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ohio city inc aims to direct w. 25th street's momentum onto lorain
At a recent community meeting for Launch Lorain, a grassroots planning process to plot the future of that street, Ohio City advocates eager to push W. 25th Street's development onto gritty Lorain gave a cry akin to Westward Ho!

Yet they were met with beleaguered skepticism by residents and business owners who believe more attention should be paid to basic safety and city services. Other attendees expressed the viewpoint that attracting residents and businesses to the area would create an engaged constituency that demands more from the city.

“When my building got broken into, the police came and told me this is what I get for living in this neighborhood,” said David Ellison, an architect who is rehabilitating a building at W. 41st and Lorain. “Before we look at adding fancy crosswalks, the city needs to fix the basic things such as potholes and crime."

"The best thing that we can do to create a safer Lorain is to get people there for the right reasons," countered Eric Wobser, Director of Ohio City Inc.

Planners believe they can breathe new life into Lorain by improving its streetscape, targeting empty buildings for redevelopment, and creating new housing. The street has the right retail fabric to become the community's main street and spur redevelopment south of Lorain, they argue.

"If you want to live on W. 25th Street, get in line," said Ward 3 Councilman Joe Cimperman. "We need to pull the energy of W. 25th Street up Lorain."

The three-day planning process included meetings with stakeholders and businesses, a group walk through the neighborhood at night and a chili cook-off at Palookaville Chili, one of a handful of new businesses that recently moved into the area. Now that the initial process is complete, planners will continue to gather input as they prepare a new strategic plan for the area.


Sources: David Ellison, Eric Wobser, Joe Cimperman
Writer: Lee Chilcote
capitol theatre debuts new blade sign, kicks off pop-up shop season
Since the Capitol Theatre at W. 65th and Detroit reopened in 2008 as a state-of-the-art, three-screen movie house, it has incrementally grown its audience by hosting special events and screening must-see indie films. Yet this week, the hottest attraction at this restored vaudeville theatre will be its striking new blade sign.

This Thursday, a holiday-themed lighting ceremony will celebrate this iconic piece of street art. The "Bright Night" event begins at 6:15 p.m. with the lighting of the sign. A street party will follow. The area's unique indie retailers and restaurants also will be open for the occasion.

"The new sign is a near exact replica of the original blade sign that was installed at the theatre in 1921," says Marilyn Mosinski, Director of Economic Development with the Detroit Shoreway Community Development Organization (DSCDO), the group which has spearheaded the $50,000 project over the past three years.

Needless to say, after such a long wait Mosinsky and her cohorts are ready to celebrate. Adding to the festivities is a trio of pop-up shops that are opening for the season this week in the Gordon Square Arts District. In recent years, the Detroit Shoreway neighborhood has become known for its one-of-a-kind holiday shopping options.

Valerie Mayen of Yellowcake is setting up a temporary apparel shop at the corner of W. 65th and Detroit. The Gordon Square Holiday Market is also set to open in the Near West Lofts Building at W. 67th and Detroit.
 
Finally, a new gallery called Double Feature is also popping up in the district. Located in a two-room space on W. 65th next to the Capitol, it will host artwork, a unique shop and an array of events throughout the season.

Bright Night is a part of Yuletide on the Near West Side, a series of holiday events in the Detroit Shoreway, Ohio City and Tremont neighborhoods.


Sources: Genna Petrolla, Marilyn Mosinski
Writer: Lee Chilcote
business brisk for local custom armor manufacturer
Impact Armor Technologies, a manufacturer of ceramic components used in military and law enforcement armor, listened to their customers and developed a bullet-proof clipboard. The clipboard provides protection from multiple gunshots and point-blank range.
 
“Basically, our company was in the business of producing custom armor,” says Matt Raplenovich, Impact Armor’s director of operations. “We try to be very involved with our end-users. Instead of designing a product for them, it was designed by them and it’s worked out well for us.”
 
The clipboard has generated interest from law enforcement agencies around the world. “The response has been very good,” says Rob Slattery, a former police officer and Impact Armor’s law enforcement sales manager. “There are other clipboards on the market, but ours is lighter and provides more protection.”
 
