Hello Cleveland

Hello, Cleveland

In this week’s issue:
* So Long Cleveland, For Now a commentary by David Dalka on leaving Cleveland
* RoldoLINK Community Shares finds a better Way
* Only in Cleveland Cleveland’s Leading Satirist embellishes more meat
* Cool Cleveland Sounds Northcoast Jazz Collective
* Cool Cleveland Kids podcast click here, CC podcast click here, CC Blog click here

It’s a funny thing when you move to a new place. Even though you’re excited about your new town, it heightens your appreciation for the place you left. This week, read a commentary by someone who just moved to Chicago and started listing all the things he misses about Cleveland. A quirky and personal list, but one we think you’ll appreciate.

Join the fun at the Rock Hall as they offer a month-long celebration you won’t find in Chicago or anywhere else, celebrating funk music. This week you can do everything from an ice carving competition to an avant-garde art barbeque to seeing Ohio native and first African-American poet laureate of the US, Rita Dove. For those of us not leaving Cleveland, it’s a great week to stick around. –Thomas Mulready

So Long Cleveland, For Now…
By David Dalka

For the past two years, I worked in downtown Cleveland. I had previously lived in New York City and Chicago. Cleveland will always provide memories of a pleasant lifestyle which allowed a focus on personal growth and interactions with interesting people. Due to significant changes at the organization I was with in Cleveland, I recently relocated to Chicago where the majority of my family resides, but I want to be perfectly clear that I would be happy to build relationships that would bring me back to Cleveland or be involved in an extension of businesses with significant presence in Cleveland!

The following are my fondest Cleveland memories:
1) People and Networking One thing I love about Cleveland is the time people make for one another. I reached out to many people I met through www.coolcleveland.com and other networking events, some of which I organized. People in Cleveland are pretty good about making the time to meet with you, explain what they are doing, show a sincere desire to learn about you and help each other. This is not true of every city I’ve resided and it is something that Clevelanders should treasure, be proud of and utilize more…
Read So Long Cleveland by David Dalka here

To submit your own commentary, analysis or shout out, send it to: Letters@CoolCleveland.com

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Unique Loft Condos Celebrate Grand Opening The Painters Loft Condominiums offer 20 unique floor plans in a renovated warehouse building in the exciting Detroit Shoreway neighborhood. Units feature 14 ft ceilings, exposed brick, large windows flooded with natural light, concrete floors, 1-2 bedrooms, 1-2 baths and more. Prices start at $109,900, and the units have 12 year tax abatement, 1.5% below market financing, and a $10,000 second mortgage. Help the new owners celebrate their digs, enjoy wine and sumptuous appetizers and desserts from Take a Bite Deli and Lucky’s, and check out these unique spaces for yourself! Don’t miss the Grand Opening and Owners Open House, on Thur 2/9 from 5-8PM. Over 50 sold! Painters Loft is also open Sundays from 2-4PM. 8205 Franklin Blvd. For a complete list of open houses, please visit www.progressiveurban.com.
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Rock Hall’s funky February Clevelanders will get an up close and personal opportunity to explore Funk music from its roots up. On Wed 2/8 legendary drummers (originators of the most sampled drum tracks) and vets of the James Brown Band, Clyde Stubblefield and John “Jab’o” Starks, will shed insight on their histories; Wed 2/15 Nile Rodgers will discuss his unparalleled career and his role as R&B’s ambassador to rock; HOF inductee Bootsy Collins will address a sold-out audience on Wed 2/17 and the Ohio Players will take the Rock Hall by storm to close out the month with a Funk Finale on Fri 2/24. Call 515-8426 to make reservations for no-cost speaking engagements. For the Funk Finale call 241-5555 or visit www.Ticketmaster.com to purchase tickets.

Cool Cleveland Podcast Cool things to do this week in Cleveland, at the click of a button. http://www.coolcleveland.com/files/audio/CoolCleveland02.10.06.mp3.

Cleveland Arts Prize nominations The Cleveland Arts Prize is seeking nominations of outstanding creative artists in the areas of Design, Music & Dance, Visual Arts and Literature for the upcoming 2006 awards. Awards will be given to exceptional emerging artists, artists at the peak of their careers, and those who have demonstrated a lifetime of achievement. Nominate your favorite artist online at http://www.ClevelandArtsPrize.org now through Wed 3/15.

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Rita Dove, the Youngest Poet and First African American to be named poet laureate of the US, will preside at Cleveland Public Library’s Writers and Readers Series, Sun 2/12 at 2PM. There is no charge for this event, which is open to the public in the Main Library, Louis Stokes Wing Auditorium, E. 6th and Superior. Dove is the featured guest for African American History Month. An Akron native, she has received national and international recognition for her poetry and received the Pulitzer Prize in 1987 for her book of poetry, Thomas and Beulah. Her most recent poetry collection is American Smooth. For more information contact (216) 623-2800 or www.cpl.org.
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Hello, NYC One of the top chefs in the US, Michael Symon, fresh off his recent appearance on The Food Channel’s Iron Chef, who is moving his Lola Bistro restaurant from Tremont down to East 4th Street, and who recently launched Lolita in its old space, is now planning to open an upscale Greek restaurant. Parea, right next door to the famous Grammercy Tavern. That’s what we like to see: exporting Cleveland culture around the world! See story here.

Strapped Author Tammy Draut’s new book explores the economic challenges facing young adults as they attempt to earn their degrees, build their careers, buy homes and start families. In the first of two local appearances, the author will speak at CSU’s Levin College, Glickman-Miller Hall Atrium at 1717 Euclid Avenue on Thu 2/9 at 4PM, where she’ll also be joined by local commentator Daniel Gray-Kontar. Register here for the no-cost event. Draut will also appear at Mac’s Backs Paperbacks at 1820 Coventry Road in Cleveland Heights on Fri 2/10 at 7PM. Compare the situation of today’s 20 & 30-somethings with that of their predecessors at www.StrappedTheBook.com. Share your thoughts about some of the author’s findings at Letters@CoolCleveland.com.

