May 2008

CLASSIC IMPROVEMENTS: The new Classic Lexus dealership has opened at 2551 SOM Center Road in Willoughby Hills. The dealership, at the intersection of Interstate 90 where a gas station and an Italian eatery sat vacant for years, was previously located at the Classic Auto Campus in Mentor. Classic has begun work on another facility at the south end of the site that will house a BMW and Mini Cooper dealership. The building is part of a $10 million Tax Increment Financing (TIF) investment. Other area TIF improvements include added turning lanes and traffic signals

ENTREPRENEURSHIP: Mentor start-up The Entrepreneurial Learning Initiative LLC, has teamed up with Cisco Systems Inc., seller of hardware, software and computer networking services, on a program focused on teaching entrepreneurship. Cisco has chosen Northeast Ohio as one of three locations nationwide for the program with other sites in Phoenix and Washington, D.C. The program will train teachers who will lead courses on entrepreneurship and create online educational material for the Cisco Entrepreneur Institute, a program begun in developing countries and now expanding to the U.S. Eli, as the Mentor company owned by Gary Schoeniger is known, is looking for places at area colleges to hold classes. Cisco, along with partners such as Eli, is creating online educational materials, some based on advice from interviews with dozens of entrepreneurs.

MIXED USE: An updated report of a 1993 study of the Madison area shows agricultural land receives fewer advantages from the government than other land uses. The study, done by the American Farmland Trust, also shows that residential development doesn’t generate enough income for the services it requires. It recommends a mix of commercial and industrial as well as farm and forested lands to achieve a fiscal balance.

WINE NOT? A study by the Ohio State University Extension Services using results from interviews of 131 tri-county visitors, research of agricultural data and questioning 60 vineyard and winery operators showed 88.5 percent of visitors come to the area for the wineries. The survey also showed that 78.6 percent of vineyard owners don’t have an estate plan and that many would sell to the highest bidder, regardless of what the land would be used for.

BLOOMING BUSINESS: Big Bouquet Florist, a Euclid fixture for more than 60 years, is moving to Chardon Road in Kirtland. Owner Terri Jarem says she is following her clientele by moving to Lake County.

ADDITIVES ADD UP: Lubrizol Corp., a specialty chemicals company in Wickliffe, plans to spend $200 million over the next 10 years. The company will build a new factory in China and upgrade existing factories, including one in Painesville. Increased demand for lubricants and fuel additives is behind the plan. Lubrizol predicts demand will grow by 1 percent per year.

GENEROUS GIVING: Kathleen A. Coleman, widow of former Lubrizol Corp. CEO and board chairman Dr. Lester E. Coleman, has donated $1.5 million to the Ireland Cancer Center. The donation will help establish the Coleman Clinical Research Suite. The family donated another $1.5 million in 2003 for the creation of the Dr. Lester E. Coleman Jr. Chair in Cancer Research and Therapeutics.

SECRETS SOLD: Former Lubrizol Corp. employee Kyung Kim is charged with conspiracy and theft of trade secrets to a South Korean competitor. Kim, who worked at the company’s research facility in Brecksville, received at least $170,000 over a seven-year period in exchange for trade secrets.

COLLISION COLLUSION: DCR Systems in Mentor has signed a development and licensing agreement with 6LK Collision LLC. The California-based company can now run repair shops using DCR’s automotive collision repair shop design that uses an assembly-line approach.

STERIS CUTS JOBS: Mentor-based Steris Corp. announced it would cut an unspecified number of jobs. The infection and contamination prevention consumables manufacturer employs about 850 workers in Lake County and about 5,000 worldwide. The company hopes to save about $30 million annually.

LOANS TRANSFER TO JOBS: Transfer Express Inc., a Mentor company that sells heat-applied garment transfers to athletic-apparel dealers and customized T-shirt decals, has received loans totaling $7.63 million from Ohio’s Development Financing Advisory Council. It also got a tax credit of up to $29,000 from the Ohio Tax Credit Authority. The company plans to spend $8.1 million on a new headquarters, retaining 150 jobs and creating 30 more.

BUSINESS STAPLES: Staples has opened at Meadowlands Town Center in Chardon, joining Wal-Mart and Home Depot in the city’s newest shopping area. It is part of Phase II of the Meadowlands project which will include The Shoe Dept. and Sally Beauty Supply, stores new to the area. Best Cuts and Fashion Bug will relocate from Maple Leaf Plaza.

JEDD PROPOSED: Concord Township and the city of Painesville are discussing a 72-acre Joint Economic Development District in the Interstate 90, Ohio 44 and Auburn Road corridor. The JEDD would affect Lake Hospital System, University Hospitals, Concord Township Community Center and a Painesville City Water Plant, all on Auburn Road. The JEDD would impose a 1.75 percent income tax on 800 to 1,000 employees in the district effective Jan. 1, 2009, and yield about $600,000 annually. Concord would receive 75 percent and Painesville 25 percent of the revenue. Painesville officials are excited about the proposal as it would offer an opportunity to recover part of the revenue lost by the hospital relocating to Concord.

MENTOR IT IS: Construction will start next year on a Wal-Mart Supercenter in The Shoppes of Diamond Center in Mentor. The Wal-Mart location on Mentor Avenue will close after the Supercenter near Heisley Road and Ohio 2 opens.

PERRY SAFE: Perry Nuclear Power Plant was ranked in the Regulatory Response category of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s action matrix, the second highest rating out of five in a system the commission uses to grade nuclear power plants. The plant dropped to the fourth-highest category in early 2007 due to an extended refueling outage, five forced outages and several forced power reductions, but didn’t affect the plant’s safety operations.

JALAPEÑO GONE LOCO: The manager of the Jalapeño Loco restaurant in Mentor, the manager’s former business partner and eight workers were arrested after raids of the restaurant, the manager’s home in Willoughby and a Mentor apartment where employees lived. Managers and owners of six other Mexican restaurants in Georgia, New York, Pennsylvania and West Virginia were arrested for allegedly employing people who entered the country illegally. All the restaurants were owned by Jorge DeLarco of New York. A total of 56 people were taken into custody nationally. The managers will face federal charges for smuggling and harboring undocumented residents and employing them. The workers will be subject to deportation proceedings if they are found to be in the country illegally.