penguin to expand e-book offerings to cuyahoga cty libraries
In a CNET News piece titled “Penguin looks to Los Angeles, Cleveland to expand e-book lending,” Don Reisinger shares the “hardships” many publishing houses are facing now that e-books are commanding a larger share of the market.
 
“The company [announced Nov. 19] that it is expanding its e-book lending program to Los Angeles and Cleveland, the New York Times reported. Penguin launched an e-book-lending service to New York public libraries in September. The success of that program has prompted it to expand elsewhere.”
 
Publishers have cited security issues in the past regarding lending procedures by public libraries and are taking steps to ensure they maintain profitability in this new digital environment.
 
“With this new lending initiative, Penguin has teamed up with a digital book distributor, Baker & Taylor. According to the Times, the Los Angeles County library system, alone, will allow Penguin to reach 4 million people. The company plans to make the service available to folks in Los Angeles and Cleveland in the coming weeks.”
 
Enjoy the complete interesting read here.
rust wire examines ways to draw young professionals to cleveland
In a Rust Wire feature titled “Cities: Rather Than Patronizing Young People, Give Them What They Ask For,” Angie Schmitt writes about the ongoing battle cities face to attract young people to call urban areas their home -- for the long haul.
 
“There is a new initiative called Global Cleveland and it started out as some kind of civic effort to attract immigrants," writes Schmitt. "But one of the major goals of this initiative apparently, is also to attract boomerangers back to Cleveland. Boomerangers, you see, are youngish, well-educated people that split for places like New York and D.C. For some reason, these guys have been identified as 'winnable' and Global Cleveland’s working on promoting a wholesale reversal.”
 
This effort, according to Schmitt, has not been as successful as originally hoped. But what should Cleveland be doing?
 
“The places that are succeeding, they aren’t making a riddle of their methods. They are working very hard to make their environments hospitable to young people. How are they doing that? Through a whole movement called livability.”
 
Read the complete feature here.
art daily covers natural history museum's expansion plans
An item in Art Daily titled, "Cleveland Museum of Natural History announces capital campaign, leadership team," covers the latest news about the museum's future plans to renovate and expand.
 
"The Cleveland Museum of Natural History has tapped two well-known corporate leaders to serve as co-chairmen of the fundraising campaign for the transformation of the Museum's campus in University Circle. Executive Director and CEO Evalyn Gates, Ph.D., has announced that A. Chace Anderson, the Museum's board president and a partner of CM Wealth Advisors, and Museum trustee James L. Hambrick, chairman, president and CEO of The Lubrizol Corp., will direct the Museum's first significant capital fundraising campaign in its 90-year history."
 
"Remaking and expanding a leading natural history museum is a rare opportunity for Northeast Ohio," campaign co-chair James L. Hambrick was quoted in the piece. "I am delighted to help make a difference on this very important initiative for science education."

"The Museum's collections encompass more than 5 million artifacts and specimens, and research of global significance focuses on 11 natural science disciplines. The Museum actively conserves biological diversity through the protection of more than 5,000 acres of natural areas. It promotes health education with local programs and distance learning that extends across the globe. Its GreenCityBlueLake Institute is a center of thought and practice for the design of green and sustainable cities."
 
Read the rest here.
rock hall changing of the guard covered in l.a. times
Writing for Pop & Hiss, the L.A. Times music blog, Randy Lewis reports on the changing of the guard at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum. At the end of this year, current vice president of development Gregary Harris will take over the top post from Terry Stewart, who is retiring after 13 years.

"Overall, we want to take what’s a wonderful regional treasure and make it a little more national without giving up the great regional base,” Harris is quoted as saying in the article. "One goal will be boosting attendance at the Cleveland facility itself, which sees about half a million visitors annually."

Also in Harris' plans is expanding the base.

"We’ve been building this great base and want to make it better,” Harris said. “We want to expose more people to it, and we’re working to find ways to be relevant and to stay relevant to younger audiences. By definition, this museum focuses on older acts, in that to be inducted you have to have made a record 25 years ago. So that’s part of what we’re looking at.”

