Congresswoman Marcia L. Fudge hosted a For the People job fair and town hall meeting at Cleveland State University on Monday, August 8 to help combat Ohio's rising unemployment rate. The job fair featured nearly 100 employers were on hand, offering more than 1,200 jobs in healthcare, banking, sales, retail, hospitality, education, manufacturing, nonprofits, and government affairs. Thousands of eager job seekers showed up at the event.

"By hosting a job fair, I want to do my part to connect people in our community who are ready to work with employers who are ready to hire," said Congresswoman Fudge.

The day-long job fair included job readiness workshops and technical assistance seminars including resume writing, interview skills and salary negotiations. Cleveland was the first stop on a five-city For the People Jobs Initiative sponsored by the Congressional Black Caucus. The fair was followed by a town meeting at which Fudge asked for input from residents and organizations in Northeast Ohio about how to solve the nation's unemployment crisis.

The fair was followed by a town hall meeting. Nine members of the caucus joined Fudge to discuss the initiative.


Source: Marcia L. Fudge
Writer: Karin Connell

If community renewal can be spoken of as planting seeds for change, then count the Cudell neighborhood of Cleveland as a change-maker. The community recently won a free orchard from the Edy's Fruit Bars Communities Take Root program.

On August 30th, dozens of new fruit trees will be planted near W. 85th and Franklin Boulevard on vacant land that was recently home to dilapidated row houses.

According to Jeanette Toms, Special Programs Coordinator with the nonprofit Cudell Improvement Inc., the neighborhood secured the gift after winning enough votes in an online competition to place among the top five entries in the country. Facing stiff competition from entries around the country, Cudell solicited votes from as far away as Florida, Italy and Portugal in order to land the win.

"My dad lives in Florida, so when he came to visit, we asked him to help spread the word among his friends," says Toms. "You could vote once per day."

The competition is sponsored by Edy's Fruit Bars and the Fruit Tree Planting Foundation, an international foundation that is "dedicated to planting fruit-bearing trees in places that best benefit the community -- public schools, city parks and low-income neighborhoods," according to the program's website.

Cudell Improvement plans to install an irrigation system to ensure the trees are properly watered. In three to five years, when the trees begin bearing fruit, the group plans to give the fruit away to neighborhood residents and food pantries.


Source: Jeanette Toms
Writer: Lee Chilcote

The Cleveland Design Competition, an open ideas challenge that aims to spur fresh architectural thinking in Cleveland, will soon showcase ideas for a new K-12 public school in downtown Cleveland.

The event organizers, architectural designers Michael Christoff and Bradley Fink, plan to showcase the designs and announce the competition winners at a public ceremony that will be held at the Cleveland State University Student Center beginning at 6 p.m. on Friday, Aug. 19th.

This year's competition focuses on designing a permanent, new home for the Campus International School at CSU, a Cleveland Metropolitan School District (CMSD) school that is one of 17 innovative schools that was launched under the CMSD's Transformation Plan. On the website, event organizers cite high-performing schools as key to attracting and retaining residents in Cleveland.

Campus International School is now located in temporary, leased space at First United Methodist Church at E. 30th and Euclid Avenue. The school is growing by about 60 students per year, and anticipates outgrowing that space by 2013.

The popular school, which uses a curriculum based on the International Baccalaureate Program and aims to instill international-mindedness and an ethic of community service among its students, has attracted so many applicants that CMSD is now using a lottery system to fill the school's open spots.

While there are currently no plans to build a new school, CSU officials have stated their preference for a site bounded by Payne and Superior Avenues and East 18th and 19th Streets that consists largely of parking lots owned by the city. CSU's Master Plan calls for spurring more development at the northern edge of campus.

The Cleveland Design Competition is funded mainly by the Lincoln Institute of Land Policy.


Source: Cleveland Design Competition
Writer: Lee Chilcote

According to Robert Hatta, not everybody is cut out for the startup world. He should know -- as Vice President of Entrepreneurial Talent for Jumpstart, Hatta helps emerging companies find the right talent. "How do you know if the pace, pressures and pivots of a startup are right for you?" he asks in this guest column. "There was a time when I wasn't sure it was for me."

As one of Fox 8's newest talents, Reid is still learning the ropes not only as they apply to work but also life in Cleveland. She and her husband moved to town from Pittsburgh just over four months ago, and they're still feeling their way around. Settling downtown, Reid says they are having a blast discovering their new surroundings -- especially the restaurants. (But she's still a Steelers fan.)

The Civic Commons, a nonprofit organization that helps foster civic engagement through creating community conversations, has relocated its offices to a street-level storefront at Trinity Commons.

"We wanted to be accessible to the community, and a place where people can just drop by," says Dan Moulthrop, Civic Commons Curator of Conversation, of the move. "We don't want to be hidden in an office building somewhere; we want people to feel like the Civic Commons is a place they recognize and own."

Since launching a year ago, the Civic Commons has always planned to move out of the E. 9th Street offices of its parent organization, Fund for Our Economic Future, to a more visible spot. Moulthrop chose Trinity Commons because of its central location, on-the-street presence and reputation as an urban gathering place.

