MidTown

this weekend in cleveland: makers markets galore & much more
Check out a local holiday market, let Lolly the Trolley be your designated driver or join a book binding workshop. Your weekend, planned.
police-community partnerships offer way to improve neighborhood safety
Dozens of communities across the U.S. have formed effective, ongoing partnerships with the police that have improved safety and trust.
city ambassadors: 7 people changing the conversation about cleveland
Our city seems to be constantly in the spotlight these days, for our innovations as well as our challenges. Meet a group of leaders who are redefining the narrative of our city and pushing us to collectively move forward.
the cleveland flea holiday gift guide
Twelve makers share something they’re excited to bring to The Flea this weekend.
mayor jackson announces plans to introduce $100m bond to city council
inca tea keeps it local with new café at hopkins airport
grant to put cle on the tech map with 100 gigabit internet
discover cleveland's neighborhoods through cle city life tours
Cleveland Neighborhood Progress has announced that it will be hosting two CLE City Life tours on Saturday, November 29th and Saturday, December 27th.

"Cleveland Neighborhood Progress is pleased to offer citywide bus tours to introduce (or re-introduce) you to some of the coolest and most unique places to live in Northeast Ohio," the website states. "Join us and see why Tremont and Ohio City receive so much publicity. We’ll  show you why University Circle is considered the most intellectual square mile in the nation. And you’ll understand why demand is so high for Downtown living options. All this and more!"

The cost of the tour is $12. You can register here.
lunch owl delivers healthy choices to area businesses
what it will take to bring millennials like me back home
Young people born in Cleveland in the 90s don't feel a sense of nostalgia for the city's heyday. Instead, they see an increasingly vibrant city as a place of opportunity, provided we stay on our current path.
local innovators in the spotlight at cleveland clinic medical innovation summit
The premier healthcare gathering in the country takes place this week at the Cleveland Convention Center. Here are four Cleveland healthcare innovators being featured at the conference.
7 craft food startups that are making it in the 216
Using the local food scene as a launch pad, craft food startups are growing quickly. We caught up with a fresh batch to learn the recipes behind their success.
q&a: ronn richard, president of the cleveland foundation
In this candid, wide-ranging interview, the leader of the Cleveland Foundation discusses its centennial gifts, the Greater University Circle Initiative, the Transformation Plan and more.
secondhand to first rate: 10 upcycling shops worth checking out
Cleveland is full of hole-in-the-wall second hand stores. From vintage two-wheelers to hulking industrial-age machines and bins of repurposed art supplies, we take you on a tour of the coolest trash-to-treasure finds in the city.
 
magnet announces finalists for competition championing tech-based products
The Incubator at MAGNET has announced six finalists for its first product-focused pitch contest.

The ProtoTech competition, co-sponsored by NASA Glenn Research Center,  concentrates on technology-driven wares and the companies aiming to bring those products to market. A MAGNET press release listed the finalists:

* Advanced BioSensors-Ohio, creator of a "Continuous Glucose Monitor" for diabetic patients.

* Axenic, maker of non-toxic liquid-based solutions that clean organic waste.

* EveryKey, a Case Western Reserve University-based company that makes a high-tech wristband that syncs with keys and passwords.

* FGC Plasma Solutions, creator of a fuel nozzle designed to save money and reduce emissions.

* Real Time Imaging Technologies, designer of a low-dose dental x-ray imaging system.

* RoboNail, maker of robotic tools that enable contractors to install roofing with more efficiency.

The final pitch teams will present their work before a panel of judges at an Oct. 21 event at the Ariel International Center in Cleveland. Would-be inventors are encouraged to create fundraising sites highlighting their efforts, with the money they raise going back into product creation.

The pitch contest was introduced in July with the intention of highlighting physical technology rather than IT or service-based ventures. Incubator executive director Dave Crain believes the competition did well to represent the diversity of product-centric innovation in Northeast Ohio.  
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“Interest from the community and event partners has been very strong," Crain says. "Everyone is excited for the event and the opportunity to support a showcase of our rich product startup landscape."
cleveland can grow alongside robust fiber optic network, says panel
 
"Think big" was the theme of an Amplify Speaker Series luncheon on making the most of Northeast Ohio's steadily developing information technology presence.

The region must continue to expand its fiber optic infrastructure alongside ongoing efforts to transform Cleveland into a bustling tech hub with worldwide reach, said a foursome of panelists during the October 1 event sponsored by Contempo Communications.

The physical network itself is burgeoning, notes Lev Gonnick of OneCommunity, a nonprofit foundation helping to grow high-speed internet in Northeast Ohio. Since its founding in 2003, the organization has laid 111 miles of fiber in Cuyahoga County alone.

An advanced fiber optic/digital base transporting data at high speeds can be a boon for the area's already robust healthcare sector, says Kevin Goodman, managing director/partner of downtown Cleveland cloud-computing provider BlueBridge Networks. Crystal clear doctor-to-patient conferencing is just one example of how robust telecommunications can aid the industry.

