Slavic Village Development, Cleveland Public Art and Parkworks all claim their share of a national trail award.

American Trails, the world's largest online trails resource, held its 20th National Trails Awards on Nov. 16, in Chattanooga, Tennessee. The awards program recognizes exemplary people across the landscape of America who are working to create a national system of trails to meet the recreation, health, and travel needs of all Americans.

Winning the "Trails and the Arts Award," which recognizes outstanding public art projects, interpretive signs, and other creative structures associated with trail improvements, were Slavic Village Development, Cleveland Public Art and ParkWorks.

The Slavic Village neighborhood's Morgana Run Trail boasts the first urban rail-trail conversion in Cleveland. Slavic Village Development, Cleveland Public Art and ParkWorks collaborated to develop a distinguishing marker for the East 49th Street trailhead: a 35-foot tall steel "flower" sculpture crafted by local artist Jake Beckman.

Read more about the award and award giver here.

In a one-hour PBS special that airs tonight (November 18th), NOW host David Brancaccio visits communities across America that are using innovative approaches to create jobs and build prosperity in our new economy.

The special, which is called "Fixing the Future," includes a visit to Cleveland, where Brancaccio highlights the successes of Evergreen Cooperatives. During the segment, he speaks to Mendrick Addison, a worker-owner of Evergreen Cooperative Laundry, and Ted Howard, one of the model's architects.

For more information click here.

Check local listings for time and channel.

In anticipation of the Cleveland Orchestra's long-awaited return to Korea, the Korea Times published a gleeful article by Lee Hyo-won.

"It would be an understatement to say that much has changed since the last time the Cleveland Orchestra played in Korea, 32 years ago under the baton of Lorin Maazel," writes Hyo-won. "Back in 1978, it was a rare occasion for local classical music aficionados to hear a world-class foreign orchestra live."

Of the performance and performers, the article states:

The top American ensemble, known for its distinct European sound, will present fans a full orchestral program of works by the European masters. It is expected to deliver a powerful, roof-raising experience with Debussy's Prelude "A l'apres d'un faune," Mozart's Divertimento in D major, K. 136 and Beethoven's Symphony No. 3 "Eroica."

Interesting note gleaned from piece: The Severance Hospital in downtown Seoul was established in 1900 by Louis Severance, father of John Long Severance, the namesake of Cleveland Orchestra's residential Severance Hall.

Interested parties can purchase tickets from 60,000 to 150,000 won, the equivalent of $53 to $132 in US dollars.

Read the entire article (in English) here.

Shelterforce, the nation's oldest continually published housing and community development magazine, recently devoted considerable attention to Cleveland's Evergreen Cooperatives. Written by Miriam Axel-Lute, an associate director at the National Housing Institute, the article tells how cities and governments are taking notice of the paradigm.

Titled "Green Jobs with Roots," the piece begins with powerful lede:

In a couple years, residents of some of the poorest neighborhoods in Cleveland will be the collective owners of the largest collection of solar panels in the state of Ohio. Next door, sixty locations on the Cleveland Clinic's campus will be serving salads made from locally grown lettuce year-round—where local means not "a farm closer than California," but a greenhouse staffed and owned by neighborhood residents on a former brownfield mere miles away.

In this paragraph, Axel-Lute gets to the heart of the Evergreen model of buying local on an institutional level:

The local procurement angle means that the coop's customers are likely to stay put as well. Rather than launching businesses based on workforce skill sets or entrepreneurial ideas, the Evergreen working group started by looking at the $3 billion per year that the 40 some University Circle anchor institutions already spend on goods and services and asking what parts of that spending they could redirect locally.

And finally, Axel-Lute writes that other cities and national officials are taking notice.

Even though it's just getting off the ground, queries about the Evergreen model have been pouring in, with cities from Pittsburgh to Atlanta meeting with Howard or filling up busloads of community leaders to visit Cleveland. Evergreen has been the subject of numerous high-level briefings at the federal level and visits by top HUD officials.

Read the entire analysis here.

