Jen Jones Donatelli
When the Cuyahoga River caught fire on June 22, 1969, a 23-year-old Frank G. Jackson had just returned home from his tour of duty in the Vietnam War, and he remembers the eco-catastrophe as being “probably the last thing on [his] mind” at that time. A lot has changed in 50 years, and the now-Mayor of Cleveland is squarely focused on not only the health of the Cuyahoga River, but the city’s sustainability as a whole.
I’ll admit it: I’ve never cracked open a Harry Potter book, but I’m definitely a huge fan of the old-school, rabbit-and-hat variety of magic. So when our writer Ken Schneck invited me to test out the new glass wand-making class at Larchmere Fire Works with him, I was in faster than you could say, “Presto!” (After all, we can all use a little more magic in our lives.)
From its perch atop a hill in Shaker Square-Buckeye, the Benjamin Rose Institute for Aging boasts an expansive view of Cleveland and its skyline that makes it easy to feel like anything is possible—and that was exactly the vibe at the conclusion of the Early Childhood Equity Forum, held there last Friday, April 12.
When Lakewood resident Katie Tackett started her Muse Room podcast in late 2018, fellow podcaster Katie Dalebout shared some sage wisdom: “Podcasting is the new networking.” This assertion rings true for just about every podcaster—affording the chance to curate a dream lineup of interviewees—and we listeners get to go along for the ride.
If Shaker Heights feels a bit more fragrant this spring, you can thank teacher Tim Kalan. Since 2016, Kalan has been leading garden clubs for kids in second through fourth grades at Lomond and Onaway Elementary Schools, and they’re about to enter their fourth planting cycle.
Running from March 27 through April 7, the 43rd installment of the Cleveland International Film Festival is in full swing. With a theme of “Welcome,” #CIFF43 is spotlighting 211 feature films and 237 short films representing 71 countries—but even with such a diverse cast of characters, there is no shortage of selections with Cleveland connections.
Though minority business owners comprise just 29 percent of the overall economy, minority restaurateurs make up 40 percent of that sector—with that number steadily rising. Cleveland’s own culinary scene has also made strides in supporting minority food business owners, with Latino Restaurant Week and Quicken Loans Arena's Launch Test Kitchen. A new dinner series, Culture.CLE, is the newest local initiative aimed at bringing Cleveland’s ethnic restaurateurs to the forefront.
Heads up, Merriam-Webster: there’s a new word on the block. It’s called “plogging,” and it’s happening right here in Collinwood.
Bullying doesn’t stop at school—workplace bullying is on the rise, with more than 60 million U.S. workers affected. Yet the U.S. is the only industrialized Western nation not to have laws against abusive workplace conduct. In light of that reality, Lauren Welch and Bethany Studenic are making it their mission to combat toxic workplace culture with The Scarlet Letters Project.
Since the first event was held in 2015, the Accelerate: Citizens Make Change civic pitch competition has definitely made an indelible mark on Cleveland—from "give boxes" in the North Collinwood and Central neighborhoods to special needs toy libraries at Lake County libraries to a vibrant new mural in Slavic Village.
How can Cleveland get its entrepreneurial scene on par with places like Austin, Boulder, Chicago, and Silicon Valley? By encouraging startup founders to break bread together, naturally. And that’s exactly the point of StartInCLE, a growing collective of entrepreneurial types that meets monthly for informal group dinners and other events.
If you see a license plate that reads “HOME JOY” toting around town, you've likely spotted Cleveland's only certified KonMari consultant, Chris Beers. A Japanese approach to decluttering popularized by the recent Netflix show "Tidying Up with Marie Kondo," the KonMari method prompts participants to purge or keep belongings based on whether they ”spark joy," and it's essentially made Kondo a household name.
For many Clevelanders, memories of bygone E. 185th St. conjure up visions of its epic annual street festival, movies at the La Salle, and bike rides down to the lake. Debra Drobnick is no exception. Born and raised in Euclid, Drobnick has fond recollections of growing up just one street away, so it's rather poetic that she's now a vital part of the street's renaissance as one of the forces behind uber-popular Irie Jamaican Kitchen.
If mastering the art of social media were a poker game, John Gonzalez would have a royal “flush” in hand. As the Communications Manager for NEORSD, Gonzalez spends much of his day Tweeting about everything from not-so-flushable wipes to stormwater selfies to “halftime dumps” during the Super Bowl, aka “Sewer Bowl.” In the process, he’s helped make the NEORSD Twitter account a local celebrity of sorts.
Anyone who has read the works of Elie Weisel or Anne Frank knows that the most powerful way to learn about the horrors of the Holocaust is to hear about it firsthand from a survivor. Visitors to the Illinois Holocaust Museum get an unprecedented chance to do just that, thanks to the work of Cleveland-based company EventWorks 4D.
As Sean L. Ward sees it, there will come a day where East Cleveland is mentioned in the same breath with Tremont and Waterloo as thriving, vibrant neighborhoods. And though he knows revitalization won’t happen overnight, he believes that the burgeoning East Cleveland Growth Association can help usher in much-needed change—and that the city is perfectly positioned for it.
If there is one thing this weekend’s epic winter storm showed us, it’s that not even extreme weather conditions can keep Cleveland’s entrepreneurial community from coming out to celebrate its own. On Saturday, January 19, LaunchHouse hosted its annual Bootstrap Bash at RED Space with hundreds in attendance.
Alex Sheen is many things, but "boring" is not one of them. In the last six years, the Lakewood resident has walked across the state of Ohio in 10 days; learned to bake apple pie; personally delivered Disneyland tickets to 100 children with cancer; and driven overnight to bring disaster relief supplies to Hurricane Sandy victims. Why? Simply because he said he would.
This year, FreshWater Cleveland celebrated eight years of publication—an accomplishment we don’t take lightly in today’s unpredictable media landscape. In honor of eight great years, we’ve compiled the top eight things we’re most proud of for 2018.
The Cleveland Clinic's positive impact is felt far and wide, but how does it affect its immediate neighbors? Its new CEO is committed to finding out. Read on to learn what's in store, and get the scoop on a big FreshWater announcement!