If a healthy digital platform can help build industry and bring jobs, it will give Northeast Ohio an advantage in the hunt for young professionals over similarly sized markets, says Ashley Basile Oeken, executive director of Engage! Cleveland, a talent attraction/retention nonprofit.

"We're falling behind cities like Pittsburgh and Indianapolis in bringing in talent,"  Basile Oeken says. "Cleveland has to find ways to stand out."

Dan Young, founder of technology and design agency DXY, is looking beyond county, state and even national borders when it comes to connecting with the next wave of innovators. Young helped establish a DXY satellite office in Germany, an experience that showcased the need for Cleveland to attract immigrant brainpower.

"The city has to be bigger and bolder about the conversation it's having," he says.

Creating a regional tech epicenter here would make drawing dynamic folks of disparate backgrounds all the easier easier, says Joy Roller, panel facilitator and executive director of Global Cleveland.
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"We need to be open to the flow of ideas and new people," she says. 
local filmmaker makes goal on kickstarter, nears completion of first feature length film
Cleveland filmmaker Robert Banks, Jr. doesn’t consider his feature film Paper Shadows a film about Cleveland. Yet the entire production -- shot in 35mm black and white -- was filmed in various parts of the city

“Officially, it was all filmed in Cleveland -- east side, west side and we used archived footage of Cleveland in the ‘50s and ‘60s,” says Banks. But we’re not naming Cleveland. I didn’t want this to be a ‘Cleveland’ movie. It’s Metropolis, showing different aspects of a city in transition.”
 
Paper Shadows depicts a shared creative angst between two main characters: a widowed African-American Vietnam vet who works as a janitor at an art college and a young, white middle class female undergrad completing her final year at school. The two main characters represent cultural, class and generational gaps in society.  
 
The film uses experimental film techniques to create metaphoric symbols of the social frustration and emotional angst caused by the supporting characters. “We’re using the city as a metaphor for a woman getting a facelift,” says Banks. “All of the characters represent facets of people I’ve met over the years. I consider my films to be a moving collage.”
 
Paper Shadows is Banks’ first feature length film. He’s made 25 to 30 short films and he’s lost track of the number of film festivals his work has appeared in. Paper Shadows is Banks’ “last hoorah for cinema,” using the 35mm film instead of modern-day digital techniques.
 
Banks launched a Kickstarter campaign to fund the completion of his film. On September 15 he exceeded his $10,000 goal with 252 backers and $12,685. He hopes to have the project finished by December. Banks has been using the film as a teaching experience for his students at the New Bridge Center for Art and Technology.
western reserve school of cooking extends reach from hudson to downtown cleveland
The Hudson-based Western Reserve School of Cooking (WRSOC) has been in existence for 42 years. It provides a variety of classes for professionals, amateurs and kids and features a small retail space stocked with kitchen gadgets. Now the institution is expanding to a storefront adjacent to Cleveland Culinary Launch and Kitchen (CCLK), a pay-as-you-go commercial kitchen and food business incubator that is located at 2800 Euclid. The cooking school will open by the end of the year.

"It's a complementary relationship, and we're excited for the classes to start," says Carolyn Priemer, one of the founders of CCLK. "Previously, we had food, but we didn't have a space for entertainment and events."

Priemer also has hired Carl St. John, co-owner of WRSOC, to manage the CCLK kitchen. The new WRSOC will sell a limited range of kitchen gadgets and offer products created by CCLK's food-based businesses, which include Saucisson butchery, Cleveland Kraut and Red Lotus Foods. CCLK entrepreneurs also will help teach classes, workshops and demonstrations at the new school. 

St. John and his wife and partner Catherine are opening the cooking school to tap into a new market in Cleveland and join the city's food scene. They will offer single classes geared towards amateur cooks and use the space for corporate team-building events and other functions. The storefront can fit at least 30 to 40 people for cooking classes, and more for a demonstration. St. John says the event space also will be available for rentals. 

WRSOC offers classes in bread making, cake decorating, sushi rolling and more. There are Friday night date night classes and weeklong classes for professionals (these will remain in Hudson). Many are taught by Catherine, an experienced chef, but there are guest instructors as well. St. John says he hopes to partner with PlayhouseSquare and other institutions to offer an evening of entertainment where participants cook their own meal and then see a show.

St. John says the classes have grown in popularity. WRSOC is far more affordable than a fully-accredited cooking school, yet offers professionals a chance to break into the industry without the coveted degree. Over the years, the school has seen many of its graduates go on to work in the restaurant industry.

"The cooking school [in Hudson] is going great, but space is our biggest issue," says St. John. "We're turning down private events and corporate team-building events because we can only host 12 to 14 people. In our new space, we'll be able to have 30-40 people, and more for demos."