Crain's Cleveland Business, January 20, 2025

Downtown Cleveland Inc. boosts retail

Nonpro t’s strategy to make city center more inviting is building momentum

By Alexandra Golden

Downtown Cleveland Inc., the nonpro t focused on creating a thriving downtown Cleveland reports that it’s made great progress on a plan to boost retail in the city center.

e group says it has already implemented nine of 15 recommendations included in its Downtown Retail Strategy announced a little more than a year ago.

e Downtown Retail Strategy, launched in November 2023, was developed with Streetsense, a New York City-based strategy and design rm. It’s designed to be a "roadmap for making the city center more inviting and supportive of retail," according to a news release.

One of the nine recommendations that Downtown Cleveland Inc. President and CEO Michael Deemer is most excited about is the hiring of Silvia Iorio as the vice president of economic development, a position dedicated to and focused on implementing the strategies. She started in December.

“She’s already bringing just a greater focus on building relationships with our existing storefront businesses,” Deemer said. "We will have her working directly with brokers and property owners and businesses to build out our attraction and retention strategy.”

See RETAIL on Page 17

Ronayne talks keeping Browns downtown, goals for the county

By Kim Palmer

Chris Ronayne believed the things he does best would serve him well in his rst term as Cuyahoga County executive.

As a former city planner and leader of University Circle Inc., Ronayne knows the community and the people in it, and he knows where and who to go to when he needs help with a problem.

“ e best thing I did coming into this job two years ago was pick a great team,” Ronayne said in an interview. “I told them, now that we are at the midterm, we've done ve years of work done in two years. We're not done, but I can say we've done what we've

said we were going to do, and we've done it expeditiously.”

Since Ronayne has been in office, he has achieved a number of his campaign promises. His administration created a housing department and a women's health commission, broke ground on the Cuyahoga Welcome Center and has almost hit the funding total for a Child Wellness Center. e last two years have been all about working with nonpro t and civic partners to “align our resources and leveraging our assets,” and Ronayne said he plans to continue that work and run again for a second term.

See RONAYNE on Page 18

MORE THAN MONEY

Inequities in education are about more than a bottom line on a budget. ey’re about opportunities lost, futures diminished. In urban districts, it might be a matter of overcoming the barriers raised by poverty in the larger community; there are more student needs to be met, so it’s tough for funding to keep up. In rural districts, even schools that aren’t low income might struggle to o er students a variety of opportunities because lower enrollment gures mean fewer resources and sta . is has always been true, but it’s become more clear in recent years. PAGE 8

Goodyear’s next divestiture could be painful for Akron

By Dan Shingler

Goodyear’s next transaction might be its most painful one for Akron and the company’s employees in the city.

At the end of 2023, the company said it would slim down by selling three major operations: its offroad equipment tire business, the Dunlop tire unit and its specialty chemical business.

The first two are gone. That leaves the chemical business as the last to be sold.

The company sold the off-road tire operations in July 2024, fetching $905 million in a cash transaction with Japan’s Yokohama Rubber Co. Earlier this month, the company announced the sale of the Dunlop brand to Sumitomo Rubber Industries in a deal it said should bring in just over $700 million in cash.

But the remaining sale of the chemical business could have the most local impact if and when Goodyear sells it since it has major operations in Akron.

Goodyear declined to discuss its progress on that sale or how it could unfold. But it didn’t balk at saying it’s still in the works.

“The sale of our chemical business is proceeding as planned,” said Doug Grassian, Goodyear’s vice president for global communications, in an email.

Grassian didn’t specify how many people Goodyear’s chemical business employs in Akron, but he said its R&D facility has a substantial footprint in town and employees in both Akron and Europe.

“We have an R&D footprint at our research building. ... At our headquarters in Akron we have an entire innovation center in the building housing R&D teams,” Grassian said. Those operations, along with its innovation center in Luxembourg, employ about 1,800 people, he said.

Grassian did not break out the number of local employees, but several hundred of those jobs are in Akron. About 1,000 work at the Luxembourg innovation center,

according to published reports in Europe.

In Akron, where Goodyear employs about 2,600 people in total, its chemical employees work at the company’s research and development building on Archwood Avenue, and at the corporate headquarters on Innovation Way in East Akron.

On top of those operations, the company has chemical production plants in Bayport, Houston and Beaumont, Texas, and in Niagara Falls, New York.

How those employees are affected by a sale would likely depend on who buys the chemical operations.

A strategic corporate buyer might cut jobs it finds are redundant with its existing operations, while a private equity buyer might do the opposite and invest in the chemical businesses in order to grow them.

The company has a good chance

of selling its chemical business, said Bill Ridenour, an investment banker who specializes in mergers and acquisitions involving chemical companies as the president and owner of Polymer TransAction Advisors, a North Carolina company that Ridenour originally ran in Northeast Ohio.

Ridenour said that while 2024 was a down year for chemicalsector transactions, he’s optimistic there will be more deals this year. Easing interest rates are helping buyers, particularly private equity firms, he said, and there’s growing interest in U.S. firms from foreign competitors.

“There’s a good possibility that European strategic buyers and even private equity will come here,” Ridenour said.

And even while deals were down last year, pricing held up. Private equity firms are under pressure to invest simply because they have substantial cash from

Akron’s Sustainable Polymers Tech Hub nets another $3M grant

By Kim Palmer

Akron’s Sustainable Polymers Tech Hub was awarded $3 million from the U.S. Economic Development Administration’s (EDA) Good Jobs Challenge in the waning days of President Joe Biden’s administration.

The federal matching funding, announced Tuesday, Jan. 14, will help support the Greater Akron Chamber’s Advanced Polymer and Manufacturing Excellence (APEX) program, which addresses skilledworker shortages and training gaps in the region’s polymer industry.

Greater Akron Chamber President and CEO Steve Millard said

the recent funding and previous funding, coupled with the tech hub designation, will help create a career path for Ohioans in the polymer industry.

“These funds will help further the Akron Sustainable Polymers Tech Hub by ensuring that we have a strong workforce to meet the demands of the growing polymers field,” said U.S. Rep. Emilia Sykes, an Akron Democrat, in a statement. “This investment will ensure Northeast Ohio remains a global leader and trailblazer in polymer science and polymer engineering, reaffirming our district’s legacy as the Rubber Capital of the World.”

Akron’s polymer sector was des-

ignated one of 31 inaugural tech hubs and was awarded $51 million in October 2023.

It was one of eight hubs awarded a matching grant from a pool of $25 million for workforce development.

The Good Jobs Challenge funding will be used to support a partnership of regional employers, educational institutions, industry, community and labor organizations working to design and implement industry workforce strategies targeting Portage, Stark, Summit and Wayne counties.

“The outcomes of the APEX workforce initiative are crucial to ensuring we are equipping our region’s employers with a strong

while hindering foreign operations that export to the U.S. from abroad, he said.

“It all points to a lot of European business interest in the U.S.,” Ridenour said.

Unfortunately, if Goodyear does sell to a strategic buyer in Europe or Asia, that might be the worstcase scenario for U.S. employees. It would also be bad news for Akron and other cities that rely on their jobs to help support their local economies and tax coffers.

“Most definitely, because a strategic buyer might cut jobs, it might cut operations," Ridenour said.

As for Goodyear itself, Ridenour said it might not do as well as it and its investors hope in terms of pricing.

Ridenour said the chemical operations that the company has today are mature and largely produce chemicals used in tire manufacturing and related activities. Those chemicals largely have been commoditized and are less profitable than more advanced chemicals, Ridenour said.

exiting other deals and from investors who continue to back them and want to see their money put to work, Ridenour said.

“Therefore M&A prices remained high in 2024,” he said.

As for strategic buyers, they see the U.S. as an especially attractive market, especially for chemical operations such as Goodyear’s, which stand to benefit from increased drilling for oil and gas — major feedstocks for chemicals — along with tax reductions promised by incoming President Donald Trump.

“Everyone is pretty optimistic about seeing an economic turnaround in plastics and rubber,” Ridenour said. “What we see is acquisition prices remaining high and we think M&A activity will be high ... in the second quarter, especially.”

Tariffs, meanwhile, are expected to give a boost to the sales and profits of operations in the U.S.,

But, coming off two years of losses and under pressure to streamline and improve its balance sheet, Ridenour Goodyear might be motivated to sell.

“I frankly think that Goodyear is between a rock and a hard place here," he said. "Their chemicals business is a commodity business that has little value added. They seemed to be keeping it so far because a captive business may have some added value to the core tire operations as a cost-effective, controllable source of supply."

Goodyear might end up talking to the same buyers who purchased its off-road and Dunlop tire businesses. In other words, other tire companies could use that same captive supply chain for their new U.S. operations.

“It is hard for me to see any value-added potential to anyone except to a fellow tire manufacturer as a possible consolidation and cost-cutting strategy,” Ridenour said. “And they are all stressed right now.”

pipeline of trained individuals, and, in turn, these individuals are being placed into ‘Good Jobs,’” Millard said in a statement. “And big picture, the outcomes are crucial to maintaining our global competitiveness and will support our efforts to drive global innovation in the polymer industry to further impact and shape the global, and local, economy.”

Akron’s polymer hub also is working with the National Science Foundation on the development of a cooling system for manufactured metal parts aimed at increasing strength while improving the surface finish and decreasing cracks and fatigue. The new process will improve the quality of the printed parts while shortening production time.

Goodyear’s headquarters in Akron houses some of the research and development employees of its specialty chemicals business. | GOODyEAR

Primary care systems are under pressure

new models could alleviate the strain

By Paige Bennett

Ask someone about the last time they tried to schedule an appointment with their primary care doctor, and you’ll probably get an earful.

Patient access is just one of a host of issues facing the primary care discipline. The workforce is not growing fast enough to meet the needs of the U.S. population, and the country continues to underinvest in primary care, according to the nonprofit Milbank Memorial Fund’s 2024 scorecard on the health of primary care in the U.S.

Yet primary care is essential to good health, said Dr. Barbara Tobias, professor emerita in the department of family and community medicine at the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine.

“We know that when individuals have access to primary care that is both longitudinal, continuous and personal, that morbid-

Negotiating with payers means independent physician groups can enter into full-risk arrangements, which see health care providers take on the financial risk of their patients’ care, said Thomas Campanella, president of Campanella Consulting Inc. These arrangements have become more prevalent as value-based care, a format for delivering health care that focuses on patient outcomes, has been adopted by more payers and providers.

Under full-risk arrangements, providers are incentivized to provide high-quality care at a low cost because they make profits by reducing unnecessary spending.

“Our mission statement really is based around providing highquality, low-cost care,” said Dr. Kathy Kostelnick, who retired from Pioneer Physicians, an independent physician network in the Akron/Canton area, at the end of 2024.

Kostelnick said Pioneer Physicians, which encompasses 63 physicians, 28 nurse practitioners across 18 offices, has taken to the shift to value-based care.

“We know that when individuals have access to primary care that is both longitudinal, continuous and personal, that morbidity and mortality go down.”

Dr. Barbara Tobias, professor emerita in the department of family and community medicine at the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine

ity and mortality go down,” she said. “We've seen that over and over again, as our peer countries, who do have that access to primary care, enjoy greater lifespans, lower maternal morbidity and mortality and a whole host of other health metrics.”

In light of the challenges surrounding primary care, Crain’s looked at some of the models being practiced outside of the traditional health system, including independent physician groups, direct primary care and partnerships between employers and independent providers.