With police fatalities from firearms up 22 percent this year, Impact Armor has secured the endorsement from the Greater Cleveland Peace Officers Memorial Society. Slattery says paramedics have also expressed an interest in the clipboard.
 
Impact Armor has doubled in size since its founding in 2006 -- going from six employees to 12 -- and has a commitment to keeping production local. “Our mission is to provide protection to officers,” says Raplenovich. “But in doing so, we want to create jobs locally. Growth is of course our plan, but we try to keep it local.”

 
Source: Matt Raplenovich and Rob Slattery
Writer: Karin Connelly
trial led by cleveland clinic touted in wall street journal
"A study involving Eli Lilly & Co.'s experimental drug evacetrapib showed it was able to boost good cholesterol levels while lowering the bad kind," writes Jennifer Corbett Dooren for the Wall Street Journal.
 
"The study was presented Tuesday at the American Heart Association's annual meeting in Orlando, Fla., and published in the Journal of the American Medical Association. It was funded by Eli Lilly and led by doctors at the Cleveland Clinic."
 
Evacetrapib is designed to inhibit cholesteryl ester transfer protein, or CETP, which is involved in transferring cholesterol particles from HDL -- the "good" cholesterol -- to LDL, referred to as "bad" cholesterol.

Read the rest here.
happy thanksgiving! see you in two weeks
Just a note to inform you that Fresh Water will be taking its annual Thanksgiving break next week. We will return on December 1 with a brand new issue. Here's hoping that you all have a happy, safe and fulfilling holiday. Cheers!
2excel gives entrepreneurs advice on starting, growing a business
LaRick Calhoun has been an entrepreneur since he was 11 years old, when he started cutting hair for people in his neighborhood. His mother was a hair stylist and for $5, Calhoun would create his own styles.

“That’s where it all began,” he says. Then, years later as a real estate loan officer, Calhoun realized he could teach others the skills they need to be successful in business and created 2Excel Group.
 
“I noticed that at 100 percent commission, we really didn’t have any resources in training and development,” Calhoun recalls. “So I built 2Excel Group to provide resources to independent real estate professionals. Then I expanded it to all kinds of entrepreneurs. They really liked our meetings, and they didn’t want to miss any of our events.”
 
Officially launched in 2005, 2Excel Group is a marketing and consulting company that offers regular seminars on starting and growing a business. The company picked up speed in 2009 and now has four core people on staff, a business center in Garfield Heights, and plans to open satellite centers in East Cleveland and Warrensville Heights, as well as hire event and meeting planners. The business center is part incubator, part workspace, part inspirational and motivational center.
 
Calhoun plans to focus on young entrepreneur in 2012 with the Young Entrepreneur Professional Network. “We will have out-of-the-box activities for small businesses and entrepreneurs who want to be part of something fresh,” he says. “We will be an aggressive, different network. We have to prepare tomorrow’s leaders; we have to talk to them at a young age to motivate them.”

 
Source: LaRick Calhoun
Writer: Karin Connelly
evergreen co-ops -- aka the cleveland model -- in the news
"Conventional wisdom holds that the forward-looking coastal enclaves of the United States are where we're supposed to expect cutting edge experiments in building a green economy," writes Andrew Leonard for Grist. "But if Ted Howard has his way, every activist who wants to promote green jobs and economic growth should turn instead to the city of Cleveland, Ohio, for inspiration."

In an article titled, "A co-op movement grows in Cleveland," Leonard writes of the Evergreen Cooperatives, which were launched by the Cleveland Foundation in collaboration with Ted Howard from the University of Maryland.

Evergreen is a collection of worker-owned green businesses that leverage the needs of Cleveland's largest institutions such as the Cleveland Clinic, Case Western Reserve University, and University Hospitals.

Read the rest of the good news here.
dwellworks to relocate headquarters and staff of 30-40 to playhousesquare
Dwellworks, a company that provides a suite of services for the relocation, real estate and mortgage lending industries, has announced plans to relocate its own corporate headquarters to the historic F. W. Woolworth building in PlayhouseSquare.

