What do Munich and Cleveland, Barcelona and Seattle, Turin and Philadelphia, and Seoul and Minneapolis-St. Paul have in common? According to syndicated columnist Neal Peirce, who pens this editorial for the Seattle Times, these cities all have faced moments of serious economic challenge but then devised ingenious recovery strategies.

The recent Global Metro Summit, held last month in Chicago and sponsored by the Brookings Institution, celebrated the comeback efforts of the above cities, including those of Cleveland.

In the editorial, Peirce writes that "Seattle, the Twin Cities and the Cleveland area are even in the midst of what Brookings is heralding as a new era of applying modern business-style planning to the economic-development potential of entire citistates."

Touting "highly participatory planning processes that create vision," Peirce points to numerous examples of cities experiencing remarkable economic turnarounds.

"Could a U.S. region such as Cleveland and its sister cities of Akron and Youngstown -- erstwhile continental champions in steel, rubber, chemicals and auto assembly, now on the economic ropes -- produce similar results?" he asks rhetorically before offering the following encouraging words.

"Spirited Northeast Ohio efforts to coalesce and stop internecine warfare among the region's local governments have led to a business-type planning initiative, the "Fund for Our Economic Future." Spearheaded by more than 50 regional foundations, with an unprecedented collection of the area's local governments, business, civic and academic leaders signed on, it has developed an extensive data set, market-based intelligence and a new initiative based on boosting productivity of the region's 1,600 small to midsized manufacturing firms."

"The idea is that many Ohio firms that have traditionally worked in polymers, chemicals and metals could translate well into such current high-demand areas as global health, flexible electronics, transportation and clean energy."

Read the rest here.

Since opening in 2004, Ray's Indoor Mountain Bike Park has been nothing short of a wild ride. The 100,000-plus square-foot park attracts thousands of thrill-seekers from all across the Midwest, making it a bona fide Cleveland success story. Last week, owner Ray Petro accomplished what he had been planning to do for years: open a second location out of state.

Last week, Petro opened a 110,000-square-foot Milwaukee location in a former Menards Home Improvement Center, a move he pulled off by partnering with Trek.

In a recent Cycling News article, the writer says the new facility "builds upon the success of the original location in Cleveland, Ohio." The indoor park gives riders a place to ride, train, and develop skills -- especially during the long winter months.

The article states that the grand opening of the Milwaukee location had been postponed until New Year's weekend from its original November date because of city permit issues.

Read the trail story here.

Holiday time in the newspaper biz is great news for Cleveland's A Christmas Story House and Museum. That's the time of year when fun and fluffy holiday-themed stories fill the gaps left by the lack of real news. Here are just a few of the recent mentions about Tremont's most beloved movie abode.

In a Dallas Morning News story titled "Home featured in A Christmas Story is a holiday special," the writer opts to lead with the good-old leg lamp, stating "It stands where it should: in the living-room window."

He then goes on to say, "The living room, the lamp, the tree, the BB gun and more are inside A Christmas Story House and Museum in the Pembroke section of Cleveland. It's the actual house used for exteriors in the movie, made in 1983." Not sure where the heck the "Pembroke section of Cleveland" is, but you get the point.

Read the report here.

Over in Nebraska -- yes, even Nebraska loves Ralphie -- the Lincoln Journal Star ran a story called "What's Christmas without a visit to Ralphie's house in Cleveland?" Well, sad, that's what!

In the article, the reporter states that the "real draws are the house and the museum, featuring original props and costumes and memorabilia from the film and hundreds of rare behind-the-scenes photos. You'll find the red snowsuit, worn by Ralphie's little brother, Randy, and also his silver zeppelin. There's also the ratty coat that McGavin wore while he changed the flat tire. The family car is parked in a garage next to the gift shop."

Check it out here.

Closer in miles but no less enthusiastic, the Columbus Dispatch deems A Christmas Story House worthy of inclusion in a piece titled "Statewide festivities bound to put you in the holiday spirit."