Independent physician groups

Doctors who want to practice outside of the traditional health system setting might join an independent physician group or a network of independent providers who come under one entity to share resources and create opportunities for care coordination. It’s a model that gives providers more control as they negotiate directly with private insurance companies and other payers.

Direct primary care

One model that has seen growing interest is direct primary care (DPC), a framework in which patients pay a monthly fee in exchange for enhanced access to their primary care provider. Northeast Ohio has a handful of practices offering DPC, according to DPC Frontier, a platform that promotes the movement.

A DPC doctor generally has a much smaller patient panel (200600) than primary care doctors employed in a traditional health system (2,000-3,000).

“The idea for patients is that you provide a substantial savings with greater access to your primary care physician,” Tobias said. “For the physician, it allows the doctor to spend more time with patients if they have a smaller panel.”

“We have a data team,” she said. “It's developed into a really cool thing where they watch everything that's going on with the diabetic patient or everything that's going on with heart failure patients. And we take care of kids all the way up through adults and geriatrics. So from all stages of life we're watching all of those things.”

She noted that Pioneer makes referrals to all the hospitals in the region because “we go where it's best for patients from a quality perspective and a cost perspective.”

From a physician standpoint, the group model gives providers more control around their schedules, Kostelnick said. Another advantage, Campanella said, is that these providers are connected with other physicians who have a similar mindset, and they can share resources and support with each other.

Still, independent groups contend with many of the same challenges as large health systems in today’s health care environment: shrinking margins, declining reimbursement rates and burnout.

For providers like Dr. Lillian White, who owns Empowered Health in Rocky River, DPC affords them the freedom of practicing medicine the way they want to. White said the model has let her build incredible relationships with her patients and that she is able to take a holistic approach to their health. During her residency at a health system, patient visits felt a bit like being on an assembly line, she said, but DPC gives her a chance to deliver care in a personalized way.

Other DPC providers in the region include Emerald Direct Primary Care in Beachwood and Zest Pediatric Network, which expanded its concierge-style pediatric services to Medicaid patients last year.

Still, Tobias said, the DPC model has some challenges. Many DPC practices don’t accept insurance or only take a minimal form of insurance. However, she said her colleagues who practice DPC tend to have high practice satisfaction rates and low rates of physician burnout.

Employer-clinic partnerships

Another route being explored is employers partnering directly

with primary care providers to provide access to employees. These services typically act as a complement to an employer’s existing benefits. Providers offer onsite or near-site clinics and virtual care options that address primary care and acute care needs. They claim to offer quicker, more convenient access, which keeps patients from making unnecessary trips to urgent cares and hospitals emergency departments, ultimately reducing health care costs for employers.

One of the larger players in this space, Marathon Health, completed a merger with rival Everside Health in 2024 and is looking to expand its presence in the Northeast Ohio market, CEO Dr. Jeff Wells told Crain’s last fall. And Amazon One Medical, a membership-based provider of primary and specialty care, is set to make its debut in the region this year.

Tobias said there are “a lot of flavors” of these models. Some have nurse practitioners acting

as a patient’s front-line providers while others function more like urgent care locations. She said she’s “all for” these types of services for urgent access, but that overall it’s better for a primary care physician to see their patients over time.

“I still think that we do best when we work in teams with physicians and nurses, and pharmacists and others, each of us working to the highest extent of our license,” she said.

Campanella agreed that effective primary care is all about relationships. Good primary care doctors spend time getting to know their patients, he said, to better understand their needs. Some of these providers will have agreements with health systems or other specialists to refer patients to their services. Campanella said a good primary care doctor will send patients to specialists who offer the best value and will stay in communication with specialists to monitor their patients’ progress.

NEED HELP DEFROSTING A LOAN?

Lauren Tagarao Promoted to Partner at the Intellectual Property Firm of Renner Otto

How will your new role help you meet your client’s goals?

With TV ratings surging, Cavs weigh next move in broadcast

By Joe Scalzo

e Cavaliers’ franchise record 33-4 start has stunned pretty much everyone in the NBA world over the past few months — including, at times, the employees at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse.

“We turn to each other and we’re like, ‘Is this really happening?’ ” said Mike Conley, the Cavaliers’ chief information o cer. “ is is amazing, fun basketball. We’re as much fans as we are business operators.”

Still, they are business operators, and Conley & Co. have spent a lot of time focusing on an extremely important — and extremely unsettled — portion of their business: broadcast rights.

ruled out re-signing with FanDuel, they could opt to follow the lead of the NBA's Phoenix Suns and Utah Jazz and pivot to a free, over-the-air option.

I aim to grow our trademark practice so that we stay at the forefront of the evolving IP landscape by finding innovative ways to address our clients’ unique needs and challenges, including exploring strategies to address issues resulting from globalization, new technologies, and the increasing complexities of brand protection in a digital world. My goal is to ensure clients' brand assets remain strong and valuable, contributing to their long-term success. I’m passionate about finding practical, innovative solutions to protect and grow brands while supporting broader business objectives.

e Cavaliers lead all NBA teams in local market TV ratings, averaging a 5.0 rating on FanDuel Sports Network Ohio (formerly Bally Sports Ohio). at’s a 50% increase, year over year, Conley said, and it comes with the Cavs reaching only about 31% of their total broadcast market, which roughly extends about 150 miles from Cleveland with certain limitations near Toledo and western Ohio.

“ at, by itself, tells you the interest is at an all-time high,” Conley said.

Most of your career is trademark focused. What drew you to this specific area?

“We know the quality of business they (FanDuel) run when they're faced with a viable scenario,” Conley said. “But at the same time, we've got our own priorities that we're trying to account for. We're making sure that we're exploring every possible option for the best outcome.”

e Cavaliers’ monster TV ratings are certainly a plus when it comes to plotting their broadcast future, but Conley said the franchise is taking a longer view on this issue. e Cavs' leadership especially values consistency.

national contract is so valuable. e league's 11-year deal, which begins in 2025-26, is worth $76 billion. Cleveland's high ratings are bucking the NBA's overall trend this season, with Cavs games on League Pass (which is available to fans outside the team's market) are up 12%, year over year. at's the highest growth of any team in the Eastern Conference. e team has also seen a 7% increase, year over year, in watch time per viewer on League Pass.

Among Eastern Conference teams, Cleveland is averaging the second-most viewers per game on League Pass, behind the defending champion Boston Celtics.

Every brand is unique, and each company has its own values and challenges, making trademark law an ideal field for exploring creative strategies to achieve measurable success while solving practical problems – an ideal balance of left-brain and rightbrain thinking. I love the strategic aspects of trademarks, helping clients navigate the complexities of protecting the core of their brand identity now while setting the table for continued success in the future. It’s a mix of creativity, strategy, and legal precision, which is exactly where I thrive.

Debora Stein / dstein@crain.com

e ratings surge comes during the Cavaliers’ nal contract year with FanDuel Sports Network, whose parent company, Main Street Sports (formerly Diamond Sports Group), nally emerged from bankruptcy earlier this month. While the news was positive — ”I’m really happy for them to come out on the other side,” Conley said — it doesn’t change the Cavaliers’ fundamental concerns about their TV future, particularly when it comes to distribution.

e Cavs want to ensure they can reach every interested fan on every possible platform, from TV sets to tablets to phones to (maybe, possibly, eventually) VR headsets.

“ ere are a lot of fans out there that want to consume and see the Cavs and we really have to ensure that we’re prioritizing being where the eyeballs are,” Conley said. “It is a changing landscape. We’re fully aware of that and we’re trying to position the organization to be faced with the best-possible opportunities as this landscape shifts. We want to meet our viewers where they’re at and really maximize a local asset that we have in our local media rights.”

at philosophy explains why Rock Entertainment Group partnered with WOIO/WUAB-TV owner Gray Media last summer to create the Rock Entertainment Sports Network, which is available for free over-the-air in Cleveland on channel 22.1 and is also available in Cincinnati and Columbus.

While the Cavaliers haven't

“We on the business side can’t control the outcomes on the oor, but we can prepare ourselves to be the best operators to bring the best experience to the fans,” he said. “Winning and higher ratings certainly help complement that. But sports has its peaks and valleys. ese partnerships on the media side, these aren’t y-by-night partnerships. ese are longer-term, three- to ve-year partnerships or more.

“If you’re trying to forecast out over a ve-year period, you’d like to think you have a pretty good pulse on what to expect. So while these viewership numbers help us — and they absolutely do — I think the key thing for us is looking at the consistency over the course of the season and several seasons, so we’re really able to deliver to whoever we partner with in the future.”

RESN's broadcast slate includes select games with the AHL’s Cleveland Monsters, the G League Cleveland Charge and the Frontier League’s Lake Erie Crushers, as well as local college football and Ohio high school games.

RESN has not aired any Cavaliers games, but the team did partner with Gray Television last year on ve over-the-air games on WUAB Channel 43 and it wouldn’t be surprising to see a similar agreement later this season.

Of course, the Cavs have some wiggle room with their local broadcasts because the NBA's

ose numbers could continue to rise over the second half of the season as the Cavs get more national attention and the NFL/ college football season fades out. e Cavaliers' win over the Oklahoma City under on Wednesday, Jan. 8, was brie y the No. 1 trending topic worldwide on X, formerly known as Twitter, and social media content about the Cavs or under generated 416 million impressions on that same day. Overall, the Cavs have racked up 1.4 billion social media impressions this season, which is a 103% increase year over year.

ere are still plenty of Cavs fans who watch the team the old-fashioned way — live on cable TV or satellite — but the next generation of fans want to engage with their favorite teams in a variety of ways, on a variety of platforms, at all times of the day. e Cavs want to make sure they're equipped to maximize that interest, particularly locally.

"I think the future — after all this settles and the regional sports network model comes out of this wave of challenges — is exciting," Conley said. "Because you do want to be everywhere. You want to be omni-channel. You want to be where the eyeballs of the fans are.

"You're dealing with a legacy of 30-plus years of conditioned behaviors that you're trying to recondition and change during a time where you're still operating. at takes time to evolve through."

Hyland continues adjusting workforce as company evolves

By Jeremy Nobile

Hyland continues to adjust its workforce amid an ongoing shift in its identity away from a primary focus on software development to more cloud and AIpowered services.

Communicating through public relations agency Walker Sands, Hyland officials said that the company laid off a small portion of its staff at the beginning of the year.

The latest reductions impact “about one-half percent” of the business’ global workforce of roughly 3,600 people, according to the company, which would be about 20 positions.

The company did not specify what those jobs are but did say they’re spread out across the U.S. They also said the adjustment does not directly impact any particular business line or service area.

The Westlake-based company notably trimmed a significant portion of its workforce following a restructuring announced in April 2023 by then-President and CEO Bill Priemer. That resulted in a reduction of about 1,000 positions, or approximately 20% of Hyland’s global employee base at that point.

Those layoffs came amid a pivot to cloud services that Priemer had said required a sizable investment in people and systems.

"While we had planned for this investment, we did not anticipate the degree to which inflation, rising interest rates and wage increases would impact our expenses," Priemer explained in a companywide letter at the time. "Furthermore, the challenging economic climate we currently face is prompting many organizations to pull back on their technology expenditures."

Priemer, who had served Hyland as its top executive since

2013, retired last year after a nearly 27-year career with the company.

In May, Priemer was succeeded by Jitesh Ghai, who was previously executive vice president and chief product officer for California-based Informatica Inc., an AI-powered provider of cloud and data management services founded in 1993.

During that CEO transition, Hyland emphasized that Ghai’s background in cloud, data and AI capabilities would be of great value to the business as it continues with its own evolution.

