Downtown
Fresh Water is giving away tickets to some of the events leading up to The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony. For your chance to win, simply "Like" Fresh Water on Facebook, and write a post on our wall stating which concert in this list you'd like to attend and why. We're going to cut off the contest on Wednesday morning in order to get tickets out in time. Fresh Water will pick winning entries based on wit, brevity, panache and other wholly nebulous standards.
Small business owners are often the very first to turn the lights on in the morning and the last to leave at night. So when an owner doesn't show up for work until midmorning, that's typically something his or her employees take notice of right away. They may gossip and joke that the boss is out playing hooky.
"They'll look around and wonder where the boss is," says Ginny Hridel, Product Manager of Health Insurance and Wellness Programs with the Council of Smaller Enterprises (COSE). "Taking an hour and a half a week is not something owners are used to."
Yet, dedicating such time to health and wellness is what's expected of participants in Wellness Tracks, a COSE program that's geared towards helping Cleveland's small business owners become healthier. Throughout the 12-week program, owners learn how to integrate nutrition and wellness into their lives. The result, says Hridel, impacts not only the owners' fitness levels but also their companies' bottom line.
"Think about the sustainability of small businesses," she says. "If the owner gets sick, there's a big impact on the business. If they're able to stay healthy, they can focus on the business and be more productive. There are so many wellness programs for big companies, but it's harder to achieve for small businesses."
To that end, COSE set up its program to make it easy and affordable for small business owners to participate. The program requires a manageable chunk of time and is free for anyone covered by COSE's Medical Mutual plan. Owners not covered by that plan can still attend Wellness Tracks for a small fee.
"There are so many individual success stories," says Hridel. "This is not just about pounds lost but about the business owner making a personal transformation."
In the past two years, Wellness Tracks has graduated more than 300 individuals. The next program kicks off April 19th and classes start the week of April 23rd.
Source: Ginny Hridel
Writer: Lee Chilcote
"They'll look around and wonder where the boss is," says Ginny Hridel, Product Manager of Health Insurance and Wellness Programs with the Council of Smaller Enterprises (COSE). "Taking an hour and a half a week is not something owners are used to."
Yet, dedicating such time to health and wellness is what's expected of participants in Wellness Tracks, a COSE program that's geared towards helping Cleveland's small business owners become healthier. Throughout the 12-week program, owners learn how to integrate nutrition and wellness into their lives. The result, says Hridel, impacts not only the owners' fitness levels but also their companies' bottom line.
"Think about the sustainability of small businesses," she says. "If the owner gets sick, there's a big impact on the business. If they're able to stay healthy, they can focus on the business and be more productive. There are so many wellness programs for big companies, but it's harder to achieve for small businesses."
To that end, COSE set up its program to make it easy and affordable for small business owners to participate. The program requires a manageable chunk of time and is free for anyone covered by COSE's Medical Mutual plan. Owners not covered by that plan can still attend Wellness Tracks for a small fee.
"There are so many individual success stories," says Hridel. "This is not just about pounds lost but about the business owner making a personal transformation."
In the past two years, Wellness Tracks has graduated more than 300 individuals. The next program kicks off April 19th and classes start the week of April 23rd.
Source: Ginny Hridel
Writer: Lee Chilcote
Just as the U.S. Supreme Court this week begins to hear arguments about the constitutionality of the federal Affordable Care Act, several Northeast Ohio foundations have banded together to provide nonpartisan, consumer-friendly information to help citizens navigate this complex new law.
The public education effort takes place as liberal and conservative groups across the country launch a fight not only over the constitutionality of the law, but also over how it's perceived by the general public. While the Obama campaign and other Democratic groups are trying to demonstrate how the law is already improving people's lives, Republican groups, on the other hand, are trying to cast the law as a job-killing, top-down mandate.
For Kim St. John-Stevenson of the Saint Luke's Foundation, ensuring that ordinary citizens have the information they need to navigate this complex law -- which will affect their lives, whether they know it yet or not -- is by far the most important objective.
