Anne Hartnett has a love for cycling. She’s been involved in group cycling and has taught spinning classes for many years. But she thinks there should be something more to it. While she burns energy on the bicycle, she wants to harness that energy to create electric power.
 
Hartnett came up with idea for Harness Fitness, a fitness studio where the cyclists pedal their way to green energy. “I had this idea to harness all this energy created from spinning,&... Read more >

Believe to Achieve, a program that teaches young people kindness, caring and respect as a means of achieving lifelong success, this year helped dozens of at-risk girls graduate from Collinwood High School.

Now the leaders of Project Love, the nonprofit that is spearheading the program, are planning to expand Believe to Achieve to 12 schools across the Cleveland Municipal School District (CMSD). They are currently seeking funding for that initiative.

"l ascri... Read more >

In this Fresh Water video, John Copic, a Collinwood native and publisher of the Collinwood Observer, takes viewers on a walking tour of his neighborhood. Stops along the way include Raddell's butcher shop, Chili Peppers Mexican Grill, Star Pop, Beachland Ballroom, Blue Arrow Records and Boutique, and the Slovenian Workmen's Home.

An annual JumpStart survey indicates that tech startup companies that receive assistance from mentors, advisors and investors make a significant contribution to the region’s economy, even in the early stages. The Center for Economic Development at Cleveland State University’s Levin College of Urban Affairs surveyed 121 JumpStart and North Coast Angel Fund companies to measure their economic impact on the region.
 
The report showed these companies had a $2... Read more >

A partnership between Cleveland State University and the Northeast Ohio Medical University hopes to reach students as early as middle school and inspire them to consider a career in medicine.

Now, a recently awarded $500,000 grant from the Mt. Sinai Foundation will help to support a crucial piece of this program -- a mentoring program to ensure the success of students being trained as primary care physicians.

The three-year grant will focus on linking students wi... Read more >

Jim Russell, a geographer studying modern migration patterns, writes frequently on the topic of "Rust Belt Chic." The phrase, which refers to the increasing appeal of Rust Belt cities, has been popping up like mad in the national media. Recently, Russell put boots on the ground in C-Town.

Tremont Electric has released its nPower PEG Energy Charger after releasing a prototype in 2010 and making improvements to the current model. The nPower charger is the first passive kinetic energy charger that can be used to power handheld devices. The device can be placed in a backpack or bag and harvests the user’s energy during walking, running and biking. That energy can then be used to charge smart phones, MP3 players, GPS systems or any other handheld device.
 ... Read more >

The Cleveland Foundation recently awarded $19.9 million in grants, the second highest amount the foundation has awarded in a single quarter, including $2.25 million to strengthen college readiness and graduation rates among Cleveland students.

“Only 11 percent of Cleveland residents 25 and older have a bachelor’s degree or higher,” said Robert Eckardt, executive vice president at the Cleveland Foundation, said in a news release. “Our team created a... Read more >

Westleigh Harper, Brian Bernstein and Michael Horton like to share their view of Cleveland through their designs. The three -- Horton and Harper are project designers and Bernstein is a landscape architect -- often work 16-hour days at their day jobs, yet they repeatedly find themselves working on public art projects in their spare time.
 
So the three formed Maker, a multi-disciplinary design studio to create projects that have a positive impact on the city.

... Read more >

The State of Ohio has awarded $35.8 million in tax credits to 18 owners who are planning to rehabilitate 44 historic buildings across the state. Two of the projects, the Vincent building and the Truman building, are located in downtown Cleveland.

The Truman building, located on Euclid Avenue between E. 9th and 12th streets, will be renovated to include retail storefronts, office space, 18 market rate apartments and parking. Construction is expected to create at least 50 j... Read more >

An Olympic-style cycling track is being assembled by a group of dedicated volunteers on a patch of scruffy, vacant land in Slavic Village where St. Michael's Hospital stood until it was demolished years ago.

The Cleveland Velodrome met its initial $300,000 fundraising goal for the 166-meter, wood and steel banked track thanks in part to a $50,000 grant from the Cleveland Foundation and generous lead donors.

Later this month, cyclists should be able to go for ... Read more >

With prominent wind turbines at Lincoln Electric and William Sopko and Sons, the City of Euclid has embraced alternative energy in recent years. This weekend, the lakefront city hosts the inaugural Euclid Wind Festival, which celebrates breezes by offering wind-themed crafts, food, live music, artwork and exhibits on wind energy.

Billed as "downtown Euclid's biggest party of the summer" according to a  press release from the Shore Cultural Centre, the e... Read more >

The Cleveland Public Library recently unveiled TechCentral, a new downtown computing hub that offers free use of laptops, tablets and desktop computers, wireless access and 3-D printing.

A library card is all one needs to access the center, which cost $1 million to build and is located in 7,000 square feet in the lower level of the Louis Stokes Wing.

In addition to being able to explore the latest technology on site, card holders will be able to borrow iPads and ... Read more >

When Alison Musser and her husband traveled to North Carolina’s Outer Banks, the vacation turned stressful when they couldn’t find a crib for their one-year-old daughter. “We called every hotel to see if they had a crib available,” recalls Musser.
 
While the Mussers were able to eventually rent a crib, the difficulty of finding one prompted the idea for Babies Travel Too. The company rents cribs and other baby equipment to parents traveling to... Read more >

Vocon, a Cleveland architecture and design firm, had been looking for a way to improve its partnership with BDG Architecture and Design in London. The two firms have had a partnership for a couple of years, but they wanted to take it a step further. So they sent Vocon project designer Lindsey Masarik to London for three weeks in May, while BDG associate Geoff Anderson came to Cleveland in a job swap.
 
“We discovered the firms had a lot of the same philosophies,... Read more >

The Detroit Shoreway Community Development Organization is looking for a few good shops to add to the charm of the Gordon Square Arts District. To bring additional retail business to the area, the group is holding a Best Business Plan competition.
 
First place wins free rent for a year; second place gets six months of free rent; and third place gets three months. Additionally, Cleveland councilman Matt Zone and the Charter One Foundation Growing Communities initiativ... Read more >