glass case that she recycled from possibly another store that operated in Oberlin.

Liz Burgess is the Owner/Manager of the Ginko Gallery & Studio.  Ginko Gallery & Studio specializes in art made by individual from smaller studios.    Most of the art are considered contemporary crafts with an emphasis at times on local resources, which may be wood, glass, trash metals, etc.  None of the artists are from big companies or studios.  Ginko Gallery also has artist studios and has a large variety of art supplies. The items in her store range from 50 cents to $2,500.  For the most part the artists try to keep some items at $20 or under, keeping in mind that people desiring to find affordable gifts.