In a New York Times story titled “Cleveland TV Station Celebrates Andy Griffith After Oscars Snub,” James C. McKinley Jr. applauds Cleveland’s NBC affiliate WKYC for canceling its prime-time lineup on Thursday, Feb. 28, instead airing a two-hour episode of “Matlock” after the Oscars failed to honor Andy Griffith in the yearly obituary reel.
 
“The Academy did snub Andy Griffith,” said Brooke Spectorsky, the president and general manager of the station, WKYC. “We thought it would be a nice tribute.”
 
While the entire obituary piece is slated to take three minutes, there is traditionally tough competition. Griffith is known mainly for his television work but did appear in feature films.
 
“Mr. Griffith lost out to Ernest Borgnine, Charles Durning, Nora Ephron, Tony Scott and Marvin Hamlisch, among others,” McKinley concludes.
 
Check out the full piece here.

In a Minnesota Public Radio feature titled “How does Mayo stack up against its competitors?” Elizabeth Baier explores how Cleveland’s own Cleveland Clinic and Global Center for Health Innovation (formerly known as the Medical Mart) is hindering Minnesota’s Mayo Clinic’s aspirations to be the leader in the healthcare industry.
 
Baier states that while the Mayo Clinic is consistently ranked as one of the nation’s top medical facilities, its competitors are growing by leaps and bounds as well.
 
“The center, officially the Global Center for Health Innovation and Cleveland Convention Center, is publically financed through a quarter-cent local sales tax passed in 2007. The one-million-square-foot campus will house big-name health manufacturers and service providers like GE Healthcare and the Cleveland Clinic.”
 
The project alone is expected to draw an additional tens of thousands of visitors to Northeast Ohio each year.
 
Explore the full story here.

In a Huffington Post blog post titled “Cleveland Start-Up Seeing Green,” Emily Sullivan explains how the Economic & Community Development Institute (ECDI) is assisting Evergreen Cooperative’s latest venture, Green City Growers Cooperative, in operating a 3.25-acre hydroponic greenhouse and packing facility on Cleveland’s east side.
 
“The Greenhouse, and its employee-owners, will produce over 6,000,000 heads of lettuce and other leafy vegetables a year, all intended for local consumption,” Sullivan explains.
 
The choice for ECDI to support the cooperative was simple due to the fact its business model stood out.
 
“The opportunity to work with Green City Growers' cooperative provided the perfect starting point for ECDI to get involved in healthy food initiatives across the Northeast Ohio region.”
 
Read the full story here.

In a Yahoo! News feature titled “Hottest Cleveland Neighborhoods for 2013,” writer Paul Rados describes the improving real estate environment in Cleveland, while highlighting the Tremont and Ohio City neighborhoods as an area ripe with potential.

Both are popular, trendy neighborhoods that are a major draw due to their walkability and proximity to downtown, dining and entertainment.

“There is a friendly attitude everywhere you go," Sarah Urbancic of Howard Hanna explains. "People like being in the thick of things and also appreciate the fact that if your city is strong, the neighborhoods will be stronger. Everyone supports the effort to make each building [and] each block stronger and more welcoming."

In a Wall Street Journal articled titled “Study Raises Doubts over Robotic Surgery,” writer Melinda Beck explores the use of robotic surgery for hysterectomies and its growth in popularity in recent years and it’s cost/benefit ratio.
 
"Robotic surgery does help me when I have to go really deep in the pelvis or use a lot of sutures," Cleveland Clinic gynecological surgeon Marie Paraiso, who uses both procedures, is quoted in the article. "But we haven't really defined which patients it helps most and it's never been shown to be cost-effective."
 
Paraiso goes on to explain that she has found no significant differences in blood loss or pain between the robotic method and the laparoscopic method, but the robotic method does take longer on average, which can bring added cost.
 
View the detailed story here.

In a Huffington Post piece titled “About a Museum,” Agnes Gund, President Emerita and Chairman, International Council of The Museum of Modern Art, writes of her childhood growing up learning to appreciate the arts at the Cleveland Museum of Art.

