MidPoint Summary

The Enquirer has an overall roundup of the festival. I had fun. That is what the festival is for afterall. I was not blown away by any of the acts I say, especially on Saturday night.

The rain really hurt and I think made the Saturday night gun shy. This year Midpoint Staff did a monumental job just getting the festival off, but stepped up even more with the hurdles thrust at them.

I am concerned how it will work next year. Where it will be is going to be a question that shall linger all year long. For now, play the CD's you got from your favorites, keep supporting local original music, and get out and see some more shows this weekend.

Heimlich-Pepper Debate

The debate happened last week. Did the debate have a clear winner? Local debates rarely affect races much, but might sway a few attendee's views.

DL Hosts Happy Hour for Kos

Join Drinking Liberally this Friday Night for a Kos Happy hour. Nationally known blogger Markos Moulitsas is in town and DL is bring the blogger to the people. Local candidates will be hanging out as well fighting to gain his counsel or a little more attention on his blog. The details: 5-8 p.m. at O'Bryon's Irish Pub, on 1998 Madison Road in O'Bryonville.

Midpoint Day Two

The Night was wet...and that's an understatement. My golf-size umbrella came in handy. While dodging the rain, I got to see several bands. Top of the list were the States and ..:SHIROCK:...

Tonight, not sure what I am up for. The Hiders, Apollo Up!, and Ellery look interesting.

CEA's Nominations For Music Are Out

CityBeat's Cincinnati Entertainment Awards Nominees for Music were announced last night. The Heartless Bastards and IsWhat?! Led the nominations with 4 each including Album and Artist of Year honors.

The Bigot Bar Owner in Mason Carries On

Anti-Muslim Hate boils just below the surface in much of American society and this juvenile statement from an adult in age only is a prime example. That hate of Muslims stems mostly from 9/11 and is an under current of what is a common held sense in many circles (high in conservative circles) of wanting to get revenge on Muslims. It's a tribal or clan like reaction. It is not a civil reaction and is being exploited by the Bush Administration as well as many Republican policy makers.

Midpoint Day One Recap

Lauren Bishop has her take on day one here.

I was most impressed with singer/songwriter Ellen Cherry who appear upstairs at Neon's. She had a sharp wit, is really cute in the coffeehouse gal kind of way (to mimic Lauren: not a slam at all), and her red polkadoted top reinforced her girl next door visual image. That image played that took me in played me for a fool, her dry sense of humor sharp songs give you a multi-level gut twist.

Tonight I'll be starting off at the Cincinnati Advance Midpoint Fire-Up! Party. Please come on down and support us. We made City Beat with it, twice!

Going to Midpoint Tonight?

What bands are you going to see? Note their locations and times if you can. I don't know who I am going to see tonight, yet, so I would love some suggestions.

CinAd - Midpoint Fire-Up on Friday!!!

Get Fired Up on Midpoint Friday!

On Friday September 22nd, join Cincinnati Advance for a Midpoint Fire-Up party at the Know Theatre of Cincinnati . From 6PM to 8:30 PM warm up with a drink and dinner by the bite from VINYL and Washington Platform before you engage in a night of cutting edge original music. Take the time to converse with your fellow music enthusiasts and plan out your night of shows, while partying in an actual Midpoint Venue. We'll start the night of music with the sounds of DJ Empirical (www.myspace.com/djempirical ). Cost is a low 5$ with a Cash Bar. Please note that admission to the party does not include the cost of admission to Midpoint. The Details:

What: Cincinnati Advance Midpoint Fire-Up!
Where: Know Theatre of Cincinnati - 1120 Jackson Street
When: Friday September 22, 2006 - 6PM to 8:30PM

Food Sponsors: VINYL and

Venue Sponsor :

What are some of the bands playing Midpoint Music Festival Friday September 22?
Kim Taylor @ Know Theatre 10:15 p.m.
Triage @ Blue Wisp 12 a.m.
Ryan Adcock @ Kaldi's 12:20 a.m.
Fairmount Girls @ Guido's Corner Tap 10:15 p.m.
Jake Speed & The Freddies @ Arnold's 12:15 p.m.

