Regional Economy

more than a few words with will hollingsworth, builder of the perfect bar
If you've enjoyed a drink at Lolita on a weekend night during the past two and a half years, chances are good Will Hollingsworth poured it. During that same period of time, Hollingsworth has been formulating his greatest recipe yet: The perfect bar, which will open this summer in Tremont.
judi feniger ready to roll as gordon square arts district's new executive director
Cleveland's Gordon Square Arts District (GSAD) is supported by a strong backbone of dedicated institutions, corporations, merchants, residents and philanthropists, says Judi Feniger, newly named executive director of the West Side arts enclave.

Feniger planned to spend this week meeting with these groups, and looks forward to continuing the relationships that will help make the district even stronger. "It's a dynamic area," says Feniger, successor to GSAD founding executive director Joy Roller, who earlier this month became president of Global Cleveland. "I need to get a sense of what's going on."

What's been happening in recent years is new loft housing, an enhanced Detroit Avenue streetscape, new retail and gallery ventures, and the renovation of the Cleveland Public Theatre complex and Capitol Theatre. The latest milestone occurred in November with the groundbreaking for the Near West Theatre’s first permanent performance venue.

"Gordon Square is a growing part of Cleveland that attracting young residents," says Feniger. "How can we take these great assets and show them to our community?"

The experienced arts and business leader plans to answer that question thanks to a philanthropy and arts background that includes leadership stints with the American Red Cross and most recently the Maltz Museum of Jewish Heritage.

"I've been to Gordon Square many times," Feniger says. "It will be exciting to build on the foundation and bring more activity and awareness to the things going on here."

The district's potent combination of housing, new businesses, the arts and neighborhood beautification is attracting national attention and drawing audiences and visitors from throughout the region, notes the new executive director.

"There are many great things to do in Cleveland," says Feniger. "Our challenge will be to get a share of people's time and mind."

 
SOURCE: Judi Feniger
WRITER: Douglas J. Guth
art daily talks up cma's tech-heavy gallery one
In an Art Daily article titled “Gallery One: A new, unique and interactive gallery opens at the Cleveland Museum of Art,” the journal highlights the level of technology and its role in art appreciation in the new exhibit.
 
“Throughout the space, original works of art and digital interactives engage visitors in new ways, putting curiosity, imagination and creativity at the heart of their museum experience. Innovative user-interface design and cutting-edge hardware developed exclusively for Gallery One break new ground in art museum interpretation, design and technology.”
 
It is certainly a break from the standard observation and appreciation of artistic pieces enjoyed in the traditional manner.
 
“It’s very important to us that visitors interact with real objects, rather than digital reproductions,” David Franklin is quoted in the piece. “We want visitors to look closely at original art works and to make personal connections to what they are seeing.”
 
Check out the full story here.
flydrive's regenerative braking flywheel replaces battery in hybrid, electric cars
What started as a design project in CWRU mechanical and aerospace engineering student Kristen Brouwer’s senior design class has evolved into a full-blown business. Brouwer and three of her classmates took an existing patent for a regenerative braking flywheel and created FlyDrive, which makes a flywheel that replaces the battery in electric and hybrid cars. They are bringing their flywheel to market.

“In a Prius, for instance, when you brake, the electric motors are charged, which then charge the battery,” says Brouwer. “With our flywheel, it’s just as efficient in returning energy and doesn’t have to be replaced. And it’s environmentally better than batteries because it doesn’t use chemicals.”
 
Brouwer and teammates Jordan Lajoie, Luke Voigt, Kris Bosma and Cleveland Institute of Art industrial design student Adam Lauser have been developing the flywheel for market since September. “Most of our developments have stemmed from market identification and development as well as creating a preliminary concept for implementing the flywheel in a transportation system,” says Brouwer.

FlyDrive will be competing in the Ohio Clean Energy Challenge semi-finals next week, where they will compete for $10,000 and the chance to move on the Midwest regional competition in Chicago. The company has been assessing licensing options in the meantime.

“We’re waiting to see if we make it to the next level of competition,” says Brouwer. “It’s been a great learning experience.”