Cool Cleveland Kids Check below for the CC KIDS logo that marks family-friendly events for this week. For this week’s Cool Cleveland Kids Podcast, click here. Let us know how you like it: Letters@CoolCleveland.com.

$100K Business Plan Competition at Case Case Western Reserve University is accepting submissions for its “$100K Business Plan Competition at Case.” The nationwide competition is open to students and to owners of businesses with less than $100,000 in seed capital. A total of $100,000 in prize money is available, of which $75,000 will go to a plan coming from a student or business based in Northeast Ohio, with the remaining $25,000 going to a student plan from anywhere in the country. The deadline for submitting executive summaries is Mon 2/13, with final judging taking place 4/20. Visit http://www.case.edu/The100KChallenge/ for more info.

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Are You Getting It Regularly? Sleep, that is. If not, you might want to check out William Dement, M.D., Ph.D. and pioneer in sleep medicine from Stanford University on Wed 2/22 at 7PM in the Aitken Auditorium at the Cleveland Institute of Art. Dement is the Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at the Stanford University School of Medicine, and Director of the Stanford Sleep Disorders Clinic and Research Center. Helping discover and describe REM sleep and its relationship with dreaming, Dement has been a strong public policy advocate through his work as Chairman of the National Commission on Sleep Disorders created by the U.S. Congress. For more info contact 216-754-3340 or see www.CIA.edu.
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Clean and Safe Taking matters into their own hands, Downtown businesses voted an additional tax on themselves, and the new Downtown Cleveland Alliance will use the $3 million generated to hire 55 full-time uniformed safety ambassadors with 2-way radios and a crew of uniformed maintenance workers keeping Downtown free of litter, graffiti and weeds. Don’t wait, don’t whine… do the job. See story here.

Cuyahoga Valley Initiative flows Cuyahoga County Planning Director Paul Alsenas has been evangelizing a green approach, best practices, and collaborative mixed use in the under-appreciated Cuyahoga Valley for years. He’s finally getting some funding and recognition, with a million dollars in recent grants, new staff and key project successes like Steelyard Commons and the upcoming completion of the Towpath Trail. See story here. http://www.CuyahogaValley.net

Emissions from the blogsphere Wendy Hoke relates here experience being strapped. Dott Schneider is leaving Cleveland for Las Vegas. Jack Ricchiuto submits a haiku from the beach. Poet Sara Holbrook catches us up on the last two months since she’s posted. Sarah Wilson-Jones announces that their barista competition made Barista Magazine. Check the Cool Cleveland weblog here, where Peter Chakerian talks about the Funk series at the Rock Hall and wonders aloud about the Cleveland leadership, the Hexatron, Detroit and the Super Bowl … only to have the PD write about it a week later. When you’re done, add your own comments, questions and attitude. Letters@CoolCleveland.com.

Cool Cleveland This Week
2.08-2.15

Send your cool events to: Events@CoolCleveland.com

recentworks Head Downtown to Gallery 324 for the powerful visual experience of Bruce Conforti’s one-man show and experience the artists’ vivid abstracts which utilize intense colors to pack a powerful artistic punch. Catch the show before it’s gone – now through Fri 3/17. Gallery 324, The Galleria at Erieview, 1301 East Ninth Street.

The Black History Celebration Art Show The works in this show, which runs now through Tue 2/28, will embrace the concept of art as a life-time of adventure which artists pursue across various media and in a wide variety of physical spaces. Special events include talks and art demonstrations by the artists on Art Demonstration Day, Sat 2/11 from 10AM-4PM; Fun Day on Sat 2/18 from 10AM-4PM featuring storytelling, face-painting, music, lectures and artist demos; Blacks in Outer Space on Sat 2/25 from 10AM-4PM, which includes a conference on blacks in the space program, a panel discussion from 1-2PM, and a slide presentation and live music and more. Gallery 324 at The Galleria, 1301 East 9th Street. www.GalleriaAtErieview.com.

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Awaken Your Spirit and Escape the Winter Doldrums at the Cleveland Botanical Garden’s Winter Wellness Weekend on Sat 2/11 and Sun 2/12. Reenergize with a discovery of refreshing, natural and alternative sources of nutrition, exercise, and health care products that cultivate the body, mind and spirit. Meet experts in the fields of natural and holistic health, yoga, naturopathy, dentistry, massage, natural cosmetics, crystal healing tools, safe, natural, cleaning products for your home and more. Check our website at www.CBGarden.org for a complete list of vendors, exhibitors and speakers. Experience a veritable supermarket of wellness items to help demystify a range of increasingly popular wellness and lifestyle options. Afterwards, escape to Costa Rica and Madagascar – in our Glasshouse – for a holistic approach to your day of healing and rejuvenation. Call 216-721-1600 for more information.
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Get Rent for a Steal Jonathan Larson’s powerful contemporary play, based on Puccini’s La Boheme, about a community of young artists dealing with the realities of poverty, AIDS, identity, sexuality, love and friendship is a must-see, moving and entertaining experience that will leave your breathless. The show runs now through 2/12. Playhouse Square is making this experience accessible to Cleveland’s own struggling artists or anyone who might otherwise miss this wonderful theater experience because of ticket costs. The first three rows of orchestra seats are available for just $20 a pop (cash only), beginning two hours prior to the show. Call 241-6000 or visit www.PlayhouseSquare.com for general ticket purchase. Palace Theatre, 1519 Euclid Avenue.

Larry Keeley @ MOCA AIGA The president and co-founder of Doblin, Inc. an innovation strategy firm known for pioneering comprehensive innovation systems, will speak at MOCA on Wed 2/8 at 6PM. The leading innovator, who views design as an integral part of the innovation development process, will share his thoughts and experiences with the audience. Learn more about Keeley at http://www.doblin.com. Register for the event at http://www.aigacleveland.org. Museum of Contemporary Art, Cleveland, 8501 Carnegie Avenue.

Lord of the Rings Dress Rehearsal The Cleveland Orchestra announces the sale of $18 tickets for the working dress rehearsal of The Lord of the Rings Symphony with composer Howard Shore as conductor on Thu 2/9 at 7:30PM. Get tickets at www.ClevelandOrchestra.com. See the listing below for full concert info. Severance Hall.

