Regional Economy

new max hayes high will prepare students for modern manufacturing jobs
Rumors of the death of U.S. manufacturing have been greatly exaggerated. As the industry mounts a comeback in Cleveland and other cities, growing companies are discovering it's not easy to find qualified employees. In short, jobs once left for dead are now hard to fill.

In part, the skills gap exists because a generation of workers has been inculcated with the notion that manufacturing is filled with get-your-hands-dirty, dead-end jobs. On the other hand, the traditional model of high school vocational education does not do enough to meet the needs of tech-savvy manufacturers. Today's factories are as likely to be filled with computers as hulking, greasy machines, owners say.

To plug the gap, the Cleveland Metropolitan School District will soon break ground on a new, 165,000-square-foot campus for Max Hayes High School, a vocational school currently at W. 45th and Detroit. The new building will serve up to 800 students -- a one-third increase -- and feature state-of-the-art labs and new academic classrooms to prepare students for today's manufacturing jobs.

"We want to spread the idea that if you go to Max Hayes, you will get a job that can support your family," says Phillip Schwenk, Principal of Max Hayes. "Your job is relevant and it matters. We're trying to transform ourselves into a modern, global institution that really understands the needs of global industry."

The $40 million campus, which will break ground next year and is slated to be completed in 2015, will feature exposed construction elements such as ductwork, columns and steel beams to emphasize the city's manufacturing heritage. Located at W. 65th and Clark, the school will benefit from its proximity to local businesses, the partners involved believe.

"What comes out of this is a beautiful relationship with all of these businesses on the west side looking for people to work there," says Ward 15 Councilman Matt Zone, who represents the Stockyards neighborhood where Hayes will be built.

Project partners include representatives from manufacturing companies as well as organizations such as WIRE-Net, a Cleveland-based advocacy group. They will come together to create the Friends of Max Hayes to support the school.


Source: Phillip Schwenk, Matt Zone
Writer: Lee Chilcote
art daily covers natural history museum's expansion plans
An item in Art Daily titled, "Cleveland Museum of Natural History announces capital campaign, leadership team," covers the latest news about the museum's future plans to renovate and expand.
 
"The Cleveland Museum of Natural History has tapped two well-known corporate leaders to serve as co-chairmen of the fundraising campaign for the transformation of the Museum's campus in University Circle. Executive Director and CEO Evalyn Gates, Ph.D., has announced that A. Chace Anderson, the Museum's board president and a partner of CM Wealth Advisors, and Museum trustee James L. Hambrick, chairman, president and CEO of The Lubrizol Corp., will direct the Museum's first significant capital fundraising campaign in its 90-year history."
 
"Remaking and expanding a leading natural history museum is a rare opportunity for Northeast Ohio," campaign co-chair James L. Hambrick was quoted in the piece. "I am delighted to help make a difference on this very important initiative for science education."

"The Museum's collections encompass more than 5 million artifacts and specimens, and research of global significance focuses on 11 natural science disciplines. The Museum actively conserves biological diversity through the protection of more than 5,000 acres of natural areas. It promotes health education with local programs and distance learning that extends across the globe. Its GreenCityBlueLake Institute is a center of thought and practice for the design of green and sustainable cities."
 
Read the rest here.
rust wire examines ways to draw young professionals to cleveland
In a Rust Wire feature titled “Cities: Rather Than Patronizing Young People, Give Them What They Ask For,” Angie Schmitt writes about the ongoing battle cities face to attract young people to call urban areas their home -- for the long haul.
 
“There is a new initiative called Global Cleveland and it started out as some kind of civic effort to attract immigrants," writes Schmitt. "But one of the major goals of this initiative apparently, is also to attract boomerangers back to Cleveland. Boomerangers, you see, are youngish, well-educated people that split for places like New York and D.C. For some reason, these guys have been identified as 'winnable' and Global Cleveland’s working on promoting a wholesale reversal.”
 
This effort, according to Schmitt, has not been as successful as originally hoped. But what should Cleveland be doing?
 
“The places that are succeeding, they aren’t making a riddle of their methods. They are working very hard to make their environments hospitable to young people. How are they doing that? Through a whole movement called livability.”
 
Read the complete feature here.
(i)cleveland connects college students to city's live, work and play opportunities
The current generation of soon-to-graduate college students is not just looking for a job, but also a fun and dynamic city that suits its lifestyle needs, says Christy Walkuski, director of (i)Cleveland.

This reality is the impetus behind an upcoming city-centric event hosted by Cleveland Leadership Center. On January 4, (i)Cleveland, a program of the leadership center, will welcome 150 college students and recent graduates to connect with career, civic and social opportunities in Cleveland.

