As a small-business owner, Mark D’Agostino knows firsthand the difficulties of staffing a human resources department. All too often, HR employees are overworked, undertrained and unsupported by company leadership, he says.
 
To address these issues, D’Agostino launched ConnectedHR, a professional services firm that provides its 30 clients with experienced HR consultants. ConnectedHR personnel work on-site at companies—albeit off their payroll and benefits programs—diving into the complex realm of workers' compensation claims, employee engagement and other duties beholden to an in-house HR operation.
 
"We go out to organizations and become their HR entity on a part-time basis," says D’Agostino, who started his Independence-based business in 2014. "We have one young woman who works at five different organizations each day of the week."
 
Company "technicians" are spread out to diverse industries such as biotech, childcare and law. Cleveland law firm The Rathbone Group and drug discovery company BioMotiv are among the entities currently hosting a ConnectedHR staff member. Client business models may differ, but human resources basics are similar across industries, D’Agostino notes.
 
"Our technicians have an agenda and structure they follow very closely," he says. "It's streamlined enough that they know what aspects to focus on."
 
Businesses that enlist D’Agostino's services generally don't have an HR strategy in place. The company founder and president understands how that goes, as he didn't have a human resources staff at the business supply distribution company he ran prior to launching ConnectedHR. Visiting other offices at the time revealed HR's dispersal throughout harried personnel groups. From there, a vision for a new employee engagement approach came into being.
 
Since its inception, ConnectedHR has steadily grown its client base and topped $1 million in annual revenue. D’Agostino enjoys working with an established clientele that have reached a stage of growth where a level of HR professionalism is needed.
 
"I'm also excited about my team," D’Agostino says. "There's such an energy and vibrancy with them. They're a very educated, experienced group."
 
Ensuring worker well-being is especially satisfying in a region where small business is an economic driver.
 
"I'm passionate about supporting these organizations, because I'm a small business owner, too," says D’Agostino. "My clients want to be a good employer for their employees." 

From Annie Knox and Kim Palmer, with additional contributors, for Reuters:

President-elect Donald Trump aims to open up federal lands to more energy development, tapping into a long-running and contentious debate over how best to manage America’s remaining wilderness.

The U.S. government holds title to about 500 million acres of land across the country, including national parks and forests, wildlife refuges and tribal territories stretching from the Arctic to the Gulf of Mexico. They overlay billions of barrels of oil and vast quantities of natural gas, coal, and uranium.

The article goes on to include the Cuyahoga Valley National Park (CVNP) as one federal holding pertinent to the controversy. The CVNP is one of the nation's few parks that already allows drilling on account of privately owned mineral rights.

Per this article by Kabir Bhatia for wksu, however, park officials do not foresee an expansion:

Right now, there are 91 wells within Cuyahoga Valley National Park’s 33,000 acres. Last fall, the rules governing those wells* were overhauled to give the parks more control. Lisa Petit, head of resource management for the park, says she doesn’t foresee new wells being added in the next several years; instead the focus will be bringing the existing wells in-line with the new rules.

The greenspace is a local mecca for hikers, bikers and those who enjoy watersports on the Cuyahoga River. It is Ohio's only national park.

Further reading: 100 miles of the Towpath Trail, one step at a time

*link added
 

Children living in Cuyahoga County have some of the highest lead blood-levels in the Ohio. Public entities, nonprofits such as Neighborhood Connections and – most importantly – residents on the ground are tackling the broad and complex problem.

A zoomin' fleet of electric go-karts? The next must live neighborhood? What made the RNC such a success? We've got all that – and more.

Click here for a roundup of some of Fresh Water's most popular stories from 2016.

Sr. Rita Petruziello, organizer of the hugely successful Circle the City with Love event last July, is organizing another gathering to celebrate unity on a grand scale.

The Great Lakes Science Center has partnered with the NASA Glenn Research Center to establish a temporary memorial for Senator Glenn.

