Regional Features: Archive by Date

April 2005

Going Native - Gardening with Native Plants
Posted Friday, April 29
Peonies or roses? Poppies or petunias? At nurseries across Northeast Ohio gardeners infected with spring fever are shopping for the new growing season. But for some the search is more like a treasure hunt. They're looking for plants that are already part of the natural landscape and may have more to offer than stunning blooms and heady scents. ideastream's Karen Schaefer reports.

90.3 at 9: Vietnam - 30 Years Later
Posted Friday, April 29
Thirty years ago this week, a controversial conflict came to an end. But, for many, the battle still rages over the Vietnam war. Although the last American helicopter flew out of Saigon on April 30th, 1975, the legacy of Vietnam was fought out again as recently as last year, during the Presidential election. On the next 90.3 at 9, historian James Banks and former prisoner of war Giles Norrington join us in-studio to review the facts, the feelings, and the lessons learned.

90.3 at 9: Human Ancestors
Posted Thursday, April 28
Earlier this year, a fossil-hunting team led by Cleveland Museum of Natural History paleontologist Yohannes Haile-Selassie found a rare prize - an intact grouping of bones from a single human ancestor nearly 4 million years old. Haile-Selassie and co-expedition leader Bruce Latimer, the museum's director, say this once-in-a-lifetime discovery will help scientists learn more about when - and why - our ancestors began to walk upright. At the same time, this new find, along with other recent discoveries by Haile-Selassie, is catapulting Cleveland back into the international spotlight for human origins research. Move over Lucy! As you listen to the program, follow along on the web with exclusive photographs from the site in Ethiopia where these discoveries were made.

No Place Like Home
Posted Wednesday, April 27
Passing through metal detectors and having baggage screened by high-tech scanners at the airport is the price many Northeast Ohioans pay as a way to preserve their freedom from terrorism. But for some local residents, the events of September 11th have directed a spotlight of suspicion - towards them. ideastream's David C. Barnett has this report.

The Perils of Baby Animal Rescue
Posted Thursday, April 21
With the onset of spring comes another arrival - the birth of new babies to hundreds of species of wildlife. Urban dwellers may spy a nest of newborn robins or a pair of bunnies hopping across the lawn. But one local wildlife specialist warns that just because there's no parent in sight, it's not safe to assume those babies are abandoned and need human protection. From Bay Village, ideastream's Karen Schaefer reports.

Making Change: Raising the Innovators of the Future: Teaching Kids Entrepreneurship
Posted Wednesday, April 20
Some say you can gauge the strength of an economy by assessing its entrepreneurial spirit. So, how are we doing? As part of Making Change: Building the Region's Future, ideastream's Cindi Deutschman-Ruiz reports on efforts to grow a new generation of business owners.

Pay It Forward - An Interview with Catherine Ryan Hyde
Posted Friday, April 15
Web Exclusive - Paul Cox talks with Catherine Ryan Hyde, the author of the popular book Pay It Forward, which became a well-received motion picture. The author was in northeast Ohio recently to speak at the conclusion of the Wadsworth Public Library's "One Book, One Community" program, in which the entire community was encouraged to read Pay It Forward. Hundreds did. Ms. Ryan Hyde says she set out to write a novel, but inadvertently started a social movement. She visited 90.3 to talk with ideastream's Paul Cox.

90.3 at 9: Page Turners
Posted Friday, April 15
What book's on the top of your nightstand these days? Better yet, what are you actually opening and reading? We'll hear from the Plain Dealer's book editor, an area bookseller and hopefully also from you as we find out what books are holding the attention of northeast Ohioans. Get some suggestions, offer your own mini-reviews, and close the week by opening a new book on the next 90.3 at 9.

NASA Glenn Collaboration with Higher Education
Posted Friday, April 15
It's not just community coffers and contracting companies that will lose if projected funding cuts at NASA Glenn Research Center go through in next year's budget. Last year colleges and universities across Ohio received more than $17 million from NASA Glenn for research projects, faculty fellowships, and student internships. Nearly $10 million of that stayed right here in Northeast Ohio to train the next generation of research scientists and engineers. Both Glenn and local engineering schools say they need that partnership to continue. From Cleveland, ideastream's Karen Schaefer reports.

Shop Till You Drop
Posted Wednesday, April 13
Some of the country's biggest retailers will be lining up along a bluff just south of Cleveland, over the next year. And as City View Center rises above the heavily traveled I-480/I-77 interchange, local officials are trying to craft a new deal that will re-energize the proposed Steelyard Commons development in the Flats. But some critics question whether "big box" retail projects like these are the answer to Northeast Ohio's struggling economy. ideastream's David C. Barnett has this report.

Change is in the Wind for NASA Glenn Engine Research - Part 2
Posted Thursday, April 7
In Part 1, we began a tour of the NASA Glenn facility where some of the nation's leading-edge research on aircraft engines is done. With federal funding cuts, many of the programs that reduce pollution and improve engine efficiency will come to an end over the next few months. ideastream's Karen Schaefer takes us back now to the Engine Research Building, where tour guides Jeff Swan and John Leone are discussing some of the accomplishments Glenn's aeronautics research have brought to America's commercial aircraft industry. See Also: Change is in the Wind for NASA Glenn Engine Research - Part 1 (Feature Story)

Change is in the Wind for NASA Glenn Engine Research - Part 1
Posted Thursday, April 7
Since 1941 the NASA Glenn Research Center in Cleveland has been a leader in aircraft engine research. Glenn scientists and engineers have been responsible for developing the technology that has created the world's most powerful jet engines for use in commercial aircraft. More recently, NASA Glenn programs have been working to reduce pollution and boost fuel efficiency, so we can all breathe easier while conserving an increasingly-precious resource. But change is in the wind. Funding cuts for NASA aeronautics this year and next means some of Glenn's programs will be shut down and testing facilities mothballed. And some of this basic research - often years in the making - will never see the light of day. ideastream's Karen Schaefer recently visited the NASA Glenn Engine Research Building that's at the heart of this work with facilities manager John Leone and she brings us this audio tour. See Also: Change is in the Wind for NASA Glenn Engine Research - Part 2 (Feature Story)

Making Change: Preschool and the Economy
Posted Wednesday, April 6
Few would argue that education is key to economic growth. The question is, where along the educational timeline does it make most sense to commit limited resources? As part of Making Change, ideastream's Cindi Deutschman-Ruiz reports on efforts to focus attention on the youngest learners.

Domestic Violence Law Loophole
Posted Tuesday, April 5
Ohio's new constitutional amendment defining marriage is having some unintended consequences. A few judges recently ruled that because of the amendment the state's domestic violence laws only apply to married couples. Unmarried domestic abuse victims and advocates are calling for a speedy resolution to the legal confusion. ideastream's Janet Babin reports.