Hyland officials declined to discuss the state of the company at this time, thoughts on the state of the workforce or the potential for other staff adjustments in the year ahead.

In response to whether more layoffs could be in the offing, however, the company noted that “Although we can’t predict the future with certainty, Hyland remains focused on optimizing operations and maintaining a healthy workforce in the long term.”

In December, Hyland sold a pair of properties that were put on the market in summer 2023 amid a drive to downsize its real estate footprint to match that of what had been described as a redistributed workforce. The buyers were affiliates of Premier Development Partners of Independence, who purchased the properties for $6.25 million.

While the size of Hyland’s workforce has shifted over time, the company reported approximately 4,500 worldwide employees as of midyear 2022 compared with approximately 3,600 today. While many of those jobs are remote, the company nonetheless ranks among the 100 largest employers in Northeast Ohio and one of the region’s largest privately held companies, according to Crain’s research.

TURNKEY CUSTOM BLENDING

Our Morehouse Cowles ViscoMAX multi-shaft mixer and 10,000-gallon stainless steel storage tanks allow CSI to produce more blends for increased demand. CSI specializes in the production of flammable products and is capable of producing a wide range of high viscosity blends from 100 to 1,000,000 CPS (centipoises).

CUSTOM BLENDING

Browns and city spar over Modell Law threat

By Kim Palmer

The Cleveland Browns are willing to go to court to defend the team's proposed move to Brook Park.

That's the message in a letter from a Thompson Hine attorney representing the team on Thursday, Jan. 9, the same day Cleveland Mayor Justin Bibb set as a deadline for a response to his Dec. 30 declaration he would invoke the Modell Law over the move.

The letter, from head Thompson Hine attorney Anthony White, makes clear that team owners Dee and Jimmy Haslam are ready to directly challenge the validity of the Modell Law — something that hasn't been done since the law was passed in 1996 — via the lawsuit the team filed against the city in October 2024.

In the letter, White writes, "The Browns understand that the City intends to assert legal claims in connection with those matters, as it has made clear in earlier public statements, and the Browns look forward to expeditiously resolving all of the parties' claims in the litigation pending before the Honorable David Ruiz in the Northern District of Ohio."

Justin Herdman, a former U.S. Attorney who is now a Jones Day lawyer representing the city, stated in a letter responding to the team:

“Rather than assure the City that the Browns intend to comply with their legal obligations, the Browns provided no meaningful response. The City has no choice but to read the Browns’ letter as a direct refusal to comply with their lease and Ohio law’s requirement to provide the City and local individuals with an opportunity to purchase the team.”

The Browns filed a complaint in federal court on Oct. 24, 2024, requesting a declaratory judgment against the city’s stated plan to in-

voke the so-called “Modell Law” that restricts the rights of an owner of a professional sports team that uses a tax-supported facility to move out of its home city.

The 1996 law refers to thenBrowns owner Art Modell who planned to move the team to Baltimore in 1995.

An amended complaint, filed by

Cleveland’s historic Variety Theatre goes up for sale again

By Dan Shingler

The historic Variety Theatre on Cleveland’s West Side — which, along with other adjacent properties on Lorain Avenue, had recently received tax credits for redevelopment as a mixed-use site — is up for sale.

The main theater space is about 20,000 square feet in size, according to its listing by the real estate firm Cushman & Wakefield. The listing doesn’t include an asking price.

The property was most recently purchased in 2022 by Kelly Flamos, a former owner and operator who redeveloped and built up the successful Mahall’s bar and music

venue in Lakewood after she purchased it as a bar and bowling alley in 2012.

Flamos purchased the Variety at a price of $450,000, according to real estate records.

The nearly 100-year-old theater was previously owned by Friends of the Historic Variety Theatre, an affiliate of the Westown Community Development Corp. for which Flamos is listed as a board member. The group reportedly paid a little more than $1 million for the theater and adjacent buildings in 2009.

Westown officials could not be reached for comment and did not immediately respond to voicemails.

the Cleveland Browns Football Company LLC in November, questions the legality of the law that “imposes certain vague, unconstitutional restrictions on the owner of a professional sports team playing most of its home games at a tax-supported facility.”

According to court documents, the Browns owners “do not desire

conflict with the City but have been compelled to bring this action to resolve this uncertainty and obtain clarity regarding their rights and obligations, and to enable the Browns to move forward for the benefit of the Team’s fans and the region.”

The complaint goes on to argue the team’s obligation to abide by

Flamos had said she was planning a major redevelopment of the site that would repurpose the theater as a music and arts venue and create retail and residential paces alongside it. The project won federal and state historic tax credits for that planned redevelopment and the City of Cleveland Landmarks Commission approved an exterior restoration plan a year ago, according to the Friends of the Historic Variety Theatre’s Facebook page.

the law ends when the lease with the city ends in 2028.

“Upon expiration of the HBF (Huntington Bank Field) Lease, the Team will have no right or obligation to continue to play at HBF, nor will there be any obligation for there to be taxpayer funds used to support HBF, the Browns or the Team’s use of HBF,” the document reads.

The filing states that once the lease ends, the team would be required to “surrender the premises to the city” and that any and all “provisions restricting the relocation of the Team … expire at the end of the term (of the lease.)”

The letter exchange comes on the heels of news from the city that construction will begin on the first phase of a massive Lakefront Master Plan after receiving nearly $70 million in federal grants and Cuyahoga County Executive Chris Ronayne's assertion that there is some hope that discussions between the team and city could lead to the Browns staying downtown.

The plan to connect the central downtown district to Lake Erie via a land bridge (North Coast Connector) was first proposed by the owners of the Browns, Haslam Sports Group (HSG). The Haslams paid for the $1 million study looking into development around the stadium on the lakefront in 2021.

The Haslams have said that it would require about $1 billion to upgrade the existing lakefront stadium and that they are committed to building a new $2.4 billion domed stadium, recently announcing they are into “the next part in the process” to purchase a 176-acre parcel in the city of Brook Park.

Requests for comment from White and the Browns were made by Crain's and there was no response.

Cleveland.com was first to report on the exchange.

landmark, as well as the approval of a federal historic tax credit (HTC) award ($1.6 million), a state HTC award ($1.4 million), and the availability of completed architectural plans,” the firm said in its listing.

The main theater seats 1,900 people, according to the listing. It was built in 1927 as a vaudeville venue but quickly became a popular first-run movie theater after it was purchased by Warner Brothers in 1929.

The site’s historic tax credits are still in place and being touted as one of its advantages by Cushman & Wakefield, which notes the property includes about 6,500 square feet of additional retail space in the form of five storefront spaces, and nearly 7,000 square feet of residential space with 12 studio apartments on the second floor.

“A key advantage of this project is the property’s status as a historic

In the 1970s and ‘80s, the Variety was primarily a music venue, hosting acts such as R.E.M., the Dead Kennedys and Motörhead, before it closed to concerts in 1986 due, in part, to complaints from neighbors about its noise and crowds.

After purchasing the site in 2022, Flamos told the local blog Plainpress that she intended to renovate the apartments upstairs from the theater and to book performances, which she said she would also make available to other venues, such as the Beachland Ballroom, to use for shows that might need the Variety’s larger capacity.

The Variety Theatre on Lorain Avenue near Cleveland’s border with Lakewood | GOOGLE MAPS

A rendering shows the inside of the Browns’ proposed domed stadium in Brook Park. | CLEVELAND BROWNS

The Browns’ current stadium in downtown Cleveland | DAN SHINGLER

Cliffs CEO sees an ‘all-American solution’ to preserving U.S. Steel

By Scott Suttell

Cleveland-Cliffs Inc. CEO Lourenco Goncalves says he has an "all-American solution" in place to buy United States Steel Corp. if a deal with Nippon Steel is abandoned.

That solution, he said during a press conference in Pennsylvania on Monday afternoon, Jan. 13, would involve Cliffs’ extensive steel operations becoming part of U.S. Steel (with a headquarters in Pittsburgh), while the Cleveland company’s mining operations remain in Cleveland under the Cliffs name.

But there’s much that still needs to happen for Goncalves’ vision to take shape.

Goncalves spoke extensively, and often passionately, during the press conference at Cliffs’ Butler Works plant in Butler, Pennsylvania, ostensibly to mark the fiveyear anniversary of his company’s acquisition of AK Steel. He proudly pointed to Cliffs’ efforts to save and grow the Butler plant - and then spent most of the event talking about the future of the domestic steel industry and his company’s place in it.

The event came on the same day that CNBC reported that Cliffs intends to partner with Nucor Corp. for a potential joint bid to buy U.S. Steel.

Asked during a Q&A portion of the event to confirm that Cliffs would indeed team with Nucor to try to acquire the iconic, Pittsburgh-based steelmaker, he demurred, officially, saying, "I don’t work on supposition" and noting he was "not going to negotiate through the press.” He declined to talk about details of potential pricing for an offer for U.S. Steel, though CNBC reported the offer could be in the "high $30s" per share.

But he left little doubt that he’s back, essentially, to pursuing U.S.

Steel, provided U.S. Steel and Nippon Steel formally abandon their deal.

"I want to buy. I have a plan," he said.

President Joe Biden last week formally quashed the deal based on national security concerns. His executive order required U.S. Steel and Nippon Steel to formally abandon the merger agreement in early February, though on Friday, Jan. 10, the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States granted an extension of that deadline to June 18, 2025.

Until there’s a formal abandonment of the deal, Goncalves said, nothing can happen.

But when that happens - and Goncalves has no doubt it will happen - things could change.

Goncalves said he already has communicated with Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro, who he indicated is in favor of a deal involving Cliffs buying U.S. Steel. He said he told the governor "don’t squeeze me on the details" and noted that U.S. Steel is "too iconic" to disappear.

The news conference lasted about an hour and 45 minutes, and it covered a lot of territory: Cliffs’ commitment to growing companies it acquires, its approach to working with organized

Cleveland awarded $70M federal grant for land bridge and Shoreway projects

By Kim Palmer

Cleveland can begin construction on the first phase of the Bibb administration’s massive Lakefront Master Plan after the city received nearly $70 million in federal grants.

Cleveland’s Reconnecting Communities Pilot (RCP) program is one of 560 projects that have been awarded $5 billion from seven programs funded by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, it was announced Friday, Jan. 10.

“This is the most money we’ve received for any project in the city from the federal government,” Mayor Justin Bibb said, “outside of the American Rescue Plan dollars. It is a significant investment from the federal government to transform the city’s lakefront.”

Coupled with the $60 million in federal grants Cleveland received in 2024 and $20 million in one-time funding from the state, the city is set to begin design and construction work on the North Coast Connector (land bridge) and re-grading the Shoreway down from West Third St. to East Ninth St.

The $150 million total funding the city now has on hand will be used to bring in a project manager and hire a development firm.

labor, tariffs, the prospect of working again with President Donald Trump, and much more.

Goncalves noted the press conference took place 27 years to the day when, on Jan. 13, 1998, “I came to this country” from Brazil with his wife, three children, 13 bags and about $60,000. He pointed out with pride that he is now an American citizen.

He left little doubt that, while he has worked with presidents of both parties to advance domestic manufacturing, he’s eager to have Trump back in the White House next week. The future he envisions is one in which "workers will be centered" and manufacturers will “bring the middle class back.”

There was a Trumpian touch to his rhetoric, too.

Goncalves made the case several times that a Japanese company’s ownership of U.S. Steel would have been detrimental to national security. He did so sometimes in inflammatory terms, saying at one point, for instance, "China is bad, China is evil. China is horrible but Japan is worse. ... Japan is evil."

