January of last year, a natural gas explosion ripped through a vacant house on W. 83rd Street in Cleveland, destroying the home, damaging 57 others, and displacing at least 15 families.

Ultimately, investigators determined that the devastating eruption was caused by a gas main that hadn't been shut off at the street. This prompted neighbors and city officials to wonder if many of Cleveland's vacant and abandoned homes aren't ticking time bombs, waiting to explode under t... Read more >

Over the past year, more than $48,000 has been invested in energy audits and "green" retrofits for merchants along Buckeye Road on Cleveland's East Side.

According to Deepa Vedavyas, Associate Director for Development at Buckeye Area Development Corporation (BADC), this is just the beginning. She hopes to see Buckeye Road merchants become the first "green-certified retail district" in Cleveland.

"We're using this as a learning opportunity, and encouraging them no... Read more >

When asked why he decided to open his custom-engraved baseball bat store, Johnnyville Slugger, on W. 25th Street in Ohio City, owner Johnny Smatana naturally employed a sports metaphor.

"If you go to the Yankees and bat .280, they'll hate you," he says. "If you go to a little place where you can do some good, they'll still like you."

Smatana, whose career includes a stint playing football for the Miami Hurricanes and 27 years moving freight for Estes Forwarding ... Read more >

When Zone Recreation Center's 22 acres of green space reopen next year following a $2.5 million "green" facelift, the rainwater that falls there will be reused on site, rather than being funneled into sewers to pollute our lake, rivers and streams. "We're using it to rehydrate the park," explains Ward 15 Councilman Matt Zone, who allocated funding for the park's revitalization.
The redesigned park's water conservation features will include permeable pavers that allow rainwa... Read more >

Sustainable Cleveland 2019 (SC 2019), an effort by the City of Cleveland and local environmental groups to promote sustainability as a means of growing the economy in Northeast Ohio, will soon have a physical home in Tower City Center.

Andrew Watterson, Cleveland's Chief of Sustainability, says the purpose of the new Sustainable Cleveland Center is to promote efforts to green Northeast Ohio, provide central meeting space for environmental groups, and offer affordable s... Read more >

Situated on the edges of Cleveland and Shaker Heights, and home to a diverse, international community of residents, Shaker Square has long been a community gathering place for people of different backgrounds.

So it only makes sense, in a way, that Bruce Altchouler (a Clevelander and electrical contractor with a knack for project management) and Ziv Sarig (an Israeli businessman with a finance background) would meet and discover they shared a passion for historic Shaker S... Read more >

To some, Michael J. Zone Recreation Center is just another city park where teenagers play pick-up basketball, softball teams face off on scruffy fields, and kids scamper about on a well-worn playground.

Yet for others, this 22-acre green space on Cleveland's near-west side has the potential to become an urban oasis, a premier green space that serves the neighborhood while providing a model for integrating sustainability into city parks.

Recently, the City of Cl... Read more >

Since opening Dredgers Union, a new apparel and home goods store on E. Fourth Street in downtown Cleveland, owner Danielle DeBoe has been surprised by the number of out-of-town visitors she's had.

"They ask if I have a location in their city, and then rave about the store and insist that I open one where they live," says DeBoe with a laugh. "I'm excited because we're providing out-of-towners with a more well-rounded retail experience."

DeBoe, who also owns Room S... Read more >

Last summer, Ohio City native Alex Nosse biked from Cleveland to San Francisco with a friend. While cycling for eight hours a day, he had plenty of time to dream of finding a job that also fueled his passion.

"It was a light-bulb moment," he says. "I realized how much passion I had for cycling, and that I wanted to do something bike-related."

A year later, the avid cyclist has launched Joy Machines, a new bike shop that opened in June on West ... Read more >

Interim Cleveland Municipal School District (CMSD) CEO Peter Raskind, who is being replaced by Chief Academic Officer Eric Gordon, offered some parting thoughts on improving urban education at a forum last week on underperforming schools.