Source: Kristen Brouwer
Writer: Karin Connelly
the next must-live cleveland neighborhood is...
What's next? It's a question we all wish we had the answer to. But for folks looking to settle down, that question undoubtedly refers to place. In this running series, Fresh Water explores emerging Cleveland neighborhoods that are primed for growth. This week, writer Joe Baur examines North Shore Collinwood.
software development firm urbancode to double its staff (again) this year
What began as a game and website development company in 1996 has blossomed into a thriving developer of software products.

After creating internal software that allowed UrbanCode to track the progress of its own software development projects, the company began developing similar products for its customers. UrbanCode products help their customers get their software to production faster -- decreasing time to market and ultimately getting their technology to the end users quickly and easily.
 
“One trait that unites all our customers is that they realize the strategic importance of their technology,” says Maciej Zawadzki, UrbanCode cofounder and CEO. “They need to get their technology into the hands of end users as quickly as possible. Our products facilitate the adoption of Agile methodologies in development and DevOps practices in operations."
 
Last year, UrbanCode was a finalist for Tech Company of the Year in NEOSA’s Best of Tech Awards, and its AnthillPro product won Best Software Product, Impact in 2008.
 
By recognizing their clients’ needs, UrbanCode has been growing by leaps and bounds. “Recently, we have been focused on DevOps releasing three new products: uDeploy, uBuild and uRelease,” says Tracy Gavlak, UrbanCode’s office manager. “We have been able to increase our growth rate to 70 percent over the last two years, with no signs of slowing down.”
 
UrbanCode has grown from 25 employees to 55 in the past year. Gavlak cites finding the right talent as one of the company’s biggest challenges. The company is currently recruiting sales engineers, field sales executives and software developers.

“We have the energy and informal atmosphere of a start-up, with the customers and financial security of a much larger firm” says Gavlak.
 
Company officials expect to double in size again this year. Plans are underway to move to a larger space in the Halle Building later this year.

 
Source: Maciej Zawadzki and Tracy Gavlak
Writer: Karin Connelly
clinic's efforts to control type 2 diabetes with bariatric surgery touted
In a Richmond County Daily Journal piece titled “Bariatric surgery may help send Type 2 diabetes into remission,” Laura Edigton reports on the Cleveland Clinic’s efforts to control Type 2 diabetes and how Bariatric surgery might help.
 
The Cleveland Clinic said that diabetes experts now believe that bariatric surgery “should be offered much earlier as a reasonable treatment option for patients with poorly controlled diabetes -- and not as a last resort.”

The Cleveland Clinic discovered the correlation and released it in their Top 10 Medical Innovations for 2013 list.
 
“Bariatric surgery can have a profound effect on diabetes, and many published studies have looked at the effect,” bariatric surgeon Raymond Washington is quoted. “Surgery can account for almost an 80 percent remission of diabetes. Oftentimes, patients with non-insulin-dependent diabetes will leave the hospital off of their oral medications after only a few days.”
 
Read more about this exciting discovery here.
greater cleveland rta's ridership gains championed in rail mag
In a Progressive Railroading feature titled “Greater Cleveland RTA posts ridership gain in 2012,” the transportation mag covers the positive news.
 
"Ridership on the Greater Cleveland Regional Transit Authority (GCRTA) rose 4.3 percent to 48.2 million in 2012, marking the second consecutive year of growth, agency officials said in a prepared statement."

"Every service mode registered an increase, but the biggest gain was posted on the Red Line rail corridor, where ridership climbed 9.1 percent. The Blue and Green rail lines posted a 4.1 percent ridership gain."

"Customers are making a choice to ride, especially on the rail," CEO Joseph Calabrese is quoted in the piece. "With our recent increase in frequency on the Red, Blue and Green lines, and 8,000 free parking spaces at rail stations, we have room for more Northeast Ohioans to make the green choice and ride RTA."

Average daily trolley ridership rose 5 percent to 3,840 trips.

Read the rest right here.
educational fair to attract private, charter, public and parochial schools
The motto of the Near West Family Network (NWFN) is "Stronger Families, Stronger Cleveland." Good schools are an important means of bringing those families into town, maintains the volunteer group's founders, hence the forthcoming Near West Cleveland PreK-8 School Fair.