When it rains it pours for Cleveland's Evergreen Cooperatives, which continues to attract local, regional and national attention for its approach to job creation and neighborhood development.

Recently, John Yang of NBC Nightly News visited Evergreen Cooperative Laundry to see how that green operation is giving traditionally "hard-to-hire" folks living wage jobs and a path to company ownership.

Watch the video here.

Earlier this week, the Cleveland International Film Festival (CIFF) announced that its "Women of the World" program, films made by women or about women empowerment, was the recipient of a $20,000 grant from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. The CIFF is one of 30 U.S Film Festivals to receive this funding in the 2011 calendar year.

Debuting in 2008 at the 32nd CIFF, the "Women of the World" program continues to grow in popularity, thanks in part to sponsorship from the Cobalt Group.

The 35th Cleveland International Film Festival will be held March 24 to April 3, 2011 at Tower City Cinemas at Tower City Center.

For more information on the Academy's Festival Grant Program, visit here.

To read the CIFF release, click here.

Reporting for CNET, medical blogger Elizabeth Armstrong Moore reports on the Cleveland Clinic's recent Medical Innovation Summit, where the "top ten" medical breakthroughs of 2011 were predicted. Taking top honors was the new brain-imaging compound AV-45, which will aid in early detection of Alzheimer's.

In the post, Moore writes, "To this day, diagnosing the disease while a patient is still alive is tricky, and there is still no cure. But there have been several breakthroughs in understanding how to identify the disease; elevated levels of the telltale protein tau, for instance, can appear decades before outward signs do."

Once injected into a patient, AV-45 crosses the blood-brain barrier and binds with beta-amyloid plaques that are associated with Alzheimer's. PET imaging then enables physicians to see any dyed plaques and make a diagnosis. Whether AV-45 will play the largest role in the diagnosis of Alzheimer's remains to be seen, but it represents a major advance in earlier detection of the disease.

Invented by researchers at Avid Radiopharmaceuticals in Philadelphia, the technique is expected to earn FDA approval in 2011, according to Cleveland Clinic sources.

Read Moore's entire post here:

Check out the other nine breakthroughs announced at the Summit here.

Since it was posted last week on YouTube, Dan Wantz's passionate short film "LeBron James 'Rise' Commercial & Cleveland's Response" has gone viral, to say the least. It has been viewed over 3 million times, received well over 15,000 comments, and has become required posting on Facebook. Within a single day, the video appeared on TMZ.com, which quoted Wantz as saying that he "just wanted Cleveland to have a voice" and that James was "more than just a basketball player" to the people of Ohio.

Since then writers for the Wall Street Journal, Huffington Post, Washington Post, even the Canadian Times all have weighed in. The Atlanta Journal Constitution's Jeff Schultz loves the video, saying, "It's pointed, it's hilarious and it makes a completely mockery of Nike's intent at image-making."

Responding to folks who say we Clevelanders are "holding a grudge" and that we should "get over it," Schultz writes, "Remember: It was Nike that stirred things back up again with a commercial. So [Cleveland's] backlash is completely in order."

If you haven't seen the video, check it out here.

Read Schultz's complete take here.

In a segment that aired earlier this week on the Today show, Adam Richman, the cherubic and itinerant host of the Travel Channel show Man v. Food, sat down with Cleveland ex-pat Al Roker. While plugging his new book titled "America the Edible," a paean to regional cuisine, Richman brings up the West Side Market.

As video of the local landmark rolls on the monitor, Roker and Richman are overcome by a case of the "oohs" and "aahs." Roker calls it his favorite place while Richman dubs it a "food fantasia."

In an accompanying interview that runs on the website, Richman elaborates:

Roker: Places like New York and San Francisco are known for their culinary offerings. What city do you think is the best-kept foodie secret?

Richman: I don't really think it's a secret necessarily, but Cleveland is a really great hidden gem. It has gotten a bad rap because of its history -- going into default, the [Cuyahoga] River fire, bad sports teams -- but it is the heartland, it's near great farmland, there's the historic West Side Market, and you get more bang for your buck there. Some of the best culinary minds, like Michael Symon [of "Cook Like an Iron Chef"], get inspiration there. Cleveland is a special place that often gets overlooked.

