Search results for '2014 interviewed Cleveland cocktail bar founder choice restaurant close 2015'
The top five cities that are most resilient and least vulnerable to climate change are Cleveland, Milwaukee, Detroit, Chicago, and Minneapolis.
"Why do Rust Belt cities do so well in my rankings?" asks Opperman. "Because they have a sustainable water supply (in four of the cities, the Great Lakes); their heat stress rankings are relatively low; and they are less vulnerable to natural disasters that will be exacerbated by climate change, such as floods, landslides, and wildfires."
Looking at the bottom five -- Phoenix, Houston, Sacramento, Las Vegas, and Miami -- Opperman states:
"One obvious observation is that the most climate-vulnerable cities include some of the fastest growing regions of the country, while the most climate-resilient include several cities with flat or even declining populations. So the country's population is shifting away from places that are better-equipped to deal with climate change and toward areas that may face the greatest disruptions from climate change. Many of the most resilient cities are former industrial giants in need of new economic drivers. Transforming our economy to one that runs on much cleaner energy will require significant expansion of "green industries" with associated job growth. So, despite the relatively lower vulnerability of the Clevelands and Milwaukees and Detroits of the world, these cities should still pursue the investments required to prevent climate change. Those investments could provide an important spark for economic revitalization."
Read the rest here.
So it only makes sense, in a way, that Bruce Altchouler (a Clevelander and electrical contractor with a knack for project management) and Ziv Sarig (an Israeli businessman with a finance background) would meet and discover they shared a passion for historic Shaker Square and fixing up older buildings.
Together, the two entrepreneurs, who are neighbors in Cleveland Heights, have formed BruZiv Partners. The nascent development company recently wrapped up renovations on an historic, nine-suite apartment building located at 2646 N. Moreland Boulevard, just off Shaker Square. It is the first multi-family building in Cleveland to meet the Enterprise Foundation's Green Community Standards.
"We saw an opportunity to take an older property that had declined over the years and do something positive for us and the community," says Altchouler. "Once we'd purchased it, we decided to step it up and do a green rehab."
Within the preserved shell of the historic building, the developers installed high-efficiency windows, insulation, a new boiler and Energy Star appliances. The units also feature high-end maple cabinetry and granite countertops.
"We wanted to attract high-quality tenants to the area, and you do that by showing a good product," says Altchouler. "Renters are also becoming more aware of 'green,' and appreciate the fact that we use healthy, low-VOC paints."
Getting to this point wasn't easy, but it was worth it, Altchouler says. To meet the Green Community Standards, BruZiv had to adhere to lengthy guidelines and hire an independent rater to assess the project.
In exchange, the City of Cleveland granted a tax abatement on the improved value of the building. The developers also obtained low-interest financing from Dollar Bank through Cleveland Action to Support Housing (CASH), a nonprofit whose mission is to revitalize urban neighborhoods through rehabilitation lending.
Source: Bruce Altchouler
Writer: Lee Chilcote
Local entrepreneur and Cleveland State University alumnus, Monte Ahuja, has donated $10 million to his alma mater to fund scholarships and an endowed professorship in business. The announcement was made during a special celebration on June 24 in the university's student center, marking the largest gift in the university's 47-year history.
The founder of Transtar Industries, a $600 million a year global leader in transmission replacement parts, Ahuja got his start at CSU in the 1970s with his business plan for a marketing class. He got an A for the plan that launched his career. He's been an active alumnus ever since, serving as chairman of the board of trustees from 1992 to 1998.
"Monte Ahuja has been a strong supporter of the school for a long time," says spokesperson Joe Mosbrook. "In support of CSU president Ronald M. Berkman's transformation plan, it seemed a good time to step up with this gift."
The majority of the money will be earmarked for scholarships in business, with a portion dedicated for scholarships in engineering. The gift will also fund an endowed professorship in business, the Monte Ahuja Endowed Chair of Global Business.
"The endowed chair will allow Cleveland State to bring in heavy hitters in global business," says Mosbrook. "The business school has a particular focus on global business, more so than any other school in the area."
Before the event, the board of trustees unanimously voted to re-name the college of business the Monte Ahuja College of Business.
