The slick stylings of your new model car may well have been hatched in the brain of a designer who was trained in Cleveland. For years, the Cleveland Institute of Art has been the source of some of Detroit's top design talent. Classic cars, such as the Thunderbird and Mustang, as well as modern favorites like the Chrysler Crossfire, have all been created by Cleveland Institute alums. And one of the school's most famous teachers seems to have been well-designed himself. 1929 graduate Viktor Schreckengost - who still advises a new generation of students - turns one hundred, this year.

Former Urban Hospital Gets a Transfusion
Aired: Week of 2/27/06
Sources: Lorain Morning Journal; LCCC Learning Center at St. Joseph

For years, abandoned buildings on Broadway were a sign of hard times in Lorain. Now, a formerly shuttered hospital is bringing some new health downtown. In the last decade, nearly 300 urban hospitals closed due to dramatic changes in the healthcare industry. The closing of St. John’s in Lorain threatened to leave an empty hulk of a building in the heart of town. But then, local leaders got together and turned the massive facility into a community center. It’s now home to a variety of small businesses, a branch of Lorain County Community College, and even a public computer lab - bringing people back to the city center.

Distance Learning – Up-Close and Personal
Aired: Week of 3/13/06
Sources:CSU: Online/Distance Learning

Completing your college degree may be closer than you think... And you can do it in your bathrobe. Distance Learning is one of the fastest-growing trends in higher education. Ohio University was a pioneer with its correspondence courses 80 years ago. These days, electronic learning has taken over across the state. In the fall of 2004, nearly 40,000 students completed courses via video or the internet. Two thirds of them were female and more than half were full-time students. Many have found "e-learning" to be an effective way to fit education into already busy lives.

Immigrants to the Rescue
Aired: Week of 3/20/06
Source: Cleveland State University: Maxine Goodman Levin College of Urban Affairs

Immigrants to Northeast Ohio helped build the region into an industrial powerhouse a century ago. Now, a new flow of newcomers may carry the seeds of another economic turnaround. While immigrants aren’t coming here in the numbers we used to see, our latest residents are better educated. Recent census figures reveal that our new foreign-born population brings with it skills in mathematics, science and engineering. In fact, these recent arrivals from India, China and the Ukraine are more likely to have college degrees than the rest of us. Sounds like we might have something to learn from this "brain gain."

Brownfield Bargain
Aired: Week of 3/27/06
Sources:Environmental Protective Agency

Northeast Ohio is loaded with polluted properties known as brownfields. Cleaning them up may seem costly, but it's actually a good investment. It cost $5.5 million to cleanup the brownfield at the former Sunar Hauserman property in Cleveland. That's not pocket change. But the process created 141 jobs and made room for two businesses to open up that together create $1 million in tax revenue. Seven years later the investment has already paid for itself. Looks like turning brownfields green means good returns for all of us.

Immigrant Women Get Down to Business
Aired: Week of 4/10/06
Sources: Today's Immigrant Women Entrepreneur

Immigrants have traditionally been small business leaders in this country, and in recent years that leadership has had a feminine touch. According to census research at the University of Maryland, the number of immigrant women entrepreneurs has nearly doubled in the last decade. Increasingly, these recent arrivals are going beyond traditional roles as shop owners and unpaid workers in family businesses, and moving into travel agencies and IT firms. Latin America and Asia are the top sources of these women, followed by Germany and Canada.

Plugged-in in the Inner City
Aired: Week of 4/17/06
Sources: Joint Center for Housing Studies at Harvard University

It used to be one of Cleveland’s most dangerous neighborhoods. Now, the east side Rainbow Terrace community has become a national model for electronic learning. A Harvard study singles out Rainbow Terrace as a leader in community computing. Taking high-technology to low-income neighborhoods began in the early 80s as an attempt to bridge the digital divide between computer haves and have-nots. Residents of Rainbow Terrace have access to new equipment with broadband access and a dedicated teaching staff, who can help with homework and plug you into employment.

The Philanthropist Next Door
Aired: Week of 4/24/06
Sources: The Cleveland Colectivo

Billionaires often get the headlines when it comes to philanthropy, but a new group based in Cleveland is out to prove that grant-making can come from the grassroots. Tired of talking about problems and eager to invest in solutions? A couple dozen friends have formed the Cleveland Colectivo. They describe it as a “giving circle,” where voting members contribute at least $100 per quarter to a pool of money that is used to fund innovative projects that might not qualify for traditional funding. The Colectivo got their inspiration from immigrant groups who shared resources when the banks told them "No."