Crain's Cleveland Business

VOL. 40, NO. 1

JANUARY 7 - 13, 2019

CLEVELAND BUSINESS

Winter Culture Guide PAGES 10-15 Illustration by Stacy Innerst for Crain’s

INSIDE

SPORTS BUSINESS

Source Lunch

Baker Mayfield, exciting roster spark Browns sales surge for ’19

Jason Segedy, planning director, City of Akron Page 19 Entire contents © 2019 by Crain Communications Inc.

By KEVIN KLEPS kkleps@crain.com @KevinKleps

Two days before Christmas, Baker Mayfield treated fans at the Cleveland Browns’ final home game of the season to a three-touchdown performance in which the rookie quarterback stared down Hue Jackson, the team’s former coach.

The game, with an announced crowd of 67,431, marked the Browns’ sixth sellout of the season. A more sig-

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nificant number, according to Browns chief operating officer David Jenkins, is the actual crowd count of more than 60,000 who were on hand for the team’s 26-18 win over the Cincinnati Bengals.

The figure is almost double the number of fans who attended the Browns’ 2017 home finale against the Baltimore Ravens. That day, the announced crowd — which represents tickets sold, not fans in seats — of 56,434 was the worst in the history of FirstEnergy Stadium.

“Last year at this time, you’re coming off 1-31 (over a two-year stretch),

and there are a whole lot of question marks,” Jenkins said. “You fast forward 12 months to this year, and you have a football guy in (general manager) John Dorsey that you really believe in and our fans really believe in.

You have a lot of building blocks, a whole lot of salary-cap space and a lot of draft capital.”

Most importantly, the Browns seem to have finally found a quarterback in the 23-year-old Mayfield, who set a rookie record with 27 touchdown passes.

SEE MAYFIELD, PAGE 17

1/4/19 2:48 PM

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CRAIN’S CLEVELAND BUSINESS

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PA G E 3

Schwarz pushing for big tax-credit bump

By JAY MILLER

“I feel 2019 with the new governor and Schuring moving over to the Senate and a lot of supportive members in the House, this is the year things will align. (Incoming Gov. Mike) DeWine has expressed support, where Kasich wasn’t always thrilled about tax incentives.”

jmiller@crain.com @millerjh

It took only until July 12, or 12 days after Ohio’s fiscal year began in 2018, for Ivan Schwarz to run out of money. In that short time, he said, the state distributed all of its $40 million annual film tax credit allocation to applicants.

It’s Schwarz’s job as president of the Greater Cleveland Film Commission to convince movie and television companies, as well as producers of commercials and industrial films, to bring their work to Northeast Ohio.

He lures them with financial incentives from the pool of tax credits created by the Ohio Legislature.

But, he said, the $40 million cap constrains his plan for a robust, year-round film industry that creates good jobs in Northeast Ohio.

Schwarz wants to push through legislation this year to increase the motion picture tax credit, arguing that every dollar spent by the state returns two dollars in economic activity, and that there is demand from producers to shoot in Cleveland.

In recent years, Northeast Ohio has been the backdrop for a number of movie and television productions.

In May, a cast and crew shot in Ohio City and elsewhere around Cleveland for “The Last Summer,” a romantic comedy expected to be released on Netflix later this year. That same month, a production company was filming “I See You” in Chagrin Falls and Lakewood. No release date has been announced for that film.

A bill introduced by term-limited state Rep. Kirk Schuring of Canton (who is moving to the Ohio Senate) to increase the pool to $100 million died at the end of the last legislative session on Dec. 31. Schwarz hopes the next legislative session, which convenes Monday, Jan. 7, will make it happen.

“I feel 2019 with the new governor and Schuring moving over to the Senate and a lot of supportive members in the House, this is the year things will align,” Schwarz said in a Jan. 2 telephone call. “(Incoming Gov. Mike) DeWine has expressed support, where Kasich wasn’t always thrilled about tax incentives.”

Schwarz believes an increase in the tax credit can bring entertainment industry jobs, and a thriving year-round industry, to Northeast Ohio. An increase in film production could attract someone to build a film studio, he believes, which would attract even more jobs.

He told the Ohio House Government Accountability and Oversight Committee in March that since the state tax incentive was created in 2009, it has had a $572 million impact on the state’s economy. That includes actual labor costs, the cost of goods and services purchased, the taxes paid, and an estimate of the indirect spending induced by the production outlays.

The legislation Schwarz and the five other regional film commissions in the state pushed, House Bill 525, would have raised the maximum amount of credits to $100 million per fiscal year. It also would have extended eligibility to live theater productions that were either in rehearsal or would be performed in Ohio for six performances a week for five weeks.

States have been using financial incentives to lure movie and television companies after productions

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— Ivan Schwarz, president of the Greater Cleveland Film Commission

started filming in Canada after 1997, when that country began offering incentives.

Schwarz said a larger tax credit allocation is key to building the Northeast Ohio entertainment industry he foresees, an industry that attracts creative talent to the region. He said

the new School of Film, Television and Interactive Media at Cleveland State University also will be an attraction for, and will benefit from, additional production in Northeast Ohio.

Frederic Lahey, director of CSU’s new School of Film, Television and

Interactive Media, supports Schwarz’s efforts to increase the tax credit.

“It’s critical,” he said. “One of the reasons for creating the film school is to attract and retain young creatives, and by having the work here, that makes for attraction and reten-

tion. One of the first things productions ask when they’re looking for places to shoot is, ‘What are the incentives?’ and then they ask about film schools. It’s infrastructure, and to me it’s key to economic growth for the area.”

The legislation stalled in the 20172018 session, Schwarz said, after Ohio House Speaker Cliff Rosenberger resigned in the wake of revelations that the FBI was investigating his relationship with the payday loan industry. State government ground to a halt as Republicans fought over who would replace Rosenberger. (No charges have been filed, and Rosenberger has maintained that his actions as speaker were lawful and ethical.)

SEE FILM, PAGE 18

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PA G E 4

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CRAIN’S CLEVELAND BUSINESS

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Silver Maple Recovery, a Sprenger Health Care company, will open a new men’s residential recovery center in Lorain County, where there are currently no such facilities available for men struggling with addiction.

Founded in 1959, Sprenger’s core business has historically been in the skilled nursing sector, which will remain the foundation of all that the company does, according to Kevin Kauffman, Sprenger’s executive vice president of operations.

Seeing a real need in the community for addiction treatment services, Sprenger launched a new service line, Silver Maple Recovery, focused purely on battling addiction and starting addiction treatment programs. Silver Maple Recovery held a groundbreaking for renovations of the new treatment center in the city of Lorain in November and aims to accept its first patients in April. It will offer subacute detox as well as shortterm residential treatment services.

“In the many meetings and conversations we have had with our residents, families and the Northeast Ohio medical community, it is becoming more and more clear that there continues to be a desperate and continued need for more services directed toward the care and treatment with individuals experiencing drug and alcohol addiction,” Kauffman wrote in an email interview.

With facilities in Northeast Ohio, Indiana and South Carolina, Sprenger employs nearly 2,000 staff members and provides care for more than 1,600 residents daily.

The company, which has annual revenue of about $170 million, has seen steady growth in its portfolio in the last two to three years, Kauffman wrote. This growth includes the acquisition of an assisted-living community and a skilled nursing home in Northeast Ohio. The company has also expanded its existing nursing home and assisted-living bed capacity by nearly 15% through construction and renovation, including two new properties in the Hilton Head, S.C., region, Kauffman wrote.

“It is becoming more and more clear that there continues to be a desperate and continued need for more services directed toward the care and treatment with individuals experiencing drug and alcohol addiction.”

— Kevin Kauffman, executive vice president of operations, Sprenger Heath Care

Jason Coe, director of operations for Silver Maple Recovery, said the company has “a strong core business to build off of.”

“I think everyone has a personal experience — a family member, a friend, a loved one who’s struggled with addiction — and we’ve seen it really impact our communities,” Coe said. “And I think the need for services is significant.”

Addiction services is an extension of what the company currently offers.

“On a smaller scale, we have had success in bringing persons with addiction into our facilities in the past, physically rehabilitating them without having a true addiction program

or employing drug and alcohol addiction professionals,” Kauffman wrote. “With this initiative, we have hired a team of true visionaries and leaders with extensive Coe backgrounds and proven track records in providing addiction rehabilitation programming.”

Sprenger’s success in nursing homes, Kauffman added, comes in part from providing a continuum-of-care approach, offering assisted living, independent living, dementia care, hospice and home health services. The goal with Silver Maple is to support that continuum-of-care model through partnerships with intensive outpatient service providers and professionals in residential settings.

“Studies continue to show that success in treating drug and alcohol addiction doesn’t stop with the inpatient treatment — it must continue after the client leaves us,” Kauffman wrote.

Silver Maple Recovery will open initially as a men’s residential treatment center with plans to add women’s services in the following year.

The men’s facility will feature about 40 residences, a workout space, a spa/fitness center, multiple outdoor terraces and other amenities. The women’s services expansion would bring the total to nearly 70 residences.

Elaine Georgas, executive director of the Alcohol and Drug Addiction Services Board of Lorain County, said estimates show that about 8,000 to 10,000 Lorain County residents live with substance-use disorders and need different levels of treatment at different stages. Currently, the county’s capacity addresses roughly 2,000 to 3,000 of those people, she said.

“When a person’s ready for help, we need to be able to have treatment available pretty much on demand.”

Georgas said. “Addiction is a disease, so it may take multiple attempts. So having a facility, including this one, again is an opportunity for recovery to start.”

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PA G E 5

At the Table

Great service can be a restaurant’s secret ingredient Dick Blake stands before a crowd of restaurant servers. Waiters and waitresses, hosts and managers fill the room. All are on hand to hear what Joe Cleveland’s grand Crea man of manners has to say about the art of the fine dining experience.

“A waiter today is actor, model, entertainer and participant in the dining equation,” says the city’s most respected etiquette professional. “And if you ‘professionalize’ yourself, develop the kind of polish that enables you to communicate comfortably with any kind of guest, your earnings can easily double.”

Now, there’s a notion that strikes a chord with this group. In recent weeks, Blake has expressed his message — a more mannerly Cleveland, what he calls “Polite City, USA” — to staff at such prominent destinations as the Capital Grille at Legacy Village in Lyndhurst and Dante in Cleveland’s Tremont district.

For more than 50 years, Blake has been carrying the banner for social niceties and norms, while shifting with the times. During the 1960s, he was a regular on “The Upbeat Show” and “Big 5” for WEWS-TV. He claims more than a million students who’ve learned everything from table manners to personal grooming, proper attire and even “car etiquette.” And he’s taught the fine points of intercultural deportment to business leaders who routinely deal with international clients.

Pie in the sky? Some highfalutin’, pinkies-up pretensions?

Consider how, not long ago, one of the nation’s foremost restaurant critics took Cleveland’s service sector to task for its lack of polish.

Just prior to the 2016 Republican National Convention in the city, Washington Post critic Tom Sietsema visited our fair burg. While he heaped praise on 10 Northeast Ohio restaurants, his assessment of the treatment he received was less than glittering: “One missing ingredient: good service,” Sietsema wrote in the July 12, 2016, issue of The Washington Post.

“With a handful of exceptions — the upscale Edwins, the happy-go-lucky Mabel’s BBQ — most of the places I tried treated this anonymous diner as if I were invisible. At the trendy Butcher and the Brewer, I sat for several long minutes before any of the five faces behind the epic but unbusy bar bothered to make eye contact. At Alley Cat Oyster Bar, I was asked three times by three waiters if I was ready to order. One foot into an otherwise genial Nate’s Deli, I was hit with “Can I help you?” — from a woman shouting from a booth in the back. And so on. (A local cab driver had no idea where one of the city’s oldest and most beloved institutions, Sokolowski’s University Inn, dished out Polish fare.) Suffice it to say, Cleveland hospitality polls ‘low energy.’ ” This of a city that prides itself in its hometown heartland friendliness.

Apparently our self-perception differs markedly from that of an arbiter who observes the comings-and-goings in the nation’s capital — an international crossroads.

More than that: Is warm and chummy good enough to compete with the big guys — namely the corps of professional front-of-house staff that populates major travel destinations — when the goal is vying for tourism dollars? Or, for that matter, is “good

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Dick Blake, the grand master of manners, is shown at The Capital Grille. Blake trains restaurant staff on the intricacies of professional etiquette. (Ken Blaze for Crain’s)

Julian Bruell is responsible for staff training at Collision Bend Brewing Co. in the Flats and for the Zack Bruell Restaurant Group. (Contributed photo)

enough” sufficient to keep ahead in an increasingly competitive climate where literally hundreds of restaurants, taverns and fast-casual eateries are vying for local dining dollars?

Having grown up working in local

restaurants, then observing them as a food journalist and critic, I have seen that it’s no secret many servers aren’t particularly keen to serve. Maybe it’s a kind of blue-collar pride. Time and again, I’ve heard some voice resent-

ment over a role perceived as servile and demeaning.

Yet legions earn healthy wages in top restaurants — a station achieved through practice and polish.

Nick Soike, managing partner of Capital Grille in Lyndhurst, said the difference between a professional server and an “order taker” becomes evident during the well-managed hiring process. Great energy, great personality and a great sense of hospitality are essential.

“From the get-go, the key issue is identifying talent,” Soike said. “We assess an individual team member’s assets from the earliest stages of recruitment. Our No. 1 reason to hire a server is, during the interview, they show and express a real commitment to hospitality. As the questions roll, can they present stories that show they are really guest-centric? We truly believe our trainers can take someone who may not have 20 years’ experience and train them on the wine and food aspects. It’s a different matter if they have limita-

tions as to whether they do or don’t have a deeper sense of hospitality.”

From there, it’s the old “you never get a second chance to make a first impression,” Blake said.

He practically shudders when he talks about what he calls the “Neanderthal grunts” that pass as greetings and other interactions often lobbed at guests. “ ‘You guys,’ ” he said, groaning as he recalled such rude familiarity expressed by ill-mannered servers to older patrons.

Dante Boccuzzi recalls the first words Blake spoke when the restaurateur brought him in for a training session. (Boccuzzi also operates Dante Next Door, Ginko, Coda and other restaurants in Greater Cleveland and Akron.)

“He said to my staff, ‘All you have to do is say, ‘Good morning,’ ‘Good afternoon,’ ‘Good evening,’ ‘I’m so glad you’re joining us,’ ‘May I suggest …’ It’s language you rarely hear from servers these days, but it sets a whole different tone of professionalism and welcoming,” Boccuzzi said.

From there, it’s training staff about the importance of attention to detail, Julian Bruell said.

