Greater Cleveland has a higher percentage of elevated blood level children than the national average, and many neighborhoods have significant lead poison problems. This book shares insight generated in the effort to eradicate lead poisoning in NEO, including initiative of the Greater Cleveland Lead Advisory Council... GCLAC.

I've thought for some time about the issues facing East Cleveland, and thought deeply about the potential we have to uplift an underprivileged community by applying a concerted eco-development strategy.  Here I outline some of my core thoughts as framed by our six-sphere model:

 

The grand theater of the Cleveland City Hall rotunda was the perfect setting to see NEO filmmaker Laura Paglin's acclaimed documentary "No Umbrella – An Election Day In The City". Thanks to Mayor Frank Jackson "Arts and Cultural Initiative", probably 100 citizens clearly enjoyed the free showing immediately preceded the city council meeting. The "star" of the documentary, long-standing and much-beloved councilwoman Fannie Lewis, was the star of the screening as well, as she and filmmaker Paglin answered questions following the show.

March 21, 2006, REALNEO and the Kent State University Cleveland Urban Design Collaborative (CUDC)  hosted a wonderful open-house and Excellence Roundtable featuring, Steven Fong, the Charter Dean of the KSU School of Architecture and Environmental Design, which is based in Kent, Ohio, of which CUDC is part. In prime roundtable form, the attendees were as diverse and remarkeable as is Steven, driving a fascinating hour and half brainstorm through Steven's world of fantastic projects that he's worked on around the world, down to today's reality of NEO, viewed from 30,000 feet down to the streets.

Tuesday, April 04, 2006 12:00 PM Low-Level Lead Toxicity: The Ongoing Search for a Threshold Bruce P. Lanphear, MD, MPH Sloan Prof. of Children's Environmental Health & Dir., Cincinnati Children's Environmental Health Ct Reservation

Lead poisoning is still one of the most serious public health concerns facing children in Cuyahoga County. Rates of childhood lead poisoning are well above 20% in many Cleveland neighborhoods and East Cleveland. Cleveland’s rate is in the top five nationally, with the current U.S. overall rate at under 2%.

Dr. Bruce Lanphear, The Sloan Professor of Children's Environmental Health and the Director of the Cincinnati Children's Environmental Health Center at Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center and the University of Cincinnati, will review new data on the adverse health effects of childhood lead exposure, review the major sources of childhood lead exposure and discuss the regulations and tools necessary to shift our focus toward primary prevention.

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Join Steven Fong, the charter Dean of the Kent State College of Architecture and Environmental Design, for a March 21, 2006 Excellence Roundtable at their Cleveland Urban Design Collaborative (CUDC - http://www.cudc.kent.edu/index.html). Steven will share his vision on his college, CUDC, Cleveland, NEO, and urban and regional planning here - we shall discuss the future of planning NEO's future.

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With the demand by Case Professor Krauss for a no-confidence vote against the Case president and provost, the levee broke flooding Case with the community sewage brimming its highest offices since hurricane Lewis smacked NEO several years ago, demanding the complete reorganization of Case. The rains since from Lewis' further public contempt for Case overflowed all the protection the president and board could retain, and now the Case community is in ruins.

I have a proposal for several actions Case may take to become the "World's Most Powerful Learning Environment", as Hundert proposes.

The first action is for the Case board and senior administration to form a panel of Blue Ribbon Advisors who are qualified and able to develop for the University a renewal plan. The panel must be expert in the subject, globally-respected and ready to begin immediately. Therefore, for the panel I recommend:

William G. Bowen, president, Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, president emeritus, Princeton University

William R. Brody, president, The Johns Hopkins University

James J. Duderstadt, president emeritus, University of Michigan

Harvey Fineberg, president, The Institute of Medicine, The National Academies

Malcolm Gillis, president emeritus, Rice University

Eamon Kelly, president emeritus, Tulane University

Scott Cowen, president, Tulane University

Farris W. Womack, chief financial officer emeritus, University of Michigan

Please join a casual collaboration of Northeast Ohio leaders interested in supporting "Film" as a cultural, educational, technological and economic engine of this community. "Film" is an important factor in the NEO economy, with many talented "film" professionals involved here in management, production, creative and other roles, creating $ millions in spending and wealth and making NEO a more interesting and fulfilling place to grow up and live. But, what is film, and what matters to the community and our economy?