"We fell in love with PlayhouseSquare and wanted to be a part of the revitalization of downtown," says Gene Novak, CFO and Executive VP of Dwellworks. "It's hard to say enough about the reception and welcome we received from PlayhouseSquare, the City of Cleveland and Downtown Cleveland Alliance."

That reception included a financial incentives package from the City of Cleveland and a presentation from Downtown Cleveland Alliance to the entire Dwellworks staff about the benefits and logistics of moving downtown. Dwellworks secured a forgivable loan through the Vacant Property Initiative Program and a grant based on new job creation through the Citywide Business Grant Program.

PlayhouseSquare Real Estate Services also obtained federal and state historic tax credits that lowered the cost of renovating the office space by one-third.

Dwellworks plans to move its staff of 30 to 40 employees downtown initially. Its appraisal services department will stay in Warrensville Heights for the remaining two years on its lease. Yet Novak says that the firm is already studying plans for a Phase II that would centralize its operations in the heart of downtown Cleveland.


Source: Gene Novak
Writer: Lee Chilcote
east cleveland mayor touts groundbreaking of new 39-unit senior living building
The City of East Cleveland, a community that has lost thousands of residents in recent years due to the foreclosure crisis and decades of disinvestment, has celebrated two groundbreakings in as many months, suggesting that the city's new pro-development approach may be working.

Officials from the city, Cuyahoga Metropolitan Housing Authority (CMHA), the Cuyahoga Land Bank and Ohio Capital Corporation for Housing this week celebrated the groundbreaking of a new 39-unit senior apartment building. It is being built on a patch of vacant land at Euclid Avenue and Belmore Road.

Last month, East Cleveland leaders were on hand to give speeches at the groundbreaking for the Circle East Townhomes, a cluster of market-rate apartments on Euclid being developed by the Finch Group.  

"We really encourage building in the City of East Cleveland," Mayor Gary Norton said at the groundbreaking ceremony for the senior building. "This project will give the senior citizens in our community a high-quality place to live." The small, enthusiastic crowd, who appeared as hungry for new development as the mayor, all but said "Amen!" each time Norton paused during his speech.

Mayor Norton has been called an effective new leader for this once-prosperous suburb. The Circle East Townhomes project has also been hailed as a rare instance of University Circle's development fervor spreading into East Cleveland. Yet while these two groundbreakings are no doubt worth celebrating, the rows of blighted properties along Euclid suggest the mammoth task that still lies ahead.

CMHA is building the Euclid-Belmore Senior Building with the aid of Neighborhood Stabilization Program funding. It will be built using Enterprise Green Standards to ensure that it is comfortable, energy-efficient and environmentally friendly.


Source: CMHA, Gary Norton
Writer: Lee Chilcote
deadline looms for orgs to apply as host sites for cleveland foundation summer internship
The Cleveland Foundation is in the process of recruiting organizations to host interns for its popular Summer Internship Program. The deadline is November 30.
 
The foundation's Summer Internship Program provides a limited number of college students or recent graduates an opportunity to work in Cleveland-area nonprofit organizations or governmental agencies during the summer months. All interns are required to work full-time as designated by their host organization. In addition, interns attend a weekly seminar highlighting key organizations and programs being conducted in the local nonprofit and public sectors. The Foundation provides funding to the organizations to host the interns.
 
For more info click here, or contact Nelson Beckford, Program Officer at The Cleveland Foundation.
senator sherrod brown receives props from huffington post
Ohio Senator Sherrod Brown received props from Ellen Kanner -- the Edgy Veggie -- for his recent introduction of the Local Food, Farms and Jobs Act as part of the 2012 Farm Bill. The Act will increase funding to small farmers pursuing national organic certification and to underserved communities seeking greater access to fresh, local produce.

"Processed food is anything but local and in most cases anything but nourishing," she writes for Huffington Post. "It's come at a cost to our health and hasn't helped the environment or our floundering economy. On the other hand, real, nourishing food comes with real, nourishing fringe benefits."