Source: Joe Mosbrook
Writer: Karin Connelly
Mike Perry has a rather strange hobby. In his spare time, the president of Szarka Financial Management uses his skills as a hiring manager to help people spruce up their resumes and find new jobs.
"It all started when one of the financial managers literally walked a client into my office and said, "so-and-so got laid off from the Cleveland Clinic. Can you take a look at her resume?'" explains Perry. "So I sat down with her. Soon, I had a parade of clients, family members, and friends coming to me."
In the three or so years he's been doing it, Perry estimates he's consulted with nearly 500 people -- free of charge. He sees eight to 10 resumes a week, from everyone from tool and die makers to CEOs, and he has an 85-percent success rate finding his 'clients' new jobs. Additionally, Perry speaks to job-seeking groups on a regular basis and has a job-seeking tips blog, In the Business of You.
Perry speaks from experience. "When I was laid off from KeyBank in 2001, I found there's a lot of inaccurate and poor advice for job seekers," he says. "When the economy took a turn for the worse, I saw it as a chance to pay it forward. People are getting terrible advice on how to get a job. I don't rewrite people's resumes. I give them the tools to do a much better job of it."
Source: Mike Perry
Writer: Karin Connelly
Sustainable Cleveland 2019 (SC 2019), an effort by the City of Cleveland and local environmental groups to promote sustainability as a means of growing the economy in Northeast Ohio, will soon have a physical home in Tower City Center.
Andrew Watterson, Cleveland's Chief of Sustainability, says the purpose of the new Sustainable Cleveland Center is to promote efforts to green Northeast Ohio, provide central meeting space for environmental groups, and offer affordable shared office space for companies and nonprofits working to advance sustainability within the region.
"We're increasing our audience by putting the Mayor's Office of Sustainability into a more public space," says Watterson. "Forest City has been extremely generous by donating the space, and we've signed a two-year lease."
The Office of Sustainability will set up shop on the second floor of a two-story retail space that is accessible from the Huron Road entrance to Tower City Center. A number of regional companies, including GE Lighting, Alcoa and Eaton Corporation, have donated materials for the build-out.
Watterson stresses that the Sustainable Cleveland Center is a "collaborative effort" that will ultimately house many partners. The nonprofit Entrepreneurs for Sustainability (E4S) has indicated an intent to lease space on the first floor, but has not yet signed a lease. A range of other companies and organizations have indicated a desire to showcase products, information and materials.
Watterson hopes the center will eventually lead to the creation of a sustainable business incubator in downtown Cleveland. "We're testing the idea out at a scale that's manageable," he says. "In the meantime, it provides us with an excellent way to tell the story of what's happening with sustainability in Cleveland."
Source: Andrew Watterson
Writer: Lee Chilcote
A New York Times obituary wrote, "At a time when newspapers were famously inhospitable to women, Ms. Scott made her career by tackling a beat that few writers of either sex wanted -- a beat that barely existed when she began writing about rock 'n' roll in the mid-1960s."
"In Cleveland, Ms. Scott could scarcely walk down the street without fans stopping to take her picture. But she was known far beyond the city, profiled in print, on radio and on television throughout the country and abroad."
Clearly. Read the whole obit here.
Writing for The L.A. Times music blog Pop & Hiss, Holly Gleason says, "If Jane Scott leaves a legacy, beyond thousands of stories filed, it's the artists who knew they were somebody because she turned her notebook toward them. As Reed enthused for her 80th birthday, "I love Jane Scott. I always have, I always will. When I was in the Velvet Underground, Jane was one of the only people I can remember who was nice to us. Interested in the music, the styles -- a very smart, guileless lady who loved music and musicians and had unbiased attitudes towards the evolving culture."
"Her writing gave music deeper context for generations in the city hailed as the "Rock & Roll Capitol of the World." She captured the essence of rock coming of age, growing into maturity and finding its way into the 21st century. Her mark will be felt for years to come."
Read the rest here.
"Every Korean kid has to take piano lessons," said Jung-Min Amy Lee. Alas, her teacher reported that she did indeed have musical talent, but it wasn't in piano. Lee considered the cello, but her mother nixed those aspirations. "My mom said, 'No. That thing is so big, I'm going to have to carry it around for her!'" so Lee settled on the infinitely more manageable violin.
