Downtown Cleveland... It's Here.

That's what the folks at Downtown Cleveland Alliance persuasively illustrate in their latest video release. Produced by Fusion Filmworks, the flashy 4-minute video shows off just some of our city's assets.

More than a campaign, Downtown Cleveland Alliance is about downtown businesses and people taking matters into their own hands to make positive things happen. And from the looks of things, it's working.

The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) awarded the Greater Cleveland Sports Commission and several partner organizations the hosting rights to three national championships today.

Cleveland will host the 2014 National Collegiate Women’s Bowling Championship, 2014 Division II Men’s and Women’s Swimming and Diving National Championships and 2014 Division II Wrestling National Championships. The three events will bring an estimated economic impact of $1.26 million to the Greater Cleveland area. Cleveland joined Raleigh, N.C. as the only two cities to be awarded three bids.

“The NCAA has once again recognized the championship quality of the city of Cleveland by giving three of its national championship events to Northeast Ohio,” says Greater Cleveland Sports Commission President and CEO David Gilbert. “The NCAA’s decision is further proof that Cleveland is a top destination for championship sporting events. These three events will showcase our city to thousands of athletes and fans from all over the country and infuse over one million dollars to our local economy.”

The events will take place in March and April 2014.

Read the rest of the news here.

Writing for Bloomberg Businessweek, Harold Sirkin states that "Industry clusters have been around for a very long time, serving as a catalyst for economic growth. Think: Detroit in the U.S. auto industry’s heyday, Pittsburgh when steelmaking was king, Silicon Valley for tech, Research Triangle Park, Wall Street, and even Hollywood. They are all examples -- past or present -- of the phenomenon."

He adds that "What makes clusters unique is not just that companies with similar or complementary interests, competencies, and needs congregate around each other. It’s that an entire value chain exists within a cluster: suppliers, manufacturers, distributors, academic institutions, researchers, and workforce training, as well as those who provide relevant support services."

Regarding Cleveland he notes "The Cleveland area is becoming a hub for the biomedical industry."

Read it all here.

“With a flourishing theatre scene, beautifully restored Art Deco buildings and a burgeoning farm-to-table culinary movement, it’s hard to believe that this town ever served as a punch line,” writes Tim Johnson of the Toronto Star.
 
Fellow Rust Belt cities of Detroit and Pittsburgh also are highlighted in this travel piece that boasts how these three cities have emerged from industrial oblivion to become havens for artists, designers, and others that are fighting to bring these tired cities back to life.
 
“Their factories are now a haven for artists and designers, or hosts for living history tours," he notes. "Their rivers, one of which caught on fire in 1969 (the Cuyahoga), have been cleaned up. All three are home to several worthwhile attractions — if you know where to look.”
 
His piece details must-see attractions such as The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum, the Terminal Tower, the West Side Market and Ohio City, the Cleveland Metroparks, and mentions The Greenhouse Tavern and Cowell and Hubbard as prime eateries.
 
Read the tale of three cities here.

“Krypton, Smallville, Metropolis and Cleveland are all famous homes to Superman. The only one of those four locales you can actually visit (by virtue of it being a real place and all) is Cleveland, Ohio, and, ironically, it's the city that's the least popularly associated with the Man of Steel,” writes J. Caleb Mozzocco of Comics Alliance.
 
As part of a $45,000 exhibit funded and created by The Siegel & Shuster Society, a new permanent exhibit was unveiled at Cleveland Hopkins International Airport featuring the iconic superhero’s ties to our great city.
 
“The airport Superman stands atop a huge S-shield logo, and behind his head the wall reads, "Welcome to Cleveland -- Where the legend began." Big, red and black letters in the familiar Superman type scream the hero's name, with a banner reading "The World's Greatest Super Hero" below it,” adds Mozzocco.
 
The detailed piece goes on to highlight details of the exhibit and also touches upon the history of Superman from his creation to modern day legal disputes of his name.
 
Read the full story here.

“St. Vincent Health Center in Erie said Tuesday [October 23] that it reached a clinical affiliation agreement with Cleveland Clinic’s Heart and Vascular Institute,” writes Alex Nixon of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review.
 
The agreement will allow physicians at the Erie hospital to have access to Cleveland Clinic’s advanced research, technology, and techniques in an effort to provide better care for their patients.
 
“The clinical affiliation 'means that patients in the Erie region who are diagnosed with heart disease will be given the highest level of quality heart care, incorporating the resources, research and practices of the nation’s leading heart program,' the hospital said in a statement,” writes Nixon.
 
The deal is not an acquisition for the Cleveland Clinic but rather the rights for St. Vincent Health Center to use its name and access to clinical services.
 