"The home in Cleveland, featured in the beloved 1983 movie, is open year-round for tours but is, of course, especially popular this time of year. Across the street is A Christmas Story House Museum, featuring original props, costumes, photographs and memorabilia from the movie."

Read more here.

So, calling all "connoisseurs of soap." For cripes sake, get thee to the Christmas Story House and Museum.

Steve's Lunch (5004 Lorain Ave., 216-961-1460) hasn't closed its doors since 1955, operating for roughly 20,000 days straight. Take that, Brett Favre! Folks of all walks of life -- and at all times of the day and night -- pull up a stool at the lunch counter for cheap, delicious hot dogs topped with chili and cheese or coleslaw and fries.

The fact that this dog-eared joint earned praise from New York-based Serious Eats, where it recently earned the "Hot Dog of the Week" spot, doesn't surprise local hot dog fans one bit.

"Walking in on a rainy day to a couple of eccentric regulars shooting the breeze was like living inside a panel of American Splendor," writes the reporter.

He adds: "Steve's feels like the type of joint that used to be on every corner in New York -- where drunks, cops and vagrants rub elbows over endless cups of cheap coffee and hot dogs at four in the morning, except there's something about it that's uniquely Cleveland."

Stop in for a couple slaw dogs; It is a culinary experience you won't soon forget.

Consume the rest of the Serious Eats article here.

Snagging the 2012 Democratic National Convention will be a coup for whichever of the four finalist cities -- Charlotte, Cleveland, Minneapolis and St. Louis -- manages to secure the honor. According to this New York Times article, "cities vying to be the host expect to benefit from an injection of millions of dollars into their local economies and a blast of free publicity."

The article also states that Cleveland would not be in the running as a finalist if it didn't already meet basic logistical requirements in the areas of hotel rooms, airport and local transportation systems.

Cleveland has in its favor the title as bona fide battleground state. "Democrats cannot win without it. The fact that Democrats did so badly here in the midterm elections should be all the more reason for the party to plant the flag with its convention. And Ohio has more electoral votes, 20, than any other state vying for the convention."

Dings against us? A disappointing turnout at an Obama rally two days before the midterm elections, ongoing County corruption investigations, and the petite size of our main convention hall.

Read the full analysis here.

The Riverside Company is experiencing its strongest fourth quarter in the company's 22-year history. That, in addition to snagging Mergers & Acquisitions Journal's recent designation as "Private Equity Firm of the Year."

"It has been a remarkably busy time," admits Graham Hearns, director of marketing and communications for the Cleveland-based private equity firm. "We've had four or five acquisitions and a couple of business exits so far, and we could have as many as six or seven more transactions in the next two weeks."

Hearns attributes this growth to lenders once again offering money to businesses and to more realistic buyer and seller expectations.

For Riverside, this meant moving forward with company acquisitions that it has been researching in the midst of an economic downturn. "During the whole global financial crisis we never came to a standstill," Hearns says. "We are generalists, so we like to window shop."

Riverside has found success in maintaining its general portfolio while also beefing up two key areas of company acquisitions: healthcare and education and training. The company's latest investment is G&H Wire Company, a Franklin, Indiana-based manufacturer and supplier of orthodontic products. G&H becomes Riverside's 49th healthcare transaction. Overall, Riverside has made more than 200 acquisitions of companies with $200 million or less in enterprise value.

Riverside has 19 offices around the world, but Cleveland continues to be its largest with about 50 employees. "There's been a continuous growth of the Cleveland team," Hearns says, adding that Riverside hired about six new people in 2010 and expects to add about the same amount in the next year or so.


SOURCE: The Riverside Company
WRITER: Diane DiPiero

Preparing students to excel at classic car restoration, collision repair and refinishing, and custom paint and graphics is what Ohio Technical College (OTC) has been doing in Cleveland for years.

