Connelly Rice
Karin Connelly Rice

Stories by: Karin Connelly Rice

Karin Connelly Rice enjoys telling people's stories, whether it's a promising startup or a life's passion. Over the past 20 years she has reported on the local business community for publications such as Inside Business and Cleveland Magazine. She was editor of the Rocky River/Lakewood edition of In the Neighborhood and was a reporter and photographer for the Amherst News-Times. At Fresh Water she enjoys telling the stories of Clevelanders who are shaping and embracing the business and research climate in Cleveland.
Game changer: Edgewater Beach House transforms classic park
After much anticipation, the new 12,000-square-foot Edgewater Beach House opened last Friday. The open air, two-story amenity offers stunning views of Lake Erie and a place to kick back and relax with friends. It also serves as a connection point with walking paths leading to the popular green space from surrounding neighborhoods.

Read more about all the beach house has to offer beach goers this summer.
One of a kind and lots of it: VNTG Home opens in Tyler Village
With a career in retail that spans more than 25 years, Megan Featherston knows the trends and shopping behavior of the furniture and home furnishings market.

“I’m really wired for and passionate about putting the fun back in retail,” Featherston says. “Most people shop to fill a void. But with everything so homogenous, it’s like [the movie] Groundhog’s Day.’
 
Then last year, Featherston noticed a problem that she knew she could solve. She saw Baby Boomers looking to downsize and get rid of some of the nice furniture they’ve acquired over the years, while Millennials are constantly searching for unique, affordable furnishings,
 
So earlier this month Featherston opened VNTG Home, 1427 E. 36th St. at Tyler Village

Read about how VNTG Home solves both generational problems here.
 
Three tips: local organic lawn man on growing truly green grass
Inspired by what he learned in high school biology class about the dangers of chemicals and fertilizers used to make lawns weed-free and green, Alec McClennan founded Good Nature Organic Lawn Care in 1999 after earning his engineering degree.
 
With just a handful of customers and hid Subaru hatchback, McClennan set out to educate Clevelanders about the health and environmental factors associated with chemical pesticides and fertilizers, and prove there was a better, natural way to grow lush, healthy lawns.

Today, McClennan has 35 employees, 18 trucks and serves thousands of customers in Cleveland, Akron and Columbus neighborhoods.

With success like that, you'll want to listen to his advice on how you can improve your yard organically by reading the rest of the article.
Tiny vacant lot transformed into unique property
Early last year, a 35-foot by 95-foot plot of land at 1427 Scenic St. in Lakewood sat uncared for with a shaky past.

The Cuyahoga County Land Bank had razed the abandoned house, the adjacent neighbors had no interest in the land and the non-profit community organization LakewoodAlive was desperately searching for someone to plant some love on the property.

Find out what happened to the pint-sized property here.
'Cardinal Nest' nurtures students from Euclid to Warrensville Heights and beyond
When Carly Hill attended East Cleveland’s Shaw High School, she was accustomed to being one of the star pupils — earning good grades, participating in mock trials in preparation for her planned law career and she was often chosen for special projects.
 
Hills describes her experience at Shaw being a part of a small group of students intensely interested in learning. In fact, she earned all As, except for her first and only B in 11th grade.
 
“Imagine being in a class of 20 students,” Hill says. “In most of my classes, there was a small group of students interested in learning among a disruptive group, and as a result, we were always the only ones picked for special projects. Then those five well-behaved students were placed in AP and honors classes. That group of students aren't necessarily there because they know more, it's merely because they are not disruptive.”
 
Carly HillSo when Hill graduated in 2010 as valedictorian and headed off to Howard University on a scholarship, she expected life to be the same at the prestigious college. But things were different from the moment she stepped onto the Washington, D.C. campus.
 
“Shaw High School is 99.9 percent African American and Howard also is an historically black college, and I thought I knew what it was like to be black,” Hill recalls. “But I was around a completely different group of people. It was culture shock.”
 
No longer was Hill among a select group of serious straight A students. She was among the country’s best and brightest. “I expected it to be a little different, but not as different, and I knew it was a good college” she recalls. “It was a real culture shock to realize they don’t know me and I had to prove myself. At Shaw it was not as hard to separate yourself. At Howard, everyone is that kid, everyone is the best.”
 
By the time she got to Howard, Hill had decided to major in biology instead of law. But she was not prepared for the required chemistry minor and received a D in the class. Hill lost both her scholarship and her self-confidence. After her first semester, she briefly dropped out of Howard.
 
“I lost hope,” Hill says.

Read the rest of the story to find out how she regained it.
PHOTOS: inside the grand and historic Standard Building
Courtesy of a Cleveland Restoration Society SNOOP tour, Fresh Water offers up this preview of the breathtaking Standard Building, which Weston, Inc. is renovating and converting into residential units. 
Update: iconic water tower retakes rightful place atop Lofts at Lion Mills
In its heyday, Lion Knitting Mills established a reputation for making wool military goods, and later sweaters for the consumer market.

The 1919 factory at 3256 W. 25th St. in the Clark-Fulton neighborhood sat vacant after Lion Knitting Mills closed its doors in 1990, until the Detroit Shoreway Community Development Organization (DSCDO) bought the 52,000-square-foot building and began converting it into affordable loft-style apartments in 2016.

Get the whole story here.
Re-emergence: nostalgic Higbee's space is set to let
New urban trail: 1.9 miles breaks ground in Tremont
Call for TLC: vintage Capitol Theatre
Sparking a 'Chain Reaction' between business and community
Inspired by CNBC's Cleveland Hustles, Cleveland Chain Reaction aims to keep the economic development wave going with up to $1 million invested in five new businesses — all in one neighborhood.
CLE classic: Viktor Schreckengost combined form, function and beauty
A sculptor, ceramicist, industrial designer and Cleveland Institute of Art professor, Viktor Schreckengost's legacy continues to live out loud throughout Northeast Ohio and beyond.
'In the 216' to open along Lakewood-Cleveland border