She wasn't the only one who struggled. Principal timpanist Paul Yancich detailed his long family history with classical music and how he started out as a bit of a black sheep.
"They could not find an instrument that I liked," said Yancich. His father suggested the French horn. "I had one lesson and that was it." So it went until he saw a pair of drumsticks sticking out of a schoolmate's pocket. Yancich was hypnotized and never looked back.
Principal clarinetist Frank Cohen succinctly explained why he chose the clarinet as a kid. "It was the only instrument I could get a sound out of."
The rocky start-ups notwithstanding, when the musicians joined the rest of the orchestra, their performance of the John Adams Violin Concerto and Anton Bruckner's Symphony No. 9 dazzled the audience.
Principal violinist Stephen Rose summed up the orchestral experience thusly:
"You do really feel like one small, small part of this massive, beautiful, round sound. It's a special kind of feeling." Judging from the audience's thunderous applause, that feeling spread throughout Blossom amphitheatre.
The Orchestra's line up for the 2011 season at Blossom features shows from Broadway Classics to the music of Irving Berlin and the Joffrey Ballet. They run every weekend though September 10. With incredibly reasonable ticket pricing from $19 to $53, and books of 10 flexible lawn tickets for $139, everyone can afford to enjoy this staple of cool Cleveland culture.
Writer: Erin O'Brien
When Zone Recreation Center's 22 acres of green space reopen next year following a $2.5 million "green" facelift, the rainwater that falls there will be reused on site, rather than being funneled into sewers to pollute our lake, rivers and streams.
"We're using it to rehydrate the park," explains Ward 15 Councilman Matt Zone, who allocated funding for the park's revitalization.
The redesigned park's water conservation features will include permeable pavers that allow rainwater to filter into the ground (unlike most parking lots or hard surfaces, which send water cascading into the nearest sewer). "Bioswales" will also capture water and direct it into rain gardens, which will be seeded with native plants that don't require a lot of mowing, chemicals or maintenance.
One area of the park will even feature a bridge traversing a rain garden, thus allowing visitors to look down into the garden and see how it works as they pass by.
Zone Rec's new splash park will also recycle and reuse its own water. A filtration system will be installed to ensure that the water is cleaned before reuse.
The recreation center is located at W. 65th Street and Lorain Avenue in the Cleveland EcoVillage, a green community that is part of Cleveland's Detroit Shoreway neighborhood. Other green-built projects in the area include new energy-efficient townhomes and single-family homes, a large community garden, and the energy-efficient RTA station on Lorain, which is a stop along the Red Line.
Source: Matt Zone
Writer: Lee Chilcote
Yet for others, this 22-acre green space on Cleveland's near-west side has the potential to become an urban oasis, a premier green space that serves the neighborhood while providing a model for integrating sustainability into city parks.
Recently, the City of Cleveland broke ground on $2.5 million of improvements to "Zone Rec," bringing this lofty vision much closer to becoming a reality.
"City residents deserve a place that is as special as any of the parks in Beachwood or Bay Village," Councilman Matt Zone told residents at a recent community meeting.
In redesigning the park, planners implemented sustainability features that include capturing rainwater on site, rather than funneling it into storm sewers. Some of it will be used to water rain gardens filled with native plants and wildflowers.
Features of the new park, which was designed by McKnight Associates, include new baseball diamonds, basketball and tennis courts, as well as a new soccer field, splash park, playground, skateboard park and dog park. It will also feature a meandering path for walkers, joggers and bikers, a new pavilion and stage area, and three separate parking areas.
At the meeting, Zone said the new park will have separate play areas for older and younger children. Activities for younger children will be located at the center of the park, so they can be easily supervised by staff and parents.
The redeveloped park will provide opportunities for urban youth, Zone said. "A lot of city kids don't even have an opportunity to go swimming, and the new 'sprayground' park lets them get in the water."
Zone cited the dog park as an example of how community input shaped the park's redesign. A groundswell of local support led Steve Manka, the artist hired to complete the public art, to design dog bone sculptures for the park.
"You'll see the sculptures from I-90 and know immediately what this place is and that there's a dog park here," said Zone. "The sculptures also function as seating."
Zone Recreation Center is located at West 65th Street and Lorain Avenue in the Cleveland EcoVillage area of the Detroit Shoreway neighborhood.
