Tigers, flamingos and elephants aside, the Cleveland Metroparks Zoo is also home to the world-class Sarah Allison Steffee Center for Zoological Medicine – a mecca of animal care, science, conservation, education and research.

From Business Insider:

According to the US government, there are upwards of 35,000 museums in America. For comparison, there are about 13,000 Starbucks across the country. 

These thousands of museums are filled with countless works of priceless art, historical artifacts, and natural marvels. But, which museums are the best?

Using data provided by Foursquare, INSIDER ranked the top 25 museums in America.

The Cleveland Museum of Art (CMA) was ranked second only to New York's Metropolitan Museum of Art. Not bad, but for locals, the CMA has always been #1.

Get the whole list here.

From Runner's World:

We started with a list of 250 U.S. cities with populations of more than 160,000 that had the highest number of households per capita reporting participation in running within the last 12 months (according to the SimplyMap 2014 census study). Then we gathered data from myriad sources to create five indexes of special importance to runners, ranking the cities in each index from 1 to 150. We then weighted the indexes [run, parks, climate, food, and safety] and tallied up the scores to create the final list.

Cleveland clocked in at 35, beating out the likes of Atlanta, Miami and even Honolulu.

Get the whole list here - or if you can't wait to don the Nikes and head out to the Metroparks, no worries. The link will be here when you get back.

As part of our Grassroots Success series, Fresh Water takes a closer look at the "Step Up to UH" program, which aims to connect prospective local employees to jobs at University Hospitals

When De’Anthony Harris was released from Grafton Correctional Institution last October, he had a new outlook on his future. And, thanks to Brandon Chrostowski, owner of EDWINS Leadership and Restaurant  Institute on Shaker Square, Harris also has a second chance at a successful life.

During his eight years in prison Harris, now 27, did everything he could to improve his odds in the outside world. “The best thing that happened to me is I didn’t have kids when I went in,” he says. “The only responsibility was myself. I was blessed that I did the right thing.”
 
Harris enrolled in Chrostowski’s culinary training class at Grafton. He also earned his temporary commercial driver's license (CDL) for truck driving, a certification in pet grooming and any took just about any other workforce training program the prison offered.

Continue reading.

On Friday, Sept. 2, Jill Stein, Green Party candidate for President, and Joe DeMare, Green Party candidate for US Senate, will speak at the Natatorium, 2345 4th Street, Cuyahoga Falls. Doors open at 6 p.m. DeMare will speak at 7 p.m. Stein will speak at 8:00 p.m.

During this free event, Jill Stein will discuss her plan to help the American people with the Green New Deal, a stimulus package that will create 20 million new jobs by transitioning to renewable energy by 2030, as well as halting the devastating effects of climate change. Other topics will include her policies such as tuition free higher education, cancelling student debt, healthcare as a human right, $15 minimum wage, and foreign policy based on international law, diplomacy, and human rights.

For more information, visit the Ohio Green Party's page.

Fresh Water editor Erin O'Brien has extolled the virtues of Sabor Miami's rich, creamy and downright decadent Cafe con Leche (Cuban latte) as "the best cup of coffee she's ever had" both publicly and privately. It seems she's not alone.

The shop at 4848 Broadview Road, which we reported on in back in April, has been named the "Best Coffee Shop in Cleveland," by Cleveland Hot List.

Click here to see the list of venerable cafes Sabor Miami topped, but do so at your own risk - peruse this list and you'll be craving a cappuccino in no time.

Congratulations to proprietor Mariela Paz and kudos to all the nominees.

This weekend, area zinesters, art aficionados and anyone fond of old school print is invited to browse more than 50 exhibitors from near and far at BOUND, the Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA) Cleveland's second annual art book and zine fair.
 
Free and open to the public, BOUND will take place in Gund Commons on the museum's first floor on Friday, Aug. 26, from 5 to 10 p.m. and on Saturday, Aug. 27, from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Attendees will have a chance to meet and interact with booksellers, artists, photographers, poets and independent publishers from Northeast Ohio as well as from points across the country. All of them will be offering limited edition art books and zines at affordable prices. In addition, a reduced $5 admission includes access to the MOCA galleries as well as all the programming and talks associated with BOUND. There will also be live music on Friday and DJs spinning tunes on Saturday.

Continue reading ...

Cuyahoga County's population utilizes arts and culture in a variety of ways, from museums and theaters to smaller community festivals and neighborhood events. Recently released findings from Cuyahoga Arts & Culture (CAC) show just how connected residents are to the region's arts offerings.
 
CAC's 2015 Report from the Community shares stories of county residents impacted by the 210 organizations CAC funded in 2015. Self-reported data from these groups revealed more than $383 million arts-related expenditures county-wide, including upwards of $158 million in salaries to 10,000 employees.
 
Other key statistics from the report include:
 
* 50 percent of CAC-supported programs had free admission in 2015
 
* Nearly 6.9 million people were served by arts programming last year, including 1.5 million children
 
"The report provides good evidence of the story we're telling," says Karen Gahl-Mills, CEO and executive director of CAC. "Arts and culture is having a huge impact on Cuyahoga County."
 
Nor are culture lovers only visiting conventional venues like the ballet or a gallery, notes Gahl-Mills. Nature and science organizations, community gardens and other non-traditional entities are attracting crowds through their own arts-infused efforts.
 
"It's not just big institutions; we're shining a light on smaller organizations," Gahl-Mills says. "There's extraordinary variety."
 
This year's report also relates the experiences of community members impacted by arts and culture. One featured resident is Patty Edmonson, an employee at the Cleveland History Center, who returned to the region to curate the center's 13,000 dresses and 40,000 textile objects.
 
"Residents are the ones who benefit from the dollars we invest," says Gahl-Mills. "We use tax dollars to support the arts, so we need dialogue with the public to understand what work we can do."
 
This summer, CAC has been visiting festivals and events to get further feedback from the community. The undertaking includes "street teams" going out to barbershops and farmer's markets and asking folks what inspires them about the arts. Gahl-Mills says public funding for the arts is a key facet in making Cuyahoga County a vibrant, attractive place to live.
 
"People care about the arts and we need to hear from them," she says. "The more we know, the better grantmaker we can be." 

An officer's voice came over the police radio: "I have a group of people fighting -- one of them is dressed like a robot."

Another officer, in reference to a group of protesters on Wednesday night: "They’re playing duck-duck-goose in the park."

Such was the radio traffic during the Republican National Convention, where officers' voices on the publicly available radio broadcast conveyed the tension, monotony, and occasional humor involved in keeping Cleveland safe.

Get the whole story from USA Today here.
 

There was a lot to take in during the RNC last week, from unique participants to a party-like atmosphere. Senior Fresh Water contributor Karin Connelly Rice shares her impressions of the event and how it played out in the 216.

These straightforward tactics contributed to a stunningly successful policing story for the Cleveland Police Department and its extended team during the Republican National Convention.

Social media roundup: there was a lot going on in Cleveland on the first day of the RNC with thousands of visitors, protesters and business people all going about their causes.

30-50 Bikers for Trump members rally in the Flats while office workers report a quiet start to the RNC.