Introducing himself as "the lamest of lame ducks," Raskind told the audience at Cleveland State University's Levin College of Urban Affairs that quality urban schools are critical to reducing inequality. Then he evaluated two concepts t... Read more >

Cleveland State University's Factory Theatre is so often booked that students have to schedule rehearsals late at night. While department chair Michael Mauldin bemoans his program's outdated facilities, he realizes that it's a good problem to have.

Before Mauldin was hired in 2006 to breathe new life into the moribund Dramatic Arts Program, the school had only 21 majors. Campus officials had even considered canceling it. Today,CSU's theatre program boasts 85 majors -- an... Read more >

The Near West Intergenerational School (NWIS), a public charter school that aims to serve families on Cleveland's near-west side, will open this fall inside of Ohio City's Garrett Morgan School of Science.

"The location in the heart of Ohio City will draw kids from the neighborhood, and many families will be able to walk to school," says Debbie Fisher, the school's recently hired Principal. "Cleveland has a huge need for quality, high-performing schools, and we really bel... Read more >

Buffalo is better known for its long, snowy winters than its flowering gardens. Yet last year, GardenWalk Buffalo, a free self-guided tour that bills itself as the largest garden tour in America, attracted an estimated 45,000 people to 300-plus gardens.

After learning about GardenWalk Buffalo from a Plain Dealer article last summer, Clevelanders Jan Kious and Bobbi Reichtell decided to make the trek northeast. Walking around the city and talking to its impassioned urban g... Read more >

Ramen noodles may have been the late-night snack that powered you through finals in college, but they've come a long way since you left the dorms.

From Portland to New York's East Village, contemporary noodle houses have been springing up with abandon in recent years, offering tasty, affordable dishes that fuse Japanese and American ingredients.

Now award-winning chef Jonathon Sawyer, owner of Greenhouse Tavern, is opening Noodlecat, a modern noodle house in do... Read more >

When construction finally wrapped up in 2008 on the Euclid Corridor, civic leaders felt triumphant. The $200 million project to redevelop crumbling Euclid Avenue -- once dubbed "Millionaire's Row" for its opulent, turn-of-the-century mansions -- would spur economic development and connect downtown with University Circle, they believed.

Then the global recession hit. Banks stopped lending, businesses halted expansion plans and the nation slid into a great recession. The o... Read more >

For decades, the lower level of the Detroit-Superior Bridge supported the streetcars that shuttled Cleveland commuters across town. More recently, the rarely seen space has become a unique and beloved public gathering space.

In 2009, the two-day Bridge Project reopened the space to the public for one of the first times, attracting some 20,000 people. The offbeat festival of music and art featured a design charrette that solicited input for making the bridge more accessib... Read more >

Joel Borwick has owned Seitz-Agin Hardware in Cleveland Heights for 38 of the store's 56 years. To loyal customers, he and his staff are well-known for dispensing home repair tips, doling out contractor referrals, and selling only what shoppers need.

The store has proudly survived the onslaught of big box stores. When Home Depot and Wal-Mart opened at nearby Severance, Seitz-Agin trundled on, propelled by a loyal fan base and friendly personal service. Years of customer ... Read more >

Since Veronica Walton created an urban farm on Ansel Road several years ago, she's been asked countless times about her lush, bountiful plots: "I'm looking for a job," some would say. "Can I work here?"

When asked such questions, Walton, who is the Director of the nonprofit NEO Restoration Alliance, would extol the virtues of urban farming. She explained the difference between community gardens and urban farmers, who sell their crops to customers via local farmers markets... Read more >

The apartment buildings that line East Boulevard in Glenville boast stunning architectural details such as ornate columns, artisan brickwork and broad balconies that overlook Rockefeller Park. They attest to the wealth that once existed on this grand old street.

Yet for decades, East Boulevard has deteriorated as owners struggled with a soft market, much-needed repairs and soaring energy costs. Despite its proximity to University Circle and Rockefeller Park, the area was... Read more >