Source: Matt Zone
Writer: Lee Chilcote
Community leaders want to harness the wind in Cleveland. The future of wind turbines is here, with the recent arrivals of turbines at Lincoln Electric and Olympic Steel. And more are on the way. This industry is why GLWN is hosting a two-day summit, Making it Here: Building Our Next Generation Supply Chain. GLWN is an international supply chain advisory group and network of manufacturers. Their mission is to increase the domestic content of North America's wind turbines.
The summit will cover the biggest issues in supply chain challenges when it comes to bringing turbine manufacturing to the region. "The conference deals with some of the biggest issues: technology, business development and political issues," says Ed Weston, director of GLWN in Cleveland. "With the heavy concentration of supply chains in the region and access to Lake Erie, Northeast Ohio is an ideal location for wind turbine factories."
Cleveland historically has been a leader in harnessing the wind. In fact, Charles Brush built the first automatically operated wind turbine for electric production in 1888. He used the turbine to power his house on 38th Street and St. Clair Avenue.
"Nearly 100 years later, the industry was commercialized in Cleveland with government-subsidized programs," says Weston. "In the late 1970s and early 1980s NASA was building turbines that were larger than anything we see today. Then wind turbines went out of vogue in America because the government lost interest."
While the industry was exported to Europe in the 1980s, Weston is optimistic he can bring it back to Cleveland. "The challenge is we're competing with companies that have been making parts for many years, so they have an advantage on us," he says. "But ur advantage is most of the parts are very big and don't travel well. With a turbine OEM and a busy supply chain, the number of jobs created would be in the thousands."
Source: Ed Weston
Writer: Karin Connelly
"A new model in Cleveland -- in which workers own companies that are supported by the city's big businesses -- has the potential to change the economics of the city and its workers," he begins.
Evergreen Cooperatives, which has been featured in Fresh Water, is an economic model that pairs anchor institutions like the Cleveland Clinic, Case Western Reserve University, and University Hospitals -- which spend over $3 billion per year on goods and services -- with new employee-owned businesses.
"Together," explains Hollender, "these organizations collaborated on a business model that is designed to create community wealth in the city's poorest neighborhoods. They do this by committing to invest in businesses not with venture capital, but by purchasing services from them. These purchasing decisions by large institutions fund the development of a network of sustainable, community-based businesses that are partially owned by the workers themselves, which develops a workforce skilled at democratic and participatory management and creates a new generation of leaders committed to rebuilding their communities."
Following a research visit to Cleveland, Hollender had this to report:
"Ohio Cooperative Solar was profitable in its first five months in operation; current annual revenue is projected to be $1.3 million. At the end of the fiscal year, a portion of profits will be allocated to each OCS employee owner's capital account, furthering the idea of people-focused business.
"The Green City Growers, a hydroponic greenhouse, expects to break ground on the construction of a four-acre greenhouse this summer, with its first crop ready for harvest in the spring of 2012. When fully operational, it will produce 5 million heads of lettuce and 300,000 pounds of herbs annually and employ between 30 to 40 workers year-round."
Read the whole of Hollender's examination here.
"Weights. Treadmills. Spin classes. Let's face it," begins the article, "workout innovations just haven't kept pace with advances in TV, iPad, and snack-food technology. That said, a few forward-looking gyms offer activities that might actually compete with our Twitter/Netflix/PizzaRanch fixations."
Writer Steven Nereo calls Ray's the only brand of indoor park in the country built specifically for mountain bikes. "There are separate areas for beginners and experts, with wood ramps and assorted obstacles (like rocks and logs, for example) connected by looping trails. The buildings are closed during the summer months, when Ray's can't compete with Mother Nature's gym."
Ray's will re-open October 1, 2011 -- bigger and better than ever.
Huntington showed its commitment to Cleveland last week with the opening of 10 branches in area Giant Eagle stores, with plans for eight more on the way.
"The 10 openings have created 77 jobs to date," says Huntington's Greater Cleveland president Dan Walsh. "By the end of the year we will create more than 100 jobs in Cleveland. With the Giant Eagle openings we are one of the largest markets in Cleveland, and by 2012 we will be the largest."
