University Circle
“Cities are back, downtowns are back, and the places that we call anchor districts are leveraging growth in cities,” says Chris Ronayne of UCI. In Cleveland and beyond, stakeholders like universities, hospitals and museums ('eds and meds') are leading the way in reshaping cities into vibrant, livable places.
Imagine having an online resource with the information needed to custom design your own career path. That’s what the UNCOMN.TV does. This project identifies what employers need in employees, what educators need to be teaching students, and what students need to be doing to snag jobs -- thus helping to turn brain drain into brain gain.
Cuyahoga County residents have picked which two large-scale projects will get funding through the Cuyahoga Arts & Culture (CAC) Creative Culture Grants competition.
* Dancing Wheels received $130,421 for a television documentary that will expand on the dance company's performance of the multi-media ballet, Dumbo. The film will explore issues of bullying and social injustice using the life stories of artists and community figures.
* LAND studio was awarded $150,000 to fund a multi-faceted light installation illuminating public spaces in downtown Cleveland.
Both projects were selected by 6,500 county residents in a public voting process held February 1-20. The winning arts programs, scheduled for completion in 2014, were chosen from a list of six finalists selected by an independent panel of arts and culture experts.
Officials from competition sponsor CAC were pleased by the voter turnout, and believe the winning projects will engage the region in creative ways.
"All six finalists had a different spin on how to connect arts and culture to the community," says CAC executive director Karen Gahl-Mills. "The two winners did a great job of reaching out to the general public."
CAC's pilot voting program revealed just how much creativity exists in the area, Gahl-Mills maintains. "It was delightful to see it come forward in new, exciting ways," she says.
The nonprofit is now assessing the program for possible future iterations. Gahl-Mills is not certain CAC will put on an annual public vote, but she can certainly envision county residents stuffing the ballot boxes for future arts projects.
"It's a great investment of public dollars," she says. "It isn't just the organizations that win; the community wins, too."
SOURCE: Karen Gahl-Mills
WRITER: Douglas J. Guth
* Dancing Wheels received $130,421 for a television documentary that will expand on the dance company's performance of the multi-media ballet, Dumbo. The film will explore issues of bullying and social injustice using the life stories of artists and community figures.
* LAND studio was awarded $150,000 to fund a multi-faceted light installation illuminating public spaces in downtown Cleveland.
Both projects were selected by 6,500 county residents in a public voting process held February 1-20. The winning arts programs, scheduled for completion in 2014, were chosen from a list of six finalists selected by an independent panel of arts and culture experts.
Officials from competition sponsor CAC were pleased by the voter turnout, and believe the winning projects will engage the region in creative ways.
"All six finalists had a different spin on how to connect arts and culture to the community," says CAC executive director Karen Gahl-Mills. "The two winners did a great job of reaching out to the general public."
CAC's pilot voting program revealed just how much creativity exists in the area, Gahl-Mills maintains. "It was delightful to see it come forward in new, exciting ways," she says.
The nonprofit is now assessing the program for possible future iterations. Gahl-Mills is not certain CAC will put on an annual public vote, but she can certainly envision county residents stuffing the ballot boxes for future arts projects.
"It's a great investment of public dollars," she says. "It isn't just the organizations that win; the community wins, too."
SOURCE: Karen Gahl-Mills
WRITER: Douglas J. Guth
agnes gund professes love for cle museum of art
In a Huffington Post piece titled “About a Museum,” Agnes Gund, President Emerita and Chairman, International Council of The Museum of Modern Art, writes of her childhood growing up learning to appreciate the arts at the Cleveland Museum of Art.
“That museum -- inspired by a band of prominent citizens, designed by local architects on donated land -- opened in 1916 as an achievement and adornment of its city. It was Cleveland through and through, not least in the motto it proclaimed for itself: "For the benefit of all people, forever."
The post continues into warm tribute to a place that has become a part of Gund herself. It is a very intimate account of the importance the museum has played throughout her life.
“That museum -- inspired by a band of prominent citizens, designed by local architects on donated land -- opened in 1916 as an achievement and adornment of its city. It was Cleveland through and through, not least in the motto it proclaimed for itself: "For the benefit of all people, forever."
