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.

When the Incubator at MAGNET launched ProtoTech last year, the event was a pitch competition for product-based start-ups competing for $25,000 in prize money. This year, organizers have shifted focus a bit with ProtoTech: INVEST – a networking and pitch event that is all about investment in growing companies.
 
“Last year it was a pitch event for really early stage companies,” says Dave Crain, the Incubator at MAGNET executive director. “This year we’re more about connections and networking than it is of a contest. It’s for presenters who are looking for $500,000 to $2 million in investments.”
 
There will be pitches, but in a less formal setting without voting or prize money at ProtoTech: INVEST. Fifteen to 20 technology based start-ups with a focus on products will showcase their companies to investors at the event. “It’s an opportunity to get the right people in the room to make connections, network and find funding,” says Crain, adding that ProtoTech: INVEST is the next step in pitch competitions.
 
“It’s just a part of the evolution, part of maturity,” Crain says. “There will always be pitch competitions, there always should be pitch competitions. We’re just building a pipeline. This is the next level of maturity as these companies grow up.”
 
Crain says the shift came in response to feedback from both sides involved in start-up fundraising. “What I’m really hearing from both the start-ups and investors is while Ohio has made a lot of progress, no one is doing this locally – this is something successful ventures cities are doing.”
 
Some of the companies already registered are Cleveland Whiskey, Vadxx, Biolectrics and Everykey.
 
ProtoTech: INVEST will be held at the Metropolitan at the 9 on Thursday, June 4. Registration and pitches will be from 2pm to 5pm; dinner and networking at 5pm. Presenters can register here; investors can register here.

This weekend, explore art in unexpected places at Rooms To Let, soak up the vibe at Hessler Street Fair, pump life into the Flats West Bank at Sunday Funday and more.

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?

Seniors in Cleveland will soon have a new outlet for creative expression, thanks to a new program through the Benjamin Rose Institute of Aging. The Encore Artists program pairs older adults with professional artists, art therapists and music therapists age 50 and older at various sites around Cleveland.
 
“I’ve been trying to find a way to bridge the art world with the aging world,” explains Linda Noelker, senior vice president at Benjamin Rose and Encore Artists project director. “Research shows that older adults, when they actively engage with the arts, it improves their health and quality of life.” In particular, she cites seniors with ailments like Parkinson’s disease who participate in dance have improved gaits, better balance and fewer falls.
 
Noelker approached the Cleveland Foundation about funding such a program. “I talked to the Cleveland Foundation and said why don’t we try to recruit artists and give them training in the arts with older adults,” recalls Noelker.
 
The Cleveland Foundation agreed and is funding Encore Artists program, along with the Ohio Arts Council, as part of its Encore Cleveland program.
 
Noelker is currently recruiting art teachers, art therapists and music therapists to volunteer for the project. Selected artists will go through a two-day training in May and then be listed on a registry that details their experience and program interests. Artists must commit to providing 48 hours of programming in the next six months. Artists and can sign up through Benjamin Rose.
 
Noelker is also looking for community sites within Cleveland to host the project’s events. Ideal host sites are nursing homes, libraries, or recreation centers. Potential hosts sites can register here. For more information, contact Noelker.

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.

This weekend, celebrate creative women at Women to Watch — Ohio, show your mother some love at EarthFest2015, get carried away with Cleveland Ballet, rock out at Record Store Day and more. 

While it is not easy to move to a new country and a new city full of different cultures, languages and traditions, refugees not only make it work, they become some of Cleveland’s most successful entrepreneurs.