Read the rest of the liner notes here.
'do good, eat good' raffle can turn $5 into lots o' dining dollars
For four years now, Michelle Venorsky has organized a delicious raffle that benefits Veggie U, the non-profit arm of the Chef's Garden that educates fourth-graders around the country on making better eating choices. The program funds education kits and lesson plans for teachers in our area and others.
 
To date, the raffles have raised $11,750 for the program.
 
As always, Venorsky -- aka Cleveland Foodie -- has assembled an impressive list of participating restaurants, all of which have generously donated gift cards.
 
Here's how it works: By donating as little as $5 to Veggie U, you will automatically be entered to win one third of $1,850 worth of gift cards. By upping the donation to $10, $25, $50 or more, you can increase your odds of victory. The more you donate, the better the chance of winning.
 
To donate and enter, simply call Veggie U directly (419-499-7500, M-F, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.) and reference Cleveland Foodie when donating. Or, click here to make your donation online.
 
Deadline is Noon on December 21. The drawing will take place shortly thereafter.
 
Here's the tasty lineup:
 
Fahrenheit $100
Paladar $50
Noodlecat $50
Greenhouse Tavern $50
Fire $50
Western Reserve Wines $50
Blue Canyon $50
Pura Vida $50
Light Bistro $50
Spice Kitchen & Bar $50
AMP 150 $50
Flour $50
Umami $50
Momocho $50
Hodge’s $50
Washington Place Bistro & Inn $50
Mahall’s $50
Melt $25
SOHO $50
Urban Herbs 14-jar gift set
Miles Farmers Market $50
Burntwood Tavern $50
Veggie U sampler box
CVI dinner $100 value
Welshfield Inn $50
87 West $50
Flying Fig $50
Cedar Creek Grill $50
Luna Bakery $50
Deagan’s $50
Lola $50
Parallax $50
L’Albatros $50
Chinato $50
Cowell & Hubbard $50
 
For more info, click here.
ny times covers local effort to save the plain dealer
In an article titled "A Cleveland Newspaper Takes Steps to Prevent Cuts," New York Times writer Christine Haughney covers local efforts by the Plain Dealer staff and its readers to stave off further layoffs and service reductions.

In January, a three-year agreement between the paper and the guild will end, opening the door for further cuts.

"While workers at many newspapers owned by Advance Publications have tried to brace themselves for what seems to be the inevitable -- layoffs and the end of a daily print product -- reporters and editors at The Plain Dealer in Cleveland are fighting back in an unusual way: they are taking their case directly to the public," Haughney writes.

"The staff there has started a campaign to rally community support and to try to prevent cuts like the ones Advance has made in other cities. Using money provided by Local 1 of the Newspaper Guild and a grant from the Communications Workers of America, organizers have produced a television commercial, created a Facebook page that has attracted nearly 4,000 “likes” and started a petition that has nearly 6,000 signatures so far."

“We’ve been surprised and gratified and really humbled by the amount of response we’ve gotten,” said John Mangels, a science writer for the paper, who was quoted in the article.
 
Read the rest here.
fast co. takes a deep look at new moca digs
In a Fast Co. feature titled "Cleveland’s Sparkling New Museum Of Contemporary Art," Kelsey Campbell-Dollaghan writes about the new museum and its non-collection programming. A slideshow offers stunning shots of the museum -- inside and out.

"Welcome to the new museum: an organization that eschews acquisitions and permanent collections for a smaller building and leaner operation, focusing on in-situ installations and community programming," writes Campbell-Dollaghan.

"That’s the mission behind the Cleveland Museum of Contemporary Art, which opened its first permanent building in October. The MoCA is a non-collecting museum, which means it has no permanent collection, which in turn means that it needs less space and money to operate. The museum’s new 34,000-square-foot building, designed by Iran-born, London-based architect Farshid Moussavi, cost only $27 million."

"Because MoCA needs very little storage space, almost all of its four floors can host exhibitions -- even a fire stairwell that has been turned into an audio art gallery."

We'll spare you Campbell-Dollaghan's trite platitudes about Cleveland's poverty, foreclosure rates, and "urban revitalization-by-the-arts."

