Regional Economy
It's a fact that $68 of every $100 spent locally returns to the community through taxes, payroll and other expenditures. We all know that shopping small is good for the local community, but what are the real and tangible benefits behind the movement? A closer look reveals how buying local feeds our region in ways both obvious and subtle.
Michelle Venorsky and Kate Davis have worked at some of the top advertising and communications agencies in town, recently at Marcus Thomas. But the dream of starting their own agency prompted the two, along with three other partners, to launch Hello! agency in September.
“We’ve had this idea brewing for a while now,” says Venorsky. “We absolutely love what we do and we’ve been working together for 10 years.”
Hello! focuses on developing close connections with their clients, Venorsky says, by engaging relationships and finding out what makes them tick. So it seemed only natural to name the agency Hello!. “When you think about any relationship, you have to introduce yourself,” says Venorsky. “We call ourselves an 'engagement agency' – we build relationships on insight and research.”
Davis, with a background in cultural anthropology, handles the research end – figuring out why people do certain things. Venorsky handles the public relations, marketing and social media aspects. Venorsky says it was the right time to take an “intelligent risk” and hang out their own shingle.
“There’s never been a better time or an easier time to build a relationship with your customers with so many media platforms,” Venorsky says. “We’re trying to be medianostic and build something that matters.”
Hello! is still looking for the ideal office space in Ohio City or Tremont, but in the meantime, Venorsky and Hall are busy signing on clients. They’ve landed four accounts so far.
Source: Michelle Venorsky
Writer: Karin Connelly
“We’ve had this idea brewing for a while now,” says Venorsky. “We absolutely love what we do and we’ve been working together for 10 years.”
Hello! focuses on developing close connections with their clients, Venorsky says, by engaging relationships and finding out what makes them tick. So it seemed only natural to name the agency Hello!. “When you think about any relationship, you have to introduce yourself,” says Venorsky. “We call ourselves an 'engagement agency' – we build relationships on insight and research.”
Davis, with a background in cultural anthropology, handles the research end – figuring out why people do certain things. Venorsky handles the public relations, marketing and social media aspects. Venorsky says it was the right time to take an “intelligent risk” and hang out their own shingle.
“There’s never been a better time or an easier time to build a relationship with your customers with so many media platforms,” Venorsky says. “We’re trying to be medianostic and build something that matters.”
Hello! is still looking for the ideal office space in Ohio City or Tremont, but in the meantime, Venorsky and Hall are busy signing on clients. They’ve landed four accounts so far.
Source: Michelle Venorsky
Writer: Karin Connelly
Since the Great Recession, more and more folks have been living the "gigging life," working multiple jobs or hopping from one project to the next in hopes of cobbling together a living budget. While that might seem arduous, it also allows those living the lifestyle to follow their true passion.
For the past six months, Red, the Steakhouse has been coming to shape in the former Volk's Jewelry & Loans building on Prospect Avenue. Throughout it all, Fresh Water photographer Bob Perkoski has been documenting the process. This slideshow follows that progress from start to finish.
On October 28, the Refugee Services Collaborative (RSC) released its first-ever study of the economic impact Cleveland’s 4,500 refugees have made on the region since 2000. Refugees are legal U.S. residents who have come here to avoid persecution in their home countries.
"We felt there were a lot of negative misconceptions about refugees, so we commissioned the economic impact study to uncover the facts," says Luanne Bole-Becker, RSC’s special projects and data management coordinator.
The report, generated by Chmura Economics and Analytics and funded through a grant from the Cleveland Foundation, shows that refugees created and sustained 650 jobs in 2012 as a result of household spending, small business creation and through the agencies in place to help them. The total economic impact was $48 million in these three areas.
“Refugees bolster the population and their spending creates jobs in the economy,” explains Chmura’s Dan Meges, economist and business development manager. “Without refugee arrivals, this spending and economic activity would be occurring somewhere else in the United States. They also increase the demand for local housing by buying or renting homes, and they increase the socio-cultural diversity of the city, which has other positive spillovers.”
RSC was formed in 2011 and grew out of dialogue between the region’s many refugee service agencies. The report shows that while refugees typically find work in food service, housekeeping, sewing, factory production work and seasonal landscaping, they are also more likely to be entrepreneurs and start small businesses once they have settled in the area.