“That museum -- inspired by a band of prominent citizens, designed by local architects on donated land -- opened in 1916 as an achievement and adornment of its city. It was Cleveland through and through, not least in the motto it proclaimed for itself: "For the benefit of all people, forever."

The post continues into warm tribute to a place that has become a part of Gund herself.  It is a very intimate account of the importance the museum has played throughout her life.

In a Zillow Blog article titled “Single No More! Where to Move for Love in 2013,” Alison Paoli lists Cleveland as #4 on the list of Top 10 cities for men seeking women age 35 and under.

Cleveland also ranks #8 for the top 10 cities for men seeking men age 35 and under and #3 for the top 10 cities for women seeking women age 35 and under.

“Zillow ranked the 150 largest U.S. cities based on the Zillow Rent Index versus the median income, walkability and the ratio and abundance of single males to single females aged 35 and under. The resulting cities are geographically diverse, with median rents ranging from $800 to $2,500 per month.”

Check out the full list here.

In an Eater.com article titled “JFB Announces 2013 Restaurant and Chef Semifinalists” Raphael Brion shares the most recent “long list” of semifinalists for the coveted James Beard Foundation Awards.
 
Cleveland finds itself well represented with four local chefs up for various honors.
 
Michael Symon for Outstanding Chef
Jonathon Sawyer for Best Chef: Great Lakes
Zack Bruell for Best Chef: Great Lakes
Matt Danko for Outstanding Pastry Chef
 
The finalists will be announced on Monday, March 18, 2013 with the winners announced on Monday, May 6, 2013.
 
Check out the full list here.

In a Huffington Post report titled “Cities have hundreds of empty schools,” Philip Elliott writes of the nation’s largest cities struggling to sell valuable property while still incurring costs to keep them secure while empty.
 
Elliot notes that Cleveland already has found uses for 25 former buildings, bulldozed seven other buildings to turn into parks, but still has 27 additional properties up for grabs.
 
“The number of idle buildings does not include properties that the districts are holding on to but are not using. Cleveland, for instance, kept several buildings at the ready to fill in for others they plan to renovate in the future, officials there said.”
 
Read the full report here.

In a New York Times feature titled “Software Assistants for Doctors Are Making Progress,” Steve Lohr highlights how doctors are struggling to keep up with the information overload when it comes to decision making in medicine and how technology is working to keep medical professionals up to date.
 
“The information overload for doctors is only growing worse," Lohr writes. "Medical information is estimated to be doubling every five years, and surveys show most doctors can find only a few hours a month to read medical journals.”
 
Lohr notes that a prime example of technology gearing up to assist medical professionals is I.B.M.’s supercomputer Watson, which currently is being trained as a medical student at the Cleveland Clinic Lerner College of Medicine at Case Western Reserve University.
 
View the complete feature here.

In a New York Times feature titled “Locally Grown Gets Tricky in the Cold,” writer Dan Saltzstein discusses the difficulty chefs face when trying to keep their menus locally focused at a time of year when not a whole lot is being grown.

"Locally grown. Market-sourced. Farm to table: These phrases have become the mantras of the American menu, promising ingredients that are supremely fresh, in season and produced within a tight radius of the restaurant," writes Saltzstein. "But what can they possibly mean in the dead of winter, in northerly climes where farms are battened down and the earth is as hard as a raw cabbage?"

Cleveland’s Jonathon Sawyer takes the winter months in stride.

“We sort of look at winter the way an old-school chef looks at frugality,” said Jonathon Sawyer of the Greenhouse Tavern, in Cleveland. “We take more time with dishes because we have less to put on the plate.”

Saltzstein also mentions Sawyer’s “Sustainability Initiatives,” including the bottling of his own vinegar and pantry full of preserved items.

In a Buffalo News feature titled “Chow down on Lake Erie,” food writer Andrew Galarneau highlights the thriving culinary scene in Cleveland and wonders how and why it differs from Buffalo’s own food scene.
 
