Hispanic social clubs are deeply rooted in La Villa Hispana's past. A new generation of young leaders is ensuring their future.

Welcome to the latest edition of FreshWater Cleveland's “Who’s Hiring” series, where we feature growing companies with open positions, what they’re looking for, and how to apply.

As soon as officials with Ohio City Incorporated (OCI) began pulling furniture off the truck earlier this month, the crowds started to gather. By the time they were finished, the new Market Avenue pop-up park was bustling with activity, and it hasn't stopped since.

In Cuyahoga County, the infant mortality rate for African-American babies is 15.1 per every 1,000 live births, compared to 3.8 for white babies. In other words, Cleveland's black babies are approximately four times more likely to die before their first birthday than white babies.

While the United Way of Greater Cleveland has always been known for its progressive attitude, going forward, the agency is dividing its work into two distinct prongs: supporting services that address the symptoms of poverty, and also working to tackle the underlying causes of poverty.

Fresh Water's monthly "Free Stamp" feature rounds up the freshest free events in Cleveland.

The neighborhood restaurant will reopen this month under the West Side Catholic Center using the EDWINS model of employing formerly-incarcerated adults.

 

A new book by Bob Perkoski and Erin O'Brien documents the colorful history of Cleveland’s burlesque scene, from the 1800s to modern day.

Cleveland's decades-long lead poisoning epidemic has dominated policy and community debates in recent years. The concern is warranted: Each day, four Cleveland children are poisoned by inhaling or ingesting lead dust—putting our city's childhood lead poisoning rate at four times the national average.

Some might call it divine intervention that brought Jason Thompson and Scott O’Con to Cleveland. They came to the city from northern Virginia in 2017 when Thompson joined West Park United Church of Christ as senior pastor—his first pastoral role—and the couple have never looked back.  

Samuel Paredes was 16 years old when he secretly applied for a U.S. visa. His parents had just gotten divorced, and he was still living in Ipiales, a city of 160,000 on the southern border of Colombia. Shortly after the death of his grandmother, he expressed to his mother and father his desire to study cybersecurity—born from witnessing political upheaval—at an American college.

Earlier in June, Cleveland's newly minted chapter of the Awesome Foundation selected its first two grantees: BigHearted Blooms and Building Furniture to Build Futures. Both initiatives were awarded $1,000 by the recently formed group of 25 Awesome Foundation–Cleveland Chapter trustees—helping to turn two impactful ideas into reality.

A 1.07-acre plot of land at the corner of Lee and Meadowbrook Roads is about to be developed to comprise a total of 4.8 acres in the heart of the city's commercial district.

A joint effort to connect 101 miles of biking and hiking paths from New Philadelphia to Cleveland's Lake Erie shoreline via the Towpath Trail Extension Project is preparing to cross the finish line.