"Refugees are positive for Cleveland,” says Bole-Becker. “While they need some initial help, it's an investment in a group of people that don't take jobs; they make jobs. We hope to increase capacity so that more refugees can be resettled here, adding to Cleveland's growth."
Meges adds, “From an analytic viewpoint, what matters is their average family income, which is estimated to be about $31,000 annually in the Cleveland area in 2012.”
More than 17,000 refugees have settled in Cleveland since 1983.
Source: Dan Meges, Luanne Bole-Becker
Writer: Karin Connelly
"We felt there were a lot of negative misconceptions about refugees, so we commissioned the economic impact study to uncover the facts," says Luanne Bole-Becker, RSC’s special projects and data management coordinator.
The report, generated by Chmura Economics and Analytics and funded through a grant from the Cleveland Foundation, shows that refugees created and sustained 650 jobs in 2012 as a result of household spending, small business creation and through the agencies in place to help them. The total economic impact was $48 million in these three areas.
“Refugees bolster the population and their spending creates jobs in the economy,” explains Chmura’s Dan Meges, economist and business development manager. “Without refugee arrivals, this spending and economic activity would be occurring somewhere else in the United States. They also increase the demand for local housing by buying or renting homes, and they increase the socio-cultural diversity of the city, which has other positive spillovers.”
RSC was formed in 2011 and grew out of dialogue between the region’s many refugee service agencies. The report shows that while refugees typically find work in food service, housekeeping, sewing, factory production work and seasonal landscaping, they are also more likely to be entrepreneurs and start small businesses once they have settled in the area.
"Refugees are positive for Cleveland,” says Bole-Becker. “While they need some initial help, it's an investment in a group of people that don't take jobs; they make jobs. We hope to increase capacity so that more refugees can be resettled here, adding to Cleveland's growth."
Meges adds, “From an analytic viewpoint, what matters is their average family income, which is estimated to be about $31,000 annually in the Cleveland area in 2012.”
More than 17,000 refugees have settled in Cleveland since 1983.
Source: Dan Meges, Luanne Bole-Becker
Writer: Karin Connelly
More than 1,300 people attended the first annual Cleveland Entrepreneurship Week last week, participating in everything from pitch sessions to speaker sessions and after-hours networking events.
Big names in the entrepreneurial community from outside the region, such as MapQuest founder Chris Heivly and managing director of The Startup Factory, were among those in attendance who helped make the event a success.
“Overall, ClevelandEW was successfully able to showcase and celebrate the growth of entrepreneurship and the unique ecosystem being created here in Northeast Ohio,” says Todd Goldstein, founder of LaunchHouse, lead sponsor of the event.
Goldstein reports that all of the EW events were well attended. “More than 300 attended LHX2013 Demo Day and the ClevelandEW opening party at LaunchHouse,” he says. “Other popular events were Startups @ The City Club, a new entrepreneurial and community-driven speaker series with the mission to educate, inspire and provoke entrepreneurial thought throughout Northeast Ohio, and the speaker sessions at Ernst and Young.”
Several of the startups in the LHX2013 Demo Day were able to secure leads, convert attendees to customers and identify potential investors. Goldstein says all 11 companies that gave pitches at Demo Day felt good, although a bit overwhelmed, about the experience.
“Right now, they are all doing a lot of follow up to the leads they made during Demo Day and ClevelandEW,” he says. “They are all rock stars to us and we are looking forward to helping them toward the next stage in their companies.”
Source: Todd Goldstein
Writer: Karin Connelly
Big names in the entrepreneurial community from outside the region, such as MapQuest founder Chris Heivly and managing director of The Startup Factory, were among those in attendance who helped make the event a success.
“Overall, ClevelandEW was successfully able to showcase and celebrate the growth of entrepreneurship and the unique ecosystem being created here in Northeast Ohio,” says Todd Goldstein, founder of LaunchHouse, lead sponsor of the event.
Goldstein reports that all of the EW events were well attended. “More than 300 attended LHX2013 Demo Day and the ClevelandEW opening party at LaunchHouse,” he says. “Other popular events were Startups @ The City Club, a new entrepreneurial and community-driven speaker series with the mission to educate, inspire and provoke entrepreneurial thought throughout Northeast Ohio, and the speaker sessions at Ernst and Young.”
