In a recent interview with TODAY, Michael Symon comments on this year's James Beard Award winners and the reputation of the Midwest in the nation's food scene.

Lamenting the oft-overlooked culinary talent in the Heartland, Symon says that "It's not often that the Best Chef in America comes out of the Midwest." While Paul Kahan, one of the five finalists for the Beard's Outstanding Chef category, is based in Chicago, the winner was D.C.-based José Andrés.

But the Midwest will get its due, promises Symon.

"For the first time ever, New York is pulling from the Midwest," Symon explains. "The farm-to-table stuff, that's all Midwest -- we're cities surrounded by farms. The movement with pork -- that's Midwest. The love of sausage, of bacon -- all Midwest."

Watch video of the interview here.

The Austin American-Statesman covered the recent investment of $11.5 million by Austin Ventures and Austin-based Santé Ventures into Cleveland-based healthcare technology firm Explorys.

"Explorys was spun off from the Cleveland Clinic in 2009 to commercialize technology designed to help the hospital system analyze clinical data. Since then, a number of other major hospital systems have begun using Explorys' database of patient information."

Explorys says its system is one of the largest clinical databases in the world, with information on 10 million patients. Explorys told the Statesman that it will use the new money to double its 25-person staff and expand its server complex by adding capacity and data centers.

Austin Ventures general partner John Thornton said in the article, "Explorys is now positioned to quickly and effectively scale to the data needs of the health care providers. We are excited to provide an opportunity for them to continue their forward momentum and drive network growth."

Read the rest here.

While the City of Cleveland sorts out the particulars of the new food truck legislation, food truck operators and fans continue to find ways to congregate.

Now into its third month, the undeniably successful C-Town Chow Down has just announced the specifics of the next tweat-up. Scheduled once again for Tremont's Lincoln Park, the event will take place May 22, from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Expected food rigs include Cakes Plus, JiBARO, Nosh Box, Seti's Polish Boys, StrEat Mobile, Zydeco Bistro, Umami Moto and more.

To celebrate the fifth anniversary of Momocho, chef and owner Eric Williams decided to host a food-truck hoedown. From 6 to 9 p.m. this coming Monday, May 9, the Momocho parking lot will be filled with popular rigs serving the best mobile fare. In addition to Short Rib One, Rocco Whalen's aptly named Fahrenheit truck, guests can hit JiBARO, Dim and Den Sum and Umami Moto.

Momocho will open its restaurant and patio for seating and drinking only. Traditional margaritas will be offered for $5 and Tecate beer for $2.

For these and all food truck events, bring cash.

Writing for the Wall Street Journal, Joel Henning, arts and culture reporter, calls Cleveland's PlayhouseSquare "a model of economic viability in the arts."

"Several Cleveland performing-arts and public-media organizations are in better shape than their counterparts around the country because they are part of PlayhouseSquare, a unique business model in downtown Cleveland," Henning writes.

PlayhouseSquare, the second-largest performing arts center in the country by audience capacity, boasts 10 performance spaces with a total of more than 9,000 seats. It attracts more than a million visitors to 1,000 performing-arts events each year.

What makes PlayhouseSquare unique, the article states, is that it not only renovated and manages the spaces, but also created a local development corporation that owns and/or manager more than 2.6 million square feet of office and retail space.

Next up, reports Henning, is housing. Quoting PlayhouseSquare's Allen Wiant, "We want to build 58 stories of housing in the next few years."

Unlike years past when few lived downtown, there are now 12,000 downtown residents and the residential occupancy rate is at 95%.

Read the rest of the playbill here.

A recent Time article titled "Greening the Skyline" discussed plans to make Cleveland's Celebrezze Federal Building more energy efficient. Built in 1967, the building is getting a new façade made of glass and aluminum that will envelop the original. The new construction will prevent heat loss in the 32-story building.

"Designed by architect Charles Young of Interactive Design Eight, the new facade will stand 2.5 ft. (75 cm) outside the old exterior," the article states. "Airflow between the old and new facade will insulate the building, yielding an estimated energy savings of $650,000 per year."

President Obama's stimulus program will contribute to funding the project.

The Time article also mentions recent improvements made to the Empire State Building, as well as the city of Melbourne's project aimed at reducing the energy consumption of about 1,200 office buildings 38% by 2020.