"There's a huge education gap, and we need to be proactive about plugging that gap," says St. John-Stevenson. "Whether you like the legislation or not, right now it's the law of the land, and it's in everybody's best interests to understand it."
The new website, www.affordablecareactneo.org, was launched by the George Gund Foundation, Mt. Sinai Health Care Foundation and Saint Luke's Foundation. Modeled after a similar effort in Cincinnati, it provides information about costs, private insurance, Medicare, mental health coverage, coverage for kids and more.
The website is available in English and Spanish, and there is also a wallet card that can be printed out. The foundations will be working over the coming months to spread the word about the website through their nonprofit partnerships.
Source: Kim St. John-Stevenson
Writer: Lee Chilcote
The public education effort takes place as liberal and conservative groups across the country launch a fight not only over the constitutionality of the law, but also over how it's perceived by the general public. While the Obama campaign and other Democratic groups are trying to demonstrate how the law is already improving people's lives, Republican groups, on the other hand, are trying to cast the law as a job-killing, top-down mandate.
For Kim St. John-Stevenson of the Saint Luke's Foundation, ensuring that ordinary citizens have the information they need to navigate this complex law -- which will affect their lives, whether they know it yet or not -- is by far the most important objective.
"There's a huge education gap, and we need to be proactive about plugging that gap," says St. John-Stevenson. "Whether you like the legislation or not, right now it's the law of the land, and it's in everybody's best interests to understand it."
The new website, www.affordablecareactneo.org, was launched by the George Gund Foundation, Mt. Sinai Health Care Foundation and Saint Luke's Foundation. Modeled after a similar effort in Cincinnati, it provides information about costs, private insurance, Medicare, mental health coverage, coverage for kids and more.
The website is available in English and Spanish, and there is also a wallet card that can be printed out. The foundations will be working over the coming months to spread the word about the website through their nonprofit partnerships.
Source: Kim St. John-Stevenson
Writer: Lee Chilcote
Last week, NorTech announced nine area companies as winners of its annual innovation awards. The winners represent a variety of industries, including advanced energy, advanced materials, biosciences, flexible electronics, and instrumentation, controls and electronics.
“This year’s winners were selected by the judges’ panel based on their creativity, feasibility, collaboration, and triple bottom line impact,” says Rebecca O. Bagley, president and CEO of NorTech. “The winners represent a diverse range of technologies, from advanced energy to bioscience, which are being developed and commercialized right here in Northeast Ohio.”
Award winners were recognized at an evening ceremony at LaCentre Conference and Banquet Facility in Westlake, Ohio. Stephen Spoonamore, CEO of ABSMaterials, an advanced materials startup in Wooster, was the keynote speaker for the evening.
The winners are BrainMaster Technologies, Inc. for its brain imaging and biofeedback system; eQED for its 250-watt HIKARI solar microinverter; GrafTech International Holdings,for the world’s thinnest graphite heat spreaders; LineStream Technologies for advanced controls software; MesoCoat, Inc. for CermaClad; NASA Glenn Research Center with collaborative partners Ohio Aerospace Institute and Sest Inc. for large tapered crystal (LTC); Polyflow for waste-to-energy conversion technology; Powdermet, Inc. for McomP (Micro/Nanocomposite); and Tesla NanoCoatings Ltd. for Teslan carbon nanocoating.
“NorTech Innovation Award winners receive well-deserved, positive exposure for their innovations, their companies, and the talented teams that have worked tirelessly to move these technologies from vision to reality,” says Bagley. “Our hope is that award winners can leverage this recognition to pave the way for new opportunities for their organizations to continue to grow and excel in Northeast Ohio.”
Source: Rebecca O. Bagley
Writer: Karin Connelly
“This year’s winners were selected by the judges’ panel based on their creativity, feasibility, collaboration, and triple bottom line impact,” says Rebecca O. Bagley, president and CEO of NorTech. “The winners represent a diverse range of technologies, from advanced energy to bioscience, which are being developed and commercialized right here in Northeast Ohio.”
Award winners were recognized at an evening ceremony at LaCentre Conference and Banquet Facility in Westlake, Ohio. Stephen Spoonamore, CEO of ABSMaterials, an advanced materials startup in Wooster, was the keynote speaker for the evening.