Several of the startups in the LHX2013 Demo Day were able to secure leads, convert attendees to customers and identify potential investors. Goldstein says all 11 companies that gave pitches at Demo Day felt good, although a bit overwhelmed, about the experience.
“Right now, they are all doing a lot of follow up to the leads they made during Demo Day and ClevelandEW,” he says. “They are all rock stars to us and we are looking forward to helping them toward the next stage in their companies.”
Source: Todd Goldstein
Writer: Karin Connelly
For decades, the heart of University Circle was lifeless after 5 p.m. Uptown, a $65 million development of new shops, restaurants, markets and apartments, aimed to change that by becoming a new center of gravity for Cleveland’s cultural district. So, now that it’s halfway completed, how is Uptown doing?
input wanted for design of new convention center hotel
County residents are being asked to share their opinions as they pertain to the new Convention Center Hotel. The 650-room hotel will replace the Cuyahoga County Administrative building at Lakeside Avenue and Ontario Street and serve as the main hotel for the nearby medical mart and convention center.
Representatives from the architecture firm Cooper Carry will be in town on Wednesday, November 20th, from 5:30 to 7:00 p.m. to share preliminary designs for the new Convention Center Hotel and solicit input from local residents.
The hotel is on a fast track, with County Executive Ed FitzGerald stating a goal of a 2016 opening.
The meeting is free and open to the public.
Cleveland Public Library
Louis Stokes Wing Auditorium
325 Superior Avenue East
Questions and registration (not required): info@LAND-studio.org
Representatives from the architecture firm Cooper Carry will be in town on Wednesday, November 20th, from 5:30 to 7:00 p.m. to share preliminary designs for the new Convention Center Hotel and solicit input from local residents.
The hotel is on a fast track, with County Executive Ed FitzGerald stating a goal of a 2016 opening.
The meeting is free and open to the public.
Cleveland Public Library
Louis Stokes Wing Auditorium
325 Superior Avenue East
Questions and registration (not required): info@LAND-studio.org
writer praises city's artist recruitment program
In an International Business Times story titled “Cleveland Is Ready To Rock: Are You?” writer Ellen Killoran shares details of her experience at a recent artist recruitment weekend, during which out-of-town creatives were invited to see a plethora of benefits the city has to offer for artists seeking to relocate.
“”Welcome to Cleveland Weekend," which took place in early August, was a self-described experiment spearheaded by the Community Partnership for Arts and Culture, or CPAC, a well-endowed nonprofit dedicated to strengthening Cleveland's artist community," Killoran writes. "The clear objective of the event, the first of its kind, was to persuade these artists from other, often bigger and more expensive cities, to make Cleveland their home base.”
Killoran goes on to detail some awe-inspiring features of both the city and the program that should make Cleveland an opportunity too good to pass up.
Enjoy the lengthy feature here.
“”Welcome to Cleveland Weekend," which took place in early August, was a self-described experiment spearheaded by the Community Partnership for Arts and Culture, or CPAC, a well-endowed nonprofit dedicated to strengthening Cleveland's artist community," Killoran writes. "The clear objective of the event, the first of its kind, was to persuade these artists from other, often bigger and more expensive cities, to make Cleveland their home base.”
Killoran goes on to detail some awe-inspiring features of both the city and the program that should make Cleveland an opportunity too good to pass up.
Enjoy the lengthy feature here.
Team NEO, MAGNET, Wire-Net and Medina County Workforce Development came together as a group to secure a $1.8 million federal Make it in America grant, one of only 10 groups nationwide to receive such funding.
The money will be used to help local companies that show the potential to bring manufacturing jobs to the region.
“We will use the money to boost the growth of 25 medium-sized companies in Northeast Ohio in many areas, from product development to workforce development,” says Jay Foran, senior vice president of Team NEO. “We’re also hoping to attract new business to the region in support of those companies in biomedical, automotive and advanced engineering.”
The groups have been working together since March to apply for the grant. “So many partners saw opportunities for themselves that aligned with this grant,” says Laura Hudak, Team NEO’s vice president of finance and administration. “The opportunity to collaborate is equally important as the financial implications.”