The fair takes place February 2 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at St. Ignatius High School. Sponsored by NWFN and advocacy group Ohio City, Inc., participants will get information about the private, charter, public and parochial schools found in Ohio City, Detroit Shoreway, Tremont and other Near West Side neighborhoods. School representatives will be on hand to provide information and answer questions.

"There will be a gamut of educational options available," says NWFN co-founder and Ohio City resident Norma Polanco-Boyd.

The mother of two daughters expects between 18 to 20 schools to be represented at the fair. "The goal goes back to the reason we started this organization [in November 2012,] says Polanco-Boyd. "We wanted to create a resource-based organization to retain families or attract them to these neighborhoods."

Along with the schools, Polanco-Boyd expects attendance from a handful of non-academic groups as well. These entities will provide yet another source of information for participating parents.

The NWFN website has a list of schools serving the Near West Side. Polanco-Boyd, a community affairs officer with a bank regulator, moved to Cleveland from Chicago with her husband, Joe. At the time, the couple didn't know anyone; Polanco-Boyd helped create NWFN for young families in similar straits.

The school fair is a critical to her group's mission, Polanco-Boyd believes.  "We want to grow Cleveland and help maintain its vibrancy," she says.
 
 
SOURCE: Norma Polanco-Boyd
WRITER: Douglas J. Guth
expanding great lakes neurotechnologies widens reach to australia
Great Lakes NeuroTechnologies (GLNT), which creates biomedical technologies, received Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) approval to market its Kinesia technology in Australia. The technology is used to assess and find treatments for Parkinson’s disease.
 
“The Kinesia system is used for quantitative assessment of Parkinson’s motor systems, which include tremors, bradykinesia, or slow motor movements, and rigidity,” explains Joe Giuffrida, president and principal investigator at GLNT. Furthermore, Parkinson’s medications can cause side effects, including involuntary movements.
 
Kinesia hooks patients up to motion sensors that are in turn hooked into a computer. It has applications for both the doctor’s office and at home. Doctors can then monitor symptoms of the disease and patients’ responses to different medications and doses. The technology has multiple uses. “For patient care, doctors can assess the symptoms,” says Giuffrida. “Pharmaceutical companies developing new drugs can measure efficacy. And it can be used for deep brain stimulation.”
 
GLNT received FDA clearance to market in 2006, and permission to market in Europe a couple of years ago, says Giuffrida. “This continues our international growth,” he says. One in 350 Australians has Parkinson’s. Kinesia features a system for home users, which will help patients in the country’s remote locations. “Australia is an important place for us to come next.”
 
GLNT grew from 15 to 23 employees last year, and is hiring three additional people now.

 
Source: Joe Giuffrida
Writer: Karin Connelly
moca in the running for london-based design competition
Each year, Pillow Magazine -- an edgy London publication -- presents a Designs of the Year exhibition during which the best ideas from all over the globe are rounded up for consideration. The exhibition features nominees from seven categories including Architecture, Digital, Fashion and Furniture. In the end, winners from each category plus one overall winner will be announced in April.

Among the nominees in the Architecture category is the Museum of Contemporary Art Cleveland. The already iconic University Circle structure is up against The Shard in London, the Kukje Art Center in Seoul, and the Galaxy Soho in Beijing.

Check out all the nominees here.
foundation looks to transform masonic space into technologically advanced media center
The imposing brick structure of the Cleveland Masonic and Performance Arts Center (CMPAC) has stood in Midtown Cleveland for a century. A local charity seeking to purchase the building sees a unique opportunity to harness CMPAC's historic legacy and create something new and distinctive. 

The Mason Foundation, a 501(c)3 organization structured "to promote the arts and academic excellence in Northeast Ohio," is working to buy the facility, which it would refurbish into a technologically advanced media center while also improving the performance space.

"We want to elevate the entire community," says foundation founder Gregory Mason, pointing to CMPAC's Midtown location as virtually equidistant to downtown and University Circle.

The foundation is now involved in engineering and architecture surveys on the site. The building's current owner is the Cleveland chapter of the Ancient Accepted Scottish Rite, and Mason believes his organization will be ready to purchase the facility before the end of the year.

