MidTown
President Obama came to Cleveland on Tuesday to hear what small business owners say they need to grow their businesses and thus strengthen the U.S. economy. But the President took the time to praise the region for its growth in biotechnology, sustainability and other innovations.
"Cleveland is a city founded on manufacturing," the President said during his closing remarks on the Winning the Future Forum on Small Business, held at Cleveland State University's Wolstein Center, which this writer attended.
"A lot of people wrote off Cleveland as a shell of what it used to be, but you knew different," the President said to the small business owners and entrepreneurs who had been selected to attend the forum.
The President talked about the united effort of local universities, hospitals and entrepreneurs to advance innovations in biotechnology and clean energy. "They've made Cleveland a global leader in both fields," the President added.
Cleveland's ability to reinvent itself, the President noted, can be an inspiration for other areas of the country, as well as the United States in general. "How will America reinvent itself?" the President asked the audience.
Obama also pointed out the success of several long-standing businesses in Cleveland, including Miceli Dairy Products, which has operated a facility on E. 90th Street since 1949. Miceli's received a $5.5 million SBA loan to build a new factory and expand its production, according to the President. "This will double the output of ricotta cheese and add 60 workers," said Obama, joking that he'd like some cheese samples once the expansion project is complete.
SOURCE: President Obama
WRITER: Diane DiPiero
"Cleveland is a city founded on manufacturing," the President said during his closing remarks on the Winning the Future Forum on Small Business, held at Cleveland State University's Wolstein Center, which this writer attended.
"A lot of people wrote off Cleveland as a shell of what it used to be, but you knew different," the President said to the small business owners and entrepreneurs who had been selected to attend the forum.
The President talked about the united effort of local universities, hospitals and entrepreneurs to advance innovations in biotechnology and clean energy. "They've made Cleveland a global leader in both fields," the President added.
Cleveland's ability to reinvent itself, the President noted, can be an inspiration for other areas of the country, as well as the United States in general. "How will America reinvent itself?" the President asked the audience.
Obama also pointed out the success of several long-standing businesses in Cleveland, including Miceli Dairy Products, which has operated a facility on E. 90th Street since 1949. Miceli's received a $5.5 million SBA loan to build a new factory and expand its production, according to the President. "This will double the output of ricotta cheese and add 60 workers," said Obama, joking that he'd like some cheese samples once the expansion project is complete.
SOURCE: President Obama
WRITER: Diane DiPiero
Rachel Talton, Ph.D. was one of the entrepreneurs invited by the Obama Administration to attend Tuesday's Winning the Future Forum on Small Business. Talton, co-founder of Cleveland-based Trust, a marketing and management consultant agency, and founder and CEO of Fairlawn-based Synergy Marketing Strategy & Research, joined about 20 other small business owners and entrepreneurs in a discussion on entrepreneurism. They had the ear of President Obama himself, who took the time to listen in on various breakout sessions during the forum.
"President Obama was very engaged in intensive and substantive conversation," says Talton. She and her fellow entrepreneurs in the group shared with the President a list of ways that the administration could help both small and large businesses thrive: access to capital, formalized mentorship programs, access to capacity-building services and less onerous processes for doing business with the federal government.
Talton says she was encouraged to hear that Steve Case, co-founder of AOL and a career entrepreneur, will be taking a lead role in President Obama's Council on Jobs and Competitiveness. "The initiative will be quasi-government. Decisions will be made more quickly -- without much red tape," she says.
Talton was also happy to hear that Obama expects to engage large corporations in mentor-protegee programs. "I think this approach can be truly sustainable," she notes.
The President's "real commitment on this issue [of spurring small business growth to strengthen the economy] can move people within the federal and state government, even those who disagree," Talton says. "He can also attract large corporations to participate, for the greater good and for their own good."
SOURCE: Rachel Talton, Ph.D.
WRITER: Diane DiPiero
"President Obama was very engaged in intensive and substantive conversation," says Talton. She and her fellow entrepreneurs in the group shared with the President a list of ways that the administration could help both small and large businesses thrive: access to capital, formalized mentorship programs, access to capacity-building services and less onerous processes for doing business with the federal government.