At another point, he said Japan should "stop sucking our blood." At another, he said the country had "not learned anything since 1945."

Construction on the project is expected to begin in 2027, kicking off the $447 million lakefront phase of Bibb’s Shore-to-Coreto-Shore plan.

Additional funds from the city’s newly formed tax increment financing (TIF) district will round out the $284 million required to complete the work to transform the Shoreway (State Route 2) into a street-level boulevard and build the multi-modal and pedestrian land bridge connecting downtown Cleveland to Lake Erie.

The grant, managed by the U.S. Department of Transportation, comes one month after Secretary Pete Buttigieg visited Cleveland and less than two weeks before President Joe Biden’s administration leaves office.

Bibb said he is hopeful that the incoming Trump administration “can continue to see these kind of investments in our city” and added he is optimistic that the state delegation and federal delegation that represent Cleveland in D.C. will continue to support the “vision for the lakefront.”

The RCP grants were limited to $100 million, which is what the city asked for. Jessica Trivisonno, the city’s adviser for major projects, explains that Cleveland received a relatively large portion of the funding awarded to 81 projects in 31 states: “We were thinking that we’d be lucky if we got anywhere close to that, a $70 million award, when there was only about $600 million allocated for that program — a big deal for this project.”

The RCP was created to help communities cut off by past transportation infrastructure while restoring access and spurring development to under-resourced communities.

“For far too long, our riverfronts and our waterfronts have been a divided line between east side, west side, black and white. I’m optimistic that the $4 billion of development we have a pipeline on the riverfront, the billion dollars in the pipeline we have on the lakefront, those investments are going to be a sign of healing for our city, healing geographic lines, healing around racial lines,” Bibb said.

“And I’m excited to show Clevelanders in the region that is not just talk. We have money and partnerships and the political will to finally get this work done,” he added.

Cleveland will be able to begin construction on the North Coast Connector (landbridge) - part of the city’s massive Lakefront Master Plan. | COnTrIBuTED

The United States Steel Corp. Edgar Thomson Works steel mill in Braddock, Pennsylvania. | BLOOMBErG PHOTOS

Signage for Nippon Steel Corp. outside the company’s headquarters in Tokyo, Japan.

MORE THAN MONEY

School districts aim for flexibility to boost student opportunities, results | Rachel Abbey McCafferty

Inequities in education can be tied to funding, or the lack thereof, but not always in obvious ways.

In urban districts, it might be a matter of overcoming the barriers raised by poverty in the larger community; there are more student needs to be met, so it’s tough for funding to keep up. In rural districts, even schools that aren’t low income might struggle to offer students a variety of opportunities because lower enrollment figures mean fewer resources and staff.

Ultimately, inequities in education are about more than a bottom line on a budget. They’re about opportunities lost for students, chances missed, futures diminished.

This has always been true, but it’s become clearer in recent years.

Education ‘backtracking’ in Ohio

The COVID-19 pandemic disrupted progress in education for everyone, said Helen Williams, vice president of strategy

for the Cleveland Foundation, as students missed in-classroom time that’s tough to truly make up. But the impact was starker in low-income communities and has only grown more so in recent years, as the additional dollars that had come from sources like the American Rescue Plan Act dried up, the state began spending more on school choice vouchers and operational and capital costs have increased, all at once.

See MONEY on Page 10

Ohio can chart a better course for students with fair funding

Education shapes the opportunities available to young people, as well as the well-being of all our communities. Every child, no matter their background or where they live, deserves access to a high-quality education. Without it, we cannot hope to build vibrant and prosperous neighborhoods or compete on the global economic stage.  Ohio has made strides toward a more equitable and adequate school funding model. The Fair School Funding Plan (FSFP) is slowly rolling back the state’s overreliance on local property taxes to fund schools — a system that had generated extraordinary and unconstitutional disparities between children in rich communities and those who happened to live in poorer ones. With each state budget bill, Ohio has moved closer to fully implementing the plan, phasing in the formula funding by thirds in each biennium, but without a guarantee of full implementation in future cycles.

Halbert is Policy Matters Ohio’s executive director.

As the next budget approaches, legislators who support equitable and adequate school funding must consider three factors, particularly for urban districts, which are home to higher shares of students who are Black, and lower-income than their counterparts.  Timing matters. Ohio’s funding formula reflects regular changes in the local property-tax base; it must also factor in up-to-date, realistic cost estimates. Analysis by the Ohio

Education Policy Institute shows how including increased property valuation and income data without also updating the costs of educating a child masks the gap between what can be generated locally and what schools really need. This creates the illusion that the state’s obligation is much smaller than it really is, allowing legislators to rationalize funding cuts. Lawmakers must correct this in the next budget. Failing to do so will continue the unconstitutional overreliance on local property taxes, at students’ expense.

Voucher spending is unsustainable. Ohio spent nearly $1 billion subsidizing private schools in 2023-24. In one year alone, the program grew by $352 million. In the year since Ohio expanded vouchers and began providing tuition vouchers regardless of need, the number of vouchers has exploded, while private school enrollment has remained largely flat, confirming that the program primarily benefits households already sending students to private school without the state’s help. More than 87% of private school students are receiving a state subsidy. Vouchers are no boon to students in urban districts —instead they divert public dollars to private interests, largely in communities that are already doing well.

Adequate school funding is more than just dollars and cents. It’s about providing the tools and opportunities that students need to

succeed. Modern textbooks, up-to-date technology, safe facilities and sufficient staff are necessities, not luxuries. Well-funded schools can also attract and retain highly qualified teachers, whose expertise and dedication are critical to student success. Moreover, investments in early childhood education, nutritious school meals and mental health resources can significantly enhance student outcomes and well-being.

Ohio’s public schools educate nearly 90% of all students in the state; lawmakers should not shortchange these students to fund additional rounds of unnecessary tax cuts for high-income Ohioans or subsidize the minority of students who have been attending private schools. On a per-pupil basis, the state is still spending less than our neighbors

in Illinois and Pennsylvania.

Disparities in school funding have long created inequities in educational quality and outcomes. Historically marginalized communities, including racial minorities and low-income families, bear the brunt of this inequity. These disparities are not just unfair; they perpetuate cycles of poverty, limiting upward mobility and denying countless children the chance to reach their potential. In the upcoming budget policymakers have another opportunity to use our shared resources to chart a better course for the vast majority of Ohio students by closing the FSFP loopholes, fully implementing the FSFP, and ensuring every public school has the resources necessary to serve every student.

Hannah

EDUCATION

MONEY

“So, it’s a tsunami,” Williams said. “It is a very scary situation, because in the United States, education has always been the pathway to economic mobility.”

And jobs today tend to need higher levels of education and skills than in the past; but instead of meeting that challenge, she said, we’re “backtracking” in the state.

as well as the difference those additional services can make.

DiMauro also pointed to the additional funding that had been provided during the pandemic for non-academic needs, like health or nutritional services, as a way to close some gaps in education. The ideal model for a school would be for it to serve as a community “hub,” where students and families can access a variety of services, DiMauro said. The issue is that those programs are often seen as “supplemental” and are subject

“It is a very scary situation, because in the United States, education has always been the pathway to economic mobility.”

Helen Williams, vice president of strategy for the Cleveland Foundation

Inequity isn’t just about funding or available resources.

Scott DiMauro, president of the Columbus-based Ohio Education Association, which represents teachers and other education professionals across the state, noted that the needs of students in different communities can vary widely. And the state’s funding system doesn’t “fully address those differences in need,” he said. Some communities have greater numbers of English as a second language learners, while others have high rates of poverty.

The state provides a baseline of funding, but not enough to meet those larger areas of need, DiMauro contends.

The Fair School Funding Plan is designed to address some of those systemic inequities, allocating more funding to lower income districts with higher numbers of economically disadvantaged students, said Tanisha Pruitt, Policy Matters Ohio’s former youth, opportunity and education researcher. She left the Cleveland-based nonprofit research institute in 2024 and is now working with iCivics, which focuses on civic education policy.

While actual funding has increased in Ohio, it didn’t account for factors such as inflation, Pruitt said. Additionally, federal American Rescue Plan Act money that had been going toward education has expired, and the state is opting to spend some of its education dollars on an expanded school choice voucher system, Pruitt said.

And the future of school funding is uncertain in the face of another budget cycle and talk of changes to property taxes.

Variety of services is key

The ARPA funding schools received during the pandemic was often used to provide services like social-emotional learning opportunities and additional tutoring, Williams said.

“And people were able to catch kids up with those resources,” she said. The ARPA funding served as an example of the kinds of things schools can do with extra dollars,

to cuts when levies fail or grants expire, he said.

“But when there’s a committed, sustained investment, we see really positive results,” DiMauro said.

Take the Wadsworth City Schools in Medina County, for example.

The suburban district has the resources and community partnerships to meet the growing needs of its 4,000-plus students. Last year, it opened an alternative school for students who struggle in more traditional classrooms, Superintendent Andy Hill said.

He has seen an increase in “disruptive and extreme behaviors” from students over the years, before and after the pandemic, which led Wadsworth to add the new school, as well as more inschool counselors. The district has also partnered with area organizations that place support professionals in the schools, at no cost to the district.

“Kids have a lot of challenges that happen outside of the school day that they bring with them to school, and where the mentality used to be that the limited resources schools have are spent on education, that’s our purpose, that’s why we exist, I think there’s been a shift in thought where, if we don’t actively address these challenges that kids are coming into school with, then we can’t effectively educate them,” Hill said.

But Hill has been in situations where it’s harder to meet his students’ needs. Before coming to Wadsworth 12 years ago, he was superintendent of the Waterloo Local School District in Portage County. He spent his three years in Waterloo trying — and finally succeeding — to pass a levy, but he still had to oversee a $2 million reduction in the district’s $10 million budget. When a district is close to its state minimums, that limits the extracurriculars and opportunities it can provide students, Hill said.

Low enrollment and high staff turnover

Waterloo’s current superintendent has been in the district only since the start of the academic year, and he’s still getting used to

“Kids have a lot of challenges that happen outside of the school day that they bring with them to school, and where the mentality used to be that the limited resources schools have are spent on education, that’s our purpose, that’s why we exist, I think there’s been a shift in thought where, if we don’t actively address these challenges that kids are coming into school with, then we can’t effectively educate them.”

Andy Hill, superintendent of Wadsworth City Schools

the restrictions of a small, rural district. Waterloo serves about 750 K-12 students. And its size “significantly limits our ability to provide opportunities for kids,” said Superintendent Joe Clark.

“For example, we have like, four kids who would want to take physics,” said Clark, who previously led the Nordonia Hills City School District in Summit County. “But we can’t offer a physics class because it’s not enough to fill a class.”

For Waterloo, it comes down to staffing — the district often doesn’t have enough students to justify bringing on a teacher for specific courses. It doesn’t offer music at the elementary level or foreign languages other than Spanish. It doesn’t have specialized science courses or a variety of College Credit Plus courses. And staffing challenges extend to the administrative level, too, Clark said, noting that the district doesn’t have an Education Management Information System, or EMIS, coordinator to oversee data entry for things like state report cards and special education compliance, or a districtwide curriculum director, so those duties fall to principals.

Waterloo sees a lot of turnover in leadership, Clark said, and one of his goals in his first year is to bring back the same team next year. That helps to build trust among the teaching staff and the community and will give them more chances to find new ways to close the opportunity gaps in the district.

As superintendent of the Sum-

mit Educational Service Center, one of the major areas of inequities Joe Iacano sees across both urban and rural districts is the ability to attract the necessary staff. That includes everyone from full-time teachers to substitutes to bus drivers to school treasurers, he said. Educational service centers offer a variety of services for districts, schools and students, often connecting them with resources or professional development.