Demand for "real, nourishing food" can be tracked in the growing number of local farmers markets across the country -- over 7,000, up 250 percent from 1984.

"True, there are twice as many McDonalds, but local produce is inching up on processed, and that has everything to do with consumer demand. We're voting with our forks and our wallets, and we're voting for local food that nourishes us and our communities. For every buck you spend on jalapenos grown by your neighborhood farmer, two-thirds of that dollar stays in your community. Spend the same dollar at a big box store and more than half your money flies away.

"Factory farming, climate change and the Farm Bill are issues so big, they're sometimes eye-crossing. But the Local Food, Farms and Jobs Act shows we're ready to take them on. We're ready to be nourished."

Read the whole HuffPo post here.
new owner to renovate ohio city's franklin castle into multi-unit dwelling
The behemothic stone mansion that looms over Franklin Boulevard in Ohio City looks like the perfect spot to film a horror movie -- though some say the frightening events rumored to have taken place here a century ago are even stranger than fiction.

Franklin Castle was built in 1865 by Hannes Tiedemann, a German immigrant. After several of his children died -- some of unknown causes -- he reportedly built gargoyles, turrets and a huge, fourth-floor ballroom to distract his wife from her grief. Ever since, rumors have abounded about strange, illicit activities that may have taken place in the house, as well as ghosts that might occupy it.

Yet, the Castle's new owner was evidently not spooked by its reputation as the most haunted house in Ohio -- nor by its fire-damaged interior and squatting caretaker. She plunked down $260,000 for it after receiving approval from the City of Cleveland to rezone it into a three-family property. She told city officials she plans to renovate the entire property, live in one unit and rent the other two.

Michele Anderson, a realtor with Progressive Urban Real Estate (PURE), says that when her media-shy client first contacted her, she thought it was a put on. "This woman said she was from Italy and wanted to buy a house in Cleveland, and I thought, Yeah, right," she says. "Then I realized she was the real deal."

The buyer's seemingly genuine plans to renovate the property and live there have put neighbors somewhat at ease. The property has changed hands several times since the 1980s, but renovations were never completed. Ever since a tragic fire scarred the interior in 1999, the fate of Franklin Castle has been sitting in limbo.

Now that the landmark property is in the hands of a new caretaker, neighbors hope she'll be able to evict the ghosts that have reputedly squatted here -- rent-free -- for over a century. If nothing else, she'll be able to host some killer parties.


Source: Michele Anderson
Writer: Lee Chilcote
a conversation with scott raab, bona fide product of Cleveland
"I often say that Cleveland taught me more than I could ever repay," Esquire writer at large Scott Raab tells Fresh Water. "It taught me lessons about resilience. You know, all those clichés about heart, about not giving up, not pointing fingers, but to move forward to carve out a life, to do the right thing when people give you shit. Cleveland taught me all those things. It’s a wonderful place to be from."
cleveland clinic's focus on patient satisfaction lauded in wall street journal
In an article on the increased focus on patient satisfaction at hospitals, Wall Street Journal writer Laura Landro highlights positive measures taken at The Cleveland Clinic.
 
Titled "A Financial Incentive for Better Bedside Manner," the feature illustrates how a patient's opinion of a hospital is greatly shaped by how they are treated both in and out of the operating room.
 
"Cleveland Clinic Chief Executive Delos "Toby" Cosgrove, a heart surgeon by training, says he had an epiphany several years ago at a Harvard Business School seminar, where a young woman raised her hand and told him that despite the clinic's stellar medical reputation, her grandfather had chosen to go elsewhere for surgery because 'we heard you don't have empathy.'" Landro writes.
 
To improve the Clinic's patient-satisfaction scores, which ranked below the national average, the hospital opened an Office of Patient Experience, and began putting "caregiver" on the badges of all employees. More than 40,000 staffers -- from doctors to parking attendants -- were put through training programs on delivering ideal patient experiences. The hospital launched HEART -- hear the concern, empathize, apologize, respond and thank. It developed a Healing Services team to offer complimentary light massages, aromatherapy, spiritual care and other holistic services. There were more than 18,000 services offered in 2010.
 
