A sculptor, ceramicist, industrial designer and Cleveland Institute of Art professor, Viktor Schreckengost's legacy continues to live out loud throughout Northeast Ohio and beyond.

Fresh Water contributor Christopher Johnston steps inside Cleveland's human trafficking scene to uncover some dark realities — and the people and organizations battling them.

Iraqi kebobs, duck blood soup and hard to find Latino spirits — that's just for starters in this under-the-radar roundup of some the best (and little known) noshing in the 216.

Cuyahoga County residents are going green by banding together to reap the benefits of solar energy — and they're saving plenty of green as well.

Beard balms, sugar scrubs, essential oils and bath bombs — that's just for starters in this go-to roundup of handcrafted personal care products developed, made and sold in Northeast Ohio.
 

As some 76 million baby boomers retire, they are stirring a “silver tsunami” across the country, testing public and nonprofit agencies as well as the housing market. Fresh Water checks in to see how Northeast Ohio is preparing for the trend.

The man inside Cleveland Custom Trucks has a story that stretches far beyond the rolling kitchens he creates.
 

Cleveland Institute of Art professor Doug Paige is showing students how to take a page out of Mother Nature's playbook when it comes to industrial design.

From the reclamation of the Henninger Landfill to saving a Russell Township farm, the Western Reserve Land Conservancy fosters thriving urban centers, green space and more by preserving some 5,000 acres annually.
 

From an anthropomorphic aardvark to a golden guy named Oscar, the venerable CIA is brimming with surprises of fine art, pop culture and a heaping helping of quirk.

In this special op-ed for Fresh Water, Brandon Chrostowski, founder of EDWINS Leadership & Restaurant Institute, gives Clevelanders powerful and sobering reminders on the heels of the city's remarkable summer of 2016.
 

When De’Anthony Harris was released from Grafton Correctional Institution last October, he had a new outlook on his future. And, thanks to Brandon Chrostowski, owner of EDWINS Leadership and Restaurant  Institute on Shaker Square, Harris also has a second chance at a successful life.

During his eight years in prison Harris, now 27, did everything he could to improve his odds in the outside world. “The best thing that happened to me is I didn’t have kids when I went in,” he says. “The only responsibility was myself. I was blessed that I did the right thing.”
 
Harris enrolled in Chrostowski’s culinary training class at Grafton. He also earned his temporary commercial driver's license (CDL) for truck driving, a certification in pet grooming and any took just about any other workforce training program the prison offered.

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In its quest to have bicycles be a primary form of transportation in the city, Lakewood recently added two new dedicated bike lanes along the entire stretch of Madison Avenue. The addition is part of the city’s Bicycle Master Plan, adopted in 2012 as a way to encourage cycling.

“We want to establish cycling as a main means of transportation in Lakewood,” says Bryce Sylvester, the city’s senior city planner. “The goal is to be recognized as one of the most bicycle friendly cities in the country.”
 
City officials began implementing the plan back in 2012 with shared bike-vehicle lanes, known as “sharrows,” on Detroit Avenue and dedicated bike lanes on Franklin Boulevard.  The lanes are clearly marked as sharrows or dedicated lanes.
 
In addition to the traditional bike lane markings, the new lanes on Madison implement two new bicycle infrastructure signs. The lanes will have “door zone” patterns – small diagonal lines – to mark areas where people in parked cars may be opening their doors into the lane. The idea is to reduce the number of run-ins cyclists have with abruptly opening car doors.
 
Dotted markings through intersections along the route will reinforce the fact that bicyclists have priority over turning vehicles or vehicles entering the roadway – alerting traffic, both bike and vehicles, of potential conflict areas.
 
“Our hope is to make it a safer ride down Madison Avenue,” says Sylvester.
 
The city also has installed more than 100 bike racks in front of businesses since 2012, with the aim of installing 20 racks per year.
 
Sylvester says the Bicycle Master Plan and its execution are in response to the residents’ demands. “The people have built an environment of cyclists here,” he says. “People use their bikes to get around. We’re taking a proactive approach of active living in Lakewood. We feel infrastructures like this allow out residents to be active.”
 
Lakewood has been awarded a bronze award for its efforts by the League of American Bicyclists
 
"We're doing okay," says Sylvester of the plan’s progress.