Read the full story here.

Following a recent trip to Cleveland, where apparently he visited half the restaurants in town, notable Columbus food blogger Jim Ellison of CMH Gourmand filed a glowing dispatch.
 
"I am at the halfway point in my Palette to Palate Tour of Cleveland with Positively Cleveland. I am touring with writers from LA, Detroit, Baltimore, Toronto and Columbus. Our collective opinion so far, we love Cleveland. Not a big surprise for most of us. What might be a surprise is that in spite of all I am doing, there is so much more to do and see and especially eat, that I am not even scratching the surface of this city."
 
Later he adds, "In the back of my mind, I can’t avoid the inclination to compare and contrast Columbus with Cleveland. My track record shows that I am a champion of my city of birth but on this trip, even though not completed, I will say that the culinary community of Cleveland kicks that of Columbus in the ass. Cleveland may have a little more in the quantity, I would say a head to head tie for quality, but where the win occurs in the spirit of collaboration and cheerleading among chefs here for each other and a desire to keep raising the bar."
 
His dizzying schedule included stops at Greenhouse Tavern, Spaces Gallery, Sweet Moses, Muse in the Ritz Carlton, Ohio City Urban Farm, West Side Market, Sokolowski’s, Crop Bistro, Cleveland Museum of Art, Museum of Contemporary Art, and many more.
 
Read his missive here.

In the article "Build It and They Will Come," Alice Rawsthorn writing for W Magazine proffers a lengthy piece on Cleveland's brand new Museum of Contemporary Art and its world-famous architect, Farshid Moussavi.

"There’s a new kind of theater in Cleveland," Rawsthorn begins. "If you stand outside the city’s just built Museum of Contemporary Art, you can watch its walls change color with the light. When the sun shines directly onto their black mirrored steel, the six walls will look blue -- the brighter the sun, the more vivid the hue -- but if the sky clouds over, they will darken to black, just as they will when the sun moves around the building. And as each of them stands at a different angle, each reflects a different image of what is happening around it."

“It’s as if the building is performing for you,” Farshid Moussavi is quoted as saying. “There are some amazing moments, when the distorted reflections produce a kind of new reality.”

Moving to the interior of the stunning structure, Rawsthorn writes, "While the tone is set by the building’s constantly changing facade, there are playful touches inside, where visitors are invited to ­observe the daily life of the museum and its staff in a series of impromptu performances: They can peek through glass walls into the art-handling area, delivery bay, and other behind-the-scenes spaces usually hidden from the public. If they walk to the top of the spectacular steel staircase, they can look down into the main gallery to catch an aerial view of the artworks or watch the installation of new shows. But the grand finale is the ceiling of those galleries, which is painted in the same deep blue as those of ancient Egyptian tombs. It resembles the night sky, with the gallery lights shining like stars."

Read the rest of art-y-facts here.

Underscoring its commitment to environmental stewardship and public access to the lakefront, the Cleveland-Cuyahoga County Port Authority has won an international industry award for opening and managing the Cleveland Lakefront Nature Preserve.
 
The American Association of Port Authorities (AAPA) has awarded the Port its 2012 Environmental Enhancement Award for the preserve, an 88-acre site on Lake Erie that opened to the public on a daily basis in February. Since that time, the Preserve has seen some 14,000 visitors from 39 states and 13 countries.
 
“We are honored and excited to receive this award,” says Port President and CEO Will Friedman. “We have made environmental stewardship along our waterfronts a major organizational priority, and to be recognized by the AAPA for our efforts is rewarding. We hope this award will further raise the profile of the preserve and draw even more people to enjoy nature and bird watching on Cleveland’s Lake Erie shoreline.”

Read the rest of the good news here.

Writing for Meetings Focus, a publication geared to professional meeting planners, Kelsey Farabee writes that "Northeast Ohio is booming. New venues and hotels are sprouting up throughout the region and visitors are pouring in, so planners seeking an energetic, bustling host city should look no further than the seat of Cuyahoga County."

The article, titled "Cure for the Common City," describes at length all the recent development that has taken place over the past few years. Mentioned within are the Medical Mart and convention center, "Cleveland’s burgeoning food scene," and Horseshoe Casino Cleveland.

Also described is the new Museum of Contemporary Art, about which Farabee writes, "Adding to the city’s cultural panache is the Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA) Cleveland, which unveiled an enormous $350 million expansion this month. The new 34,000-square-foot structure has a distinctive mirrored exterior and is 44 percent larger than the museum’s previous location. The four-story building has a startling geometric footprint, rising from a hexagonal base to a square top, with exhibitions and space for public programs on all four floors."