CinAd members are looking forward to Midpoint. Some of our favorites on Friday Night:

Bridget Huseman: "I'm looking forward to seeing the Fairmount Girls on Friday night. They opened for the Heartless Bastards at Southgate and are pure fun. I want to see more of them!"

Brian Griffin: "I really enjoy Jake Speed, so I'll try to see the Freddies at Arnold's, but at Midpoint I don't want to waste my chance to see bands I can't see often, so I'll try to see The States at the Know Theatre."

Jay B. Kalagayan: "Triage is a great blend of funk, jazz and motown. It's a musical treat to catch one of their rare performances."

For a complete Midpoint Music Festival Schedule, CLICK HERE.

Starting Early

Craig Scheidler is learning the hardway that politics is about money. He has personally helped raised over $2,000 for Dr. Victoria Wulsin who is running the Ohio 2nd.

Help Wulsin and in turn Craig's effort to be a good citizen and get rid of a bad Congress person.

Oh, My

The hair style is not something I'd keep.

Hartmann's Answer a Sign?

Is how you answered a question on a job application for a public job a sign of your trustworthiness? Yes it is. Is it a big one? Likely not a big political issue, because the Republicans will contradict themselves again on points of legality, dismissing them as unimportant. We all know what that is. Well, we do if we can remember the meaning of "is."

Is Fairfield Safe????

Is it safe for you and your children to walk outside a bar at 2 AM? Tune in tonight to see how you can avoid being shot on the tough streets of Fairfield.

Daily Kos at the Mercantile Library

Great news for blogging fans:

Markos Moulitsas, the man behind the world famous Daily Kos blog, will be appearing at the Mercantile Library on Friday, September 29th at noon in order to speak about his new book. The event is FREE, but we do ask that you RSVP (click here to send us an e-mail, or dial (513) 621-0717 if you prefer the old timey telephone device).

I am unable to make it, but add that to Ira Glass coming the next day, and you have a great representaive of the progressive media in America visiting Cincinnati. Wonder if the Enquirer will notice Kos's visit?

100 New Cops?

Adding more cops will not change anything now, it's a long term issue. To affect crime now, police need to act more now. Citizens need to act more now. Adding more cops in the future is not going to do anything but make City Council appear that they are doing something, something other than their basic job of coming up with a budget.

Retreads? That's All They Have to Offer?

If all the Democrats and Republicans have to offer as candidates for City Council are former members of council, then someone at the parties needs to start screaming. What human being could vote to endorse Sam Malone for a GOP nomination? Yes, I know, saying the GOP are humans might be a stretch. Seriously, are they that callous to endorse the guy, just because he can get the child abuser vote?

Interesting Article On Shadowbox

I haven't been for a while, but Shadowbox is making a few waves by using a better business model. No radical changes, just improved efficiencies.

Local Blogger Gets Mention

Mario Delgado, of Porkopolis, got a mention in Tech Trends.

Ghiz On Film

Council Woman Leslie Ghiz is featured in a documentary about the 2004 election. I don't know how the film premiered, or if it will show in Cincinnati. If it plays the Esquire, someone please let me know!

Remembering 9/11

How are you remembering 9/11? I plan on trying to avoid all politicization of the subject (which includes pushing terrorism at this time) and I plan on avoiding the faux patriotism.

I will remember the bravery of Firemen and Police Officers who ran into the WTC Towers.

Jack Quinn's Closes

Why didn't Jack Quinn's proper? Claims in the article include:

Lack of parking, worries about safety, the scarcity of nearby attractions and competition from Newport on the Levee and the Crestview Hills Town Center all contributed to Jack Quinn's demise, Bowles said.

That sounds kind of weak. The Covington of Mayor agreed:

Covington Mayor Butch Callery disputed that. He blamed the once-popular pub's demise on poor management.

