University Circle

make it here, there or anywhere: crowdfunding fuels startup companies in surprising places
Thanks to crowdfunding sites like Kickstarter, entrepreneurs often overlooked by traditional investment sources are securing much-needed capital to launch their startups. In addition to raising cash, these sites are proving invaluable for testing new ideas, developing a customer base, gaining exposure, and launching ideas into a larger marketplace.
'what's hot in cleveland?' a lot, says lonely planet editor
Cleveland is getting some international attention as a hot travel destination, as noted in the travel section of Canada’s National Post.
 
"They may not be the first places that come to mind when planning a weekend getaway to the U.S., but the nation’s abundant off-the-beaten-path cities are increasingly turning up on must-see lists," writes Robert Reid, U.S. travel editor for Lonely Planet.
 
“I love Cleveland. It’s such a surprise. It’s got the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame for a reason. The term ‘rock ’n’ roll’ originated in this misunderstood, proud and plain-fun Rust Belt city. The museum is wonderful -- who knew Jimi Hendrix did drawings of college football players? A fun place for breakfast is the century-old West Side Market in Ohio City across the Cuyahoga River from downtown, which caught fire from its polluted waters in 1969. The river has changed too, as life has returned along with kayaks, which offer a unique view of downtown. Apparently Cleveland has more live music venues than Austin, Tex., and the best is Beachland, in east Cleveland, a transformed Croatian social hall that launched careers of bands such as the White Stripes.”
 
Read the full “international” story here.
cle among 20 best for 20-somethings
“It’s hard to pinpoint what qualities 20-somethings go for in picking the perfect city," writes Nicole McDermott for the blog Greatist.com. "Sustainability, efficient transit systems, cleanliness, and affordability may make the top of the list.”
 
Coming in at No. 7, Cleveland 's stats are as follows:
 
Average Temp (High, Low): 59, 41
Median Income: $24,687
Average Rent for 1-Bedroom Apt.: $640
Population: 396,815
Median Age: 35.7

"Named one of the best places for new college grads, Cleveland has plenty of job ops (heavy in manufacturing and engineering), and fun for after work. The city, called Beertown, U.S.A. by Draft Magazine, has some favorite breweries like Great Lakes Brewing Company, Thirsty Dog, and Willoughby Brewing. And did we mention it’s the sixth best city for block parties? (We didn’t know there was such a rating, either.) Once you’re tuckered out from hitting all the pubs Cleveland’s got to offer, keep in mind the city came in as the second best to get a good night’s sleep."

Clevelanders can take pride in the fact our fair city ranked higher than popular young adult destinations such as Denver (No. 9), New York (No. 12), Portland (No. 14), and Seattle (No. 18)
 
Enjoy the full list here.

 
innovative program helps neighborhoods fight foreclosure and blight
An innovative software program developed by the Center for Urban Poverty at Case Western Reserve University is helping Cleveland neighborhood development practitioners reinvent their urban communities in strategic, data-driven ways.

NEO CANDO, a publicly accessible database, provides one-stop-shopping for anyone looking to research property information in their neighborhood. The site allows users to go beyond researching individual properties and look at snapshots of neighborhoods -- including which properties are at risk of foreclosure and which have been condemned. The site also contains social, economic and census data.

"In the past, information was collected from multiple websites, and by the time it was assembled, it was out of date," says Mike Schramm, a Research Associate in the Center on Urban Poverty in the Mandel School of Applied Social Sciences at CWRU. "We bring data together across domains. Our mission is to democratize data and to create data-driven decisions by both nonprofits and government."

In practice, NEO CANDO is used by foreclosure prevention agencies to research which properties are in danger of going into foreclosure. Armed with this info, grassroots groups can knock on the owner's door and attempt to intervene, thus hopefully preventing another vacant, bank-owned home in the neighborhood.

The information is also used to focus on areas with strategic assets in an effort to better protect them. "You need to know that the house across street from that recently rehabbed home is in foreclosure -- and then do something about it."

Projects like NEO CANDO are helping to facilitate a shift within the community development field towards creating more strategic, placemaking investments.


Source: Mike Schramm
Writer: Lee Chilcote
neo's 80-plus young professional groups plug new talent into cleveland
Northeast Ohio's 80-plus young professional organizations play a critical role in plugging new talent into Cleveland. Research shows that there’s a 90-day window from when people move to a city to influence them and give them reasons to stay. Once plugged in, these YPs are helping to reshape the city’s future.
roots of american music brings music education into low-income schools
When musician educators with Roots of American Music hold workshops in Cleveland public schools, it almost goes without saying that they are entering a place that doesn't have a full-time music teacher. Most cannot afford to hire full-time music staff, so they rely on part-time faculty and visiting artists.