“It’s a matter of making sure every server and host is aware of the importance of making guests feel welcome from the moment they step through your doors to the goodbye as they leave. It’s checking after each course has been set before them to make sure they have everything they want or need,” Bruell said.

At age 28, Bruell has worked in some of New York City’s most acclaimed dining destinations — among them actor Robert De Niro’s Tribeca Grill in lower Manhattan and Jean-Georges restaurant in the tony Columbus Circle neighborhood. He’s also the son of one of Cleveland’s most exacting chef-restaurateurs, Zack Bruell.

Today, Julian Bruell is responsible for staff training at Collision Bend Brewing Co. on the Flats’ East Bank and for the Zack Bruell Restaurant Group, which includes L’Albatros Brasserie, Parallax, Chinato, Cowell & Hubbard and Alley Cat Oyster Bar. He considers it folly to believe that service is anything less than a lucrative career.

“For a long time, everyone wanted to be chefs and sommeliers, and of course those can be remarkable career tracks,” he said, nodding to the achievements tallied by his father.

“But today, in the front of the house, there are so many opportunities in Cleveland, and with so much competition for skilled servers and managers, I think it’s seen more as a career.

You can make a very good living with the right training.”

It’s more than knowing the proper sequence of flatware and crystal, serving from the left and other quaint antiquities (though such talents are increasingly in demand among the top echelons of international business).

Polite comportment, a welcoming demeanor and an engaging personality are all part of the equation.

“Servers are sales representatives.

They’re a restaurant’s main connection with customers,” Blake said. “The price to get a customer into your establishment is very high, what with advertising, social media, word of mouth, promotions and all the other devices a business employs to draw business. So in today’s world, you just can’t afford to have (patrons) walk right out the door due to poor demeanor or service.”

1/3/19 2:24 PM

PA G E 6

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Nearly a decade ago, Sustainable Cleveland 2019 set out with a bold vision to “surprise, amaze and inspire the world with its transformation to a bright green city on a blue lake.”

As the city of Cleveland’s 10-year initiative nears its end date, chief of sustainability Matt Gray says he feels good about the progress that’s been made toward that vision, though there’s more work to be done.

“We have set the foundation for doing that; we have not arrived,” Gray said. “I think as we all know, there’s just a lot of work to do in every area, but I think what we’ve been able to successfully do is make big progress in a lot of the areas that I’ve talked about.”

Since Mayor Frank Jackson announced the initiative in 2009, Sustainable Cleveland and its partners have helped improve both water and air quality in Cleveland.

For instance, one goal was to decrease over time the annual average number of water advisory days per beach in Cuyahoga County. Between 2009 and 2017, despite a couple of spikes, that metric dropped from 27 to 16. Sustainable Cleveland also wanted the Cleveland-Elyria Daily Air Quality Index to show more days graded in the good and moderate categories. Both have since taken up a growing portion of the days’ grades. Gray said Sustainable Cleveland is one of many partners working toward those goals, and noted that several other efforts have also contributed to the improved air- and water-quality metrics.

Sustainable Cleveland established and then updated a climate action

plan, with goals set around green building; clean, renewable energy; sustainable transportation; reducing waste; and more, Gray said.

In some areas, progress has been difficult. Although the city has reduced its carbon footprint over the past several years, one area where there’s been increased emissions is transportation. In part, Gray explained, this is attributable to a recovering economy, but he’d like to see more progress there.

“I’d say the other area, which is also affected by state policy, is clean energy,” he said. “Again, we’ve made big progress. Offshore wind — you know, in 10 years we’re getting closer and closer to having the first freshwater offshore wind project in the country.”

Having created a foundation for engaging people in the work — in part through the annual sustainability summits that have been held since 2009 — Gray said a lot of the work going forward involves spreading the message and sustainability throughout all of the city’s neighborhoods. The other key piece is in business engagement.

“I think there’s been some definite business leaders who have been a partner throughout,” he said. “But I think as we look forward, there is room to improve in terms of getting the larger business community engaged in this topic. We know there is this big communitywide conversation right now around what does an inclusive economy look like for Northeast Ohio? I think it’s critical that sustainability is a part of that conversation.”

Cleveland Neighborhood Progress participated in the city’s first summit on sustainability, and has ever since.

Linda Warren, the nonprofit’s senior vice president of placemaking, said the city served as the best convener to

bring together various organizations who work in the sustainability space.

Warren said she sees Sustainable Cleveland’s ability to gain consensus across every sector involved on how to move forward as one of the major achievements of the effort thus far.

“I think it’s massive to get consensus on something that’s so comprehensive, so they get a lot of credit for that,” she said.

She also applauded Sustainable Cleveland for its policy impact and its ability to weave priorities into the systems and process of various departments at the city. For instance, she pointed to the city’s integration of green building standards into its real estate work. In the past 10 years, builders in the city have added hundreds of residential units every year that meet green standards.

Gray said the city’s most important role is as a neutral convener.

“When you’re thinking about sustainability, when you think about climate action, we’re talking about transforming an entire economy,” he said. “You know, you look to the climate reports that have come out recently, they’re talking about by 2030, in 12 years, we have to completely transform our global economy to have an Earth that is recognizable to the one we have today. That’s a big task, and really everyone has to be on board. And I think that’s why someone like a city is critical in that.”

For Year 10 of the initiative, Gray said the focus is on finishing strong in 2019, as well as recognizing the 50th anniversary of the last Cuyahoga River burning. As 2019, Gray said he plans to get input from the community and begin crafting what comes next in terms of a sustainability initiative for the city.

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PA G E 7

Parma manufacturer thrives under the radar

By RACHEL ABBEY McCAFFERTY rmccafferty@crain.com @ramccafferty

Prince & Izant Co. is one of those companies that tends to operate quietly, without a lot of press. It doesn’t have a flashy customer-facing product or a brand name you’d see on the shelves. But its products support industries as diverse as automotive, aerospace and medical.

The family-owned Prince & Izant in Parma is in brazing and metal joining.

The company makes products like rings, wire and powder from such materials as gold, copper and platinum.

“From a product standpoint, I would say that our parts are in things that you use every day that you don’t even know,” said Nancy Faulhaber, marketing manager.

The company serves about 20 major markets and more than 400 submarkets, from automotive to aerospace to electronics to medical.

A new generation of leadership, brothers Matt and Bo Brandenburg, took over in January 2018 as CEO and president, respectively. The company has been investing in capital equipment and personnel.

And it’s looking to grow. Prince & Izant recently completed the acquisition of the Bellman-Melcor companies in Illinois for an undisclosed amount. The company also doesn’t share annual revenue.

Historically, Prince & Izant has grown organically, Matt Brandenburg said. But over the years, it had gained enough market share to make that difficult. To continue to grow, leadership knew it would have to look to acquisitions.

Before the Bellman-Melcor acquisition, Prince & Izant had 126 employees, most of whom were in Parma. The company also has facilities

Parma manufacturer Prince & Izant makes products from metals like gold and platinum. (Contributed photos)

Platinum tube and copper brazing rings are some of the products Prince & Izant manufactures.

in Indiana and Massachusetts, as well as offices in China and Ireland.

Close to 50 employees joined the company at the start of the year as part of the acquisition.

President Bo Brandenburg said the “successful integration” of Bellman-Melcor will be Prince & Izant’s main focus in 2019. Employees will stay in Tinley Park, Ill., but there will be integration of the two companies’ financial and IT operations, Phil Eck-

enrode, general counsel, said, as well as of their customer bases.

“We’re buying a well-oiled machine,” Eckenrode said. “They do a lot of things great. That’s why the acquisition made so much sense for us.

We’re not looking to come in and upset the apple cart. We’re looking to bolt them on and have them continue to make us stronger while perhaps giving them some sophistication and some upgrades that they need.”

The majority of Prince & Izant’s business is in brazing, the process of using a material and heat to join two unlike pieces of metal or other material. Using this process, Prince & Izant serves markets ranging from aerospace to oil and gas to HVAC. The rest of the business is medical, which started out as “one-off, niche” parts of the business, Eckenrode said. Today, it’s the fastest-growing market for Prince & Izant.

Though these products aren’t brazed, it was a natural fit for the company. Brazed products contain precious metals like silver or gold, Matt Brandenburg said, which eased the transition into the use of materials such as platinum alloys for medical products.

The company also has invested in technology that helps it create products of extremely small sizes and tight tolerances, Matt Brandenburg said.

“Because, obviously, real estate when you’re implanting something into the human body is at a premium,” he added.

When introducing a new product, Prince & Izant aims to make one that is better than what the market already offers, not a “me-too product,” Matt Brandenburg said.

For example, Prince & Izant offers an atomized powder for brazing that’s used primarily in the aerospace industry. To make it, the company invested in equipment to create more spherical powder, which yields better melt properties, Matt Brandenburg said.

That’s part of why acquiring the Bellman-Melcor companies was attractive. The brazing and soldering alloy manufacturer has a proprietary product in the electric vehicle market, and that forward-looking product could help Prince & Izant maintain market share in the future, Matt Brandenburg said.

Prince & Izant is a good example of how valuable manufacturers are to the region, said Shawn DaVis, vice president for business development at the Greater Cleveland Partnership.

It’s a global company offering goodpaying jobs, investing locally and supporting causes in the community, he said.

“The midmarket companies are really where we see the opportunity for tremendous growth,” DaVis said.

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1/3/19 3:55 PM

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CRAIN’S CLEVELAND BUSINESS

Opinion Personal View

Cleveland, Canada share a special trade relationship

By BILL LANE

Editorial

End of the line The John Kasich we know today — the national political figure and anti-Trumper who wants to be president but is perceived as too moderate by much of the Republican Party — stands in contrast to the man who took the governor’s office nearly eight years ago as a staunch tax-cutter and budget hawk with his own habit for intemperate comments. (Remember the “idiot” police officer who gave him a traffic ticket?)

Kasich’s tenure as Ohio’s leader ends Jan. 14, when Attorney General Mike DeWine is sworn in as governor. It has been a consequential two terms, with some significant successes but some serious misses, too. Kasich generally was a good steward of the state, and if DeWine is similarly effective while also addressing some of his predecessor’s shortcomings, Ohio will be in good hands.

Any assessment of the Kasich legacy has to begin with the 2014 expansion of Ohio’s Medicaid program, which the governor accomplished despite significant opposition within his own party, and which came at a cost to his political ambitions.

State reports issued last August indicated that more than 663,000 Ohioans were enrolled in Medicaid expansion coverage as of June. The move has reduced the percentage of Ohioans who are uninsured, and it has been of particular benefit in Northeast Ohio, where the counties with the highest percentages of adults enrolled in Medicaid expansion include Cuyahoga, Mahoning, Trumbull and Ashtabula. Although Republicans in Columbus have groused about the expansion, they’ve never rolled it back.

Kasich did learn from some mistakes.

Early in his tenure, Kasich signed a bill to limit collective bargaining for public employees. Union members, incensed by the move, organized a ballot measure to overturn the bill, which voters overwhelmingly approved. After that defeat, Kasich abandoned the conservative cause of busting unions, opposing, for instance, efforts to institute a right-to-work law in the state.

His overhaul of the state’s economic development efforts

into the JobsOhio public-private partnership got off to a rocky start, but that organization has operated more efficiently in recent years — though Ohio’s growth pace is still mediocre in the context of national economic expansion.

Kasich entered the governor’s office in unsteady times, as the 2008 economic downturn left Ohio in a precarious financial condition, with an $8 billion general fund deficit. He stabilized the state’s finances and brought relative predictability to the budgeting process, matching revenue with expenses, even with cuts in personal and small business taxes. The budget situation that DeWine inherits is thankfully undramatic.

Nonetheless, we stand by an assessment we issued in a March 2014 editorial that characterized Kasich as a tax shifter rather than a tax cutter. Back then, we wrote that Kasich “is adept at transferring the burden of taxation from one party to another while giving the appearance of reducing taxes. Shifting the load is how he can balance a state budget that grows year after year even as he beats the drum for lower individual income tax rates.” We noted the governor eliminated that $8 billion deficit “in part by slashing to the tune of a few billion dollars the amount of state money that traditionally had gone to cities and school districts,” and that even after the economy and state tax receipts rebounded, “Kasich and the Republican-led Legislature didn’t restore the money the cities and schools had been denied.”

The loss of state support has meant fewer police officers and teachers, less general fund money to fix potholes, and cuts to academic programs. We encourage new Gov. DeWine to take a more balanced approach that offers more support to local communities.

In a valedictory presentation last month at the City Club of Cleveland, Kasich was philosophical about his tenure, noting, “What I’m most proud of in these eight years is I don’t think anybody got left behind; that’s the most important thing.” We don’t fully agree, but at the tough job of running a big state, Kasich answered the call admirably.

Publisher and Editor: Elizabeth McIntyre (emcintyre@crain.com)

CLEVELAND BUSINESS P008_CL_20190107.indd 8

Managing Editor:

Scott Suttell (ssuttell@crain.com)

Contact Crain’s:

216-522-1383

Read Crain’s online: crainscleveland.com

Whether it’s the Indians, Browns or Cavaliers vying for a championship, or visiting the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, there is lots of fun to be had in Cleveland. However, as the gateway between Cleveland and the rest of the world, the Cleveland International Hopkins Airport’s unique location makes fun possible.

Not just travelers go through Hopkins International every day, but products that are getting imported and exported globally. Last year more than $58 billion of trade took place through the airport, making Hopkins International one of the 20 largest U.S. ports for importing and exporting international goods.

With exports besting imports by $8 billion, the Lane products transported via Hopkins also contribute to a positive trade balance for the United States.

Even though Cleveland maintains trading relationships with many countries around the globe, it retains its most special relationship with its neighbor only 70 miles to the north: Canada.

Last year, $33 billion in total goods and services were exported from Cleveland via Hopkins International. Exports included civilian aircraft, computer chips, cell phones and medical equipment. Moreover, during 2017 Cleveland saw its trade with the world increase 15.85%.

This is just part of the reason why Canada’s relationship with the U.S. is important. In 2017, the U.S. exported more goods to Canada’s 37 million people than it did to the four billion people living in the world’s nine most populous countries. This means the U.S. exported more goods to Canada than it did to China, India, Indonesia, Brazil, Pakistan, Nigeria, Bangladesh, Russia and Japan combined. In fact, on a per capita basis, Canadians buy eight times more American products than vice versa.

More importantly, from the D-Day beaches to the mountains of Afghanistan, Canada has been — and remains — a close American friend and ally.