The issue can be pay, particularly in under-resourced districts, he said, but also, particularly in rural districts, finding people who want to travel to or live in those small communities. Take school psychologists, for example. There’s a shortage in that specialty across the state, and educational service centers like Iacano’s have been working to find ways districts can share those professionals across communities. If a district doesn’t have access to the right school psychologists, who often work with students with IEPs, Iacano said, students can miss out on early interventions and struggle more long term.

Teacher shortages in districts mean larger class sizes and reduced quality of education for students, Pruitt said. And lower pay and higher stress can also lead to increased turnover, which makes it more difficult for students to develop long-term relationships with teachers. It’s just another way learning and trust in the system can be disrupted.

DiMauro said staffing challenges can show up in both urban and rural districts, where teachers may struggle in underresourced schools or have trouble finding affordable housing nearby (the latter is a particular challenge for rural districts, he said). Suburban districts can often pay teachers more and provide more supports in and out of the classroom.

Competition for programs and teachers

Melissa Cropper, president of the Ohio Federation of Teachers in Columbus, made a similar point, noting that it can be difficult for urban and rural districts to recruit teachers and compete against better-resourced — and often better-paying — suburban schools. The Ohio Federation of Teachers represents educators and support professionals across the state.

One way she said she’s seen districts address this is through “grow your own” programs, where districts encourage students who want to stay in the area to pursue education as a career. In urban districts, she’s seen successful programs that help paraprofessionals already in a district advance their careers and become teachers.

The issue of available classroom opportunities for students is a big one for rural districts, Cropper said. Not only does it

put them at a disadvantage for college applications, but it also means they have less exposure to that kind of rigorous academic experience, she said.

Working with the community to identify potential partnerships that could benefit students — like shadowing opportunities with local businesses — is also important, Cropper said. Those types of programs can give students more learning opportunities and work experience, but also build ties to the community that might encourage students to stay or return after graduation.

Schools can only do so much to account for the systemic issues of inequity in education, the effects of poverty and how school funding is passed out, said Warren Morgan, CEO of the Cleveland Metropolitan School District. But even within the Cleveland district itself, inequities from building to building remain, in funding and in programs offered. And Morgan has made closing those local gaps part of his initial mission as CEO.

“We are a system of choice,” he said. “And so families can choose whatever school they want to go to. But when we haven’t defined what the minimum is for all students, we have a system set up of inequities.”

For example, right now, less than 10 of the district’s 63 elementary schools offer Algebra I in the eighth grade, Morgan said. Five or fewer offer a foreign language.

In-district school choice programs come with benefits, but they also have drawbacks. The better-performing schools are going to bring in more resources, he said, and more students. And in Ohio, funding is partially based on enrollment, so that leads to even more available resources at those better-performing schools.

The students who opt for the schools closer to them — the ones with fewer resources or “agency,” Morgan said, who may not be able to travel to a better performing school across town — may lose out in that supposed system of choice.

The district has started to define what it wants its “minimum student experience” to look like, Morgan said, and figuring out how to allocate resources to make that available to everyone. One of the early steps has been establishing a “unified, high-quality” English and language arts program in every school, he said. The district’s recently passed levy and bond will help further those types of initiatives.

For both rural and urban districts that may be dealing with varied challenges, administrators say that working closer with their communities and centering student needs in and out of the classroom could go a long way toward closing gaps and providing opportunities for the next generation, even as funding formulas continue to be uncertain.

3 obstacles to student achievement

and how they could be resolved

Schools in Northeast Ohio face more challenges than ever, as they’re tasked with preparing students for an ever-complicated future. And systemic barriers to education, like an unbalanced share of resources or a cycle of teacher shortages, won’t disappear overnight. Among the biggest challenges:

w Problem: Getting students resources that help them overcome obstacles to learning, and helping students take ownership over their education.

w Why it matters: An ability to learn requires more than just access to instruction. Transportation to school, adequate nutrition and reliable after-school care all contribute to a child’s readiness to concentrate on academic pursuits and to excel academically.

w Potential solution: Schools can make learning more engaging and productive by ensuring what students care about are part of their day, says Adam Voight, director of Cleveland State University's Center for Urban Education. By empowering students, districts can foster a sense of ownership and belonging. When students feel like stakeholders in their overall environment, their investment in school culture and academic success deepens, and they can take advantage of other resources.

w Problem: Staffing — not just teachers, but also administrators and support staff, such as substitutes and bus drivers — has seen high turnover.

w Why it matters: Building trust among the staff, community and parents takes time, and high turnover prevents long-term solutions from being implemented, short-circuiting aid that can help students grow as their educations continue.

w Potential solution: Salaries are a big part of retention, so increasing teacher pay could help stem losses. Additionally, keeping support staff familiar helps students build a team mentality toward learning, said Superintendent Joe Clark of the Waterloo Local School District.

w Problem: Federal American Rescue Plan Act funds, which had been used in some cases to expand programs that help students outside the classroom, dried up.

w Why it matters: Year-to-year uncertainty over budget priorities at the state level, as well as levies failing on the local level, force districts to cancel programs each year, even highly successful programs with proven results.

w Potential solution: A new state funding formula, such as the Fair School Funding Plan, which takes into account the number of economically disadvantaged students in a district, said Tanisha Pruitt, a former youth, opportunity and education researcher at Policy Matters Ohio, would give districts more continuity and control to apply funds to specific needs that are unique to their environment.

Warren Morgan, CEO of the Cleveland Metropolitan School District | KEn BLaZE

The case for Ohio’s Fair School Funding Plan

Education is often referred to as the great equalizer, but for decades in Ohio, our system of public education has been undermined by a deeply inequitable school funding system.

In 1997, the Ohio Supreme Court found that the system was arbitrary and grossly unfair and ordered a “complete, systematic overhaul” of the way the state funds our schools. The court emphasized that the overreliance on property taxes to fund public schools violated the only legislative duty explicitly assigned to the General Assembly in Ohio’s state constitution to “secure a thorough and efficient system of common schools throughout the state.”

already have three of the four studies completed, with the fourth in progress.

In 2021, I was honored to follow through on this work as the lead Democratic sponsor of House Bill 1, the Fair School Funding Plan, which adopted the base formula into law. As part of a compromise, we agreed to phase in the funding over six years, updating the inputs each year to account for increasing costs.

Since then, the legislature has upheld this compromise and has successfully implemented the formula over the last four years.

But there is still important work left to do this year.

Ohio lawmakers allowed the system to limp along this way for decades, such that by 2020 not a single public school district in the state received the funding it was supposed to under the state’s own calculations, all while forcing property owners to pick up the rest of the tab. It wasn’t until 2021 that we finally took the first step toward adopting a predictable, fair and rational formula: the Fair School Funding Plan.

The plan is built on the foundation of answering one essential question that, unbelievably, had never been answered before: How much does it cost to educate a child in Ohio? Pursuing this answer is the only fair way for the legislature to fulfill its constitutional mandate to provide a quality education for all.

A diverse group of educators and school finance experts from school districts large and small, rural and urban, rich and poor formed what would become known as the Fair School Funding Workgroup. They started by creating a formula that calculates the base cost, which is the cost of educating a typical student with no additional needs with the goal of eventually including the other costs associated with educating students who are economically disadvantaged, gifted, English language learners, or who have special needs. We

First, we need to follow through on our commitment by completing the last two years of the phase-in this budget cycle.

We must also ensure that the formula keeps up with rising costs to local communities by updating the cost inputs. If we don’t, the formula falls apart because it is structured around a shared financial responsibility between the state and local communities. Because local contributions are updated regularly through property tax assessments, if the state’s share continues to lag behind, then more and more of the tax burden will be shifted onto local property taxpayers who are already overburdened by historically high property taxes. Ohio already has more levies on the ballot than any other state. If we don’t fully fund this plan or if we fail to update the cost inputs, then Ohio homeowners and businesses will be stuck with the bill and inevitably our students will suffer.

Fully funding the Fair School Funding Plan is more than just funding for K-12 education; it’s also about addressing Ohio’s property tax crisis and ensuring fairness for everyone in our communities. We can’t squander this opportunity.

Rose Sweeney is the ranking member of the Ohio House Finance Committee and the lead Democratic sponsor of the Fair School Funding Plan.

Student voices key to make education more equitable

The strongest predictors of a student’s success — family poverty, home stability and early childhood development — lie entirely outside the control of K-12 schools. Yet, educators are often judged on their ability to improve academic performance without acknowledgment of these structural barriers. This leaves many schools facing a dual challenge: meeting students’ basic needs while fostering their full academic and personal potential.

Adam Voight is an associate professor in the School of Education and Counseling and director of the Center for Urban Education in the Levin College of Public Affairs and Education at Cleveland State University.

The principle of "Maslow before Bloom" has long guided schools, emphasizing that students’ basic needs for safety and belonging (Maslow) must be met before they can engage in higherlevel cognitive tasks (Bloom). But as Teachers College professor Christopher Emdin argues, schools serving disadvantaged communities must adopt the mindset that “despite Maslow, we can still bloom.” This reframing is a call to action for schools to innovate and empower students even in the face of systemic inequities.

Among the available strategies, one of the most transformative is amplifying student voice. Students bring unique expertise to understanding and solving the challenges they face. Incorporating their perspectives can illuminate social and emotional problems that adults may overlook and generate solutions that resonate deeply with their peers.

By addressing issues students care about, schools make learning more engaging and impactful. Moreover, empowering student voice fosters a sense of ownership and belonging. When students feel like stakeholders in their education, their investment in school culture and academic success deepens.

Examples of impactful student voice initiatives can be found in programs like the First Ring Student Leadership Institute, which engages high school students from Cleveland’s inner-ring suburbs in identifying and addressing challenges in their schools. This program not only builds leadership skills but also demonstrates the power of student-led problem-solving in fostering equity.

Similarly, Cleveland Metropolitan School District’s Project HighKEY leverages YPAR in high school classes to tackle issues like transportation, facilities and school climate. In partnership with the Center for Urban Education at Cleveland State University, these projects have empowered students to design and implement changes in their schools, making them co-creators of educational solutions.

Students bring unique expertise to understanding and solving the challenges they face.

Youth participatory action research (YPAR) exemplifies this approach. YPAR involves students in identifying and addressing problems within their schools and communities, making their education directly relevant to their lives. This type of student voice work can be embedded in class projects, enhancing the authenticity of project-based learning.

Structural challenges such as poverty and inequity cannot be solved by schools alone, but schools can still serve as catalysts for change. By embedding student voice into educational strategies, districts can better address the needs of their communities while preparing students to thrive despite systemic obstacles. Programs like the First Ring Student Leadership Institute and Project HighKEY show that when students are empowered to lead, they become architects of their own success. In doing so, they inspire the broader educational community to rethink what is possible.

The future of equitable education depends on this kind of innovative, inclusive leadership. It’s time we listen to our students and let their voices guide the way.

Bride Rose Sweeney is serving her fourth term as a member of the Ohio House representing western Cuyahoga County.

GrafTech reaches board agreement with activist shareholder

By Scott Suttell

GrafTech International Ltd. (NYSE: EAF) has reached what it calls a "cooperation agreement" with a large shareholder who last year pushed the company to make changes to its board of directors.

The Brooklyn Heights-based maker of graphite electrode products said that under the agreement with Nilesh Undavia, who owns about 6.7% of the company’s outstanding common stock, Sachin Shivaram has been appointed to the board, effective immediately.