The winners are BrainMaster Technologies, Inc. for its brain imaging and biofeedback system; eQED for its 250-watt HIKARI solar microinverter; GrafTech International Holdings,for the world’s thinnest graphite heat spreaders; LineStream Technologies for advanced controls software; MesoCoat, Inc. for CermaClad; NASA Glenn Research Center with collaborative partners Ohio Aerospace Institute and Sest Inc. for large tapered crystal (LTC); Polyflow for waste-to-energy conversion technology; Powdermet, Inc. for McomP (Micro/Nanocomposite); and Tesla NanoCoatings Ltd. for Teslan carbon nanocoating.
“NorTech Innovation Award winners receive well-deserved, positive exposure for their innovations, their companies, and the talented teams that have worked tirelessly to move these technologies from vision to reality,” says Bagley. “Our hope is that award winners can leverage this recognition to pave the way for new opportunities for their organizations to continue to grow and excel in Northeast Ohio.”
Source: Rebecca O. Bagley
Writer: Karin Connelly
In this installment of Fresh Water Video, local entrepreneurs discuss the benefits of doing business in Northeast Ohio. In the video are Doug Hardman of SparkBase, Brian Deagan of Knotice, and Dan McCafferty of Revere Data.
East, west, north and south: The culinary choices bestowed upon Cleveland foodies are dizzying, to say the least. But everybody has his or her favorite -- that one dish that inflates them with joy while feeding the heart, body and soul. Fresh Water contributor Erin O'Brien caught up with a crop of Cleveland movers and shakers and asked each of them to dish up the skinny on their top local nosh in their own home-cooked words.
free press touts upcoming iron chef 'clash of the michigan titans'
Cleveland’s own Michael Symon continues to receive out of town press, this time in a piece from Sylvia Rector of the Detroit Free Press.
As the newspaper’s scribe for the "Dining Out" column, Rector reports that an upcoming episode of the Food Network’s Iron Chef America will be a "battle between two almost-Detroit chefs -- Takashi Yagihashi of the renowned, now-closed Tribute in Farmington Hills, and Michael Symon, the Clevelander who owns Roast at the Westin Book Cadillac Detroit.”
The episode airs April 1.
The battle will pit two James Beard Award-winning chefs with notably different cooking styles in a contest focusing on a common “secret ingredient.”
Later in the story Rector notes Symon is “often credited with igniting his hometown's restaurant renaissance in the mid-'90s -- and if he didn't ignite it, he certainly threw gasoline on the sparks.”
"At the end of the day, I cook a very Midwestern style. It's who I am," Symon told the Free Press as he prepared to open Roast, which was the Detroit Free Press 2009 Restaurant of the Year.
As Clevelanders it is difficult to imagine a food scene without Symon playing a major role. While his celebrity has certainly exploded in recent years, it is certainly well deserved.
Read the full Detroit Free Press story here.
As the newspaper’s scribe for the "Dining Out" column, Rector reports that an upcoming episode of the Food Network’s Iron Chef America will be a "battle between two almost-Detroit chefs -- Takashi Yagihashi of the renowned, now-closed Tribute in Farmington Hills, and Michael Symon, the Clevelander who owns Roast at the Westin Book Cadillac Detroit.”
The episode airs April 1.
The battle will pit two James Beard Award-winning chefs with notably different cooking styles in a contest focusing on a common “secret ingredient.”
Later in the story Rector notes Symon is “often credited with igniting his hometown's restaurant renaissance in the mid-'90s -- and if he didn't ignite it, he certainly threw gasoline on the sparks.”
"At the end of the day, I cook a very Midwestern style. It's who I am," Symon told the Free Press as he prepared to open Roast, which was the Detroit Free Press 2009 Restaurant of the Year.
As Clevelanders it is difficult to imagine a food scene without Symon playing a major role. While his celebrity has certainly exploded in recent years, it is certainly well deserved.
