Last Friday, work began on the $4.3 million East 22^nd Street improvement project. The effort will revitalize the nearly one-mile corridor between Orange and Euclid Avenues with new pavement; curb, drainage and sidewalk work; median improvements and new traffic signals. Upgrades will also include new streetscaping elements such as signage, benches, brick pavers, bike racks, trash receptacles, trees and shrubs.
 
The project is a collaboration between the Ohio Department of Transportation (ODOT), the city of Cleveland and the Northeast Ohio Areawide Coordinating Agency (NOACA). Road work is slated for completion this fall, with streetscaping amenities to be complete in the spring of 2016.
 
"East 22^nd Street really will become our north/south 'Main Street,'" says Bobbi Reichtell, executive director at Campus District, Inc., noting how the project will improve the connection between Saint Vincent Charity Medical Center, Cleveland State University, and Cuyahoga Community College.
 
"There are a lot of students that go between CSU and Tri-C. They take classes at both," she says. "It is literally a 12-minute walk. It's not a pleasant walk right now. It's barren and institutional. No one walks or bikes it."
 
Reichtell is confident that will change when bike lanes, greenery, neighborhood signs and public art created by local artist Augustus Turner are all in place.
 
"It's just going to be a much more pleasant experience for biking and walking," she says. "We expect to have many more walkers and bikers between CSU and Tri-C."
 
As usual, before Clevelanders see improvements they'll have to endure some orange barrels. East 22^nd Street will be reduced to one lane of traffic in each direction between Orange and Carnegie Avenues. Between Carnegie and Euclid Avenues, which is already one-way northbound, traffic will be reduced to one lane. Motorists are advised to be aware of signal modifications during construction as well.
 
Ironically, this does not necessarily come as bad news to many within the Campus District, including Reichtell, who expresses as much with words rarely heard in Northeast Ohio. "We are so excited to see orange barrels," she says. "Even though it will bring short term pain, this is a long time in coming. We're finally getting what we've been asking for."
 

A key component of the Cleveland Plan for Transforming Schools is helping families choose the right school. Neighborhood ambassadors are charged with informing the community about school choices.

Christine Howey, a local theater critic, poet and actor, decided to live as the woman she knew she was when transgender individuals were not so visible.

A group of civic hackers explored how transparency can be used to monitor the new consent decree and address disparity.

Northeast Ohio is still a mega manufacturing center for one thing: theatre arts. And when it comes to summer theatre opportunities, parents are spoiled for choice.

The Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small  Businesses initiative has brought new jobs and economic opportunity to Northeast Ohio in its first three years.

This weekend, enjoy authentic Greek food at Tremont Greek Fest, indulge in brunch at Hingetown’s May Market, tear it up at East Meets West's 2015 Game of S-K-A-T-E and more.

The Flashstarts business accelerator and venture fund recently moved from Playhouse Square to a much larger location in Terminal Tower for two basic reasons, says cofounder Charles Stack.

The first reason was to make it easier for startup companies to find stable office space. The second was to condense newbie entrepreneurial efforts into StartMart, a single, highly energetic nucleus where water cooler moments can foster new ideas and economic growth.

This concept of "engineered serendipity"  began May 16th when Flashstarts, which provides coaching, funds and other resources to new companies that participate in a 12-week program, left for its new 30,000-square-foot headquarters on Public Square, a space six times larger than its previous office.

"I've been doing this for 30 years, and I've never been more optimistic about startups having the opportunity to turn this region into a powerhouse," says Stack, who began planning StartMart with fellow Flashstarts founder Jennifer Neundorfer last spring. "This move is a small step in that direction."

Flashstarts itself will be the hub's first official tenant in the lead-up to a public launch in September. Over the summer, the accelerator will engage the community for feedback on StartMart's design and begin identifying and communicating with potential members. Though the group's focus is on use of software and technology, Stack expects a diverse range of occupants to fill the space.

"It's wide open to anyone who wants to join," he says.

Participants will work in a flexible space where privacy is an option even as collaboration is encouraged. Ultimately, StartMart will stand as a focal point for large-scale innovation.

"We want this to be a global center for startups," says Stack. "Cleveland can be a great home base (for small businesses), and we need to play up that strength."

An immigration proposal with local ties has connected groups statewide in the battle for brainpower.

Financial cuts and aging infrastructure require creativity for a transit authority seeking to connect riders to new and improved rapid transit stations.

Cleveland has played a starring role in several blockbuster films in recent years, creating an economic boom in the local film industry. Can local filmmakers build on that success?

As vacant factories, schools and homes are torn down or remodeled, Rustbelt Reclamation is saving materials that would otherwise be thrown out and using them to build sleek, new furniture.

Since 2009, Explorys has leveraged big data in the healthcare field to form one of the largest healthcare databases in the world, helping medical professionals provide better patient care and diagnoses. Formed out of the Cleveland Clinic in October 2009 by Charlie Lougheed and Stephen McHale, Explorys has become one of the world’s largest data platforms.

Last Monday, McHale announced to 38,000 attendees of the HIMSS conference in Chicago that Explorys has been acquired by IBM. The news was announced by Lougheed in Cleveland. The company will be a part of IBM’s Watson Health Unit.
 
The deal was a natural fit, says Lougheed. “It was one of those things,” he says. “Explorys and IBM are both leaders in the space. We’ve bumped into each other and we’ve even collaborated from time to time with our joint customers. We really see each other as pioneers in the industry”
 
Lougheed said there were three components to the decision to join IBM: Industry growth, customers, and Explorys’ employees. “We really believe in this mission and we want to see the mission continue and accelerate,” he explains. “We asked, is it good for our customers, does it make sense? Because they subscribe to our systems for a reason, so it had to matter to them.”
 
Most importantly, Lougheed said they considered their employees. “We asked, is this good for our employees, because they deserve something great as well,” he explains. “This a great thing for our employees to grow their careers.”
 
Explorys will remain in Cleveland, and all employees will retain their jobs. “There are some of the best and the brightest data software engineers in the world here,” Lougheed says. “Cleveland is a great place to keep Explorys moving. We’re going to continue to expand as expected.”

Companies in Cleveland are saving wood and other materials that were once factory floors and school chalkboards from dumpsters and transforming them into beautiful, high-quality furniture and flooring.

Each year, CIA's annual Spring Design Show showcases up-and-coming ingenuity in our own backyard. Outside of these four walls, CIA students are helping to transform Cleveland through their creative products and innovations.