Galarneau, questioning local food scribes like the PD's Joe Crea and this pub's own Douglas Trattner, delves deeply into the likely causes for Cleveland's disproportionate maturity when it comes to food and dining. Many of the city's finest chefs are mentioned in the piece.
 
"How did Cleveland get so awesome?" Galarneau muses aloud.
 
“When Symon said, ‘Cleveland is awesome, check it out,’ he wasn’t lying,” Trattner, a restaurant critic and author, is quoted in the piece. “Anybody can get up there and talk about their hometown, but he had stuff to back him up, so it wasn’t just ‘Here’s what I’m doing’ but ‘Here’s what Cleveland’s doing as a dining town, I’d think you’d be surprised.’ ”
 
The scribe notes that “[Eric] Williams won the undying love of tattooed hipsters and blue-collar types with Happy Dog, a bar that serves 75 beers and $3 boats of Tater Tots with as many of the 19 sauces, ranging from black truffle honey mustard to Oaxacan chocolate mole, as you want. And live polka happy hour on Fridays.”
 
Check out the full tribute to Cleveland and get a sneak peak at Buffalo’s budding scene here.

In a Fast Company piece titled “Local Projects and The Cleveland Museum of Art Use New Tech to Connect the Classics,” Cliff King explains the technological aspects behind the new Gallery One exhibit at the Museum and the role company Local Projects played in its development.
 
"Museums must compete for attention in a second-screen world," writes King in this richly illustrated feature. "One venue embracing the challenge is the Cleveland Museum of Art, which worked with Local Projects to design new interactive galleries."
 
Items of note:
 
A 40-foot screen displays every piece in the museum. When a work is touched, an iris opens to highlight broader relationships. You can then drag works to a provided iPad to create a custom tour.
 
By holding an iPad up to certain pieces, you’re presented with an overlay of information. Your focus remains directed on the art, not down at a plaque.
 
Check out the full story here.

In a CBS News feature titled “Teen birth rates hit historic low in U.S.,” Ryan Jaslow notes that teen birth rates are at historic lows due to teens waiting to have sex and the use of more effective birth control and the various risks associated with teen pregnancy.
 
In the piece, the Cleveland Clinic’s own Dr. Ellen Rome, head of the Center for Adolescent Medicine, discusses the various risks associated with teen pregnancy versus those occurring in women over 20. 
 
“One of the biggest risks is that teen moms are less likely to engage in proper prenatal care and more likely to have poor nutrition, sexually transmitted diseases or substance abuse issues that can risk the pregnancy,” Rome is quoted in the piece.
 
Check out the full informative piece here.

In an MSN slideshow titled “10 coolest cities in the Midwest,” Chelsea Lin proclaims our fair city of Cleveland as one of them due to its musical history and art.  Oddly enough, nothing about the phenomenal dining scene is mentioned as a factor of coolness.
 
In proclaiming what’s cool: “There’s more than just rock ’n’ roll culture at play. The Museum of Contemporary Art, Cleveland’s brand-new mirrored digs, is a lesson in modern art itself, a stunning piece of interesting architecture.”
 
Read the full blurb and check out the other cities on the list here.

In a Next City post titled “Downtown Roulette: Will Casinos Be a Win for Ohio Cities?” writer Anna Clark questions if casino gambling belongs in urban centers such as downtown Cleveland.
 
“Last year, after Ohio became the latest state to legalize casino gambling, its first gaming complex opened in downtown Cleveland. Casinos in Toledo and Columbus appeared soon thereafter, and another is slated for Cincinnati. But will these glitzy institutions deliver the new tax revenues that political and business leaders expect?”
 
Can the casino industry continue to flourish and will Cleveland be among the cities to benefit from the industry?
 
Find out the answers here.

League Park, in Cleveland's Hough neighborhood, was home to the Cleveland Indians until 1946. And it was the site of many of baseball's finest moments, including Babe Ruth's 500th homer and the only World Series triple play.

In this New York Times feature, writer Hillel Kuttler describes efforts to reopen the historic site.
 