Read the full Detroit Free Press story here.
port of cle earns award for increase in international cargo
Thanks to a 10-percent increase in international cargo during the 2011 navigation season, the Cleveland-Cuyahoga County Port Authority nabbed the prestigious Robert J. Lewis Pacesetter Award from the Saint Lawrence Seaway Development Corporation (SLSDC). It is the Port's 10th Pacesetter Award.
A large jump in cargo, mostly attributed to the handling of windmill components originating in Germany and destined for Euclid, is to thank for the increase.
"The sustained strong economic performance by the port serves to highlight marine transportation’s importance for the city, the region, and the country," said SLSDC Administrator Terry Johnson. "Through its ongoing infrastructure improvements and forward looking strategic plan, the port is well positioned for further growth in 2012 and beyond."
"The Port of Cleveland is clearly one of Ohio’s economic engines and we are fortunate that Will Friedman is leading the organization," said Joe Roman, President of Greater Cleveland Partnership.
Read the rest of the shipping news here.
A large jump in cargo, mostly attributed to the handling of windmill components originating in Germany and destined for Euclid, is to thank for the increase.
"The sustained strong economic performance by the port serves to highlight marine transportation’s importance for the city, the region, and the country," said SLSDC Administrator Terry Johnson. "Through its ongoing infrastructure improvements and forward looking strategic plan, the port is well positioned for further growth in 2012 and beyond."
"The Port of Cleveland is clearly one of Ohio’s economic engines and we are fortunate that Will Friedman is leading the organization," said Joe Roman, President of Greater Cleveland Partnership.
Read the rest of the shipping news here.
Like most of the country, Northeast Ohio was slammed hard by the tidal wave of the most recent recession. But thanks to an increasingly diversified economic strategy -- one that saw a transition from traditional manufacturing (steel, tires) to modern forms of manufacturing (healthcare equipment, polymers) -- the region is emerging from those damaging waters stronger than it has in the past, say area advocates.
The Cleveland Plus Marketing Alliance is celebrating its fifth birthday promoting Northeast Ohio as a vigorous regional entity. Like any proud parent, Cleveland Plus executive director Rick Batyko is eager to show off the campaign's accomplishments over its first five years of life. Fresh Water writer Douglas J. Guth spoke with Batyko about the campaign's successful past as well as the Wadsworth native's hopes for the region's future.
Since the financial crowdsourcing website Kickstarter was founded a few years ago by New York entrepreneurs, it has helped to raise millions of dollars for artistic projects, including many in Cleveland.
Just how important is Kickstarter for arts funding? A recent New York Times article reported that the organization expects to raise $150 million in contributions in 2012. By comparison, the National Endowment for the Arts has a budget of $146 million.
Next week, Kickstarter is coming to Cleveland as part of a Midwest tour to showcase how artists can land DIY funding for their creative-minded startups. The Community Partnership for Arts and Culture (CPAC) and the Foundation Center of Cleveland partnered to create the event, which takes place on Thursday, March 29th from 6 to 8 p.m. at the Idea Center's Miller Classroom at 1375 Euclid Avenue.
"Kickstarter is important not only because it helps artists raise funding, but also because it leverages their ability to get the word out," says Susan DePasquale, Program Manager with CPAC. "There aren't many opportunities for artists to be funded directly. Kickstarter also allows givers to feel like entrepreneurs."
Source: Susan DePasquale
Writer: Lee Chilcote
Just how important is Kickstarter for arts funding? A recent New York Times article reported that the organization expects to raise $150 million in contributions in 2012. By comparison, the National Endowment for the Arts has a budget of $146 million.
Next week, Kickstarter is coming to Cleveland as part of a Midwest tour to showcase how artists can land DIY funding for their creative-minded startups. The Community Partnership for Arts and Culture (CPAC) and the Foundation Center of Cleveland partnered to create the event, which takes place on Thursday, March 29th from 6 to 8 p.m. at the Idea Center's Miller Classroom at 1375 Euclid Avenue.
"Kickstarter is important not only because it helps artists raise funding, but also because it leverages their ability to get the word out," says Susan DePasquale, Program Manager with CPAC. "There aren't many opportunities for artists to be funded directly. Kickstarter also allows givers to feel like entrepreneurs."