Over the next four years the bank plans to open a total of 45 branches in the region, creating 300 new jobs. "It shows our dedication," says Walsh. "As a lifelong Clevelander, one of the really exciting things about Huntington is its dedication to Cleveland. This Giant Eagle endorsement is another way of talking the talk."
The new branches will tout the convenience of being in the Giant Eagle stores, with extended hours and banking seven days a week. In addition to the 45 branches in Giant Eagle, Huntington has 62 free-standing branches.
Walsh says Huntington just wants to be a part of the economic growth in the region. The bank is the top SBA lender in Cleveland, with a $4 billion commitment to invest in small businesses. "We believe Cleveland is a great place of opportunity," says Walsh. "We expect through these investments we'll catalyze our economic share. Huntington's really thrilled to be a part of this economic growth."
Source: Dan Walsh
Writer: Karin Connelly
"It was a light-bulb moment," he says. "I realized how much passion I had for cycling, and that I wanted to do something bike-related."
A year later, the avid cyclist has launched Joy Machines, a new bike shop that opened in June on West 25th Street in Ohio City. Nosse and his business partner/mechanic, Renato Pereira-Castillo, specialize in helping bike commuters and others who want to reduce their dependence on cars.
"Most bike shops are more into the recreational and sport side of cycling, but we believe in using the bike as a transportation tool first and foremost," Nosse explains. "We really want to encourage cycling all across the city."
Nosse and Pereira-Castillo, who grew up on the same street and have known each other for more than 20 years, decided to locate their bike shop in Ohio City because of its central location and reputation as a bike-friendly community.
"We get people that come into our shop that say, 'I've been car-free for years now,'" says Nosse. "We also get people from all over the region that are drawn here by the West Side Market, Great Lakes Brewery and the restaurants."
The entrepreneurs were aided by a $9,000 small business start-up grant from Charter One Bank and Ohio City Inc., a nonprofit community development organization that serves the neighborhood. "Our landlord matched it, which resulted in almost $20,000 in savings," says Nosse. "This accelerated our start-up process -- we went from talking about it to opening the shop in six months."
Joy Machines sells new bicycles and a wide array of parts and accessories. Pereira-Castillo, who has worked as a bike mechanic for eight years in Cleveland and on the West Coast, can repair or restore just about anything on two wheels.
The shop's walls are adorned with bike-themed murals by Cleveland artist Haley Morris. "We have a big one of the Guardians of Transportation, on the Lorain-Carnegie Bridge," says Nosse. "Except the car that the statue is holding has been replaced by a bike."
Source: Alex Nosse
Writer: Lee Chilcote
"They ask if I have a location in their city, and then rave about the store and insist that I open one where they live," says DeBoe with a laugh. "I'm excited because we're providing out-of-towners with a more well-rounded retail experience."
DeBoe, who also owns Room Service boutique in Ohio City, launched Dredgers Union with clothing designer Sean Bilovecky to revive and update the tradition of shopping in downtown Cleveland. Stocked with sizzling dresses, snazzy suits, trendy lamps, bedding and a range of other items, the store functions as a smaller, more stylish version of the department stores that once thrived here.
A stroll through the store, which is about 4,500 square feet, reveals what DeBoe calls "vignettes," or discrete sections featuring lamps, bedding, kitchen items, perfumes and soaps, women's lounge apparel and even a children's section. These areas are housed on a raised platform that is separated by a railing.
Bilovecky's private label clothing line is featured at the rear of the store. The merchandise includes denim jeans, suits and casual button-down shirts he calls "wovens." So far, men's apparel has been the most popular store item.
"We create custom, made-to-measure suits, so instead of getting them shipped overseas, our customers can get them right here," says Bilovecky, who specializes in edgy, contemporary design and created the successful Wrath Arcane label. "People love the fact that they're designed locally and made in the U.S."
Dredgers Union will celebrate its grand opening with a big party on Friday, July 8th. The event will also kick off this year's "Made in the 216," an annual design show that DeBoe created several years ago to showcase local talent.
This year's 216 event, which takes place all weekend long in the expansive lower level of Dredgers Union, has added local furniture designers to the mix.
