Everybody has those days when they just don’t feel like going to work. But some employers offer perks that make coming to work a little less painful. From all-you-can-eat snack bars to pursuing outside interests on company time -- and free beer! -- these companies help make coming to the office a little easier to swallow.

For today's top talent, the job market is only one thing to consider when choosing a place to live. Young professionals increasingly desire a vibrant city to plug into, a creative place where they can network with like-minded people, and a dynamic place where they can land their next job.

The new Westin Hotel downtown features more than 1,500 works of art by local artists. The exterior boasts a 30-foot mural of the Cuyahoga River Valley, while the lobby contains a large art installation by artist Olga Ziemska. In this slideshow, Fresh Water photographer Bob Perkoski offers a visual tour of some of the artwork.

With a culture of collaboration, a willingness to adapt and a focus on creating the kind of urban environment that attracts creative talent, the Steel City has moved from gritty to green and is now poised for the next wave of growth.

Welcome to the latest round of Lab Chat, in which we try to demystify the often complex field of biomedical research. Today, our well informed post-doc takes on commercial drug development, specifically, why the heck does it take so long for prescription drugs to move from lab to local pharmacy?
 

Area schools are offering entrepreneurship education to high school, middle school and even elementary school students. Aside from the extra cash, entrepreneurship teaches skills that will last a lifetime, including self confidence, time management, problem solving and creative thinking.

It's been four and a half years since the first edition of "Moon Handbooks: Cleveland" was published. Considering all that has taken place in Cleveland during that time, author and Fresh Water managing editor Douglas Trattner says that for the second edition, which was released this week, he went back to the starting gate.

Sometimes, even the most adventurous resident can grow a little too comfortable living in the same city after a while. But one can always find something new to discover if we just dig a little deeper. Lucky for us, a number of smartphone apps will help the explorer in all of us get reacquainted with the city we call home.

There's more than one way to get around Cleveland. As more and more alternative transportation options like Lyft, Uber and pedicabs enter the local market, residents are discovering that it's increasingly becoming easier to leave the wheels at home. Fresh Water took them for a test drive.

Issue Media Group publications such as Pop City in Pittsburgh, The Line in Minneapolis and Soapbox in Cincinnati cover "what's next" in urban centers. In this recurring feature, we highlight the top stories in urban innovation from across our national network.

Each summer, throngs of people flock to the streets to partake in arts festivals, art walks and marquee arts events. Many are free and no two are exactly alike. With art mediums that include paintings, sculpture, glassware, photography, leather, jewelry and performance art, there’s something for everybody.

From Seattle to Washington D.C., forgotten alleys are being reinvented as people-friendly places. Often perceived as dirty and dangerous, alleys are moving beyond garbage and garages to become havens for pedestrians, public art and small business.

If you're considering a move to Cleveland, there might be no better means to examine the broad range of residential options than by hopping aboard a City Life tour hosted by Cleveland Neighborhood Progress. In a few short hours, participants enjoy an immersive dive into a number of Cleveland's most in-demand neighborhoods.
 

In Scene magazine's recent 'Best of Cleveland' awards, Fresh Water was voted by readers as having the Best Photo Content. All of that credit falls on the shoulders of Bob Perkoski, managing photographer since the online magazine's inception. Here we ask the man behind the lens a few questions.

For its recent fundraiser, Zygote Press decided to merge both visual and culinary artists in a unique double billing called The Big Show and Iron Printmaker. The "Iron Chef" style competition featured teams of chefs and artists using "mystery" ingredients to create prints. Fresh Water photographer Bob Perkoski captured all the action.
 

Cuyahoga Community College's $18.7 million Advanced Technology Training Center educates the workforce of tomorrow by finding, training and placing the right people into the right jobs, serving as a feeder system of work-ready candidates for in-demand positions in high-tech industries.
 

Beginning in August, Northeast Ohio firefighters and law enforcers will have a "one-stop shop" at Cuyahoga Community College. The sprawling facility, dubbed the Public Safety Training Center of Excellence, is expected to meet the education needs of both green recruits and grizzled first responders alike.
 

Changing careers can be a difficult journey, regardless of a fulfillment-seeking wanderer's age or economic standing. However, the older a person gets, the less time they have to start that long voyage toward a new vocation.
 
Fortunately, there are more expeditious alternatives for those retracing their steps on the job trail, says Susan Muha, executive vice president of Cuyahoga Community College’s Workforce and Economic Development Division. The division's focus is job retraining, meaning adult employment seekers don't need to go back to school for a bachelor's degree.
 
"One way or another, it's all about connecting people with the job market," says Muha, a decade-long veteran of Tri-C's workforce division.
 
Throughout its layers of jobs-centric programming, the school works with about 15,000 to 20,000 participants annually. Many of these students have already attended a university and have little desire to go back. Tri-C offers training and certification programs measured in weeks or months rather than years, allowing prospective job seekers to be launched back into rotation quickly.

Read the rest of the story here.
 

Now that we've emerged from our respective huts, it's time to stop squinting towards the sky and go do something. Sure, the usual line-up of outdoor activities awaits -- but aren't there any surprises left in CLE? You bet there are, and we're about to point you in the right direction.

In the recently released Best Hikes Near Cleveland, Fresh Water contributor Joe Baur offers readers a deep dive into some of the best local hikes Mother Nature has to offer. Seven of those hikes are urban, taking readers through Downtown, Ohio City, Tremont, Forest Hill and elsewhere. Here's an excerpt -- and an introduction by the author.