University Circle Is Ohio's Biggest Employment Hub: CLE Daily

🌧️ 65°; Rain

🍄 Mushroom Season Is Booming — And So Are the ER Visits: A wet late summer triggered a fungi explosion across Northeast Ohio, and Cleveland Clinic has treated 13 people for mushroom poisoning this year (one needed a liver transplant), while the Cincinnati Poison Center has logged 330-plus mushroom cases regionally, up from 272 in all of 2025. Foraging is legal on private land and in state parks and forests, just not Cuyahoga Valley National Park or the Metroparks.

🏫 Cleveland Will Demolish a Glenville Health Center to Build a New High School: The J. Glen Smith Health Center closes in fall 2027 to make way for a new Glenville High School, part of the district's broader school-consolidation plan. The city and MetroHealth, which both operate out of the building, say they'll relocate services nearby. MetroHealth is eyeing the city-owned Eastside Market.

🚴 Cleveland's Lakefront Just Got 2.7 Miles More Connected: The new Mandel Community Trail opened Tuesday, an off-road path along North Marginal Road linking downtown's North Coast Harbor to Gordon Park, the E. 55th Street Marina and the rest of the Cleveland Lakefront Bikeway, closing a gap that once forced cyclists and walkers to share the road with cars between St. Clair-Superior and Glenville. The $10.6 million project was funded by a $5 million gift from the Jack, Joseph and Morton Mandel Foundation and $5.6 million in federal carbon-reduction dollars secured through NOACA. 

🏀 Cavs Drop Their 2026-27 Promo Schedule: The season kicks off Oct. 24 against the Nets, with three full-arena bobblehead nights honoring Matthew Dellavedova, Sam Merrill and James Harden, plus a trio of games marking the 10th anniversary of the 2016 championship. Single-game tickets for all 41 home games are on sale now at Cavs.com/Promo.  

ICYMI: Remember yesterday's leaf-peeping guide? Naturalists tell Ideastream this year's colors should peak in mid-October and, thanks to a wetter summer than 2025's drought, they're optimistic it'll be a vibrant one. Cuyahoga Valley National Park sees crowds rivaling the Fourth of July once the leaves turn.

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Today's Trivia

What Geauga County church became known as the “Cradle of Equal Suffrage” for its welcome of women’s rights organizations?

Development: University Circle is quietly overtaking Downtown as Ohio's biggest employment hub.

By Ken Prendergast, NEOTrans

University Circle Inc. now counts more than 82,000 workers in the district and its surrounding neighborhoods. And unlike Downtown Cleveland, Columbus or Cincinnati, most of them are actually showing up in person, since remote work barely touches hospital and lab jobs.

The Building Boom: A second 24-story tower is rising next to the Artisan at Circle Square, alongside a $60 million UH conference center, two new Cleveland Clinic parking garages totaling $170 million, and a $230 million ER expansion.

Worth Noting: Case Western Reserve is the fastest-growing research university in the elite Association of American Universities, with enrollment up to 12,400 from 9,300 in 2000-01, and Miami University and NEOMED have both just opened Cleveland outposts nearby.

Read the full story.

Talk of the Town

Ohio veterans are getting overcharged by unaccredited "claim sharks" filing their VA benefits claims. Some agencies charge thousands of dollars for services that are free through county Veterans Service Commissions — Cuyahoga County's has 10 accredited officers who help at no cost.

The shuttered Studio West 117 has new owners with a new mission. Central Outreach Wellness Center won a $4.1 million auction bid for the LGBTQ+ entertainment complex on the Cleveland/Lakewood border, planning to keep its bar, gym and restaurant while adding health screenings and wellness services.

Akron is giving small businesses a better shot at city contracts. The new Small Business Enterprise program replaces the city's former women- and minority-owned business programs, cut after a federal executive order — the first contracts total $1.19 million. 

Rural Ohio counties are running out of lawyers willing to represent people who can't afford one. Ashland County is down to two attorneys who'll take court-appointed cases, forcing judges to look outside the county — a strain playing out across most of Ohio's rural "legal deserts."  

Avon Local Schools just cracked a national top 20 list of best school districts. A new Flipsnack analysis of Niche.com ratings ranked Avon 20th in the country with a 4.50-star rating — one of just two Ohio districts to make the cut, alongside Dublin City Schools at No. 13.

Things To Do: IngenuityFest, Vanessa Bayer, Browns home opener and more.

By Jeff Niesel

How Did We Get Weird, Live! with Vanessa Bayer and Jonah Bayer at House of Blues | Podcast | Sept. 25

Siblings Vanessa and Jonah Bayer, two Cleveland natives who've had success in film and music respectively, bring their podcast to House of Blues. The event begins at 7 p.m. 308 Euclid Ave., Cleveland, 216-523-2583, houseofblues.com

Death Becomes Her at the State Theatre| Theater | Through Oct. 3

This musical comedy, based on the 1992 film about two women who drink a potion that gives them immortality, comes to the State Theatre. Thursday's performance takes place at 7:30 p.m., and performances continue through Oct. 3. 1519 Euclid Ave., Cleveland, 216-241-6000, playhousesquare.org

IngenuityFest 2026 | Arts | Sept. 25-27

This annual weekend-long fundraising event celebrates imagination, engineering, and the arts across four floors in the IngenuityLabs warehouse in the St. Clair and Superior neighborhood. The event runs through Sunday. 5401 Hamilton Ave., Cleveland, ingenuitycleveland.org 

Browns vs. Carolina Panthers at Huntington Bank Field | Sports | Sept. 27

After playing their first two regular season games on the road and getting blown out in the season opener, the Cleveland Browns finally come home. They'll face the Carolina Panthers at 1 p.m. on Sunday at Huntington Bank Field. 100 Alfred Lerner Way, Cleveland, 440-891-5000, huntingtonbankfield.com 

Jim Henson's Labyrinth: In Concert 40th Anniversary at the Agora | Film | Sept. 27

A live band accompanies this screening of the Jim Henson movie Labyrinth. The show begins at 6:30 p.m. at the Agora. 5000 Euclid Ave., Cleveland, 216-881-2221, agoracleveland.com

For our full list of things to do, visit clevelandmagazine.com/things-to-do.

Yesterday's Trivia Answer 

What Cleveland television station debuted as WXEL, an affiliate of the Dumont network, on Dec. 17, 1949? WJW (Fox 8)

Check back tomorrow for the answer to today's question.

From the Editor

Death Becomes Her is a ton of fun in film form, and also onstage. I got to see it at Playhouse Square and loved the intricate set, catchy tunes and impressive acting from all three leads — including the great Ken Marino, who's also known for his roles in movies like Wet Hot American Summer and TV shows like Party Down.

Now, he finds himself on the national tour of the production, starting in Cleveland. "I felt like it was something I needed for my soul," Marino told cleveland.com. "There's something about doing a show in front of people that you can't compare to anything."

— Annie Nickoloff, Senior Editor

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