Lippert Is Carrying COAST's Water

When Councilman Wayne Lippert issues a press release demanding that all work on the Streetcar be stopped until the Anti-Rail issue on the ballot in November is voted on, he is helping COAST and its anti-city efforts. The question that will persist about Lippert: Does he support COAST and it's anti-city efforts?This press release goes along way in supporting COAST.  In my views it does the following:

1. It legitimized COAST's extreme anti-rail effort. 
2. If signals to COAST voters that Lippert is in full support of the anti-rail issue without having to say it.  He may not be in support of the issue, but wants COAST voters to think he is.  Tea Party money may be politically toxic to anyone who cares about the City, but it is still green.
3. It gives more free press to COAST and Co.
4. This solidifies Lippert as desperate to get every far right wing vote he can.  He's lost any hope of getting moderate voters that are not just closet Republicans.
5. This confirms to me that Lippert is looking not to help the city, but is laying the groundwork to run for higher office and will do so by pushing the agenda he thinks will get him elected at that later time, not what will improve the city. He wants to appease conservative base voters and they are in the suburbs and not in the city.

Lippert has made a harsh political choice and is playing to the media and to the extremes of the city and really the suburbs. A real leader would not help do anything to help propel COAST's anti-rail amendment. Everyone can see it is a horrible idea is meant to hurt the city. A real leader would speak out against this issue not hide behind false equivalency. A "let the voters decide" attitude is not leadership, it is being chickenshit.  If Lippert truly wants to the let the voters actually vote unhindered, then he should not have said a thing about the issue.  Instead he does what he can to push COAST's agenda, without actually endorsing it. When will the Enquirer ask and publish Lippert's stances on the anti-rail issue?

What makes this on the surface laughable, is that if you use Lippert's logic, the City, County, and State should not take any action, spend any money, have any discussion of anything that will be affected by a ballot initiative. That therefore means that since we have a statewide ballot issue (anti-healthcare law effort) that will decide if Ohio will knowingly violate constitutional law (supremacy clause) , we should avoid following the U.S. Constitution or any federal laws until the voters speak. Oh, Lippert didn't mention that one in his press release? Hmmm, I wonder why.

Barry Horstman's Anti-Streetcar Cheerleading Continues

In case you still had any doubt of the bias of the reporting on the Streetcar issue from the Enquirer's Barry Horstman, then read this article, which is more cheerleading than reporting. Horstman has not properly reported on what the ballot initiative says and provides a tacit explanation of it's  language with selective quotes that provide more of an argument for Smitherman to use, than a balanced summary. Any objective analysis of it, like Judge Mark Painter provided in the Enquirer, would conclude that this ballot initiative would ban the city from spending any money on any rail project, not just the streetcar. This type of bias is what I have come to expect from Horstman, which is very disappointing, but there is hope that he will soon end his involvement in reporting on this issue.  It is very pathetic that the impetus for a story on the Streetcar is going to be an email or phone call from Smitherman to Hortsman providing an update on his signature boondoggle.  The number of press releases and blog pots put out there last week on the ballot language was not something Horstman would have missed, especially if he reads the guest columnists in the newspaper that pays his salary. Hortsman failed to report on many substantive details of this situation. Here is an outline of some of what he failed to do.

1. Question Smitherman on the language used in the ballot initiative. 
2. Question COAST on the language used in the ballot initiative. (Didn't they write it?)
3. Provide evidence on the validity of the claim that August 10th is a soft deadline. This contradicts a prior article he wrote.  What changed?
4. Ask Smitherman how he's going to get over 1,200 signatures in 3 days, when it took around 5 days to get nearly 800.
5. Ask Smitherman how he knows the signatures he has gotten in the last 5 days are valid, is that his guess or have they been validated by the Board of Elections?
6. Ask Smitherman a question about a member of his campaign trashing at least one box full of CityBeat issues last Friday night. (This may happen yet. Hortsman and the Enquirer do like reporting on dirty tricks.)

That's not everything he could have done and included in the article, but the list summarizes some of the key details that would provide the most factual and fair presentation of the current situation.  We really are suffering with the lack of news gathering in this town.  TV and Radio don't have the resources to provide in depth reporting, so we are stuck with what every the Enquirer puts out.  That's a shameful way to live in a democracy.

Spread the World: It's An Anti-Rail Ballot Issue

The anti-city forces (COAST and Chris Smitherman) who are circulating a petition they say is to outlaw building a streetcar is really about preventing all passenger rail in the city, similar to issue 9's efforts.