In recent negotiations to modernize the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), the importance of our trading relationship with Canada has never been more salient. With more than 400,000 Ohio jobs supported by trade with Canada and Mexico, Ohio workers and families benefit from trade with our neighbors. The entire United States does, as well, as trade with Canada and Mexico supports more than 11 million jobs nationwide.

As we learn more about the impacts of the recently negotiated United States, Mexico, Canada Agreement (USMCA), one thing is clear — trade with Canada is a vital component of the success of Cleveland’s workers, families and businesses, and maintaining this relationship benefits not just the city, but the entire state of Ohio.

As a town of music connoisseurs, Cleveland has special standing to promote artists and music that reflects insight about life in the United States. While not yet part of the Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame, Brad Paisley wrote lyrics for “American Saturday Night” that may best capture the spirit of trade.

“They’ve got Canadian bacon on their pizza pie. They’ve got a cooler full of cold Coronas and Amstel Light. It’s like we’re all livin’ in a big ol’ cup. Just fire up the blender, mix it all up. It’s a French kiss, Italian ice. Margaritas in the moonlight. Just another American Saturday night.”

While Washington debates the pros and cons of trade, two things are certain. If it wasn’t for friends like Canada and the folks working at Hopkins International and other ports around the country, Saturday night would be a lot less fun.

Lane is the executive director of Trade For America.

Write us: Crain’s welcomes responses from readers. Letters should be as brief as possible and may be edited. Send letters to Crain’s Cleveland Business, 700 West St. Clair Ave., Suite 310, Cleveland, OH 44113, or by emailing ClevEdit@crain.com. Please include your complete name and city from which you are writing, and a telephone number for fact-checking purposes.

Sound off: Send a Personal View for the opinion page to emcintyre@crain.com.

Please include a telephone number for verification purposes.

1/3/19 4:16 PM

CRAIN’S CLEVELAND BUSINESS

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PA G E 9

7.5 Acres of Land ZONED FOR OFFICE/RETAIL

SW Corner of Memphis Ave. at Tiedeman Road, Brooklyn, OH Personal View

There’s an inextricable link between housing and health

By MARK McDERMOTT and THOMAS J. STRAUSS

During the past election, there We would like to encourage busiwas much dialogue around the Afness and community leaders to fordable Care Act and safety-net support all programs that address programs such as Medicaid. Based the health of our community inon exit polls, there is a resounding cluding the social determinants of recognition that covering the unhealth. This means we need your support for vital programs such as insured and protecting individufood stamps and assistance, quality als from pre-existing conditions early childhood programs, rental are vital for the health of our naassistance for families and other tion. We applaud the support for McDermott Strauss aid for the nation’s poorest urban ensuring health coverage for our and rural communities. community. Health insurance We see firsthand the We encourage our elected makes a difference. leaders in Ohio and around the In fact, in the most recent report inextricable link country to understand and act to from the Ohio Department of Med- between housing and expand beyond the clinical asicaid, Ohio’s Medicaid expansion has reduced health care costs and health. Low-income pects of health — to more holistifinancial exposure for 650,000 families spending cally address what causes health Ohioans and reduced the uninproblems in the first place. At the Sisters of Charity Health System, sured population by half. These more than half of we understand that, for many, numbers remind us that Medicaid their income on housing is fundamental to one’s expansion has made a tremendous health. positive impact in our community. housing often forgo Elected officials must look to inOur work is not complete, howpreventive care or ever. When the news reports on a vest in innovative and progressive historically low unemployment early treatment, strategies that address the root rate or on record highs for stock causes of poverty. Strategies such making toxic indices, those of us working with as providing a stable home with the community’s underserved feel tradeoffs between support services (also known as an uneasy disconnect between the permanent supportive housing) or apparent prosperity of the affluent rent and preventive placing lawyers in hospitals, and and the harsh realities for those health visits. efforts to provide lawyers to who feel underwater and left below-income individuals and famihind in today’s economy. We see it right here in Cleve- lies to prevent evictions, and many other practical land. Many of the jobs available do not pay enough to steps acknowledge that health outcomes are impacted make ends meet. by a number of social factors — stable housing among For the 219,000 Cuyahoga County residents who them. It is worth considering how housing can better rent housing, each household must earn at least serve as a platform for improving health outcomes in a $15.10 per hour full-time to afford a modest two-bed- cost-effective manner.

As we debate the continuing resolution in Congress room apartment. They have an uphill battle for many reasons. Chief among them: Wages are stagnant, while and prepare for 2019 midterm budget cycles, we have the cost of housing and health care continues to rise. It to remember to outline priorities beyond funding vital has simply become too expensive to maintain or im- safety-net programs — ways to invest in our community to make real impact for Cleveland. By addressing prove quality of life and enable families to thrive.

We see firsthand the inextricable link between hous- unsafe housing, housing insecurity and homelessing and health. Low-income families spending more ness, our state and nation can impact the health of inthan half of their income on housing often forgo pre- dividuals, families and communities. It is time for ventive care or early treatment, making toxic tradeoffs community leaders and our elected officials to take an between rent and preventive health visits. People expe- innovative approach to focusing current resources on riencing homelessness, especially, remain far more the social determinants of health. likely to go to the emergency room, if at all, for conditions that could be more effectively and efficiently man- McDermott is vice president and Ohio market leader for aged on an ongoing basis if they had a medical home or Enterprise Community Partners Inc. Strauss is president and CEO of the Sisters of Charity Health System. stable housing connected to supportive services.

Web Talk

Re: New Hopkins plan could be rough go for taxis, limos and ride-sharing services

opportunity here at the expense of Hopkins?

Seems like easy pickings. — James D.

The City of Cleveland continues to double down as a second-rate operation. Instead (of) coming up with a variety of cost-reasonable solutions by contracting the traffic problem out to the best engineering and planning firms, they just make it more difficult for passengers with the city of Cleveland’s closed-minded, low-caliber management (or what is left of it after the recent security debacle). The current dropoff and pickup area for shuttles is on the same wretched level as an airport in a third-world country or worse. Perhaps the Akron-Canton airport smells potential

It’s long past time for new terminals and a complete rebuild of access to the airport. Suggest sales and sin taxes be taken from sports facilities and a failed convention center to the airport. Low ceilings, lackluster restrooms, archaic passenger security screening should not be tolerated. The airport can use existing property and be rebuilt in three simple phases. — GomarNahasapeemapetilon

P009_CL_20190107.indd 9

FOR SALE Development Incentives Available

Contact City of Brooklyn, OH Office of Economic Development

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Connected Gourmet & Baskets by Maury Teaming up in Cleveland to bring you a Basket or a Box of fabulous gourmet treats for the holidays!

This year celebrate Cleveland’s culturally diverse & fancy food scene.

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Building toward a 1980s airport in a 2020 world.

Cleveland needs, and should demand, new leadership. — James

1/3/19 2:26 PM

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CRAIN’S CLEVELAND BUSINESS

WINTER CULTURE GUIDE

Winter’s bounty

Institutions

By MICHAEL VON GLAHN

Theater

By MICHAEL VON GLAHN

mvonglahn@crain.com

mvonglahn@crain.com

F

Y

Renaissance Splendor: Catherine de’ Medici’s Valois Tapestries

The Dark Room

rom Warhol and O'Keeffe to emerging young names, Northeast Ohio's museums shine a light on the most exciting works in the worlds of art, style and design.

ou’ll laugh, you’ll cry, you’ll tap your toes and open your mind as the curtain parts on another season of theater in Northeast Ohio.

Jan. 8, Feb. 12 and March 12 The Church at Cleveland Public Theatre

Through Jan. 21 Cleveland Museum of Art

Held on the second Tuesday of each month, this “open mic” lets playwrights take center stage and give their work a chance to grow.

The Dark Room is open to all writers and performers, as well as audience members interested in cold readings of new scripts. Playwrights may bring up to 10 pages of material and actors are cast on the spot.

The recently restored Valois Tapestries, a unique set of 16th-century hangings, were commissioned by Catherine de’ Medici, the queen mother of France, to celebrate the royal Valois dynasty against a backdrop of great political strife and social upheaval. Among the most costly artistic endeavors, the tapestries “embody the pageantry, splendor and political intrigue of Renaissance Europe.”

Clarence H. White and His World: The Art and Craft of Photography, 1895–1925 Through Jan. 21 Cleveland Museum of Art

This exhibit surveys the career of White, a leading figure of American Pictorialist photography, from its beginnings in Newark, Ohio, in 1895 to his death in Mexico in 1925, exploring his work and placing it within the context of the international Arts and Crafts movement and the redefinition of childhood and the domestic sphere.

Jeff Donaldson: Dig

Hairspray!

The Musical

Ken Ad

lthough we’ve entered a new year and the days are finally oh-so-slowly growing longer, for now they’re still short, dark and cold. Fortunately for us, Northeast Ohio’s arts organizations are adept at generating light and warmth year-round.

Crain’s editors have selected a slate of several dozen local cultural events that should help nourish both mind and spirit until spring arrives. We’ve got you covered when it comes to classical and popular music, theater, museums and galleries and all manner of happenings. For details, pages 10-15

In 1962, Tracy Turnblad dreams of dancing on the local teenage TV dance program. When she learns a few dance moves from her friend Seaweed, her wish comes true and she becomes an instant local celebrity in this Broadway musical, presented cabaret-style with the audience onstage.

L row belo in H —a derd gree

Illustration by Stacy Innerst for Crain’s

Jan. 12-Feb. 3 Cleveland Play House

A

Through Jan. 21 Akron Art Museum

The acclaimed painter and environmental activist’s most ambitious work to date celebrates one of our region’s most critical assets: the Great Lakes. The exhibit includes five new, mural-sized paintings, flora and fauna field drawings and a suite of watercolors.

Georgia O’Keeffe: Living Modern Through March 3 Cleveland Museum of Art

This exhibition offers a unique look into the connections between the paintings, personal style and public persona of one of America’s most iconic artists. O’Keeffe’s paint-

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Feb. Clev

Th med shor ann infa

Jan. 25-Feb. 17 Dobama Theatre

Through Jan. 21 Akron Art Museum

Through Jan. 27 MOCA Cleveland

An Iliad

Fire

Revolt. She Said.

Revolt Again.

Allison Zuckerman: Pirate and Muse

Alexis Rockman: The Great Lakes Cycle

Feb. Clev

One actor. One musician. The Trojan War. With vivid storytelling and live cello, two women transform Playhouse Square’s Outcalt Theatre stage into a raging battlefield where gods, heroes and empires clash in a quest for vengeance and glory.

Donaldson’s first museum retrospective explores his four-decade career, starting with his activist roots in Chicago and spanning his influence on future generations as a professor at Howard University. The exhibit features paintings, prints and mixedmedia works.

Zuckerman pillages Western art history and pop-culture imagery, dismantling bodies and piecing together new ones that expose vulnerability and imperfection. She creates her compositions from passages and body parts grabbed from online sources or snapshots taken at museums, then prints them on canvas and paints on the surface — likening that process to the carefully curated identities presented on social media.

Jan. 10-13 Akron Civic Theatre

Andy Warhol Endangered Species, a series of silkscreen prints, runs through March 10 at the Cleveland Museum of Natural History. (Laura Dempsey/CMNH)

ings are showcased alongside her homemade garments and portraits of her by leading photographers.

Andy Warhol Endangered Species

Through March 10 Cleveland Museum of Natural History

Warhol’s Endangered Species set of 10 silkscreens was created in 1983 to provide a new perspective on critically endangered animals and the burgeoning conservation movement. This rarely exhibited complete set is one of only 150 in existence throughout the world. Experience these works of “animals in makeup” and learn about CMNH’s efforts to protect and conserve biodiversity through the unique lens of Andy Warhol’s iconic style.

film. Her work explores the role of specific individuals and historic developments that emerged over the last few decades at the intersections of science and technology, with an emphasis on the underrepresented role of women.

tween. Highlights include the first production DeLorean, originally owned by Cleveland native Charles DeLorean (brother to John Z. DeLorean), and 1982 PPG Pace Car used in the inaugural Cleveland Grand Prix.

Built to Survive: Biomechanics

Nick Cave: Feat

Through April 28 Cleveland Museum of Natural History

Interactive exhibits and scientific objects offer a look at natural engineering and exactly how plants and animals evolved to survive. The exhibit promises to help you understand how “wonders of the plant and animal kingdoms eat, move, avoid predators and process information to take them to a higher gear above their competition.”

Aleksandra Domanović: Untitled (In My Feelings)

RADwood: Cleveland Goes Rad

In her first major U.S. solo museum exhibition, Yugoslavia-born Aleksandra Domanović brings together recent sculptures and a newly commissioned

This new exhibit celebrates 1980s and ’90s car culture and the surrounding lifestyle, from loud clothing to unique beats and everything in be-

Through March 24 MOCA Cleveland

Jan. 10-March 24 Crawford Auto-Aviation Museum

Feb. 23-June 2 Akron Art Museum

Best known for his Soundsuits wearable fabric sculptures, artist/ dancer Cave’s immersive installation showcases his work through a wide array of media, including sculpture, video and performance.

Gordon Parks: The New Tide, Early Work 1940-1950 March 23-June 9 Cleveland Museum of Art

Pioneering African-American photographer Parks considered his work during the 1940s and ’50s to be the benchmark for his 60-year career. This show traces his rapid evolution from a self-taught practitioner to an accomplished independent artist and journalistic voice on critical social and cultural issues.

In this “theatrical manifesto for the #MeToo era,” a series of wildly experimental vignettes ask how to revolutionize language, relationships, work and life in general while bursting at the seams of conformity.

Miss Saigon

Jan. 29-Feb. 17 Playhouse Square

This revival of the legendary musical from the creators of “Les Misérables” tells the epic story of a young Vietnamese woman named Kim. In a bar run by a notorious character called The Engineer, she meets an American G.I. in an encounter that will change their lives forever.

Weep for Joy Feb. 1-3 Playhouse Square

C.S. Lewis and American writer Joy Gresham were joined by a mutual love of literature and a shared Christian faith. When Joy was struck down by terminal cancer, she faced death while Lewis faced the prospect of a future without the woman who had changed his life. Hanna Theatre audiences will laugh and cry as these two draw on their faith in both the happiest and bleakest times.

1/3/19 2:28 PM

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Left: The hustler known as The Engineer sings of his “American Dream” in “Miss Saigon,” running Jan. 29-Feb. 17 at Playhouse Square. (Playhouse Square)

Hay Fever

Feb. 27-March 9 Cleveland Play House

In this British comedy by Noël Coward, a weekend retreat for a retired actress, her novelist husband, their family and guests turns out to be anything but relaxing when mismatched romantic pairings and explosive familial rivalries bring out the worst in everyone.