The Winter Edition event will include a networking lunch with downtown executives, a meet with Cleveland's entrenched young professional community, behind-the-scenes tours of East 4th Street's amenities, and an "employer showcase" of current internship and job opportunities.

Combining job and leadership possibilities with highlights of Cleveland lifestyle trumpets a single, distinct message: "The city wants you here," says Walkuski. "Young people have the ability to make their mark on Cleveland."

Walkuski has read the worrisome headlines about young people leaving Northeast Ohio for the bright lights of bigger cities. The (i)Cleveland director herself lived in Chicago and Florida before returning to her home city.

"When I came back, I saw Cleveland with new eyes," says Walkuski.

Opening the eyes of college students requires a community-wide effort. The "Winter Edition" program aligns with (i)Cleveland's mission of using local assets to build relationships and foster lifelong civic engagement. Registration is limited, so Walkuski suggests prospective participants sign up as soon as possible.

"We have a huge education base here," she says. "We must continue to engage this (college-aged) population, because if we don't recruit them, someone else will."

 
SOURCE: Christy Walkuski
WRITER: Douglas J. Guth
high on the hog: how lower cost of living equals better quality of life
Recent transplants to Cleveland arriving from so-called "big-ticket" metropolitan markets say that they are experiencing appreciable cost savings in terms of housing, transportation, entertainment and food. And that translates to a better standard of life with little lost in terms of quantity and quality of offerings.
biomedical job fair helps start-ups fill spots, keep pace with growth
This week BioEnterprise and Global Cleveland are hosting their fourth online biomedical job fair, hoping to attract top talent to the industry. “This is really driven by the growth in the biomedical sector in Northeast Ohio,” explains Aram Nerpouni, BioEnterprise interim CEO. “We’ve gone from 300 to 700 biomedical companies in the area. Cleveland is becoming a national hotbed for biomedical.”

The job fairs are an effective resource for employers. It is free for employers to post their listings and reach a wide population of qualified candidates. Arteriocyte, which does stem cell research for regenerating bones, has participated in three of the four job fairs this year. In each job fair the company has hired an employee.
 
“For us it’s appealing because it’s pretty easy as an employer,” explains Kolby Day, Arteriocyte‘s vice president and general manager of research and development. “We’ve seen really high caliber talent applying to the postings." Day says they’ve seen applicants from local schools as well as residents who left Cleveland and wish to return.
 
“We’ve interviewed a lot of people and, interestingly enough, they all want to be in Cleveland,” says Day. “A big part of that is how quickly the biotech industry is growing in Cleveland.”
 
Nerpouni points out that the online job fairs especially help the smaller employers. “For smaller companies that are growing rapidly and don’t have an HR staff, it helps them keep up with the pace of growth,” he says. “It’s much easier to hunt as a pack, so potential candidates aren’t looking at just one position.”
 
Close to 50 employers are participating in the job fair this week, posting 200 open positions. BioEnterprise plans to continue the biomedical jobs fairs on a quarterly basis.

 
Sources: Aram Nerpouni and Kolby Day
Writer: Karin Connelly
fast co. takes a deep look at new moca digs
In a Fast Co. feature titled "Cleveland’s Sparkling New Museum Of Contemporary Art," Kelsey Campbell-Dollaghan writes about the new museum and its non-collection programming. A slideshow offers stunning shots of the museum -- inside and out.

"Welcome to the new museum: an organization that eschews acquisitions and permanent collections for a smaller building and leaner operation, focusing on in-situ installations and community programming," writes Campbell-Dollaghan.

"That’s the mission behind the Cleveland Museum of Contemporary Art, which opened its first permanent building in October. The MoCA is a non-collecting museum, which means it has no permanent collection, which in turn means that it needs less space and money to operate. The museum’s new 34,000-square-foot building, designed by Iran-born, London-based architect Farshid Moussavi, cost only $27 million."

"Because MoCA needs very little storage space, almost all of its four floors can host exhibitions -- even a fire stairwell that has been turned into an audio art gallery."

We'll spare you Campbell-Dollaghan's trite platitudes about Cleveland's poverty, foreclosure rates, and "urban revitalization-by-the-arts."

See the article here.
sensor-guided intubation tube ensures proper placement, prevents harm
When a patient needs a breathing tube or feeding tube, proper placement is critical. Miach Medical Innovations, a company formed in 2011 out of CWRU, is developing tubes with built-in sensors to ensure proper placement.