Each group will have a different role in distributing the grant money. Team NEO will serve as administrator and work on attracting international business. WIRE-Net will work directly with the companies receiving the funds, building on its manufacturing experience. MAGNET will provide resources for job and business growth, while Medina County Workforce Development will coordinate services with area colleges and universities.
The Make it in America program is a $20.5 million Obama administration initiative designed around job creation and investment in U.S. businesses.
Source: Jay Foran, Laura Hudak
Writer: Karin Connelly
The money will be used to help local companies that show the potential to bring manufacturing jobs to the region.
“We will use the money to boost the growth of 25 medium-sized companies in Northeast Ohio in many areas, from product development to workforce development,” says Jay Foran, senior vice president of Team NEO. “We’re also hoping to attract new business to the region in support of those companies in biomedical, automotive and advanced engineering.”
The groups have been working together since March to apply for the grant. “So many partners saw opportunities for themselves that aligned with this grant,” says Laura Hudak, Team NEO’s vice president of finance and administration. “The opportunity to collaborate is equally important as the financial implications.”
Each group will have a different role in distributing the grant money. Team NEO will serve as administrator and work on attracting international business. WIRE-Net will work directly with the companies receiving the funds, building on its manufacturing experience. MAGNET will provide resources for job and business growth, while Medina County Workforce Development will coordinate services with area colleges and universities.
The Make it in America program is a $20.5 million Obama administration initiative designed around job creation and investment in U.S. businesses.
Source: Jay Foran, Laura Hudak
Writer: Karin Connelly
cle's start-up friendly landscape featured in atlantic cities piece
In an Atlantic Cities feature titled "The Passion of Young Cleveland," New York-based writer Nona Willis Aronowitz covers both the start-up friendly nature of Cleveland as well as its political importance.
"Cleveland is one of those Rust Belt cities that's too often held up as a symbol of the fall of American industry, but a critical mass of diehard young Clevelanders are either staying or coming back to turn the place around. While I was there, I heard two common reasons why Cleveland natives were staying loyal: It's an ideal place to start a business or a new project, given the low overhead and unusually strong, cohesive community support. But it's also in one of the most politically influential places in the country, in a bellwether, "real America" state that offers young people an opportunity to move the national needle."
In the feature, the writer chats with Ohio City developer Graham Veysey and his girlfriend, Marika Shiori-Clark, who says that it's “much easier to be an entrepreneur here. There’s a much lower threshold in terms of risk and price."
Read the rest right here.
"Cleveland is one of those Rust Belt cities that's too often held up as a symbol of the fall of American industry, but a critical mass of diehard young Clevelanders are either staying or coming back to turn the place around. While I was there, I heard two common reasons why Cleveland natives were staying loyal: It's an ideal place to start a business or a new project, given the low overhead and unusually strong, cohesive community support. But it's also in one of the most politically influential places in the country, in a bellwether, "real America" state that offers young people an opportunity to move the national needle."
In the feature, the writer chats with Ohio City developer Graham Veysey and his girlfriend, Marika Shiori-Clark, who says that it's “much easier to be an entrepreneur here. There’s a much lower threshold in terms of risk and price."
Read the rest right here.
san fran dining editor praises cleveland food scene
Michael Bauer, the influential restaurant critic for the San Francisco Chronicle, recently penned a feature titled "Cleveland is a city that rocks to food."
"Last week I spent a few days in Cleveland, looking at a half-dozen high-profile restaurants. I wish I could have done more," is how Bauer kicks off the lengthy travel piece.
During his visit, the food editor and restaurant critic hit Sokolowski's, Dante, Greenhouse Tavern and the Velvet Tango Room, where "I had the best whiskey sour I can remember."
Of course, he also visited the West Side Market: "I also fell in love with the West Side Market, a city-owned facility that has been in business for more than 100 years."
He concludes the piece with this nugget: "Cleveland has the energy of a food town on the rise. And, for anyone who loves music and rock and roll -- after all, it’s the home of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame -- it’s a city worth checking out."
Read it all right here.
"Last week I spent a few days in Cleveland, looking at a half-dozen high-profile restaurants. I wish I could have done more," is how Bauer kicks off the lengthy travel piece.