"There's a great mission overlap -- we share a sense of being of service to the community and how important that is," he says. "It's a really nice fit for us."

Trinity Commons, which is located at E. 22nd and Euclid, was developed by Trinity Episcopal Cathedral a decade ago to house its offices, provide community meeting space and create new storefronts. Moulthrop says he is looking forward to using Trinity Commons' meeting space to host face-to-face conversations about important civic issues, supplementing the group's online presence.

"We've tried to be both an online presence and out in the community since the beginning, yet we can't be in the community all the time," he says. "We're a community asset and we want to show that in our physical presence."

Moulthrop adds that the synergy between virtual and real discussions lies at the heart of the Civic Commons mission. "The vision is that thoughtful online conversation can have an impact on community conversation," he says. "The trick is doing meaningful activity in both places and connecting them in conversation. You see this when people are live-blogging or tweeting a town hall meeting."

Moulthrop is also enjoying his central location in the Campus District near downtown Cleveland. "We're close to a lot of things, and very accessible because we're right on Euclid Avenue, a major artery into downtown," he says.


Source: Dan Moulthrop
Writer: Lee Chilcote

Mike Belsito and Bryan Chaikin sprouted a business idea after a death in Belsito's family. Both were working at Findaway World, a digital products company, when Belsito's cousin died and he went through the arduous process of planning a funeral.

The two started talking about how difficult it is to find the right funeral home in a time of crisis... and an idea was formed. They started FunerAlly, an online resource for selecting the right funeral home.

"It's nearly impossible to understand each funeral home in the area and what they had to offer and the prices," says Belsito of the wide selection. "When you talk about the importance of finding the right funeral home, you just pick a home and hope for the best. There really aren't a whole lot of options in choosing one."

It was all talk until the two heard about Ohio State University Fisher College of Business' 10-Xelerator, an 11-week boot camp for 10 start-up companies to launch and succeed in their business ventures. "Bryan and I submitted the idea to the 10X program and we were accepted as finalists," says Belsito. "That was the impetus for us to really step out fulltime and launch a business. We're really motivated to make this work."

Through 10X, FunerAlly is getting the guidance it needs to successfully launch. Belsito and Chaikin are spending their summer in Columbus, getting advice and lessons from advisors and mentors.

"10X opened the door to so many individuals we wouldn't have access to otherwise," Belsito says. "Entrepreneurship has always been a passion of mine and definitely our intent is to created jobs in Northeast Ohio."

Source: Mike Belsito
Writer: Karin Connelly

Arteriocyte, a leading clinical-stage biotechnology company with offices in Cleveland and Hopkinton, Mass., has been awarded a $1 million grant by the Ohio Department of Development's Third Frontier Commission. The company, which develops proprietary stem cell and tissue engineering based therapies, will use the grant for the development and commercialization of hematopoietic stem cell expansion for clinical applications.

The move is part of the Ohio Third Frontier Biomedical Program to accelerate the company's Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP) of its NANEX technology for clinical use under the product name HemaEx.

"The technology takes a small amount of stem cells and gets a large amount of stem cells," explains Adam Sorkin, Arteriocyte's director of research and development. "We are converting our existing process that is suitable for research to a process that is suitable for use in humans.".

Arteriocyte's therapies help find cures for chronic heart disease and peripheral artery disease, among other diseases.

The company, which was founded in 2004 as a spin-off out of CWRU, has seen rapid growth in the past couple of years, going from four employees to 80. The expansion will create between 15 and 20 jobs in the production facility.


Source: Adam Sorkin
Writer: Karin Connelly

When John Stahl launched LeanDog, his now four-year-old software development company that has grown to 34 employees, he was looking for a space that would stretch his clients' minds and embody the expansive thinking LeanDog tries to instill.

He found what he was looking for in a former Lake Erie barge, which dates back to 1892 and was last used as the floating restaurant Hornblower's. "We help companies envision who they want to be," says Stahl. "With a view of the trains, the Rock Hall, Lake Erie and downtown Cleveland, we figured this was the place to do that."

Now Stahl has partnered with the owner of Arras, a 20-year-old marketing and brand innovation company that currently has offices in the Terminal Tower, to purchase and renovate the barge, now permanently moored at 1151 N. Marginal Road. The project will add a full second story to accommodate the companies' growth.

Stahl and his business partner plan to purchase the barge for $500,000. They have also received a $275,000 loan package from the City of Cleveland towards the costs of renovations. That welcome support is part of a larger effort by the city to lure technology companies to the waterfront district, Stahl says.

The entrepreneurs will create open offices that maximize employee collaboration -- in essence modeling what LeanDog teaches. "We help companies change how they work, even as we deliver software," says Stahl. LeanDog is a practitioner of 'Agile' software development, which fosters an open, flexible culture.

The 34-employee company also hopes its offices will continue to serve as a meeting space for Cleveland's tech community. Currently, LeanDog hosts software user groups as well as organizations like Cleveland Startup Weekend and Cleveland Give Camp. "It's part of our values to help the community," says Stahl.