"Skyscrapers look modern, but they are among the worst culprits in urban areas when it comes to energy consumption and carbon emission, with outdated heating, cooling and lighting systems."

Read the rest of the article here.

A recent Pittsburgh Post-Gazette article discusses the development of Horseshoe Casino Cleveland, which will be the first casino in Ohio when it opens early next year. The casino will be located in the historic Higbee Building downtown.

The development of casinos in Ohio will take a toll on already established casinos in Pennsylvania. About 20 percent of regular customers at Pittsburgh's Rivers Casino come are from out of state, mainly Ohio and West Virginia.

But before they can even open, Ohio casinos have a few hurdles to overcome, not the least of which is an ambivalent new Republican governor.

"The state's new governor, John Kasich, voted against the 2009 constitutional amendment referendum that was approved in a statewide vote, eventually permitting the construction of casinos in Cleveland, Toledo, Columbus and Cincinnati. But now he's charged with helping to craft the rules and regulations that will guide the industry in its formative years."

Kasich will also be the one who ultimately decides whether to sign off on a plan to legalize slot machines at Ohio racetracks. A portion of racetrack slot money goes toward prizes in Pennsylvania and Indiana, making race purses up to three times higher and in turn attracting better horses and jockeys.

Ohio is also in an unusual situation, because while casinos were approved in 2009, the Ohio Casino Control Commission, which handles many regulatory matters, was appointed just two months ago.

Check out the entire article here.

As promised, Cleveland City Council passed sweeping new legislation that will help food truck operators succeed. Despite a lengthy -- and at times contentious -- process, City Council not only made good on its promises to modernize and streamline the rules of play, but actually improved upon the proposed package.

Mayor Frank Jackson was expected to sign the legislation this week.

According to Councilman Joe Cimperman, whose ward includes much of downtown, the new legislation would have limited food trucks to only a handful of downtown zones. What passed appears to be broader, with as many as eight permissible spots at which to circle the chuck wagons.

City Council also lengthened the permissible hours of operation, giving truck operators access to the lucrative post-bar business.

Before this revision, truck operators were required to obtain over a dozen separate permits, provide detailed external and internal architectural plans of their rig, fill out a 50-page application, and pay as much as $3,000 in application fees. The prize waiting for those who made it out of that process was confusing, contradictory and business-killing regulations.

This is great news not only for the existing and planned food trucks, but also for the City of Cleveland.

"[Food trucks] are successful micro-economic development engines that are creating independent wealth in one of the worst recessions in decades," says Lizzy Caston, a communications pro who consults with cities on modernizing food truck policy.

Forbes featured an article on Cleveland's new wind turbine, stating that "Ohio has gotten a sneak peek at what expanding wind power will look like near Lake Erie."

The turbine, which was made in Germany, arrived Monday at the Port of Cleveland. It will be installed at the Lincoln Electric Co. in Euclid.

The wind turbine will measure 24 stories high to the tip of the blade. "The turbine has blades 165 feet long," the article states. "It will stand about three times taller than the wind turbine at Cleveland's Great Lakes Science Center."

Cuyahoga County made a $350,000 forgivable loan toward the cost of the turbine.

Read the rest here.

CNN recently featured an article on the changes and improvements being made to the Cleveland public school system.

"Within the past year," CNN reports, "the school system has undergone a comprehensive and sometimes harsh reorganization..."

The school system closed 16 schools last year. The federal government's School Improvement Grants are helping 12 Cleveland schools to restart.

"In 2010, the federal government provided $546 million for about 1,000 low-achieving schools across the United States. Districts could use the money to reorganize or close down schools completely. In Cleveland, school officials chose to use a reorganization model for several of their schools, including Lincoln-West and Glenville high schools. To receive the funds, they had to replace the principal and rehire no more than half the school's staff."

And progress is being reported.

Since the reorganization, school officials have reported less violence and better attendance rates. Irene Javier, a principal at Lincoln-West, says, "We actually have an 83% decline in terms of serious incidents that are happening in the building. That includes number of suspensions. So, it directly impacts our attendance."

Academic numbers have yet to be analyzed, but officials at both Lincoln-West and Glenville report that the reorganization is having a positive impact.

Read the rest of the report here.

In this video presented by Ohio City Inc. (formerly Ohio City Near West Development Corp.), organizers lay out their plans for a new and improved "harvest-themed" Market Square Park. The park, originally built in the 1970s, is undergoing a $1.5 million makeover as part of a series of improvements taking place around the West Side Market.