So when Smitherman and COAST's minions are out over the next week desperately trying to collect signatures, be sure to ask the collector what the ballot issue means, correct them if they say it's about the streetcar, then politely decline to sign.

Be sure to spread the word about NOT signing to all Cincinnati residents. COAST and Smitherman are coming up short and only have another week to get a couple more thousand valid signatures.

Don't bother telling your friends who are residents of the suburbs or Northern Kentucky about this. If they are really anti-streetcar and want to sign a petition, you really can't stop them from doing so. No need to waste your time explaining it to them.

Sittenfeld Has a Jingle, But No Public Stance On The Streetcar

Yesterday the Enquirer's Politics Extra blog posted on P.G. Sittenfeld's new jingle made in support of his campaign for City Council. It's fine, in a 1950's nostalgia kind of a way. (Think of  "I like Ike")  I don't mind any city council candidate being creative with positive promotion. I am disappointed, however, that P.G. appears to be too busy doing this type of fluffy campaigning to bother writing a quick post to his blog giving his stance on the Streetcar.

I asked the question: Where Does P. G. Sittenfeld Stand on the Streetcar? a couple of weeks ago and have not read anything yet that indicates an answer. P.G. needs to make public his stance on the Streetcar or people will draw conclusions.  I'd still settle for a Twitter or Facebook post, but at this point his silence with all the social media rumblings going on leads one to conclude that at a minimum he is not a strong supporter of the Streetcar and can't use 140 characters to explain his view on the subject.

I still hope he'll come out and support the plan, which will help the City grow and prosper. The longer he stays quiet, however, the more he will be viewed as a typical politician too concerned with his own political future to take a stand on an important and relevant issue.  Even if he is against the Streetcar, he needs to make it clear to the voters.

Barry Hortsman Has Been Reassigned Off the Streetcar, Mostly

Sources indicate that starting this week, Enquirer reporter Barry Hortsman takes on the role of general investigative reporter in a new investigative/data unit at the Enquirer. He will be off the transportation beat, which as reported here before is going to Amanda Van Benschoten. The best news is that he will be handing off the Streetcar issue, mostly, to Van Benschoten. It appears he may remain involved on some stories or issues involving the Streetcar, but it will not be his beat.  What we can now do is pay close attention to the bylines and credits on stories involving the Streetcar, seeing how the tone/facts sway.  If we get story after story involving COAST or Chris Smitherman press releases,  we can see if Hortsman's name is there.  If not, then I think the bias against the Streetcar will point right to the editors.  If we don't get Streetcar stories that go to COAST or Smitherman or Tom Luken for the anti-streetcar bias, then I will jump for joy.  There are plenty of sane anti-streetcar people out there.  They are far to often ignorant, but they are respectable.  I'd suggest Amanda stick to City Council Republicans.  They are against it and they should be happy to make the City know they are against it.

Van Benschoten Taking on Transportation at Enquirer

Amanda Van Benschoten, NKY political reporter at the Enquirer, is moving her beat to the Cincinnati side of the river:

Beginning Monday, I move on to a new assignment at the newspaper: covering regional economic development and transportation.

I'll be covering the Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport, the Brent Spence Bridge, and Cincinnati's Port Authority, among other things. It's a beat chock full of political intrigue, and I look forward to it.

The big question: Will her Transportation coverage include the Streetcar? Has Barry Hortsman been reassigned or will she cover most Transportation modes, except for all rail Transportation that the Enquirer wants to use to create controversy?

Is Barry Horstman An Olympic Athlete Or A Liar?

Jake Mecklenborg at the Cincinnati Monocle gives the information you need to answer the question the title of this blog poses: Is Barry Horstman an Olympic Athlete or a liar? Jake references the article Enquirer reporter Barry Hortsman wrote about the time it would take to "walk" the Streetcar route. Hortsman claimed the streetcar route could be walked in 34 minutes, a "very brisk walk" to be specific. That would be 3.15 miles in 34 minutes. When I do the the math I get a walking speed of 5.56 mph.

5.56 mph is jogging. So I guess the is a fantasy land where a "very brisk walk" equates to jogging. That land is a ways from OZ, but right next door to the spacecamp that COASTers call "reality."

So, that basically makes the entire point of the article wrong and horrible journalism.  Why do it?  Do I need to ask this question or is there more than just an anti-streetcar/pro-conflict bias at work here?