During his visit, the food editor and restaurant critic hit Sokolowski's, Dante, Greenhouse Tavern and the Velvet Tango Room, where "I had the best whiskey sour I can remember."
Of course, he also visited the West Side Market: "I also fell in love with the West Side Market, a city-owned facility that has been in business for more than 100 years."
He concludes the piece with this nugget: "Cleveland has the energy of a food town on the rise. And, for anyone who loves music and rock and roll -- after all, it’s the home of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame -- it’s a city worth checking out."
Read it all right here.
st. louis food writer eats his way through the north coast
Reporting for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, food writer Ian Froeb shares details of his recent visit to Cleveland, where he enjoyed stops at Greenhouse Tavern, West Side Market, Cleveland Museum of Art, and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum.
“Another Cleveland must is the West Side Market. This gorgeous (inside and out) building houses more than 100 vendors including more butcher shops than you ever thought could fit under a single roof. “
Read the full story here.
“Another Cleveland must is the West Side Market. This gorgeous (inside and out) building houses more than 100 vendors including more butcher shops than you ever thought could fit under a single roof. “
Read the full story here.
Cleveland Clinic Innovations (CCI) has named seasoned Health Information Technology (HIT) veteran Gary Fingerhut as its new executive director. Fingerhut has more than 30 years of experience as an entrepreneur in IT, co-founding a global software company and as a senior executive of a software development and technology consulting firm.
CCI is the commercial arm of the Cleveland Clinic, responsible for company creation and business development of medical technology developed by its doctors and researchers.
For the past three years, Fingerhut has served as general manager of IT commercialization for CCI, a position he will continue to perform in addition to his new executive director duties.
HIT makes up 23 percent of Innovations’ business, up from six percent when Fingerhut started with the organization. “I take credit for being part of a team,” Fingerhut says of the growth. “We’re a very collaborative group here: very dedicated, very focused in bringing products to market that will change lives. You can’t ask for a better role than that as executive director.”
Fingerhut plans to continue that growth in his new position. “I’m really heavily focused on inventor satisfaction as a key goal,” he says. “And I would like to see our Innovation Alliance grow considerably.”
And, of course, Fingerhut wants to improve care through technology. “Everything we do is focused on better patient care,” he says. “But we’re also focused on growth in Ohio. Since we began in 2000, we’ve created 1,100 jobs in Northeast Ohio and 66 spinoff companies.”
Fingerhut is a Cleveland native and has raised five children here. “This is an incredible institution and I’m really honored to be a part of it,” he says. “We take innovation seriously here, and I look forward to really making a difference.”
Source: Gary Fingerhut
Writer: Karin Connelly
CCI is the commercial arm of the Cleveland Clinic, responsible for company creation and business development of medical technology developed by its doctors and researchers.
For the past three years, Fingerhut has served as general manager of IT commercialization for CCI, a position he will continue to perform in addition to his new executive director duties.
HIT makes up 23 percent of Innovations’ business, up from six percent when Fingerhut started with the organization. “I take credit for being part of a team,” Fingerhut says of the growth. “We’re a very collaborative group here: very dedicated, very focused in bringing products to market that will change lives. You can’t ask for a better role than that as executive director.”
Fingerhut plans to continue that growth in his new position. “I’m really heavily focused on inventor satisfaction as a key goal,” he says. “And I would like to see our Innovation Alliance grow considerably.”
And, of course, Fingerhut wants to improve care through technology. “Everything we do is focused on better patient care,” he says. “But we’re also focused on growth in Ohio. Since we began in 2000, we’ve created 1,100 jobs in Northeast Ohio and 66 spinoff companies.”
Fingerhut is a Cleveland native and has raised five children here. “This is an incredible institution and I’m really honored to be a part of it,” he says. “We take innovation seriously here, and I look forward to really making a difference.”
Source: Gary Fingerhut
Writer: Karin Connelly
Since 2008, the Cuyahoga County North Coast Opportunities (NCO) Technology Fund has been helping high growth technology companies thrive and create jobs, and the deadline for the latest round of funding is November 18.
NCO provides deferred loans ranging from $25,000 to $125,000 at an interest rate of five percent. Repayment is deferred for five years or until the company receives $1.5 million in follow-on funding. NCO offers six rounds of funding per year, awarding money to one company each round.