“Several statistics show the need for properly placing these tubes,” says operations manager Cullen Dolan, who is working on his masters in engineering management. “Ten percent of breathing tubes are not initially placed properly. We found other statistics that show 20 percent of breathing tubes experience unplanned movement and 70 percent of feeding tubes experience unplanned movement. Also, 15 percent of extubate patients need to be reintubated." The ramifications can be damaging and even cause death.
 
The Miach Medical team, which includes CWRU doctors James Reynolds, Jim Rowbottom and Jeff Ustin, is developing sensors to assist caregivers with placement. “It will help caregivers know the tube is properly placed, unplanned movement, and when it is safe for the tube to come out,” explains Dolan.
 
Miach’s developments earned the company top honors at JumpStart's Northeast Ohio Entrepreneur Expo’s student competition. The company won $1,500 for placing first in the competition. Additionally, Miach was awarded $25,000 by the Lorain County Community College Foundation Innovation Fund.
 
The team will use the money on sensor development. “The key is finding a sensor that is cost effective and still meets all of our technical needs,” Dolan says. “We’re working with academic groups and companies to find the sensor we need.”
 
Dolan has found the experience educational and rewarding. “The sensor tube is something that’s needed, and with my background in biomedical engineering this was something I wanted to be a part of,” he says. Representing the company at the expo was a great experience. Winning the competition was just icing on the cake.”

 
Source: Cullen Dolin
Writer: Karin Connelly
ny times covers local effort to save the plain dealer
In an article titled "A Cleveland Newspaper Takes Steps to Prevent Cuts," New York Times writer Christine Haughney covers local efforts by the Plain Dealer staff and its readers to stave off further layoffs and service reductions.

In January, a three-year agreement between the paper and the guild will end, opening the door for further cuts.

"While workers at many newspapers owned by Advance Publications have tried to brace themselves for what seems to be the inevitable -- layoffs and the end of a daily print product -- reporters and editors at The Plain Dealer in Cleveland are fighting back in an unusual way: they are taking their case directly to the public," Haughney writes.

"The staff there has started a campaign to rally community support and to try to prevent cuts like the ones Advance has made in other cities. Using money provided by Local 1 of the Newspaper Guild and a grant from the Communications Workers of America, organizers have produced a television commercial, created a Facebook page that has attracted nearly 4,000 “likes” and started a petition that has nearly 6,000 signatures so far."

“We’ve been surprised and gratified and really humbled by the amount of response we’ve gotten,” said John Mangels, a science writer for the paper, who was quoted in the article.
 
Read the rest here.
rock hall changing of the guard covered in l.a. times
Writing for Pop & Hiss, the L.A. Times music blog, Randy Lewis reports on the changing of the guard at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum. At the end of this year, current vice president of development Gregary Harris will take over the top post from Terry Stewart, who is retiring after 13 years.

"Overall, we want to take what’s a wonderful regional treasure and make it a little more national without giving up the great regional base,” Harris is quoted as saying in the article. "One goal will be boosting attendance at the Cleveland facility itself, which sees about half a million visitors annually."

Also in Harris' plans is expanding the base.

"We’ve been building this great base and want to make it better,” Harris said. “We want to expose more people to it, and we’re working to find ways to be relevant and to stay relevant to younger audiences. By definition, this museum focuses on older acts, in that to be inducted you have to have made a record 25 years ago. So that’s part of what we’re looking at.”

Read the rest of the liner notes here.
help wanted: high-skilled immigrants needed to fill open positions
To succeed as a region, Cleveland needs hungry, highly skilled immigrants willing to risk it all for a chance to build their dreams. With an estimated 30,000 open positions in high-skill industries in the region, the time is now to market Cleveland as a place friendly to outsiders. Fortunately, Radhika Reddy and others are on top of it.
new cab company brings jobs, state-of-the-art rides to town
There’s a new cab company in town, and owner Ray Ibrahim boasts that his cabs are decked out with the latest technology. Ibrahim, who has logged 30 years in the taxi business in Chicago, moved to Cleveland this past October to expand his Wolley Taxi Company.
 
“The city is growing and so we came here to help out,” says Ibrahim, who sees demand for speedy cab service in Cleveland. “On Fridays and Saturdays, people wait over an hour to get a cab. It shouldn’t be that way.”
 
Based downtown, Wolley Taxi has 40 cars equipped with televisions, GPS and credit card readers. “They’re brand new cabs -- nice and clean. We will take people anywhere they want. We’ve trained our drivers to be very nice.”
 