For the curious, Wikipedia indicates the average walking speed for people to be 3.1 mph, while running 3.15 miles would be somewhere between 6.6 and 6.8 mph for men and 5.8 and 6.1 for women.

Where Does P. G. Sittenfeld Stand on the Streetcar?

A hole is starting to grow and if that hole gets to big, a candidate for City Council may not be able to get out. The discussions are going around the social media and commenting circles in Cincinnati about where PG Sittenfeld, Democratic candidate for Cincinnati Council, stands on the Streetcar. Social media posts claim he is against it, one based on a conversation the poster allegedly had with the candidate. His website is silent on the issue. It is silent on Transportation in general. This is a big issue in the city. It may not be an issue some candidates want to get in the middle of, but they must take a clear position on it.

I don't like commenting on rumor, but this is a hopping one. It is a rather easy one to quell. A Twitter post will do just fine. I'd like to hear his views on the topic and unless he wants to become victim to the rumor mill's albatross line of accessories, he should speak up. He's not going to gain long term support by appeasing to opposing groups' views.

Can We Focus On One Thing At a Time?

I like the idea of an Incline. I also like Wendell Young, but we need to focus on building a Streetcar and battles ahead instead of pushing new ideas.

The revised blog post linked above from Jane Prendergast also implies that Young is hedging on the Streetcar. I hope Wendell clarifies his position.

Winburn Stunt Backfires: Streetcar Support Shines!

Cincinnati City Council Member Charlie Winburn's stunt backfired Wednesday night when Cincy Streetcar supports turned out in great numbers to politely voice their support for the Streetcar and for the city as special council session called by Winburn and other Council Republicans. Social media reports indicated that 40 out of 45 citizen speakers were in favor of the Streetcar project. Several attendees reported on Twitter that many of the the small number of Streetcar opponents were disruptive and all anti-streetcar speakers yelled into the microphone and spoke longer than the two minutes alloted.

Another report indicated that alleged candidate for Cincinnati City Council and local NAACP president Chris Smitherman had a confrontation of some type, possibly with security in council chambers.  If the political reporters are not paying attention and don't report on his antics, then they are propping up his candidacy just to attract readers or viewers.

The clear message was the Streetcar has strong support from Cincinnati and the handful of people who are against it couldn't muster up enough suburbanites to drive downtown at 6PM on a Wednesday. We also saw Charlie Winburn comes across like a fool, playing a game instead of doing his job. All that's left to see how the mainstream media butchers the story in favor of the nut cases (like COAST and Smitherman) or of the Republican Council members who played more for contributions and Westside votes than they did actually constructively discussing the issue.

UPDATE:  Here's the Enquirer Story with more on Smitherman's apparent angry reaction to getting his picture taken.  Other than covering the Smitherman outburst, the article gives the usual bias against the Streetcar by given the opposition to the Streetcar more ink than to view of supporters the overwhelming number in attendance.  It isn't balanced when you report the number of supporters, but quote a small percentage of them, while giving 2 of 5 of the anti-streetcar speakers opinions in the article, adding to it the anti-streetcar Republicans comments and you get a biased story.  What we have come to expect from the Enquirer on this topic.

The Mightly Casey Coston At Bat: Home Run

Soapbox columnist Casey Coston's article this week elegantly summarizes the recent attacks being made on Cincinnati. Those attacks are not from a foreign land or even a different state, (Pittsburgh is not a suspect.) These attacks are coming from Exurban Ohio law makers bent on pushing an anti-Cincinnati, anti-urban, and dogmatic conservative agenda on the City of Cincinnati and the entire State of Ohio. We must not let this go unchallenged and must be heard. Kudos to Casey for this brazen commentary.

Kasich Cuts Cincinnati Funding, But Increases Exurban Columbus Funding

In case you wanted to believe the lie that Kasich was going to cut the streetcar because we can't afford it, then read the Cincinnati Business Courier article reporting Jon Kasich's TRAC representatives seek to increase the Transportation budget for his home town. From the article:

"Among the projects added is a $5 million improvement to an I-71 interchange in Delaware County and $2.7 million for an “east-west connector” in Pickaway County. Both projects are in the former Ohio Congressional district of Ohio Gov. John Kasich, who has been an outspoken opponent of Cincinnati's streetcar project."

Kasich's exurban home gets additional fund he can't justify, but Cincinnati does planning, does the research to prove the value of the Street, secures the federal funding, and we get screwed. How can people honestly buy this is not just political payback?

In case you wondered, Cincinnati area projects got 82% of the TRAC cuts, but I couldn't find an increase in funding in any urban area.