The 14-year-old nonprofit organization educates more than 15,000 students throughout Northeast Ohio each year, teaching social studies, financial literacy and health education through music.

"We do a lot of songwriting about topics that are important to kids," says Kevin Richards, ROAM's Director. "They work with authentic artist-educators who not only can teach but are also bluesmen, Cajun zydeco artists or rappers."

Richards likens ROAM's educational approach to parents who disguise healthy foods to get their kids to eat them. In general, the artists have little trouble convincing kids to participate. "Kids don't realize they're getting an academic message at the same time as they're fooling around with traditional music."

ROAM's curriculum has changed as educational goals have evolved. When Richards created the organization, the focus was on teaching social studies. Today, such staple courses are supplemented with programs about financial literacy and health education (the latter is in partnership with the Cleveland Clinic).

One popular program called "On the Move" teaches students in the Central neighborhood of Cleveland about migration patterns throughout history. Students learn the song "Kansas City" and change the lyrics to fit their family's story.

Roots of American Music will host its 13th annual Benefit for Education on Saturday, October 6th at the Beachland Ballroom. Multi-award-winning Austin singer-songwriter Guy Forsythe is the headliner. The tickets are $125 for VIP access including dinner and preferred seating, or $15 for the concert only.


Source: Kevin Richards
Writer: Lee Chilcote
cma defends methods of acquisitions in new york times
“Over the last five years, the Cleveland Museum of Art has been at work on one of the largest building programs of any art institution in the country, a $350 million project that has been unveiled in sleek new stages and will be completed by 2013, adding 35,000 more square feet of gallery space," writes Randy Kennedy of the New York Times.
 
"But the museum has also been building in less visible ways and is set to announce on Monday the acquisition of two high-profile ancient artifacts that seem certain to draw attention not only to the institution’s expansion but also to the complicated long-running debate about antiquities collecting by museums," he continues.
 
David Franklin, director of the Cleveland Museum since 2010, is described as having one of the more "staunchly pro-collecting stances among American museums."
 
In defense, Franklin states, “Museums should still be buying antiquities, and we shouldn’t shirk that responsibility, and I think it’s almost an ethical responsibility,” he said. “We don’t want to drive these kinds of objects into private collections forever. Or to see all of them end up abroad.”
 
Read the full New York Times story here.
a visual guide to free outdoor summer fun
Fresh Water photographer Bob Perkoski takes us on a visual tour of some of Cleveland's most popular free, outdoor events. With stops at Wade Oval Wednesday, Lakewood Library's Front Porch Concert Series, and Tremont's Arts in August, this colorful sideshow gives viewers a front seat to fun, Cleveland-style.
fierce healthcare q & a with clinic's michael roizen
FierceHealthcare, the leading source of healthcare management news for healthcare industry executives, recently published a Q and A with Cleveland Clinic Chief Wellness Officer Michael Roizen.

"As Cleveland Clinic's wellness program hits its five-year anniversary, Chief Wellness Officer Michael Roizen says the program is showing real results and returns. FierceHealthcare spoke with Roizen about how the program has affected the patients, the community and employees -- plus previews a patient wellness widget that's in the works."

"Our goal is to help our employees be as healthy as they can be, which obviously will drive down our costs, which drive down the community's costs, which make our communities competitive for jobs," says Roizen.

Read the rest here.
 
thrive to host happiness-inducing events aimed at engaging city's residents
Thrive Cleveland, a new grassroots "happiness incubator," wants to amaze you. The goal is to provide experiences that are "surprising," "boundary expanding" and "beyond your comfort zone," according to cofounder Scott Simon.

"What we’re doing is creating what you could call a happiness gym," says Simon. "It will be a series of ongoing, curated experiences for Clevelanders. We want to get them to meet other people, be creative and hear from the best and brightest in Cleveland."

The group is composed of 13 Clevelanders who are volunteering their time to create happiness-inducing events aimed at engaging the city's residents.

The first experience, entitled "WTF? (What's That Food?) -- A Local Farm-to-Table Exploration," will take place on Saturday, August 25th from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Participants will meet at Cafe Benice and then travel as a group to the Cuyahoga Valley Countryside Farmers Market, where they'll meet with farmers, taste just-picked produce, and learn how fresh food contributes to happiness and well-being. Afterwards, the group will return to Cafe Benice to participate in a hands-on cooking experience utilyzing the farm-fresh foods. 