Check out the tasty vid and interview here.

This year, Cleveland State University produced the second most Fulbright scholars in the nation, matching George Washington University, University of North Carolina and University of Florida, all of which produced six Fulbright scholars for the 2010-2011 academic year.

Coming in third place with five Fulbrights were Harvard University and Stanford University.

"This is a significant accomplishment for CSU because it demonstrates our commitment to expanding the University's international reach," CSU President Ronald Berkman said in a statement. "In doing so, we can further enrich our students with the experiences and international relationships of our faculty."

The Fulbright Program is the flagship international educational exchange program sponsored by the United States government. It is designed to increase mutual understanding among the people of the United States and those other countries. The Fulbright Program provides participants-chosen for their academic merit and leadership potential -- with the opportunity to study, teach and conduct research, exchange ideas and contribute to finding solutions to shared international concerns.

This year's CSU Fulbright scholars include Maria Angelova, Joshua Bagaka's and Mike Loovis from the College of Education and Human Services; Mike Lin and Victor Matos from the College of Business; and Robert Wei from the College of Sciences and Health Professions.

Read the entire report here.

In the latest issue of The Deal, Cleveland earns major real estate and attention for its remarkably robust deal-making environment. In a multi-feature special report titled: The Anatomy of a Dealmaking Community, numerous Cleveland companies get major props.

The magazine poses the rhetorical question: "How do deals get done in America?" And answers it with: "This once-powerful industrial center boasts a vibrant network of advisers and investors. This is how it works."

Key points mentioned:

* Cleveland's dealmaking community is surprisingly large and self-sufficient, with an array of both national and regional players.

* There are 21 private equity shops here, which means Cleveland ranks perhaps fifth nationally.

* Several big corporations maintain corporate headquarters here, including Eaton, Sherwin-Williams and Parker Hannifin.

Miller writes: Cleveland is a stellar example of how most deals get done in America. For all its troubles, the city remains the vibrant center of a regional network, with national and international outgrowths, consisting of banks, nonbank lenders, accounting and law firms, private equity shops, some venture capital.

Cleveland's private equity scene has 21 entries, which means the city ranks perhaps fifth nationally, behind New York, Chicago, Los Angeles and Boston. Cleveland's private equity heft far outweighs the local business scene. Riverside heads the list, but the lineup also includes nationally known shops such as Blue Point Capital Partners, Linsalata Capital Partners Inc., Kirtland Capital Partners, Primus Capital Funds and Key Principal Partners Corp.

Other articles in the package deal with Cleveland venture capital firms generally and specifically, as with its coverage of Candlewood Partners LLC.

Read the special report here.

Last week we helped spread the word about the Cleveland Orchestra's new Center for Future Audiences, launched with a gift of $20 million from the Maltz Family Foundation. This week, it seems, word is spreading across the national classical music landscape.

Writing in the Baltimore Sun, classical music critic Tim Smith reports, "There's enough bad news in the classical music business that any good news seems extra good. So it is with word from the Cleveland Orchestra, which has launched something called the Center for Future Audiences, an initiative that aims to put into real action what so many people just talk about -- getting new and younger audiences into the concert hall."

The Center for Future Audiences, he explains to his readers, will attack the problem of skyrocketing admission prices with heavily subsidized tickets: deep discounts for the 18-34 set, free tickets to lots of events for children under 18. The orchestra will also arrange for free bus service from some suburbs to the concert hall, a terrific gesture, Smith adds.

"Every step that any orchestra makes to connect to the disconnected is obviously valuable, potentially invaluable," Smith explains. "Orchestras that don't try new things, bold new things, are likely to find themselves not just out of touch, but out of business, in the years ahead."

Read the rest of the sheet music here.

Slashfood, a popular online magazine devoted to food and drink, recently touted Cleveland's efforts to combat health, economic and foreclosure problems by launching multiple urban farming projects.

