MuRrAy HiLL

Nice report KJP!

^I actually have reservation at Boka tonight. I'll look at Gage for lunch or Dinner tomorrow. Awesome pics MayDay. I think you just gave us an amazing idea of where to grab at least drinks.

So far so good. Here's the hotel I snagged via Hotwire: http://www.chicagotraveler.com/hotels-new/chicago-hotel-id-151856.html great position to do much of what was recommended.

Great story! We need more like this ;) International Newcomers Academy in Cleveland helps students adjust to school and life in America http://blog.cleveland.com/metro/2011/01/international_newcomers_academ.html

Soo we're saying construction is underway?? I'll keep an eye out as well. You'd think they'd want media on it (or at least a frikin website) since the whole region has been waiting to hear a word.

Thanks everyone! On the MegaBus right now.

Hi everyone, I know this is short notice, but I'm leaving for Chicago tonight for the long weekend thanks some cheap Megabus tickets. I haven't been able to do much research, and haven't ever really explored Chi-town before. I was hoping for a few last minute suggestions of places to see, things to do. 1) Top urban neighborhoods ( hopefully along public transportation) 2) Top two museums ( Hows the Chicago History Museum?)... Probably only time for one or two 3) Any events this weekend? Or other "must see" 4) Good neighborhood boutique type shopping? ( for the gf... She doesn't like Michigan Ave shopping... Too commercial) 5) Any recommended neighborhood joints ( bar or restaurant... Looking for true Chicago feel) I'll be staying Downtown along Michigan Ave.

How 'bout this one?: Newest Cleveland Heights bar Club Sober offers full menu, no liquorPublished: Friday, January 14, 2011, 2:00 PM By Lindsay Betz, Sun News CLEVELAND HEIGHTS -- Don’t expect to be served a beer if you walk into a new bar on Lee Road. Club Sober Juice Bar & Grill, 2214 Lee, boasts the “best Philly cheese steaks in the state” and a wide array of burgers, sandwiches and breakfast options. But if you want an alcoholic beverage, you will have to go to a different establishment. “I wanted to do something different to help the community,” said owner Michael Waddy. “It’s a place for people to look at and say ‘hey, that’s not a bar, somebody’s doing something different.’” http://blog.cleveland.com/sunpress/2011/01/newest_cleveland_heights_bar_c.html

Great article on the neighborhood! Everything you always wanted to know about Asiatown (but were afraid to ask) Douglas Trattner Thursday, December 16, 2010 According to the latest census figures, roughly 30,000 Asian-Americans call Cuyahoga County home, a number that continues to rise. Many of these folks live, work, shop and eat in Cleveland's AsiaTown neighborhood, which is loosely bordered by E. 30th and 40th streets and St. Clair and Payne avenues. Located in this dense district are numerous Asian-owned restaurants, markets and bakeries. Here are some of the stand-outs. http://www.freshwatercleveland.com/features/asiatownguide121610.aspx

Did this ever happen?? This is the most current article I can find on the new station: http://www.freshwatercleveland.com/devnews/thebikerack11112010.aspx It looks like it's on pace to open this spring: Cleveland gears up for new bike parking facility Thursday, January 13, 2011 No brakes are being applied now on the new Bike Rack parking station in Downtown Cleveland. The City of Cleveland is overseeing the transformation of a city-owned parking garage at East 4th Street and Huron Road, expected to be completed this spring. More than just a place to park your two-wheeler, the Bike Rack will offer lockers, bicycle repair services, bike rental and an information center. The garage will be open 24/7 and will have room for at least 50 bikes, according to Josh Taylor, marketing and public relations manager for DCA. If this first venture into bike parking is as successful as experts predict, other stations will likely open around the city in the future, Taylor adds. http://www.freshwatercleveland.com/innovationnews/bikerackupdate011311.aspx

Here's a little blurb from Freshwater: Flats East Bank to be Cleveland’s first green-certified neighborhood Thursday, January 13, 2011 The Flats has often been called the birthplace of Cleveland. Soon, it will gain a new tagline when it's reborn as the city's first green-certified neighborhood. The Wolstein Group and Fairmount Properties, co-developers of the Flats East Bank project, are using sustainable building practices in the $272 million project, which broke ground in December. The project's financing dried up in 2008, but the developers revived the deal, cobbling together more than 35 public and private funding sources. The first phase will include an office tower, hotel, retail and 14-acre riverfront park. Last year, the U.S. Green Building Council certified that the project had met Phase I criteria for Leadership in Energy Efficiency and Design for Neighborhood Development (LEED-ND). LEED is considered to be the national standard for sustainable design. "Early on, the developers committed to pursue LEED Neighborhood status, and also a green-built project," says Justin Glanville, Project Director for Building Cleveland by Design (BCBD), a collaboration of two nonprofits, ParkWorks and Cleveland Public Art, to inject more thoughtful design into prominent building projects in Cleveland. http://www.freshwatercleveland.com/devnews/flatsgreencertified011311.aspx