Great Lakes Brewing Company has announced that it has been ranked the 22nd largest American craft brewery. GLBC was previously ranked number twenty-three.

"GLBC reported 91,189 barrels sold in 2010. GLBC also ranked as the 31st largest brewery in the US (Anheuser–Busch Inc. ranked 1st). GLBC does not contract brew; 100% of product is produced onsite in its Cleveland-based brewery."

GLBC made many improvements throughout its brewery last year, including a new centrifuge, additions to the brewhouse for increased speed and quality, a new grain silo, and additional storage and fermentation tanks.

The company also added 15 new positions and plans to create at least nine more in the next few years.

Drink up the rest here.

A recent Chicago Tribune article named "Cook Like an Iron Chef" with Michael Symon as one of "ten food television shows you should be watching." The list also includes Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution, Top Chef Masters, and Good Eats.

"Cook Like an Iron Chef" debuted in July 2010 on the Cooking Channel. Each episode features a secret ingredient that Symon prepares three different ways.

"If Bobby Flay is the ubiquitous face of the Food Network and its brands, " the Trib article states. "Michael Symon gives it a soul with his quick laughter and self-deprecating sensibility. On "Cook" he has a vehicle that showcases his boundless enthusiasm and displays the formidable skills that have made him the hardest of the Iron Chefs to beat in Kitchen Stadium."

Chew on the rest here.

WebMD reports that Cleveland is one of the top 10 cities for autism care in the nation, according to a recent survey conducted by the nonprofit advocacy group Autism Speaks. New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Philadelphia, New Jersey, Minneapolis-St. Paul, Seattle, Milwaukee and Boston also made the top 10.

The survey is "the first to rank metropolitan areas on how well they provide educational, medical, and recreational resources for children with autism spectrum disorders, and flexible employment policies and respite care for parents. It includes responses from more than 800 people affected by autism in 48 states and the District of Columbia."

Only twenty-six percent of respondents said that they were satisfied with local schools, healthcare, and recreational activities. The other seventy-four percent said community services were generally unsatisfactory.

Says Autism Speaks President Mark Roithmayr, "We really wanted to get a pulse of the autism community across the United States. What were the things that were most important to them, and what were the things that made the biggest difference to them in their lives."

Read the rest here.

The Miami Herald recently reviewed the Cleveland Orchestra's "riveting" final performance of its fifth annual residency in Miami.

"With Czech conductor Jiri Belohlavek in command, the Clevelanders were in top form, all sections playing with high-tech virtuosity and tonal luster," writes reviewer Lawrence Budman.

Belohlavek is principal conductor of London's BBC Symphony and chief conductor designate of the Czech Philharmonic.

The Miami Herald reviewer had nothing but good things to say about the performance, which included pieces by Dvorak, Haydn, Beethoven, and Rachmaninoff.

"Rachmaninoff's Piano Concerto No. 2 in C minor may be one of the most overplayed warhorses in the repertoire but there was nothing hackneyed about Horacio Gutierrez's take-no-prisoners performance…No less impressive was Belohlavek's finely nuanced conducting. The orchestral strands of a Rachmaninoff concerto have rarely been conveyed with such precision and clarity of detail. With a blazing pianistic display and inspired conducting, this proved the high point of the ensemble's 2011 Miami residency."

Enjoy the rest of Budman's opus here.

The Ohio Business Development Coalition has announced that Ohio has more of the fastest-growing tech cities than any other state.

According to Dice.com, the fastest-growing metro areas for technology job openings in terms of year-over-year growth since February 2010 include Cincinnati with 75-percent growth, Cleveland with 62-percent growth and Columbus with 57-percent growth.

"The surge in Ohio's high-tech job growth is further proof that its purposeful business redesign with a low-cost tax structure is leading the way in creating 21st century job opportunities for the state's high-quality, skilled workforce and making businesses more competitive around the world," states the article.

Ohio's high-tech workforce and education programs, access to markets, low start-up costs, access to business capital and support services, low-cost communities, and low-stress commutes make it an attractive place to start a business.

Ed Burghard, executive director of the Ohio Business Development Coalition, said, "Ohio has proactively redesigned its business climate to support a leading 21st century global economy. Strategic tax reform and economic development incentives encourage global success and make the state an ideal location to profitably compete from in the global marketplace."