“The program was created to accelerate tech-based entrepreneurs and create new jobs,” says Greg Zucca, senior development finance analyst for the Cuyahoga County Department of Development. Since it started, the fund has invested $2.6 million in 26 companies. Those companies have gone on to raise $19 million in follow-on funding, created 77 jobs and added $4.6 million in annual payroll.
While Cuyahoga County provides the loans, JumpStart provides the assistance to help the companies grow and thrive. “JumpStart assists through programs like its Entrepreneur in Residence and makes recommendations for places the companies can go to get follow-on funding,” says Zucca.
The hope is to develop early stage companies that have potential to boost the regional economy. “It’s good for Northeast Ohio because there are a lot of early stage companies here,” says Zucca. “We’re really trying to feed the system and create a continuum for these companies as they are maturing.”
Source: Greg Zucca
Writer: Karin Connelly
NCO provides deferred loans ranging from $25,000 to $125,000 at an interest rate of five percent. Repayment is deferred for five years or until the company receives $1.5 million in follow-on funding. NCO offers six rounds of funding per year, awarding money to one company each round.
“The program was created to accelerate tech-based entrepreneurs and create new jobs,” says Greg Zucca, senior development finance analyst for the Cuyahoga County Department of Development. Since it started, the fund has invested $2.6 million in 26 companies. Those companies have gone on to raise $19 million in follow-on funding, created 77 jobs and added $4.6 million in annual payroll.
While Cuyahoga County provides the loans, JumpStart provides the assistance to help the companies grow and thrive. “JumpStart assists through programs like its Entrepreneur in Residence and makes recommendations for places the companies can go to get follow-on funding,” says Zucca.
The hope is to develop early stage companies that have potential to boost the regional economy. “It’s good for Northeast Ohio because there are a lot of early stage companies here,” says Zucca. “We’re really trying to feed the system and create a continuum for these companies as they are maturing.”
Source: Greg Zucca
Writer: Karin Connelly
Cleveland is home to a vibrant collection of women-owned businesses, many of which are in fields traditionally dominated by men. From manufacturing to moving, these heavy lifting ladies credit their success to hard work and a soft touch.
Shaker Heights entrepreneur Kai Wingo recently launched the Buckeye Mushroom Farm on a vacant lot on E. 127th Street off Buckeye Road. Wingo is growing oyster and garden giant mushrooms on beds and racks there. She also teaches classes and sells mushrooms under the moniker Kai's Kultured Mushrooms at the Coit Road Farmers Market.
"I'm a mushroom ambassador," she says. "I want people to know about benefits we get from mushrooms. I'm the only one I know of who's doing it at this scale."
Wingo began growing mushrooms four years ago, and launched her business when she got laid off from her job with the Cleveland Municipal School District. By then, she'd outgrown her home garden, so she applied for a vacant lot through the land bank. Recently, she also built a hoop house there to extend the growing season.
"Mushrooms are a powerhouse of nutrition," she explains. "The gardens also benefit because of the compost they provide. They're just a grand recycler."
Wingo says there is great untapped demand for local mushrooms, which are a high-value crop, and that her business and classes are taking off. "There's a long waiting list of farmers markets that would love to have mushrooms there, but there aren't any people to fill the niche, so that's why I'm teaching people."
Hough entrepreneur Mansfield Frazier also has tapped Wingo to grow 'shrooms at his new biocellar project. She can be reached via Facebook or by phone at 216-561-3200.
Source: Kai Wingo
Writer: Lee Chilcote
"I'm a mushroom ambassador," she says. "I want people to know about benefits we get from mushrooms. I'm the only one I know of who's doing it at this scale."
Wingo began growing mushrooms four years ago, and launched her business when she got laid off from her job with the Cleveland Municipal School District. By then, she'd outgrown her home garden, so she applied for a vacant lot through the land bank. Recently, she also built a hoop house there to extend the growing season.
"Mushrooms are a powerhouse of nutrition," she explains. "The gardens also benefit because of the compost they provide. They're just a grand recycler."
Wingo says there is great untapped demand for local mushrooms, which are a high-value crop, and that her business and classes are taking off. "There's a long waiting list of farmers markets that would love to have mushrooms there, but there aren't any people to fill the niche, so that's why I'm teaching people."