According to Simon, the event is part of a national movement towards fostering greater happiness in cities across the country. He cites the Happiness Institute in San Francisco and Life Labs NYC in Brooklyn as two comparable organizations.


Source: Scott Simon
Writer: Lee Chilcote
civic engagement boot camp challenges people to experience cleveland as they've never seen it
When Earl Pike of the Cleveland Leadership Center helped design the new Civic Engagement Boot Camp, he tapped the popular national trend of half marathon benefits as a wellspring of inspiration.

"People want to be challenged," he says. "We didn't want to do the typical thing of getting a bunch of young people in a room to listen to an old person pontificate. We wanted to ask people to do something really hard and put their hearts and souls into it."

The result? A one-day civic engagement half marathon, if you will. The Boot Camp starts at 6:30 a.m. and runs until 9 p.m.

"At the end, you'll be exhausted and probably smell bad and be a little frayed," says Pike. "But you'll see every major sector of Cleveland and you'll be engaged in a way that changes you, challenges you."

In June, participants held a behind-the-scenes meeting with the editorial board of the Plain Dealer, worked out with an 82-year-old woman, dug in the dirt at Ohio City Farm, went on a bike tour of Cleveland, and honed their improv skills at Cleveland Public Theatre. And that was just part of the day. It concluded with a meeting of area foundation leaders at the Terminal Tower Observation Deck.

The next installment of Boot Camp, titled "Cleveland from dawn to dusk -- like you've never seen it before," will take place Thursday, October 4th. The cost is $500.

"It doesn't really matter what people do: We love seeing people inspired and getting active in whatever domain they choose," says Pike, who says the long-term goal is combining civic engagement with personal growth. "Now we're beginning to look at the coaching that might come after the experience."


Source: Earl Pike
Writer: Lee Chilcote
cwru gets largest nih grant in northeast ohio history
The National Institutes of Health (NIH) last week awarded CWRU a $64.6-million, five-year grant for the continuation of a collaborative effort to bring medical research to hospitals, clinics and doctors’ offices, improving the health of patients in the region. The federal grant is the largest in Northeast Ohio history.
 
The NIH founded the Clinical and Translational Science Awards (CTSA) six years ago to accelerate the transition of medical ideas to medical applications. “Five years ago the NIH decided a program was needed to help bring basic decisions from the science lab to patients,” says Pamela B. Davis, CWRU School of Medicine dean and principal investigator. 
 
Cleveland is one of 61 institutions in the country to have a CTSA. Along with CWRU, the program is a collaborative effort between the Cleveland Clinic, MetroHealth System, University Hospitals Case Medical Center and Louis Stokes Cleveland VA Medical Center.
 
In addition to Davis, Richard A. Rudick, MD, vice chair of the Neurological Institute at Cleveland Clinic, serves as the effort’s co-principal investigator. The two applied for the original $64 million grant five years ago, which at the time was the largest in the region’s history.
 
More than 1,300 individuals have participated in CTSA-related efforts in the past five years in three categories: community engagement, teaching and mentoring, and acceleration of medical research and discovery.
 
For instance, doctor education on type 2 diabetes resulted in lowering three-month blood sugars in patients by an entire percentage point. “That’s enough to change the risk of complications,” says Davis. “It gives us the ability to make a real impact.”
 
Other efforts included retaining children with high blood pressure to run a portion of the Rite Aid Cleveland Marathon, resulting in significant long-term drops in blood pressure.
 
“We’re trying to reach into the community and make a difference,” says Davis. “We have done a lot of partnerships in town, and we’re looking forward to expanding that.”

 
Source: Pamela B. Davis
Writer: Karin Connelly
hands on northeast ohio connects volunteers with worthwhile projects
Jeff Griffiths launched Hands On Northeast Ohio in 2007 to "train and equip volunteers to be at the center of change in their communities." In 2011, the startup nonprofit organization helped connect nearly 5,000 volunteers with hundreds of worthy projects throughout the Cleveland area.

Last weekend, volunteers prepped bikes at the Ohio City Bike Co-op, served meals to the homeless, delivered meals to seniors, cleaned cat cages, and lended a hand at the Cleveland Botanical Garden.

Hands On Northeast Ohio offers accessible, well-managed opportunities to serve throughout the community. Volunteers attend an orientation session and sign up for opportunities on the group's website. With a point and a click, they can read descriptions of opportunities, find out which ones are available, and sign up.

"People wanted to help, but oftentimes accessing volunteer opportunities was filled with barriers -- the commitment was unrealistic, the training was too cumbersome, or the agency didn't have a way to recruit or train volunteers at all," says Griffiths. "By us managing projects, we make both parties happy."

