To conduct an authentic test of what it's like to be a tourist in Cleveland, Positively Cleveland recently sent several Northeast Ohioans on all-expenses-paid trips to parts of the city with which they were unfamiliar. The outcomes of this "mystery shopper" test were revealing, if not exactly surprising: Safety, wayfinding signage and public transportation ranked among participants' top concerns.

Lexi Hotchkiss, Communications Manager with Positively Cleveland, says the "Tourist for a Day" effort was part of a larger, regional initiative to make Cleveland a more visitor-friendly destination. The "Destination Cleveland" project has been launched by Positively Cleveland and other civic-minded partners in anticipation of $2 billion in tourism-related development that is currently being invested in downtown Cleveland.

"Our new President and CEO, David Gilbert, started the process when he joined the organization," explains Hotchkiss. "We knew it was time to look at Cleveland in a different way, and really examine how we look, act and feel as a destination."

In November, Positively Cleveland held a summit with over 200 community ambassadors, ranging from government officials to hotel managers. This unprecedented, collaborative effort to take Cleveland's tourism economy to the next level resulted in 11 focus areas. Top government officials also signed a memorandum of understanding agreeing to work together on this effort.

In a few days, tourism leaders are set to unveil and begin implementing a new, five year plan to improve Cleveland as a travel destination. Positively Cleveland and its partners are holding the Destination Cleveland Travel and Tourism Outcomes Launch on Tuesday, March 27th from 7:30 to 10 a.m. at the House of Blues. The event is free and open to the public.

"Tourism is the fourth largest private sector economy in Ohio," says Hotchkiss. "One of the things we really want to do is engage locals as ambassadors of our city."


Source: Lexi Hotchkiss
Writer: Lee Chilcote

It's the "Year of Local Food" in Cleveland, say the organizers of Sustainable Cleveland 2019. It's also the year that Congress is set to reauthorize the farm bill, the largest piece of food and farm legislation that determines how food reaches our plate.

These two events may seem disconnected, but they really are not, says Tia Lebherz, an organizer with Food and Water Watch, whose job is to energize the Cleveland Fair Farm Bill Campaign. In fact, the bill plays a big role in whether or not small local farmers, including urban farmers, can survive and thrive.

This Saturday, local urban farmers and advocates of a better, healthier farm bill are linking the two issues together with an event that they're calling "Green Your St. Patty's Day." Food and Water Watch, Green Triangle, City Rising Farm and Blaine Community Garden organizers are rallying locavores to volunteer on a farm in Hough and participate in a day of action urging their Congressional leaders to support a fair farm bill using letters, phone calls, art projects and petitions.

"Every day, more and more power is shifted to Monsanto and other large corporations, undercutting small farmers so they can't compete," says Lebherz. "We want to see sustainably produced, local food, and one way to do that is to support competition provisions ensuring a level playing field for small farmers."

Lebherz says that Saturday's event will show that Cleveland residents are engaged in their local food system and want to see change. Federal reauthorization of the farm bill only comes up every four to five years, she says, making the Year of Local Food a golden opportunity to organize around this issue in Northeast Ohio.

The "Green Your St. Patty's Day" event takes place this Saturday, March 17 from 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. at City Rising Farm, 8814 Blaine Avenue in Cleveland.


Source: Tia Lebherz
Writer: Lee Chilcote

Cleveland rocks, that much we know. But for many local musicians, "rocking" isn't always enough to pay the bills. To make both music and a living, many must find -- or create -- music-related day jobs that supplement the bottom line. But the good news is two-fold: Cleveland musicians are supportive of one another, and here, a person doesn't have to work 60 hours a week just to pay the rent.

When actor Bill Morgan travels into Cleveland schools to create artistic productions that star both hearing and deaf actors, he continues to be amazed by students' reactions and the type of creativity that is often unleashed through nonverbal communication.

Morgan can hear, yet the productions that he creates through SignStage Theatre help to educate hearing individuals on the issues faced by the deaf community. They also bring hearing and deaf students together through entertainment.

"We ask kids to use their physical actions rather than just their voices, and they really start to use their imaginations more," says Morgan. "We have hearing students interacting more with deaf students, whereas normally they're not. That opens kids up to what deaf kids can do, while also empowering deaf students."

SignStage is a program of the Cleveland Hearing and Speech Center (CHSC), a nonprofit originally founded in 1921 to provide lip reading classes for adults who are deaf and hard of hearing. In the past 91 years, the CHSC has grown to serve nearly 8,000 adults and children each year in 14 counties in Northeast Ohio.