It is a great building. It hopefully will find a good use.

City Beat: "Where’s Phil? Indian Hill."

Kevin Osborne from City Beat exposes the outright snobbish gall of Phil Heimlich. Hamilton County Politics 101 states you DO NOT skip the Harvest Home Parade to hold an Indian Hill Fundraiser with fat cats like Bob Castellini and John Barrett.

If you are a blue collar Republican from the West Side, this is the reality of the GOP. Yes, Pepper is the kid of a rich fat cat too, but he marched in the parade.

'Homeless" Showdown

I am going to take a hard line here with those being described as homeless living by the river. The term "homeless" has a meaning in society which means something different to various people. To the guys who run the Drop In Center, it means anyone without a home. To others, like me, there is a difference between a homeless person and a bum The guys living on the river sound like bums. I have little sympathy for bums. They need help, true, they don't need to be coddled like children. Worrying about hurting their feelings shouldn't be a concern when their lives are intruding on others, as is the case with living by river and dropping a load where ever you want.

I don't want a showdown. I want quiet, professional action. Ask them to leave and offer them help. Most have addiction or mental health issues. If they refuse to leave, be more forceful about asking. If they still will not go at the end of the day, move them by force. Do NOT use kid gloves, if they are not going to go willingly. Sure, it sounds brutal, but sometimes you have handle people when they are unable to handle themselves.

Some activists will howl at the moon over this. City Beat and Brian Garry likely will rumble a bit. At the end society will have a better run Tall Stacks, the bums with hopefully get the help they need. If not, they'll be crapping someplace else until they bother somebody else.

Alchemize Review

Brian Butts from the Enquirer chimes in on opening night at alchemize. I haven't made it out there yet. Hope the sound is as good as Brian says. Parking is never wonderful in Northside. Anyone else made it out?

(If you are going to comment on Nick, save it. I will delete your tripe, and mock you if applicable.)

Smoking Hot Soccer Mamas

Soccer Moms Plead No Contest To Drug Charges.

Purgatory Closing This Weekend

I actually thought the club had closed a while back, but learned otherwise after recently seeing ads for events there.

Boycott Still Dead

The Enquirer reports today thatRev. Jesse Jackson to headline event at Freedom Center.

We Are Safe

We are safe folks, you are not going to be killed in Cincinnati. When I say "you" I don't mean you if you are buy or selling drugs. Murders happen to innocent people very very infrequently. Foster Parents are not going to kill their foster Children, just because it happens, does not mean it will happen to you. Fear mongering is not going to make things better, unless your goal is to drive people away.

Blackwell vs. Strickland Round 1

Any take on who won the first debate? Did anyone pay attention to make it matter?

POWR PAC Shows True Stripes

No matter how many times Pete Witte bob and weaves, he can't deny that in the end POWR PAC is a Republican Group. They dance around that by backing city council Candidates like Cranley and Thomas because they have no other choices. The GOP has given up on the City, not backing enough candidates to even take a majority on Council.

POWR PAC is burning bridges here. Is this group about the West Side of Cincinnati Residents or is this about National politics? Steve Chabot isn't doing anything for anyone in the 1st district. Putting your weight behind him shows they are not about City Politics and working together. Instead they are about being foot soldiers in the national political fight.

Local Democratic candidates should denounce POWR PAC's actions and they should not seek their endorsements in any local elections. That will fall on deaf ears. It shouldn't, but it will.

Public Service Announcement to the President

You can't remind the U.S. that the country is at War when Congress never declared war. There is no state of War. We are not on a War footing. This is not 1944. If Bush is going to throw around words like War and Freedom, I wish he would do it without trampling on the U.S. Constitution. I mean, Hell, if Bush is a literalist on the matters of the U.S. Constitution, as his love of Supreme Court Justice Scalia suggests, then he should be first to admit that his administration is claiming powers reserved for the President during a declared war. These powers have only been used in the time of actual war, which by the way, the last one ended over 60 years ago. If he wants to be FDR or Lincoln and ignore the Constitution in time of War, then he better get of his bum and ask Congress to declare one.