The post continues into warm tribute to a place that has become a part of Gund herself. It is a very intimate account of the importance the museum has played throughout her life.
Enjoy her full account here.
clinic doc chimes in on robot-assisted surgery debate
In a Wall Street Journal articled titled “Study Raises Doubts over Robotic Surgery,” writer Melinda Beck explores the use of robotic surgery for hysterectomies and its growth in popularity in recent years and it’s cost/benefit ratio.
"Robotic surgery does help me when I have to go really deep in the pelvis or use a lot of sutures," Cleveland Clinic gynecological surgeon Marie Paraiso, who uses both procedures, is quoted in the article. "But we haven't really defined which patients it helps most and it's never been shown to be cost-effective."
Paraiso goes on to explain that she has found no significant differences in blood loss or pain between the robotic method and the laparoscopic method, but the robotic method does take longer on average, which can bring added cost.
View the detailed story here.
"Robotic surgery does help me when I have to go really deep in the pelvis or use a lot of sutures," Cleveland Clinic gynecological surgeon Marie Paraiso, who uses both procedures, is quoted in the article. "But we haven't really defined which patients it helps most and it's never been shown to be cost-effective."
Paraiso goes on to explain that she has found no significant differences in blood loss or pain between the robotic method and the laparoscopic method, but the robotic method does take longer on average, which can bring added cost.
View the detailed story here.
ibm's watson being trained as a med student at case
In a New York Times feature titled “Software Assistants for Doctors Are Making Progress,” Steve Lohr highlights how doctors are struggling to keep up with the information overload when it comes to decision making in medicine and how technology is working to keep medical professionals up to date.
“The information overload for doctors is only growing worse," Lohr writes. "Medical information is estimated to be doubling every five years, and surveys show most doctors can find only a few hours a month to read medical journals.”
Lohr notes that a prime example of technology gearing up to assist medical professionals is I.B.M.’s supercomputer Watson, which currently is being trained as a medical student at the Cleveland Clinic Lerner College of Medicine at Case Western Reserve University.
View the complete feature here.
“The information overload for doctors is only growing worse," Lohr writes. "Medical information is estimated to be doubling every five years, and surveys show most doctors can find only a few hours a month to read medical journals.”
Lohr notes that a prime example of technology gearing up to assist medical professionals is I.B.M.’s supercomputer Watson, which currently is being trained as a medical student at the Cleveland Clinic Lerner College of Medicine at Case Western Reserve University.
View the complete feature here.
huffpo discusses vacant school building uses
In a Huffington Post report titled “Cities have hundreds of empty schools,” Philip Elliott writes of the nation’s largest cities struggling to sell valuable property while still incurring costs to keep them secure while empty.
Elliot notes that Cleveland already has found uses for 25 former buildings, bulldozed seven other buildings to turn into parks, but still has 27 additional properties up for grabs.
“The number of idle buildings does not include properties that the districts are holding on to but are not using. Cleveland, for instance, kept several buildings at the ready to fill in for others they plan to renovate in the future, officials there said.”
Read the full report here.
Elliot notes that Cleveland already has found uses for 25 former buildings, bulldozed seven other buildings to turn into parks, but still has 27 additional properties up for grabs.
“The number of idle buildings does not include properties that the districts are holding on to but are not using. Cleveland, for instance, kept several buildings at the ready to fill in for others they plan to renovate in the future, officials there said.”
Read the full report here.
cleveland well represented in beard award semis
In an Eater.com article titled “JFB Announces 2013 Restaurant and Chef Semifinalists” Raphael Brion shares the most recent “long list” of semifinalists for the coveted James Beard Foundation Awards.
Cleveland finds itself well represented with four local chefs up for various honors.
Michael Symon for Outstanding Chef
Jonathon Sawyer for Best Chef: Great Lakes
Zack Bruell for Best Chef: Great Lakes
Matt Danko for Outstanding Pastry Chef
The finalists will be announced on Monday, March 18, 2013 with the winners announced on Monday, May 6, 2013.
Check out the full list here.
Cleveland finds itself well represented with four local chefs up for various honors.