Source: Susan DePasquale
Writer: Lee Chilcote
bbc writes about world's first rock concert in cleveland
In the lead-up to the 27th Annual Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony, articles on the birth of rock and roll are as inevitable as the encore at a rock concert.
Writing for the BBC, Jude Sheerin delves into the start of it all, right here in Cleveland.
"Sixty years ago the world's first rock concert was staged in Cleveland by two men whose passion for music bridged the racial divide in a segregated U.S.," says the writer.
Those "two men" were Alan Freed and Leo Mintz.
"One of them was the [Moondog Coronation Ball] MC, Alan Freed. The other was Leo Mintz, owner of a music store on the fringes of Cleveland's black community."
Sheerin goes on to describe the coining of the phrase 'rock 'n' roll, the events that lead up to the "world's first rock concert," the Moondog Coronation Ball, held March 21, 1952 in the old Cleveland Arena, and the pandemonium that ensued when gatecrashers stormed the 10,000-seat venue.
Spoiler Alert: It did not end as planned.
Read the rest of the liner notes here.
Writing for the BBC, Jude Sheerin delves into the start of it all, right here in Cleveland.
"Sixty years ago the world's first rock concert was staged in Cleveland by two men whose passion for music bridged the racial divide in a segregated U.S.," says the writer.
Those "two men" were Alan Freed and Leo Mintz.
"One of them was the [Moondog Coronation Ball] MC, Alan Freed. The other was Leo Mintz, owner of a music store on the fringes of Cleveland's black community."
Sheerin goes on to describe the coining of the phrase 'rock 'n' roll, the events that lead up to the "world's first rock concert," the Moondog Coronation Ball, held March 21, 1952 in the old Cleveland Arena, and the pandemonium that ensued when gatecrashers stormed the 10,000-seat venue.
Spoiler Alert: It did not end as planned.
Read the rest of the liner notes here.
Just moments before they took the dais for the Lockwood Thompson Dialogues, presented by the Cleveland Public Library in partnership with LAND studio, local author Michael Ruhlman and award-winning photographer Penny De Los Santos sat down with Fresh Water. The free-flowing conversation touched upon topics ranging from the local food movement to the Cleveland dining scene to food photography. Have a listen.
The Cleveland Clinic hopes to hire 600 registered nurses at an upcoming career fair, held March 28-30 at Cleveland Browns Stadium. The Stanley Shalom Zielony Institute for Nursing Excellence organized the event, “Nursing Now at Cleveland Clinic,” to fill vacant positions and prepare for increased demand for nurses as baby boomers retire.
It is projected that one million nurses will be needed nationwide by 2020. The Clinic currently employs about 11,000 nurses at its various locations. “One of the goals of the job fair is to recruit wonderful, qualified nurses from all over Northeast Ohio,” says Sarah Sinclair, the Clinic’s executive chief nursing officer.
The Clinic is looking to fill 200 new positions as well as 400 existing openings. All nursing levels are open, but applicants must be registered nurses or graduate from nursing school by May.
The job fair is a one-stop hiring experience, consisting of every phase of the new-hire process, from lab work and background checks to physicals. Candidates can apply for up to three different positions. “They can walk away with offers, pending the results,” says Sinclair. “They can get all things done in one day. And I will make every effort to welcome and introduce myself to everyone.”
The event also serves as a continuing education event. Two classes will provide continuing education credits, as well as food and entertainment. Sinclair expects a large turnout. “We have 748 attendees pre-registered,” she says. “We also expect a lot of people to show up, so I expect we will have over 1,000 people.”
The fair runs from 8:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. March 28 and 29, and from 8:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. March 30.
Source: Sarah Sinclair
Writer: Karin Connelly
It is projected that one million nurses will be needed nationwide by 2020. The Clinic currently employs about 11,000 nurses at its various locations. “One of the goals of the job fair is to recruit wonderful, qualified nurses from all over Northeast Ohio,” says Sarah Sinclair, the Clinic’s executive chief nursing officer.