By the way, I'd like to hear local Republican officials defend Kasich on this. I could use a good laugh.

Finally, if the Enquirer's Barry Hortsman knew what journalism entails, he might have included the facts from the Business Courier Story. Instead, he got quotes from Winburn and Finney, the Gary Busey and Mel Gibson of Cincinnati Intellectual discourse. Hortsman is not showing signs of being a marginally passable reporter, but showing signs of practicing what ever FOX News does.

More from UrbanCincy.

For Kasich It's Not About the Streetcar, It's All About His Political Agenda

If anyone tells you that the reason Governor Kasich is pulling funding for Cincinnati Streetcar is anything other than Politics, then they are a fucking liar. You can tell them I am calling them a liar and you can put these simple political reasons back in their face:

Kasich is pulling funding because:

• He's looking to screw those that don't vote for him and the City of Cincinnati really didn't vote for him with only 28.77% supporting him, so Kasich plays hardball with State funds for revenge.
• He's looking to do what his fellow Republicans want and Most (not all) of Cincinnati area Republican leaders are against the Streetcar as they are against nearly anything good for Cincinnati. If you don't think Kasich heard anti-Streetcar views from Hartman, Monzel, Ghiz, Winburn, Deters, Brinkman, Finney, Chabot, Triantafilou & Boehner, then you should get your head out of your ass.
• He's anti-Urban, plain and simple, something that is a growing theme for Republicans. It fits the divide of much of the political sphere. The Exurbs and Rural areas are where Republican voters lives so they are going to get more money from Republicans.
• He's anti-Rail. He's against anything that does not make it easier for Republican voters drive their cars.  He's also is looking to promote the automotive industry and asphalt/concrete/road construction industries.  It is like he's living in 1955 and can't get his head out of his ass.

What is more insulting is how Kasich did this.  He didn't do what normal respectable Governors do when breaking bad news, namely call the Mayor and issue a press release.  Instead Kasich makes flippant and arrogant comments to the media right here in Cincinnati.  He comes into our town and insults us.  Kasich shows he is a jerk.  I'm not name calling, I'm being nice.  The term "jerk" is not the first one to come to mind, but I'm trying to be a little more classy.  I'm not above being crass (as I'm first to admit), but as I make this point, I'll try and be far more classy that he was.

If you are not convinced yet of Republicans out to ruin cities, then read Urbancincy's article documenting the efforts for the Republicans on the Ohio Senate Sub Committee on Transportation to directly defund the Cincinnati Streetcar.  Not just any streetcar or rail system, but Cincinnati's alone.  Guess who sits on the committee: Senator Gary Cates (R) of West Chester.  So, did he propose this effort to hurt Cincinnati? Who's ideas was it and where did it originate? To bad there is not more than one professional reporter in Columbus to ask these questions.  It would be even better if that newspaper would actually print anything about it.

CityKin points out evidence of Mr. AssfaultAsphalt's problem and what I would call corruption.  He makes a bad Sheriff to Kasich's Prince John, but the if the parallel fits, wear it.

Cincinnatians for Progress Streetcar and City Defense Fundraiser Tomorrow!

All of Cincinnati needs you to GET ON BOARD with Cincinnatians for Progress' FUNDRAISER for their Campaign in the fight against another far-reaching anti-passenger rail amendment and in support of Good Governance and Progress in Cincinnati.

Join Mayor Mark Mallory and CFP
Wednesday, February 16th 2011
5:30 - 8:00 pm
Historic Grammer's
1440 Walnut Street, Over the Rhine
Cincinnati, Ohio 45202

$25 or $50 Suggested Donation at the door
Cannot attend? Please donate online by clicking here

To stay current on the effort to protect our government and allow it to develop the Streetcar, check out Cincinnatians for Progress on Facebook or Twitter.

The Anti-Streetcar Bias of the Enquirer: A Smoking Gun Example

Everyone says this all the time: The Enquirer is biased towards Republicans and the Suburbs, and has a strong anti-city contempt. I tend to think the first two are very true, but the third less so, except with certain segments of the daily newspaper's staff. The main bias of all for profit media is in favor of controversy/sex/crime (anything that attracts eyeballs like a car wreck,) but that has become mostly a given in our popularity driven society. Being against the Streetcar has been an editorial stance of the Enquirer for a couple of years, so the Enquirer's bias in its coverage of that issue has long been a question.