Read the rest right here.

Wired magazine gets its hands on Tremont Electric’s nPower PEG, and gives it the onec over.

Titled "Need to Gas Up Your Phone? Take a Lap," the feature tests the device and gives it good marks.

"Here’s a familiar scenario: You’re walking somewhere, and you realize you’re going to be late. You reach for your phone to call, but your battery is as dead as Osama. You need some juice, stat. But with no outlet or charger nearby, you’re up the ol’ creek again."

"I’ve just tested a device made for moments like these: Tremont Electric’s nPower PEG backup charger. It purports to capture the energy your body gives off just by just walking or cycling, funneling volts into your dead cellphone battery, and bringing the device back to life or extending talk-time into the great beyond."

And the final verdict:

"Recharges cellphones with low or dead batteries using the kinetic energy of your bodily movements. 14 ounces and not too bulky, so you can carry it anywhere. Great for emergencies."

Read the rest of the review here.

Art in America, an illustrated fine arts journal designed for collectors, artists, dealers, art professionals, was in Cleveland to attend the opening festivities at MOCA over the weekend. They filed a report titled, "MOCA Cleveland Opens in Sleek New Digs."

"Designed by Iranian-born, London-based Farshid Moussavi, the striking new facility resembles a gigantic chunk of a shiny mineral, resting on an airy plaza," writes Brian Boucher. "Six sides, some triangular, some trapezoidal, rise 65 feet from a hexagonal base to form a square roof. The building's exterior is clad with 1,354 black steel panels that create shimmering reflections."

"The 34,000-square-foot new building gives the non-collecting institution about 8,000 square feet for temporary exhibitions, with three quarters of that area on the top floor and one quarter in a second-floor project space."

Discussions of the opening art exhibit, "Inside Out and from the Ground Up," follows.

Read it all right here.

In an article titled, "In Cleveland, a Flashy New Museum But an Even Better Neighborhood," the Atlantic Cities inspects the eds, meds, and cultural facilitiesthat are making University Cicle thrive.

In addition the new Museum of Contemporary Art, about which the writer says, "the sophisticated, gem-shaped museum reminds visitors that Cleveland can still build the kinds of flashy cultural toys associated with bigger, wealthier cities," the real praise is reserved for its neighborhood.

"MOCA Cleveland may make the loudest design statement, but it's far from the only symbol of bold, 21st century urbanism in the University Circle neighborhood."

"The neighborhood has seen a diverse set of investments, including high density residential projects, new medical facilities and academic buildings, even multiple public transit initiatives. University Circle now stands out as a diverse hub of activity in a city clamoring for such things."

Citing university, medical, cultural, and transit facilities as fuel for the recent economic development, the writer calls University Circle, "a Rust Belt planner’s dream of a modern-day economic hub."

Read the rest here.

Writing for MSN Travel, Ken Hegan, a screenwriter and journalist, calls Cleveland "America's big comeback story."

"Never thought I'd ever say this but I just fell in love with Cleveland, Ohio. Now I kinda want to move there," he writes.

Following a brief and painful history lesson, Hegan gets to the good stuff:

"The city's entering a period of 'unprecedented growth. The river's cleaned up, there's a thriving medical industry, houses are cheap, artists can rent old brick warehouse spaces for the price of a Manhattan coffee, the city's enjoying a culinary boom, plus there's a museum devoted to polka music and a festival celebrating duct tape."

"The city's rebuilding and expanding with billions of dollars in new tourism infrastructure that includes a $26-million Museum of Art, new boutique hotels, a new medical convention center... The city is also looking forward to hosting the Summer National Senior Games (July 2013), and The International Gay Games (2014)."

Hegan closes with a bold assertion:

"If I was an artist in America right now (or anyone who wants to live cheaply in The Next Great American City), I wouldn't pay a fortune to starve in Brooklyn. Instead, I'd live like a king, rent an inexpensive brick Cleveland studio, and turn that into a factory of art."

Read the rest here.

On Monday, October 1, the Cleveland Metroparks Zoo welcomed its one millionth visitor of 2012, making it 20 straight years the attraction drew one million or more in attendance.
 
This year’s one millionth visitor was Tara L. of Parma Heights, and her three children, Patrick, Piper and Phineas. The family won a Zoo prize pack including a ZooParent animal adoption package from the Cleveland Zoological Society, limited edition Zoo posters and more.
 
"The Zoo is very fortunate to have such a supportive community surrounding it in Northeast Ohio,” explains Zoo Director Steve Taylor. “The public votes with its feet, and to have sustained such an attendance record for so long is evidence that people enjoy coming here and spending time with their families.”
 
