The third annual FutureLAND Conference, hosted by the City of Cleveland, United Black Fund, and JumpStart, will bring together thought leaders, industry innovators, and content creators to explore ways in which tech shapes the entrepreneur ecosystem and creative economy this Thursday, Oct. 10 to Saturday, Oct. 12 at Playhouse Square.

Cleveland State University, AquaMissions, and Cleveland Metropolitan School District are diving into a life-saving partnership to teach 2,500 Cleveland fourth graders critical water safety and swim skills. The program aims to prevent drowning deaths among the region's youth.

Engage! Cleveland hosted its second Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion conference in September for more than 150 participants from 43 local companies. The event included speakers from Equius Group, the Cleveland Guardians, and the LGBT Center of Greater Cleveland.

Rooted in Trees, Cleveland Metroparks Zoo, and Holden Forests & Gardens worked with Urban Community School students last week to plant the first Miyawaki Forest in a U.S. zoo. The 150 densely-planted native saplings and shrubs will grow rapidly, providing ecological benefits and educational opportunities, while helping restore the region's tree canopy.

This Thursday, WKYC Channel 3 will host a day-long telethon to raise money for the Boys & Girls Clubs of Northeast Ohio. Sponsored by Oswald Companies, the campaign will raise funds to reopen 17 clubs that were closed late this summer due to federal funding cuts.

The Banned Wagon will roll into Lakewood Public Library next week to give away free books on a tour spearheaded by Penguin Random House to promote awareness of book challenges and censorship during Banned Books Week.

The third annual Cuyahoga Tree Summit, hosted by Dr. Roy Larick and tree experts, will bring together tree advocacy groups, municipal tree commissions, and environmental experts at the Independence Civic Center to address the needs of the county’s declining tree canopy and the critical role of trees in community health and climate resilience.

In 2019, Euclid community members expressed interest to Euclid Police Department community policing & crime analysis coordinator Kate McLaughlin in working with police to prevent crime and make the neighborhoods safer, So she held the first Northeast Ohio Police Crime Prevention Mini Conference. The conference returns this Saturday at the Lincoln Electric Welding Technology & Training Center.

The USS Cleveland Legacy Foundation yesterday announced the October 12 unveiling of the Lone Sailor Statue at its permanent home at Voinovich Bicentennial Park. The statue celebrates the upcoming commissioning of the USS Cleveland and represents those who served in the U.S. Navy, Marine Corps, Coast Guard, and Merchant Marines. The Foundation has raised more than $4 million to support the ship and crew.

Engage! Cleveland’s 2024 Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Conference is this Thursday at The Aviator, aiming to unite young professionals and leaders in conversations on racial equity and inclusion. The event will offer actionable strategies to advance DEI in the workplace, featuring expert speakers and panel discussions.

The winners of Cleveland Chain Reaction were announced this week on Kickin' It With Kenny, with Balance Cheer and Gymnastics taking first place; Covermecutee in second; and CLE Urban Winery in third among 17 semifinalists.

In 2019 Lakewood residents Lisa and Eric Hollender wanted a bar where unleashed dogs could play and exercise while their humans relaxed and socialized. So, in 2021 they opened Taps & Tails in Tremont. The place is so popular, they're thinking about expanding with an east side location.

Attendees at last Saturday's Guardians game celebrated National VFR Day, raised money for veterans and first responders, and honored fallen Euclid Police officer Jacob Derbin. Additionally, the VFR Foundation gave service K-9 Jake to the Euclid Police Department in Derbin's name.

Advocates of pollinator gardens—plots with native plants that nurture bees, butterflies, and birds to preserve the ecosystem—have groups around the region, like Heights Native Pollinator Pathway and Wild Ones Greater Cleveland, sowing seeds and spreading a message.

With a mission to deploy a citywide network of affordable high-speed internet, DigitalC announced this week that it has partnered with BlueBridge Networks to host its second data center. The second data center will provide better reliability and allow Digital C to expand its client base throughout the city.

Cleveland Masterworks: Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary parish, organized by Cleveland's Slovak immigrant community in 1903, constructed two churches in its 90 years as a thriving congregation. Abandoned in 1992, the decayed symbol of better times was demolished last week.

Neighborhood Connections announced this week that it has approved $382,114 in grants to support 121 projects in Cleveland and East Cleveland. Cuyahoga Arts & Culture will co-fund 27 of the resident-led arts and culture projects. Read about what community groups are doing with the funding to improve our neighborhoods.

Cleveland Museum of Natural History paleoanthropologist and assistant curator of human origins Dr. Emma Finestone in April was awarded the Robert J. and Linnet E. Fritz Endowed Chair of Human Origins. The position was part of a $3 million gift from Robert and Linnet Fritz toward the museum's Transforming the World Of Discovery campaign. Finestone was part of a group who, in Nyayanga, Kenya, discovered some of the oldest stone tools ever found.

While decluttering her basement, teacher, artist, and retired bass player Juliana Sadock Savino came across some items that inspired her to create some impromptu public art installations on the grounds of the decaying former Westinghouse Electric factory on Ashland Road.

Greater Cleveland Partnership’s (GCP) Council of Smaller Enterprises (COSE) announced yesterday, Tuesday, July 9, that 21 businesses will advance to the semifinals in season seven of Cleveland Chain Reaction, a neighborhood economic development project and small business pitch competition. Find out who made the cut!