Additionally, GrafTech said, it will work with Undavia "to identify a mutually agreed upon independent candidate to nominate for election to the board" at this year's annual meeting of stockholders.

Shivaram brings significant experience in the steel industry.

He has been CEO of Wisconsin Aluminum Foundry Co., a centuryold, family-owned maker of aluminum and copper-based alloy castings, since 2019. He began his career at steel and mining giant ArcelorMittal and serves on the board of Lodge Manufacturing Co., a maker of cast iron cookware. (Shivaram also is on the board of the Green Bay Packers, not a steel company, but a Wisconsin stalwart.)

Last year, GrafTech sharehold-

ers rejected a bid by Undavia to join the board and push for big changes at the company, which he criticized in harsh terms. GrafTech, in turn, had pointed to Undavia's lack of direct experience in the steel business and outlined moves it was making to improve its financial performance.

The cooperation agreement, though, signals a new relationship between GrafTech and Undavia.

Henry R. Keizer, chair of the GrafTech board, said in a statement, “We appreciate the constructive dialogue we have had with Mr. Undavia over the course of the past year and believe that the appointment of Mr. Shivaram

is in the best interests of the company and our stockholders given Mr. Shivaram’s vast experience in the steel industry.”

Undavia added, “I want to express gratitude for the collaborative engagement I have had with the company over the past year, culminating in the selection and acceptance of a highly qualified, independent board candidate, Mr. Shivaram. Stockholders will benefit from the expertise of Mr. Shivaram, who is highly accomplished in the global metals industry.”

A GrafTech spokesman said via email that the company had no additional comment beyond Keiz-

er's statement in the announcement of the cooperation agreement.

Undavia, in a phone interview on Jan. 13, said, "They (GrafTech management) realize I'm not going anywhere," and noted that in last year's failed push to join the board himself, he still received the support of more than 40% of shareholders. He praised management, though, for being willing to continue to listen to his thoughts about GrafTech's future and to add Shivaram to the board.

"Each party game up something," Undavia said. He said the company is making some progress in improving operations but faces an environment in which "macro (economic) conditions remain weak." Easing of interest rates and an end to the war in Ukraine would help, Undavia said, and he said he's pushing for the company to be "more proactive" in developing its EV business.

GrafTech is in the midst of a turnaround effort.

The company on Nov. 12 reported net sales for the third quarter of 2024 of $131 million, a decrease of 18% compared with $159 million in sales for the third quarter of 2023. Its net loss for the 2024 third quarter was $36 million, or 14 cents per share, compared with a net loss of $23 million, or 9 cents

per share, in the like quarter a year earlier.

GrafTech noted, though, that it "exceeded cost reduction goals" for the third quarter, "resulting in significant cost improvement," and it grew sales volume 9% year over year to 26.4 thousand metric tons. The company also announced a financing agreement to increase liquidity and extend debt maturities.

The company is scheduled to release fourth-quarter and full-year 2024 earnings in early February.

On Nov. 4, GrafTech announced it received a letter from the New York Stock Exchange notifying the company that it has "regained compliance with the NYSE’s continued listing standards criteria" of a minimum share price. The NYSE on Aug. 7 told GrafTech that it was not in compliance with listing standards because the average closing price of the company’s common stock was less than $1 per share for the consecutive 30 trading-day period ended Aug 5. It had six months to regain compliance or face delisting.

The company's stock closed trading Friday, Jan. 10, at $1.60 per share. It was up about 3.4%, to $1.66 per share, at 11:20 a.m. Monday, Jan. 13. The stock's 52-week high is $2.53 per share; the 52week low is 52 cents.

Production at GrafTech International | GraFTECH

Edwins, Edwins Too leaving Shaker Square for Nighttown space

By Alexandra Golden

One iconic Cleveland eating spot is being taken over by another. Edwins and Edwins Too are leaving Shaker Square for the former Nighttown space in Cleveland Heights.

Edwins owner Brandon Chrostowski told Crain's that the goal is to shut down operations at the Shaker Square location on Feb. 18 and open the new location at the end of February or the beginning of March.

“It happened because you got a lot of like-minded people in the same room with a vision to make something better,” Chrostowki said. “We needed more space to grow. We’re the number one educator in prisons in the country. We have 1,800 graduates across the U.S. a month. We're not getting smaller as a program and we also want to be the best, right? …. But we want to be better educators and we want to put forth an even better restaurant for the city of Cleveland and get some Michelin Stars here.”

Nighttown was located at 12383 Cedar Road from February 1965 until its closure in August 2024. Although the location closed in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, it reopened in November 2023, with new ownership but the same concept and name.

Nighttown will not be making a comeback, but Rico A. Pietro, real estate broker for the transaction and one of the owners of the building, told Crain’s that “everything has a lifespan,” though he doesn't think that the vibe or soul will leave the space.

“I really wanted somebody that I enjoyed eating at their restaurant and working with somebody that was forward-thinking when it came to food and somebody that

would always be reinventing the restaurant,” he said.

The space is just under 10,000 square feet and can seat 300 to 400 people in the restaurant, not including the outdoor patio space, Pietro said. Due to the amount of space, Chrostowki will be combining Edwins and Edwins Too restaurants under the same roof, but hours and services will differ.

The inside will not change much structurally, but will have a different aesthetic and look with new furniture, lighting and paint, Pietro said.

“What Brandon has done is he’s really warmed up the entrance to the property with the new storefront renovation,” he said.

The restaurant is being reimagined by designers Bret Manning and Chris Kascsak, who promised Chrostowski they will “deliver the crown jewel of Cleveland,” he said. They have designed every one of Chrostowski’s restaurants and are “pulling out all the stops” with this

one, he said.

The front of the storefront will have 30 feet of flowers and a pink neon sign that says Edwins — provided the city of Cleveland Heights approves the plan.

The inside of the restaurant will be split into three different sections: the brasserie, salon and ultra-fine dining main room.

When patrons go to the left inside, it will be about a $25 price point brasserie. From menus provided by Chrostowski, there will be hors d’oervers, soups and salads, main courses, vegan options, fresh from the sea options, Edwins classics and desserts. This would work for students who may want a beer and a French onion soup, Chrostowki suggested.

To the right, there will be the salon and the main dining room. The salon will be “a place to have a nice high-end cocktail,” lobster roll, duck confit poutine or oysters Rockefeller, to name a few, he said.

The brasserie and salon will be

Joann loses longtime chief customer officer in latest C-suite shakeup

By Jeremy Nobile

Another high-profile executive has left Joann Inc. in the latest sign of trouble for the embattled retailer, which is reportedly weighing a second bankruptcy.

Chris DiTullio, executive vice president and chief customer officer since October 2019 for the Hudson-based company, left Joann earlier this month, according to his LinkedIn page.  DiTullio had supported Joann for nearly 20 years in various roles. Between May 2023 and May 2024, he worked alongside Scott Sekella, former chief financial officer, as co-lead of the interim office of the CEO amid a business reorganization. DiTullio's LinkedIn indicates that he left Joann in January.

DiTullio and Sekella returned to their C-suite roles following the appointment of interim CEO Michael Prendergast. Prendergast came to that role as managing di-

rector in the consumer and retail group for the firm Alvarez & Marsal, which was selected as a restructuring advisor for Joann following its Chapter 11 bankruptcy last spring.Sekella left Joann last July — a move that required him to repay a $400,000 retention bonus the board had just approved for him earlier in the year.

Sekella did not publicly comment on his departure. Joann said at the time that he had simply left to pursue other opportunities.

Officials for the company, which is no longer public as it was taken private following the Chapter 11 bankruptcy, have not responded to repeated requests from Crain’s seeking details about executive departures or the state of the business.

DiTullio’s exit follows the recent departure of Stan Rosenzweig, Joann’s former executive chairman who joined with fanfare in August but left the company in

November. Rosenzweig was a former executive board chair of SVP Worldwide, the parent company of Singer, Pfaff and Husqvarna Viking sewing machines. SVP was one of Joann’s sewing machine suppliers.

“Typically, when an executive leaves after a few months, the person was not a good fit and there were different views about the strategic direction of the company,” Cristina Fernández, a managing director and senior research analyst with Telsey Advisory Group who had been covering Joann since its IPO, told Crain’s earlier this month in regard to Rosenzweig’s exit.

The ongoing shuffling of key leadership positions at Joann is all the more notable considering its efforts to create some stability following its pre-packaged Chapter 11 bankruptcy last year, an oft-complicated process that Joann completed in just six weeks.

Siglo I and IV. There will also be food options including truffled popcorn and lamb lollipops along with desserts such as whiskey truffles and chocolate-dipped bacon.

The cigar bar will have the same hours as the salon and brasserie. Although Chrostowski signed a five-year lease with multiple extensions, his goal is to purchase the building at the end of the five years, he said.

Tania Menesse, president and CEO of Cleveland Neighborhood Progress (CNP), told Crain’s that while Edwins is leaving Shaker Square after being a “wonderful anchor tenant” for over a decade, “It's always good to bring new energy, new restaurants to the square.”

CNP and Burten Bell Carr Development Inc. are the current owners of Shaker Square

open Monday to Thursday from 5:00 PM to 11:00 PM, Friday and Saturday from 5:00 p.m. to 1:00 a.m. and Sunday from 10:00 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.

The main dining room (where Nighttown used to have live music) will have a $100 to $150 menu. The menu will be seasonal and Michelin star-level, Chrostowki said. This would be a place that someone could propose that's the “best place in the Midwest,” Chrostowki said.

The fine dining portion will be closed Sunday and Monday and open Tuesday to Saturday from 5 p.m. to 10 p.m.

Chrostowki is also renting an additional space, located just steps away from the new spot, which will be turned into a cigar bar.

According to a menu provided by Chrostowki, the cigar bar will offer different cigars such as Montecristo No. 2 and No. 4, Romeo y Julieta No. 3 and Cohiba

Menesse noted that while Edwins Too brought “real energy” to the square, the location was not open every day.

CNP and the board of Edwins are currently finalizing negotiations “to protect the financial investment that we've made at the square and ensure that we keep our commitment to the businesses at the square and the surrounding neighborhoods.”

CNP has invested over $6 million into Shaker Square and currently only has one vacancy, Menesse said.

Chrostowski said that the two restaurants have leases at Shaker Square for between a year and a half and two years left.

With Edwins and Edwins Too leaving, this gives CNP the opportunity to bring two new tenants into the square that can be part of “a really strong business community,” she said.

Cleveland.com was the first to report the move.

The struggling fabric and crafts retailer, which has begun closing some stores across its nationwide footprint, could be on track for a second bankruptcy this year as it continues to grapple with weak sales and a pile of debt that it has been saddled with since a $1.6 billion leveraged buyout by private equity firm Leonard Green & Partners in 2010.

“I have heard that Joann has not been performing as well as Michaels — perhaps due to the category mix and Michaels investing more in e-commerce — and Hobby Lobby and that debt and real estate investors have Joann on their watch list,” Fernández said. According to the company website, Joann operates approximately 850 stores in 49 states.

A rendering of the future Edwins in the former Nighttown space. | SIGNATURE SIGN CO.

Connecting Talent

Slow end caps off challenging year for restaurant sector

By Jeremy Nobile

For Laurie Torres, owner of downtown Cleveland’s Mallorca, 2024 was another challenging year capped off by a comparatively weird and unpredictable holiday season.

“In almost 30 years I’ve been open, this was probably the slowest holiday we ever had, the slowest December,” she said. “But in November, which is usually very slow, sales were up. September was busy, but October was slow. The year flipped upside down on its head.”