Talton says she was encouraged to hear that Steve Case, co-founder of AOL and a career entrepreneur, will be taking a lead role in President Obama's Council on Jobs and Competitiveness. "The initiative will be quasi-government. Decisions will be made more quickly -- without much red tape," she says.
Talton was also happy to hear that Obama expects to engage large corporations in mentor-protegee programs. "I think this approach can be truly sustainable," she notes.
The President's "real commitment on this issue [of spurring small business growth to strengthen the economy] can move people within the federal and state government, even those who disagree," Talton says. "He can also attract large corporations to participate, for the greater good and for their own good."
SOURCE: Rachel Talton, Ph.D.
WRITER: Diane DiPiero
Increasing the college attainment rate in Northeast Ohio by just one percent would mean an additional $2.8 billion for the region's economy. That statistic, courtesy of CEOs for Cities, a national civic lab composed of urban leaders, was part of the impetus for leaders of the Cleveland Scholarship Program to change the name of the 40-year-old organization and renew its focus to make college attainable for teens and young adults.
College Now Greater Cleveland, as the organization is officially now known, will continue to assist more than 20,000 students annually through advising, financial aid counseling and scholarship services. Some partners of the organization have stepped in to provide additional funding or opportunities. The PNC Foundation, for one, awarded a grant to College Now for advising services. PNC will also provide financial education programming, and Cleveland Clinic will offer college preparatory programs aimed at minority and disadvantaged students who want to attend college and pursue careers in science, medicine and business.
Other partners of College Now include the City of Cleveland, Cleveland Metropolitan School District (CMSD), Cleveland State University and Tri-C.
College Now connects with local educational institutions to bolster higher education resources. According to Eric S. Gordon, chief academic officer for CMSD, College Now's strengthened focus meshes well with CMSD's own efforts to boost college attendance by graduates of the city's high schools. "CMSD is excited to continue our partnership with College Now to ensure high quality college counseling is available to all juniors and seniors as part of our Cleveland Goes to College program," Gordon says.
SOURCE: Eric S. Gordon
WRITER: Diane DiPiero
College Now Greater Cleveland, as the organization is officially now known, will continue to assist more than 20,000 students annually through advising, financial aid counseling and scholarship services. Some partners of the organization have stepped in to provide additional funding or opportunities. The PNC Foundation, for one, awarded a grant to College Now for advising services. PNC will also provide financial education programming, and Cleveland Clinic will offer college preparatory programs aimed at minority and disadvantaged students who want to attend college and pursue careers in science, medicine and business.
Other partners of College Now include the City of Cleveland, Cleveland Metropolitan School District (CMSD), Cleveland State University and Tri-C.
College Now connects with local educational institutions to bolster higher education resources. According to Eric S. Gordon, chief academic officer for CMSD, College Now's strengthened focus meshes well with CMSD's own efforts to boost college attendance by graduates of the city's high schools. "CMSD is excited to continue our partnership with College Now to ensure high quality college counseling is available to all juniors and seniors as part of our Cleveland Goes to College program," Gordon says.
SOURCE: Eric S. Gordon
WRITER: Diane DiPiero
rainey institute's new digs opens door for new program
The Rainey Institute recently moved a few doors down on East 55th from where it has been providing arts instruction for urban youth since the 1960s. The move has proven to be even more significant than those involved with the organization could have imagined. Since opening the 25,000-square-foot facility in the Hough neighborhood, Rainey has discovered new opportunities to bring arts offerings to its students.
One of the most significant of these is the selection of Rainey to host an intensive music program that began several years ago in Venezuela and has made its way around the world.
Lee Lazar, executive director of the Insitute, says that Rainey will be the home of a new El Sistema USA program. El Sistema started in Venezuela in the 1980s to empower disadvantaged youth through ensemble music. El Sistema USA brings this opportunity to communities around the United States.
Cleveland Orchestra violinist Isabel Trautwein recently received a one-year fellowship to study the concepts of El Sistema. After touring the new Rainey facilities, Trautwein and others involved with the project decided it would be an ideal location for the program.
Students selected for the El Sistema USA program take part in an intensive, five-day-a-week musical workshop. After several months in the program, which will begin sometime this year, the students will have the opportunity to perform at Severance Hall.
Lazar credits Rainey's new music studios, sound-proof private lesson rooms and state-of-the-art theater as being a large part of what attracted Trautwein and El Sistema to Rainey. "It's all because of the building," he says.
