From a bathtub full of balloons to a stained glass cathedral, Fresh Water managing photographer Bob Perkoski has curated the funky, heartbreaking and purely Cleveland event in this collection of photos.

Urban Community School (UCS), 4909 Lorain Avenue, has been named the only National Green Ribbon School in the state of Ohio by the U.S. Department of Education, which gives this distinction to select schools, districts, and educational institutions across the country for success in reducing environmental impact and utility cost, improving health and wellness, and ensuring effective environmental education. UCS was recognized for its ongoing efforts to reduce its ecological footprint while promoting active, healthy lifestyles for children and their families.
 
“We commend the faculty, staff, students, and parents of Urban Community School for their efforts in creating a green learning environment and providing leadership to other schools,” said Maureen Dowling, director for the Office of Non-Public Education in the U.S. Department of Education's Office of Innovation and Improvement, in a statement.
 
“Urban Community School is honored to receive this distinction from the U.S. Department of Education,” added UCS principal Lisa De Core. “Our school is dedicated to reducing our environmental impact while also incorporating green principles into our pedagogy and teaching our students the importance being green.”
 
De Core cited a number of recent initiatives the school has undertaken that demonstrate its commitment to green, sustainable principals and learning, including:
 
·  Setting up timers on computers and lights to power them down
when not in use
 
·  Installing refillable water bottle stations and water fountains
with filters
 
·  Encouraging students to carry reusable water bottles to avoid
disposal of plastic bottles
 
·  Composting food waste in The Early Childhood wing and recycling
waste throughout the campus
 
·  Using recycled ink cartridges and purchasing 100% recycled
paper products.
 
School representatives will travel to Washington, D.C. in July to receive the award.
 

From screamin' sports cars to towering monster trucks, Cleveland is host to unique design stories born on the wings of transportation.

Fresh Water updates five major development projects that will prove to conventioneers this July that Cleveland is a city on the move.

The Greater Cleveland Regional Transit Authority (RTA) is making progress on a new rapid station set for the site of the current station at 2830 E. 34th St. A community meeting to discuss the proposed improvements will take place tonight at 6 p.m. at Cuyahoga Community College's Metro Campus Student Center.
 
The preliminary design for the $7.5 million project was shown to RTA's board of trustees on March 1, while an updated station design proposal was completed earlier this month. The new station, which like its current iteration on East 34th Street, will serve all three rapid lines, and be upgraded with better lighting and ADA-compliant features.
 
Attendees of tonight's get-together will see the same design concept presented to board members, says Mike Schipper, RTA assistant general manager of engineering.

"Our next step is to get feedback from the public," says Schipper.
 
The plan's design phase will wrap by December, when RTA also expects to begin the construction bidding process. Work is scheduled to start next spring and will take a year to complete, officials say.  
 
Plans for the new station include relocating the main entrance to the intersection of East 34th Street and Broadway Avenue, a space which will also offer a covered waiting area for riders, says Schipper. New LED lighting and a disabled-accessible ramp are among the project's other highlights. 

Though close to Tri-C's metro campus, the East 34th Street station currently does not get much use, Schipper says. However, thanks in part to the advocacy of Campus District stakeholders, RTA agreed to design and build a new facility instead of closing it altogether. 
 
The district's community development group has committed to work with RTA after the new station is finished to promote increased ridership. Proximity to Tri-C as well as special rates for students could give those figures an additional boost.
 
"We hope as we rebuild the station Tri-C will engage surrounding businesses and the Campus District as a whole," says Schipper, adding that a built-out rapid facility can also compliment a community that's undergone heavy development in recent years.
 
"This is our investment in the area," says Schipper. "We look forward to growing with the neighborhood."

MOCA's cosmopolitan flair is rooted in its commitment to connect Cleveland to points across the globe via art and people.