See the article here.
vision for local food system outlined in artsy animation

This animated video premiered at the 4th Annual Sustainable Cleveland Summit in September.

"It illustrates the vision for a local and sustainable food system in the Cleveland region, and how people can get involved," explains Jenita McGowan of the Mayor's Office of Sustainability  "As part of the Sustainable Cleveland 2019 year of local foods celebration, we wanted to create a video that is fun, simple and easy to understand.  It is our goal that this video resonates specifically with residents of Northeast Ohio using recognizable icons, such as the West Side Market.”



cle named top college town in annual ranking
To come up with its annual College Destinations Index, the American Institute for Economic Research evaluates each community’s overall academic and cultural environment, quality of life and employment opportunities in the area.
 
“At a time when approximately half of current college graduates are unemployed or underemployed, the pros and cons of a particular college destination should be an important factor in making a college selection,” says Julie Zhu, the AIER research analyst who oversaw compilation of the Index.
 
The index includes the top 75 US towns and cities for college students with student populations of 15,000 or more.
 
Cleveland is ranked #12 under Mid-Size Metros.
 
“The characteristics that make up a great college destination often make a location ideal for business, retirement and tourism," says Steven Cunningham, AIER Director of Research and Education. "A top AIER College Destinations Index ranking should be just as important to the town or city as it is to the schools located there and the families and students attending or considering them.”
 
Read all about the rankings here.
cleveland-based paladar making waves in south florida
Cleveland-based Paladar restaurant is impressing the locals in South Florida, where a new outpost of the Latin-themed eatery recently opened.

In a Miami New Times article titled "Paladar: New Entry at Gulfstream Park Serves Up Winning Latin Fare," the food writer spoke fondly of the new restaurant, which is the fourth in the locally owned chain.

"Who would have thought that a respectable nuevo Latino restaurant would arrive in South Florida by way of Cleveland and Annapolis? Well, that's what's happened with the opening of Paladar Latin Kitchen and Rum Bar at The Village at Gulfstream Park. Paladar got its start in Cleveland in 2007 and opened in Annapolis three years later. A fourth location will be opening soon in Bethesda."

"Always on the lookout for new places to eat and drink, Short Order checked out Paladar and was impressed with the setting, ambiance, service and food."

Read the rest right here.
steelers fans offered taste of cleveland
Offered as a sort of travel guide to travelling Pittsburgh Steelers fans, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette recently ran a feature titled "On the road with the Steelers: Cleveland."
 
Writer Gretchen McKay does a great job providing tips on where to eat, drink and enjoy the scene in Cleveland.
 
"A growing foodie destination with a landmark public market and a lively arts community, there's plenty of fun in store for the weekend traveler. So much, in fact, that Travel and Leisure named it one of America's 'favorite cities' in 2009 for affordability and its rockin' music scene: in addition to one of the world's best-known music museums, it boasts a renowned orchestra," writes McKay.
 
As for foodie-friendly spots, McKay writes:
 
"Many of the best tastes of Cleveland can be found in its historic West Side Market in an arched NeoClassical/Byzantine building in the Ohio City neighborhood. In October, the public market celebrated its 100th birthday with a parade, but every day here feels like a celebration for food lovers. Home to more than 100 vendors that show off the city's ethnic diversity -- you'll find everything from Old World smoked meats and pierogies to produce and gourmet cheeses to a French creperie serving to-order sweet and savory crepes -- it's been featured on the Travel Channel and Food Network."

"Even though Cleveland and Pittsburgh have similar demographics, Cleveland's food scene has a higher national profile. As former PG restaurant critic China Millman pointed out in a 2010 travel story, the food here really rocks."


Read the rest of the article here.

wall street journal previews art exhibit at cma
In a recent Wall Street Journal article, writer Judith H. Dobrynsk previews an upcoming art exhibit at the Cleveland Museum of Art.

“As Susan E. Bergh walked through the special exhibition galleries of the Cleveland Museum of Art one day last week, she was surrounded by wooden crates -- some empty, some opened, some still locked. Inside were many of the objects with which she will reveal an ancient culture that is all but unknown to most Americans but is now recognized as the first great empire of the Andes,” writes Dobrynsk.
 