Through a new partnership with Edelbrock, a manufacturer and distributor of performance vehicle replacement parts, students can now master the finer points of building and tuning America's latest obsession: muscle cars and performance vehicles. OTC and Edelbrock recently announced the founding of the Edelbrock Academy.

OTC, an accredited, private, post-secondary technical college, already offers a full catalog of courses in automotive care, including alternative-fuel vehicles. The college, established in 1969, has more than 1,000 students currently enrolled at its MidTown campus. The founding of the new Edelbrock Academy will add to OTC's offerings by providing the skills necessary to make the jump to the muscle car and performance vehicle market.

The "mascot" of the Edelbrock Academy is a 1957 Chevrolet Bel Air, which was built entirely by OTC students. For the next several months, the Chevy Bel Air will travel around the country to high schools and car shows as part of OTC's promotion of the Edelbrock Academy.


Source: Ohio Technical College
Writer: Diane DiPiero

Torino has been called the Detroit of Italy. And like that -- and our -- city, it succeeded or failed on the backs of a few large manufacturers. In the 1980s, the shutdown of some of those big companies cost the Torino region more than 100,000 jobs. That city wouldn't turn things around economically for nearly 20 years.

But turn things around it did, says this Time article, which states that Torino has "become a model of how a city can transform itself after an industrial collapse." Civic and business leaders there fashioned an aggressive urban plan that included expansion into international markets, investments in innovation, and the buildup of new sectors like food and tourism. Today, Torino's per capita GDP is more than 10% higher than the national average.

Lessons learned there can -- and in some cases already are, says Time -- being implemented here in Cleveland.

"Once a powerhouse of heavy industry -- steel, rubber, automobiles -- Cleveland has struggled for decades to find its footing. Recently, however, the city and the surrounding area have established agencies like those in Torino to help young companies get off the ground, assist midsize businesses with finding new markets, and guide the city's old manufacturing base into faster-growing sectors such as medical supplies, flexible electronics, clean energy and next-generation polymers."

And efforts are already paying off: "Cleveland and its region are now home to 19 venture-capital firms -- up from two in 2000 -- and are focused on working to help existing firms find their places in the new economy."

Read the entire article here.

Ohio's newly enacted film production tax credit is already paying dividends.

Shot entirely in the Cleveland area this past summer, the film Take Shelter will have its world premiere at this year's Sundance Film Festival, held January 20-30 in Park City, Utah. According to the Greater Cleveland Film Commission, the film is just one of 16 to make it into the prestigious U.S. Dramatic Competition section, beating out nearly 2,000 other entries.

Producer Tyler Davidson is a Northeast Ohio native and resident. His previous films include Swedish Auto and The Year That Trembled, also shot in the Cleveland area. Take Shelter stars Michael Shannon, an Academy Award-nominee for Revolutionary Road and newcomer Jessica Chastain, who will star opposite Brad Pitt and Sean Penn in Terrence Malick's The Tree of Life.

"The opportunity to launch any film at Sundance is a dream come true," Davidson said, "but a film made entirely in Northeast Ohio, where I was born and raised and where I still live, is truly something special for me. I couldn't be any more excited."

To learn more about the film, check out this release.

According to Michael Goldberg, founder and managing partner of Cleveland-based Bridge Investment Fund, state incentives and a venture capital fund dedicated to investing in Israel continue to lure biotechnology companies from that nation in record numbers. In the past eight years, at least 14 Israeli technology start-ups raised funds from Ohio-based backers, and at least six of these opened offices in the state.

"While many Israelis still look to Boston or Silicon Valley for support, Ohio has done more than other states to attract Israeli start-ups," Goldberg is quoted in the Bloomberg article.

Credit goes to the Global Cardiovascular Innovation Center, which invested at least $3 million during the last eight years in five Israeli health-sciences companies, and BioEnterprise, which helps connect the Israeli companies to capital, medical expertise, and management teams in the state.

One such success: Simbionix, a maker of medical devices, transferred its headquarters from Israel to Cleveland in 2002.

Read the full report here.