And couldn’t we all use some positive news right about now?   With the housing and financial crises dominating the news, and the final month surge in negative political ads, “positive” hasn’t been an adjective used very often to describe the news.  Hopefully, better times are ahead.  We’ve recapped a nice selection of positive news from after the break.

There is a lot of positive change happening in the region, particularly around entrepreneurial activities and economic development.  NEOinc follows several regional blogs reporting on these topics.  Sometimes the posts shine a spotlight nationally (or internationally) on the region.  Every month we publish a short list of some of the stories we’ve noticed that embody the spirit of achievement, growth and change in our region.

Here is NEOinc’s September recap of the articles we feel speak to the growth and positive change that is happening quietly, every day, in our region.  

September ’08 Recap

• State of Ohio releases it’s Economic Development Strategic Plan
• The Minority Business Accelerator 2.5+ works to bring diversity to a major Cleveland project
• World-class economic development taking place in Wooster
• Parker Hannifan wins $1.2B in contracts
• Diebold wins Postal Service work
• University Hospitals gain $1.5M in gifts
• JumpStart invests in San Diego company, with local presence
• Timken invests $14M into Canton plant
• An interview with a manufacturing company that is growing globally
• PolyFlow honored for plastics recycling technology(a NEOinc client)
• Where would you guess Ohio would rank for venture money invested in technology companies in 2007?  Try 13th nationally!
• Burton Morgan Foundation awards JumpStart additional funds
• Cleveland Foundation awards $13.9 in grants
• Office space in Northeast Ohio is at it’s highest occupancy in 5 years
• Timken boosts third quarter estimate
• Akron Global Business Accelerator CEO honored

This list certainly isn’t meant to be exhaustive, merely a representative sample of some of the more positive articles we saw throughout the month.  We want to hear from you too!  Please use the comment box below to share your thoughts with us here at NEOinc and our other readers.  Come on, you know you want to.

We’re also looking for other blogs to follow that report on positive entrepreneurship and economic development activities throughout Northeast Ohio.  You can review the list below of the blogs we currently follow.  Please post any additional recommendations via the comment box at the end of this post.

NEOinc’s blog reports regularly on entrepreneurial activities within the region, news and successes within the five incubators making up our collaborative, and resources available throughout Northeast Ohio.  If you found this post useful, please consider subscribing to our blog.  Our “Connect With Us” page will give you all the information you need to subscribe via your RSS reader or receive E-Mail updates.

Sources

NEOinc watches the following regional blogs.  Please use our “Contact Us” page, or the comment box below, to recommend a blog not on the list.

• Advance Northeast Ohio – the online home of our region’s economic action plan, which was inspired by Voices & Choices. Learn about the actions our region is taking to grow our economy and engage in conversations that shape the plan and evaluate our performance.
• Brewed Fresh Daily- topical, wide-ranging, and sometimes irreverant, George Nemeth’s blog is a clearinghouse for the pulse of Northeast Ohio.
• Cleveland Plain Dealer’s business blog
• Crain’s Cleveland
• NorTech - NorTech leads the region’s technology based economic development agenda. By supporting and nurturing Northeast Ohio’s most promising technology projects and initiatives, they help to create new technology industries and make the region ‘s economy more globally-competitive.
• Ohio Means Business – The OBDC blog is a chance for Ohio executives to share their perspective on how locating in Ohio has enabled them to achieve both their professional and personal aspirations without having to sacrifice one for the other.