If you buy all of that or not, you can't deny this week's clear smoking gun bias in the form of a Barry Hortsman article entitled Poll: residents oppose both streetcar and ballot. Please note that headline. It is where the core of the bias lies.

In case you missed the news last week, a poll was sent to the Enquirer from Chris Finney, Mr. Anti-Cincinnati and fearless leader of the anti-Cincinnati group, COAST. That poll was conducted by Republican Paul M. Fallon. I say he's a Republican because it was something brought up by Twitter posts and CityBeat's reporting, but not something you read in Hortsman's article.

Where the bias lies is in the headline. This poll was conducted County wide. Yes, county wide. The term used by the Eqnuirer in the headline is "residents." I didn't know the Hamilton County and the City of Cincinnati were synonymous How can they not be lying? Well, that is where the bias happens. Hortsman focuses in on the number of City Residents included in a poll, a number which is a subset of the poll, something we might call an internal. How do you trust a poll that is created on a county wide basis, then adjusted for a city only topic and consider that to be good polling? Well, you do it when it provides you with an answer you want, which is why Chris Finney pitched the news story and the Enquirer took it. There is more, howerever.

The story linked above was posted at 8:52 PM on February 10th, 2011. The first story about the poll was actually first written for the Enquirer's politics blog with a headline that read "A new streetcar survey," which was published at 10:17 AM on February 10th, 2011. That blog post was updated once at 12:15 PM with more information clarifying some of the reports from Fallon's survey.

So, the initial gut of Carl Weiser (the author of the blog post) wasn't to spin the story, it was to be honest. Carl knows where he got the press release from, Chris Finney, and in the blog post rightfully reports that Finney is an "anti-streetcar activist. I'm also betting that Weiser knows of Paul Fallon as a Republican pollster, which I'm also surmising tempered the headline of the blog post. I think Carl Weiser is a good journalist and I think his coverage, for a Republican newspaper, is fair, within reason at least. That's why I think that headline on the blog post appears the way it did. Something didn't smell right about the poll, and Carl knew it.

Eight hours later we get a snow job. I don't know who gets the blame more, Barry Hortsman himself or his editors, but we get a biased and knowingly misleading headline and article. Eight hours later is plenty of time for Barry to do a Google search on Fallon and read this profile (read the right sidebar) to learn he was director of public opinion research for the Ohio Republican Party. It also doesn't take five minutes for a green reporter to know that you are going to get a Republican conclusion from a Republican pollster. Hortsman knows that the Hamilton County Republican Party is against the Streetcar. So, putting two and two together shouldn't have been too much to do in eight hours. So, does that leave laziness as the cause instead of bias? I'm not going to say lazy, although in a time crunched reporter's life, that often is a big problem. Instead, I lay this at the feat of Hortsman's bias and/or the bias of his editors. I don't know if Carl Weiser is his editor, but I'm going to guess no, based on the variation in how this poll was presented over an eight hour period.

Headlines, in case you forget, are very important in the news media. A large portion of readers only read a scant few articles, but read all of the headlines. They draw conclusions based on those headlines. In this case a false conclusion would be reached by anyone reading the Hortsman article's headline. Further false conclusions would be drawn from the article it self, lacking any context as to the source of the poll and back ground of the pollster. Not determining why this poll was conducted was the most damning element not to include. Are we supposed to honestly believe the pollster wanted to throw this in for the hell of it? He took the time to write up a press release because it seemed like a good thing to do? Yes, and I have deal on the Suspension Bridge that you just can't pass up.

I sent a request to Barry Hortsman for comment and answers to a list of questions relating to this story early Friday morning. I copied all of the editors I believed would have been responsible for his work. As of the publishing of this post, I received no response, except that one of the editors was out of the office.

I don't expect the Enquirer to be perfect. I do expect them to try and be fair and not do something so obviously biased. Instead, Hortsman should never have written the story. Weiser's blog post was enough. Instead the article likely reached the print edition and mislead a much wider audience.

At this point everything Hortsman writes has to be second guessed. I wouldn't trust him getting a 'dog bites man' story right, let alone the streetcar. The new editor of paper, Carolyn Washburn, should take the time to think about reassigning who ever is responsible for this biased article. If the blame lies at hers or her boss's feet, then I'll be making a habit of this type of blog post.

Additional info from WLWT, which has the press release generated from Fallon Research.

Streetcar Project Fully Funded With a New State Grant

The Cincinnati Streetcar Project got yet another boost yesterday with news that the State of Ohio is providing an additional $35 Million grant to fund the construction of the Streetcar lines running from the Banks through Downtown and OTR to the Uptown area. As UrbanCincy Reports, the City now has recieved a total of $150 Million for the $128 Million project.


