The newly minted nonprofit Bike Cleveland will bring together Northeast Ohio cyclists through cycling events, educational programming and advocacy work, says Jacob Van Sickle, the group's new Executive Director. The group also will provide area cyclists with a unified voice in transportation planning across the region.

Over the course of the next year, Bike Cleveland plans to focus on prioritizing bike investments in the West Shoreway project, collaborating with the C... Read more >

The success of the Cleveland Colectivo over the past seven years has exceeded the wildest dreams of its members, an ambitious group that aims to improve the city's neighborhoods by funding grassroots projects and social entrepreneurs. Formed in 2004 by a group of friends who decided to pool their money and give it away, the Colectivo has now granted over $80,000 to community projects in Greater Cleveland.

This month, the group will host a night of grassroots networkin... Read more >

Local writer, speaker and entrepreneur Craig James has some big ideas. In fact, he is a regular contributor to NEOtropolis's "What’s the Big Idea" segment on PBS. He and his partner Sue James formed CatalystStrategies, which helps organizations best communicate their message, market and meaning. In this "Letter to Cleveland," James pens an open letter to the city he loves.

Leaders of the institutions that anchor University Circle have long wished for a hotel within walking distance of all of the amenities that the neighborhood has to offer. Now, a public-private partnership, along with $15 million in New Markets Tax Credits and completion of the University Hospitals Seidman Cancer Center, have finally brought that idea to life.

This month, The Snavely Group broke ground on an eight-story, 153-room Courtyard by Marriott that is scheduled to ... Read more >

The nonprofit organization LiveCleveland has launched a website which provides urban parents with comprehensive school information for the areas in which they live. Our Neighborhood Schools allows parents to search by community and zip code to determine the best educational opportunities available to them across the spectrum of public, private and parochial schools.

"We wanted to battle head-on the perception that there are a lack of school choices in the City of Cle... Read more >

For decades, the east side of Cleveland was almost hopelessly cut off from its lakefront by scars of past planning mistakes -- the ugly sutures of highways, concrete barriers, railroads and, of course, industry.

No more. With the opening this week of the Cleveland Lakefront Nature Preserve, these impoverished neighborhoods -- and indeed, all of Greater Cleveland and beyond -- have access to a premiere wildlife habitat in the heart of the city.

This new, 88-acre u... Read more >

This week, the partners planning the West Side Market's Centennial Celebration unveiled a trio of unprecedented special events that will celebrate its wealth of small businesses, unite food lovers across the region and launch the icon's next 100 years. They include a family-friendly party and ice cream social by Mitchell's Ice Cream on Saturday, June 2, as well as a street festival with food trucks and Parade the Circle puppets on Sunday, October 7.

"The ... Read more >

Last month, Jenita McGowan was sworn in as Cleveland's new Chief of Sustainability, replacing the outgoing Andrew Watterson. A Northeast Ohio resident since 1996, McGowan's an adopted Clevelander in every sense. Fresh Water contributor Erin O'Brien sat down with McGowan and got the lowdown on the status of sustainability in Cleveland.

In a few months, beer lovers who have conquered the Winking Lizard World Tour of Beers will have another well-stocked venue where they can wet their whistles. When the popular Winking Lizard chain opens Lizardville in the Galleria this summer, as many as 32 draft beers from Ohio and contiguous states will be available on tap. The venue also will serve Ohio-made whiskey and wine, plus a full menu of food crafted from local ingredients.

Winking Lizard owner John Lane announ... Read more >

There is a surprisingly rich community of accomplished authors living in Cleveland. In fact, if you take a stroll through Cleveland Heights -- and other artsy neighbs -- you might even bump into one of them. Fresh Water recently bumped into three of them: Dan Chaon, Mary Doria Russell and Thrity Umrigar.

"When it comes to U.S. job growth, startup companies aren't everything. They're the only thing." That's the conclusion of a study released last year by the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation of Kansas City, Missouri. The study goes on to argue that the U.S. would be better off investing in assisting entrepreneurs rather than helping established companies, because the former are creating jobs while the latter are merely shedding them.

That kind of think... Read more >

Adam and Susan Fleischer of the Wine Spot in Cleveland Heights have opened a boutique wine and craft beer store at a time when many big box retailers are vying for this same business. Yet, spend a few minutes with them and you'll realize that their infectious enthusiasm and love of wine is also backed up by creativity and a solid business plan.

Adam Fleischer first developed the store concept as a way to ditch his fast-paced corporate lifestyle, spend more time with h... Read more >

On Tuesday, February 7, Global Cleveland opened the doors to its Public Square welcome center. The organization is tasked with attracting and retaining talent to the region from around the globe, with the goal of adding 100,000 people to the region. Fresh Water photographer Bob Perkoski was at the ribbon cutting.

These days, creative pop-up events are a fixture of the modern social scene, adding delightful, ephemeral energy to our streets, neighborhoods and retail districts. Yet even in this spirited era of pop-up dining, pop-up shopping, pop-up book release parties and even pop-up Santa races, the Cleveland Urban Iditarod still is pretty darn unique.

This new, one-of-a-kind event mimics the famous Alaskan Iditarod sled dog race, except that the dogs will be replaced by humans, th... Read more >

Video games no longer are child's play. A multi-billion dollar industry, video game development seduces countless wannabes, each hoping to design the next Call of Duty. Helping to train those people is Cleveland Institute of Art, which recently launched its Game Design program. Combining classes in 3D modeling, game mapping, screenwriting and sound design, this challenging program is no child's play either.

The foreclosure prevention plans that President Obama announced in his recent State of the Union address may help struggling Northeast Ohio homeowners, says Lou Tisler of the nonprofit Neighborhood Housing Services (NHS), but our hard-hit region is not out of the woods yet.

"When lenders and government-sponsored entities such as Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac look at what keeps people out of foreclosure, they see it's principal reduction," says Tisler. "The... Read more >