Read the rest here.

Cleveland Public Library in partnership with LAND studio invites artists, designers and other creative professionals to create a temporary public art project in the library’s Eastman Reading Garden.
 
As part of an annual program called See Also, one artist (or team of artists) is selected to exhibit an artwork from May until October in this visible and beloved space in the heart of downtown.
 
For 2013, organizers are asking artists to think BIG:

"In the spirit of thinking big for our city, Cleveland Public Library and LAND studio challenge artists to design thoughtful, wacky, novel or whimsical concepts for a jury of local stakeholders to consider for installation in the Eastman Reading Garden. Artists are encouraged to develop concepts that deal with the garden space specifically, or present ideas for sites throughout the city at the scale of the garden."

One or more artists will be selected to create an installation for the garden that showcases their big dreams for a small space.

All proposals must be received at LAND studio’s office by 5:00 p.m. on Friday November 9, 2012. Hand deliveries will be accepted. If you have any questions regarding the site or the materials that are to be submitted, please call LAND studio at 216-621-5413 x117 or email ssiebert@land-studio.org.

Alexis Madrigal, senior editor at The Atlantic, has been writing about "Rust Belt" startups as part of an ongoing series called "Startup Nation."

In a feature titled, "Helping Apartment Complexes Help You," he writes about Renter's Boom, a Cleveland startup that works with rental-management companies "to turn their social media pages into leasing hubs."
 
"They set up Facebook pages for these companies and help them build apps so that people can check out apartments, make appointments, and send referrals within the social network. They also work to help the companies integrate Google's various products that renters may use," Madrigal writes.
 
Read the rest here.

As part of a comprehensive feature on beer in America GQ magazine included a listing of "The 5 Best Beer Cities in America." Cleveland landed on that coveted list.
 
"The U.S. of A. is going through a beer revolution -- pledge allegiance (and raise a glass) to our country's capitals of brew," begins the thirst-quenching feature.

In regards to Cleveland, which the mag classifies as "The Old-School Beertown," William Bostwick writes, "A hard-working frontier town built on booze (one of its earliest businesses was a distillery on downtown's Whiskey Island), Cleveland has no truck with pretension. Just want a damn beer? You got it: a nice cold lager, clean, bright, balanced. But this is Cleveland, so the beer is Dortmunder Gold from Great Lakes Brewing Co., the best of its kind this side of the Rhine. In a city where you can watch the symphony orchestra while eating a burger at the Happy Dog bar, the beer is top-notch but down to earth, a welcome respite from snootier beer meccas on the coasts. Market Garden's brown ale is the country's best; the pedal-in bar Nano Brew Cleveland will pour you a bready amber ale while they tune your bike; even Heinen's, the (proudly) family-run grocery chain fills growlers."
 
Read the rest here.

Alexis Madrigal, senior editor at The Atlantic, has been writing about "Rust Belt" startups as part of an ongoing series called "Startup Nation."

In a feature titled, "A Framed First Dollar for the Internet Age," he writes about SparkBase, a Cleveland-based loyalty, gift, and reward card processor.

"SparkBase is a nice success story," he writes. "They've been hiring like crazy in Cleveland, particularly in the last year and a half and are up to 50 people working out of their new offices. They're one of several middleware vendors in the retail space that are emerging to collect and analyze retail data."

The title, by the way, is a reference to SparkBase's conference table, which instead of displaying the company's first dollar earned features the mother boards from their first servers.

Read the rest of the story here.

Alexis Madrigal, senior editor at The Atlantic, has been writing about "Rust Belt" startups as part of an ongoing series called "Startup Nation."

In a feature titled, "A Space to Be an Entrepreneur and Not Feel Like You Have Leprosy Here in Cleveland," he writes about Shaker LaunchHouse, where an abandoned car dealership has been transformed into a "lively space for Cleveland's nerds and entrepreneurs alike."

"Run by native Clevelander Dar Caldwell, LaunchHouse takes a bunch of the weird and geeky things going on in the Bay and compresses them into one glorious space filled with entrepreneurs, developers, designers, and (I use this word lovingly) nerds," Madrigal writes.

Writing about some of the more eccentric "tenants," he notes, "I'm not sure I could explain to an economic development officer or even some venture capitalists why these guys are so important in the formation of new companies, why you need them drinking beer with the entrepreneurs, or why their love for the sheer thingness of things is so exhilarating. But I'll put it like this: these guys are the wizards, even if they aren't the kings or the knights. They're the soul of a tech scene, even if they may never sign a term sheet, trademark a name, or raise seed capital. And where they are, there is magic."

Read the rest of the news here.