Lakewood

How a Lakewood neighborhood is showing solidarity in the wake of hate graffiti
Communities everywhere are reeling in the aftermath of Charlottesville—and Lakewood is no exception. Early yesterday morning, resident Joshua McLaughlin was taking a morning jog down Belle Avenue when he saw swastikas painted on a neighbor’s driveway. Incensed, he took a picture of the vandalism and did what any concerned community member would do. He contacted the city…and then he posted it to Facebook. What happened from there is an inspiring look at how communities can band together
Raise a glass to the seven local recipients of Wine Spectator's 2017 Restaurant Awards
Wondering where to sip in style? The new class of Wine Spectator's 2017 Restaurant Awards recipients might be a great place to start. The magazine's annual awards celebrate the world's best wine lists, and seven Cleveland restaurants made the discerning cut. Among the local honorees are Lola, Bold Food & Drink, Dante, Pier W, L'Albatros, Edwin's Restaurant, and Morton's, the Steakhouse. The full list of winners can be viewed here.
 
Side dish: Fun and funky bakeries offer up sweet themes
Cleveland is home to confectionary pleasures of all sizes, shapes and flavors, meaning area bakery owners need to get creative in how they brand their businesses.

Check out Cleveland's fresh selection of uniquely themed bakeries here
Over The River: Summer cinema, a poetry slam, a sizzling street festival...
Welcome to "Over The River," a monthly calendar of exciting activities taking place throughout the area. Have a fun event you want to share with your fellow Clevelanders? Drop us an email.
 
Our June listing is packed with summer movie goodness, poetry and a little bit of yoga.

Get all the 411 here.
Hidden Cleveland: ice cream secrets
Is there an east/west divide when it comes to summer's top treat? What's the mystery behind a legendary local malt? Does a secret ice cream menu lurk in Ohio City? Fresh Water's got all the insider 411 on cool faves in the 216.
 
Side dish: a smokin' list of BBQ joints outside downtown
Michael Symon's Mabel's BBQ has smoked up plenty of press since the much anticipated meat emporium opened its doors on East Fourth Street last year. Mabel's may be Cleveland's go-to barbecue joint at the moment, but the city boasts a growing list of savory options for folks seeking to satisfy their carnivorous cravings. Fresh Water is happy to deliver the deliciousness with these BBQ hot spots at points across the 216.

Get the smokin' list — including the 411 on Proper Sloppers and chicken cupcakes here
 
Face to face: Stephen Yusko
Tucked away on East 41th Street just across the way from Tyler Village, Stephen Yusko is toiling away at his studio wherein you'll find milling machines and band saws and the usual residents in a metalworking shop. But Yusko's tools also include anvils, a white-hot forge and the tongs and hammers that transform steel into the smith's graceful designs.
 
"My work is a combination of forging, machining and fabricating. It seems like more machining, but it always starts with a forged … something," says Yusko. "I enjoy that process: heating up a bar of steel and transforming it into a shape."
 
Yusko continues while a cat named M slinks around the shop, completely unimpressed by the craftsman's lofty musings:

Read them here, and find out where this able smith like to sup when he's not manning the forge.
Tiny vacant lot transformed into unique property
Early last year, a 35-foot by 95-foot plot of land at 1427 Scenic St. in Lakewood sat uncared for with a shaky past.

The Cuyahoga County Land Bank had razed the abandoned house, the adjacent neighbors had no interest in the land and the non-profit community organization LakewoodAlive was desperately searching for someone to plant some love on the property.

Find out what happened to the pint-sized property here.
CLE classic: Viktor Schreckengost combined form, function and beauty
A sculptor, ceramicist, industrial designer and Cleveland Institute of Art professor, Viktor Schreckengost's legacy continues to live out loud throughout Northeast Ohio and beyond.
First person: Inside the local fight against human trafficking
Fresh Water contributor Christopher Johnston steps inside Cleveland's human trafficking scene to uncover some dark realities — and the people and organizations battling them.
'In the 216' to open along Lakewood-Cleveland border
Offbeat eats: six of the best local ethnic eateries
Iraqi kebobs, duck blood soup and hard to find Latino spirits — that's just for starters in this under-the-radar roundup of some the best (and little known) noshing in the 216.
Trending: countywide co-op fuels residential solar power
Cuyahoga County residents are going green by banding together to reap the benefits of solar energy — and they're saving plenty of green as well.
Local: seven all natural beauty product lines
Beard balms, sugar scrubs, essential oils and bath bombs — that's just for starters in this go-to roundup of handcrafted personal care products developed, made and sold in Northeast Ohio.
 
Northeast Ohio agencies prepare for booming 'silver tsunami'
As some 76 million baby boomers retire, they are stirring a “silver tsunami” across the country, testing public and nonprofit agencies as well as the housing market. Fresh Water checks in to see how Northeast Ohio is preparing for the trend.
Meet the ironman behind Cleveland's food trucks
The man inside Cleveland Custom Trucks has a story that stretches far beyond the rolling kitchens he creates.
 
Biomimicry: nature meets industrial design at CIA
Cleveland Institute of Art professor Doug Paige is showing students how to take a page out of Mother Nature's playbook when it comes to industrial design.