Although sales for sit-down restaurants across the industry have been decent, Torres said the “holidays were very disappointing” for several operators. It's a confounding trend that underscores what’s become a progressively unpredictable business, one that’s not impossible to navigate but increasingly harder to plan for and adjust to.

There are always some exceptions. But Torres, who also is president of Cleveland Independents, the coalition of locally owned independent restaurants, said many restaurants are in a similar boat.

A particularly slow stretch through the last few months drove Matt Fish to pull the plug on Melt Bar and Grilled, for example.

“We started OK in September, but then November and December were poor across the industry,” Fish told Crain’s. “I’ve talked with a bunch of people who are saying this is one of their worst holiday seasons ever.”

While the factors behind this apparent shift in customer wants and traffic are many and are tough to pin down, weakened buying power for consumers due to inflation coupled with higher menu prices are certainly factors.

Mallorca’s longtime owner said this past holiday season was one of her slowest ever and that many other restaurants have weathered a

“Inflation is definitely part of it,” Torres said. “I think people were anticipating that they would have so much money, and this year, they chose to spend it in the retail sector as opposed to the food sector.”

According to the National Restaurant Association (NRA), wholesale food prices in December were up 7% on average compared to the prior year. Menu prices are up 3.6% over the same period.

“A lot of restaurants have raised their prices significantly to stay in business,” Torres said.

John Barker, president and CEO of the Ohio Restaurant and Hospitality Alliance (ORHA), said food costs over the last three years have increased around 25% to 30%.

And it’s not just food that’s more expensive. Operating costs have continued to increase across the board from labor to utilities.

The NRA numbers indicate that restaurants are not passing on these increased costs to customers on a one-to-one basis. This is adding to margin pressures that

Signet Jewelers shares tumble after outlook cut on weak holiday season

By Shelly Banjo, Bloomberg

Signet Jewelers Ltd.’s shares plunged on Tuesday, Jan. 14, after a disappointing holiday season prompted the retailer to cut its sales guidance.

Akron-based Signet now expects fourth-quarter comparable sales to drop 2% to 2.5%, compared with the earlier forecast that growth would be in a range of flat to positive 3%. The company sees total sales of $2.32 billion to $2.34 billion in the period, compared with its prior projection of $2.38 billion to $2.46 billion.

The company’s shares dropped nearly 22% in trading on Jan. 14 in New York. The stock fell 25% in 2024, versus a 10% gain for the Russell 2000 Index.

During the ICR retail conference in Orlando, Florida, Signet CEO J.K. Symancyk said that revenue during the 10 crucial shopping days leading up to Christmas came in lower than expected. Brands carried by Signet didn’t have items at the price points that consumers were looking for, Symancyk added.

There was a lack of gold jewelry and pieces with lab-created diamonds, for example, which really “put us at a disadvantage to meet demand,” he said.

The company will aim to sell more bridal pieces and boost sales to people who purchase jewelry for themselves, Symancyk said. That cohort tends to spend more than those who are purchasing jewelry as a gift. Lab-grown dia-

size operators benefit from the scale that larger companies have by offering cost savings on things like insurance and point of sale (POS) systems. Those options can help alleviate some financial pressures.

But that doesn’t change the underlying trends that are contributing to soft sales and increased costs. Some can only last so long in that kind of environment.

“It is so hard to continue to make a profit based on the pressure on food costs and labor costs,” Barker said. “If you already have a low profit margin with that situation going on, it just puts tremendous pressure on your operations and P&L.”

can be all the more difficult for indie operators to absorb — versus larger restaurant groups or regional chains that benefit from more scale.

“For us, in November, even though sales were higher, foot traffic was slower,” Torres said. “So, we’re making more per person, but the number of people coming in is lower.”

According to the NRA, industrywide sales in November were down year over year (December data on sales is not out yet) by 1.7% after adjusting for menuprice inflation.

These challenging dynamics are part of what many refer to as the “new normal” for restaurants. Barker prefers to frame it more as the “new era.”

“New normal doesn’t make sense. There is no normal anymore,” Barker said. “It is a new era of cost structure, technology ... restaurants have to be better than ever today.”

The ORHA has been heavily involved in administering programs that help small and mid-

While there are always still new restaurants coming online, annual openings in Ohio are slowing while closures have remained pretty consistent.

The ORHA said it will have a better grasp on those trends for 2024 in the next month or two.

Based on available data so far, however, for 2024, Ohio is trending toward its lowest year for new restaurant openings since 2020.

There have been just about 1,000 new openings in the past year — compared with more than 1,500 in 2023 — which includes 125 in Hamilton County, 135 in Cuyahoga County and 180 in Franklin County, according to the ORHA.

Meanwhile, the closure rate has remained steady at around approximately 1,000 annually in the state over the last few years, according to the alliance.

Torres is seeing the effects of these challenging industry dynamics in her coalition, which has about 70 members today compared with nearly 100 a few years ago.

That reduction is not entirely due to closures. Some are still in business but opting out of paying

dues as they trim costs.

“There are more and more people in the Independents who are struggling with making sure their dues are paid,” Torres said. “That is usually an indicator that something is wrong. Restaurants used to have money flowing in they don’t have anymore.”

It's certainly not all doom and gloom.

According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, people eat out now more than any time in modern history, with almost onethird of an individual’s calories now coming via meals eaten away from home.

Countrywide, about 16% of those calories come from fast food, according to the USDA, and nearly 8% comes from sit-down restaurants.

Indeed, fast-casual concepts are still doing quite well, which tends to be the case when the economy gets tough.

And many restaurant operators are still making it work, it’s just becoming harder to do so.

Thriving in the new era doesn’t just mean controlling costs, but also adapting to modern times as well as a younger clientele that is drinking less alcohol, increasingly avoiding formal restaurants and showing a preference for takeaway.

“In this new era, it’s about how you build a brand, a menu, how do you get your cost-structure figured out? That is what the better operators are doing,” Barker said. “Not everyone is going to survive in that era given what the expectations are.”

“But it all starts with having good food and something people desire,” he added. “We have so many mom-and-pops in Cleveland, and I think they are going to be OK. But they are going to have to pivot and make sure they can still make money in this era."

monds are a particular opportunity for “self purchasers” since shoppers can buy more elaborate pieces that cost less than if they were crafted with natural diamonds.

The pace of U.S. engagements is also slower than Signet had forecast in recent quarters, company

executives said on Jan. 14. The jewelry retailer, which owns the Zales and Jared chains, relies on bridal items to generate around half of its revenue.

Signet’s downbeat forecast came a day after Macy’s Inc., Abercrombie & Fitch Co. and other retailers reported disappointing hol-

iday sales that fell short of investor expectations, suggesting that executives were too optimistic about the state of the American shopper. A number of consumer companies released earnings and provided updated guidance during the ICR conference that took place last week.

similar trend. ALEXANDRA GOLDEN

Cleveland Clinic, Miami University team up for quantum computing program

By Paige Bennett

Cleveland Clinic has created a partnership with Miami University which the institutions say will establish the state’s first specialized degree programs and research opportunities in quantum computing.

The partnership, announced, in a news release on Wednesday, Jan. 15 seeks to “elevate Ohio’s global position in this transformative field” through new degree programs, as well as further their mutual goals for creating jobs, accelerating research and spearheading workforce development.

“This new educational collaboration strengthens Cleveland Clinic’s position as a leader in health care innovation and the emerging quantum computing industry,” Clinic President and CEO Dr. Tom Mihaljevic said in the release. “By joining forces with Miami University, we are creating a robust ecosystem that will attract, educate and retain top talent, while providing unparalleled opportunities for innovation.”

The Clinic’s main campus is home to IBM Quantum System One, the first on-site, privatesector quantum computer in the U.S. dedicated specifically to health care research.

RETAIL

From Page 1

Establishing a retail attraction effort targeting small and minorityowned businesses was one of the nine recommendations implemented in 2024. With Iorio’s new role, the focus on marketing, supporting and drawing attention to those small businesses will continue in 2025, Deemer said, especially those in downtown’s commercial corridors, Tower City and the Arcade.

Of the 29 new storefronts that opened downtown in 2024, “virtually all of (them) are small businesses,” Deemer said as "that’s the sweet spot for downtown,” in retail, food and beverage.

The number of storefronts that opened last year is “pretty steady over the last few years,” Deemer said.

Since the COVID-19 pandemic started in March 2020, downtown Cleveland has seen a net increase of 60 storefront businesses, with almost half of those being from 2024 alone, Deemer said.

“That’s a testament to the strength of the market,” he said. “It’s also a testament to the resiliency and the entrepreneurial spirit of small business owners that find a way to make it work and step in when opportunities arise.”

And while the pandemic may be a marker used for how much things have changed since then, Deemer said, “It’s time to turn the page and focus on the future.”

Speaking of the future, the Gateway District is one to “keep an eye on” this year, according to Deemer.

New degree programs offered at Miami will be at the bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral levels, according to the release. They will provide students with experience with classical and high-performance systems rooted in practical applications in the health care and life sciences.

The quantum program will also offer minors and microcredentials, the release says, and Clinic researchers and clinicians may take on adjunct roles at Miami University through the partnership.

“This synergistic partnership will establish Ohio as a global leader in quantum computing,”

Miami President Gregory Crawford said in the release. “We look forward to working closely with Cleveland Clinic researchers, who are at the forefront of this burgeoning technology. By combining the educational, research and health care excellence of Miami University and Cleveland Clinic, we are accelerating the leadingedge power of quantum computing to shape the future of health care and technology.”

Miami University also will have a physical location near the Clinic’s main campus as part of the Cleveland Innovation District, a

public-private partnership between the state of Ohio, JobsOhio and Cleveland’s health care and higher education institutions.

Dr. Lara Jehi, chief research information officer at Cleveland Clinic, said in an interview that university officials are already evaluating potential locations based on proposals from the Clinic.

Jehi said the health system has been working meticulously to build an ecosystem around the System One computer, a process that has involved partnering with other entities in the health care space. Over the summer, the Clinic announced a new fellowship program with the Novo Nordisk Foundation focused on clinical applications for quantum technologies and artificial intelligence.

“That covered, in a way, some of that post-doc network of training,” Jehi said. “Those are very specialized individuals. We’re not going to get to them without building an education pipeline that leads up to postdoctoral training.”

The new partnership will offer a continuum in quantum computing education, taking students from the bachelor’s to the doctoral level, Jehi said. Miami students will have access to internships at the Clinic, where they will be

placed in labs, working on projects in areas like quantum chemistry and quantum machine learning. While some of these are existing internship opportunities, the partnership will allow the Clinic to expand them for Miami students, Jehi said.

“It ends up being a really sixmonth rotation with them being embedded in a lab working every day on a real-world application of quantum computing and life sciences,” she said. “So that will teach them not just quantum, but it will also teach them how to interact with the biomedical researchers around quantum projects, quantum science, which is a skill set that is necessary if they are to implement their knowledge in the

The Gateway District will see new retail, sidewalk improvements, lighting improvements and improved streetscaping, he said. The improved streetscape designs are in partnership with LAND Studio. There also be enhancements to the Playhouse Square area.

According to the press release, there are projects in the works to enhance accessibility including wayfinding signage and reimaged configurations for the Gateway District and Public Square. This will make it easier for pedestrians,

cyclists, public transit riders and drivers to navigate those areas.

A pilot project for Huron Road aims to “improve connectivity and accessibility” to the corridor, the release stated.

Continuing into 2025 and keeping pace from 2024, there are plans for over 300 events over the year “to encourage people to come and spend time downtown and support storefront businesses,” he said.