SOURCE: Rainey Institute
WRITER: Diane DiPiero
One of the most significant of these is the selection of Rainey to host an intensive music program that began several years ago in Venezuela and has made its way around the world.
Lee Lazar, executive director of the Insitute, says that Rainey will be the home of a new El Sistema USA program. El Sistema started in Venezuela in the 1980s to empower disadvantaged youth through ensemble music. El Sistema USA brings this opportunity to communities around the United States.
Cleveland Orchestra violinist Isabel Trautwein recently received a one-year fellowship to study the concepts of El Sistema. After touring the new Rainey facilities, Trautwein and others involved with the project decided it would be an ideal location for the program.
Students selected for the El Sistema USA program take part in an intensive, five-day-a-week musical workshop. After several months in the program, which will begin sometime this year, the students will have the opportunity to perform at Severance Hall.
Lazar credits Rainey's new music studios, sound-proof private lesson rooms and state-of-the-art theater as being a large part of what attracted Trautwein and El Sistema to Rainey. "It's all because of the building," he says.
SOURCE: Rainey Institute
WRITER: Diane DiPiero
Digiknow and Downtown Cleveland Alliance have partnered up in a new mobile marketing plan that uses QR codes to provide information to on-the-go residents. The QR codes will connect residents and customers to online profiles of downtown stakeholders such as bars, restaurants, entertainment venues, hotels, and commercial and residential properties.
cleveland clinic predicts top medical breakthrough of 2011
Reporting for CNET, medical blogger Elizabeth Armstrong Moore reports on the Cleveland Clinic's recent Medical Innovation Summit, where the "top ten" medical breakthroughs of 2011 were predicted. Taking top honors was the new brain-imaging compound AV-45, which will aid in early detection of Alzheimer's.
In the post, Moore writes, "To this day, diagnosing the disease while a patient is still alive is tricky, and there is still no cure. But there have been several breakthroughs in understanding how to identify the disease; elevated levels of the telltale protein tau, for instance, can appear decades before outward signs do."
Once injected into a patient, AV-45 crosses the blood-brain barrier and binds with beta-amyloid plaques that are associated with Alzheimer's. PET imaging then enables physicians to see any dyed plaques and make a diagnosis. Whether AV-45 will play the largest role in the diagnosis of Alzheimer's remains to be seen, but it represents a major advance in earlier detection of the disease.
Invented by researchers at Avid Radiopharmaceuticals in Philadelphia, the technique is expected to earn FDA approval in 2011, according to Cleveland Clinic sources.
Read Moore's entire post here:
Check out the other nine breakthroughs announced at the Summit here.
In the post, Moore writes, "To this day, diagnosing the disease while a patient is still alive is tricky, and there is still no cure. But there have been several breakthroughs in understanding how to identify the disease; elevated levels of the telltale protein tau, for instance, can appear decades before outward signs do."
Once injected into a patient, AV-45 crosses the blood-brain barrier and binds with beta-amyloid plaques that are associated with Alzheimer's. PET imaging then enables physicians to see any dyed plaques and make a diagnosis. Whether AV-45 will play the largest role in the diagnosis of Alzheimer's remains to be seen, but it represents a major advance in earlier detection of the disease.
Invented by researchers at Avid Radiopharmaceuticals in Philadelphia, the technique is expected to earn FDA approval in 2011, according to Cleveland Clinic sources.
Read Moore's entire post here:
Check out the other nine breakthroughs announced at the Summit here.
The recession would seem to provide businesses with a ready and compelling excuse not to consider investing in something like solar power. But Cleveland-based Kalman & Pabst Photo Group looked at it another way: There are substantial federal and state tax incentives available for investing in the green technology, and they probably won't last forever.
K&P, a commercial photo studio whose clients include Progressive and Arhaus, recently hired Bold Alternatives, of Orange, to install 130-plus solar panels atop its building on Perkins near East 40th. The bill came to just over $200,000, says K&P co-owner Bob Pabst, but a 50-percent rebate from the state and 30-percent federal tax credit brought K&P's out-of-pocket cost down to about $40,000.