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WINTER CULTURE GUIDE

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School of Rock March 5-24 Playhouse Square

Ken Ludwig’s Sherwood: The Adventures of Robin Hood

La Gringa (Spanish) Feb. 14-March 2 Cleveland Public Theatre

Feb. 2-24 Cleveland Play House

Laughs, romance and plenty of arrows fly in this fresh, comic take on a beloved legend. Dashing outlaw Robin Hood and his band of Merry Men — and Women! — champion the underdog and fight for justice against a greedy prince.

In this comedy, a young woman excited to connect with her homeland and visit her extended family in Puerto Rico for the first time isn’t exactly welcomed with open arms. If she’s a Puerto Rican in the United States and an American in Puerto Rico, is she a somebody anywhere?

Fire on the Water

Two by Tennessee

This all-new version of the multimedia theatrical event uses a series of short plays to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Cuyahoga River’s infamous 1969 blaze.

It’s a Tennessee Williams double-bill, with both plays set during the Great Depression. In “27 Wagons Full of Cotton,” a financially squeezed cotton-gin owner sets fire

Feb. 9-March 2 Cleveland Public Theatre

Feb. 14-March 10 Karamu

Are you an individual with $10 million or more seeking advice?

to his neighbor’s thriving plantation, prompting a most unconventional vengeance. In “This Property Is Condemned,” a chance encounter between two young people leaves both exposed in unimaginable ways.

Witness for the Prosecution Feb. 15-March 10 Great Lakes Theater

Agatha Christie’s courtroom thriller comes to Playhouse Square’s Hanna Theatre. Accused of murdering a widow to inherit her wealth, can this defendant convince the jury, and you, of his innocence and escape the hangman’s noose despite shocking courtroom testimony and impassioned gallery outbursts?

Based on the hit film, this new musical follows a wannabe rock star, posing as a substitute teacher, who turns a class of straight-A students into a guitar-shredding, bass-slapping, mind-blowing rock band. Featuring 14 new songs from Andrew Lloyd Webber, all the original songs from the movie and musical theater’s first-ever kids rock band playing their instruments live onstage in the Connor Palace.

The Nether

March 8-31 Dobama Theatre

Part criminal drama and part scifi thriller, Jennifer Haley’s play examines the consequences of living out our most shocking urges in the age of virtual reality.

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Business Advisors and Certified Public Accountants

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1/3/19 2:28 PM

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CRAIN’S CLEVELAND BUSINESS

WINTER CULTURE GUIDE

Pop music

By SCOTT SUTTELL ssuttell@crain.com @ssuttell

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n spaces ranging from intimate clubs to arenas, these wintertime shows revisit pop and rock icons past — Bowie and Elvis — bring back icons present — Cher, KISS — and open the stage to up-and-comers who may become tomorrow's megastars.

David Bowie weekend Jan. 11-12 The Bop Stop

Musicologist, Bowiephile and arts advocate Thomas Mulready on Jan. 11 hosts “An Evening With(out) David Bowie,” an elaborate tribute to an artist who had a massive influence on music, fashion, stagecraft and culture, which, as the Bop Stop notes, “continues to be deeply felt, nearly three years after his death.” The show ends with a live music set by Cleveland post-glam band Vanity Crash, performing selections from their 2017 release “Phantasmagoria,” including a tune featuring Bowie’s longtime accompanist, Mike Garson, alongside Bowie favorites and period classics. For the Jan. 12 program, “David Bowie’s Deep Tracks: Your Pretty Face Is Going To Hell,” Mulready “will dig through Bowie’s extensive career, selecting his Deep Tracks: hidden gems, album tracks, epics and opuses that don’t usually pop up on someone’s Spotify playlist.”

ssuttell@crain.com @ssuttell

www.helonlaw.com

216.978.7463 M.B.A.

O

rchestras, ensembles and soloists give life to both new works and venerable compositions this season.

Ariadne auf Naxos, featuring the Cleveland Orchestra Jan. 13, 17 and 19 Severance Hall

Music director Franz Welser-Möst and the Cleveland Orchestra continue their commitment to presenting opera at Severance Hall with a madefor-Cleveland production of Richard Strauss’s “Ariadne auf Naxos,” which is being performed for the first time in the orchestra’s history. In the opera, “a mysterious mogul has commissioned an evening of exotic entertainment for an exclusive dinner party: a dramatic opera based on the myth of Ariadne, plus a comical troupe of clowns,” the orchestra says.

“But plans for the evening are derailed and both entertainments must be presented simultaneously.” Welser-Möst previously has led the orchestra in performances of four other Strauss operas: “Elektra” (2004), “Der Rosenkavalier” (2007), “Salome” (2012) and “Daphne” (2015).

The Leuven Songbook, featuring Les Délices

Jan. 18-20 Locations in Akron, Lakewood and Cleveland Heights

“Diminutive, precious and sometimes highly decorated, songbooks were the mix-tapes of their day. Compiled with care for a specific individual,

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Jan. 13 KeyBank State Theatre at Playhouse Square

The show celebrates what would have been The King’s 84th birthday (on Jan. 8) by starting with the early rockabilly years and continuing era by era through the Las Vegas concert years. Playhouse Square says the lineup “consists of the best Elvis entertainers in the world: Shawn Klush, Cody Ray Slaughter and Ryan Pelton.”

Metallica

Feb. 1 Quicken Loans Arena

Elvis hasn’t left the building — aka the State Theatre. (Playhouse Square)

Be ready for things to get very loud at this show, part of the band’s Worldwired Tour ’19.

Metric

Kasey Chambers Feb. 2 Music Box Supper Club

Chambers, who draws frequent comparisons as a songer-songwriter to the great Lucinda Williams, stops in town for a show at the intimate club in downtown Cleveland.

Cher

Feb. 6 Quicken Loans Arena

Turn back time as Cher, along with Nile Rodgers and Chic, brings her “Here We Go Again” tour to town for a big arena show.

Feb. 11 House of Blues

The inventive rock band, formed 20 years ago in Toronto, returns to Cleveland for a show on its Metric 2019 tour.

Dcapella

Feb. 27 Connor Palace at Playhouse Square

Here’s one for the kids. DCappella, Disney Music Group’s new a cappella group, is embarking on its first North American tour and is stopping in Cleveland. The show “will appeal to fans of both Disney and a cappella with their modern a cappella versions of Disney hits,” according to promotional material.

Adr Ball

Classical music

By SCOTT SUTTELL

J.D.

Elvis Presley Birthday Tribute

they not only included popular songs but also totally unique works.” This is how Les Délices describes this multimedia program of music and images from the recently discovered Leuven Songbook, which will feature projected manuscript images and supertitles. It’s produced in collaboration with Chicago’s renowned Newberry Consort. The Les Délices ensemble of singers, medieval fiddles, harp, lute, organetto and recorders will perform works by Ockeghem, Busnois and others.

Tchaikovsky No. 4, by the Akron Symphony Jan. 19 E.J. Thomas Hall

The orchestra says its “journey into the heart of Russian repertoire” begins with Glinka’s “rollicking and soaring overture from ‘Ruslan and Lyudmila.’ Prokofiev’s popular concerto abounds in rhythmic vitality and Slavic lyricism. With the Tchaikovsky Fourth Symphony ... you can expect an utterly fresh reading of a well-loved masterwork.”

Biber’s Mystery Sonatas,

by Apollo’s Fire

Jan. 31-Feb. 3 Locations in Akron, Cleveland Heights and Rocky River

The baroque orchestra describes the program this way: “They are called the Joyful Mysteries, the Luminous, the Sorrowful, and the Glorious. From the Annunciation through the Crucifixion and the triumphal Resurrection — these are the Mysteries of the Catholic Rosary. Join four violinist ‘angels’ as they journey through the Mysteries, each using a different and special tuning of the violin. With theorbos, cello and organ, this is an evening of gorgeous virtuosity.”

The Cleveland Orchestra performs under the baton of Franz Welser-Möst Jan. 13, 17 and 19. (Roger Mastroianni)

{NOW} Fest ’19

Feb. 4-10 Various locations throughout the region

The event — its name stands for New Opera Works Festival — was launched in January 2017 and is billed as “a unique blend of process and performance (that) presents new opera at the beginning, middle and end stages of creative development, ranging from readings and workshops to complete productions.” The repertoire includes works commissioned by Cleveland Opera Theater and in partnership with other opera companies and institutions.

Violinist Carolin Widmann performs at St. John’s Episcopal Church in Ohio City in March.

(Lennard Ruhle)

1/3/19 2:17 PM

Cle You

Marc Seve

C lead mus Ohio Brah Op. Will

CRAIN’S CLEVELAND BUSINESS

Loudon Wainwright III The Kent Stage Feb. 28

Catch up with the Grammy Awardwinning singer/songwriter, known for his wit and clever lyrics, as he performs at the cozy theater in Kent.

Adrian Belew

March 1 Beachland Ballroom

The Beachland celebrates its 19thanniversary weekend with a show by Adrian Belew, the frontman and guitarist for legendary progressive-rock band King Crimson for more than 30 years, and his band. Belew over the years has performed with musical giants including Paul Simon, Frank Zappa, Talking Heads and David Bowie.

aka uare)

Mumford & Sons March 9 Quicken Loans Arena

d 20 eveour.

Mellow out a bit at this show from the British alternative folk rock band, formed in 2007 and featuring Marcus Mumford, Ben Lovett, Winston Marshall and Ted Dwane.

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Genesis Extravaganza

March 14 KeyBank State Theatre at Playhouse Square

Adrian Belew plays the Beachland Ballroom March 1. (Beachland)

This three-act show, performed by The Musical Box, is billed as a “flamboyant visual spectacle of Genesis 1970-77 favorites and rarities, some never performed live on stage.” Playhouse Square

Cleveland Philharmonic Orchestra

March 9-10 Westlake Performing Arts Center (March 9) and Cuyahoga Community College Western Campus Theater in Parma (March 10)

Under the direction of conductor Victor Liva, the orchestra will perform Nielsen’s Symphony No. 4 (“The Inextinguishable”) as part of a program that features Frieda Schumacher, winner of the 2019 Young Artist Competition.

Wide Horizons, from CityMusic Cleveland

March 13-17 Locations in Cleveland, Lakewood and Willoughby Hills

Cleveland Orchestra Youth Orchestra March 3 Severance Hall

Conductor Vinay Parameswaran leads the orchestra of talented young musicians from throughout Northeast Ohio in a performance that features Brahms’ Tragic Overture in D minor, Op. 21; Debussy’s “Iberia”; and Vaughn Williams’ “Five Mystical Songs.”

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The program features the world premiere of Violin Concerto No. 3, composed by Avner Dorman, music director of CityMusic. Performing as a soloist in the piece is Sayaka Shoji, the first Japanese winner, as well as the youngest winner, of the prestigious Paganini Competition in Genoa, Italy. CityMusic says the concert “begins with a waltz from a film score

by Toru Takemitsu (1930-1996), Japanese in birth and sensibility but

says it features “an all-out performance of live visual signature stunts, a museum-worthy array of vintage instruments and a dizzying pace of iconic tracks.”

KISS

March 17 Quicken Loans Arena

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J A N U A RY 7 - 13 , 2 019

If you bought your racking somewhere else, you probably paid too much.

The band promises this is “The End of the Road,” at least based on the name of the tour that’s stopping in Cleveland on St. Patrick’s Day for a show at The Q.

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Kelly Clarkson

Wondering about the meaning of life? Pop star Kelly Clarkson might have some thoughts, as her “Meaning of Life” tour comes to The Q for a performance that also features Kelsea Ballerini and Brynn Cartelli.

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March 28 Quicken Loans Arena

The popular Croatian cellist duo, consisting of classically trained Luka Šulić and Stjepan Hauser, represents a bit of a changeup from typical arena shows. The performance here is part of the “Let There Be Cello” tour.

Ariana Grande

March 28 Quicken Loans Arena

The pop star known of late for grand gestures performs at The Q on her Sweetener World Tour.

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Western in his compositional techniques and instrumental sonorities, and closes with the Sinfonietta by 20th-century French master Francis Poulenc, which ranges from recollections of Mozart and Haydn to imitations of Parisian cabaret tunes.”

Antonio Pompa-Baldi and Emanuela Friscioni, Two Pianos

March 24 Gartner Auditorium at the Cleveland Museum of Art

Pianists Antonio Pompa-Baldi and Emanuela Friscioni began playing together more than two decades ago after meeting in a Northern Italian town during a workshop with celebrated pianist Aldo Ciccolini. The husband-and-wife duo now performs throughout the United States and Europe. Friscioni serves as director of the Creative Arts Preparatory Program at Cuyahoga Community College.

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Carolin Widmann

March 29 St. John’s Episcopal Church in Ohio City

The violinist was awarded the Bayerischer Staatspreis for music in 2017, honoring her individuality and exceptional musicianship, and was named Musician of the Year at the International Classical Music Awards in 2013. Widmann, who has collaborated with the Philharmonia Orchestra, Royal Stockholm Philharmonic, Seattle Symphony, Orchestre National de France and others, rarely performs in the U.S., and promotional materials for her appearance here promise that this “solo performance of old and new repertoire will be a special treat.”

VOL. 39, NO. 16

April 16-22, 2018

Sponsored Content

Acquisition helps keep Ramco on growth track VOL. 39, NO. 16

Sponsored Content

April 16-22, 2018

Acquisition helps keep Ramco on growth track

VOL. 39, NO. 32

AUGUST 6 - 12, 2018

CRAIN’S 2018

ARCHER AWARDS

HR TEAM OF THE YEAR (PUBLIC) WINNER

People Analytics, KeyBank Aware that would-be and current employees must take priority, KeyBank has simplified its recruiting process and utilized data to reduce worker turnover.

Key’s information-driven efforts were led by Amanda Cruz, digital recruiting and analytics consultant, and initiative development manager Jeannie Fanning, the nomination stated. By taking a collaborative approach backed by detailed research, Key’s HR organization cut attrition in the company’s contact center by half over the previous year, reduced the number of pages in its applications by 40%, and estimate that candidates will spend 20% to 50% less time in completing an application.

According to the nomination, the team is also nearing completion of a candidate-centric Key career site redesign, providing additional trans-

parency around the information sought by applicants and eliminateliminat ing corporate speak and complex navigation.

Meanwhile, a comprehensive approach to “human capital” decision-making is at the core of Key’s People Analytics Community of Practice, a group of HR professionals who meet biweekly to discuss best practices in driving data-based HR decisions.