Source: Danielle DeBoe
Writer: Lee Chilcote
The new specialty shops and galleries fit right in, embracing the old world feel of the neighborhood. Heartstrings, an antiques, art and unusual gifts boutique, moved from the basement of the former Lycium School building to a larger store in a former church on Murray Hill. Known for having "all things quirky," the store features vintage apparel, art, sterling silver and handmade soaps and oils. "There's so much to look at," says Sue Marrone, president of the Little Italy Merchants Association. "It's pure eye candy."
Bolt and Spool, which sells fabrics, patterns and ribbons for children's clothing, opened in November in the old school on Murray Hill. Owner Nan Webb chose Little Italy because it reminded her of Europe, where many of her fabrics come from. "With the cobblestone streets in Little Italy it kind of feels like you're there," she says. "In the school, it feels like you're not alone. There's a sense of community there."
Serafino Gallery and Design on Mayfield Road features the work of local artists. The non-profit company holds regular exhibits by local artists in various media. The shows promote arts and the community. "They have incredible showings there," says Marrone.
These businesses are just a taste of what Little Italy has to offer. "There's always neat things to do down here," says Marrone. "It's always a great place to be and it's a tremendous source of pride."
Source: Sue Marrone
Writer: Karin Connelly
Each year, the U.S. EPA bestows its Presidential Green Chemistry Challenge Awards to five individuals and organizations. Claiming one of those five spots is Cleveland's Sherwin-Williams, who was awarded the Designing Greener Chemicals Award for its water-based acrylic alkyd technology.
Oil-based "alkyd" paints have high levels of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) that become air pollutants as the paint dries. While other paints contain lower VOCs, they can't match the performance of alkyds. Sherwin-Williams developed water-based acrylic alkyd paints with low VOCs that can be made from recycled soda bottle plastic, acrylics and soybean oil. These paints combine the performance benefits of alkyds and low VOC content of acrylics. In 2010, Sherwin-Williams manufactured enough of these new paints to eliminate over 800,000 pounds of VOCs.
Read the whole report here.
ARC, formerly known as eBlueprint, is bringing new jobs and advanced technology to the Cleveland area through the introduction of the Riot Creative Imaging brand. ARC's main businesses is focused on architecture, engineering and construction printing needs, employing 45 people in its Cleveland office and six in Akron. The Riot brand adds large format full color printing to the company's offerings.
The Riot brand specializes in large format digital printing for indoor and outdoor visuals, P-O-P displays, in-store graphics and signage, and event graphics and signage. The division's success has allowed Cleveland's ARC to invest $500,000 to improve service capabilities, add local employees to the Riot team and double Riot brand revenue over the past year.
"We have an awesome team and an awesome operation here," says executive director Frank Loughan. "Over the past 18 months we've invested quite heavily in this brand. The Riot brand has been a breath of fresh air for us."
The company is on track to double sales again this year and continue to add staff.
"It used to be two people running the whole show," Loughan says of the Riot component. "Now we're at seven. If this trend continues, we're just going to continue to feed the beast and hire eight or nine more people and be in the mid-teens by next year. This business keeps growing and growing,"
Source: Frank Loughan
Writer: Karin Connelly
After learning about GardenWalk Buffalo from a Plain Dealer article last summer, Clevelanders Jan Kious and Bobbi Reichtell decided to make the trek northeast. Walking around the city and talking to its impassioned urban gardeners soon changed their views of the city. They returned to Cleveland inspired to create a GardenWalk event locally.
Those seeds first sown in Buffalo will bear fruit this Saturday, June 25th, when the first GardenWalk Cleveland takes place. It will feature over 100 residential flower gardens as well as community gardens, urban farms, vineyards and orchards sprinkled throughout four Cleveland neighborhoods: Detroit Shoreway, Harvard/Lee/Miles, Hough and Tremont. Each community will have a headquarters where visitors can find car parking, bike parking, restrooms, water and maps.
In addition to highlighting Cleveland's efforts to create greener, healthier neighborhoods, organizers hope the event will also break down east/west and black/white divisions by bringing together people that love gardening.
Citing the diverse, grassroots group that came together to organize the event as a harbinger of success, Reichtell stated in a release, "This is a shining example of the connections that gardens and greening work create in Cleveland," she said. "Both Clevelanders and visitors from outside the city will love getting a behind-the-scenes look at gardens and farms in Cleveland's neighborhoods."
Source: GardenWalk Cleveland
Writer: Lee Chilcote