"There's a lot of people that can't do this," Pabst says, referring to the still-significant cost and the recession. "But we could." He and his partner, Jan Kalman, are committed to employing as many sustainable methods as possible. The 30.8 kW installation will cover 20-25 percent of the photo studio's monthly electricity use, on average.
Other companies that K&P talked to promised less than half as much, Pabst says. Bold Alternatives, however, offered new technology: microinverters. In a typical solar array, all the panels connect to one central inverter, which converts the energy from DC to AC. But the system Bold built for K&P has a microconverter for each panel, a setup that maximizes efficiency by switching on if even a sliver of the panel is illuminated.
Kimberly Dyer of Bold Alternatives says that the manufacturer, Enphase Energy of California, informed her that the K&P job is the largest such installation in Ohio.
Source: Kalman & Pabst Photo Group
Writer: Frank W. Lewis
K&P, a commercial photo studio whose clients include Progressive and Arhaus, recently hired Bold Alternatives, of Orange, to install 130-plus solar panels atop its building on Perkins near East 40th. The bill came to just over $200,000, says K&P co-owner Bob Pabst, but a 50-percent rebate from the state and 30-percent federal tax credit brought K&P's out-of-pocket cost down to about $40,000.
"There's a lot of people that can't do this," Pabst says, referring to the still-significant cost and the recession. "But we could." He and his partner, Jan Kalman, are committed to employing as many sustainable methods as possible. The 30.8 kW installation will cover 20-25 percent of the photo studio's monthly electricity use, on average.
Other companies that K&P talked to promised less than half as much, Pabst says. Bold Alternatives, however, offered new technology: microinverters. In a typical solar array, all the panels connect to one central inverter, which converts the energy from DC to AC. But the system Bold built for K&P has a microconverter for each panel, a setup that maximizes efficiency by switching on if even a sliver of the panel is illuminated.
Kimberly Dyer of Bold Alternatives says that the manufacturer, Enphase Energy of California, informed her that the K&P job is the largest such installation in Ohio.
Source: Kalman & Pabst Photo Group
Writer: Frank W. Lewis
In a spirit reminiscent of progressive outposts like Seattle, Cleveland is becoming a national leader in deconstruction, a movement that treats vacant homes across the region not as an eyesore but a post-natural resource.
slashfood says our urban farms take root
Slashfood, a popular online magazine devoted to food and drink, recently touted Cleveland's efforts to combat health, economic and foreclosure problems by launching multiple urban farming projects.
Citing the just-announced $1.1 million pilot program to fund the Cleveland Urban Agriculture Incubator Project, the writer notes that "Cleveland is planting seeds to counter the serious problems of obesity, food deserts and urban blight."
Supported by the USDA, the City of Cleveland, the Ohio Department of Agriculture and the Ohio State University Extension Service, the new six-acre plot in the Kinsman neighborhood will be tended to by 20 local residents.
The farm will be two short miles from chef Doug Katz' Fire Food and Drink, the story points out. "I absolutely would love to use what they grow, and will promote that it's grown here in the City of Cleveland, right in our backyard," says Katz of the program.
Read all the juicy details here.
Citing the just-announced $1.1 million pilot program to fund the Cleveland Urban Agriculture Incubator Project, the writer notes that "Cleveland is planting seeds to counter the serious problems of obesity, food deserts and urban blight."
Supported by the USDA, the City of Cleveland, the Ohio Department of Agriculture and the Ohio State University Extension Service, the new six-acre plot in the Kinsman neighborhood will be tended to by 20 local residents.
The farm will be two short miles from chef Doug Katz' Fire Food and Drink, the story points out. "I absolutely would love to use what they grow, and will promote that it's grown here in the City of Cleveland, right in our backyard," says Katz of the program.
Read all the juicy details here.
It's not a sports championship, but in some ways it's just as big. Last
week a consortium of some of the wealthiest banks and foundations in
the world announced that Cleveland would receive major support for
innovative developments that will create hundreds of new jobs where
they're needed most.
The Integration Initiative, by the New York-based Living Cities philanthropic collaborative, will pump almost $15 million in grants, loans and targeted investments into Cleveland. One of five cities chosen, Cleveland impressed the evaluators with plans to leverage the buying power of institutions in and around University Circle -- which spend some $3 billion annually on goods and services -- into new businesses and jobs. And not just any businesses, but innovative, green operations that provide their workers with more than just paychecks.