The exhibit, "Wari: Lords of the Ancient Andes," is the first North American exhibit focused on this people, which thrived from around 600 to 1000 A.D.
 
“Ms. Bergh, Cleveland's curator of the arts of the ancient Americas, has assembled about 150 objects -- intricate textiles, ceramic vessels, colorful featherwork hangings and four-cornered hats, inlaid ornaments, and stone and wood sculptures -- from 45 museums and private collections in the Americas and Europe.”
 
"I want people to understand that civilization in the Andes way predates the Inca and that the Wari was a very complicated, sophisticated civilization," Bergh is quoted in the piece. "And I want people to see how beautiful and enchanting it is."
 
The interesting story goes on to discuss Bergh’s background, history of the Wari people, and a plethora of details about the exhibit itself.
 
Check out the lengthy feature story here.

 
eater does 'heat check' on cleveland dining scene
Eater, a national website covering food, drink and chefs, published a list of the go-to places in Cleveland to eat right now.
 
“It's been over a year since we last looked at Cleveland's hottest restaurants, so today we circle back and focus on ten new openings that have been garnering serious buzz,” writes Gabe Ulla of Eater.
 
Food writer and Fresh Water managing editor Douglas Trattner clues Ulla in on some of the newest, hottest dining spots Cleveland has to offer.
 
“Among the choices: a very tasty restaurant that borrows from Korea, Japan, and several other Asian countries (Accent), an excellent sit-down taco and margaritas spot (Barrio), food truck man Chris Hodgson's new brick-and-mortar (Hodge's), and a place that bills itself as "pan-Southern" (SoHo Kitchen and Bar).”
 
Check out the full piece chock full of information and details here.
moca buzz continues to roll in
In an article titled "A Bold New Home for the Museum of Contemporary Art Cleveland" in Architectural Digest, writer Samuel Cochran highlights the stunning new home for MOCA Cleveland.
 
“Designed by London-based architect Farshid Moussavi, the new home for the Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA) Cleveland cuts a fine and enigmatic figure. Situated at an unassuming uptown intersection, the recently opened, nearly 34,000-square-foot, four-story structure (Moussavi’s first in the U.S. and first museum commission) rises in geometric planes from a hexagonal footprint, tapering and tilting to reach a square roof.”
 
Stunning photographs of the museum add additional interest to the visual tour that highlights the smooth sheen of the exterior as well as the vibrant graphics of the interior walls.
 
Check out the complete piece here.
jeopardy! champion watson takes up residence at case
“IBM’s Watson supercomputer is already a Jeopardy! champion, and has now embarked on a second career in medicine, working with students at the Cleveland Clinic Lerner College of Medicine at Case Western Reserve University to improve its knowledge of medical concepts in a problem-based learning environment,” writes Jennifer Bresnick of the website EHRIntelligence.com.
 
Watson has the ability to formulate “inference paths,” and by feeding it thousands of gigabytes of medical information including medical dictionaries, studies, health records, findings, etc. it is hoped it will become a tool for doctors to check their own thinking against in order to provide the best health care decisions possible.
 
This new tool will not be available for use overnight as a multitude of tests and programming must still take place.
 
“Case Western students and staff will answer Watson’s questions and correct its mistakes to enable it to learn faster, hoping that someday its artificial intelligence will help save lives by returning the favor.”
 
Read the full story here.
foodbeast goes gaga for noodlecat's clam chowder udon
In an item titled, "This is What Clam Chowder Udon Looks Like," Dominique Zamora writes about Noodlecat for the popular blog Foodbeast.

“Earlier this week I had a chance to fly out to Cleveland, Ohio, for Certified Angus Beef’s 2012 Culinary Ideation and Trends Session," she begins. "The post for all that is coming soon, but while I was there, I also caught wind of at least one food item I never thought I would hear about, ever.”

“Clam. Chowder. Udon.”
 
Zamora is awestruck by the Noodlecat dish, a fusion creation that combines udon noodles, potatoes, celery, onions, and bacon in a creamy clam broth.