Orchid Mania: Blossoms & Butterflies
Major Exhibit February 25 through March 26, 2006  

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Huge news in Rhode Island today - "Jury holds 3 ex-makers of lead paint liable" - will have major impacts in Cleveland. Cleveland is one year into a major regional initiative to eradicate lead poisoning in Greater Cleveland, where elevated blood level rates are some of the highest in the country, and it is very important that the paint companies are part of the solutions being developed. Rhode Island is where the battle against lead poisoning has proceeded the furthest in court, and now a jury has ruled against three paint companies, including our home-town Sherwin-Williams. Imagine some possible next steps... lead goes the way of asbestos and the old paint companies go bankrupt, and so goes away Sherwin-Williams and all its jobs in the region, with the assets going to our next Mittal... yet the bankruptcy settlement and asset sales help pay to eradicate lead poisoning here so our next generations are not mentally impaired and are able to contribute to the economy. What do the people of NEO rally around - saving jobs or saving minds... I can see the fanatical lines being drawn now. Is that the best we can do? Or can lead be viewed as a new frontier for open, responsible collaboration across our community (as is already happening in Greater Cleveland) AND with one of the biggest players on the industry - our own Sherwin-Williams - allowing us to respond here to our dirty laundry being aired in the RI courts, and in the process making Sherwin-Williams a stronger corporate citizen, in a safer, healthier, smarter community more worth living in. Read the complete story, from the Providence Journal.

A community of interest focused on developing an African American Cultural Center and driving innovation in the sharing of understanding and strengthening of African American and all culture in Northeast Ohio.

The devastation of whole neighborhoods of New Orleans raised the most uncomfortable race and class issues inherent in our cities.  This forum will explore the fundamental question:  What does the exposure of deep-seated race and class issues and the ambivalent national response teach us about the value we place on our nation’s cities, the people who live there, and the public policies that helped to shape those cities?

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I  will confess up front - I don’t know the deep background. Nevertheless, I was struck by a comment attributed to Fanny Lewis, Cleveland City Councilwoman, in today’s CPD article on locating the Myers U. fieldhouse.  It seems that Myers U wants to locate its fieldhouse on the same piece of land that Lewis has been promoting for  a jail to house nonviolent criminals.  Ms. Lewis is quoted as saying, “We have more men in prison than we have in college so there’s a need.”  This may, very unfortunately, be true; but aren’t we hearing from all sides that education, from pre-school on is a huge problem in Cleveland; that to compete locally, nationally and globally, we have to provide better education to everyone. If we want to reverse this proportion, shouldn’t we be favoring the school’s needs?   The fieldhouse for a school should be as close as possible to the main campus. Cleveland does not lack for empty space.  In seven years of searching for a place to build this type of jail in Cuyahoga County, is the location on Chester at 49th the only viable alternative?

 From Philanthropy News Digest is an article on NY Mayor Bloomberg convincing the private sector - corporations, foundations and philanthropists - to support public education overhaul in NYNY, raising from this over $300 million "without strings attached", which is "crucial to their ability to experiment and support research and development efforts within the system". A thought to share as we select and brief our new Cleveland Public Schools CEO. Feel free to share your thoughts...

 

Featuring the City of Cleveland’s Sustainability Programs Manager, Andrew Watterson

Tuesday, January 17, 2005

5:30 - 6:15 P.M. Networking
6:15 - 7:30 P.M. Presentation/Work Session
7:30 - 8:30 P.M. Networking

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Celebrate Cleveland!  Celebrate with Mayor Jackson, Cleveland's 56th mayor, at his Inaugural Party! 

This event is free and open to the public.

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Mayor Frank Jackson was sworn in as Cleveland's 56th mayor by Congresswoman Stephanie Tubbs Jones on January 2. It was a full house at East Technical High School with most of the city council members present to honor their former president. The new mayor received standing ovations as he entered the room, took the oath of office and after he finished his inspiring inaugural address.

 

 A day and a half sustainable growth meeting focusing on water quality planning and renewable energy development. The meeting (hosted by Ohio EPA in partnership with the Ohio University's George V. Voinovich Center for Leadership and Pubic Affairs on behalf of the Multi-State Working Group) is designed for open dialogue to identify and promote opportunities and directions for Ohio to become more sustainable.

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Dr. David Saja, curator and head of minerology at Cleveland Museum of Natural History, leads a discussion of how to looks at millions of years of geologic time through visible rock layers, and understanding natural and human forces.

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The NEO Excellence Roundtable is very pleased to host Kent State University President, Dr. Carol A. Cartwright, as our guest discussion leader at the December 13th, 2005 Roundtable at the City Club of Cleveland. The discussions will center around the role of education in the future of our region, leveraging Dr. Cartwright's unique experience leading one of the nation's largest university systems, among her many career achievements.

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Is your
company getting the most out of the Internet to drive sales and keep customers?
How can you improve your Internet marketing success? Cleveland State’s Nance
College of Business will present a panel of experts on new trends in Internet
marketing as part of its series of lunchtime events entitled “NOON@NANCE:
Current Trends and Best Practices in Marketing,” beginning Tuesday, November 29
from 11:30 a.m.-1:00 p.m.

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