Some of the funding will be used to start or relocate businesses in the growing Heath-Tech Corridor between University Circle and Cleveland State. Other funds will expand the Evergreen Cooperatives network of employee-owned businesses, all of which meet the institutions' procurement needs in new ways, and satisfy Living Cities' demand for "game-changing" new strategies.
Evergreen Cooperative Laundry, for example, uses far less water than competitors, allowing the institutions to reduce their carbon footprints. The laundry currently employs 28, and will expand to 50. Ohio Solar Cooperative employs 25 -- already exceeding expectations -- and will hire another 50 over the next three years. The Green City Growers hydroponic greenhouse will employ 45 when it opens on East 55th Street later this year.
All Evergreen businesses allow workers to build equity in the company and share in profits. "An 8-, 9- 10-dollar-an-hour job is not really enough to change someone's life," says Lillian Kuri of the Cleveland Foundation, which coordinated the applications to Living Cities. "The ability for wealth creation is absolutely essential to changing neighborhoods."
Five more co-ops are in the pipeline, Kuri says. Two will launch "soon," the other three over the next one to two years.
Many of the foundations that make up Living Cities will be familiar to NPR listeners: the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, The Annie E. Casey Foundation, to name a few. Member banks include Bank of America, Deutche Bank and J.P. Morgan Chase. Cleveland Foundation is an affiliate member.
Source: Cleveland Foundation
Writer: Frank W. Lewis
The Integration Initiative, by the New York-based Living Cities philanthropic collaborative, will pump almost $15 million in grants, loans and targeted investments into Cleveland. One of five cities chosen, Cleveland impressed the evaluators with plans to leverage the buying power of institutions in and around University Circle -- which spend some $3 billion annually on goods and services -- into new businesses and jobs. And not just any businesses, but innovative, green operations that provide their workers with more than just paychecks.
Some of the funding will be used to start or relocate businesses in the growing Heath-Tech Corridor between University Circle and Cleveland State. Other funds will expand the Evergreen Cooperatives network of employee-owned businesses, all of which meet the institutions' procurement needs in new ways, and satisfy Living Cities' demand for "game-changing" new strategies.
Evergreen Cooperative Laundry, for example, uses far less water than competitors, allowing the institutions to reduce their carbon footprints. The laundry currently employs 28, and will expand to 50. Ohio Solar Cooperative employs 25 -- already exceeding expectations -- and will hire another 50 over the next three years. The Green City Growers hydroponic greenhouse will employ 45 when it opens on East 55th Street later this year.
All Evergreen businesses allow workers to build equity in the company and share in profits. "An 8-, 9- 10-dollar-an-hour job is not really enough to change someone's life," says Lillian Kuri of the Cleveland Foundation, which coordinated the applications to Living Cities. "The ability for wealth creation is absolutely essential to changing neighborhoods."
Five more co-ops are in the pipeline, Kuri says. Two will launch "soon," the other three over the next one to two years.
Many of the foundations that make up Living Cities will be familiar to NPR listeners: the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, The Annie E. Casey Foundation, to name a few. Member banks include Bank of America, Deutche Bank and J.P. Morgan Chase. Cleveland Foundation is an affiliate member.
Source: Cleveland Foundation
Writer: Frank W. Lewis
Despite the unstoppable march of progress from analogue to digital, vinyl records are making an undeniable comeback. And catering to that expanding market is Cleveland's own Gotta Groove Records, one of only a handful of existing vinyl pressing plants in the United States. Make that, the world.
The Civic Commons is a modern-day marriage of online technology, citizen journalism, and civic collaboration. The mission? To inform, engage and lead local residents to action on any number of weighty topics. Our guides: Dan Moulthrop and Noelle Celeste.
cleveland offers a road map for other struggling cities, says MSN
Cleveland's progressive stance on urban farming continues to draw positive national attention, proving that even this crisis boasts a silver lining.
In her article titled "Faded glory: Suffering cities take aim at urban blight," MSN Real Estate reporter Melinda Fulmer shines a bright light on Cleveland's attempt to reinvent its future be reimagining its vacant property.