Read the rest of the good news here.

According to a recent Comics Alliance article, Top Shelf and ZIP Comics will release Harvey Pekar's "Cleveland," the first of several major works to be printed after his death.

"Cleveland" will be a 112-page graphic novel illustrated by Joseph Remnant, who also collaborated with Pekar on his Pekar Project webcomics series. Pekar completed the script before his death last year. "So our man did get to see the book's beginning and was super-pleased with how the art was shaping up," said Cleveland editor Jeff Newlett.

The novella will be an ode to Cleveland "that weaves historical events in with Pekar's trademark autobiographical style," the article explains.

"The Indians' winning of the 1948 World Series and the 1969 Cuyahoga River fire are among the events that Pekar touches on in Cleveland, which as yet has no release date."

Check out the rest of story here.

According to an article in USA Today, urban centers are attracting more and more educated young adults -- despite overall declines in population.

"In more than two-thirds of the nation's 51 largest cities, the young, college-educated population in the past decade grew twice as fast within three miles of the urban center as in the rest of the metropolitan area -- up an average 26 percent compared with 13 percent in other parts," the article states.

Cleveland is no exception.

Although the City of Cleveland lost 17 percent of its population between 2000 and 2009, the numbers of college-educated young professionals climbed by 49 percent thanks to 1,300 new residents between the ages of 25 to 34. This is good news for the economic future of urban cores.

Columbus, Cincinnati, Pittsburgh, and Detroit were among the other cities with high percentages of young people moving downtown. The statistics count college-educated young people who live within three miles of a metro area's central business district.

Read the rest here.

Practice Greenhealth has named Cleveland Clinic Health System as one of eight recipients of its "System for Change" award.

"This award recognizes health systems that are working cohesively to gather data, set system goals, benchmark, and share successes in environmental performance."

Other award recipients include Advocate Health Care, Oak Brook, IL; Bon Secours Health System, Inc., Marriotsville, MD; and Catholic Healthcare West, San Francisco, CA.

"Practice Greenhealth is the nation's leading membership and networking organization for institutions in the healthcare community that have made a commitment to sustainable, eco-friendly practices. Members include hospitals, healthcare systems, businesses and other stakeholders engaged in the greening of healthcare to improve the health of patients, staff and the environment."

Check out the full report here.

Urban Land Institute (ULI) has announced 20 finalists for its 2011 Awards for Excellence: The Americas Competition, "widely recognized as the land use industry's most prestigious recognition program."

"The criteria for the awards include leadership, contribution to the community, innovations, public/private partnership, environmental protection and enhancement, response to societal needs, and financial viability."

Cleveland's Euclid Avenue Transportation Project, developed by Greater Cleveland Regional Transit Authority and designed by Sasaki Associates, is one of the finalists.

"The $200 million Euclid Avenue Transportation Project brings bus rapid transit (BRT) and an improved streetscape along 8.3 miles of Cleveland's historic Euclid Avenue, connecting the central business district with major cultural, medical, and education users -- all at one-fourth the cost of light rail."

The project has also spurred $4.7 billion in spin-off investment and 11.4 million square feet of new and planned development.

Other finalists include Riverfront Park in Denver, Broadway Family Apartments in San Francisco, and Center for Urban Waters in Tacoma.

The winners will be announced on May 20 at the 2011 ULI Real Estate Summit in Phoenix.

Read the rest here.

A reporter for the Belfast Telegraph recently made a visit to the Great Lakes region -- including Cleveland -- and filed an entertaining travel guide on the matter in the publication.

"This was possibly one of the best holidays I've ever had," the writer declares at the outset.

While in Cleveland, the Belfast Telegraph writer toured Great Lakes Brewing Company and went fishing on Lake Erie. "Slept well at the Downtown Crowne Plaza Hotel before an early start for perch fishing on Lake Erie. All on board a charter boat with bait, tackle, licences and rods provided."

"I'd never ever gone fishing before but beginner's luck saw me thrilled, yet again, to catch three enormous yellow perch out in the depths."

While in the Buckeye State, the writer also visited Hocking Hills for some heart-stopping zip line and rappelling adventures.

The writer also stopped in Put-In-Bay, Sandusky, and Hell, Michigan.

Explore the rest here.