I'm pleased to say the 03.21.2006 Excellence Roundtable featuring Steven Fong gave PD Architecture Critic Steven Litt a chance to catch up with Dean Fong, and be the first to learn huge news for this region... See http://www.cleveland.com/weblogs/entertainment/

KSU dean wants architecture grad program moved to Cleveland
Kent State University will move its entire graduate program in architecture to Cleveland "as soon as possible."

So says Steven Fong, the new dean of KSU's College of Architecture and Environmental Design.

Fong, who assumed the post at KSU in December, described his plans publicly for the first time Tuesday in an interview following a public forum at the university's Urban Design Collaborative in Cleveland.

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.

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Pictured from left to right: Julius Ciaccia- Director of Public Utilities, Councilman Matt Zone, Andrew Watterson- Cleveland Sustainability Manager, and David Beach- Director, Ecocity Cleveland.

Minutes for Net Impact Meeting - AJ Rocco's Nov 29     7-9 PM

Attendees (10)

Akash Abraham

Katya Chistik

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

MEDIA ADVISORY
Wednesday, Nov. 21, 2005

‘Emerging Cleveland’ to lead holiday tours for ex-pats

CLEVELAND -- The student chapter of the American Planning Association at CSU’s Levin College of Urban Affairs will present a holiday tour of new developments and off-the-beaten-track gems in the City of Cleveland.

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Over a period of roundtable "world cafe" discussions, participants at the Storm the Palace table wrote the following summary ideas on a flip chart or post-it to the idea wall - each idea is being posted to the "Community Forums: Technology" on REALNEO focused on this category... read on:

An E4S Third Tuesday Networking Event

Tuesday, September 20, 2005

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Check out the hottest music & environmental
festival celebrating the latest sustainable local efforts to revitalize
Northeast Ohio. Rock out as national, regional and local bands take the
stage. Enjoy stilt walkers, jewelry artists, scupltors, landscaped
gardens and gourmet goodies from Lola Bistro, Baricelli Inn, Grovewood
Tavern and more. Proceeds will benefit local environmental nonprofit
groups.

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The July 11, 2005, Ohio Venture Association (OVA) luncheon featured Mark Coticchia, VP for Research and Technology Management at Case University, presenting a report on the progress of his organization since he arrived in Cleveland four years ago. He demonstrated that the progress has been amazing; all performance metrics tracked are at least 100% improved since 2001.

The war in Iraq is big news world-wide. Whether reports on casualties or offensives, the news papers, airwaves and internet are on constant high-alert for stories on developments, which they publicize daily. It is thus surprising a major Iraq-related story that has been big news world-wide was not featured in the mainstream US news until this past weekend. The story is of eight secret "Downing Street Memos" - DSMs - which raise considerable cause for global public debate on a lack of US and UK government honesty and openness leading up to America declaring war on Iraq. Why are the DSMs, which the press in Europe starting reporting on May 1st, just now becoming "front page" news in America... seven weeks after the story broke in the UK?

Plain Dealer "reader advocate" Ted Diadiun felt it necessary to dedicate his 06.19.06 Page 2 Sunday column to this question, and his explanation offers critical insight on the state of US mainstream news reporting and American and Northeast Ohio society today.

You are invited to attend an air quality
workshop at the offices of the Northeast Ohio Areawide
Coordinating Agency (NOACA) to begin the public participation process for the
Ozone and Particulate Matter State Implementation Plans (SIPs).

As you
may already know, the United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA)
designated the counties of Ashtabula, Cuyahoga, Geauga, Lake, Lorain, Medina,
Portage, and Summit as in nonattainment for the new 8-hour ozone standard. The
USEPA designated Ashtabula (partial), Cuyahoga, Lake, Lorain, Medina, Portage,
and Summit as in nonattainment for the new fine particulate (PM2.5) standard.
These designations require that the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency, with
local input, submit SIPs to USEPA that would bring Northeast Ohio into
attainment for both of these pollutants.

Please join us for a free,
public informational event that will include presentations on the air quality
issues that Northeast Ohio faces, talks by affected industries, discussion of
the Ohio EPA SIP development process, and an overview of potential attainment
strategies. Continental breakfast and lunch will be provided.

Tuesday, March 22, 2005
9:00
a.m. until 2:30 p.m.
NOACA Board Room
1299 Superior Avenue
Cleveland,
Ohio 44114

Please RSVP by e-mail
to Pam Davis at pdavis [at] mpo [dot] noaca [dot] org
or by calling (216) 241-2414, Extension 284. Your participation is appreciated.
We look forward to talking with you. 