CC KIDS Finding Your Family Workshops Discover more about your family’s history during a series of workshops offered by the Western Reserve Historical Society beginning Fri 2/10 and Sat 2/11. Additional sessions will run on 2/17, 2/18, 2/24 and 2/25. Call 721-5722, Ext. 224 to learn more about the sessions, which are included with the price of admission, or to make the required reservations. Western Reserve Historical Society’s East Boulevard complex, 10825 East Boulevard, University Circle. http://www.wrhs.org.

Garret Wieder’s Pop Art Enter the world of Garret Wieder through vibrant Pop Art and his latest abstract paintings on Fri 02/10 at the Flying Monkey Pub. Experience the eclectic mix of works described as “a stream of consciousness flowing onto canvas” at the opening night festivities kicking off at 6PM. For more information about the artist visit http://www.GarrettWeider.com. Show runs through 3/9 at The Flying Monkey Pub, 819 Jefferson Avenue.

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Phat Phunktion is coming to Fat Fish Blue Sat 2/11. Singled out in 2003 by Rolling Stone Magazine as a “band on the rise,” Phat Phunktion has shared the stage with musical legends that include The Temptations, Tower of Power, WAR, Cameo, Morris Day and the Time, Average White Band, Chick Corea, Maynard Ferguson, Taj Mahal, Rick James and The Brothers Johnson. Their growing base of faithful “Phatheads” are fans of their great stage show and “can’t-stay-in-my-seat” groove. As their website demands . . . “This is the year for all of us to get Phat!” Only $5 at Fat Fish Blue (or is that Phat Phish Blue?) Sat 2/11 at 9PM. Contact www.fatfishblue.com for info and for reservations call 216.875.6000! Fat Fish Blue, Corner of Prospect & Ontario (downtown).
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this is everyday shit, man This group show examines the results of both local and national photographers’ documentation of everyday life through the lens of their cameras. Attend the opening reception on Fri 2/10 from 6-9PM. Call 623-8510 for more info. Inside-Outside Gallery, 2688 West 14th Street, Tremont. http://www.InsideOutsideGallery.com.

Memory and Play features Kelley Hayes’ manipulations of mono-prints and oil paintings which conjure up ideas of Rorschach tests and images from the subconscious; Kate Uhrich’s play with scale in her intaglio prints and photographs of childhood relics to invoke thoughts on the distortion and dissolution of memory and Lauren Monaco’s mixing of media and representational styles to create illustrations of moments in time and fantasy. Attend the opening reception on Fri 2/10 during the Tremont Artwalk. The show runs through 3/1. Call 330-304-8528. Asterisk Gallery, 2393 Professor Avenue.

Roméo et Juliette The three-act opera, closely based on Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet, follows the star-crossed lovers of the Montague and Capulet families from their first fleeting encounter to their untimely deaths. Set in 14th Century Verona, Gounod’s graceful tribute to forbidden love promises to capture the hearts of Clevelanders young and old. Performances run Fri 2/10 at 8PM, Sun 2/12 at 2PM, Sat 2/17 & Sun 2/18 at 8PM. Call 241-6000 for tickets or visit http://www.ClevelandOpera.org. State Theatre, 1519 Euclid Avenue.

Dayton Contemporary Dance Company The internationally acclaimed dance company brings their signature mélange of grace, athleticism and power to town on Fri 2/10 and Sat 2/11 at 8PM. A contemporary dance company rooted in the African American experience, DCDC brings history to life by adapting classics derived from Black heritage to contemporary works by up-and-coming choreographers. Call 987-4400 for tickets. Visit http://www.TriCPresents.com for details. Tri-C Metro Campus Main Stage Theatre, 30th & Woodland Avenue. http://www.dcdc.org/.

Necessary Targets This powerful story of sisterhood and survival by Eve Ensler examines the issues of women and war. Catch performances on Fri 2/10, Sat 2/11, Fri 2/17, Sat 2/18, Fri 2/24 & Sat 2/25 at 8PM. The Fine Arts Association, Corning Auditorium, 38660 Mentor Avenue, Willoughby. www.FineArtsAssociation.org.

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C Dance, C Theater, C Concerts with Ctix Get up to half off tickets to the best performances in town, including Playhouse Square, Great Lakes Theater Festival, Cleveland Opera, Cleveland Play House, Beck Center, Cleveland Public Theater and more. Register for this free service at www.Ctix.org to receive weekly emails alerting you about great deals for tickets to great performances. A service of the Convention & Visitors Bureau of Greater Cleveland. For more information about attractions and events in northeast Ohio, visit http://www.travelcleveland.com www.TravelCleveland.com%green %.
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King’s Singers Prepare for the royal treatment as Oberlin College hosts the world renowned King’s Singers on Fri 2/10 at 8PM. Famous for a blended and balanced sound in repertoire that ranges from English madrigals to Freddy Mercury, the King’s Singers performance is sure to be breathtaking. Get tickets at the Central Ticket box office or by calling 440-775-8169. Finney Chapel, 90 North Professor Street, Oberlin. www.Oberlin.edu.

Boilermaker Jazz Band Bring your sweetie to this Valentine’s swing dance on Fri 2/10 or find one during a dance version of speed dating. The evening will begin with a beginner jitterbug lesson at 8PM, then dance to the amazing sounds of the Boilermaker Jazz Band (from jazz standards, to boogie and gritty blues) led on vocals and clarinet by Paul Cosentino and featuring the smooth vocal stylings of Jennie Luvv. Visit http://www.GetHepSwing.com for more info. Lakewood Masonic Temple, 15300 Detroit Avenue, Lakewood.

Look Back in Anger Case’s production of the groundbreaking play by John Osbourne opens Fri 2/10 with performances on 2/11, and 2/16-2/18 at 8PM and Sunday matinee performances at 2:30PM on 2/12 & 2/19. The play delivers a powerful performance, epitomizing the classic angry young man, for which Osbourne is famous. Call 368 -6262 for tickets or info. Eldred Theater is located at 2070 Adelbert Road. www.case.edu.