Members of the public wishing to leave expressions of sympathy may do so beginning Friday, Dec. 9 from 10 a.m. until 5 p.m. The memorial exhibit will be in place through Sunday, December 18. (Please note the Science Center will be closed Sunday, Dec. 11 and Monday, Dec. 12.) The Glenn memorial will be placed in the Wintergarden atrium of the Science Center, which is a publicly accessible space that does not require admission.

The Science Center is located at 601 Erieside Ave. at North Coast Harbor.

AT&T wants to connect low-income Clevelanders to the possibilities of the internet. And a new affordable online option provided by the communications giant is a big step towards closing the city's digital gap, company officials say.
 
AT&T, in concert with the U.S. HUD's ConnectHome initiative, is offering inexpensive internet service to qualifying area households at just $5 to $10 monthly. Rates depend on connection speed, notes Nicolette Jaworski, external affairs director for Cleveland and Toledo.
 
Families using the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) are able to choose from three speed tiers - 10Mbps, 5Mbps or 3Mbps. Installation and equipment are free of charge for participating households.
 
"This is not a one-time deal," says Jaworski of the program available in 21 states where AT&T offers home internet service. "We're invested in the community and have just started to phase in the program." 
 
On November 15, AT&T and the Cuyahoga Metropolitan Housing Authority (CMHA) held a program information session at CMHA's Lorain Square Apartments. While AT&T doesn't have a target number as to how many Clevelanders will use the service, officials expect a healthy turnout considering the benefits the internet brings to an increasingly connected planet.
 
"The world has changed in that we know how critical a home computer can be to academic success," says Jaworksi. "The internet is a resource for kids to learn at home."
 
Young people are not the only potential beneficiaries of the program. Digital literacy is a boon for senior citizens in terms of bill paying, scheduling doctor's appointments or staying in touch with loved ones. Much of workforce and development training is online-based, adding another layer of capability to the program.
 
Cleveland school districts and community organizations may become future partners in the high-tech endeavor, Jaworksi notes. AT&T would like to see robust internet as part of city policy, considering fast online speed is a key facet of competitive business. Providing such technology to the area's low-income population can serve as the foundation for a strong, well-connected region.
 
"We want to give families here the tools they need to succeed," Jaworski says. 

While most Clevelanders were finally finishing off the Thanksgiving leftovers, these organizations were busy announcing loans and programs aimed at helping area small businesses, entrepreneurs and employees with good ideas.
 
-A unique collaborative of organizations and institutions has launched a small business lending program to help African American and minority businesses create and maintain jobs for residents and build community wealth. With a focus on bringing capital to underserved groups, the National Urban League’s Urban Empowerment Fund, Morgan Stanley, the National Development Council, the Urban League of Greater Cleveland, and Cuyahoga County have come together to offer the Capital Access Fund of Greater Cleveland (CAF).
 
CAF is a three-year program that provides minority business owners with access to capital offering 50 loans totaling $8 million as well as pre- and post-loan counseling to ensure the success of those small business borrowers. With a goal of creating or maintaining a minimum of 300 jobs within those three years, CAF already has completed 8 loans totaling $1.4 million helping to create or maintain 70 local jobs.
 
Read more here.
 
-Bad Girl Ventures Cleveland celebrated their fall 2016 graduation and five-year anniversary on November 30^th by awarding two $15,000 loans, in partnership with the Economic Community Development Institute (ECDI), to the following women entrepreneurs: Liza Rifkin of Liza Michelle Jewelry and Angelina Rodriguez Pata of Blackbird Fly Boutique. Both are located in Ohio City.

-The MetroHealth System hosted its second Think Tank Competition on November 30. Modeled after the ABC show Shark Tank, employees submitted their ideas for a chance to win money to fund projects for the betterment of MetroHealth. Two winners were awarded a cool $150,000 each.
 
Their projects include one aimed at the development of a strategic approach to reduce the risks of opioid dependence and addiction for patients and the community through integrated pathways, analytics, informatics, and education. The other will create a formal team/department to administer and coordinate all of event medicine needs.

Read more here.

 

Fresh off his success of "Selfies at the Clown Motel," Cleveland playwright Christopher Johnston recounts 25 years inside the local indie theatre scene and gives newbies tips on how to break into it.