Since 2008, the Cleveland Clinic's overall hospital ratings have increased by 89%. And compared to last year, the annual volume of complaints the hospital has received will show a 5% decline over last year.

Check out the rest of the report here.
team neo seeking programs that support economic development
As part of the JobsOhio initiative, Team NEO has asked regional organizations to submit their ideas for job creation and economic development. As one of six JobsOhio regional offices, Team NEO received $4.1 million from the Third Frontier Commission to fund the office and support economic development programs.
 
“The purpose of the money is to improve the economic development system in Ohio,” says Team NEO CEO Tom Waltermire. “We have been spending quite a bit of time working with the board of trustees on how to spend the $4.1 million. We decided to make it into a proposal process, extending it to organizations that represent the 18 counties.”
 
Waltermire says they are encouraging the organizations to work together on ideas that will attract business to Northeast Ohio and create jobs. “We’re looking for proposals that will have broad regional benefits,” he says. “Ultimately, we want proposals that result in job creation, attraction, retention and expansion of business.”
 
Team NEO has received 15 letters of intent. Proposals are due by November 11 and will then be reviewed by a Team NEO task force. The board of trustees will make decisions on December 6. “We’re not just handing out money and hoping for the best,” says Waltermire of the selection process. “We’re going to have some very rigorous reporting requirements from the grantees. We’re holding people accountable and asking them to explain the results they are getting.”
 
Waltermire is optimistic that the proposed plans will have a positive impact on job creation in the area. “The result should be some fresh thinking and new ideas for ways to help the economy in Northeast Ohio,” he says.

 
Source: Tom Waltermire
Writer: Karin Connelly
cleveland public library ranked one of the top four libraries in the country
Cleveland Public Library (CPL) was ranked one of the top four libraries in the country, receiving the highest possible rating of five stars in the Library Journal’s America’s Star Libraries 2011.
 
Library Journal’s Index of Public Library Service ranks more than 7,000 library systems in four categories: library visits, circulation, program attendance, and public Internet usage. Cleveland Public Library ranked 4th out of all library systems nationwide in its category and improved its overall ranking because of increases in circulation and higher usage of computers as even more community members turn to libraries for resources in these tougher financial times.
 
“The Library Journal’s ranking is just more proof that Cleveland Public Library is providing superior service and value to our city and region by promoting both a love of books and reading while propelling Cleveland forward through our community-based programming,” CPL executive director Felton Thomas said. “It’s exciting to see that our signature collections and progressive community agenda are making a difference.”
 
Check out the rest of the rankings here.
literacy cooperative campaigns lead to better pay, more people in the work force
It’s hard enough in today’s economy to find a good job. It’s even harder if you can’t read. Nearly half the adult population in Cuyahoga County has literacy levels that are below the state minimum requirements and 270,000 people in the county have no training beyond a high school diploma or GED.
 
The Literacy Cooperative of Greater Cleveland just released the first of three briefs, “The Economic Case for Literacy,” which points out the need for continued literacy training in the workplace. Even one year of post-secondary education can lead to better pay for the employee and increased productivity for the employer.
 
“Let’s say someone is currently employed, is a good worker and shows up every day,” says Robert Paponetti, executive director of the Literacy Cooperative. “But they aren’t advancing because of literacy issues. There is often a disconnect between education and training, where they can’t get the training they need.”
 
The Literacy Cooperative is working with employers to implement workplace literacy programs. Paponetti says healthcare is one industry where literacy is lacking, especially in the terminology of the field. “We’re looking at how we help provide workplace literacy programs so employers who might be able to contribute to their employees’ advancement can,” he says. “We have to look at the people who are in the workforce today and build the skills they need to advance.”
 
In time, Paponetti hopes such programs will lead to a better trained workforce that can succeed in the changing economic climate. “There aren’t instant solutions to adult literacy issues,” he says. “We have to start putting out resources together to make the best impact.”