Of the ground-breaking Ohio City Farm she writes: "In years past, this industrial city probably wouldn't have embraced such a back-to-basics business as beets and beans. But after decades of heavy job and population losses -- and a particularly rough ride in the foreclosure crisis -- this six-acre urban farm on a former public housing tract has become symbolic of the many imaginative ways a shrinking city can reinvent itself when heavy industry leaves."
The article quotes OCNW executive director Eric Wobser as saying, "I think urban farms like this one will reposition the way people think about Cleveland. The local food movement has really caught on fire here."
Fulmer credits Cleveland as the first large shrinking city to adopt a master plan that acknowledges its reduced footprint and attempts to redesign a more vibrant and sustainable future around it.
And what's more, that progressive and sustainable policy, including the city's recent ordinance allowing chicks and bees, is precisely the type of efforts that attract new residents. She quotes Neighborhood Progress' Bobbi Reichtell in the following paragraph.
"This encouragement of a greener future — through 56 urban-farming and green-space grants on city-owned vacant property — is catching the eye of younger eco-friendly entrepreneurs, who have big dreams for more sustainable livelihoods in the city. The city has been very progressive. They recognize the scale of the challenge they face."
Dig into the entire story here.
In her article titled "Faded glory: Suffering cities take aim at urban blight," MSN Real Estate reporter Melinda Fulmer shines a bright light on Cleveland's attempt to reinvent its future be reimagining its vacant property.
Of the ground-breaking Ohio City Farm she writes: "In years past, this industrial city probably wouldn't have embraced such a back-to-basics business as beets and beans. But after decades of heavy job and population losses -- and a particularly rough ride in the foreclosure crisis -- this six-acre urban farm on a former public housing tract has become symbolic of the many imaginative ways a shrinking city can reinvent itself when heavy industry leaves."
The article quotes OCNW executive director Eric Wobser as saying, "I think urban farms like this one will reposition the way people think about Cleveland. The local food movement has really caught on fire here."
Fulmer credits Cleveland as the first large shrinking city to adopt a master plan that acknowledges its reduced footprint and attempts to redesign a more vibrant and sustainable future around it.
And what's more, that progressive and sustainable policy, including the city's recent ordinance allowing chicks and bees, is precisely the type of efforts that attract new residents. She quotes Neighborhood Progress' Bobbi Reichtell in the following paragraph.
"This encouragement of a greener future — through 56 urban-farming and green-space grants on city-owned vacant property — is catching the eye of younger eco-friendly entrepreneurs, who have big dreams for more sustainable livelihoods in the city. The city has been very progressive. They recognize the scale of the challenge they face."
Dig into the entire story here.
pittsburgh's pop city spreads the word about fresh water
In last week's issue of Pop City (yes, it's a sister IMG publication), writer Deb Smit reported on our dear publication.
"Fresh Water launches this month with the goods on Cleveland, news as it pertains to innovation, jobs, healthcare, lifestyle, design and arts and culture," she writes." The bubbly, blue homepage comes to life each Thursday with a fresh issue featuring vibrant photography and stories on the people shaking things up and the great places to visit."
Smit even encourages smitten Pittsburghers to subscribe. Thanks, Pop City!
Read all the news that's fit to pop here.
"Fresh Water launches this month with the goods on Cleveland, news as it pertains to innovation, jobs, healthcare, lifestyle, design and arts and culture," she writes." The bubbly, blue homepage comes to life each Thursday with a fresh issue featuring vibrant photography and stories on the people shaking things up and the great places to visit."
Smit even encourages smitten Pittsburghers to subscribe. Thanks, Pop City!
Read all the news that's fit to pop here.
MAGNET and NorTech create positive attraction with $285k federal contract
The Manufacturing Advocacy & Growth Network (MAGNET) has partnered with the Northeast Ohio Technology Coalition (NorTech)
to receive a $285,000 federal contract for a pilot project focusing on
the advanced energy value chain. The contract comes from the National
Institutes of Standards and Technology's Manufacturing Extension Program
(MEP).
MAGNET and NorTech will work together to coach and train a group of regional manufacturing companies to stimulate and support manufacturing innovation, technology acceleration, supply chain development and continuous improvement and efficiency. Specifically, the one-year pilot project will target small-to-mid-sized manufacturers in the areas of biomass/waste-to-energy and electric vehicles.