Hough entrepreneur Mansfield Frazier also has tapped Wingo to grow 'shrooms at his new biocellar project. She can be reached via Facebook or by phone at 216-561-3200.
Source: Kai Wingo
Writer: Lee Chilcote
d.c. streets covers major policy shift at local planning agency
In a DC Streets Blog post titled "In Cleveland, An Old-School Planning Agency Sees the Light," writer Angie Schmitt writes of the dramatic turn around currently talking place at Northeast Ohio Areawide Coordinating Agency (NOACA), a topic Fresh Water recently covered in depth.
"NOACA was so notoriously averse to change and ineffectual that it acquired the nickname NO ACTION," Schmitt writes. "But as impossible as it seemed even a year ago, things are changing at NOACA. They’re changing fast, and for the better. Last year the agency hired a new director, Grace Gallucci, who had been the head of finance for the Chicago Transit Authority. Since the Cleveland native assumed her role at the head of the NOACA, the region agency has adopted a completely different tenor."
Read more about how the local planning agency is shifting gears here.
"NOACA was so notoriously averse to change and ineffectual that it acquired the nickname NO ACTION," Schmitt writes. "But as impossible as it seemed even a year ago, things are changing at NOACA. They’re changing fast, and for the better. Last year the agency hired a new director, Grace Gallucci, who had been the head of finance for the Chicago Transit Authority. Since the Cleveland native assumed her role at the head of the NOACA, the region agency has adopted a completely different tenor."
Read more about how the local planning agency is shifting gears here.
When Sharie Renee opened Cosmic Bobbins on Shaker Square last November, she originally intended for it to be a temporary pop-up shop for the holidays that showcased her handbags made from recycled magazines and other items from local artisans.
A year later, Cosmic Bobbins not only is still going strong as a permanent Shaker Square presence, the store's owner has expanded its offerings and the number of artists it features from 10 to 20 and again to more than 30.
“I have been such a lover and supporter of the arts that many of the artists I carry in my shop are people that I admire and have become my friends over the years,” she says. “Other artists have started out as our customers.”
Renee carries a few fair trade, vintage and boutique items and has custom embroidery services. Business is going so well that Renee has hired two employees to help her run the shop. “We would love to hire more people,” says Renee.
Furthermore, Renee now offers private and semi-private sewing lessons, a fragrance blending class with Yates Apothecary owner Melissa Hale, and plans to offer classes on beauty care products when Renee launches her new spa line, Cosmic Bubbles. Renee is renovating the basement to have a larger workroom and classroom.
In the summer, Renee works with Youth Opportunities Unlimited to create mentorship and summer jobs for youth in the community. “This year, we worked with MyCom South Shaker to identify students in the area that had a particular interest in the creative arts and entrepreneurship,” explains Renee. "Some of the students wrote a community grant to further education in sewing and textile arts. We made it to the interview process, but have yet to hear about the grant.”
Source: Sharie Renee
Writer: Karin Connelly
A year later, Cosmic Bobbins not only is still going strong as a permanent Shaker Square presence, the store's owner has expanded its offerings and the number of artists it features from 10 to 20 and again to more than 30.
“I have been such a lover and supporter of the arts that many of the artists I carry in my shop are people that I admire and have become my friends over the years,” she says. “Other artists have started out as our customers.”
Renee carries a few fair trade, vintage and boutique items and has custom embroidery services. Business is going so well that Renee has hired two employees to help her run the shop. “We would love to hire more people,” says Renee.
Furthermore, Renee now offers private and semi-private sewing lessons, a fragrance blending class with Yates Apothecary owner Melissa Hale, and plans to offer classes on beauty care products when Renee launches her new spa line, Cosmic Bubbles. Renee is renovating the basement to have a larger workroom and classroom.
In the summer, Renee works with Youth Opportunities Unlimited to create mentorship and summer jobs for youth in the community. “This year, we worked with MyCom South Shaker to identify students in the area that had a particular interest in the creative arts and entrepreneurship,” explains Renee. "Some of the students wrote a community grant to further education in sewing and textile arts. We made it to the interview process, but have yet to hear about the grant.”
Source: Sharie Renee
Writer: Karin Connelly