Downtown Cleveland Inc. and Cleveland Bazaar introduced a happy hour series in fall 2024 that

took place at different locations around downtown. This will be expanded in 2025, Deemer said, and it could transition to a brick-andmortar presence.

“It’s just a great way to showcase small businesses. It’s a great way to drive foot traffic and create some energy,” Deemer said, “and, again, hopefully expose more businesses and vendors to the opportunities that exist downtown and potentially create some brick and mortar opportunities.”

The phrase "come early, stay late” drives some of the recom-

world afterward when they get the job.”

Jehi noted that the quantum sector is ripe for job growth, citing an economic impact report by The Quantum Insider, which projected the sector to generate approximately 250,000 new jobs by 2030.

She said the Clinic sees the partnership as one piece of that larger goal of building a quantum computing ecosystem in Northeast Ohio.

“There's a bigger picture behind it, and we are very excited that it is in Ohio and really positioning our state to be leading in that space, and we're hoping to continue with the support that the state has provided for us so far,” she said.

mendations that were implemented in 2024 and that will take place in 2025. The idea is that more amenities and experiences will encourage people to spend more time downtown when they visit.

“The more comfortable we can make the environment, the more compelling experiences we can offer, the more successful storefront businesses are going to be,” Deemer said.

One of the ways he hopes to bring more people in will be the Meet Me Here Park, a play and recreation area that will be built in 2026 across from Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse. This year, the park received a $750,000 allocation from the state capital budget.

“Once we get people into downtown, once we get them walking around one of our commercial corridors, the goal is creating an environment that encourages exploration from one end of downtown to the other," he said.

Speaking of getting people into downtown, Downtown Cleveland Inc. will make a “big push” to urge employers to bring office workers back into town more frequently, Deemer said.

The return-to-office rate in December was 58.1%, according to the Downtown Cleveland data dashboard.

“Office workers are a very, very important part of the consumer base for storefront business downtown,” he said.

Deemer expects to see an increase in workers downtown in 2025 once the new SherwinWilliams global headquarters in the Warehouse District opens and more employers bring their workers back to the office.

IBM Quantum System One at the Cleveland Clinic’s main campus CLEVELanD CLInIC

PEOPLE ON THE MOVE

To place your listing, visit www.crainscleveland.com/people-on-the-move or, for more information, contact Debora Stein at 917.226.5470 / dstein@crain.com

BANKING

Erie Bank

INVESTMENT FIRM

Beese Fulmer Private Wealth Management

LEGAL

Shapero & Green LLC

RONAYNE

From Page 1

“I love this job,” Ronayne said. “I have an even greater appreciation for the people of Cuyahoga County and what they do in every way, from nonprofits to small business to, you know, the philanthropic community. It's just a great place to be and it's a great place to serve.”

The Browns

One of more unexpected roles Ronayne found himself in as county executive is as middleman between the owners of the Cleveland Browns, who have made it clear the preference to move the team to Brook Park, and City of Cleveland officials.

The Haslam Sports Group’s proposal to build an enclosed stadium in the nearby Cleveland suburb, still within the county borders, comes with a $600 million ask of the county.

Ronayne has come out publicly against any move out of downtown Cleveland. He has championed an alternative plan to build a domed stadium and surrounding mixed-use development on the 500-plus acre site where Burke Lakefront Airport operates.

land Partnership and Downtown Cleveland Inc., and Destination Cleveland.

“We need to get back rowing in the same direction, and I’m confident that can happen,” Ronanye said.

A spokesperson for the Haslam Sports Group told Crain's, "Monday afternoon (Jan. 6), we had an engaging meeting with County Executive Ronayne and his staff as part of our ongoing stadium planning process. In the meeting, we explained why we concluded that building a new Huntington Bank Field enclosed stadium with an adjacent mixedused development in Brook Park would be the best long-term stadium solution for our fans and the region. The County Executive expressed his preference for us to remain downtown and asked us to commit to more dialogue and discussion on remaining downtown, while also finding win-win solutions for all stakeholders in a move to Brook Park. We reiterated the need for tangible answers to solve critical issues at an expedited pace and look forward to further discussions with County Executive Ronayne and staff in the very near future."

Looking forward

ERIEBANK is pleased to appoint Rosemary Rehner to its Advisory Board. A distinguished leader in public accounting, Ms. Rehner brings over 20 years of expertise in finance, auditing, and consulting. As Director and President of Barnes Wendling CPAs and former senior manager at Ernst & Young LLP, she has excelled across industries, enhancing internal controls and IT processes. Her leadership and insight make her an invaluable addition to ERIEBANK as we continue to drive excellence and innovation.

HEALTHCARE

AnewHealth

AnewHealth announced the retirement of CEO

John Figueroa and appointment of President Brian Adams as his successor. Figueroa has transitioned to become Executive Chairman of the Board of Directors, and Adams, now President and CEO, has also joined the Board. Adams will continue to lead AnewHealth in optimizing care for people with the most complex medical needs and improving outcomes for healthcare organizations who support them through innovative pharmacy care and medicationrelated solutions.

Beese Fulmer Private Wealth Management welcomes Kelsey Friedt as Investment Operations Analyst. This new role highlights the firm’s dedication to technology and data-driven strategies. With 13+ years in financial services, Friedt brings expertise in streamlining operations and driving efficiency.

“Kelsey’s skills will enhance our technology and service delivery,” said Patrick Willoughby, COO. Learn more about Beese Fulmer at www.beesefulmer.com.

LAW

Mansour Gavin LPA

Kathryn (Katie) Weber has been elected shareholder at Mansour Gavin LPA, where she specializes in real estate and land use law, managing transactions, litigation, and municipal matters.

Katie serves as an Assistant Law Director for Mayfield Village and is an active member of the Gender Equity in the Legal Industry (GELI) Committee and Mansour Gavin’s Diversity and Inclusion Committee. Katie earned her J.D. from ClevelandMarshall College of Law and holds a B.F.A. from Ohio University.

Shapero & Green LLC is pleased to announce that Charles P. Royer has joined the Firm as of-counsel. Chuck has extensive jury trial experience in state and federal courts, and the bankruptcy court for the Northern District of Ohio. He was a member of the Law Review at the University of Pittsburgh School of Law, and is consistently rated as a “Super Lawyer” and “Best Lawyer” by his peers in the area of business litigation. Chuck also dedicates a significant amount of time to civic endeavors.

PROMOTE.

Why not?

Celebrate your success with promotional products!

• Digital Reprint

• Logo Licensing

• Social Media Images

• Plaques/Frames

Contact: Laura Picariello

Sales Manager

732.723.0569

lpicariello@crain.com

The Haslams rejected the idea, but Ronayne said he has “continued hope” that with more discussion and proof of the city and county’s commitment to lakefront development, the Browns will continue to play in downtown Cleveland.

“I will say I've appreciated the recent productive dialogue with Haslam Sports Group, and I’m sensing there's a crack in the window, an opening to the team staying downtown,” he said.

Ronayne, a former Cleveland city planner, said a downtown stadium would help build on the region’s strengths.

“Having three major sports facilities downtown matters because it is all about connection," he said. "It's about how it multiplies the benefit for restaurants to bars to hotels."

Other cities are mimicking what he calls the Cleveland Browns Stadium/Gateway model, with three major sports facilities within walking distance of each other.

“Detroit went back to that when they brought the Pistons and the Lions back downtown,” he added.

Ronayne said tourism, sports and entertainment are and will continue to be important to the region, which was demonstrated by a 2024 uptick in out-of-town visitor numbers.

“Looking at last year's sales tax and bed tax receipts, it shows that sales tax was flat, just below the year before, but the bed tax is up, and that means people are coming to downtown Cleveland and that’s good for the whole county,” Ronayne said.

The controversy over where the Browns will play in 2029, he said, has put an unnecessary strain on relationships between groups such as the Greater Cleve-

Part of the job is “working in multiple spheres simultaneously,” Ronayne said. He said he's “bullish” on working things out with the Browns while also focusing on some new, near-term goals.

In early 2025, Ronayne’s administration is focused on supporting local venue owners and state officials in the creation of an Ohio Music Commission. Modeled after the state’s film commission, the group would help re-establish the Cleveland area as a hotspot for music and a destination for bands on tour.

“It is something that's been waiting in the wings that I've been thinking about since my time on the campaign trail, and I'm excited about it,” Ronayne said.

Ronayne also is looking to expand the work of the Freshwater Institute and recently named the first director to lead the organization, which is tasked with educating and advocating for a regional water economy.

He also is committed to continuing work on growing the county’s utility to provide decentralized, efficient, sustainable and reliable energy distribution to business hubs in the county.

Ronayne said his administration plans to “lean in heavily on the matter of gun violence reduction” and continue to welcome immigration in the region.

“I wouldn't do this job if I weren't optimistic about our future,” Ronayne said. “I’m not here to guard sandcastles. I'm here to help leverage the future and leverage our assets for the future. So, yeah, I'm running again.”

“I think there's some great days ahead. Coming back to why I'm running again, I wouldn't do it if I didn't see hope,” he added.

One of the more unexpected roles

Chris Ronayne has found himself in as Cuyahoga County executive is as middleman between the Browns and the City of Cleveland. | CUyAHOGA COUNTy

CrainsCleveland.com

President and CEO KC Crain

Group publisher Jim Kirk (312) 397-5503 or jkirk@crain.com

Interim editor Mickey Ciokajlo, (313) 446-0319 or mickey.ciokajlo@crain.com

Director of audience and engagement Elizabeth Couch, (313) 446-0419 or elizabeth.couch@crain.com

Director of visual media Stephanie Swearngin

Creative director Thomas J. Linden

Managing editor Marcus Gilmer 216-771-5169 or marcus.gilmer@crain.com

Special projects editor Scott Suttell Projects editor Stacy Sominski Web editor Damon Sims Copy chief Tanya Meyer

Art directors

Kayla Byler, Carolyn McClain, Joanna Metzger

Notables coordinator ashley Maahs REPORTERS

Paige Bennett, Health care, nonprofits, philanthropy (216) 771-5479 or paige.bennett@crain.com

Alexandra Golden real estate alexandra.golden@crain.com

Jack Grieve audience engagement jack.grieve@crain.com

Jeremy Nobile, Finance, legal, beer, cannabis (216) 771-5255 or jnobile@crain.com

Kim Palmer, Government (216) 771-5384 or kpalmer@crain.com

Joe Scalzo, Sports business (216) 771-5256 or joe.scalzo@crain.com

Dan Shingler, Energy, steel, auto, akron (216) 771-5290 or dshingler@crain.com

ADVERTISING

Events manager Missy Chambless (216) 771-5388 or missy.chambless@crain.com

Sales and marketing coordinator Shannon Smith

Business development strategist andy rasero

Account executives

Kaylie Moran, Ed Sivillo, Melissa Streicher People on the Move manager Debora Stein (917) 226-5470, dstein@crain.com

Classified sales Suzanne Janik (313) 446-0455 or sjanik@crain.com

Inside sales Tawni Sharp

CRAIN’S CONTENT STUDIO

Senior director of Crain’s Content Studio Kristin Bull, (313) 446-1608 or kbull@crain.com

Crain’s Content Studio Manager Jennifer Keirn, jennifer.keirn@crain.com

PRODUCTION

Vice president, product Kevin Skaggs Product manager Tim Simpson Media services manager nicole Spell Pre-press and digital production Craig L. Mackey CUSTOMER SERVICE (877) 824-9373 or customerservice@crainscleveland.com