In addition to 35-plus managed projects per month, Hands On also manages one-day national events such as the 9/11 National Day of Service and Remembrance.

Griffiths says the organization is part of a national network of similar groups. "We saw a need, took a proven model and adapted it locally to our needs here," he says.


Source: Jeff Griffiths
Writer: Lee Chilcote
case researchers discover gene that stops cancer cell proliferation
Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine researchers have made a groundbreaking discovery that could stop the proliferation of cancer cells in patients without the need for toxic chemotherapy.

The researchers discovered a mutant form of the gene Chk1. When expressed in cancer cells, it halted their proliferation and killed them. The finding that artificially activating Chk1 alone is enough to kill cancer cells is unprecedented.

"We have identified a new direction for cancer therapy... leading us to a reduction in toxicity in cancer therapy, compared with chemotherapy or radiation therapy," said Dr. Youwei Zhang, Assistant Professor with the Department of Pharmacology at the School of Medicine and a member of the Case Comprehensive Cancer Center, in a release. "With this discovery, scientists could stop the proliferation of cancer cells, allowing physicians time to fix cells and genetic errors."

If the researchers' strategy pans out, then cancer patients could potentially be treated by activating Chk1 in cancer cells, rather than using chemotherapy.

Future research by Dr. Zhang and his team will focus on approaches to artificially activating Chk1 in cancer cells.


Source: CWRU School of Medicine
Writer: Lee Chilcote
cleveland an 'up-and-coming bike city' according to bicycling mag
Along with New York City, Albuquerque, Long Beach, and Miami, Cleveland was named by Bicycling magazine as an up-and-coming bike city.

"It's no joke," writes David Howard, "The city on Lake Erie has cycling dialed."

"What's to love?" he adds. "For starters, the stretch of bike lane that now runs the length of historic Euclid Avenue, linking the city's two employment hubs. A new towpath just beyond Cleveland's southern border reaches Akron—80 miles away. Plans call for webs of bike paths to unspool east and west as well. To lure tourists in, the Downtown Cleveland Alliance launched a bike-rental program last summer -- it will expand this year into a parking garage with showers and lockers."
 
"And then there's the diversity. In January, a nonprofit unveiled plans to build an indoor velodrome -- the third of its kind in the country and the only one east of the Rockies. The city is home to the vast Ray's Indoor Mountain Bike Park and Pedal Republic, which organizes bike-polo tourneys, tall-bike rides and alley cat races."

Read all the news here.

This on top of the recent good news from HGTV..
'cleveland rocks as vacation spot,' says lexington herald-leader.
As experienced Clevelanders, we are well aware of the greatness this city has to offer. But it's always a treat to read the kind words of an outsider who experiences those joys for the first time. Such is the case in this lengthy piece by Patti Nickell from Lexington Herald-Leader.
 
Nickel points out that she, like many others, has never truly considered Cleveland a vacation destination: That is until she took the advice of a friend and decided to visit. 
 
“Then something unexpected happened," Nickell writes. "I had planned to have a brief romance with a city I had never been to, but I wound up falling in love."
 
Over the course of her four-day trip, she dined at some of our most beloved eateries (Greenhouse Tavern, Lucky’s Café, Lola, and L’Albatros), visited some of our favorite places (Cleveland Museum of Art, Greater Cleveland Aquarium, and the Cleveland Botanical Gardens), and had cocktails at the famed Velvet Tango Room.
 
She also visited places we sometimes take for granted such as Severance Hall and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Two fine gems in this great city.
 
Nickell is now a converted Cleveland fan. You can read about her full experience here.
the audacity of the talent dividend
The communities competing for the $1 million Talent Dividend Prize have a modest goal: boosting the number of college degrees in their city by one percentage point. If every participating city meets that goal, it could raise national earnings by a stunning $124 billion.
making the impossible possible: editors wrap rust belt book in record time
In the best of cases, getting a book published can take one to three years from start to finish. Or, you can do it the way Richey Piiparinen and Anne Trubek did with Rust Belt Chic: The Cleveland Anthology. The pair of Cleveland writers managed to compress the entire Sisyphean process into an implausible three-month timeframe.


goal of greening efforts throughout city is 'smaller city of higher quality'
Thanks to the efforts of numerous neighborhood activists, once-blighted properties in Glenville and throughout Cleveland are being transformed into orchards, gardens and inviting green spaces. These incremental quality-of-life improvements are helping to craft a smaller city of higher quality.