“The predictive modeling approach is being adopted by other groups, from redefining onboarding for new hires, to streamlining the per training modules that impact performance, to prioritizing workload for compensation reviews,” the nomination stated. “Candidate exex perience work will result in more quality candidates in our recruiters’ pipelines and improve our employ-

Cruz

Fanning

er brand, conveying to candidates that Key is fast, efficient and tech savvy.”

In performing this undertaking, Key’s HR division helps meet longterm company priorities in developing a talented workforce, catalyzing employee engagement, and improving organizational effectiveness, the nomination said.

— Douglas J. Guth

gan to focus more on engineering

By DAN SHINGLER and less on producing common, low-priced parts like simple nuts. dshingler@crain.com “That’s a race to the bottom,” @DanShingler Melick said of the highly commodHudson-based Ramco Specialties itized realm of simple nuts and bolts, where foreign and domestic suppliis on an automotive roll.

VOL. 39, NO. 16 April 16-22, 2018 Sponsored Content After building and moving into a ers most often compete primarily on 185,000-square-foot headquarters and price and the cheapest part wins.

The company has found OEM more on engineering gan toitsfocus main plant a little over two years ago,

By DAN SHINGLER and less their on big producing common, the company has increased its size automaker customers,and with Ramlow-priced parts like simple nuts. with the acquisition of Michigan-based suppliers, willing to work dshingler@crain.com co’s engineers earlier in“That’s their own a race to the bottom,” Copa Tool earlier this month. @DanShingler allows Melick saidthe of the highly commodGrowth in Ramco’s automotive design processes. That to offer fastening systems itized realm of simple nuts and bolts, business, by far its largest Hudson-based end market, company Ramco Specialties can be integrated intoforeign other and domestic suppliwhere is fueling it all, Jeff Melick, Ramco’s di- thatroll. is on an automotive which can themost entireoften au- compete primarily on rector of sales and marketing, Aftersaid. building parts, and moving intomake a ers manufacturing process the cheapest part wins.

“This year, we’re up185,000-square-foot about 15%,” tomotive headquarters and price and Specialties’ 185,000-square-foot headquarters and main plant has andyears moreago, efficient.

Plus, they Ramco The company has found its focus OEM more on engineering gan to Melick said, adding that theplant compamain a littlefaster over two of warehouse room, too. (Dan Shingler for Crain’s) DAN SHINGLER notBydepend wholly on price customers, to plentyand automaker and their less big on producing common, ny has been experiencing a similar hasdoincreased the company its size sales, Melick said.suppliers, willing to work with Ramlow-priced parts like simple nuts. growth rate since about 2008, when gain with the acquisition of Michigan-based dshingler@crain.com growing faster overall must be working, because while earlier co’s engineers in“That’s their than own a race todomestic the bottom,If ” the state’s automotive compait began focusing onCopa more Toolengiearlier thisItmonth. @DanShingler growth onlycommoddo nies as a whole can fare that well, it some other companiesdesign are alsoprocesses. find- production That allows theofrates Melick said the can highly neered products than a simple Growthnut. in Ramco’s automotive would be a good thing for Ohio, in two ways: They are either a bolts, growth inmarket, automotive, the induscompany to offersofastening systems itized realm of simple nutson and Copa Tool is a significant pickup business, by far itsing largest end Hudson-based Ramco Specialties which still has a huge automotive small where number of hotand products or asupplias is a whole has onroll. a downthat can be integrated into foreign other domestic for Ramco. Its $14 million in annual is fueling it all, Jefftry Melick, Ramco’s di-been on an automotive according to the Ohio number of products where a industry, trend, said Edward “Ned” Hill, parts, which can make the entireoften aumost compete primarily on sales will be added torector Ramco’s an-andward of sales marketing, Aftersaid. building and moving intolarger a ers few are picking upcheapest marketpart share. a well-known Ohio economist and tomotive manufacturing process price and the wins. Manufacturers’ Association. nual revenues of about $100 million.

“This year, we’re up185,000-square-foot about 15%,” headquarters and Specialties’ 185,000-square-foot headquarters a huge partand main plant has Seeing that the overall Ramco tide bouncprofessor public administration faster and years moreago, efficient.

Plus, they The company has is found its OEM“Auto supply remains Copa’s 40 employees bring Ramco’s Melick said, adding that theofcompamain plant a little over two warehouse room, too.

(Dan Shingler for Crain’s) enormous manufacturing ing around dead to low plenty … theyof either and city regional atits size doplanning not depend wholly on price automaker customers, and their of bigOhio’s headcount to about ny 175 haspeople, been experiencing a similar the and company has increased sector. State data has shown increasgood boatwilling or have a RamOhio State University’s John gain sales, Melickhave said.asuppliers, toattached work with Melick said. growth rate sincethe about 2008, when with the acquisition of Michigan-based ingoverall investment among all decent boat towhile a goodearlier motor.”

Glenn College ofearlier Public Affairs. growing domestic If transporthe state’s automotive compaIt month. must be working, because co’s engineers infaster theirthan own The acquisition brings things that it began focusing onCopa more engiTool this tation equipment manufacturers, Ramco is not unique, at least Asked whether Ramco or any sinproduction growth rates can only do nies as a whole can fare that well, it some other companies are also finddesign processes.

That allows the might be more important than just neered products than a simple nut.in Ramco’s automotive Growth and are jobeither growth been steady amongcompany Northeast supplicompany’s recent growth in aube a good thing for Ohio, soauto in two ways: They on ahas would ing growth inmarket, automotive, the industo Ohio offer fastening systems sales, too, such as increased CopamanuTool is agle significant pickup business, by far its largest end transportation equipment ers.

Some report they are also other tomotive is annual due to Jeff a rising or has still has a huge automotive small number ofamong hot products or a which try as atide, whole onothers acan downthat be integrated into facturing capacity. While forRamco Ramco.traIts $14 million in is fueling it all, Melick, Ramco’s di-been manufacturers, employwell. just to a well-run boat, Hill hadtrend, a ready according to the Ohio number products wherepresently a industry, ward said Edward “Ned” Hill,canlarger parts, which make the entireofauditionally has focused sales on thewill female be added Ramco’s an- and rector of sales marketing, said.doing ing 125,000 OMA Association.

Adler, president of Cuyahoga “It’smillion. the boat.”

Manufacturers’ few are picking up over market share. Ohioans,” a well-known OhioBill economist and tomotive manufacturing process end of fasteners — nuts and related of answer: nual revenues about $100 “This year, we’re up about 15%,” Ramco Specialties’ 185,000-square-foot headquarters spokesman Augsburger Heights-based Products, Overall, domestic auto production “Autosaid. supply remains a huge partand main plant has that the overall tide is Ryan bouncprofessor public administration faster andStripmatic more Seeing efficient.

Plus, they threaded assemblies Copa’s — Copa has 40 employees bring Ramco’s Melick said, adding that theofcompaplenty of warehouse room, for Crain’s) For… itsthey part, Ramco expects itstoo. re-(Dan Shingler also sells heavily thearound automohas been in apeople, slump, Hill said.

He and notof Ohio’s enormous manufacturing dead to low either and city regional planning atintoing do not depend wholly on price high-volume screw machines headcountthat to about 175 ny has been experiencing a similar growth to continue and isState worktive industry, supplying a range data from Federal Reserve data has shown increashave a goodof boatcent or have attached a sector. the Ohio State University’s John gain sales, Melick said. can produce bolts and othersaid. small ed thatgrowth Melick ratethe since about 2008, when ing hard to earn its place supplying parts.

He, too, said Bank of Louisthat shows thaton U.S. auto- engiing overall investment among all decent boat towhile a good motor.” growing faster than domestic If transporthe state’s automotive compaGlenn College ofsmall, Public tubular Affairs.

It must be working, because cur precision parts Ramco does curThe not acquisition brings things it St. began focusing more parts for up-and-coming vehicles, business is any good as of late. makers went from about tation equipment Ramco is not unique, at least production growth rates can only do manufacturers, nies as a whole can fare that well, it Asked whether Ramco or sinsome other companies are also findrently make, Melick said. might be more important than just making neered products than a simple nut.

Melick said.

Copa’s and on has “Stripmatic is at 15% over ourindus350,000 automobiles month be-pickup and are job either growth been steady among Northeast Ohioso auto supplibe a good thing for Ohio, in two ways: presence They a would company’s recent growth in auing growth inleast automotive, the And it never hurts tosales, havetoo, a pres presmanu such as increased manuCopa Tool is per agle significant added connections and around first-quarter and last year’s tween 2013 and tra2016 totomotive now making transportation equipment ers.been Some reportsmall they are also in still has a huge automotive number ofamong hot products or a which is to a rising or has try as tide, aforecast whole onothers a downence in the metropolitan Detroit tra facturing capacity.

While Ramco for Ramco.

Its $14 million in due annual Detroit should only of help, since where it presently sales,” Adler “The short-term abouton 250,000 units month. manufacturers, employdoing well. according to the Ohio products a industry, larger number just atowell-run Hill hadtrend, a said. ready ward said Edward “Ned” Hill, area, where Copa is based, alongside ditionally has focused thewill female sales be per added Ramco’sboat, anputs few Ramco toshare.Ohioans,” backlog through June looks prettypresident other words, company isthe boat.” over 125,000 OMA Association.

Billeconomist Adler, of Cuyahoga Manufacturers’ are physically pickinging upcloser market “It’smillion. a well-known Ohio and domestic automakers end and ofmany of —In fasteners nuts andrevenues related ifofaanswer: nual about $100 many Seeing of itsProducts, big customers, hetide added. solid as well.” growing, they40 must be doing somespokesman Augsburger Heights-based Stripmatic “Autosaid. supply remains a huge part that the overall isRyan bouncOverall, domestic auto production professor of public administration their suppliers that arethreaded all potential assemblies — Copa has Copa’s employees bring Ramco’s “Ouring product development who said hisregional products most thingmachines right.

For … its engipart, either Ramco expects itsenormous realso sells heavily at into the automoof Ohio’s manufacturing around dead low they has been in apeople, slump,Adler, Hilland said.

He notcity and planning Ramco customers, he noted. high-volume screw thatto about headcount 175 neers have area very excited to able to theirState waytive into pickups, supplying a supplier is from a typically growth to continue and isState workindustry, range ofboatcent data has shown increasa good orbe have attached a sector. ed that data the Federal Reserve thefind Ohio University’s John Ramco hopes to bring bear itsbolts “How cantoproduce andMelick other small performs said. offer He, domestically SUVs and heavy commercial function of not which itofisSt.things suping hard to earn its place tubular too,boat saidto amanufactured ing supplying investment among all transpordecent good motor.”

Bank Louis that shows that U.S. autoGlenn College ofsmall, Publictrucks, Affairs. parts. cus chief strength to Copa’sprecision existing cuscurvehicles parts Ramco does curThe acquisition brings engineered assemblies and compothinks new taxabout laws and a reduction plying and how those important vehicles went sell,” for up-and-coming vehicles, business is good as of late. equipment manufacturers, Ramco is notparts unique, at least tation makers making Asked whether Ramco or any sintomer base, Melickrently said.make, That Melick said. might be more thanfrom just nents quickly toour our Tier 1 automoof regulations are having a big posi-in Hill to said intoo, email corresponMelick said.suppliCopa’s presence “Stripmatic is at leastamong 15% over and job and growth has been steady Northeast Ohio auto 350,000 automobiles per beglemonth company’s recent growth auAf hurts strength is engineering, And he said.

Afit never have a an pres pressales, such as increased manutive Melickadded said. connections tive impact sales. dence.facturing “An Detroit auto supplier that is 2016 and around forecast and year’s transportation equipment ers.last Some others report they are also inamong tween 2013 and totomotive now on making is duefirst-quarter to a rising tide, or customers,” be metropolitan ter the Great Recession, Ramco beence in the capacity.

While Ramco traDetroit should only help, since it sales,” short-term manufacturers, presently employdoing well. about 250,000 units per just month. a well-run boat, HillAdler had asaid. ready“The area, where Copa is based, alongside ditionally has focused on the female puts Ramco physically to prettypresident ing closer over 125,000 Ohioans,” OMA Bill Adler, of Cuyahoga other company “It’sisthe backlog boat.” through June looks domestic automakers end and of many of —Innuts fasteners andwords, relatedif aanswer: Reprinted with permission from the Crain’s Cleveland Business. © 2018 CrainsomeCommunications Inc. All Rights reserved. many of itsProducts, big customers, he added. solidauto as well.” spokesman Ryan Augsburger said.

Heights-based Stripmatic growing, must doing Overall, domestic production their suppliers that arethreaded all potential assemblies — they Copa has be Further duplication without permission is prohibited.

Visit www.crainscleveland.com. #CC117 “Ourthe product development Adler, whoHe said his products For itsengipart, Ramco expects its realso sellsmost heavily into automothingmachines right.

Hill said. notRamco customers, he noted. high-volume screw that has been in a slump, neers areavery excited to begrowth able to findReserve their waytive into industry, pickups, supplying to continue and is work workrange of cent a supplier is from a typically ed that data the Federal Ramco hopes to bring bear its bolts“How cantoproduce and other small performs offer He, domestically SUVs and commercial ing hard to earn its place supplying small, trucks, tubular parts. too, said manufactured function of which vehicles supBankitofisSt. Louis shows that heavy U.S. autocus chief strength to Copa’sprecision existing cusparts Ramco does not curand compothinksmaking new taxabout laws and a reduction for up-and-coming vehicles, business is goodengineered as of late. assembliesparts plying and how those vehicles sell,” from makers went tomer base, Melick rently said.make, ThatMelick said. nents to our our Tier 1 automoof regulations arebehaving“Stripmatic a big posi- is at Melick said. Copa’s presence and leastquickly 15% over Hill to said in aan email350,000 corresponautomobiles per month Af hurts strength is engineering, he said.

AfAnd it never have prestive customers,” Melickadded said. connections in and around tive impact sales. first-quarter forecast and last year’s dence. “An Detroit auto supplier is 2016 tween that 2013 and to nowon making be metropolitan ter the Great Recession, Ramco beence in the sales,” Adler said. “The short-term Detroit should only help, since it area, where Copa is based, alongside about 250,000 units per month.

In other words, if a company is backlog through June looks pretty puts Ramco physically closer to domestic automakers and many of Reprinted with permission from the Crain’s Cleveland Business. © 2018 Crain Communications Inc. All Rights reserved. many of its big customers, he added. their suppliers that are all potential growing, they must be doing some- solid as well.”

Further duplication without permission is prohibited. Visit www.crainscleveland.com. #CC117 “Our product development engiAdler, who said his products most thing right.

