Clevo Books Close June 30, Cuyahoga County Releases Data Center Development Guide: CLE Daily

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👗 Contemporary Fashion: Since its first storefront opened in Ohio City five years ago, Rising Boutique has expanded to a second location at Pinecrest.

🇺🇸 Independence Day Party Guide: Get ready to party with our top picks for local Fourth of July celebrations, including parades, concerts and more.

⚰️ Human Composting: The popular burial method is gaining traction in the U.S. and may be coming to Ohio.

ICYMI: Watch Parade the Circle, rock out at Larchmere PorchFest, cheer on the Guardians and find other fun things to do this weekend in Northeast Ohio.

Today's Trivia

What proto-sports talk host in Cleveland bragged that his show “Sportsline” could be heard “on over 38 states and half of Canada?”

Clevo Books is closing up shop in Downtown Cleveland.

Arts & Culture | By Parisa Nosrati

After four years of providing Downtown with stories from around the world, Clevo Books has announced its closure on June 30.

Customer Base: Clevo Books largely attracted tourists, as travelers are often more open-minded about translated literature. They had plans to grow into a wine bar and host community events.

• Unfortunately, this influx of tourists gradually dwindled after COVID, leading to a decrease in revenue. 

Downtown Outlook: Cathryn Siegal-Bergman, the founder of Clevo Book, has little confidence in Downtown’s ability to support a bookstore, particularly a specialty one.

• She has heard many residents Downtown express a desire for more retail in the area, yet she’s seen little support for the retail that does exist. 

• Siegal-Bergman interpreted this appetite for retail as residents wanting places they already shop at to exist Downtown rather than valuing the retail they have.

Sticking to Online: Siegal-Bergman has no plan to discard Clevo Book's online store anytime soon.

Read more on how Clevo Books got its start. 

Talk of the Town

After a six-month suspension, Tim Grendell is serving again as a Geauga County probate judge. Cleveland Scene reports that the 73-year-old judge was suspended in November for detaining two teens after they refused to visit their estranged father.

Cuyahoga County Council is taking up a debate on who should pick or dismiss the Cuyahoga County Sheriff. One proposal would return the sheriff post to an elected position beginning in 2028, and another would give the county executive the power to fire, suspend or discipline the sheriff, according to Signal Cleveland. 

• In 2019, voters decided that the power to fire the sheriff would be in the hands of the 11-seat county council and would require a supermajority to pass.

The Cleveland Browns signed wide receiver and 2026 first-round draft pick KC Concepcion to his rookie contract. With Concepcion's deal done, all of the Browns' 2026 draft picks are under contract. Cleveland drafted 10 rookies this year.

Cuyahoga County releases guide for data center development.

News | By Jaden Stambolia

Ohio currently has 210 data centers, according to thedatacentermap.com; 22 of those are in Northeast Ohio. In April, Downtown Cleveland's largest data center began planning its expansion, and the city killed a data center plan for Slavic Village in May. 

But other proposals are coming to Northeast Ohio municipalities, and to navigate these plans, the Cuyahoga County Department of Sustainability released its Data Center Development Guide on Wednesday.

The guide serves as a comprehensive resource for communities, outlining key considerations for economic development, land use, energy demand and water consumption for data centers.

Growing Movement: However, Northeast Ohio residents have been pushing their local government to reject data center projects. 

• Ravenna joined a growing number of towns in Northeast Ohio with data center moratoriums, including Lordstown, Painesville, Wellington and Twinsburg. 

• Cleveland City Council is also considering a data center moratorium. 

Cuyahoga County Executive Chris Ronayne: “We owe it to our residents to stop bad deals before they start. Left unchecked, data center projects can drain our power, our water and our tax dollars without creating enough new jobs or tax revenue."

The Water Drain: Data centers threaten groundwater in the Lake Erie watershed, with only 1% of the water in the Great Lakes replenished each year.

Rising Electric Bills: At the end of 2025, we spoke with Ronayne about how data centers are driving up electric bills for Northeast Ohioans, and the latest developments suggest bills could rise by an additional 1.5% to 5% this year.

• Ronayne says renewable microgrids could be the key to lowering costs.

Competing Views: But with residents pushing back against data centers, Greater Cleveland Partnership says bans and moratoriums could leave Cleveland behind in the next economic transformation.

Read more on our data center coverage here.

From the Editor

Once Clevo Books moved its store from the 5th Street Arcade to its Euclid Avenue storefront near Heinens, that was the first time I shopped at the bookstore. 

I remember walking out with five or six books, growing my to-be-read (TBR) list even more. Once I heard the news that Clevo Books was closing, I went and bought five more books. My TBR is still very long.

But with Cathryn Siegel-Bergman saying that bookstores and retail in Downtown can't thrive, it opened my eyes. Besides the Cleveland Clothing Co. spot on East 4th Street, I don't think there is a prime retail location Downtown. 

I couldn't even tell you what shops are in Terminal Tower. - Jaden Stambolia, Editorial Assistant