 
Source: Robert Paponetti
Writer: Karin Connelly
cinamaker offers cloud-based collaborative environment for producing films online
Jared Rube has a love for both photography and technology. As a third year photography student at Rochester Institute of Technology, Rube got his feet wet in the entrepreneurial world as an intern at Shaker LaunchHouse before creating True Frame Media, which provides video content creators with the ability to standardize work-flow and produce films through online pre and post production processes.
 
Out of True Frame Media came CinaMaker, a cloud-based collaborative environment for producing films online. The company is a marriage of Rube’s two loves.

“It started as marketing and storage, and grew into editing,” recalls Rube. “Then it grew into ‘Why don’t we make it collaborative?’”
 
Running a startup business while going to school full time has not been easy. But Rube has gotten a lot of support from the RIT faculty, LaunchHouse, friends and family. And he’s enjoying every bit of the experience. “It’s a really cool learning experience,” he says, “Doing it all, learning how to run a business.”
 
CinaMaker is quickly growing. Rube has one “unofficial” business partner, one programmer and one designer. He plans on hiring subcontractors to help with the programming. He foresees soon having five to eight programmers and two designers on staff. He also has been working with local and overseas production companies and fellow LaunchHouse company Tiny Giant Studio.

“It’s really moving fast,” he says. “I’m just trying to keep up with it.”

 
Source: Jared Rube
Writer: Karin Connelly
trailside at morgana run to feature 100-plus homes on former brownfield in slavic village
What is most unusual about Trailside at Morgana Run, a new development of 100-plus new homes in the Slavic Village neighborhood of Cleveland, is not simply that it is a rare example of speculative housing development in today’s morbid real estate market.

No, what seems even more unique is that Third Federal Bank, whose headquarters is located adjacent to the site, is actually the developer of the project. Typically, banks do not take an active role in development.

“Third Federal has historically been all about homeownership,” says Joe Del Re of Zaremba Homes, the urban homebuilder that has been hired to oversee construction. “What better statement could they possibly make to the community than to not only put their headquarters here, but also to build homes?”

Trailside features new, single-family homes that are priced from $135,000 to $150,000. The 2- to 3-bedroom units are highly energy-efficient and have access to green space filled with native plantings. Morgana Run, a trail that weaves through Slavic Village and connects to Mill Creek Reservation, runs by the site. 

Del Re says the project might appeal to young professionals as well as older homebuyers seeking to downsize from larger neighborhood homes. The units feature a first-floor bedroom option, yards and detached two-car garages.

Zaremba, Third Federal and Slavic Village Development worked together for more than five years to acquire and redevelop the project site, which was an environmentally contaminated brownfield until it was cleaned up a few years ago.

Del Re says that Third Federal is taking on the project because of its commitment to Slavic Village and because the site is literally located in its backyard.
 

Source: Joe Del Re
Writer: Lee Chilcote
ideacrossing introduces workspaces, free online collaboration site for entrepreneurs
JumpStart introduced IdeaCrossing to the entrepreneurial community in 2007 as a tool for developing and growing a new business. More than 6,000 users nationwide -- 2,000 in Ohio -- use the free online tool to find funding, talk with investors and hash out their ideas. Now IdeaCrossing has launched Workspaces, an online collaborative meeting place.
 
Workspaces gives entrepreneurs a virtual meeting place to collaborate with their advisors and stakeholders "without being bound by geography or business hours." Through Workspaces, entrepreneurs can request online feedback, share documents, and obtain referrals to others who can help advance the business.  Both IdeaCrossing and Workspaces are free to use.
 
“Workspaces is the next step in IdeaCrossing,” explains Tiffan Clark, IdeaCrossing vice president. “We found that nine out of 10 entrepreneurs who came to us said they were looking for money, but weren’t ready. This is a private discussion forum, where only those in Workspaces can see the documents and get feedback. It’s like a virtual meeting without the video component.”
 
WorkSpaces offers a private meeting space to bring all of an entrepreneur’s advisors, mentors and collaborators together in one place. “It brings all those advisors into this virtual private space to see the collaboration of those ideas,” says Clark. “We connect the community with the resources they need to grow their business, no matter what stage they may be at.”

 
Source: Tiffan Clark
Writer: Karin Connelly