This doesn't stop the anti-city forces from lying, again. This time they are lying about the position of the Council Member on the Streetcar. The semi-positive news is that in the Enquirer article the reporter indicates that at least someone at the Enquirer is getting closer to the truth about the Funding of the Streetcar and how ending the project will do NOTHING to prevent layoffs of Police and Fire due to the Budget gap.

With the FOP, Cincinnati Fire Fighters Union Local 48, Westwood Concern and other groups searching for ways to preserve some of the 370 city jobs at risk, the controversial streetcar project – and Berding – have become their primary targets. Berding’s support is needed to guarantee a majority vote on council for streetcar matters,

By law, state and federal money that City Hall has received for the $128 million-plus streetcar could not be spent for other purposes. That also is the case, City Hall officials say, with the $64 million in local bonds that the city plans to commit to the streetcar project.

For that reason, supporters insist, blocking the streetcar would have no impact on City Hall’s current $60 million budget deficit. Opponents, though, argue the system’s future operating expenses would divert dollars that otherwise could fund jobs and services.

The Enquirer is closer to the truth, but the reporter still fails on two levels. First they fail to point out that the future expense of operating the Streetcar is IN THE FUTURE. The Streetcar is NOT built yet. We have a budget deficit NOW that will require laying off police officers and fire fighters. If we don't get an economic turnaround and the City's revenues are hurting again, they can have that argument again in 5 or 10 yearrs, when it would be relevant.  The real reason this argument is made, is because the groups making it are against development of the City and Urban core.

The second failure of the reporter comes in how they segregate City laws as something more mysterious than State or Federal Laws. I would prefer that if any media outlet publishes someone demanding an end to the Streetcar and even HINTS that this would save cops or fire fighters jobs (a lie), then the media outlet must print the facts about the Streetcar funding. In this article it would have been nicer for the Enquirer to not just report "City Officials Say" when talking about the $64 Million in bonds to be issued by the City for funding of the project. City Laws are just as much laws as State and Federal laws. We have to follow all of them. The reporter fails to 'have' all of the facts when they write "By law" in regards to the State and Federal Grants, but not for the City Funds. Who did the reporter get to confirm that the State and Federal funds grants are an issue of law? Could it have been a State or Federal official? Are not City officials as much of a definitive source of information on City laws as a State or Federal official on State or Federal laws, respectively?

As we learned recently how the bias in national media outlets affects news coverage and distorts the truth, we must insist that the media be fair to the truth, not just a blind reporting on what one side says.

A Special Decree: It's Spelled C-ASS

I am taking it upon myself, using my infinite amount of bloggish wisdom (yes such a thing exists..no really), to decree that the real spelling of the anti-city group "Citizens Against Streetcar Swindle" shall be forever spelled as C-ASS. An early incarnation had is listed as "CASS." That was an oversight.

The Streetcar Will Flow Uptown on Vine Street

The Enquirer is reporting that the City announced yesterday the route for the Northern leg of the Streetcar will flow up Vine Street. West Clifton Avenue was the other choice.

The Vine Street route will cost less and with the lower grade incline would on paper be easier to construct.

All Smoke, No Fire?

The Enquirer lists the major property owners along the most likely streetcar routes. There's a name that's notably absent: Towne Properties.

Certainly, Towne properties has an interest in the streetcar. The Uptown Commons project represents a pretty big financial gamble for the company, and they'll net a ton of money if it succeeds. And there can be no doubt it's more likely to be successful if a nearby streetcar connects it to downtown.

But vocal streetcar opponents insisted that Towne Properties had land all along the streetcar route. They made it sound as if the streetcar were a pet project of Towne Properties. Clearly, that's not the case.

And clearly, some people owe Chris Bortz an apology. I'll admit, I gave him grief in a post this past May, but that was over the really bad judgment required to request--and then ignore--an Ohio Ethics Commission opinion. And I stand by that assessment. But it now seems as if maybe some of those most vocally against the streetcar were pushing the Bortz conflict issue to distract from the merits of the question.

Shame on them.

Si Leis Supports the Streetcars in Cincinnati

If we were talking about religion, I would say Si Leis has seen the light! Since we aren't, I will just be a little awe struck with his guest column in the Enquirer where he comes out in full support of streetcars in Cincinnati. It's a little bit late, but we're happy to have him along for the ride!