These days, news not only frequently breaks on Facebook and Twitter, but social media can be used for crowdsourcing ideas about a neighborhood's future, too.

Sam McNulty, owner of a half dozen restaurants and bars on the increasingly flourishing West 25th Street, announced on his Facebook page last week that he and his business partners are purchasing the former Orange Blossom Press Building. Now they're looking for suggestions as to what kind of tenant should go ... Read more >

Jacqueline Bon is a freelance writer that has been contributing to Fresh Water Cleveland since 2014. As a journalist by trade and self-taught photographer, she has a lot of curiosity in people and their stories. She is a graduate of the E.W. Scripps School of Journalism at Ohio University and has pursued film and digital photography for a decade. She is likely to be the first person on the dance floor, especially if you put on Prince.

"My 30 hours in Cleveland was magical," writes Stacy Bare, Director of the Sierra Club Outdoors, in this Huffington Post article. "And while I'm not sure that's a word a lot of people use to describe Cleveland, it still seems apt a few weeks removed from my visit."

The writer praises the Cleveland Museum of Art, Rockefeller Park, Little Italy, Great Lakes Brewing Company and the Browns. They won that day!

Read the full story here.

A November 12th story in The Atlantic's City Lab says that Cleveland has emerged as the most affordable housing market in the country, and we are undergoing a "revival." Buy now!

"For the second time in three years, Los Altos, California, ranks as the most expensive housing market in the U.S.," writes Kriston Capps. "How expensive? If you're thinking about buying a family home there in Silicon Valley, you may want to keep looking: A four-b... Read more >

Ask a millennial about the east-west divide and their eyebrows usually rise and knit over their black frame glasses. These days, west side shops are popping up on the east side, while east side institutions are making inroads west.

University Circle Inc.'s recent annual meeting highlighted examples of successful innovation within the district, from Piccadilly Artisan Creamery's liquid nitrogen-fueled ice cream to healthcare startups spinning out of BioEnterprise.

As local businesses and institutions seek to establish an east-west presence, which ones would you most like to see cross the river? Take our poll, tell us what you think!

Christine McBurney is an educator,  writer, theater artist, and Co-Artistic Director of Mamai Theatre Company. Her writing has appeared in The Plain Dealer, Belt Magazine, Northern Ohio Live, CWRU Magazine, and other publications. She lives in Cleveland Heights.

At the University Circle Incorporated (UCI) annual meeting last week, President Chris Ronayne touted the district's roots in innovation as well as impressive present-day growth. In short, University Circle is now returning full circle and has become an area that's not only rife with arts institutions and top schools, but is also spinning out some of the region's fastest-growing companies and ideas.

Ronayne also stated that innovation begins and ends, in many w... Read more >

According to 2010 census figures, the city's population is just 5 percent foreign-born, less than half the nationwide average. This decade also witnessed our city's population slip below 400,000, a decline that advocates believe can be reversed by attracting newcomers, including immigrants.

Greater Cleveland's workforce is highly educated, with 17 percent of its workforce boasting a graduate or professional degree. Demographer and urban planner Richey Piiparinen believes Cleveland can take advantage of those big brains through creation of high-density areas of expertise.

UNIDOS is a Hispanic resource group that strives to foster a diverse and welcoming workplace culture. The group aims to be the vehicle to pull in Hispanic talent from colleges and job fairs, a cogent point considering diversity is among Forest City's core values.