CC KIDS Lord of the Rings Concert Take a musical journey into Middle Earth, courtesy of the Cleveland Orchestra and Chorus on Fri 2/10 & Sat 2/11 at 8PM and Sun 2/12 at 3PM when the Grammy and Oscar-winning score from The Lord of the Rings trilolgy will be featured. Original illustrations from artists Alan Lee and John Howe will be projected above the stage. Purchase tickets at www.ClevelandOrchestra.com. Severance Hall.

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Breath-Taking Dance Captures Black Heritage For two evenings of breath-taking dance like you’ve never seen before, a must see is the internationally acclaimed Dayton Contemporary Dance Company at the Tri-C Metro Campus Theatre Fri 2/10 and Sat 2/11 at 8PM. Moments in history are brought to life through unique depictions of classics from Black heritage. Works of renowned dancemakers are celebrated through the troupes’ energetic signature style that’s full of grace, athleticism, dramatic power and versatility. The New York Times describes Dayton Contemporary Dance Company as “…a showcase of creativity and virtuoso dancing.” For tickets call 216-987-4400 or 800-766-6048 or go online to www.TriCPresents.com or www.Tickets.com. Presented by Cuyahoga Community College Performing Arts.
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Avant Barbecue! Get your freak on with the first Freakout of the year presented by The Miller-Weitzel Gallery and Exit Stencil Recordings on Fri 2/10 starting at 9PM. Fill up on delicious barbeque to the sights and sounds of art, improv and musical performances by Cleveland’s best Avant Garde artists. Call 939-9099 or visit http://www.MillerWeitzelGallery.com. Miller Weitzer Gallery, 5304 Detroit Avenue.

CC KIDS Kent Ice Carving Competition The event, cleverly tagged, Make Mine with Ice will take place on Sat 2/11 from 1 to 4PM. Afterward, accordion troubadour, David Badagnani, will lead the crowd from the Home Savings Plaza to galleries participating in the Kent Gallery Hop from 4-7PM – including The Downtown Gallery (an extension of KSU); Two Turtles Museum Shop, for storytelling with Edwin George; North Water Street Gallery and Turn Up Records, among others. Visit http://www.StandingRock.net for more info. Downtown Kent.

Second Saturday Coffee House The hot, new venue Second Saturday Coffee House will explode onto the Cleveland arts scene on Sat 02/11 at 6PM. Saturday’s show will feature three acts, including Sean Smith, a youth poetry slam, and open mic. Don’t miss the start of something beautiful at this family-friendly, smoke-free arts venue which offers childcare. Call 481-1028 for more details. Immanuel Presbyterian Church, 325 East 156th St.

Rita Dove at CPL Rediscover the enthralling works of Ohio-born Rita Dove, the youngest poet and the first African-American to be named poet laureate of the United States. Join this groundbreaking poet on Sun 2/12 at 2PM during the Cleveland Public Library’s Writers and Readers Series, open without cost to the public. Call 623-2800 for more details. Main Library, Louis Stokes Wing Auditorium, East 6th Street and Superior Avenue. www.cpl.org.

Voices and Choices in Lakewood Join a “community conversation” on Sun 2/12 from 4-6PM. This event will give Lakewood residents an opportunity to participate in this sweeping, regional initiative designed to engage citizens in economic issues affecting our 15-county region. Visit http://www.VoicesChoices.org for more info. No registration required. Lakewood Public Library Auditorium, 15425 Detroit Avenue.

Fundraiser at the Treehouse Celebrate St. Patrick’s Day a wee bit early during this fundraising event where you can rub elbows with the bonnie lads and lasses comprising the cast of the new Irish dance play, The Mad Mask Maker of Maigh Eo and listen to the mad sounds of the band Pitch the Peat. The fun begins Sun 2/12 at 7PM and goes until the keg runs dry. Call 281-9558 for tickets or pay at the door. Treehouse, 820 College Avenue, Tremont.

Dichroism Holographic works by Ray Howlett will be on display from Mon 2/13 through Sat 3/4. Fifteen works by the art glass innovator, who has pioneered the artistic application of space-age imaging, will be featured in this no-cost, public exhibition. Howlett employs diochroism, an original American art movement, to create pieces that mirror wind-blown elements in nature. Gallery hours are M-F 10AM-5PM and Saturdays from 12-4PM. Cleveland State Art Gallery, 2307 Chester Ave. www.CSUOhio.edu.

An Evening with a Curator The House of Blues and Cleveland Museum of Art have teamed up for a sizzling series of Happy Hour offerings on selected Mondays each month. Join Sue Bergh, associate curator of Art of the Ancient Americas on Mon 2/13 between 5:30PM and 7:30PM for complimentary hors d’oeuvres and a cash bar, as she leads an art discussion. Call 523-BLUE or visit www.ClevelandArt.org for info. The House of Blues, 308 Euclid Avenue.

Building Your Brand Join Peter Miller of the Cleveland Clinic Foundation, Barb Cagley of SCK Design and the faculty and students of the Nance College of Business Administration on Tue 2/14 at 12PM for a lively discussion of some of the toughest questions facing marketers today, including: How can you provide a consistent brand message to a wide audience? How can you best measure and increase conversion rates for your campaigns? What are some innovative ways to measure the return on your marketing investment? Register here. Nance College of Business Administration, Room 118, 1860 East 18th Street.

Lust for Life The band Top Dog will be cranking out the tunes for a good cause during a happy hour celebration on Valentine’s Day Tue 02/14 from 5-8PM. Light appetizers, perfect for after work or pre-dinner munchies, and a silent auction are all part of the agenda, with proceeds from the event going to the The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. The House of Blues Cambridge Room, 308 Euclid Avenue.

Valentines Lonely Hearts Party If you don’t have that special someone to share Valentines with, don’t sit home alone … Come on down to the Town Fryer on Tue 2/14 @ 8PM for some southern comfort & lots-o-fun. Clint and Lawrence will be spinning the most god-awful, heartbreaking, tear jerking vinyls you can imagine. If the food and drink specials don’t lift your spirits, Susie and her staff certainly will. 3859 E Superior. 426-9235. http://www.TheTownFryer.com.

