Since the first event was held in 2015, the Accelerate: Citizens Make Change civic pitch competition has definitely made an indelible mark on Cleveland—from "give boxes" in the North Collinwood and Central neighborhoods to special needs toy libraries at Lake County libraries to a vibrant new mural in Slavic Village.
 

From enhancing tourism to developing the tech sector, efforts abound all over Cleveland to attract and then retain talent to our fair city. Yet one population has remained somewhat off the radar: college students already attending school in Cleveland. With estimates placing this population at 130,000 young people across northeast Ohio, what might it look like if a higher percentage of them stayed in Cleveland after commencement?

In 1969, Cleveland became the butt of jokes when an infamous burning river attracted national attention. Beyond the punchline, the incident on the Cuyahoga became the precipice of the country’s environmental movement—inspiring Earth Day, the Environmental Protection Agency, and the passage of the Clean Water Act. This is just one example of how Cleveland has impacted the nation, and the first Cleveland History Days celebrates that legacy (and so much more).

Earlier this month, Jon Pinney gave a highly charged talk at the City Club in which he made numerous points about the need to ramp up Cleveland’s economic development—among them that cities like Columbus and Philadelphia have targeted programs for attracting and retaining talent, while Cleveland has no such initiative in place.

Eric McGarvey has some news for him: there is a program that does exactly that, and it’s been around since 2003. The program is called Summer on the Cuyahoga, and so far, it’s prompted more than 160 college students to call Cleveland home.

Cookie-cutter Caesar salads and boxed turkey sandwiches? Not on Chris Hawk’s watch. As the new Executive Chef at Great Lakes Science Center (GLSC), Hawk foregoes stereotypical fare in favor of fresh, carefully sourced ingredients and a fully housemade menu.

It may take 80 days to go around the world, but lovers of Lake Erie can get all the greatness of our Great Lake in just seven days and seven nights. Enter the second annual Tour the Shore contest, which squires the lucky winner around seven destinations along the Lake Erie shoreline—providing overnight accommodations, tickets to historic attractions, and reservations for local fine dining.