20/20 Line-Up Announced

20 Days and 20 Nights has been announced. Look for more information here: www.20days20nights.com.

Live Blogging Riverfest

The Enquirer has reporters on scene giving frequent updates on the crowds, sights, weather, and traffic surrounding Riverfest.

Interesting idea for the Newspaper to do this type of thing. I give them credit for trying something new. Much like showing the fireworks on TV, I wonder how much of an audience there is for this. Live Blogging other events that a lot of people don't go to might be a better way to expand reach of the Enquirer's blog, and actually give a reason why you need to visit their blogs over just watching TV.

Heartless Bastards Show Rocked

With the biggest Southgate House crowd I have ever seen, the Heartless Bastards played a great set at their CD Release Party. My vantage point from the balcony was excellent. Erika's voice was strong and is wonderful on the new album's songs. The live set of the new album's songs are much harder then the studio versions.

I could have done without the guest violinist, though.

Long Live WOXY

WOXY is going silent on September 15th. There is reportedly a very small chance someone might buy the Internet radio station. I expect this is end of the future of rock and roll. Sad.

Pellet Gun Halts Mail Service

How does what sounds like a few kids cause mail deliver to be halted for three weeks for portions of three streets in Evanston? I know that pellet guns are not in the famous phrase:

Neither snow nor rain nor heat nor gloom of night stays these couriers from the swift completion of their appointed rounds.

, but come on. Get a police escort while delivery in going on. Just park the officer on the street. I would think that would suffice.

Gambling Effort Falling Short

The ballot initiative that excluding Cincinnati from opening a casino has fallen short of the number of signatures needed to be placed on the November Ballot. They have 10 days to get more.

I didn't sign it, and advise you not to sign it. If it had included Cincinnati, I would have signed it.

'Some of Our Best Candidates Are Black'

Race in politics is a thorny, but not a complicated issue to figure out:

"'Our candidates would not engage and have not engaged in race-baiting, and it is disingenuous for Democrats to suggest otherwise,' said party spokesman John McClelland, who pointed out that the GOP's candidate for governor, Secretary of State Ken Blackwell, is black."

I am sure that party spokesman John McCelland has lots of black friends too.

What John and the GOP are lacking is in telling the truth. Yes, the GOP is race-baiting black voters in trying to vote for Ken Blackwell because he is black. They are playing the same game they accuse Democrats of doing when the Dems run minority votes, which happens with much, much greater frequency.

Lawdog Loves Tasers

Local Lawyer Ken Lawson seems to have found a way to try and buy himself a new boat.

Strickland Still Up Big In the Polls

Another month of polls like this showing Ted Strickland up by 20 plus points and Ken Blackwell maybe in a hole beyond help.

The knives are going to have to come now. Blackwell has to attack and hit with big money. If he can't get his face on TV over the next month and turn the polls around, then he is going to lose the faith of his backers. No matter how many conservative preachers exploit their religious role by endorsing him for office, he still can't win without big money.

Sad and Sickening

Why do these types of missing child situations turn into twisted movie of the week?

It sounds like other people may be charged in the attempted cover-up.

It's Not News

No, it is not news that Peter Bronson wants you to know that it is likely that the Pakistanis used torture to gain information from alleged terrorists. It is not news that to Bronson and those like him the "ends justify the means." It is not news that honor and principle don't matter if a white person's life is in the balance.

If a 100,000 civilian Iraqis die, that is justified because it was in revenge for 3,000 9/11 murders (which were totally unrelated) and helped make the 336 billion dollars of profit for oil companies, not to mention big profits for war industries. Honor and principle matters when the Bronsons of the world are thumping their bible in church. They matter when it comes to protecting their own or their own purse. It's not news when the Bronsons of the world talk out of the both sides of their moralists mouths. Beating a man is fine with Bronson. It isn't news that torture is wrong.

