My CLE

Plain Dealer writer Grant Segall profiles the area’s most interesting people, places and events.

Cleveland "Parade The Circle" Chairperson Robin Van Lear with a participant from the parade.

Robin VanLear showcases CLEveland’s artsy side in Parade the Circle

  Grant Segall: Pet peeve about Cleveland? Robin Van Lear: “We’re too hung up on whether we’re cool. We are cool. I’ve lived in some really cool places: Cambridge, Mass.; western Massachusetts; Stowe; Vancouver… I’ve never lived in places that had as beautiful and affordable housing as Cleveland. I love Cleveland. I love driving across the bridges […]

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Dr. Karen Cooper - doctor of obstetrics and gynecology at the Cleveland Clinic didn't want to come to CLEveland, but loves it here now. (Photo: Lisa DeJong, The Plain Dealer)

Guyana native loves helping CLEvelanders in many ways

  Grant Segall: What kept you here? Dr. Karen Cooper: “Omigosh, how delightful Cleveland is! Cleveland is this wonderful, eclectic, secret place that really grows on you. I started working out at the Bally’s in Beachwood, Everyone was so friendly and family-oriented. We’d party together, celebrate together. I had never experienced that at the Bally’s

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Cavaliers Coach Mike Brown is excited to be back in CLEveland because he says, "It's a great city." (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)

Mike Brown – CLEveland Cavs coach – part deux

  Grant Segall: Why did you want to come back to the Cleveland Cavaliers? Mike Brown: “It’s a great city. It has everything you need and want. It has three major sports franchises. You have beaches and skiing. Cleveland’s very easy to get around, although I still don’t understand the East Side-West Side thing. It’s a neat

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Mike Olszewski stands in front of the childhood home of Jerry Siegel, who co-created Superman as a CLEveland teenager. (Photo by Lonnie Timmons III/The Plain Dealer)

Superman co-creator’s home part of CLEveland’s heritage

  (Mike Olszewski helped save the childhood home of Jerry Siegel, who created Superman with Joe Shuster.) Grant Segall: How do visitors like the town? Mike Olszewski: “People come to Cleveland and love it. A lot of people I’ve worked with have come and decided to stay. Falk would come to the U.S. for a

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James Levin – the man behind CLEveland’s OneWorld Festival

  Grant Segall: You acted in New York years ago. How do Cleveland stages compare? Jim Levin: “Cleveland’s a terrific theater community. Cleveland Public can run with the big dogs in any city. It’s crazy that so many of our theaters audition in New York or Chicago, because actors here are at the same level.

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Russell Winter of Memphis Kiddie Park for My Cleveland on July 17, 2013 in Cleveland. (Photo by Scott Shaw, The Plain Dealer)

CLEveland’s Memphis Kiddie Park – a place for all ages

(Photo of Memphis Kiddie Park owner Russell Winter.) Grant Segall: Who’s your local hero? Russell Wintner: “Superman, because he came from Cleveland. I remember saving the cereal box tops to get that belt with the buckle and the cape. But Mom wouldn’t let me have the cape, because kids would climb the roof and jump off.” 

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