Morgan is particularly excited about an upcoming residency through the Ohio Arts Council at a Cincinnati area school. There he will have a chance to create programs at an innovative school that integrates deaf and hearing children using the arts. "Such programs are becoming more acceptable," he says. "I've also found that there is now a better understanding of the needs of the deaf community."

SignStage helps hearing students to overcome prejudice, says Morgan, and to realize deaf people are not handicapped. Deaf people can be found in professions ranging from medicine (including doctors) to manufacturing (they're sometimes hired to work around noisy machines that hearing people can't tolerate).


Source: Bill Morgan
Writer: Lee Chilcote

The Foundation Center launched Grant Space to aggregate its most popular content in one easy-to-navigate location and be responsive to its audience. The website features video chats with grant makers and a calendar of trainings. It also allows visitors to quickly interact with Foundation Center staff.

Now the Center has launched Grant Space Mobile, a new version geared towards mobile devices such as smart phones and tablets. Foundation Center Cleveland Director Cynthia Bailie says the website, which she developed and is now being used across the country, is one more way the Foundation Center is innovating to serve its customer base. The site is helping grant seekers to become more savvy about using technology to do good in their communities, she says.

"The world has increasingly gone to mobile devices, and we wanted to give our audience what they need in a user-friendly way," says Bailie.

Despite the at-your-fingertips information that is now available online, visits to the Foundation Center Cleveland, which is located in the Hanna Building at PlayhouseSquare, have not declined. Bailie believes that this is because the Center's online presence and physical location actually complement each other.

"We decided to put everything online and offer high-touch in-person services; we've found it has increased our visibility and people still come in," she says.

Making technology more accessible to grant seekers helps them to access funding more easily, identify new sources, strategize ideas and solicit a national and even international audience of grant makers, Bailie says. Recently, the Foundation Center Cleveland hosted a "Good Gone Mobile" networking and information night. The event highlighted two mobile trends, giving and advocacy, and allowed attendees to network with each other and learn from others in the field.

"There's a greater appetite for experimentation with new technologies. We've created a gateway that allows people to quickly tap in and get what they need."


Source: Cynthia Bailie
Writer: Lee Chilcote

Throughout its 20 year history, Eden Inc., a nonprofit developer of affordable housing, has "flown under the radar," says David Fearn, Manager of Grants Development and Community Relations. If so, then one might say that Eden's recently launched sustainability efforts constitute a coming out party -- one to which all of its neighbors are invited.

Eden has always been a community-minded agency; its housing developments serve low-income and often mentally ill Cleveland residents, providing them with supportive housing and wrap-around services that help them to become more self-sufficient and better integrate with society.

In the past, Eden's low profile was largely due to the fact that affordable housing can be subject to the kind of reactionary NIMBY-ism (Not In My Backyard) that also pushes Cleveland's most vulnerable residents to the margins of society. Neighbors may oppose affordable housing because they are afraid of negative community impacts, yet such fears are typically unfounded, says Fearn.

To bridge the wide gap between Eden's low-income residents and their neighbors, the nonprofit is launching a series of sustainability efforts that have community benefits, says Fearn. Within the next few months, Eden will create a large-scale community garden at its Liberty Building at E. 105th Street and St. Clair Avenue, and a new development along Madison Avenue will probably receive rain cisterns. Eden is also integrating gardening and sustainability into other properties it owns.

"The benefits of these sustainability projects are that they engage the community around us, provide fresh produce and beautify the area," says Fearn. "We plan to source as much labor as possible from the neighborhood or city residents."

Such innovative sustainability efforts dovetail with Eden's existing focus on green building. All of Eden's projects now meet Enterprise Green Communities standards and often incorporate repurposed materials, as well.


Source: David Fearn
Writer: Lee Chilcote

The Northeast Ohio Sustainable Communities Consortium, a major public initiative to help move Northeast Ohio towards a more sustainable, resilient future, will launch a public engagement process in the next few months. Young professionals are among the first constituencies being targeted in this effort to create a sustainability plan for the region.

"We're looking at how we are using land through the lens of sustainability," explains Jeff Anderle, Communications and Engagement Manager for the NEOSCC, which received a $4.25 million grant from the Obama administration's Partnership for Sustainable Communities initiative and launched in January 2011. "We want to make Northeast Ohio more resilient to change, help our governments to be more collaborative and provide the tools for communities to engage in more sustainable planning."

The NEOSCC has five different work study areas: economic development, environment, communities, connections, and quality, connected places. Consortium members include city governments, planning agencies and other public entities throughout the 12-county planning area. According to Anderle, NEOSCC's members are working together because they realize it is in their self-interest to help ensure that the region's resources are used more sustainably.