WCLVnotes The King’s Singers appear at Finney Chapel of Oberlin College this Friday with a live concert on WCLV 104.9 at 8PM. The King’s Singers are one of the world’s most sought-after and acclaimed vocal ensembles, presenting diverse programs with a repertoire that ranges from Renaissance to pop music. This is a James Gaffigan weekend on WCLV. The Assistant Conductor, who has been tapped to be Michael Tilson Thomas’ Associate Conductor in San Francisco beginning next year, will conduct both the Saturday and Sunday Cleveland Orchestra broadcasts on WCLV. Sat 2/11 at 8PM his Cleveland Orchestra Youth Orchestra will play Leonard Bernstein’s West Side Story Dances and Prokofiev’s ballet Romeo and Juliet. On Sun 2/12 at 4PM he conducts what is perhaps classical music’s most famous piece, Beethoven’s 5th Symphony. For details contact www.WCLV.com. WCLV is a Cool Cleveland partner.

Send your cool events to: Events@CoolCleveland.com

RoldoLINK
An Alternative To United Way – Community Shares

It started with inconsequential people frustrated by an inability to meet social needs. Year after year, despite the millions of dollars in annual United Way Services charity donations, they saw acute social needs unmet, year after year after year.

The dissatisfaction led an informal group to join together and talk about an independent united campaign in 1984. They had been upset by their inability to get United Way or the many Cleveland foundations to pay attention.

One woman wanted to start a women’s shelter and went to United Way. She was told, “We already have one,” said Charles “Chip” Bromley, one of the original members and now a housing consultant. Such negative responses led people to join together for an alternative.

United Way’s brush off propelled a competitive challenge. Community Shares has now completed 20 years as a minor, but important competitor to the Big Charity Drive…
Read RoldoLINK here

Things You Can Only Do In Cleveland
Part Two of Part Two
Cleveland’s Leading Satirist tackles unique subjects

Waves of Polish immigrants washed ashore on American beaches in the late 19th and early 20th century. They were seeking the American dream of unlimited cabbage-shaped silver ingots wrapped in golden burlap. They were escaping mind-numbing poverty-stricken misery and those damned light bulb jokes.

Many of these hardy souls made their way to Cleveland. According to local legend, while many more continued westward to Chicago, our Poles decided that this city on a lake was far enough. They had taken wagons, ships, ox-carts and the “Iron Pierogi” all the way from Warsaw. Why bother having to schlep through Indiana? This was fine.

Among those who stopped was a man who had named himself “LL Easy-Ski” Sokolowski, thus inadvertently inventing the hip-hop nickname phenomenon. He settled in the, at the time, not quite so groovy Tremont area and opened a shot and a beer bar…
Read the second half, part two of four things here

Cool Cleveland Sounds
Northcoast Jazz Collective
Northcoast Jazz Collective
Self-Released

If you’re a Fat Fish Blue fan, you’ve probably stumbled upon the Northcoast Jazz Collective recently. You may have even become something of a NJC fan… out of default. The quartet has been the “house band” of sorts at Fat Fish, performing there a couple times a month for the past year. Their blend of original composition and jazz standards has made them widely desired at local clubs and at festival events (like the First Madison Jazz Fest) and at the Cleveland Museum of Art’s “Summer in the Courtyard” series.

The quartet features band leader Mark Grey (drums), John Gallo (bass), Dan Maier (piano) and Dave Frank (tenor sax) and is quickly becoming one of the better known local jazz outfits. With a blend of accessible standards and “straight-up” original, modern jazz that is both clever and keyed-in, they certainly have a desired ambience.

Their current, self-titled CD features 9 of those original compositions, drawing on a wide range of that ambience. From the delicate phrasing of “Georgie” and hazy classic-sounding chops of “In 5/4 There,” to more buoyant rhythmic lines (“Your Face,” “Rhumba Dolce”) and snappy tracks like “Thump,” you can’t help but tap your toes and smile when you hear them.

The arrangements on the disc are all exquisite and tasteful; musically, the group goes out of their way to keep your brain from exploding. “Music isn’t an intellectual competition,” they offer in the liner notes. “[c]oncentrating until your brain hurts doesn’t make you a better listener.”

Amen to that. It may come off to some as a tad mainstream, but honestly Northcoast Jazz Collective makes their next CD release—planned for the end of the year—even more desirable. Great for beginners and enthusiasts alike.

Northcoast Jazz Collective is performing at 4PM on Sun 2/12 at the First Unitarian Church, Shaker Heights. More info here.

From Cool Cleveland contributor Peter Chakerian peterATcoolcleveland.com

Wanna get reviewed? Send your band’s CD (less than 1 year old) to: Cool Cleveland, 14837 Detroit Avenue, #105, Lakewood, OH 44107

Hey Writers! Wanna write about Cleveland music? We’ve got a slew of recently-released CDs and DVDs by Cleveland-area musicians that could use your critical commentary for Cool Cleveland Sounds. If you’re interested, send us a note at Letters@CoolCleveland.com.

Instant Karma
Quick reviews of recent events
Going out this weekend? Take along your PDA and your digital camera. Scratch out a few notes to send us with a picture of it for our Instant Karma real-world reviews of what’s really happening. We’d love to hear from you. Send your stuff to Events@CoolCleveland.com

Cleveland Orchestra @ Severance Hall 2/2 The weather was very spring-like for Cleveland in early February, but then, so was the music. The program consisted of music that was at once familiar—and yet not quite so. The conductor was making his debut here as was one of the soloists. It was an interesting mélange of the usual and the unusual.