The Clinic is looking to fill 200 new positions as well as 400 existing openings. All nursing levels are open, but applicants must be registered nurses or graduate from nursing school by May.
The job fair is a one-stop hiring experience, consisting of every phase of the new-hire process, from lab work and background checks to physicals. Candidates can apply for up to three different positions. “They can walk away with offers, pending the results,” says Sinclair. “They can get all things done in one day. And I will make every effort to welcome and introduce myself to everyone.”
The event also serves as a continuing education event. Two classes will provide continuing education credits, as well as food and entertainment. Sinclair expects a large turnout. “We have 748 attendees pre-registered,” she says. “We also expect a lot of people to show up, so I expect we will have over 1,000 people.”
The fair runs from 8:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. March 28 and 29, and from 8:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. March 30.
Source: Sarah Sinclair
Writer: Karin Connelly
green jobs surge ahead in recession, including cleveland
Triple Pundit, a publication that covers "people, planet, and profit," recently published an article that counters assumptions that the green economy is just a passing fad.
"To hear conservative commentators tell it, the green economy is a fad, with trumped up benefits, offering jobs that only come at the expense of conventional jobs. And now, they say, with a recession raging all around us, is not the time to be investing money in a more sustainable future," writes the reporter.
Rather, "global demand for renewables grew by 31 percent during 2011 to nearly $250 billion. Last month, renewable energy jobs in the European Union broke through to 1.14 million, finally exceeding through the milestone million. The report goes on to say that the EU is on track to meet their goal of 20% renewables by 2020."
Closer to home, clean energy jobs in the US, in the years 1998-2007, grew by 9.1% while overall jobs grew by only 3.7%.
Mark Muro, of the Brookings Institution, says the 100,000 green jobs were added between 2003-2010, with the highest levels of growth occurring in areas with green tech clusters, like Albany, NY and Cleveland, OH.
Read the rest of the good, green news here.
"To hear conservative commentators tell it, the green economy is a fad, with trumped up benefits, offering jobs that only come at the expense of conventional jobs. And now, they say, with a recession raging all around us, is not the time to be investing money in a more sustainable future," writes the reporter.
Rather, "global demand for renewables grew by 31 percent during 2011 to nearly $250 billion. Last month, renewable energy jobs in the European Union broke through to 1.14 million, finally exceeding through the milestone million. The report goes on to say that the EU is on track to meet their goal of 20% renewables by 2020."
Closer to home, clean energy jobs in the US, in the years 1998-2007, grew by 9.1% while overall jobs grew by only 3.7%.
Mark Muro, of the Brookings Institution, says the 100,000 green jobs were added between 2003-2010, with the highest levels of growth occurring in areas with green tech clusters, like Albany, NY and Cleveland, OH.
Read the rest of the good, green news here.
Thanks to roadway improvements and striking new signage, University Circle is becoming easier to navigate all the time. Yet it's a grim joke among cyclists that navigating the spaghetti intersection at Stokes, Martin Luther King Jr. and Cedar is akin to taking your life into your hands.
This issue affects more than a small, insignificant sliver of the population: According to City of Cleveland Bike Planner Marty Cader, the number of bike commuters continues to rise each year. In fact, he says, the parking garages at the Cleveland Clinic are filled with bikes these days, many of which originate from points further east.
The City of Cleveland recently broke ground on a new trail which is expected to ease this life-threatening commute. The so-called Lake to Lakes Trail consists of a new 10-foot-wide trail and improved intersections that should be complete by the end of summer. The trail will better connect the Harrison Dillard Bikeway in Rockefeller Park with the bike paths at Shaker Lakes in Shaker Heights.
The project overcame huge design challenges by funneling bike traffic through existing public land in University Circle. The City of Cleveland is reconstructing several traffic islands and adding ADA ramps and pedestrian signals to help make road crossings safer. The trail will meander through the hidden gem of Rudy Rogers Park, where Doan Brook flows into a culvert before emerging in Rockefeller Park, and then head up Fairhill Boulevard into the Heights.
The project is being funded by the Ohio Department of Transportation and the Department of Energy through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.