Forbes: America's Drunkest Cities

I don't know how you actually rate cities on their level of drunkenness, but somehow Forbes Magazine has done it. Cincinnati ranks 16th. Columbus and Cleveland were 3rd and 7th respectively. Ohio can drink.

Anti-Truth Group

It shouldn't shock anyone that an Anti-Abortion and Anti-Women group is out to fly a banner with a misreprentation of reality when they just make stuff up:

Harrington said his group turned to the skies to air its views because some stationary billboard companies refuse to post the images. Mainstream TV, radio and newspapers also won't use the ads because of their graphic content, he said.

"They often censor the grim reality of abortion while permitting horrifying images of dead Americans in Iraq to be broadcast and printed," Harrington said.

Mark Harrington, I don't think you are watching or reading the U.S. media much. They DON NOT show bodies of dead Americans! The war has been censored from the broadcast and print media. The GOP Government is preventing the media from filming or photograhing the coffins of dead soilders returning to the country in an honorable manner. He will be lucky to find a single image of a dead American body from the Iraq war to be shown on TV. That has rarely happened and is not shown close up. If the guy can't tell a basic truth about something like this, he can't be trusted otherwise.

Flying this sign is wrong, but it is legal. It shows how fanatical these groups are. They can't communicate their point in a sane manner, instead they have to create this confrontational myth. Ultimately they may not actually go through with it, instead just be happy about getting the press about saying they are going to do it.

Beatty Gets Manslaughter

It is a surprise that Howard Beatty was only found guilty of voluntary manslaughter, which means no more than 13 years in prison for killing Kabaka Oba.

GetLocal!???

A new attempt to to try and localize news from the Enquirer. I have not looked at it much at all. Is it just a filter of the paper based on community or is there additional new content? Is this were they are putting their news/postings from the public, the lazy journalism effort (Real Life, Real News, Real Crap?)?

Crap on a page!

How lazy is a journalist to write an article based solely on tying a B Movie to Sports?

Smoke Filled Musical Chairs

The Hamilton County Republican Party has decided for the Republican Party Voters who will represent the GOP on the November ballot in two location statehouse district.

Bait and switch.

Neither candidate in the 31st or 32nd district stands a great chance of Beating the Democrat so the impact here is minimal, but if I were a Democrat I would be really pissed off if let's say the Ohio Dems choose to take off Ted Strickland at this point and put up someone else for Governor. They are not going to do it, but Ted won the primary and unless he breaks a law or is unfit for office, he should stay on the ballot. The principle of it should be that the voters voices, even in the primary systems, are heard and respected.

Yes, the 32nd the view is that Mike Poast doesn't currently live in the district. He could still have moved in time for the election.

"Law Dog" Taking on Water

Infamous Lawyer Ken Lawson has a $660,000 back tax bill hanging over him. Instead of walking the plank, he is forced to sell his boat, the "Law Dog," to help offset some of the back taxes.

According to the article Lawson is claiming an illness caused him to miss work and in part caused him financial issues. These unpaid taxes go back as long as 5 years ago. I don't know what his cut of the Timothy Thomas and Roger Owensby Jr. cases were, but it went somewhere other than paying off what he owed to the Government.

More Bad Press!

More of this type of thing and you know what will happen? People will wake up and understand that Cincinnati has a lot to offer. The best part about this article are the hundreds of great things to do not mentioned in it. Sorry to say folks, we don't live in a ghost town. We just have a bunch of dead weight trying to bring down this great place.

Praise Zeus! Ponch is Coming to Town!

Buried in this article we learn Erik Estrada is signing autographs at Tri-County Mall. Ladies, better get in line now!

Molly Malone's Reviewed

I don't know if they have replaced the "ER" on the front, but the food gets a test from the Enquirer. It passes. Molly's is not going to get four or five starts, but when I went early after they reopened, it was ok. I hope to return for a second go around soon.

Is trivia night as fun as it was?