Ibrahim has appealed to the city this week for permission to serve Hopkins airport. He says the airport could use an additional cab company as customers often have to wait for cab service. “We need these people here to do business,” he says. “We should be waiting for them, they shouldn’t be kept waiting for us.”
 
Right now Wolley employs 40 drivers and eight to 10 office personnel. Ibrahim expects to create another 20 to 25 jobs, as well as add another 40 to 60 cabs, if he gets a contract to service the airport.
 
Ibrahim has some family here, and has been impressed with Cleveland’s growth. Best of all, he enjoys the food the area has to offer. “I like the steak a lot here,” he says. “It’s better than Chicago.”
 

Source: Ray Ibrahim
Writer: Karin Connelly
seminar for current and future board members both educational and inspirational
Boards are shaping the nonprofit sector in unprecedented ways. The Cleveland BVU: The Center for Nonprofit Excellence is aiming to mold prospective board members to meet the trials and opportunities facing organizations today.

On December 7, BVU will host The Role of the Board, a seminar for current board members or those just thinking of joining a board. Speakers including David Goodman of Cleveland law firm Squire Sanders will discuss the roles and responsibilities of those that sit around the big table. Insight on leading an organization through change will also be shared, says BVU executive vice president Elizabeth Voudouris.

"We're providing people with practical training," she says. "We want to inspire them to service, too."

In general, boards are designed to hire and support a CEO, set the mission of the organization, and give financial oversight, among other duties. Modern pressures like shrinking resources have altered these best practices, Voudouris says.

"Good boards take a lot of work," she says. "There are significant strategic and financial challenges no matter what [a board's] size."

BVU officials expect the seminar to draw about 80 attendees representing nearly 40 businesses. Over half of the expected audience members currently are going through BVU’s board matching program and are planning to serve on a board in the near future. The December 7 event is sold out, but BVU hosts a handful of seminars a year for people looking to get educated about board life.

"It's a great introduction to nonprofit leadership," says Voudouris.

 
SOURCE: Elizabeth Voudouris
WRITER: Douglas J. Guth
home for the holidays: a pictorial guide to festive seasonal fun
Staying put in the 216 for the holidays has never been so easy -- nor so much fun. Thanks to a bevy of new attractions and eateries, combined with wonderful old traditions, locals and visitors alike will have no shortage of festive holiday fun. In this colorful slideshow, Fresh Water photographer Bob Perkoski highlights some of the season's best eats, treats, and places to be.
steelers fans offered taste of cleveland
Offered as a sort of travel guide to travelling Pittsburgh Steelers fans, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette recently ran a feature titled "On the road with the Steelers: Cleveland."
 
Writer Gretchen McKay does a great job providing tips on where to eat, drink and enjoy the scene in Cleveland.
 
"A growing foodie destination with a landmark public market and a lively arts community, there's plenty of fun in store for the weekend traveler. So much, in fact, that Travel and Leisure named it one of America's 'favorite cities' in 2009 for affordability and its rockin' music scene: in addition to one of the world's best-known music museums, it boasts a renowned orchestra," writes McKay.
 
As for foodie-friendly spots, McKay writes:
 
"Many of the best tastes of Cleveland can be found in its historic West Side Market in an arched NeoClassical/Byzantine building in the Ohio City neighborhood. In October, the public market celebrated its 100th birthday with a parade, but every day here feels like a celebration for food lovers. Home to more than 100 vendors that show off the city's ethnic diversity -- you'll find everything from Old World smoked meats and pierogies to produce and gourmet cheeses to a French creperie serving to-order sweet and savory crepes -- it's been featured on the Travel Channel and Food Network."

"Even though Cleveland and Pittsburgh have similar demographics, Cleveland's food scene has a higher national profile. As former PG restaurant critic China Millman pointed out in a 2010 travel story, the food here really rocks."


Read the rest of the article here.

forward-thinking cdc's the 'special sauce' behind successful neighborhood redevelopment
To be truly successful at neighborhood redevelopment, CDCs must change how they do business, says Joel Ratner, president of Neighborhood Progress Inc. They must adopt a holistic strategy that combines bricks-and-mortar development with high-performing schools, social services, and other amenities that residents need and want. 
cleveland-based paladar making waves in south florida
Cleveland-based Paladar restaurant is impressing the locals in South Florida, where a new outpost of the Latin-themed eatery recently opened.

In a Miami New Times article titled "Paladar: New Entry at Gulfstream Park Serves Up Winning Latin Fare," the food writer spoke fondly of the new restaurant, which is the fourth in the locally owned chain.