Ramco customers, he noted. neers are very excited to be able to typically find their way into pickups, “How a supplier performs is a Ramco hopes to bring to bear its chief strength to Copa’s existing cus- function of which vehicles it is sup- SUVs and heavy commercial trucks, offer domestically manufactured tomer base, Melick said. That plying and how those vehicles sell,” thinks new tax laws and a reduction engineered assemblies and compoHill said in an email correspon- of regulations are having a big posi- nents quickly to our Tier 1 automoAf strength is engineering, he said. Aftive customers,” Melick said. ter the Great Recession, Ramco be- dence. “An auto supplier that is tive impact on sales.

Acquisition helps keep Ramco on growth track

PROMOTE. Why not?

Reprinted with permission from the Crain’s Cleveland Business. © 2018 Crain Communications Inc. All Rights reserved.

Further duplication without permission is prohibited. Visit www.crainscleveland.com. #CC117

Reprinted with permission from the Crain’s Cleveland Business. © 2018 Crain Communications Inc. All Rights reserved.

Further duplication without permission is prohibited. Visit www.crainscleveland.com. #CC142

Laura Picariello, Reprints Sales Manager Phone: (732) 723-0569 • Fax (888) 299-2205 Email: lpicariello@crain.com

1/3/19 2:23 PM

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CRAIN’S CLEVELAND BUSINESS

WINTER CULTURE GUIDE

Grab Bag

re:surface

By MICHAEL VON GLAHN and SCOTT SUTTELL

Jan. 18-Feb. 15 Zygote Press

Northeast Ohio artists Grace Summanen, Elizabeth Emery and Nicole Schneider approach the concept of surface in varied and unique ways, their work connected both formally and conceptually. Opening reception and artist talk Jan. 18, 6-8 p.m.

mvonglahn@crain.com ssuttell@crain.com @ssuttell

A

little of everything to suit almost any taste, from writers to rails, documentaries to dance, sculptures to suds.

Cuyahoga Valley Scenic Railroad

In Her Image: Photographs by Rania Matar

Jan. 19-April 28

CVSR resumes its National Park Scenic excursion, running two loops on Saturdays and Sundays out of its Rockside, Peninsula and Akron Northside stations.

Passengers enjoy a two-and-a-half-hour train ride through Cuyahoga Valley National Park in historic train cars. Departure times vary based on station.

Through Jan. 13 Transformer Station

The Lebanese-American photographer uses the portrait to examine the nature of female identity in girlhood, adolescence and middle age in the United States and the Middle East.

Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood Live: King for a Day! Jan. 10 Playhouse Square

Based on the PBS Kids TV series, this stage show in KeyBank State Theatre has the characters hop aboard Trolley for a new adventure in the Neighborhood of Make-Believe, where Daniel learns valuable lessons about kindness, helping others, being a friend and just what it takes to be king.

MLK Keynote Speaker: Byron Pitts PBS Kids’ Daniel Tiger becomes king for a day Jan. 10 at Playhouse Square. (Contributed photo)

“Thunder Road” and “Bodied”

Jan. 10-11 The Cleveland Institute of Art Cinematheque

A pair of Cleveland theatrical premieres: In Jim Cummings’ “Thunder Road,” a clueless Texas cop staggered by recent losses stumbles toward a total meltdown in a tragicomic portrait of middle-American male pow-

erlessness and rage, while Joseph Kahn’s free-wheeling “Bodied” depicts a doctoral candidate who morphs from researching battle rap to becoming a full-throated competitor himself.

Third Fridays

Jan. 18, Feb. 15, March 15 78th Street Studios

This massive space in the Gor-

don Square Arts District, once home to the Baker Electric Motor Vehicle Co., now houses more than 40 galleries, showrooms, workshops and studios. Every third Friday of each month, all the venues inside this colossal art space open their doors to the public, offering cutting-edge exhibitions, musical performances and delicious food.

Jan. 22 Baldwin Wallace University

Pitts, an author, Emmy Award-winning journalist and co-anchor of ABC’s “Nightline,” presents “Be the One: Making a Difference in the World Around You in the Spirit of Dr. King” in Kleist Center for Art & Drama’s Mainstage Theatre. He will share his vision that those of us who get to “live the dream” by enjoying the benefits of higher education must also be the ones who make a difference for others, whether in a single life or in many.

Allis Mus

Jeff of t Art

20 Wr

E

Jan. Clev Rein

Th ous ists in th peti Gold the City

Cle Bee

Jan. Hun of C

B fres style at t five edib es, Bee Mus mis in u son desi olde

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WINTER CULTURE GUIDE

Adam Sandler: 100% Fresher Feb. 7 Playhouse Square

umcole t of ays, mally cepm.

Sandler presents comedy and songs from his successful Netflix special “100% Fresh” with additional material and a special surprise guest in the Connor Palace.

CIFF’s Get Shorty Feb. 8 Playhouse Square

At this Cleveland International Film Festival event, attendees get to have a say in what screens at CIFF43. After hors d’oeuvres and beverages, the audience will head into the Ohio Theatre to watch and vote on a slate of select short films.

At the end of the evening, the film with the highest score earns a guaranteed a spot in the CIFF43 program lineup.

SceSatside, ons. hour Napar-

winof the orld ing” ma’s his “live ts of the othany.

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Joshua Seth — Mentalist Feb. 9 Playhouse Square

Allison Zuckerman’s “Philosophers and Bather” is part of her “Pirate and Muse’ show at Akron Art Museum. (Contributed photo)

Kelley O’Brien: We, too, traverse the earth

Jan. 25-March 15 The Sculpture Center, Main Gallery

O’Brien uses sculptural forms and new technologies to examine the death and rebirth of natural and manmade ecosystems.

Ryan Dewey: Lines of Descent

Jan. 25-March 15 The Sculpture Center, Euclid Avenue Gallery

Dewey’s new body of work focuses on traditions of toolmaking and “building collaborations between contemporary humans and geologic forces for both near future and deep future scenarios.”

Jeff Donaldson’s “Simba” is part of the exhibit “Dig” at the Akron Art Museum. (Contributed photo)

2019 Scholastic Art + Writing Exhibition Jan. 22-Feb. 1 Cleveland Institute of Art, Reinberger Gallery

This exhibit features works in various media by Cuyahoga County artists in grades 7-12 who participated in the Scholastic Art + Writing Competition, a national awards program.

Gold Key winners will continue to the national competition in New York City.

Cleveland Winter Beerfest

Jan. 25 and 26 Huntington Convention Center of Cleveland

Brewfans can sample hundreds of fresh craft beers (and ciders) of all styles from more than 120 breweries at this two-day event. In addition, five food trucks will offer a variety of edibles and non-alcoholic beverages, plus there will be live music.

Beerfest raises funds to benefit the Music Education Society and its mission to support music programs in underfunded schools. Every person attending the event, including designated drivers, must be 21 or older.

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Crossing the Water: Requiem for Lee Howard Dobbins Jan. 25-March 22 SPACES Gallery

In the Ohio Theatre, Seth’s interactive performance will combine mind-reading, comedy and some good old-fashioned showmanship to demonstrate how thinking differently and communicating creatively can make the impossible possible.

2019 Student Independent Exhibition

Feb. 15-March 17 Cleveland Institute of Art, Reinberger Gallery

Now in its 73rd year, this CIA show is an honored tradition that’s never conventional. Organized entirely by students, who choose the jurors and mount the exhibition, the SIE offers fresh, sometimes surprising approaches to contemporary art. Opening reception Feb. 15, 6-9 p.m.

Cheech & Chong

March 3 Playhouse Square

Crist brings The Human Being Tour to the Connor Palace on the strength of hundreds of live performances and more than 150 million video views. He’s become a comic sensation for both his standup shows and such viral videos as “Millennial International” and “Road Rage in the Church Parking Lot.”

Capturing the Aura of the Already Said March 8-April 26 Zygote Press

Artists Deborah Carruthers, Gabriel Deerman, Petra Nimm and Mark Roth apply techniques of printmaking, collage, photomontage and painting to engage the social issues of contemporary life through works of rich, multilayered intention in their imagery and installation. Opening reception and artist talk March 8, 6-8 p.m.

Vertigo Dance Company March 9 Playhouse Square

One of Israel’s most highly regarded contemporary dance companies, Vertigo strives to bring people closer together and touch them through the language of the body and movement.

This performance in the Ohio Theatre will feature a new work, “One. One & One,” created by artistic director Noa Wertheim, that features the artists dancing among soil scattered on the stage. Presented by DANCECleveland.

March 16 Playhouse Square

The former First Lady’s national book tour for her autobiography, “Becoming,” brings her to the KeyBank State Theatre at Cleveland’s Playhouse Square to discuss her upbringing on Chicago’s South Side, balancing work and motherhood, and her experiences in the White House. The evening unfolds as a conversation between Obama and a moderator.

William N. Skirball Writers Center Stage: Timothy Egan March 19 Maltz Performing Arts Center

Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist, New York Times columnist and best-selling author Egan discusses his latest book, “The Immortal Irishman: Thomas Francis Meagher and the Invention of Irish America.”

Kinky Friedman March 23 Beachland Tavern

“Lone Star Legend” Friedman is a singer, songwriter, novelist, humorist, politician and former Texas Monthly columnist who styles himself a satirist in the mold of Will Rogers and Mark Twain. Here, he presents an evening of “long tales and short songs.”

43rd Cleveland International Film Festival March 27-April 7 Tower City Cinemas in Cleveland

An opportunity to watch hundreds of films from around the world over 12 days, ranging from documentaries to 10-minute shorts, from foreign flicks to animated treats, with chances to hear panel discussions and meet some of the filmmakers.

Stoner comedy legends Richard “Cheech” Marin and Tommy Chong bring their standup act back to the Hard Rock Live stage at Northfield Park. The counterculture duo, who reunited in 2008, last appeared there in 2016, playing to a sold-out crowd.

Ocean Soul

Feb. 20 Playhouse Square

National Geographic photographer Brian Skerry takes his audience from the glacial waters of the North Atlantic, where harp seals face commercial hunters, to the balmy central Pacific, where he recorded damaged coral ecosystems rebuilding themselves. A passionate spokesman for the oceans, Skerry’s presentation reflects reverence for the marine realm and offers hope for protecting the vitality of the world’s oceans.

Beijing Dance Theater

The award-winning suspense author, with more than 22 million books in print, discusses her latest thriller, “Never Tell,” which sets fan-favorite characters D.D Warren and Flora Dane on a shocking new case that begins with a vicious murder and only gets darker from there.

Beijing Dance Theater excites audiences with dynamic sets and imaginative choreography created through collaborations with internationally renowned dramatists, musicians and designers. Choreographer Wang Yuanyuan and visual artists Tan Shaoyuan and Hanjiang lead the group, whose Ohio Theatre performances are co-presented by DANCECleveland, Tri-C and Cleveland Public Library.

John Crist

Michelle Obama

Feb. 16 Hard Rock Rocksino

In 1853, 4-year-old Lee Howard Dobbins accompanied his adopted mother and siblings as they fled Kentucky, crossed the Ohio River and traveled north in a bid to reach Canada. When he became ill, Dobbins was left in the care of an Oberlin family. Two weeks later, the child died among strangers. Neighbors raised money to bury him and mark his grave with a headstone. Johnny Coleman’s immersive project at SPACES meditates on an imagined place in which Dobbins might have been free. Opening reception Jan. 25, 6-9 p.m.

Feb. 2 and 3 Playhouse Square

troupe will take its State Theatre audiences back in time to experience the lost culture of ancient China.

Meet Author Lisa Gardner Feb. 22 Cuyahoga County Public Library, Parma-Snow Branch

Shen Yun

March 2 and 3 Playhouse Square

Blending stunning costumes, high-tech backdrops, and a live orchestra, this classical Chinese dance

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CRAIN’S CLEVELAND BUSINESS

AKRON

DFA weighs new development-finance tool

By DAN SHINGLER dshingler@crain.com @DanShingler

Akron real estate projects might have a new source of financing if the Summit County Development Finance Authority (DFA) proceeds with plans it’s exploring for a new community development financial institution, or CDFI. That’s more than a description of the organization that might be born of the effort: It’s also a very specific designation in the eyes of bank regulators and federal officials. With a CDFI, the finance authority would have access to more sources of capital, with fewer restrictions on where it could use that capital, DFA President Chris Burnham said.

“We have a strategic plan we adopted a couple of years ago, and it calls for us to pursue either (creating) something like a CDFI or partnering with one,” Burnham said. “We’re in the beginning stages, and in 2019 that’s a key objective: Pick a path and obtain that designation.”

CDFIs are able to get their capital directly from the federal government, as well as from outside investors, including banks and other financial institutions.

The federal government supports them with the Community Development Financial Institutions Fund, within the U.S. Treasury Department.

Banks like them, Burnham and others said, because the funds help fulfill banks’ federal obligation to lend in communities from which they gather deposits — commonly known as CRA requirements, for the Community Reinvestment Act. CDFIs like the one Burnham is considering can do the legwork for banks in terms of finding loan demand and credit-worthy borrowers in distressed and struggling communities, he said.

The federal government wants CDFIs to operate along those lines, and its website says, “By offering tailored resources and innovative programs that invest federal dollars alongside private-sector capital, the CDFI Fund serves mission-driven financial institutions that take a market-based ap-

The Summit County Development Finance Authority and its president, Chris Burnham, were integral in helping get financing lined up for the Bowery Project in downtown Akron. (Dan Shingler)

proach to supp o r t i n g economically d i s a d v a nt a g e d communities.”

Much of Akron and many of its surrounding communities meet that definiBurnham tion, but at the same time, a CDFI would not be as limited in where it could invest such things as the proceeds from New Market Tax Credits, which have been an important financing tool for the DFA. Burnham is quick to say that he’s still in the early stages of determining the best approach to getting a CDFI

that would be active in and around Akron. The best way may be to form a new entity, or perhaps it’s to partner with an existing CDFI involved in urban revitalization, he said. How big a CDFI would be is also an open question, he added.

He’s setting up the DFA to handle it, though. On Nov. 27, the DFA announced organizational changes that included naming Rachel Bridenstine as managing director of the Development Fund of the Western Reserve, which Burnham said would be the DFA to manage a new CDFI. Though Burnham came from the world of private development before taking over the DFA in 2000, he said Bridenstine has more of a financial and accounting background than he

does and was instrumental in putting together recent tax credits for the financing of the city’s Bowery Project downtown.

Akron and Summit County officials are encouraging Burnham to move ahead with his plans. They say he’s adept at finding a variety of public and private sources of capital to finance important projects.

“It’s (the DFA’s) story of an entity that has continued to evolve and adapt and do more and bring more value into the community,” said Jason Dodson, chief of staff to Summit County executive Ilene Shapiro. “I think they have a good track record of being able to do that, and this is the next logical step in their evolution.”