Alchemize to Reopen Sept. 6

Great news for live music in Cincinnati.

Wasting Money

This Township knows how to waste money.

COAST Backs Poor Tax

It is very strange that an Anti-tax group backed pro-tax calls. I guess taxes that affect rich people is their focus.

Phil Heimlich's Tax Hike on the Poor

I knew it, you knew it, but now everyone can know that it was all about getting Phil Heimlich elected, not about doing the business of government.

A Victory

Great news for civil rights in Cincinnati. Lets hope the forces of darkness fold up shop and move on to something void of the hate.

Trashin' the Larry

I was hesitant to respond to Larry Gross's Column in last week's City Beat, but in the end I am going to put out the basic problems with Larry's points and what I believe he is missing:

1. Criticize Cincinnati all you want! - The problem Larry misses is that when you are gloating with "I-told-you-so" blog posts and articles, you are not criticizing, you are bashing the city.
2. Larry's basis for attack was flawed! - Larry missed the points I was making that soon after restaurants and bars close something reopened in its place, something he failed to note. Granted that doesn't always happen, but the vast majority of the locations Larry cited had something similar reopen within a year.
3. Larry missed how he's stuck in stasis! - Larry, get over not have a movie theater downtown. We have many more theatres showing live people on stage downtown and in OTR than existed in the 1970's, no???
4. Playing the NKY vs. Cincinnati game is more bashing! - When you pit Newport and Covington as the bizzaro Cincinnati, then you are attacking, not criticizing. What is the basis to say that Newport, Cincinnati, and Covington shouldn't be thought of as the unified central urban core of the Metro area? Why aren't they thought of as complementary, not competitors?
5. What gives with the rest of the column? - Ok I don't know how mentioning me or Nick Spencer does much for the point of column, and I know even less how including references to my blog post titles and background on Rick Hines adds anything. I guess that is just adding some of the backstory to the non-blog readers out there, but I don't know that it helps much.

I hope that Larry wants the downtown and the city to thrive, as he stated in his column, but claims don't supersede acts. When you add to the negative perception of downtown using flawed comments and you fail to put into perspective the fears people have of downtown and OTR, you feed the beast. When you provide no suggestions for improvement, you look like you are enjoying the perceived decline.

I am embarrassed that people who have lived here longer than I have refuse to maintain a positive attitude and look at change not as a negative, but instead as what we need. You can't go home again Larry. Your old Cincinnati died 30 years ago. Join us in building a new Cincinnati.

Real or Fake, Certainly Irrelevant

I don't know if this email is real or fake, but it should be ignored by the powers that be, or what ever "movers and shakers" received it in the first place. One person is pissed off, big fucking deal. One person has a bad experience in any city and you don't go and change everything you are doing as a government or as a community.

If you assume for moment she is real, then she has a huge preconceived notion of Cincinnati or of the United States in general. She reads like she got a handout from a boycott activist.

Her ignorance is clear in her original email.

We decided to watch the local news each day. From doing so, one might never know that Cincinnati's population is 47% Black, as we learned on the internet before choosing to visit. We saw one Black reporter on each of two stations, but watched many reports on Black people being arrested for drugs in a place called OTR.

She obviously doesn't know the difference between the racial breakdown of the City proper and the Metro Area of Cincinnati. Sure, 47% is a possible number for the City, but not one I could find on the Internet, but the TV market reaches an area where blacks are less than 12% of the population. If she is going to play a quota game, then play it fairly. Also, how many folks from Canada are quick to pick up on the "OTR" abbreviation? I would be surprised if a anchor on local news is calling Over-the-Rhine "OTR," but you never know.

As a sidenote, if she is indeed an activist trying to stir up a little trouble, I wonder if she thought about following the boycott? Oh, wait, that's been over for a while now, and last week Al Sharpton appeared at the new Convention Center just to make it official.

The Cincinnati Metro Area still has a great many racial problems, but this lady's observations are trivial/anecdotal at best, and faked at worst.