Michael Symon for Outstanding Chef
Jonathon Sawyer for Best Chef: Great Lakes
Zack Bruell for Best Chef: Great Lakes
Matt Danko for Outstanding Pastry Chef
The finalists will be announced on Monday, March 18, 2013 with the winners announced on Monday, May 6, 2013.
Check out the full list here.
Shaker LaunchHouse raised $15,000 at its second annual gala, held last week at Crawford Galleries of Western Reserve Historical Society. The money will help support Cleveland’s budding entrepreneurs. More than 260 attended the event, which was sponsored by the Shaker Heights Development Corporation.
“It was huge,” says LaunchHouse co-founder Todd Goldstein. “There were entrepreneurs, business leaders, successful CEOs of companies and people from the city of Shaker Heights. We even had people who flew in from out of state. It was a broad range of people supporting the entrepreneur community.”
The money will be used to support LaunchHouse startups and for programming. Specifically, Freebie Fridays, when people can come into the offices to work and pitch their ideas, will continue. LaunchHouse will also continue its support of the LightHouse Entrepreneurial Accelerator Program (LEAP), a program targeted at high school students.
Goldstein points out that LaunchHouse staff will assist anyone with an idea. “We never turn an entrepreneur away,” he says. “If an entrepreneur shows up at our door, we’ll work with them. And we’ve helped hundreds of small business owners who come in on Thursdays for open office hours and one-on-one business advice from our team members.”
Since its founding in 2009, LaunchHouse has invested in more than 40 companies, with more than 100 working directly out of LaunchHouse.
“Our advanced goal is to be an idea hub in the region,” says Goldstein. “Seeing that many people come out really is a testament to all the entrepreneurial activity happening in Shaker Heights.”
Stephanie Colangelo, director of public relations and marketing, adds that LaunchHouse has a solid relationship with other entrepreneurial support organizations. “If something is not necessarily for LaunchHouse, we direct them to JumpStart or Bizdom,” she explains. “And they do the same for us.”
Source: Todd Goldstein, Stephanie Colangelo
Writer: Karin Connelly
“It was huge,” says LaunchHouse co-founder Todd Goldstein. “There were entrepreneurs, business leaders, successful CEOs of companies and people from the city of Shaker Heights. We even had people who flew in from out of state. It was a broad range of people supporting the entrepreneur community.”
The money will be used to support LaunchHouse startups and for programming. Specifically, Freebie Fridays, when people can come into the offices to work and pitch their ideas, will continue. LaunchHouse will also continue its support of the LightHouse Entrepreneurial Accelerator Program (LEAP), a program targeted at high school students.
Goldstein points out that LaunchHouse staff will assist anyone with an idea. “We never turn an entrepreneur away,” he says. “If an entrepreneur shows up at our door, we’ll work with them. And we’ve helped hundreds of small business owners who come in on Thursdays for open office hours and one-on-one business advice from our team members.”
Since its founding in 2009, LaunchHouse has invested in more than 40 companies, with more than 100 working directly out of LaunchHouse.
“Our advanced goal is to be an idea hub in the region,” says Goldstein. “Seeing that many people come out really is a testament to all the entrepreneurial activity happening in Shaker Heights.”
Stephanie Colangelo, director of public relations and marketing, adds that LaunchHouse has a solid relationship with other entrepreneurial support organizations. “If something is not necessarily for LaunchHouse, we direct them to JumpStart or Bizdom,” she explains. “And they do the same for us.”
Source: Todd Goldstein, Stephanie Colangelo
Writer: Karin Connelly
cleveland named by msn as 1 of 10 coolest cities in the midwest
In an MSN slideshow titled “10 coolest cities in the Midwest,” Chelsea Lin proclaims our fair city of Cleveland as one of them due to its musical history and art. Oddly enough, nothing about the phenomenal dining scene is mentioned as a factor of coolness.
In proclaiming what’s cool: “There’s more than just rock ’n’ roll culture at play. The Museum of Contemporary Art, Cleveland’s brand-new mirrored digs, is a lesson in modern art itself, a stunning piece of interesting architecture.”
Read the full blurb and check out the other cities on the list here.