Conductors who were originally bassoonists are not all that common either, but his early musical training certainly didn’t hinder Mark Minkowski, a youngish Frenchman who turned to conducting some years ago. While his background includes everything from Baroque to contemporary and most music in between, it should come as no great surprise that he has a special Gallic sensitivity to the music of France, which comprised the first half of the program…
Read the review by Kelly Ferjutz here

Red: {an orchestra} @ Masonic Auditorium 2/4 Jonathan Sheffer, Artistic Director and Conductor of Red {an orchestra} is an exceptionally talented gentleman. To carry the sports simile another step, he’s a ‘five-tool’ player, at the very least. He’s a gifted composer, pianist, conductor, writer/narrator and very imaginative when it comes to thinking up programs for his orchestra to perform. Sometimes he bats 1000., but on other occasions, elements over which he has no direct control let him (and the audience) down just a bit. Nevertheless, in the four years that Red {an orchestra} has been resident in Cleveland, the musical aspects of any given program have never been less than superb, and I’ve been to most of them.

Saturday night’s concert (the last of this season—already!) was titled Image/Sound/Image and featured film images which inspired music, and then the process was reversed as music inspired the images. Mr. Sheffer wrote the score to a movie ‘you’ve never seen’ (as he stated, in a self-deprecating way) On Valentine’s Day made for PBS in 1987. It’s a homespun type piece of Americana set in Texas during WWI, mostly on Christmas Day (in spite of the title.) Three clips were shown, followed by the music written for them…
Read the review by Kelly Ferjutz here

Ground Works @ Botanical Gardens 1/27 Seeing Ground Works Dance Theatre the weekend of 1/27 – 29 at Cleveland Botanical Gardens reminded us why their website address is www.notsoobvious.com. Other Ground Works’ performances this past year had featured Beth Corning’s At Once There Was a House and Keely Garfield’s Iron Lung, dances we felt we understood, at least in our own minds. Last weekend’s performances, however, featured a couple of dances we had trouble talking about; they were not so obvious despite repeated viewings.

Return, “a meditation on what we have lost,” set out its premise clearly enough. One of three dances set on the company by Gina Gibney, Return had been choreographed during Gibney’s artistic residency at Cuyahoga Valley National Park. Every time we’ve seen Return, it’s been impossible not to picture Gibney in the park, coming up with the movements of the dance…
Read the review by Elsa and Victor here

Yr Turn
Cool Cleveland readers write
We encourage our readers to speak out by sending us letters and commentary. Send your letters to Letters@CoolCleveland.com. You must include your full name (required) and you may include your e-mail address (optional). You may also create a new Hotmail, Yahoo or Gmail e-mail address and submit it with your letter. Letters submitted to Cool Cleveland, or edited portions, may be published in an upcoming issue of Cool Cleveland at our discretion.

Send your letters to: Letters@CoolCleveland.com

On regionalism (See Regional development fund discussed here) A good start would be Fire/Emergency Medical. Cuyahoga County has some 50 Fire Depts (and 50 Fire Chiefs!) One Dept could serve the county. The service would be improved and the savings would be tremendous.
from Cool Cleveland reader Thomas Otto thomas.ottoATsbcglobal.net

On residency requirements & home rule (see Residency requirements and home rule here) I support the mayor on this important issue. I purchased my Cleveland home in 1983 largely because Cleveland residents DID overwhelmingly pass the residency requirement. I believe it is necessary to keep some good neighborhoods in Cleveland and to keep property values from plumeting. The thing that no one mentions is this: when the residency requirement was voted in, the people who worked for the city already were “grandfathered” in – nobody lost their job or was required to move. It only applied to new applicants. Why do people apply for jobs when they don’t like the restrictions? Various jobs have various restrictions/requirements/rules that people may like or dislike. This includes drug-testing, background checks, and there is even a no-smoking restriction for some jobs now. If you don’t like the rules, don’t apply. I believe that the Ohio House of (non) Representatives have overstepped their authority and I hope that Mayor Jackson and Law Director Triozzi will fight this tooth and nail.
from Cool Cleveland reader Laura Bates babybatesATmsn.com

I’m curious about the other cities. Is Cleveland the only city requiring this? This is America no one should require that you live in Cleveland to work in Cleveland. Who knows the security forces might be flooded with applicants, willful souls excited to make a difference and excited to work in this city, all by choice.
from Cool Cleveland reader Rosemarie Schupp Rmarie063ATaol.com

It’s not about where they live, their lifestyle, their beliefs, their race or gender. Maybe there was a time and place for this kind of law but I can’t imagine when or where. The only reasons persons should be judged unsuitable for any job must be based upon their ability to perform a given job, the routine execution of that ability and how their performance integrates with the organization. Show us the data that supports the position that absenteeism will increase, or productivity will decrease; that performance will be affected. Then we have a merit-based argument to discuss this – with that particular employee.
from Cool Cleveland reader Bob Salladay bobATsmileyhanchulak.com

As a long time city resident, I strongly support the residency rule. It makes me feel safer to have my safety forces near by.
from Cool Cleveland reader Karen Gabriel Moss KMossATrosnerlaw.com

The issue should be fairness, with uniform application of a standard. If being on the city payroll is the criterion, then all city employees, to include employees of city schools, should be residing here. That’s fair. That’s uniform. That’s consistent. No exceptions. No loopholes. No quibbling, niggling, argument, or debate. If we want to get away from being totalitarian, then allowing employees to live where they find it most affordable and most desirable would be in order. That might mean that Cleveland will have to come to grips with certain realities that affect all of us, every day, and find a way to become most peoples’ city of choice instead of the city of mandate for just some of the city employees.
from Cool Cleveland reader Tim Ferris tferrisATfscadvisor.com

Ohio’s Legislative Service Commission and Cleveland’s Law Department have it right: Cleveland’s residency requirement for safety workers is legal and constitutional, despite the state law that took effect last week. The state law violates home rule, and is drafted poorly: it permits residency requirements for part-time employees. And the residency requirement is also common: residency is required for the safety forces in Toledo, Dayton, Columbus, and Cincinnati – in fact, the Cincinnati safety forces lost their legal battle over the residency requirement back in 1980. Cleveland’s safety force unions should focus their poitical and legal efforts on other ways to improve the lives of their members, instead of throwing money down a hole fighting the residency requirement.
from Cool Cleveland reader George Carr georgecarrATgmail.com