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Herb Crowther assembled an excellent and diverse panel of experts with a range of backgrounds, affiliations and interests related to the future of "energy" and implications on Earth and here in NEO - "scientists, entrepreneurs, energy specialists, economic development and community development professionals". The session flowed as follows:

"Prelude to the
New Energy Debate in Northeast Ohio"

From TransTech and the New Energy
Roundtable (NER)

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Join a dynamic group of renewable energy enthusiasts that meets monthly in different locations around Northeast Ohio to learn about clean energy projects and initiatives. An introduction to green projects in Lorain County, including large and small scale wind, biomass, composting, and upcoming green energy events.Call for directions: (440) 233-6500.

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This morning’s PD cited a Michigan research paper that concluded that economic cars, hybrids and the like, will generate a stronger economic return for European manufacturers, who have adapted to meet the more aggressive, European environmental standards and are now poised to reap the economic benefit of this growing market in the US. As a result, the study says, the US government should assist, despite the current $400+ billion budget deficit, in the retrofit/reengineering of the US plants to be able to compete. Of course, the industry could have also asked for assistance in meeting the environmental demands decades ago to seize the leadership mantel now held by European manufacturers, but for decades, US auto industry opposed stronger environmental standards, rather than adapt. Another significant, unmentioned lesson also warrants noting: Sound environmental policy, environmental leadership, can generate economic leadership in a very short time.

REI has scheduled a REALNEO orientation session from 2 - 4 PM for anyone interested in becoming more familiar with our Regional Economy Action Links for North East Ohio. We'll walk through basic site administration, like setting up a user account and adding content, and setting up a Drupal site from scratch. We'll discuss how to best use this transformational technology to transform the NEO economy. This is of course free and open to the public - when you sign in with the security desk at the PBL building (the Gehry) the guard will tell you how to find the session... room 401

Immediately following is Tuesday@REI: "Unique
Value: Cleveland & Northeast Ohio,"
with
Guest Moderator Charles D. Weller, Cleveland Author, Lawyer
and Health Care Entrepreneur. Chuck is Editor and Contributor of the new book
(Released 12/04) "Unique Value:
Competition Based On Innovation Creating Unique
Value

Any questions, please email norm [at] icearth [dot] com

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Jeff gives overview of history of wind power in NEO and of
his effort to reestablish this here

Then he gets into the needs to make this happen. He
stresses need for open model – open communications – to move our efforts
forward. Mentioned Wind Power conference and that no email addresses were
provided for attendees and presenters – old model. New model is open meetings
like at REI and the vision of social networks and analysis.

 If you haven't been to REALNEO recently, you've missed lots of exciting developments in our virtual and real community. For a chance to get up to speed, and become more involved in the REALNEO development process, join folks supporting this effort at Case/REI for a hands on orientation (and can get involved with the developing Wind Power industry right after - see below).

At the E4S awards party, transportation sustainability champion Jim Sheehan stressed that Ohio City Cycles has lots of great gift for the holidays - from recycled bikes to cool eco-cycle art objects and other great stuff so after you shop local and organic at Champion Basketeria, at the West Side Market, swing by Ohio City Cycles for all your other holiday shopping... if you see a solar and biofuel powered van parked out front, that's probably the other transportation champion, Matthew Harris - great people!

Every home and business owner in NEO can be part of the sustainability and green building movement by being smart about energy efficiency - demand side management. The E4S champions described below can help us live and work smarter - we just need to be smart enough to get in touch with them first!

Entrepreneurs
for Sustainability is an organization whose mission is to support a
community of entrepreneurs who will implement sustainability
principles in their new or existing businesses and encourages new
ventures, which will capitalize on emerging opportunities in a sustainable
economy in Northeastern Ohio.

To find Ohioans walking the walk to make NEO a Green region by a blue lake, one needs look no further than the non-profit organization E4S. Learn more about this fantastic organization and contribute related insight here

NEO leaders increasingly care about sustainable development, shaing a viewpoint expressed by Thomas Menino, Mayor of Boston: "Green building
is
good for your wallet. It's good for the environment. And it's good for
people." Large industrial cities like Cleveland may find insight and best practices from initiatives like the Green Building Task Force of Boston - read on…

Earlier this week, Governor Taft dedicated a utility-scale fuel cell power substation in Westerville. Learn more. Fuel Cell Works carried the story.

Fuel Cell Today, a publication from the UK, also picked up the story.