Billed as an outdoor music and arts festival, Brite Winter Festival is proof that you can indeed have fun in Cleveland, in February, out of doors. This year's dazzling array of temptations includes nine holes of snow mini golf, 24 feet of alfresco skeeball, ski-mounted bicycles, wall-to-wall music and white-hot gourmet food trucks.

This past October, Cuyahoga Community College relocated its 20-year-old hospitality management and culinary program from the older Metropolitan Campus to a gleaming new complex on Public Square. Although the move from E. 33rd and Woodland to the center of downtown was less than a half-mile, the shift will forever change Cleveland's culinary economy.

When it opens next week, XYZ Tavern will fill what Detroit Shoreway residents say is a need for good, casual and affordable fare. And that's just what they'll get, promises owner Randy Kelley, who along with partners Linda Syrek and Alan Glazen will dish out scratch-made comfort food in a modern tavern setting. For nearly five months, Fresh Water photographer Bob Perkoski documented the progression that transformed Perry's Family Restaurant, a long-shuttered greasy spoon, into XYZ Tavern.

In a true zero-waste system there is no garbage, there are no landfills. Entrepreneurs for Sustainability's Zero Waste Network is urging Cleveland organizations to track and reduce their waste stream. Those that do are discovering that the benefits extend well beyond a slimmer carbon footprint, including economic windfalls, community engagement and marketplace recognition.

Steve Arless has nearly four decades of experience in the medical-device industry. As president and CEO of CryoCath, he grew the company to more than 300 employees before arranging its sale for $380 million. Now, he brings his expertise to Cleveland in hopes of doing the same for CardioInsight, which is developing a cardiac arrhythmia ablation therapy.

Social media provides entrepreneurs with a great vehicle for communicating with current and potential clients. And like the companies they seek to promote, social media feeds often mimic the personality of their owners. But marketing experts warn that one size definitely does not fit all. What works for one type of business may come across as inappropriate for another.

Cleveland Storefront Art aims to brighten up the downtown landscape by filling the windows of vacant properties with works of visual art. Through their tireless efforts, Robert Carillio and Joan Smith have crafted an artful albeit temporary solution to an irritating problem.

The Neighborhood Voice is a new hyper-local community newspaper that covers University Circle and the seven neighborhoods that surround it: Hough, Fairfax, Glenville, East Cleveland, Little Italy, Buckeye-Shaker and Central. Created by the Cleveland Foundation as a part of its Greater University Circle Initiative, the newspaper is largely written by volunteers and high school and college student interns.

We would like to officially welcome Lee Chilcote to the Fresh Water team. Though Lee has been a regular contributor to the e-zine, penning some of our most popular features, this issue marks his first as Development News Editor. He is taking over for Frank Lewis, who will remain a regular contributor. Originally from Cleveland Heights, Lee lives in the Detroit-Shoreway neighborhood with his family. Since 2000, he has also worked in urban real estate development and community development, making him a natural fit for the Development News beat.

Northeast Shores Development Corporation continues its push to attract out-of-town artists by offering affordable housing. Since 1994, the North Collinwood-based nonprofit has rehabbed approximately 125 area homes. A more focused development plan is concentrating efforts within a tight 14-block footprint.

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.

According to the latest census figures, roughly 30,000 Asian-Americans call Cuyahoga County home. Many of these folks live, work, shop and eat in Cleveland's AsiaTown neighborhood, which is loosely bordered by E. 30th and 40th streets and St. Clair and Payne avenues. Located in this dense district are numerous Asian-owned restaurants, markets and bakeries. Here are some of the stand-outs.

Rather than wait on Superman, NewBridge is preparing unemployed adults and at-risk youth for a bright future. Modeled after Pittsburgh's Manchester Bidwell Training Center, Cleveland's new alternative center for arts and technology is helping people on the margin.

Creative signs are making a comeback in Cleveland. Dramatic signage not only perks up a neighborhood visually, it makes them more competitive by helping indie retailers stand out from national chains. For proof, look at East Fourth Street.

Through the Poultry Project, Lakewood resident Kelly Flamos has taken on the unimaginable tragedy of the African AIDS epidemic. She is helping one child at a time with the assistance of an unlikely flock of angels -- chickens.

Along with her fiancé, José Andrade, Leticia Ortiz recently launched La Bamba Tortilleria in Ohio City. The minority-owned start-up has filled a gap in the Mexican foods market for fresh, local tortillas while at the same time growing jobs.

Essentially a buy-local campaign on steroids, Evergreen Cooperatives is launching multiple for-profit businesses that leverage the enormous procurement power of Cleveland's largest medical, educational and cultural institutions. And what's now being called "the Cleveland Model" is attracting attention nationwide.

There are far windier places in the US than Ohio, but there may be few better in which to site a commercial-scale wind farm. Thanks to a combination of factors -- not the least of which is recently enacted legislation -- Ohio finally has reached the wind-power tipping point. Even the faintest breeze promises to send Ohio tumbling to the top of the renewable energy heap.