The centerpiece of the new venture is the "Towne Hall," a 24/7 data center and public space participants can use to access civic and library resources. Other plans include renovating CMPAC's "acoustically perfect" performance space, while the building would also host creative arts classes. Current tenants like the American Red Cross would remain and could even benefit from Mason Foundation backing, says the organization founder.

"We want to help nonprofits reach some of the resources they can't access now," Mason says.

Restoration will cost $30 million, a figure Mason hopes to accrue through grants, donors and private investors. The cost is worth it to unite civic, academic and arts resources in one place, Mason believes.
 
 
SOURCE: Gregory Mason
WRITER: Douglas J. Guth
huffpo features successful cleveland women helping one another
In a Huffington Post story titled “How Women Entrepreneurs Succeed in the Midwest,” Lynn-Ann Gries chronicles the emergence of high-profile startups and companies founded by women in the Midwest, especially Cleveland. 
 
Gries’ piece details everything from networking opportunities to female-focused financial support and resources to the availability of role models to encourage further growth and development.
 
In the Cleveland area, Laura Bennett, CEO and Founder of Embrace Pet Insurance, formed a mentoring community for female entrepreneurs leading high-growth-potential companies, called the Burning River Coffee Community. "I feel there is a place for a community to mentor women to build our numbers," Bennett says. "Women are no less driven, focused and capable of running high growth companies than men; there just aren't many examples to look to. The BRCC is another way to encourage and support women in building these companies."
 
Check out the complete informative and inspiring story here.
art journal highlights cma's 2012 accomplishments
In an Art Daily piece titled “Cleveland Museum of Art celebrates significant accomplishments from 2012,” the online arts newspaper highlights the remarkable year the museum experienced. From an increase in attendance to the opening of a dining facility featuring cuisine from a prominent local chef to educational programs, it was an exciting year.
 
"The Cleveland Museum of Art announced today that 423,640 visitors came to the museum in 2012. This attendance statistic represents a 38% increase year-over-year and brings the museum’s annual attendance in-line with pre-renovation figures, the first time such an accomplishment has occurred since 2005. Attendance drivers included the blockbuster special exhibition, Rembrandt in America, as well as the highly anticipated openings of the stunning Ames Family Atrium, dining facilities featuring cuisine by Chef Douglas Katz, the museum store and new galleries showcasing the Late Medieval, Renaissance and Islamic collections."
 
“As the museum approaches the final stages of our transformational renovation project and looks towards its centennial in 2016, we do so with a new vision for the future, led by director David Franklin,” Steven Kestner, chairman of the Board of Trustees, is quoted in the piece. “We are very pleased with the progress made by David and his team thus far and look forward to celebrating even more accomplishments in 2013.”
 
In the big business that is fine art, the CMA was also thankful to members and donors who make it possible to bring such experiences, exhibitions, films, and other special programs throughout the year. 
 
Read the full piece here.
draft mag drinks to cleveland beer bars
Once again, Draft Magazine has included multiple Cleveland watering holes in its annual round-up of America’s 100 Best Beer Bars: 2013.

"As craft beer has exploded, so has the number of incredible places that serve it. This list celebrates those special haunts with less than three locations and one passionate focus: beer. There might be darts and a jukebox or candlelight and a turntable; there might be five beers or 500. But in every spot on our list, you’ll find an excellent brew in your glass and people -- staff, owners, barflies -- who care about that as much as you do."
 
Among the list is:

Buckeye Beer Engine

"Grab a seat at the horseshoe bar, order up a cask-conditioned pint from local brewery Indigo Imp, and marvel at the inventive displays of beer paraphernalia -- like the beer-bottle light fixtures illuminating this upbeat watering hole."

La Cave du Vin

"A flicker of candle flame and the glow from the bottle coolers is all the light you have to go by in this subterranean beer mecca, which means the handful of taps, discerning bottle selection and vintage list under lock and key are best enjoyed on a date -- leave your beer notebook at home."
 
Bier Markt

"Rich, dark wood tones and soft lighting set the mood for this swanky, Belgian-enriched bar, while bottles of 3 Fonteinen Oud Gueze circa 2009 and plates of pickled pork shoulder help make this joint one of the classiest beer spots in Cleveland to bring a date."