Ciao Whitey, leave your job if you leave the city. Desegregation is good for America. Cities should be melting pots of many colors and not just destinations for pro sports viewing and partying. Taft’s efforts to subvert home rule will lead to further segregation, alienation, and inner-city depression.
from Cool Cleveland reader Jerry Dolcini dolgoatAThotmail.com

On the convention center (See Convention Center Blues here) Your 2/2 item in reference to the Convention Center states, “Our current convention center is old and uncompetitive and the reason that many conventions don’t come to Cleveland.” The reason that conventions don’t come to Cleveland now is location, location, location, and climate, climate, climate. Because of its non-central situation and its dearth of balmy days, Cleveland is never going to be a destination city for national conventions. We can’t change that industry rule and we can’t overcome it. Moreover, with the high (and soon to be much higher) cost of gasoline and fuel, people are simply not going to be traveling all over the country to attend conventions in the next decade, especially with emerging technology for web conferences and webinars becoming widely available. Even now, attendance at many major tradeshows and conferences is sharply down from the glory years. Choice spots like Orlando and Las Vegas are already paying organizations to site gatherings there. Objective consideration of all these factors points to only one conclusion: Cleveland and Cuyahoga County can go ahead and spend $350 million on a new facility, levy new sales taxes without residents’ permission, enrich the developers even more, and build a new convention center. And promptly watch it become a white elephant that hemorrhages money. That outcome is inevitable, no matter how much PR the city and county do. National conventions as a whole will rapidly become dinosaurs, so why should Cleveland fight to get a share of an industry that is becoming less economically viable every year? The people who are planning the new facility are looking at a very skewed, small, short-term picture, without one thought for the larger ramifications and costs. But why should they? The taxpayers will, as always, bear the burden. Alternative? Spend much less money and refurbish the present convention center to attract a share of regional conventions for as long as possible. No new construction necessary, much smaller financial outlay, and more chance that the renovations will pay for themselves, unlike a new behemoth of a convention complex.
from Cool Cleveland reader Denise Donaldson zoonorthATnetzero.com

On the County’s new HQ Cuyahoga County’s plans to create a government center at the site of the former Ameritrust complex at East 9th and Euclid will destroy a landmark building, miss the opportunity for a full-scale restoration of another and deprive county taxpayers of millions of dollars in federal preservation incentives that might otherwise be available. Marcel Breuer, one of the leading Early Modern architects in the world, sensitively designed a 29-story office tower, completed in 1971, behind the 1908 George B. Post-designed Rotunda building of the former Cleveland Trust Company. This is one of a handful of Breuer-designed office towers that exist in the U. S. and one of two Breuer landmarks in the Cleveland area, the other being the Cleveland Museum of Art’s North Wing, also from 1971. Even though rehabilitating this abandoned skyscraper would cost less than tearing it down and building a new office building in its place, the county is moving ahead to do just that. There is also the question about the adjacent magnificent Rotunda building and its grand stained glass dome. This 100-year-old building was last repaired nearly 50 years ago and has been neglected for years. It will cost a great deal to properly renovate this landmark and the county’s current vague projections seem woefully inadequate for this task. If the county would agree to save the Breuer Tower, they could gain much-needed funds to do the restoration work required for the Rotunda. But, if they tear down the tower, federal preservation officials will most likely deny funding for the Rotunda restoration. Our county government has had a long history of supporting the arts and historic preservation, most especially by its pivotal role in the restoration of the grand theaters of Playhouse Square. It would be a great artistic and financial loss for the people of our county if the Breuer Tower were to come down. The arts community, in particular, could play a special roles in this effort during the coming months as plans move forward on this project.
from Cool Cleveland reader Steve McQuillin SteveMcQuillin@aol.com

On the new “signature” Innerbelt bridge (See Bye, bye signature bridge? here) Dear Mr. Gordon Proctor, Director, Ohio Department of Transportation: This is so typical of those living in the Cleveland area. Years from now people will comment on the banal,ugly bridge causing more destruction in the city. We have no leaders with vision in this area. Paul Alsenas’s play has vision but with our poor self image and less than mediocre ideas maybe they feel we don’t deserve something outstanding. Even Columbus,Cinci, and Baltimore would approve Alsenas’s plan. Not Cleveland. It prefers third world vision.
from Cool Cleveland reader Janet Loehr LOEHRJMATaol.com

In many major cities I have traveled there are outer-belts that take ‘people in a hurry’ around and away from the city, the whole point being to avoid the city as much as possible. I think everyone has to admit that our current situation takes everyone through or very close to Cleveland, so that even at 60mph+ everyone sees Cleveland, and if they are inclined and daring enough, they can get off in the city instead of 5 miles away. Beautify the city, yes; put out better communication as to where things are, yes, but leave the road system alone, it is actually very good.
from Cool Cleveland reader Karen Gregg kgreggATclevelandart.org

As is so often the case, there are two sides to every story. The problem that the County Planner (and the PD Architectural Critic) so neatly sidestep in pushing for a southern location for the new span, in preference to the ODOT proposal, is that locating a new bridge south of the existing bridge would effectively destroy the Tremont neighborhood. Anyone who doubts that this would be the case need only visit the University Inn and walk a short block down to West 7 street. In addition to taking a part of Annunciation Church, a new span to the south would almost certainly consign the University Inn and Fat Cats to sweet memory and, more importantly, compromise the integrity of the new housing redevelopments along West 7 and adjoining streets. In sum, Cool Cleveland would do well to do a little independent research before it swallows the line peddled by the “let’s build a really nifty bridge even if it screws the neighborhood “ crowd that is best exemplified by the County Planner and the PD.
from Cool Cleveland reader F.J. Calatrello Frederick.CalatrelloATnlrb.gov