The trail also adds another leg to the city's Bikeway Master Plan, which is beginning to form vital connections between city neighborhoods. With the help of the Lake to Lakes Trail, cyclists will be able to easily and safely bike from Shaker Heights to downtown Cleveland along Euclid Ave., or out to the lakefront.
Source: Marty Cader
Writer: Lee Chilcote
This issue affects more than a small, insignificant sliver of the population: According to City of Cleveland Bike Planner Marty Cader, the number of bike commuters continues to rise each year. In fact, he says, the parking garages at the Cleveland Clinic are filled with bikes these days, many of which originate from points further east.
The City of Cleveland recently broke ground on a new trail which is expected to ease this life-threatening commute. The so-called Lake to Lakes Trail consists of a new 10-foot-wide trail and improved intersections that should be complete by the end of summer. The trail will better connect the Harrison Dillard Bikeway in Rockefeller Park with the bike paths at Shaker Lakes in Shaker Heights.
The project overcame huge design challenges by funneling bike traffic through existing public land in University Circle. The City of Cleveland is reconstructing several traffic islands and adding ADA ramps and pedestrian signals to help make road crossings safer. The trail will meander through the hidden gem of Rudy Rogers Park, where Doan Brook flows into a culvert before emerging in Rockefeller Park, and then head up Fairhill Boulevard into the Heights.
The project is being funded by the Ohio Department of Transportation and the Department of Energy through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.
The trail also adds another leg to the city's Bikeway Master Plan, which is beginning to form vital connections between city neighborhoods. With the help of the Lake to Lakes Trail, cyclists will be able to easily and safely bike from Shaker Heights to downtown Cleveland along Euclid Ave., or out to the lakefront.
Source: Marty Cader
Writer: Lee Chilcote
What makes a neighborhood thrive? Is it a coffee shop? A fistful of chef-owned bistros? What about a grocery store and dry cleaners? When it comes to Cleveland's various neighborhoods, some seem to have all the pieces in place. Ohio City, Tremont, Detroit Shoreway… these budding burgs appear to have everything a resident could want and need. But do they?
Against a backdrop of vacant, foreclosed homes and empty lots, U.S. Representatives Steve LaTourette and Marcia Fudge this week unveiled the bipartisan Restore Our Neighborhoods Act of 2012. The new legislation seeks to provide $4 billion to states and land banks to issue 30-year demolition bonds to demolish vacant, blighted homes across the country.
"This country needs to come to the realization that sometimes you just need to tear it down and start over," LaTourette told an audience of city leaders and community development professionals outside of a vacant home on E. 69th Street in Slavic Village. LaTourette stressed that the foreclosure crisis is not just an urban problem; it affects the Lake County communities he represents, too. "Vacant homes drag down property values and can lead to crime."
Congresswoman Marcia Fudge noted that more than 40 percent of the homes on E. 69th Street off Union Avenue were either vacant or foreclosed. A block away, a woman was recently dragged into a vacant property and raped.
Currently, only 10 percent of funds from the federal Neighborhood Stabilization Program (NSP) can be used for demolition. The bill would change that by allowing greater flexibility in how NSP funds can be used. It would also provide more than $40 million in Qualified Urban Demolition Bonds to every state, with additional funding flowing to states like Ohio that are considered "hardest hit" by the foreclosure crisis. Any unused allocation would be redistributed by the Secretary of the Treasury after two years to "qualified" states (including Ohio).
Fudge and LaTourette stressed that the legislation would be budget neutral, as there are at least two possible offsets under consideration for the $4 billion cost.
City and county leaders said the legislation is not only about removing blight, but also clearing the way for future redevelopment of neighborhoods. "We want to see a city that's thriving and bustling," said Gus Frangos, President of the Cuyahoga Land Bank. "This is about creating a new vision for our neighborhoods."
Although more than 6,000 vacant homes in Cleveland have been demolished in the past five to seven years, there are still more than 12,000 condemned or blighted homes throughout the city. Throughout Cuyahoga County, there are estimated to be 25,000 to 30,000 blighted or condemned properties in need of demolition.