"We're starting to see collaboration happening in government because resources are getting tight, and moving forward, we believe collaboration will become essential," he says. "People are waking up and coming to the table."

Over the next few months, the NEOSCC will publish an existing conditions report and begin public engagement. "We're partnering with the Civic Commons," says Anderle. "We want to empower people to become a part of the process."


Source: Jeff Anderle
Writer: Lee Chilcote

As more people and businesses settle in downtown Cleveland, the need is greater than ever for safe, beautiful and active public spaces. Who, then, will steward the dialogue around the importance of good design to the quality of life and economic competitiveness of our region? LAND studio will. The recent union of Cleveland Public Art and ParkWorks has given rise to LAND, an organization focused on (L)andscape, (A)rt, (N)eighborhoods, and (D)evelopment.

Business leaders who say that the resurgence of manufacturing is helping to lead Northeast Ohio out of the recession will find cause for optimism in Hedalloy Die Corporation. The tool and die maker in Cleveland's Slavic Village neighborhood is currently doubling the size of its 3,500-square-foot production facility to accommodate increased demand.

“We are seeing a shift back to U.S. manufactured products,” said Joe Susa, Hedalloy’s General Manager, in a release. “Customers are paying more attention to quality rather than bottom line prices. American made tools are getting noticed for their higher quality and longer life span. ”

Hedalloy has doubled its sales since 2009 and hired additional employees. Its expansion on E. 49th Street is expected to be complete next month.

In an era of global competition, Hedalloy’s ability to deliver its products in half the time of some of its competitors has also helped to boost sales. The company has clients in the automotive, military, medical, and aerospace industries.

Established in 1947, Hedalloy has been at its Slavic Village location since the early 1950s. The company had considered relocating to the eastern suburbs to expand. Support from Slavic Village Development and Councilwoman Phyllis Cleveland, as well as a zoning permit granted by Cleveland, aided its decision to stay.

Hedalloy is a family-owned company. John Susa, Sr. began working at the company in 1960 and bought the firm in 1991. In addition to his son Joe, Mr. Susa‘s wife Eleanor is the bookkeeper and his son John, Jr. is the Vice President.


Source: Joe Susa
Writer: Lee Chilcote

Thanks to a grant from the Cleveland Foundation, the Cleveland Public Library has plans to open six new learning centers that will serve patrons of all ages. A $162,000 grant from the Cleveland Foundation will help fund the learning centers, which will be established at the Fleet, Fulton, Sterling, Collinwood, Eastman and Langston Hughes library branches.
 
“I’m really excited about the learning centers,” says CPL executive director Felton Thomas. “We looked at two components: The mornings will be available for our youngest children and parents to help learn language, while adults looking for jobs and doing their resumes or getting their GEDs can use the centers in the afternoons.”
 
The centers will also offer homework help, tutoring and college prep classes. The learning center locations were chosen based on community involvement and interest. “We really looked for communities that had high participation in the homework help,” says Thomas.
 
To best meet the technology gap many patrons face, each center will provide new laptop computers for onsite use. CPL will team with key educational partners including Cleveland State University, Cleveland Institute of Music, and The Music Settlement to help provide tutoring and literacy focused programming.  
 
The new centers are modeled after the existing Rice Branch Learning Center, which served nearly 1,200 students in the homework lab in 2011. The new centers will serve over 5,000 children and young people across the city.

 
Source: Felton Thomas
Writer: Karin Connelly

When asked if she has a dream project she'd like to fund, Cleveland Carbon Fund Fellow Joanne Neuberger rattles off the top of her list. "I'd love to see a project that capitalizes on the 'Year of Local Food' and helps ramp up Cleveland's local food system while reducing our carbon footprint," she says.

These are the kinds of big ideas which organizers of the Fund hope to spur through their grant making, which supports carbon reduction projects with community benefits. The Carbon Fund recently announced that is it seeking applications for projects up to $10,000. The deadline is March 16th.

The Cleveland Carbon Fund was created in 2009 by the City of Cleveland, Green City Blue Lake Institute at the Cleveland Museum of Natural History, Gund Foundation, Cleveland Foundation and Cleveland Clinic. Its goal, as Neuberger puts it, is to "think globally, green locally." While there are plenty of other carbon funds, ours is the first community-based, open-access fund in the U.S.

The Carbon Fund has supported two past projects whose goal was to install 10,000 compact fluorescent light bulbs in the Slavic Village and Detroit Shoreway neighborhoods of Cleveland (organizers installed nearly 5,000 in the end).

As the Carbon Fund continues to grow, Neuberger says that its leaders will seek additional donations from individuals and businesses. She hopes it will become a popular way to reduce our region's carbon footprint and support local initiatives.