Ohio currently ranks third in the country in terms of manufacturing production output and manufacturing employment. The MEP project is a chance for this region of Ohio to further assist manufacturers in meeting the demands of an ever-evolving marketplace, according to Rebecca O. Bagley, president and CEO of NorTech.
"Our goal is to establish Northeast Ohio as a regional model for helping manufacturers transition from slow-growth markets to new, high-demand markets with stronger growth potential in emerging technology sectors, such as advanced energy," she says. "Working with MAGNET, we can help our region's manufacturers leverage their existing strengths and diversify their business to capture more global market opportunities."
Should the initial year of the MEP project be successful, there is an opportunity of funding for a second year.
SOURCE: NorTech
WRITER: Diane DiPiero
MAGNET and NorTech will work together to coach and train a group of regional manufacturing companies to stimulate and support manufacturing innovation, technology acceleration, supply chain development and continuous improvement and efficiency. Specifically, the one-year pilot project will target small-to-mid-sized manufacturers in the areas of biomass/waste-to-energy and electric vehicles.
Ohio currently ranks third in the country in terms of manufacturing production output and manufacturing employment. The MEP project is a chance for this region of Ohio to further assist manufacturers in meeting the demands of an ever-evolving marketplace, according to Rebecca O. Bagley, president and CEO of NorTech.
"Our goal is to establish Northeast Ohio as a regional model for helping manufacturers transition from slow-growth markets to new, high-demand markets with stronger growth potential in emerging technology sectors, such as advanced energy," she says. "Working with MAGNET, we can help our region's manufacturers leverage their existing strengths and diversify their business to capture more global market opportunities."
Should the initial year of the MEP project be successful, there is an opportunity of funding for a second year.
SOURCE: NorTech
WRITER: Diane DiPiero
Once upon a time, automobiles were built inside the 65,000-square-foot former factory at 6555 Carnegie Avenue. Or so current owner Giancarlo Calicchia surmises from elevators large enough to move finished cars from the upper levels to the parking lot outside.
Today Calicchia, an accomplished sculptor, sees a new use for the long-dormant building — a center for artists' workspaces and offices. He and architect Paul Beegan are busy designing that future, while preserving the towering columns, tall windows and "great views of Cleveland" left over form the building's industrial past.
"We're also looking for new companies that may be related to art or design and want to be closer to downtown," Calicchia adds. He's already talked with a book publisher and a film company, as well as many artists, and hopes to have at least portions of the building ready for use by next summer. He can be reached at 216-402-2009.
Calicchia's works can be found around the city and state, from the Cleveland Museum of Art and The Avenue at Tower City to Miami University. His Athleta & The Witnesses sculpture garden was installed at Kent State University in July.
Source: Giancarlo Calicchia
Writer: Frank W. Lewis
Today Calicchia, an accomplished sculptor, sees a new use for the long-dormant building — a center for artists' workspaces and offices. He and architect Paul Beegan are busy designing that future, while preserving the towering columns, tall windows and "great views of Cleveland" left over form the building's industrial past.
"We're also looking for new companies that may be related to art or design and want to be closer to downtown," Calicchia adds. He's already talked with a book publisher and a film company, as well as many artists, and hopes to have at least portions of the building ready for use by next summer. He can be reached at 216-402-2009.
Calicchia's works can be found around the city and state, from the Cleveland Museum of Art and The Avenue at Tower City to Miami University. His Athleta & The Witnesses sculpture garden was installed at Kent State University in July.
Source: Giancarlo Calicchia
Writer: Frank W. Lewis
community greenhouse partners to spend $3.4M on urban farm and greenhouse on vacant cleveland lot
First, a tree grew in Brooklyn; now a massive greenhouse will be built in Cleveland.
Tim Smith of Community Greenhouse Partners recently announced that the organization has made an agreement to buy the site of the former St. George Catholic Church to build a greenhouse. The estimated $3.4 million project will realize Community Greenhouse Partners' goal of selling organic vegetables at low cost to low-income families.
Community Greenhouse Partners had been searching for property in an economically distressed area of the city. The concrete lot outside St. George, which closed its doors in 2009, is located at East 67th Street and Superior Avenue.
The proposed greenhouse will have a polycarbonate-plated shell, which will allow it to operate no matter the weather. The project will make use of green technology and sustainable practices.