Dodson said parts of the county are often challenged when it comes to finding capital, which is why a CDFI would be a good addition and why he thinks Burnham stands out.

“At the end of the day, we’re a Midwestern community; we’re not Silicon Valley. And money just does not flow in from the banks like it does there. So, we have to be more creative, and Chris is a big part of that,” Dodson said.

Not that Burnham necessarily needs the county’s help. Though the DFA was formed by Summit County in 1999, the county hasn’t provided capital beyond its early seed funding, Burnham noted. And he’s not counting on it to fund a new CDFI. The county likely would be willing to help if it can, though, Dodson said.

“Chris and I have talked about it a decent chunk of time and at no point has he said, ‘I need X, Y and Z.’ … But if that’s necessary, I don’t think it will be a problem,” Dodson said.

The city of Akron also has been talking to Burnham about the potential new entity. The city wants a downtown development corporation to form to help guide development, but a CDFI would be a different thing and the city would like to see it come together, said James Hardy, chief of staff to Mayor Dan Horrigan.

“We at the city are very supportive of Chris exploring this option, whether it’s creating new or partnering with an existing organization,” Hardy said.

He said he also thinks a CDFI could complement a new develop-

ment corporation and that Burnham already has proven his worth to downtown projects.

“Without question, Chris and the DFA have been a critical piece of development in Akron for a long time, but particularly the last three years with downtown development,” Hardy said. “He was key to the Bowery Project happening, and he’s been key to a lot of other things in the downtown Akron plan.”

In January, the DFA announced it was being recognized as one of the 15 “highest-performing Development Finance Agencies across the nation” by the national Council of Development Finance Agencies.

“High-performing DFAs generally maximize the full extent of the development finance toolbox and engage a private-sector driven model that is focused on market-rate returns and development of their portfolio,” the national council said in its award announcement to the DFA. Tom Chema is an old hand at getting urban projects funded in and around Northeast Ohio — his most famous is probably Cleveland’s Gateway Project that built the present homes of the Indians and Cavaliers.

He’s been hoping Burnham would do something like this, he said, because it would give the DFA the flexibility to fund more and different projects than it can today, including filling smaller gaps in development financing or financing smaller projects.

“I talk to Chris reasonably frequently, and I have actually encouraged him to do this,” Chema said. “I think the community needs a way to acquire some debt in the midrange.

Chris’ main vehicles — the bond fund and doing specific bonds — (are) important, but it’s not really economic until you get north of a million dollars.

To have something that could do $500,000 deals would really be beneficial to the community.”

Dodson said there’s never a shortage of potential projects seeking capital around Akron, so he hopes Burnham moves forward, and quickly.

“Why do these projects take so long to come together? It’s a lack of financing. So the sooner we can get this new tool into our community, the better off we will be,” Dodson said.

Stow-based Esterle molds a plan for growth

By JUDY STRINGER clbfreelancer@crain.com

Esterle Mold & Machine Co. might not be a heavyweight in terms of name recognition yet, but the family business is making some of the region’s largest — and heaviest — plastic components.

Executive vice president Kathleen Sawyer, a second-generation owner, said Esterle is putting the final touches on a 30,000-square-foot expansion at its Stow plastics facility. The new space, according to Sawyer, will boost company’s large tonnage capabilities with a 2,600-ton injection-molding machine and a 40-ton overhead crane. Esterle’s existing presses range from 100-ton to 1,760-ton, and its largest crane had a 15-ton capacity.

“In Northeast Ohio, there are a lot of molders that are small tonnage, like a 90-ton press up to 500, where Esterle goes from a 100-ton press up

P016_CL_20190107.indd 16

to now a 2,600ton press,” said Sawyer, who currently runs the company alongside her brother, Richard Esterle, with a third generation coming online. “We are Sawyer able to injection-mold larger parts, and that is really what sets us apart.”

Founders Adam and Carol Esterle started the company in 1976 as a Kent designer and maker of pipe-fitting molds. The couple bought a parcel off Commerce Drive in Stow in 1978 and built a headquarters where they diversified into specialized machining, mold building/repair, extrusion tooling and forged tooling, and eventually injection molding.

Esterle’s injection-molding facility, constructed next to its main building in the 1990s, is the site of two re-

cent expansions. In 2015, a 16,000-square-foot addition to the 25,000-square-foot plant included 5-foot-higher ceilings to accommodate a 15-ton crane, Sawyer said. Its latest 30,000-foot addition required demolition of a storage building between the two production sites and brought the company’s Commerce Street sprawl to 190,000 square feet over five structures, including the 70,000-square-foot former Steel Products facility it bought two years ago to use as a warehouse.

“The joke in the neighborhood is that we should rename the street,” Sawyer said.

Along with large tonnage capabilities, Esterle’s tooling heritage is a differentiator, Sawyer said. If a press goes down, most molders would have to ship the mold out for repairs.

“We are right next door to our mold shop,” she said. “Any time of day we can pull that tool out, get it over to our mold shop, repair it and

get it right back into production. The customer does not have to incur the cost of transporting the mold or extended down time. ... We are a different kind of supplier.”

In addition to designing and engineering molds and contract injection molding for customers, Esterle has its own line of plastics under the brand name Tuf. That line includes the Tuf Tray used as a proofing board in baking, the Tuf Tank used in curing rubber and the Tuf Seat, a one-piece molded stadium seat that can be bolted directly to existing bleacher systems. While Esterle sold the first Tuf Seats right down the street at Stow-Munroe Falls High School, today they can be found all over the world, from an amphitheater in the Dominican Republic to laundromats in Hawaii and at hundreds of colleges, churches and theaters in between.

Sawyer credits much of Esterle’s recent growth to the booming injec-

tion-molding market. A February 2018 report by San Francisco-based Grand View Research Inc. cited increasing demand for plastic components across various end-use industries, including packaging, automotive, home appliances and medical devices as the major driver of expansion in plastics molding — a $283 billion global market expected to reach nearly $500 billion by 2025.

For Esterle’s part, the company has more than doubled its employee base in the past two to three years, with about 110 employees today.

Sales, Sawyer estimated, have grown by roughly 20% in the same time frame. The closely held business does not disclose revenue.

“Things are just kicking in now,” she said. “Once we are fully operational with the expansion and with the way the economy is going, I think we will see a growth in sales figures similar to the growth we’ve seen in employment.”

1/3/19 3:23 PM

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PA G E 17

MAYFIELD

Jim Kahler, the executive director of the AECOM Center for Sports Administration at Ohio University, cited CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 MVPindex, which measures audience engagement and sponsorship The No. 1 overall pick in the 2018 activations for social media accounts.

NFL draft was at his best after the The Austin, Texas-based firm, Browns fired Jackson and offensive which was co-founded by Shawn Spicoordinator Todd Haley, promoted Gregg Williams to interim coach and eth (the father of star golfer Jordan made Freddie Kitchens the offensive Spieth), gives Mayfield a score of coordinator. Mayfield had 17 TDs in 0.986. The highest possible score is a his last seven games — a span in 1.0, and Mayfield’s number is within which the Browns won five times and 1% of LeBron James’ 0.996. reinvigorated a fan base that seemed “For Cleveland, it gives them hope apathetic during certain points of the and a new icon in sports with Baker, winless 2017 season. because LeBron just left,” said Kahler, C R A I N ’ S C L E V E L A N D B U S I N E S S | SaE Pformer T E M B E Rsenior 3 - 9 , 2vice 018 president | PA G E 4of 0 The impact was felt at the box ofmarketing for the Cavaliers. fice, as the Browns’ attendance jump Tom Mills, Mayfield’s Boulder, Coof 5.4% — from 62,403 to 65,765 per game — was the fourth-largest in the lo.-based agent, said “there’s no league. shortage of people who want to Granted, there was a lot of room to align” with the star QB. grow after a 2017 season in which the Mayfield, though, will be selective average attendance for seven games when it comes to his endorsement at FES (a “home” game was played opportunities. against the Minnesota Vikings in “Some are one-offs, but a lot want London) was the franchise’s lowest ongoing relationships with him,” since 1984. But something as simple Mills said. “Working with charities is as selling out the final home game Baker Mayfield set an NFL record by throwing 27 touchdown passes as a rookie. (Matthew Stockman/Getty Images) something he really enjoys. That’s was a big development. ongoing. We don’t have to pick up To place your listing in Crain’s Cleveland Classifieds Prior to the Cincinnati game on Browns attendance: the phone and call people. It’s a matDec. 23, four of the Browns’ last five ter of figuring out which ones he Contact Kate Rozek at 216-771-5276 / email CLBClassified@crain.com home contests in December had pro- By the numbers wants to work with.”

Copy Deadline: Wednesdays @ 2:00pm -- All Ads Pre-Paid: Check or Credit Card The interest, not surprisingly, has duced an announced crowd of 60,028 The team’s announced attendance only picked up after Mayfield or fewer. The lone exception in that totals — which represent tickets sold, wrapped up one of the most prolific span was a 2017 game against the not fans in seats — were the worst in seasons ever for a rookie QB. Green Bay Packers, whose fans the history of FirstEnergy Stadium in “I learned pretty early on, before packed FirstEnergy Stadium.

2016 and ’17, when the Browns were we even got to the season, to not be “Getting people in the stadium just a combined 1-31. place Copy Deadline: Wednesdays @ by 2:00pm surprised too much he does,” Mills flows through the rest ofTo your busi-your listing in Crain’s Cleveland Classifieds 2016 attendance average: 64,311, said. “He has overcome challenges ness,” said Jenkins, who at 15 seasons drop from 2015 Contact Kate Rozek ata 2.8% 216-771-5276 or email CLBClassified@crain.com All Ads Pre-Paid: Checkhisorwhole Credit Card career.” is easily the Browns’ longest-tenured 2017 attendance average: 62,403, Mayfield, his agent said, has “the executive. blinders on” during the season. He’s The team’s COO said game-day the worst for the franchise since well aware of the hype he’s producsales in the team shop at FES — the 1984, when the Browns called net proceeds from which go to the Cleveland Municipal Stadium home ing, but he’s able to focus on the task Cleveland Browns Foundation — at hand.

2018 attendance average: 65,765 rose 76% year-over-year.

“It’s pretty remarkable for such a “Merchandise prices didn’t go up 2018 attendance gain: 5.4%, the young guy,” Mills said.

76%,” Jenkins said. “It’s the volume of fourth-largest in the NFL Jenkins, the Browns’ chief operatFor the first time in decades, the Browns appear to have solved their people. And when you’re excited, ing officer, said having a star QB “abquarterback problem. (Joe Robbins/Getty Images) 2018 capacity: 97.5% (for you might spend a little more.” solutely” adds to the buzz that sur67,431-seat FirstEnergy Stadium), That’s been reflected in a crucial said the team’s season-ticket base “I feel good that we’ll get back to rounds the team. which ranked 15th in the league area of the business — season-ticket “I feel like we have our solution (at had decreased the last couple years, that number in a year or two,” Jenkins NFL teams with attendance gains sales. which is “inevitable when the quality said of the 2014 sales figures. “That’s QB) that we’ve been talking about for The Browns were selling season in 2018: 14 a long time,” Jenkins said. “That creof your product dips.” really important for our product.” tickets throughout the 2018 camThe 2014 season — when fans were ates so much excitement.”

NFL teams with attendance drops abuzz over the drafting of Johnny A ‘solution’ is in place The enthusiasm is only going to paign, which Jenkins called “a great in 2018: 15 (three of the 32 clubs Manziel — was a “recent high-water build, and by the time the 2019 seachange from past years.” were flat year-over-year) mark” for season-ticket sales, Jenkins As of Thursday, Jan. 3, the number At 7-8-1, the Browns’ on-field prod- son kicks off, the Browns will have said. At the time, a Browns source uct was the franchise’s best in 11 years. legitimate playoff expectations for of new season tickets that had been sold for 2019 had matched the of the Browns’ tally in the category told Crain’s that the team had capped And in Mayfield, the Browns have the first time in more than a decade. its season-ticket base at 62,000 — a a QB who could be one of the game’s The Browns are fun. And they have Browns’ total in the same category for all of 2018.

Jenkins said the Browns are total that included required comp best for a decade or more. The 2017 a QB. for June 2018 — putting the team five “It does feel different,” said Jenkins months ahead of schedule in the “talking through ticket pricing” for tickets. The rest of the 5,000-plus Heisman Trophy winner also is sales process. Overall, the current 2019, and the team likely will have re- seats were then reserved for sin- among the league leaders in jersey — one of the few Browns staffers who remain from a 10-win season in 2007. new season-ticket sales figure is 67% newal information in February. He gle-game and group sales. sales and social-media engagement.

CLASSIFIEDS

REAL ESTATE AUCTIONS

REAL ESTATE

AUCTION

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P017_CL_20190107.indd 17

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1/4/19 2:41 PM

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FILM

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 3

While Schwarz doesn’t talk about productions that are or may be coming to Northeast Ohio, much less the ones that got away, he told the House Government Accountability and Oversight Committee in March that the state has lost more than $1 billion in production it could have had if the incentives were higher.

As it is, a 2015 study by Cleveland State University’s Center for Economic Development found that every dollar the state gave in tax credits pumped $2.01 back into the state’s economy. In Northeast Ohio, between 2011 and 2015, according to the study, film pro-

CRAIN’S CLEVELAND BUSINESS

duction created $50.1 million in labor income and $81.2 million in purchased goods and services — hotel rooms, restaurants, cleaning services, lighting equipment, vintage appliance rental and many other services. The production companies and their workers also paid $11 million in federal taxes and $4.8 million in state and local taxes.

The production of “Draft Day,” a 2014 football drama, spent $18.2 million in Northeast Ohio, according to the Cleveland State study.

Eligible productions receive a tax credit equal to 30% of the amount spent in Ohio on cast and crew wages, as well as goods or services purchased and consumed in Ohio. The credit may be taken against personal in-

come or the commercial activities tax.

In 2018, 31 states, Washington D.C., Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands offered film incentive programs, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL). That’s down from 44 states in 2009.

States that eliminated the credits usually did so because of a lack of economic benefit to the state. West Virginia, which ended its tax credit in 2018, had an annual cap of $5 million but issued only $15 million over 10 years, according to the NCSL report.

At the same time, however, Pennsylvania increased its annual incentive cap by $5 million to $65 million for fiscal 2018, though several legislators have proposed raising the cap to as

Advertising Section

PEOPLE ON THE MOVE To place your listing, visit www.crainscleveland.com/people-on-the-move or for more information, please call Debora Stein at (917) 226-5470 / email dstein@crain.com.

much as $100 million or even eliminating the cap altogether.