Source: Joanne Neuberger
Writer: Lee Chilcote

Major corporations have long conducted sophisticated research to figure out what kind of consumer you are. Now, a new initiative that is being launched by two young city residents aims to find out what kind of Clevelander you are -- and use the results to engage citizens and drive policy change in the region.

By surveying residents' attitudes towards living in Northeast Ohio, as well as our preferences for urban amenities, the creators of the Clevelander Report hope to place useful information in the hands of policymakers shaping our region's future.

"For all of the studies that have been done on our city, very few of them focus on citizens," explains Hallie Bram, a Detroit Shoreway resident who co-founded the Cleveland Report with Eric Kogelschatz. "Our goal is to create the most comprehensive study of Clevelanders that's ever been completed. We want to use that information to bridge the gap between organizations, government and citizens, and help our policymakers to make informed decisions."

The Clevelander Report surveys residents on such topics as whether or not they are natives, boomerangs, expatriates or have relocated from another city; where they currently live; which cultural institutions and businesses they have visited; their level of interest in urban living; and their attitudes towards the city.

Bram says that the survey has been well-received so far, garnering over 500 responses since it launched one week ago. She and Kogelschatz plan to continue the Clevelander Report through the summer, and then compile an Executive Summary that can be provided to residents as well as policy makers.

Bram and Kogelschatz are the founders of TEDxCLE, a popular annual event that features curated talks by some of Northeast Ohio's biggest thinkers. This year's event will take place at the Cleveland Museum of Art on Friday, April 20th.

Take the survey here.


Source: Hallie Bram
Writer: Lee Chilcote

The Greater Cleveland Regional Transit Authority (RTA) has seen increases in bus and transit ridership for nine months straight, and the number of riders on the Red Line in January was the highest since 1988.

Yet this month, the U.S. House of Representatives is considering a surface transportation bill known as H.R. 7 that would eliminate dedicated federal funds for public transit across the country.

RTA is advocating against the cuts by working with Representative Steven LaTourette and other members of Congress to promote an amendment that would restore federally guaranteed funding.

"If you leave it up to chance that public transit gets funded, that's a big chance to take," says Mary McCahon, RTA's Media Relations Manager. The change would require agencies to lobby for federal funding each year, she says. "We provide 200,000 rides per day, and federal funding is our third biggest revenue source."

McCahon says that while the bill has been tabled, it is scheduled to come back to the floor of the House of Representatives for further discussion this week.

RTA's increased ridership is due in part to higher gas prices and ongoing Innerbelt construction, McCahon says. Improved marketing efforts, partnerships with businesses and the popularity of the Health Line are also factors.

For more information about H.R. 7 and the ongoing federal transportation bill debate, visit the RTA newsroom or American Public Transit Association website.


Source: Mary McCahon
Writer: Lee Chilcote

Nearly 60 percent of newly-created jobs require a postsecondary degree, yet only six percent of Cleveland residents hold an associate's degree and just eight percent hold a bachelor's degree.

This stark statistic is one of the driving forces behind the fledgling Higher Education Compact of Greater Cleveland, an unprecedented collaboration among 15 colleges and universities, 25 nonprofit organizations, the Cleveland Metropolitan School District and Cuyahoga County. This new effort seeks to boost the number of college graduates in Northeast Ohio.

"Every day, there are 3,000 jobs that the Cleveland Clinic, University Hospitals and Summa Health Center can't fill," explains Lee Friedman, CEO of College Now Greater Cleveland, a member organization of the Compact. "If you can't increase educational attainment, then you can't fill jobs. At some point, if these organizations can't find talent, then they can't grow."

While this lofty goal is hardly unusual or unique, what makes the Compact stand out is its regional approach towards addressing the higher education gap. Cleveland Mayor Frank Jackson is increasingly touting the benefits of addressing such problems on a regional level. Cuyahoga County has not historically been involved in education, yet Executive Ed Fitzgerald has joined the Compact. Until now, the colleges and universities involved in the Compact also have not worked together to seek a comprehensive solution to the problem.

"It truly takes a village to help students get to school and graduate from school," says Friedman. "Many of the young people we're helping are first generation college students who don't have anyone to help them get on that path. The commitment of these university presidents is truly best in class."

The goal of the Higher Education Compact is to ensure that students are ready for, have access to and graduate from college. To achieve this goal, leaders will create student-focused action plans, educate the community on why college is important, help students become college ready, link them with scholarship and financial aid opportunities and create a College Success Dashboard that measures results.


Source: Higher Education Compact of Greater Cleveland, Lee Friedman
Writer: Lee Chilcote