I have to respond briefly to the summary paragraph in Cool Cleveland of the recent decision by the City’s powers-that-be to go forward with the proposed bridge alignment from ODOT. Ever since the term “signature bridge” came into the conversation, the media and the public have become disillusioned by it and have spent far too much of their time imagining a grand structure and far too little time thinking about what it actually means. My issue is that the “signature bridge” is not the argument. The argument being made by Paul Alsenas and others was about the alignment of the proposed bridge, the takings that it would necessitate and the impact that it and the entire innerbelt project will have on the communities that they pass through. Add to that, the impact on the City and region as a whole. ODOT’s response to all the people at the November public meeting (has there been one since then?) who were crying out for a “signature bridge” was that of course they were going to build us a great bridge! The bridge’s appearance is a non-issue. The issue was do we build another bridge right next to the existing one and further pen in Downtown and add another massive canopy over the river and the Flats? Or do we consolidate the roadway into a single new bridge and free up land Downtown for more growth? These issues appear to be dead in the water (or over it), however. Now, we must concentrate on the impact of the Innerbelt “trench” through the eastern end of Downtown and into St. Clair-Superior and Midtown. Combat the takings and listen to the communities that will be most affected by the proposals.
from Cool Cleveland reader Christopher Bongorno mrgooddayATgmail.com

Good morning, Mr. Proctor: It is with great disappointment that I have come to learn of the paucity of design innovation and creativity that ODOT is employing to “create” a new Innerbelt bridge for Cleveland. Not only is our area worthy of a great signature span, it is absolutely required given the great, multi-generational industrial heritage of and on display throughout our area; what is currently on your drafting table is unacceptable. Please, let’s not pretend that ODOT has expended all of its energy and resources in coming up with such a plebian design concept; what you have demonstrated thus far leaves too much to be desired, little too be admired. It’s time ODOT seriously considers the impact this span will have on our area; it’s time ODOT puts Northeast Ohio as a priority district over the more heavily politically-favored Downstate regions; it’s time the taxpayers’ money becomes a shining beacon for us all. Hopefully, the public meetings to be held will be sobering to your design and engineering staff. We cannot afford to let this public project “fall between the cracks.”
from Cool Cleveland reader Jonathan Epstein Epper_JonATsbcglobal.net

Response from Gordon Proctor, Director, Ohio Department of Transportation: Mr. Epstein, It is quite incorrect that ODOT will not be designing a signature bridge. In fact, the bridge design team was selected in large part of its national and international stature in designing signature bridges. Work to identify bridge type worthy of the city and acceptable to the neighborhoods will begin in late winter. Take a look at the Maumee River Crossing in Toledo and you can see an example of what can be done in Cleveland. The issue of north versus south alignment has no bearing on whether a signature bridge is possible. Respectfully, Gordon Proctor gordon.proctorATdot.state.oh.us

On being frustrated in Cleveland I was driving I-490 West last night at dusk and looked over at Cleveland’s skyline and envisioned how beautiful a Signature Bridge would look leading left to right into the skyline. Then I read Bye, bye signature bridge? today in CC and felt very frustrated and angry by the total lack of leadership and vision by our so-called leaders. During lunch last Friday someone mentioned that Roldo’s writing was angry. After I read Roldo’s column today how can you not be angry? If I had to write about what he and others have covered, and we in general have to read about, I’d be angry and frustrated too (which I obviously am) and can completely understand why others get to this point. This has to end. There needs to be a city-wide accountability call of our public and private leaders. How can any of these so-called leaders get up in the morning and look at themselves in the mirror? So much of this is so surreal, would someone please wake me up from this nightmare! And, please, don’t tell me to do something about it. Don’t tell me being angry won’t solved the problem. Because it will. A lot of positive things have come out of citzens being real pissed off at their leaders. And I sense a lot of people getting pissed off. We’ve got plenty of public officials who get paid good money to “do something about it”. Here’s an idea…why don’t we just make what we have work. Why don’t our so-called public and private officials and the departments and committees they lead just do their jobs in an accountable manner? We don’t need another local “initiative” or non-profit org to study the problem and then talk about what needs to be done. Has anybody noticed how many of these “task forces” we have? Every week I read about a new one. Yet our accomplishments pale in comparison to the long list of non-profit, initiatives and taskforces this city has accumulated. Maybe we should just turn the City of Cleveland into one big non-profit organization. Please, someone stop this record from skipping. It’s been skipping for the last 42 years of my life (the first 25 years spent growing up and living on both the west and east sides) and it’s driving me crazy. Our collective leaders have been shooting themselves in the foot so long they’re walking around on bloody stumps.
from Cool Cleveland reader Douglas Carver dougcraverATyahoo.com

Send your letters to: Letters@CoolCleveland.com

Top 5
Here are the Top 5 from last week’s issue, with one more chance for you to click.

1) Lakewood develops several projects, surprising when considered together.
http://www.LakewoodAlive.com

2) Things Remembered at Golden Globes It’s good to be a celebrity.
www.ThingsRemembered.com

3) Remembering Cheryl Wallace Dancer, mother, teacher, artist.
www.CoolCleveland.com

4) RoldoLINK Get ready for another tax scam perpetrated by the County.
www.CoolCleveland.com

5) Bye, Bye signature bridge? ODOT chooses expediency over inspiration.
http://www.NEOBridge.net

Hello Hard Corps! Our group of writers pull together great stuff week after week. Thanks to Peter Chakerian, Roxanne Ravenel, TL Champion, George Nemeth, David Dalka, Roldo Bartimole, Kelly Ferjutz, Clyde Miles, Victor Lucas, Elsa Johnson and everyone who partners with us. Want to volunteer and contribute your writing to Cool Cleveland? Send your reviews, articles, or story ideas to: Events@CoolCleveland.com

Download the Cool Cleveland podcast each week at http://www.CoolCleveland.com. Click on the Cool Cleveland Blog here. Read the Cool Cleveland column each month in Cleveland Magazine here. Listen to Cool Cleveland on WCLV-FM 104.9 twice each Friday during drive time. Send your cool events to: Events@CoolCleveland.com, and your letters to: Letters@CoolCleveland.com. For your copy of the free weekly Cool Cleveland e-zine, go to http://www.CoolCleveland.com.

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–Thomas Mulready
Letters@CoolCleveland.com

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