"The site has remained virtually untouched since the stadium was razed in 1951. But it is expected to reopen in turn-back-the-clock glory, featuring a baseball diamond aligned as it was during its major league heyday. The field will be made of artificial turf to reduce postponements in Little League, high school, college and recreational baseball games. It may also be used for soccer and football games, as well as concerts and other events. A second baseball diamond and a children’s water park, surrounded by a winding walking track, are to be built on the property."
 
The article describes how this one single project can reinvigorate the entire neighborhood.
 
“I can see things beginning to change,” Robert Denson, an insurance manager and vice president of the League Park Heritage Association, is quoted in the piece. “I think League Park will also be an attraction. Maybe people will think, ‘I can come in and start a business.’ ”
 
Read all the great news here.

In a Columbus Dispatch story titled “Cities’ hearts beating strong in Ohio’s three C’s,” writer Steve Wartenberg describes the various ways Ohio’s three largest cities are experiencing urban renewal and growth and the benefits that go along with it.
 
“In Cleveland, the Downtown Cleveland Alliance has helped spur $5 billion in investment, including about $3 billion in the central business district,” Michael Deemer, vice president of business development, was quoted as saying.
 
The $350 million Horseshoe Casino has been credited for drawing over a million visitors in its first two months, while the $465 million Cleveland Medical Mart & Convention Center is expected to draw thousands of health-care professionals to Cleveland permanently.
 
“It’s the first of its kind, a medical-innovation showplace,” notes David Gilbert, chief executive of Positively Cleveland.
 
Enjoy the tale of three cities here.

In a Wall Street Journal post titled “For U.S. Startups, ‘Times They-are-a-Changing,’” Steve Case, co-founder of AOL, shares his thoughts on entrepreneurship and trends that are changing nationwide, including Cleveland.
 
“I’m convinced that we’re beginning to see a regional 'rise of the rest' as cities like Washington D.C., Denver, Chicago, Atlanta, Raleigh, Cleveland, Detroit and many others experience unprecedented growth in startups. Silicon Valley will continue to be our nation’s most vibrant entrepreneurial hub, but a growing number of companies will start up in these often overlooked places.”
 
“America was built by risk-taking entrepreneurs who throughout history have turned dreams into new businesses, disrupted industries, created new ones and inspired the world.”
 
Check out the full piece here.

In a Lottery League of Their Own
 
In an awesome post on Whopperjaw, an online music and arts blog, writer Sam Fryberger interviews the founders -- Jae Kristoff, Michael Pultz and Ed Sotelo -- of the popular Lottery League event on the unexpected success of their wacky idea.
 
"Lottery League is a large-scale recurring experiment that brings together diverse Cleveland musicians and forces them to form new bands on the spot with people they definitely have never played with and may never have even met before. Each new group gets two months to come together, develop their band’s identity and, of course, practice for the Big Show on April 13 (which is free and open to the public)," Fryberger writes.
 
The numbers are staggering: nearly 200 participants in the event are randomly matched to create 42 brand new bands.

 “At the end of this you are booked for a gig. You aren’t getting paid, but you have a show and you are expected to perform,” the musicians are told.

Regarding the creation, Kristoff says: Ed Sotelo had posted a long rant on there about the lousy music he had seen the night before and about how he thought all city’s bands should break up and be part of sports-like draft. I was like, “Holy shit.” Then, Nate and I started talking about it. Eventually I ended up calling Ed and said, “Remember that thing you posted earlier? We can totally do that.”

Sotelo: I don’t remember, but I am pretty sure I said, “Whatever, dude.” But it was definitely a fun idea even then when he laid it out. Jae was assuring me, “It’s going to happen.”

Sotelo continues: Here’s a chance to completely take a risk and have fun. Some cats are really hungry for something like that. I can go play my own stuff for three hours or I can play someone else’s stuff for three hours. But you know what would be great? If I could just say “fuck it” and hang out with people I’ve never met for a while and do something completely different musically. I believe that every musician, regardless of genre, deep down inside would like to be challenged and wants to create.
 
Check out the rest here.