Smith estimates that Community Greenhouse Partners will initially employ three to five people for the project and eventually grow that to more than 25. Part of the nonprofit organization's mission is to employ local residents and teach sustainability and earth science to youngsters.
Community Greenhouse Partners estimates it will bring $1 million in annual payroll and $2.5 million in annual sales to the area. The revenue estimates are based on production volumes from Growing Power, a Milwaukee-based urban farm project. Down the road, Community Greenhouse Partners plans to generate revenue from the sale of compost, rental of the greenhouse to other organizations and education dollars from local school districts.
Source: Community Greenhouse Partners
Writer: Diane DiPiero
Tim Smith of Community Greenhouse Partners recently announced that the organization has made an agreement to buy the site of the former St. George Catholic Church to build a greenhouse. The estimated $3.4 million project will realize Community Greenhouse Partners' goal of selling organic vegetables at low cost to low-income families.
Community Greenhouse Partners had been searching for property in an economically distressed area of the city. The concrete lot outside St. George, which closed its doors in 2009, is located at East 67th Street and Superior Avenue.
The proposed greenhouse will have a polycarbonate-plated shell, which will allow it to operate no matter the weather. The project will make use of green technology and sustainable practices.
Smith estimates that Community Greenhouse Partners will initially employ three to five people for the project and eventually grow that to more than 25. Part of the nonprofit organization's mission is to employ local residents and teach sustainability and earth science to youngsters.
Community Greenhouse Partners estimates it will bring $1 million in annual payroll and $2.5 million in annual sales to the area. The revenue estimates are based on production volumes from Growing Power, a Milwaukee-based urban farm project. Down the road, Community Greenhouse Partners plans to generate revenue from the sale of compost, rental of the greenhouse to other organizations and education dollars from local school districts.
Source: Community Greenhouse Partners
Writer: Diane DiPiero
Prohibition all but erased a thriving brewing industry in Cleveland, reducing the number of breweries from about 30 to a mere handful. The good news? The brewing industry in Northeast Ohio is not only alive and well -- it's growing.
There's no guarantee that they'll study any harder, but those who attend Cleveland State University (CSU)
will no doubt be spending more time inside the new and ultra-friendly
Student Center. The $44-million building was officially unveiled to new
and returning students at the beginning of the fall semester.
The Student Center features three lounges and several terraces for reading and relaxing. Dining options include the Viking Marketplace and Chop'd and Wrap'd. The Atrium Cafe serves local treats, such as Phoenix Coffee and Bialy's Bagels. A convenience store, a CSU bookstore and a 6,000-square-foot ballroom are other highlights of the Student Center.
Gwathmey Siegel & Associates of New York designed the facility to enhance the image of the overall campus and create an open connection with the city. The interior is bright and open, with plenty of areas to view the bustling cityscape.
"The Student Center will become the hub of campus life, the nexus where all of us – students, faculty and staff – come together to form a community," says Ronald M. Berkman, president of CSU. "Its importance cannot be overstated."
The Student Center is the latest in a series of construction projects on the CSU campus over the last few years. Led by the vision of former CSU president, Michael Schwartz, CSU has a long-range plan to make the school an integral party of the city.
SOURCE: Ronald Berkman
WRITER: Diane DiPiero
The Student Center features three lounges and several terraces for reading and relaxing. Dining options include the Viking Marketplace and Chop'd and Wrap'd. The Atrium Cafe serves local treats, such as Phoenix Coffee and Bialy's Bagels. A convenience store, a CSU bookstore and a 6,000-square-foot ballroom are other highlights of the Student Center.
Gwathmey Siegel & Associates of New York designed the facility to enhance the image of the overall campus and create an open connection with the city. The interior is bright and open, with plenty of areas to view the bustling cityscape.
"The Student Center will become the hub of campus life, the nexus where all of us – students, faculty and staff – come together to form a community," says Ronald M. Berkman, president of CSU. "Its importance cannot be overstated."
The Student Center is the latest in a series of construction projects on the CSU campus over the last few years. Led by the vision of former CSU president, Michael Schwartz, CSU has a long-range plan to make the school an integral party of the city.
SOURCE: Ronald Berkman
WRITER: Diane DiPiero