"This is a $250-million problem," said Frangos. "That number is much greater than we can handle, no matter how strategic we are with our resources."
Source: Steve LaTourette, Marcia Fudge, Gus Frangos
Writer: Lee Chilcote
"This country needs to come to the realization that sometimes you just need to tear it down and start over," LaTourette told an audience of city leaders and community development professionals outside of a vacant home on E. 69th Street in Slavic Village. LaTourette stressed that the foreclosure crisis is not just an urban problem; it affects the Lake County communities he represents, too. "Vacant homes drag down property values and can lead to crime."
Congresswoman Marcia Fudge noted that more than 40 percent of the homes on E. 69th Street off Union Avenue were either vacant or foreclosed. A block away, a woman was recently dragged into a vacant property and raped.
Currently, only 10 percent of funds from the federal Neighborhood Stabilization Program (NSP) can be used for demolition. The bill would change that by allowing greater flexibility in how NSP funds can be used. It would also provide more than $40 million in Qualified Urban Demolition Bonds to every state, with additional funding flowing to states like Ohio that are considered "hardest hit" by the foreclosure crisis. Any unused allocation would be redistributed by the Secretary of the Treasury after two years to "qualified" states (including Ohio).
Fudge and LaTourette stressed that the legislation would be budget neutral, as there are at least two possible offsets under consideration for the $4 billion cost.
City and county leaders said the legislation is not only about removing blight, but also clearing the way for future redevelopment of neighborhoods. "We want to see a city that's thriving and bustling," said Gus Frangos, President of the Cuyahoga Land Bank. "This is about creating a new vision for our neighborhoods."
Although more than 6,000 vacant homes in Cleveland have been demolished in the past five to seven years, there are still more than 12,000 condemned or blighted homes throughout the city. Throughout Cuyahoga County, there are estimated to be 25,000 to 30,000 blighted or condemned properties in need of demolition.
"This is a $250-million problem," said Frangos. "That number is much greater than we can handle, no matter how strategic we are with our resources."
Source: Steve LaTourette, Marcia Fudge, Gus Frangos
Writer: Lee Chilcote
LineStream Technologies, a Cleveland developer of control software for automated products, secured series B financing by U.S. Venture Partners. USVP will team up with series A investor Early Stage Partners to move the company forward.
“The funding we just raised allows us to find more customers,” says Dave Neundorfer, LineStream president. "It is a huge boost for us. This funding will drastically accelerate growth for our company and meet customer demand.”
LineStream Technologies was formed in 2008 as a spinoff out of research done by Cleveland State University’s Zhiqiang Gao, director of the Center for Advanced Control Technology, and focuses on commercializing and simplifying control software.
LineStream products increase efficiency, are easy to implement and therefore improve the performance of automated systems in everything from washing machines to medical robotics. Last year LineStream licensed its software to Texas Instruments for use in a chip platform in motor and motion controls.
Neundorfer says the funding will not only help serve its growing customer base, it will also allow the company to attract the right talent. “With this funding we can build a team and hire technical talent,” he says. “We’re attracting technical talent who are self-starters, adaptable, work hard and are willing to align themselves around the common goal.”
Source: Dave Neundorfer
Writer: Karin Connelly
“The funding we just raised allows us to find more customers,” says Dave Neundorfer, LineStream president. "It is a huge boost for us. This funding will drastically accelerate growth for our company and meet customer demand.”
LineStream Technologies was formed in 2008 as a spinoff out of research done by Cleveland State University’s Zhiqiang Gao, director of the Center for Advanced Control Technology, and focuses on commercializing and simplifying control software.
LineStream products increase efficiency, are easy to implement and therefore improve the performance of automated systems in everything from washing machines to medical robotics. Last year LineStream licensed its software to Texas Instruments for use in a chip platform in motor and motion controls.
Neundorfer says the funding will not only help serve its growing customer base, it will also allow the company to attract the right talent. “With this funding we can build a team and hire technical talent,” he says. “We’re attracting technical talent who are self-starters, adaptable, work hard and are willing to align themselves around the common goal.”
Source: Dave Neundorfer
Writer: Karin Connelly