Citing the just-announced $1.1 million pilot program to fund the Cleveland Urban Agriculture Incubator Project, the writer notes that "Cleveland is planting seeds to counter the serious problems of obesity, food deserts and urban blight."

Supported by the USDA, the City of Cleveland, the Ohio Department of Agriculture and the Ohio State University Extension Service, the new six-acre plot in the Kinsman neighborhood will be tended to by 20 local residents.

The farm will be two short miles from chef Doug Katz' Fire Food and Drink, the story points out. "I absolutely would love to use what they grow, and will promote that it's grown here in the City of Cleveland, right in our backyard," says Katz of the program.

Read all the juicy details here.

If you didn't have an opportunity to attend the Reclaiming Vacant Properties conference held here two weeks ago, we urge you to read this thorough rundown in Next American City.

Reporting for the mag is Cleveland-based sustainability writer Marc Lefkowitz, a frequent Next American City contributor.

Cleveland was chosen to host the conference, explained keynote speaker Alex Kotlowitz, not simply because the city is plagued by foreclosures and vacant properties, but rather because Cleveland is "pushing back."

Lefkowitz writes that Kotlowitz was particularly inspired by Cleveland Housing Court Judge Raymond Pianka's efforts to adjudicate and fine banks in absentia. And during a session titled "Re-Imagining America's Older Industrial Cities," the writer quotes Presley Gillespie of Youngstown Neighborhood Development Corporation as saying they are "taking a page from Cleveland" by demolishing vacant properties to turn into community gardens. "We're talking about cities that are smaller but stronger," adds Gillespie.

The conference kicked off with tours of Cleveland's vacant land reuse efforts, which earned attention for creating a common language and roadmap for change, Lefkowitz says.

Read the entire conference report here.

Boasting the highest score and largest circulation in its expenditure category, the Cleveland Public Library snagged top honors in the annual Library Journal Index of Public Library Service (LJ Index). Crunching numbers in the categories of library visits, circulation, program attendance, and public Internet usage, the index ranks more than 7,400 library systems around the nation.

"This is great news for our Cleveland community," said Felton Thomas, director of Cleveland Public Library. "Our goal is to provide our patrons easy access to our collections, programs, and computers, and we're honored to receive this recognition."

In the liner notes, however, the Journal warns that recent cuts in state library funding will doubtless impact the standing of Ohio libraries in future rounds of the LJ Index.

Check out all the winners here.

Santé, the Magazine for Restaurant Professionals recently announced its winners of the 2010 Santé Restaurant Awards. Currently in their 13th year, the Santé Awards were created to recognize excellence in restaurant food, wine, spirits, and service hospitality.

Claiming three of the 88 awards were Cleveland restaurants Parallax and Table 45, which won in the "Innovative" category, and Moxie, which took honors in the "Sustainable" category.

"At Table 45, we take the newest and most unique flavors from around the globe and combine them in entirely different ways to produce dishes that are unlike anything else our guests have ever tasted," said owner Zack Bruell. "Every time we create a new menu, it is an experience in culinary innovation. We are delighted to have Santé recognize our efforts."

Cleveland diners looking try these award-winning restaurants, as well as 87 other members of the Cleveland Independents restaurant group, are in luck. This year's Cleveland Restaurant Week runs from November 1 through 14, with participating eateries offering special three-course prix fixe meals for just $30.

See the complete list Sante' award winners here, and participating Restaurant Week eateries here.

In its second annual ranking of "America's Smartest (and Dumbest) Cities," the Daily Beast website credits Cleveland as the 17th smartest big city with one million people or more. That puts us ahead of Chicago (#24), Atlanta (#28), Dallas (#41), and Las Vegas (#55).

Crunching figures that take into account per-capita numbers of libraries, residents with bachelor's and graduate degrees, nonfiction book sales, and institutions of higher education, the survey determined the comparative IQs of America's metropolitans.

