Best Place to Raise Kids

BusinessWeek magazine has published its third annual ranking of the “Best Places to Raise Your Kids.” Partnering with OnBoard Informatics, a New York-based provider of real estate analysis, BusinessWeek selected one town and two runners-up for each of the 50 states.

Lakewood was rated the best city in Ohio, followed by Parma and Strongsville.

With a population of 53,000, BusinessWeek say Lakewood has a median family income of $68,883. The magazine also cited Lakewood's location on the shores of Lake Erie, its affordability, tree-lined streets and great schools. To compile the ranking, BusinessWeek limited the study to towns that have at least 45,000 residents and a median income of between $40,000 and $125,000. Categories analyzed included school performance, number of schools, household expenditures, crime rates, air quality, job growth, family income, museums, parks, theaters, other amenities, and diversity. Affordability, safety, and school test scores were given the greatest weight.

Source: Business Week and LakewoodAlive

Thanksgiving Food Drive Serves 300 Families

Join the many Lakewood volunteers, donors and sponsors who will come together to gather and deliver two large bags of food to over 300 needy families and seniors in time for the Thanksgiving holiday. Your help is needed to sort food on Friday and help us deliver food to those in need on Saturday.

The Lakewood Charitable Assistance Corporation (LCAC) will be holding their annual Thanksgiving Food Drive Friday and Saturday, November 20 and 21. Friday sorters will be accepting and sorting food from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and doing perishable bagging 6 to 7:30 p.m. On Saturday perishable bagging and delivery to families will be from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m.

Come witness one of the greatest community efforts at the Masonic Temple located at 15300 Detroit Avenue. For more information, visit LCAC.

Source: Lakewood Observer, by Jeff Worron

EcoLakewood November Meeting

EcoLakewood's November meeting was held at the Lakewood Library with a healthy attendance and good session of idea sharing and suggestions. Here are the brief updates.

Bill Corrigan, Division Manager and Lead City Engineer, was the guest speaker that underscored the importance, challenges and potential solutions related to our city sewer/storm water system. While the city is devising strategies to re-manage and mitigate problems associated with regional water/sewer overflows to Lake Erie (common for most NEO cities), simple solutions were discussed on how to educate Lakewood residents.

First, disconnecting down spouts will help in delaying the large amounts of water that is transferred from our storm/sewer system to the water treatment plants. While going to the source, the residential homes, is the primary approach, many are just not aware that our system needs a major upgrade. Target areas in Lakewood are on a combined sewer and storm system, which have significant overflow of sludge, storm water and other organic compounds to Lake Erie. Secondly, rain barrels and rain gardens are ecological, low-tech solutions that can assist with water diversion control. Again, universal city access to rain barrels may not be an overnight option; however, large Cleveland entities such as Great Lakes Brewery, Progressive Field and Horizons, Inc. are giving away free rain barrels on a first come first serve basis. The discussion wrapped up with a short Q&A session, followed by a proposed suggestion to host a workshop that educates residents about connecting rain barrels with the help of LEAF, LakewoodAlive and E4S. More community updates will be shared as events unfold for our citizens, business owners and local institutions.

Beck Center for the Arts Party

Dust off your favorite ball gown or white tie and tails and swing into the Mayor’s Charity Ball, hosted by Mayor Ed FitzGerald, on Saturday, November 14, 7 p.m., at the Beck Center for the Arts. All proceeds from the Ball support the quality education and theater programs at the Beck Center.

For more than 78 years, Beck Center for the Arts, located at 17801 Detroit Avenue, has been a pivotal partner in the vitality of Lakewood. The largest cultural institution on Cleveland’s west side, the Beck Center is home to an award-winning professional theater and offers more than 140 classes each week in dance, music, theater, visual arts, and creative arts therapies for artists of all ages.

Food and beverage take center stage! Several Lakewood restaurants and area businesses have shown their support for the Beck Center and are contributing to the event. They include: 56 West, Aladdin’s Eatery, The Beck Café, Blue Onion Take Out & Catering, Brennan’s Floral Gift Shop, Buckeye Beer Engine, Dewey’s Pizza, Edible Arrangements, Elmwood Home Bakery, Friendly Mini Mart, Great Lakes Brewing Company, India Garden, Italian Creations, Melt Bar and Grilled, North Coast Wine and Beer, Pacer’s, Panera Bread, Players on Madison, Route 6, Rozi’s Wine House, Sam’s Food and Beverage, and WineStyles.

The evening will include live music from the Beck Center’s top talent and a silent auction of art from the area’s most renowned artists, including Mary Lou Ferbert, Yarek Godfrey, William Gould, Dr. Marcello Mellino, and Phyllis Seltzer. Mayor FitzGerald will also conduct the Presentation of the Key to the City to Lakewood residents Ellen and John Bryztwa.

Source: Lakewood Observer, by Holly Lauch & Missy Toms

Green Business is Smart Business

Why go green? - Whether or not you are directly involved in a “green” business, building sustainable practices into your business model is a very smart thing to do. Research studies show that more and more people expect businesses to make, sell and/or support environmentally responsible products and services. They are also looking for businesses to participate in simple environmental practices (e.g. recycling). In addition, more and more people are choosing to buy locally. Many green practices will save such direct expenses as energy costs, reusing products and reducing use of paper, ink.

The Triple Bottom Line - The performance of public companies today is no longer simply measured by bottom line profit, but rather there is a focus on what is commonly referred to as the “triple bottom line”: people, planet and profit. The idea is that not only dollars matter, but also how companies care for people they employ, companies’ relation to the community and what the companies are doing to be responsible stewards of our planet. This performance measure is quickly migrating to the private sector as well.

What can you do? - The opportunities are endless and many are easier to implement than you think. The three R’s remain the key: Reduce, Reuse, Recycle. Reduce the amount of packaging you use, the number of catalogs you receive and the amount of material that you print rather than storing it electronically. Reduce energy usage by switching to energy-efficient lighting and a programmable thermostat. Reuse packing materials or shredded documents if you need to ship or store items. Reuse single sided-documents to print material for your own use or as scrap paper. Recycle paper, glass, cardboard, plastic and solid waste. (Check out the Cuyahoga County Solid Waste District) for lots of great information on recycling.). One more thing; Be sure to choose local suppliers for your own purchasing needs!