Although Schwarz attributes the failure of HB 525 to turmoil in the Ohio House, the bill did have some opposition. Both the Buckeye Institute, a conservative think tank, and Policy Matters Ohio, a liberal advocacy group, question the value of the incentive.

Wendy Patton, senior project director at Policy Matters Ohio, a liberal advocacy group, told the House committee that a study by FilmLA, the Los Angeles film office, contended that state tax credits for motion picture production were a response to filmmakers fleeing Hollywood for Canada and cited a study suggesting federal legislation to put an end to

the interstate incentive competition.

In May, Greg Lawson, a research fellow at the Buckeye Institute, included the motion picture tax credit in testimony about the proliferation of tax expenditures — ones he called “tax loopholes” — that make the state’s tax system “more complex, less transparent and less equitable.”

But to hear Schwarz talk about it, producers want to shoot in Ohio, but they have to follow the incentive dollars.

“There is more content being made than ever before,” he said, referring to the increase in production caused by streaming services such as Netflix, Amazon and Hulu. “There is so much opportunity, it’s going to go somewhere.”

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Jon has been instrumental in leading and contributing to a thriving commercial & industrial practice group at Maloney + Novotny and also plays a key role in our Client Services department. Jon also has extensive experience working with our education practice and not-for-profit group.

Maloney + Novotny (M+N) is pleased to announce the election of Matthew Blewitt to Shareholder. Matt started his career at M+N in 2005 and his audit and accounting experience is focused on manufacturing, distribution, and service–based privately held companies, along with employee benefit plans. His responsibilities also include consulting and advising with management on overall business issues. Matt is a Certified Valuation Analyst with experience in business valuations.

Design/Build General Contractor, 620 Construction, (620construct.com) located in Medina is pleased to announce the addition of Dean Yovichin, RA, NCARB to their team. He will serve a dual role for the company, operating in Sales and Promotions while also performing Architectural Design Work. Dean is a graduate of the Kent State University School of Architecture. 620 Construction is part of the JHI Group which includes Janotta & Herner, Monroeville and Firelands Fabrication, New London.

Bobby Zichelli has joined Gallagher Benefit Services as an Employee Benefits Consultant. Bobby has 10 years of experience developing and maintaining strong corporate partnerships. He recently served as Team Leader and Account Executive for a leading Construction company in Washington, DC. He brings strong sales, marketing and customer service experience to Gallagher. He holds a B.S. in Business and Marketing from the University of Maryland.

Oswald Companies proudly welcomes Traci Barlage to the position of VP, Casualty Practice Leader. She specializes in implementing strategic risk management plans and alternative outcomes for large clients, across a wide service scope. Traci brings more than 20 years of experience in the insurance industry and earned her Bachelor of Business (BS) in Marketing from The University of North Carolina at Wilmington. She currently sits on the NEO Regional Advisory Board of Make-A-Wish®, OH, KY, IN.

LAW

LEGAL

LEGAL

Frantz Ward LLP

Kohrman Jackson & Krantz

Kohrman Jackson & Krantz

Congratulations to Christina E. Niro on being elected Partner.

Christina is a member of the firm’s Labor and Employment Practice Group. She represents and counsels employers in a range of employment law matters including contract disputes, trade secret theft and OSHA regulations. Christina is OSHA certified. She earned her J.D., cum laude, from Case Western Reserve University School of Law and her B.A., summa cum laude, Phi Beta Kappa, Honors College at Denison University.

As a new Partner at KJK, Stephanie M. Mercado brings significant experience in economic and business development, including business attraction and expansion, site selection, economic negotiations, and compliance. She is skilled at maximizing both public and private resources to solve a company’s development and growth challenges. Stephanie holds a B.A. from John Carroll University and a J.D. from Cleveland-Marshall College of Law, where she graduated magna cum laude.

Cary A. Zimmerman joins KJK as a partner in the firm’s Corporate, Securities, Private Equity, and Technology Practice Groups. With a background in management and finance, she counsels executives and owners in launching and profitably growing their companies, as well as providing guidance on negotiations. Cary holds a B.A. from The Ohio State University and a J.D. from Case Western Reserve University School of Law.

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LEGAL

Solomon, Steiner & Peck, Ltd. Attorneys at Law The law firm of Solomon, Steiner & Peck, Ltd. is excited to announce that Todd Bartimole has joined the firm as a new partner. His practice areas include elder law, estate planning, and disability/special needs planning. Todd joins the firm as it celebrates its 25th anniversary.

For more information or questions regarding advertising in this section, please call Debora Stein at (917) 2265470 or email: dstein@crain.com

1/4/19 2:44 PM

CRAIN’S CLEVELAND BUSINESS

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PA G E 19

SOURCE LUNCH

Jason Segedy Planning director, City of Akron If you’re a regular reader (or editor) of this publication, you might be thinking: “Hasn’t Crain’s already done a Source Lunch on this guy?” ¶ It sure seems like it to us. But that’s likely because Jason Segedy is among our most regular sources when it comes to covering Akron — a city he knows like almost no one else. He’s the sort of guy you could throw in the truck of a car, drive around for 20 minutes, and he could yell through the backseat and tell you where he was. Seriously. ¶ He’d probably prefer to be on the back of a bicycle, though. Segedy’s a big proponent of making Akron more walkable and bikeable, and some of his “road diets” and bike-lane projects around town attest to that. ¶ For Crain’s, he regularly gives tours of Akron’s neighborhoods for our series on the places where Akronites live, and he knows just about every community development group and neighborhood association in town. ¶ He also loves to eat as much as, well, the author. Most recently, we went for burgers at Larry’s Main Entrance. — Dan Shingler

The Segedy file Favorite movie “Vertigo”

City Akron, then Cleveland

Band Radiohead. “And, if I can have two, The Smiths.”

TV show “Seinfeld”

Lunch spot Larry’s Main Entrance 1964 West Market St., Akron 330-864-8162

The meal One had the Blue Cheese Burger with bacon, and the other had the Main Burger with American cheese and bacon. Both had fries, one order came loaded with cheese and bacon.

The vibe The best burgers are often served in cozy neighborhood bars like Larry’s.

It’s warm, clean and comfortably lit. If the server suggests sauerkraut balls, order them. They’re the size of duck eggs and the best around.

The bill $35.34, plus tip

OK, ready? People are going to get to hear some the silly stuff we sometimes talk about.

I know. We should just do an interview on music and sitcoms of the ’80s and ’90s. I would probably do pretty well with the ’80s ... and “Seinfeld.”

You are a West Akron resident and have been forever. When did you move there?

My parents bought a house there when I was 2. But I’ve lived in the neighborhood from the time I was born. My parents had an apartment across the street from Acme before that, so I’ve really lived in that neighborhood my whole life. Except for some of college, I’ve really lived within a mile of where I was born my whole life.

Are you allowed to say if it’s your favorite neighborhood?

I value all the neighborhoods equally … but I think people view cities, especially larger cities the size of Akron or Cleveland, you always view them through the lens of your neighborhood.

Where did you go to high school?

Cuyahoga Valley Christian Academy — CVCA (in Stow). It was much smaller then. When I went there, there were like 450 kids, and I think there are more than 900 now. I graduated in ’90.

How about college?

University of Akron for undergrad and then University of North Carolina in Charlotte for grad school. I got my bachelor’s in geography and then my masters is geography and planning.

I’m not sure I’ve ever interviewed a geography major before.

We are a rare breed. It’s pretty uncommon, but we all know each other. It’s actually a more common degree for urban planners, though a lot of my friends got work in corporate retail … figuring out where to put the stores and doing demographic work.

That doesn’t sound like you.

I definitely like more of the civic side of the profession — thinking about neighborhoods and trying to help people in the neighborhoods have a better quality of life. That’s really what made me want to move back to Akron from North Carolina. …

Charlotte was booming, but I felt like for an urban planner, the more important work was to be done back here. … I felt like I could make more of a difference here than just planning sprawl in the Sun Belt.

When you majored in geography, did you know you wanted to be an urban planner?

No. I just loved maps. From the time I was 5, I would tell my mom how to get places. I knew the city really well, even when I was 5. I just had a knack for it. So, going to college, it was still really hard to know what I wanted to major in, so I was like, “Well, I really like maps, so I’ll go into geography.”

But I definitely didn’t know I wanted to be an urban planner. ... That was more when I graduated from Akron.

Where did you work before the city?

I was working as a transportation planner for the Stark County Regional Transit Authority, then I

started with the city of Akron, AMATS (Akron Metropolitan Area Transportation Study) in 1998.

So, you aren’t just an Akron roads savant because of AMATS, but because you’ve always been a map guy.

Those are your words, not mine — but they might be closer to the truth. … I can tell you firsthand it’s not a popular thing to be into when you’re a kid.

Did they call you Vespucci?

My dad has called me that. He said they should have named me Amerigo.

That’s not just a star on your cuff links. It’s a compass rose?

It is. My wife got these for me.

When did you start working for Mayor Dan Horrigan?

January of ’16 is when I went to work for the mayor as planning director. I had only met him probably two or three months before.

Happy with that decision today?

You two seem to be simpatico about rebuilding population downtown and in the neighborhoods and making Akron more pedestrian friendly.

Absolutely. I would not ... have just taken a job with any mayor. I really believe in what he’s doing. He asked if I would take the job, and I felt like I could really help the city if I did. But I very much liked my old job. I just felt like he had a vision for the city and I could make a difference.

CLEVELAND BUSINESS 700 W. St. Clair Ave., Suite 310 Cleveland, OH 44113-1230 Phone: (216) 522-1383 www.crainscleveland.com Twitter: @CrainsCleveland Publisher/editor Elizabeth McIntyre Group publisher Mary Kramer Managing editor Scott Suttell Sections editor Michael von Glahn Creative director David Kordalski Web editor Damon Sims Associate editor/Akron Sue Walton Assistant editor Kevin Kleps Senior reporter Stan Bullard, Real estate/construction Reporters Jay Miller, Government Dan Shingler, Energy/steel/auto/Akron Rachel McCafferty, Manufacturing/ energy/education Jeremy Nobile, Finance Lydia Coutré, Health care/nonprofits Senior data editor Chuck Soder Cartoonist Rich Williams Events manager Ashley Ramsey Marketing coordinator Megan Lemke Integrated marketing manager Michelle Sustar Managing editor custom/special projects Amy Ann Stoessel Associate publisher Lisa Rudy Senior account executive Dawn Donegan Account executives Laura Kulber Mintz, Loren Breen Office coordinator Denise Donaldson Pre-press and digital production Craig L. Mackey Media services manager Nicole Spell Billing Peter Iseppi Credit Rod Warmsby Crain’s Cleveland Business is published by Crain Communications Inc.

Chairman Keith E. Crain Vice chairman Mary Kay Crain President KC Crain Senior executive VP Chris Crain Secretary Lexie Crain Armstrong CFO Robert Recchia G.D. Crain Jr., Founder (1885-1973) Mrs. G.D. Crain Jr., Chairman (1911-1996) Reprints: Laura Picariello, 732-723-0569 or lpicariello@crain.com Customer service and subscriptions: 877-824-9373 Volume 40, Number 1 Crain’s Cleveland Business (ISSN 0197-2375) is published weekly, except for the last week of December, at 700 West St. Clair Ave., Suite 310, Cleveland, OH 44113-1230.

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THE WEEK Downtown deal Stark Enterprises sold the fivefloor building at the corner of Superior Avenue and West Third Street that has been its home for the last 11 years.

Cuyahoga County land records show the property was transferred Dec. 21 to 1350 W. 6 St. LLC from Stark 1350 LLC. Although the change in limited liability corporations shows no sale price for the building at 1350 West Third St., a mortgage recorded Dec. 24 by Stark indicates it has provided a $1.65 million loan to Rlfed Manager LLC, which was signed by Yaron Kandelker, an Israeli investor with property holdings in Northeast Ohio.

Ezra Stark, chief operating officer of the family-owned real estate development firm, declined comment.

P019_CL_20190107.indd 19

Real estate developer Stark Enterprises has sold its five-story downtown headquarters building at 1350 West Third St. to an Isreali-led investor group.

Stark’s headquarters has been in the building since 2007.

(Stan Bullard)

Right path

Something’s brewing

Thanks to a $2 million grant from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, more community college students in the region will have a defined path to a bachelor’s degree at Case Western Reserve University.

The four-year grant will support the Cleveland Humanities Collaborative, which offers a pathway for students at Cuyahoga Community College to earn an associate degree and then go to CWRU to earn a bachelor of arts degree. The collaborative was founded in 2014 with a $1.55 million Mellon Foundation grant.

Beginning in the 2021-2022 academic year, the program also will be available to humanities students at Lorain County Community College and Lakeland Community College.

Fans of Northeast Ohio’s beer scene will have another way to explore what the market has to offer as City Brew Tours launches an operation here.

City Brew Tours Cleveland expects to host its first guided, educational beer tours beginning in late January, said Christian Hunter, a minority owner in the Vermont-based business, as well as the owner and operator of the Cleveland franchise.

City Brew Tours Cleveland is hashing out partnerships with area breweries, which tentatively include Terrestrial Brewing, Great Lakes Brewing, Market Garden Brewery, Collision Bend Brewing, Brick and Barrel, and Nano Brew. The goal is to have about a dozen partnering breweries.

1/4/19 2:46 PM

BE ON THE

LOOKOUT FOR THESE UPCOMING

NOMINATION PROGRAMS Notable Women in STEM

CRAIN’S 2019

NOTABLE WOMEN IN STEM

Crain’s Cleveland Business will name the 2019 Notable Women in STEM in a special report on Feb. 25. In that report, we’ll profile women in STEM who are considered leaders in their workplaces and in the community. This is the first program in the 2019 Notable Women series.

EIGHT OVER 80

Crain’s honors eight individuals in their 80s who are still working tirelessly to advance Northeast Ohio and its residents.

EIGHT OVER 80

WOMEN OF

N OT E

2019

WOMEN OF NOTE AWARDS

Crain’s honors the dedication and achievements of Northeast Ohio’s top female business leaders who enrich our region with their professional talents and unique perspectives.

TWENTY IN THEIR 20s

Crain’s will single out 20 up-and-coming professionals who haven’t turned 30 yet but are already making a mark on Northeast Ohio.

ARCHER AWARDS

A tribute to Northeast Ohio’s leading human resources professionals who are building companies with the best people, talent, development and culture.

FORTY UNDER 40 2019

A tribute to the next generation of rising stars who have taken a leading role in our business community.

NOMINATE TODAY:

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