Region

An influential twentysomething gets down to brass tacks with a new generation of players.

The days of being a child prodigy are past for Dominick Farinacci, a horn player with nine albums under his 28-year-old belt. Now, the Solon native wants to find – and nurture – other child prodigies who play jazz...

How the owners of historic Lucy's Sweet Surrender are trying to rise above a volatile mix of violence and despair.

Michael Feigenbaum feels trapped in the ghetto. His bakery, Lucy’s Sweet Surrender, is the last vestige of what used to be one of the largest Hungarian neighborhoods outside of Hungary...

Cleveland is tearing down homes in hopes of building up neighborhoods.

Many argue that what the city needs is not new homes, but fewer homes.

Rust belt photographers capture moving pictures of home in "Rust Wire's Big Urban Photography Project."

Despite the bleak overtones, recent decades have brought brilliant shades of color, a youthful vision that gives new context and life, and creates characters who fashion a sense of place that's aware of the urban blight but not defined by it.

What's in a name?

As Cleveland updates the boundaries of its 36 "statistical planning areas," several neighborhoods stand to lose their traditional identities.

Artist Karen Sandstrom finds the reflective pull of another world and another time in Marblehead.

I won't go into the whole sad tale, but let's just say that I spent a college weekend in Put-in-Bay and it involved way too much bad local wine and an unfortunate incident that led me to weeping over the song "Brandy" by Looking Glass.

Artist Karen Sandstrom takes her "Sketchbook Cleveland" on a date to the theater.

The Palace Theatre opened as a vaudeville house in 1922, but like the rest of the theaters got renovation treatment in the late 80s. It's such a place of pure luxury, and yet it's hard to ignore that the city around it is often a harsh environment...

Carlo Wolff remembers Steve Popovich, a Cleveland-raised music pioneer.

Steve Popovich died June 8 at his home in Nashville at age 68. A native of Nemacolin, Pennsylvania, he led bands including Ronnie and the Savoys and the Twilighters before working his way up the record industry ladder...

Artist Karen Sandstrom illustrates how it's better to be a kid again.

Back in the Pleistocene, it was simply Huntinginton Park (still its shorthand name) – about a quarter-mile ride on a pink Schwinn Sting-Ray from my childhood home in Bay Village.

Writer Carlo Wolff lends some Midwest perspective to life in Shanghai.

At the same time, prosperity is sweeping China, at least from what I saw. In Shanghai, the Bund seemed fresh and spiffy, largely thanks to Expo 2010, which persuaded city fathers to put their best face forward under the motto “Better City, Better Life.”

How designer Jeff Finley and his DIY festival is inspiring a region with Weapons of Mass Creation.

"We wanted to make an awesome fest for people like us, people who live to create," says Finley. "We want to inspire and educate our peers in the creative community."

Tremont West Development Corporation does its part to preserve - and advance - a historic Cleveland neighborhood.

For more than 30 years, Tremon West Development Corporation has worked with neighborhood residents and businesses to create a dynamic community, supporting programming like the Tremont Farmers Market, Taste of Tremont, Arts in August, block clubs and more.

The Cleveland Asian Festival returns bigger and better than before.

It means that the City's Asian community does exist and we strive to stand together to celebrate diversity and our different ethnic groups...

Rob Wrobel meets with leaders of Afghanistan and Indonesia, learning how war and peace feel outside US soil.

The connection was rooted in their shared religion, Islam, and a shared set of experiences related to the physical and psychological effects of armed conflict...

Artist Karen Sandstrom explores the Cleveland Metroparks Zoo with her Sketchbook Cleveland.

Ever since financier and philanthropist Jeptha Wade donated his University Circle plot and animals in 1882, the Cleveland Zoo has been a center for fun and learning...

Come on, get hoppy.

To kick off the Year of the Rabbit celebration, 24 fiberglass rabbit sculptures featuring designs created and applied by Northeast Ohio artists and organizations will be installed throughout Cleveland's St. Clair Superior neighborhood and in other key locations in and around downtown Cleveland.

As President Obama sets his sights on re-election, Earl Pike wonders: Why, in short, has the change so solemnly promised, and so hungrily longed for, failed to materialize?

Three years ago, the message of change seemed like some cool dew arriving after a long dry season. With the Bush presidency behind us, and the prospect of a McCain/Palin presidency looming, Barack Obama seemed a refreshing alternative to the arid politics of exclusion, marginalization and triumphalist foreign policy.

Carlo Wolff experiences the live magic of Trombone Shorty as he and his band kick off the Tri-C JazzFest.

Smooth? You have no idea. Powerful? You had to be there. Funky? Terminally. Witty? Can’t have funk without wit. Charismatic? Consistently.

The Tri-C Jazz Fest swings into town with a stellar lineup.

On April 28, a top-notch lineup of musicians from around the globe will play for North Coast audiences as the 32nd annual Tri-C JazzFest Cleveland swings into town. The festival, which runs through May 8, will feature more than 20 live performances at venues across Cleveland, making the Sixth City the undeniable epicenter of cool.

Ryan Lally gets more than a music lesson from a stranger in India.

We exchange fragmented pleasantries as he takes his seat across from me. Without a word, his hands, adorned with gold rings and precious stones, begin to flutter across the skins of the drums like a pair of no-nonsense humming birds.

Earl Pike explains why Cleveland's International Welcome Center is cause for warm reception.

It has also stimulated pockets of renewed anti-immigrant sentiment. Take this example from the Plain Dealer, found in the comments section at the end of last week’s article about the Welcome Center:  “Why not just target Americans from other cities? All we need is more foreigners on welfare . . .”

Carlo Wolff finds a movie that hits too close to home.

Bron’s dialogue is moving and often witty, but far less eloquent than shots of potholed streets, windowless houses reduced to plywood and siding, graffiti-ridden residences stripped of utilities. The images Cleveland cinematographer Julien Hirsch depicts resemble a ghost town, though the aerial shots show it used to be a big city.

Earl Pike explains how the new budget is as much a statewide slighting as it is sleight of hand.

In fact, the Governor’s proposal constitutes a dramatic service reduction, and the consequences, for some, are a matter of life and death.

Carlo Wolff goes soul mining with an unsung Cleveland legend.

He has fond memories of the Circle Ballroom, at 105th and Euclid; Gleason’s Musical Bar, at 53rd and Woodland; and the Chatterbox Lounge a few blocks west of Gleason’s. Harvey and the Phenomenals played behind the Stylistics and opened for Isaac Hayes, but airplay of its music was  confined to black stations WMJO (powered by Ken Hawkins) and WABQ. 

A growing network in Northeast Ohio.

The investments made in the Cleveland and Akron wireless and wireline networks are part of more than $1.4 billion AT&T invested from 2008 to 2010 across Ohio, according to AT&T Ohio president Tom Pelto. Besides offering better service, the upgrades will have a positive impact on area businesses.

Earl Pike contemplates whether Senate Bill 5 is reckless.

Senate Bill 5 is bad policy, and bad policy is being enshrined in state capitals across America on the baseless complaint that unions are bad for budgeting.

The Cavs and a local nonprofit tipoff a new reading program.

Ryan Lally and his fiancée explore Chile, learning that the view from the bottom is, indeed, quite different than life at the top.

A guitar tech from Parma spends his days working with rock luminaries and raising money for fallen soldiers and their families.

Why Governor Kasich needs to encourage the conversation he's avoiding.

Artist Karen Sandstrom discovers the lasting legacy of Cleveland's independent militia.

Lee Chilcote revisits Municipal Stadium and what football means to a struggling town.

Artist Karen Sandstrom shares visions of Cleveland favorites.