Brewed Fresh Daily

Venture Financing With a Mission Beyond Profit

Here’s an idea: Since it may not be possible to build a convention center for $400 million, why not invest the County’s money into JumpStart and BioEntreprise?

I-Team: Medical Mart Money Problems

(BTW, competition for medical and health care conventions in the medical area just got a little tougher: Philadelphia convention officials announced earlier this week a new strategy to brand Philadelphia as “America’s life sciences meetings destination.” Read more.)

The date is July 24th, and I don’t know about you but I still have so much to do. Summer to me means going out and sitting at your favorite brewpub or Wine Bar or even better, being invited to an outdoor party; and, chilling. It involves conversing with your friends or meeting some new people who will listen to your many points of view. In fact, last Friday night, I met a few friends on West 6th Street in the Warehouse District and did just that. We sat at a slanted outdoor table, each with a glass of wine and a pizza pie watching the passersby. I saw a few people I knew; but the ambiance of everyone being out is what struck me. Very exhilarating that you don’t get during the wintertime.

People watching is another past time favorite.  What better way to do that than heading downtown to the Ingenuity Festival? I volunteered last year at the beer tent. I thought the bands were wonderful, very unusual and inventive. There were a lot of people; but not the crowds they had expected. Get out there and explore the many galleries, theaters and the 1000 Red Balloons installation.

Then there is my biking. This Sunday, I am doing the Richfield Sweet Corn Challenge Bike ride. It is a 50-mile trek through the hilly areas of Richfield and Cuyahoga National Park. It will be hot, but that is the way is goes in Cleveland, Ohio. I love it. But as of late, I hear more complaints. It’s too hot. Get over it. It’s Cleveland and it won’t last more than a few months. It will be snow season before you know it.

My point of all this madness is get out there and enjoy the weather, meet new friends, reconnect with old acquaintances, and most importantly connect with your family and friends. Soon, we are all going to hibernate in our homes until next spring.

I hope you’ll be supporting ArtsCollinwood. The Waterloo Arts Fest Sneak Peek event is July 31st at 6PM. You’d be surprised at all of the changes that have taken place in the Waterloo District in the past year!

I’m selling tickets, so please email me if you’d like to support a stimulating arts environment and to encourage continuing education in the arts. Click on the image below for a full size view of the postcard:

I’m really looking forward to it. Last year’s event was a ton of fun, and a great way to meet the cool people in my neighborhood. Hope to see you there!

From a Jim Cossler e-mail:

Another national shout out for the exciting and unique managed technology cluster being built by the Youngstown Business Incubator.

This from the national public policy organization PolicyLink in its soon to be released report, To Be Strong Again: Renewing the Promise in Smaller Industrial Cities :

“The Youngstown Business Incubator, which has turned the city into a hot spot for business-to-business software development, is creating jobs and reversing the ‘brain drain’. Against all odds, YBI has made Youngstown the place to be for B2B software developers.”

When so many said we couldn’t, we did. Come see for yourself.

You can review the report in its entirety here.

Here’s an excellent opportunity for the Fund for Our Economic Future to exercise leadership across NEO: Start providing seed funding to the establishment of P-16 councils across Northeast Ohio.

Communities across Ohio have been trying to work together for years to improve education systems across their regions by identifying problems and then coordinating existing resources to address those problems. These P-16 efforts (preschool to higher education, or grade 16) are getting traction, not only as a mechanism to fix what is ailing education systems, but also as a way to link education to economic development needs in this blue-collar state. This effort is called “convergence” by researcher Dennis McGrath, who has spent time studying these P-16 initiatives in Ohio and has just released a report on the topic. In this month’s essay, we offer his thoughts on how P-16 just might help lead Ohio out of its economic slump.

Ohio Communities Linking P-16 to Economic Development

From this week’s PostSecret, toward.

I like inspirational secrets.

From Tim Ferris:

At a time when ridership is making buses bulge at the seams, cutting service and charging more for what remains is the last thing you want to have happen. Service and bus routes should expand; administrative staff should be cut; salaries should be cut; grants should be acquired; general taxes should be levied. But service should expand both in the number of buses circulating each route and in the hours of operation.

We found out recently that GCRTA has no idea how many people actually ride these things. We ride quite often, and the fare boxes are always inoperable.

The shopping areas depend on bus traffic. So do schools. So do the legion of newly minted commuters.

Here’s some input from somebody who buys and uses a weekly ticket at all hours and for all destinations…

I agree. Just when a major shift is happening in people’s transportation habits, discouraging ridership is a bad move. Any other suggestions or comments on RTA’s proposed changes? Will you be attending one of the public meetings?

Tim Ferris: this is just about the last place to cut

Since my Social Security number ended in a 92, I was probably the last batch of people who finally received their government checks. My question to you is what have you done with the money? For six hundred dollars, I can buy a new pair of glasses, pay off some debt, or perhaps the best investment might be purchasing a new set of tires for my car. I think I have waited long enough.

As a woman, I really do not like shopping. My idea of shopping is running into Home Depot, TJ Maxx or Macy’s and having a list in my head, and going directly to that particular aisle and purchase EXACTLY what I need. I, quite frankly, have already contributed to the economy prior to receiving my check. I have purchase many outfits from the Macy’s Winter Clearance rack. I own about several pairs of black pants, sweaters and at least 12 pairs of black shoes. You can never have too many pairs of shoes.

So, I think I will probably do what most people have already done, and take my check to the nearest ATM. I will decide later what I need most, car tires or reading glasses. I also think that my tax deferred, six hundred dollars, as wonderful as that is, that government has given us, will not change how I live my life or put me into a new tax bracket or create a new job for me. I think it is a good start, but we need a more substantial stimulus package that will bring new jobs and employers into the area.

I love free money, but it has not gone far enough. Where is your stimulus package?

I’m in New Orleans at Workforce Innovations and looking at CNN this morning.
They’re doing a story on electric vehicles. The host, Miles O’Brien, started his reporting by driving up in a Sparrow, manufactured by Myers Motors in Summit County.
Several years ago, at REI we highlighted the opportunity of the Sparrow. We had a few of them outside Weatherhead and many of folks at Tuesday@REI drove the Sparrow around the block. Herb Crowther and Phil Lane, as I remember, arranged the event.

The Akron Beacon Journal editorial page this morning has an idea about what should come next regarding the Cost of Government in Northeast Ohio, and it’s all about increasing services to citizens, not eliminating them.

Are we ready to look at what benefits could be achieved by consolidating school districts?

What about an Advance Northeast Ohio commission on government consolidation and collaboration?