New FREE newspaper in the University Circle and surrounding neighborhoods area. I've already read all three copies: Finding their voice: A new community newspaper becomes the voice of the unheard Lee Chilcote Thursday, January 13, 2011 Diversity, Philanthropy, Sustainability Josette Compton grew up within walking distance of University Circle's lofty museums, hospitals and private colleges. Yet her own modest, struggling East Cleveland street felt like another country. As a teenager, she fantasized about escaping -- to New York, D.C., anywhere -- to pursue her dream of becoming a journalist. "I've always wanted to be a writer," says Compton. "I even started my own newspaper, The Children's Enquirer, when I was 10 because I didn't like what Teen Beat was saying about my favorite artists. My mom, my cousins and I sold it for fifty cents." After attending Regina High School and graduating from Howard University in Washington D.C., Compton moved to New York, eventually fulfilling her dream of becoming a writer. She landed a plum job with Entertainment Weekly, interviewing and writing about music's top performers like Salt-N-Pepa and the Wu-Tang Clan. A year later she was hired as editor of the Greater University Circle Neighborhood Voice, a free community publication with a social mission. The hyper-local monthly newspaper covers University Circle and the surrounding neighborhoods. http://www.freshwatercleveland.com/features/neighborhoodvoice011311.aspx

:clap: Window dressing: Cleveland storefront art aims to brighten up landscape one window at a time Erin O'Brien Thursday, January 13, 2011 Arts and Culture, Philanthropy Civic booster Robert Carillio is quick to silence locals who denigrate his fair city, but walking down Prospect or Euclid Avenue can be a dismal trek for even the most devoted Clevelander. And nowhere is the evidence of the region's economic hits to the chin stronger than along these historic thoroughfares. Pedestrians hunker into their overcoats against the driving January wind, passing a glum parade of signs quietly announcing "Available" and "For Lease." They pay little attention to the dingy windows and murky interiors, the white shoe polish and plywood facings. That may be how this movie begins, but Robert Carillio and Joan Smith aim to change how it ends. They are the dynamic duo behind Cleveland Storefront Art, a small but mighty collaborative that has already begun rewriting the script. By filling the windows of vacant downtown storefronts with works of visual art, the pair is crafting a brighter landscape. Smith, who had left a job last spring, was looking to "do something positive." She soon found herself stepping into the role of Storefront co-founder Vicky Poole, who dropped out of the project to tend other obligations. Considering Smith's personal pet peeve was empty storefronts, it was an ideal fit to say the least. http://www.freshwatercleveland.com/features/storefrontart011311.aspx

Expansion, Expansion, Expansion!

Interesting... I wonder what the attendance will be roughly? Maybe I'll bring a group of people.

More good news from CSU: Cleveland State University's new welcome center woos prospective students http://blog.cleveland.com/metro/2011/01/cleveland_state_universitys_ne_3.html

Much needed... After taking a girl ( who can't wait to move out of Cleveland ) to the Cleveland Museum of Art (who had never been to any Cleveland museum.... and grew up in Mayfield Hts) , and of course she was completely blown away: http://www.newsnet5.com/dpp/news/local_news/teaching-cleveland-to-clevelanders

well looks like bad and good for Cleveland. The centennial sounds like it's going to be more than incredible though! Monet's waterlilies painting on loan from Cleveland Museum of Art for display with companion works http://www.cleveland.com/arts/index.ssf/2011/01/monets_waterlilies_painting_on.html

I've been making room in my fridge. I'm really hoping they'll meet all my grocery store needs. If not, I still have my Little Italy Wines for beer and wine, and a short trip on the Red Line to the Westside Market for everything else.

^haha yes! Only Mondays, only females.

January 10th!! :-D :-) :-D Monday, Monday, Monday! Murray Hill Market will have its soft opening. They were letting customers come in today, cash only, as they were finishing setting up. So if u really want to check it out today, I'm sure you could stop in. Like I said before, the owners are great people. Now, I have some pent up grocery shopping to do on Monday!

From the website: "Construction of Phase 1 of the development is to commence immediately and the Greater Cleveland Aquarium is expected to open in the fall of 2011." Has anyone been done there? Has work begun?

Yeah I feel it: Cleveland: Experts claim Cleveland's economy recovering At a December global summit held in Chicago, Cleveland was being mentioned in the same breath as cities including Munich, Turin, Barcelona, Chicago, Seattle and Minneapolis, as communities that "faced moments of serious economic challenge but devised ingenious recoveries." http://www.wkyc.com/news/politics_govt/politics_article.aspx?storyid=168362&catid=130

The "C" Line and the "Rock" Line...interesting.

Here's the new Cleveland Aquarium website: http://www.greaterclevelandaquarium.com/ It talks about Phase II a little bit also.