Stahl also plans to create a dock so visitors can arrive by boat. The second floor bar will disappear -- but not for long. Stahl hopes to recreate it on a new third-floor deck, complete with stunning views of Cleveland's skyline and Lake Erie sunsets.


Source: John Stahl
Writer: Lee Chilcote

More than 200 people in various industries donated their time and talent last weekend at the second annual Cleveland GiveCamp at LeanDog Software in Cleveland to help area non-profits.

Software and database developers, graphic designers, marketing professionals, copy writers, video producers, photographers, social media experts and food service volunteers donated more than 4,500 hours to 22 non-profit organizations, coming away with new technology applications valued at nearly $500,000 to help them in their efforts to help others.

"I think people want to be a part of a good thing," says GiveCamp spokesperson Amy Wong, adding that the 187 media volunteers is an exponential increase from the 100 people who helped out last year. "Thirty other cities participate, and we think we are one of the biggest."

Sponsors donated more than $14,000 in goods and services to make the event possible. Top sponsors included LeanDog, Burke Lakefront Airport,, Explorys, Hyland Software, OneCommunity, Rosetta, Saint Luke's Foundation and Sollie Rosen Memorial Foundation.

The volunteers worked long hours, often late into the night and early in the mornings to complete the projects. Organizations benefitting from the services were 501(c)3 groups in Northeast Ohio that had projects that could be completed over the duration of camp.

GiveCamp is an international initiative started in 2007 to bring together technology talent to help local nonprofits in need.


Source: Amy Wong
Writer: Karin Connelly

BlueBridge Networks in Cleveland and Bluemile in Albany, Ohio, have joined forces to offer a virtual powerhouse in data storage and recovery services. The joint venture offers the most robust, scalable and secure cloud computing platform with state of-the-art architecture and service delivery for companies and organizations.

The $11 million investment lets the two data centers easily provide cloud computing to large companies nationwide. Data can be passed quickly between Cleveland and Columbus thanks to Bluemile's acquisition of fiber optic internet cable that stretches between the two cities. BlueBridge's local clients include Hyland Software, Olympic Steel and Rosetta.

"Part of the value is you have a regional company that thinks regional, coupled with human interaction," says Kevin Goodman, managing director of business development and partner with BlueBridge. "We're going to bring cloud business here. Instead of sending your stuff to Seattle or Herndon, Virginia, you're sending it to Cleveland or Columbus."

No other regional data service center in the country provides this type of secure cloud computing. The collaboration enables a certain level of protection in times of emergency or data recovery needs. "We can deliver state-of-the-art, robust, efficient platforms and create jobs," says Goodman. "We've planted the right seeds and built the right infrastructure."

In fact, the partnership has created more than 60 jobs this year, 10 of them in Cleveland in sales, engineering and back-office positions, and BlueBridge is planning to hire even more in the near future. "We've had solid, constant double-digit growth," says Goodman. "This has us poised for exponential growth and jobs."


Source: Kevin Goodman
Writer: Karin Connelly

When a tree falls in the city of Cleveland, it gets trucked off to a facility that reduces it to mulch, which is then dyed an offensive shade of red or black and ultimately laid to rest on somebody's prized flower bed. It is a crime not only upon nature, but to Dean Heidelberg, owner of Metro Hardwoods. As the operator of one of this country's only urban sawmills, Heidelberg is on a mission to rescue as many trees as possible.

With the recent opening of the Urban Orchid, a new flower and gift shop located at 2704 Bridge Avenue, an empty storefront has been filled and a new business has been added to Ohio City's artisan economy.

Owner Brandon Sitler describes the Urban Orchid as "a small gift boutique and full-service flower shop that offers custom arrangements and delivers flowers throughout Cuyahoga County -- and anywhere in the world, really." The cozy, 400-square-foot space boasts an open floor plan that allows customers to watch the floral designer at work.

Sitler worked at Flowerville in University Heights for eight years before striking out on his own. His new store offers handmade gift items such as greeting cards adorned with Ohio City scenes by artist David Horneck, head bands by designer Lindsey Bower of Black Bow Designs, and bags made from recycled materials.

The entrepreneur was inspired to open the store after he won an international design competition from a wholesale organization and garnered grant funding from Ohio City Inc. and Charter One Bank last year. The confidence boost and cold, hard cash allowed him to make the proverbial leap from idea to actuality.

"Having that support helped me to get into this space, fix it up and make my dream a reality," says Sitler, an Ohio City resident who decided the time was right to launch a flower shop because there are no others on the near-west side.

Sitler hopes to continue creating custom arrangements for weddings and other events while also serving walk-in customers at his shop, which is open on weekdays from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. and on Saturdays from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.

The Urban Orchid also specializes in green and sustainable gifts. Sitler buys work from local artists that is handmade or made from recycled materials. "Flowers make you think of what you're leaving behind, your footprint," he says. "So the idea of my flower shop was to keep it green and give back."


Source: Brandon Sitler
Writer: Lee Chilcote