Drink up all the good news here.
flats-based fishmongers look to lake erie to boost local food production
Catanese Classic Seafood, a 30-year-old fish company that recently moved into the Flats, has reached agreements to purchase the entire catches of two local fishing crews that scour Lake Erie. That arrangement is likely to net more than 600,000 pounds of yellow perch alone next year -- as well as an additional 8 jobs.
cleveland among 'american cities that brew the best beer'
AMOG, an online magazine geared to men, included Cleveland in its recent listing of "The 10 American Cities that Brew the Best Beer."

"There’s a lot to consider when planning a vacation. The cost, climate, and sightseeing, are of course, major factors. But what about the beers that are brewed in that city? Regardless if you want to party like a frat boy or sip on a craft beer during dinner, beer can say a lot about the city of its origin. Whether it’s a revolutionary technique used for brewing, unique flavors or just a local favorite, each city that brews their own beer puts their own stamp on beer. So, before you book anything, check out the 10 American cities that beer the best beer."

Cleveland gets nods for Nano Brew Cleveland, which will “pour you a bready amber ale while they tune your bike.” As well as Market Garden Brewery, Fat Heads, the Brew Kettle and Great Lakes Brewing Company.

"Even towns nearby, like Strongsville and Akron, are great places to check out if you’re a beer enthusiast."

Read the rest here.
new organization aims to leverage area's expertise in water technology
The health of Lake Erie has come a long way in the past 40 years, and it is now considered by many to be a case study of a recovering ecosystem. Yet not very many people know that, in part as a result of cleaning up our water pollution as well as our close proximity to a Great Lake, Northeast Ohio companies have developed rich expertise in water technology.

To leverage this cluster, influence policy, and conduct research and education, a group of organizations have launched The Alliance for our Water Future, a new nonprofit organization that seeks to spur innovative solutions to freshwater issues locally and globally.

"Silicon Valley is an example of what one industry cluster can do for a region," says Byron Clayton, Vice President at NorTech. "Companies all worked together in that region to leverage their strengths. In Northeast Ohio, we have a great legacy in cleaning up industrial waste water. We identified areas where we have the best chance of competing, and that's been the focus of our water technology cluster."

The areas that NorTech identified are automation and controls (identifying the best, most efficient way to control water), absorbents (extracting contaminants from water) and corrosion resistance (preventing water systems from corroding).

NorTech's role is to identify, organize and accelerate clusters. The Alliance will help promote this success story and spur cross-sector collaboration. By working together, the groups involved in the Alliance hope to make a global impact.

"This is about the economic future of our region," says Fran DiDonato, Program Manager of the Alliance. "If we can show that we had success with cleaning water, then that gives us credibility when we export our solutions to other places."

Two Northeast Ohio companies, MAR Systems and ABSMaterials, were recently selected by the Artemis Project as 2012 Top 50 Water Companies. Rockwell Automation is also considered a major player in the water technology field.

The founding members of the Alliance are NorTech, Case Western Reserve University, Port of Cleveland, Cleveland Metroparks, Cleveland State University, Hiram College, Great Lakes Science Center, Kent State University, MAR Systems and Northeast Ohio Regional Sewer District.


Source: Byron Clayton, Fran DiDonato
Writer: Lee Chilcote
wall street journal discusses affordable care act with clinic's dr. cosgrove
In an article titled "Cleveland Clinic Diagnoses Health-Care Act," the Wall Street Journal sits down with CEO Delos "Toby" Cosgrove to discuss the Affordable Care Act.

Anna Wilde Mathews writes, "Just over a year from now, the Affordable Care Act is set to unleash enormous change in the health-care sector, and Cleveland Clinic Chief Executive Delos 'Toby' Cosgrove is preparing his institution by expanding its reach and striving to make caregivers more cost-conscious.

Dr. Cosgrove sat down with the newspaper to discuss the coming changes and how the Clinic is preparing for them.

Read the entire exchange here.
creative workforce grants support artists while transforming 'rust belt' into 'artist belt'
Each year in Cuyahoga County, 20 fortunate artists are awarded $20,000 Creative Workforce Fellowship grants to pursue their art, which often takes a back seat to more pressing needs. The fellowships also help to brand the region to outsiders as an artist-friendly place to live.