Columbus : Featured Stories

There was a time when Ohio overflowed with distilleries that made whisky, which wended its way down the Ohio and Mississippi rivers to New Orleans. Over time, every last one of those distilleries dried up. Now, small-scale distilleries are reviving the grand tradition.

Paul Havasi of Cleveland gets a lot of stares from fellow drivers on his way to work. His three-wheeled electric NmG is a rare sight. But laugh all you want; his choice of transport is the way of the future, according to the many businesses and researchers in Ohio developing technology and products for hybrid and electric cars.

For architect Curtis Moody, the mastermind behind Buckeye-born projects such as the Jesse Owens Memorial Stadium, the Ohio Statehouse renovation and the Center of Science and Industry, there was no easy road to success.

Thousands of Ohioans are flocking to the farm, the farmers market and to restaurants to support locally grown produce. It's a bona fide movement, taking place all over the state � where a local farmer is just around the corner.

Tucked away on the west side of the Ohio State University campus is the Byrd Polar Research Center -- an international leader in polar and alpine research that is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year. hiVelocity spoke with Director Ellen Mosley-Thompson, who came to OSU on a graduate fellowship and never left. A professor of geography, leading expert in ice core paleoclimatology and frequent flyer to Antarctica and Greenland, her responsibilities include caring for 7,000 ice cores stored at 30-below in the bowels of Scott Hall.

Four years ago, a grand plan was rolled out for the "315 Research and Technology Corridor," one that envisioned coordinated, concentrated development of high-tech industry in an area roughly along Columbus's I-315. Since then, development has taken another course -- one that shows that the vision, if not the original game plan, is still alive.

Israel boasts the highest number of start-ups per capita in the world. Ohio wants to be a second home to some of these businesses as they build their worldwide markets. Thanks to the aggressive efforts of business developers across the state, Ohio has become one of the most successful states in attracting investment from Israeli companies.

In January, Gov. Ted Strickland announced that Ohio had received $400 million in federal stimulus money to develop a "3C Corridor" passenger rail system linking Cleveland, Columbus, Dayton and Cincinnati. Immediately, questions flew: Will the trains go fast enough? How many stops? Who will ride it? Will the benefits be worth the money?  hiVelocity caught up with James E. Seney, who served as executive director of the Ohio Rail Development Commission under former Gov. Bob Taft. Seney, who oversaw the Taft Administration's original Ohio Hub rail plan to link Ohio to midwestern and east coast lines, says all questions are valid -- but that Ohio has an opportunity that's too good to pass up.