In proclaiming what’s cool: “There’s more than just rock ’n’ roll culture at play. The Museum of Contemporary Art, Cleveland’s brand-new mirrored digs, is a lesson in modern art itself, a stunning piece of interesting architecture.”
Read the full blurb and check out the other cities on the list here.
clinic doctor shares risks of teen pregnancy
In a CBS News feature titled “Teen birth rates hit historic low in U.S.,” Ryan Jaslow notes that teen birth rates are at historic lows due to teens waiting to have sex and the use of more effective birth control and the various risks associated with teen pregnancy.
In the piece, the Cleveland Clinic’s own Dr. Ellen Rome, head of the Center for Adolescent Medicine, discusses the various risks associated with teen pregnancy versus those occurring in women over 20.
“One of the biggest risks is that teen moms are less likely to engage in proper prenatal care and more likely to have poor nutrition, sexually transmitted diseases or substance abuse issues that can risk the pregnancy,” Rome is quoted in the piece.
Check out the full informative piece here.
In the piece, the Cleveland Clinic’s own Dr. Ellen Rome, head of the Center for Adolescent Medicine, discusses the various risks associated with teen pregnancy versus those occurring in women over 20.
“One of the biggest risks is that teen moms are less likely to engage in proper prenatal care and more likely to have poor nutrition, sexually transmitted diseases or substance abuse issues that can risk the pregnancy,” Rome is quoted in the piece.
Check out the full informative piece here.
fast co. looks at tech behind cma's gallery one
In a Fast Company piece titled “Local Projects and The Cleveland Museum of Art Use New Tech to Connect the Classics,” Cliff King explains the technological aspects behind the new Gallery One exhibit at the Museum and the role company Local Projects played in its development.
"Museums must compete for attention in a second-screen world," writes King in this richly illustrated feature. "One venue embracing the challenge is the Cleveland Museum of Art, which worked with Local Projects to design new interactive galleries."
Items of note:
A 40-foot screen displays every piece in the museum. When a work is touched, an iris opens to highlight broader relationships. You can then drag works to a provided iPad to create a custom tour.
By holding an iPad up to certain pieces, you’re presented with an overlay of information. Your focus remains directed on the art, not down at a plaque.
Check out the full story here.
"Museums must compete for attention in a second-screen world," writes King in this richly illustrated feature. "One venue embracing the challenge is the Cleveland Museum of Art, which worked with Local Projects to design new interactive galleries."
Items of note:
A 40-foot screen displays every piece in the museum. When a work is touched, an iris opens to highlight broader relationships. You can then drag works to a provided iPad to create a custom tour.
By holding an iPad up to certain pieces, you’re presented with an overlay of information. Your focus remains directed on the art, not down at a plaque.
Check out the full story here.
For a number of years at the tail end of the 20th century, Greater Cleveland's public and private leaders attempted to pull the city up through ambitious marketing campaigns. For awhile it seemed to work. The national media began referring to Cleveland as the "Comeback City" in conjunction with the grand openings of ambitious projects like Tower City Center, Jacobs Field and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum.
But toward the end of the '90s a strange thing happened: The city, for all intents and purposes, stopped marketing itself.
Why?
"We began to believe our own press," says Rick Batyko, president of the Regional Marketing Alliance of Northeast Ohio, which conducts the Cleveland Plus campaign. And civic officials "moved on to other tasks and defunded marketing."
In essence, Northeast Ohio stopped telling its tale with the tale barely begun -- a rather large mistake in retrospect. "The underlying economy wasn't doing that well," Batyko says. "That's something you couldn't see in the skyline shots."
During the mid-2000s, the region's narrative thread was picked up by Cleveland Plus campaign. Established in 2005 -- with founding members that included Greater Cleveland Partnership, Positively Cleveland and Team NEO -- the organization champions Northeast Ohio as a culturally rich, yet affordable place to live.
Read the rest of the story here.
But toward the end of the '90s a strange thing happened: The city, for all intents and purposes, stopped marketing itself.
Why?
"We began to believe our own press," says Rick Batyko, president of the Regional Marketing Alliance of Northeast Ohio, which conducts the Cleveland Plus campaign. And civic officials "moved on to other tasks and defunded marketing."