The CLE+ numbers:

Metropolitan area population: 2,091,286

Bachelor's degrees: 17%

Graduate degrees: 10%

Year-to-date adult nonfiction book sales: 2,024,000

Thanks to a reworked formula, Cleveland jumped from its last-year position of #31.

See the other smart (and not-so-smart) cities here.

Thanks to an extraordinary financial gift from the Maltz Family Foundation in the amount of $20M, the Cleveland Orchestra has announced the formation of the Center for Future Audiences.

With the stated goal of having the youngest orchestra audience in the country by 2018, the symphony's centennial, the endowment will remove the financial barrier standing in the way of Cleveland's youth by subsidizing or offering free admission to young concert-goers.

"It's incomprehensible to think of Cleveland losing this Orchestra," said Milton Maltz, President of the Maltz Family Foundation. "This would be equivalent to stopping the heartbeat of this great city. Over the decades there have been many contributors to our Orchestra. It is now this generation's turn to continue to uphold the tradition. It's the right thing to do. It's our responsibility."

"The Maltz Family's extraordinary generosity is deeply appreciated," added Gary Hanson, the Orchestra's Executive Director. "The Foundation's philanthropy is a vote of confidence in the future of the Orchestra and will be an inspiration to others who care deeply about our community."

Read the Orchestra' official release here.

Discussing a season of rarely travelled Vatican artifacts on tour throughout the nation, arts reporter Eve M. Kahn writes in the New York Times about an upcoming stop at Cleveland Museum of Art.

Here is an excerpt: "On Sunday [October 17] 'Treasures of Heaven: Saints, Relics and Devotion in Medieval Europe' opens at the Cleveland Museum of Art, with a half-dozen Vatican loans. Displayed are marble sarcophagi and tomb fragments from the fourth century, a boxed collection of Holy Land souvenir rocks assembled around 500, and a ninth-century lidded silver vessel made to hold St. Sebastian's skull."

The exhibition, on view in the Kelvin and Eleanor Smith Foundation Exhibition Hall until January 17, 2011, will provide American audiences with an unparalleled opportunity to see 135 extraordinary works of late antique, Byzantine, and Western medieval art, including precious metalwork objects, paintings, sculptures, and illuminated manuscripts, drawn from public and private collections as well as church treasuries across the United States and Europe. Several of these spectacular works have never been seen outside their home countries.

The Times quotes Holger A. Klein, a curator of the Cleveland show, as saying that the Vatican officials "were surprisingly open to the idea" of lending. "They are not sending the actual relics" of saints' bodies, he added. "They are not sending bones."

Unearth the whole story here.

It was Oscar Wilde who penned the phrase, "There is only one thing in the world worse than being talked about, and that is not being talked about."

Only a fool would protest that that very phrase is the raison d'être behind this very section. So it's fitting that this item from the Wall Street Journal deals with the Great Lakes Theater Festival's repertory production of Wilde's "An Ideal Husband" and Shakespeare's "Othello."

Written by WSJ drama critic Terry Teachout, the review glowingly covers recent productions of the plays at Cleveland's Hanna Theatre in PlayhouseSquare.

"Cleveland's Great Lakes Theater Festival is mounting handsome stagings of both plays in collaboration with the Idaho Shakespeare Festival, where the two productions originated this summer, and as I watched them in close succession earlier this week, I was struck by how smoothly they fit together."

Of the Shakespeare production, Teachout wrote, "This is a blood-and-thunder "Othello" that roars down the track at several hundred miles an hour, and though it's short on poetry, it lacks nothing in the way of thrills and chills."

In addition to singling out set designer Nayna Ramey, the critic goes on to wax poetic about the theater itself.

"Built in 1921, the Hanna Theatre was taken over two years ago by the Great Lakes Theater Festival. The original 1,421-seat proscenium-arch house has now been turned into a fully up-to-date 548-seat thrust-stage theater whose performing space and public areas flow together seamlessly, thus encouraging audience members to show up early and use the theater as a meeting place. (They do, too.) Rarely have I seen a happier marriage of old and new."

Read the rest of the playbill here.