"Who would have thought that a respectable nuevo Latino restaurant would arrive in South Florida by way of Cleveland and Annapolis? Well, that's what's happened with the opening of Paladar Latin Kitchen and Rum Bar at The Village at Gulfstream Park. Paladar got its start in Cleveland in 2007 and opened in Annapolis three years later. A fourth location will be opening soon in Bethesda."

"Always on the lookout for new places to eat and drink, Short Order checked out Paladar and was impressed with the setting, ambiance, service and food."

Read the rest right here.
eddie 'n eddie brings 'burgers, bourbon and apple pie' to lakewood
Since Eddie 'n Eddie opened its doors in downtown Lakewood, the place has been jamming, a testament to the growing foodie culture that has sprung up in the heart of this inner-ring suburb.

"With all of the restaurants here like Deagan's, Melt, and the Beer Engine, downtown Lakewood is really becoming a destination," says co-owner Eddie Cerino Jr., who created the restaurant along with his father, Eddie Cerino Sr. "It's not just locals. People are coming in from the 'burbs, and that's a great thing."

Eddie 'n Eddie is described as Americana-style food with Southern flair. Propping up the tag line "burgers, bourbon and apple pie" is a menu of prime and choice cut ground beef burgers, an extensive list of handpicked bourbons, and apple pies baked from scratch using the family's recipe.

"This is a concept that I have always wanted to open, inspired by a couple of restaurants in New York City," says Eddie Jr., who also owns Eddie's Pizzeria Cerino in Seven Hills. "I saw how big and hot bourbon was at these places."

At Eddie 'n Eddie, bourbon isn't simply on the menu -- it is soaked deep into it. The apple pies, desserts and sauces all have a touch of Wild Turkey. "It's gonna add that distinct caramel sweetness to it -- that's why it makes a fantastic barbeque sauce," says Eddie Jr. "When we do pecan pie, we do a bourbon glaze with it, and that light cream sauce really complements the pie."

Cerino is excited for World of Beers to open a franchise next door in February. The venue allows patrons to carry in food from other establishments. With Eddie 'n Eddie right next door, Cerino is chomping at the bit for a piece of the action.


Source: Eddie Cerino Jr.
Writer: Lee Chilcote
cle named top college town in annual ranking
To come up with its annual College Destinations Index, the American Institute for Economic Research evaluates each community’s overall academic and cultural environment, quality of life and employment opportunities in the area.
 
“At a time when approximately half of current college graduates are unemployed or underemployed, the pros and cons of a particular college destination should be an important factor in making a college selection,” says Julie Zhu, the AIER research analyst who oversaw compilation of the Index.
 
The index includes the top 75 US towns and cities for college students with student populations of 15,000 or more.
 
Cleveland is ranked #12 under Mid-Size Metros.
 
“The characteristics that make up a great college destination often make a location ideal for business, retirement and tourism," says Steven Cunningham, AIER Director of Research and Education. "A top AIER College Destinations Index ranking should be just as important to the town or city as it is to the schools located there and the families and students attending or considering them.”
 
Read all about the rankings here.
fitvia app helps users find exercise buddies
Last May, Brandt Butze had what he calls an “Aha! moment.” He was 370 pounds and wanted to lose the weight and get in shape. He went on Facebook and posted that he was committed to walking.
 
“I had 225 comments on my Facebook page and all sorts of support,” he recalls. That first morning, his sister and a group of people met Butze and they went for a 30-minute walk. “We jogged the last block,” he says. “I was in tears there was so much support. Thirty-minute walks turned into 45-minute walks and in three weeks, I was walking six to seven miles a day.”
 
In fact, Butze had so much support that trying to schedule people to walk with him was interfering with actually walking. “I was spending three to four hours a day trying to plan walks,” he says.” I looked for an app to help and I realized other people were in the same boat I was -- finding some way to have a workout schedule where people can work out with other people.”
 
So Butze and friends Aaron Marks, Jonathan Schultz and Kevin Rahilly created FitVia, a mobile app that allows users to post their workout schedules and find others to join them.
 
“We tried different hypotheses, talked to friends and friends of friends and asked them what motivated them, what de-motivated them,” Butze says. “We realized we were on to something.”
 
The four approached LaunchHouse for help developing FitVia and were accepted to the accelerator program. FitVia will launch by the end of the year. “We’re launching this as a premier app initially,” says Butze. “We’re hoping to gain as many people as possible as quickly as possible.”
 
FitVia plans to hire additional staff as they grow. Butze plans to branch out to corporate America as they grow, targeting HR departments as a way to keep healthcare costs down.
 
To date, Butze has lost 71 pounds.

 
Source: Brandt Butze
Writer: Karin Connelly