In essence, Northeast Ohio stopped telling its tale with the tale barely begun -- a rather large mistake in retrospect. "The underlying economy wasn't doing that well," Batyko says. "That's something you couldn't see in the skyline shots."
During the mid-2000s, the region's narrative thread was picked up by Cleveland Plus campaign. Established in 2005 -- with founding members that included Greater Cleveland Partnership, Positively Cleveland and Team NEO -- the organization champions Northeast Ohio as a culturally rich, yet affordable place to live.
Read the rest of the story here.
wsj calls cleveland an 'overlooked entrepreneurial hub'
In a Wall Street Journal post titled “For U.S. Startups, ‘Times They-are-a-Changing,’” Steve Case, co-founder of AOL, shares his thoughts on entrepreneurship and trends that are changing nationwide, including Cleveland.
“I’m convinced that we’re beginning to see a regional 'rise of the rest' as cities like Washington D.C., Denver, Chicago, Atlanta, Raleigh, Cleveland, Detroit and many others experience unprecedented growth in startups. Silicon Valley will continue to be our nation’s most vibrant entrepreneurial hub, but a growing number of companies will start up in these often overlooked places.”
“America was built by risk-taking entrepreneurs who throughout history have turned dreams into new businesses, disrupted industries, created new ones and inspired the world.”
Check out the full piece here.
“I’m convinced that we’re beginning to see a regional 'rise of the rest' as cities like Washington D.C., Denver, Chicago, Atlanta, Raleigh, Cleveland, Detroit and many others experience unprecedented growth in startups. Silicon Valley will continue to be our nation’s most vibrant entrepreneurial hub, but a growing number of companies will start up in these often overlooked places.”
“America was built by risk-taking entrepreneurs who throughout history have turned dreams into new businesses, disrupted industries, created new ones and inspired the world.”
Check out the full piece here.
Explorys, which offers a secure software platform that allows healthcare systems to summarize, analyze and manage data, has moved into the former home of MOCA. The Cleveland-based company currently has more than 80 employees and is expected to climb to between 110 and 125 by next year.
In Cleveland's green-building scene, all eyes are on two new homes -- ironically called passive homes -- that take energy efficiency to jaw-dropping extremes. We wanted to see what it's really like to live in the city's greenest homes.
Back in 2011, Fresh Water ran a feature about Ohio's newly instituted Film Production Tax Credit, which helped attract big-budget productions like "The Avengers" and "Alex Cross," plus smaller films like "Take Shelter" and "Fun Size." We decided to revisit the topic to see how it's working out for Cleveland, and Ohio.
cma among museums that give back 'looted' art
In a New York Times story titled “The Great Giveback,” Hugh Eakin writes how major American museums are relinquishing antiquities due to foreign claims that various objects were looted.
The piece goes on to talk about the aggressive nature of some foreign governments and the demands they make on the museums to give back what they claim is rightfully theirs.
“Other museums across the country -- including the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston and the Cleveland Museum of Art -- have also given up prized antiquities,” Eakin writes.
What's more: "In nearly every case, the museums have not been compelled by any legal ruling to give up the art, nor are they receiving compensation for doing so. And while a few of the returned works have been traced to particular sites or matched with other fragments residing in the claimant country, many of them have no known place of origin."
"Foreign governments’ tactics have become so threatening that some museums are now combing through their permanent collections and pre-emptively giving up works that might become the targets of future claims."
Read the lengthy feature here.
The piece goes on to talk about the aggressive nature of some foreign governments and the demands they make on the museums to give back what they claim is rightfully theirs.
“Other museums across the country -- including the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston and the Cleveland Museum of Art -- have also given up prized antiquities,” Eakin writes.
What's more: "In nearly every case, the museums have not been compelled by any legal ruling to give up the art, nor are they receiving compensation for doing so. And while a few of the returned works have been traced to particular sites or matched with other fragments residing in the claimant country, many of them have no known place of origin."
"Foreign governments’ tactics have become so threatening that some museums are now combing through their permanent collections and pre-emptively giving up works that might become the targets of future claims."
Read the lengthy feature here.