"This explosion of East meets . . . further . . . East comes from Cleveland-based restaurant Noodlecat, which opened in August 2011. Branded as a 'slurpalicious Japanese-American mash-up from Chef Jonathon Sawyer,' much of Noodlecat’s menu looks like what happens when a college student decides to go to culinary school and comes back to make the exact same foods he made before, only a million times better."
 
Read the full Foodbeast post here.
recent crime fiction convention lands in pages of library journal
Bouchercon, the world’s leading convention for crime fiction readers and writers, was recently held in Cleveland. The annual event was brought here thanks to local librarian Marjory Mogg, who won her bid for the Cleveland convention two years ago in San Francisco.
 
In an item titled "Librarian Brings Bouchercon to Cleveland -- and $1M+ to Its Economy," the Library Journal describes the weekend's festivities.
 
"The Cleveland Bouchercon 2012, which was held October 4-7, brought in about 1,500 mystery fans, authors, and publishers, who left $1-2 million behind when they returned home after four days of festivities."
 
Bouchercon, named after famed mystery critic Anthony Boucher (rhymes with voucher), has held a conference annually since 1970 in various cities.

"The main Cleveland Public Library sponsored a Nancy Drew scavenger hunt, a talk by author Linda Fairstein, and several displays. The opening ceremonies, with over 1,000 in attendance, were held at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame on the Cleveland lakefront, which one Bouchercon board member called the best venue the conference has ever had for its opening celebration. The Private Eye Association’s Shamus Awards were presented during a dinner cruise on Lake Erie."

Read the rest here.
wash post covers chuck berry show, exhibition at rock hall
In an article titled "Cleveland’s Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum honors rock music pioneer Chuck Berry," the Washington Post covers the recent award and tribute concert.
 
"Still rockin’ at 86, music legend Chuck Berry promised a comeback Saturday with six new songs, some written 16 years ago."
 
"To mark the American Music Masters award presentation, the rock hall has mounted a special exhibition with items including Berry’s stage clothes, a guitar and his 1958 Chess Records recording contract."
 
"The rock hall’s new library and archives has a separate exhibit with items including Berry’s 1964 British tour program and a handbill promoting his appearance with the Grateful Dead in 1968."
 
"Berry, the museum’s first inductee in 1986, called the award and enshrinement in the rock hall a great honor. “You can’t get any higher in my profession than this building or this reason for this building,” he said.
 
Read the rest right here.
fast co. praises design work of cia prof that repurposes material
"It’s a shame. Amidst the financiapocalypse, Cleveland, Ohio, has 13,000 homes and other structures in such disrepair that they need to be torn down. It’s a $4 billion job. And at least one designer is trying to find the bright side," writes Mark Wilson for Fast Co.

"Daniel Cuffaro, department chair at the Cleveland Institute of Art and founder of Abeo Design, has created a modular workspace called the Hive Workstation. It’s similar to the premium corporate furnishings offered by companies like Steelcase, but there’s a key difference: Hive is built from the failed housing projects of Cleveland itself."

“The fabricators make it look easy," Cuffaro is quoted in the article. "But I know it is not. The primary benefit is the quality of the material--this is old-growth quarter-sawn pine and fir . . . that has qualities of hard wood.”

Read (and see) the rest here.
cle clinic announces top 10 medical innovations for 2013
Writing for Huffington Post, Debra Sherman covers the recent announcement by the Cleveland Clinic of the "Top 10 Medical Innovations that will have a major impact on improving patient care within the next year."

"The best medical innovations for next year include an almond-size device that's implanted in the mouth to relieve severe headaches and a hand-held scanner resembling a blow dryer that detects skin cancer, the Cleveland Clinic said on Wednesday," the story says.

"But leading the 2013 list for innovations is an old procedure that has a new use due to findings in a recent study. Physicians and researchers at the clinic voted weight-loss surgery as the top medical innovation, not for its effectiveness in reducing obesity, but for its ability to control Type 2 diabetes, the most common form of the disease."

Also on the list: A hand-held device used to detect melanoma, a new type of mammography, new drugs to treat advanced prostate cancer, and a new technique to repair and regenerate damaged lungs.

Read the rest here.