What Happened to Democracy?

Do Republicans even care about holding primaries anymore? If they are going to enact the smoke filled room form of picking candidates, then they might make with a little more smoke and a lot less of the jockeying candidates around when circumstances change. It is great how they stick with their candidates until they have no more use for them. What made them stick with Bush? Is Hero worship that strong in the GOP?

Add a Crate and Barrel

More Retail is coming to Cincinnati and this time it's in Kenwood.

Can Kenwood get more congested? We'll be finding out soon.

IKEA Picks Cincinnati

Great news for Cincinnati, furniture retailer IKEA has picked an Ohio location in West Chester. A suburban location is a common thread for choice for IKEA, so it not being closer to the city center is not a surprise.

Overall this is a good sign for the Metro Area.

Schmidt Misleading Public

How stupid is Jean Schmidt or how stupid does she think the voters are? Promoting the use of ethanol is not striking a blow against Terrorism. It is especially not going to reduce the money going to terror groups.

If I am not mistaken the only way Schmidt's stupid ploy makes any sense is that if all of the Oil companies and oil producing county's governments in the world are funding terrorism.

The reason for reducing foreign oil use is not so we don't buy from "them," instead it is so we don't have to go to war to secure the oil supply, like both of our wars Iraq.

What a dunce.

Chabot In Panic Mode?

Bringing in the big gun Dick Cheney for a fundraiser is as big a sign as you can get that you are in need of help.

News that Chabot's opponent John Cranley is running even with him in the Democrat's internal polls must be a cause for fear in the GOP camp. The Cranley Camp reports the following poll results:

In just five months, John Cranley has gained 9 points on his opponent -- making it a dead heat.

July 2006 Poll
Cranley 45%
Chabot 45%
Undecided 10%

March 2006 Poll
Cranley 40%
Chabot 49%
Undecided 11%

Both the July and March polls were conducted by Anzalone-Liszt Research and paid for by Cranley for Congress. In March, Cranley for Congress released its results. Attached is a memo provided by Anzalone-Liszt comparing the two polls.

Note: Neither Chabot, nor the National Republican Congressional Committee has ever released the results of their extensive polling. (Roll Call, 7/31/06)

The reason you know it's bad for the GOP occurred when Chabot is pictured on a walking tour of Over-the-Rhine with Attorney General Alberto Gonzales in both the Enquirer and the Post. I wonder when the last time Chabot has been in OTR? He was no where to be found when the riots were going on, so unless there's a photo op or someway to gain some vote, then Steve hasn't had much reason to do anything for or even visit OTR, until now.

I will be waiting for Chabot to make crime his big issue and attack Cranley for the City's crime issues. At the same time he'll try and make the people of Ross and Harrison fear a violent crime problem that doesn't affect them at all.

It's politics 101, but it's still disgusting.

"The Heimlich Remover"

David Pepper's poll has him leading Phil Heimlich in the race for County Commissioner. According to the Post's article Pepper is showing an increase is his numbers from a prior internal poll to now. Moving from a 33% to 33% dead heat to a 42% to 37% slight lead is a positive step for Pepper.

Heimlich is currently hanging his hopes on a plan that most likely makes him the only Republican up for reelection in Ohio who is advocating raising taxes. That is likely to piss off the Conservatives more than any of his other stances would turn of liberals.

Clark Street Blog Best of Cincinnati

Westender over at Clark Street Blog picks the Best of Cincinnati. Food and Drink are the topics of choice. The only topic missing is the bar with the best beer selection. The Beer Cellar and Mulligan’s have some of the biggest selections out there, and Nicholson's downtown has a very unique selection. Allyn's and the Comet need a mention for their selection of bottles.

Lack of Trust

The GOP is scrambling to find any loophole to prevent state Sen. Joy Padgett from being disqualified to run for the House seat Bob Ney vacated. Trust in the system drops to a rock bottom floor when you read this:

"But Bob Bennett, the state party chairman, said he didn't believe the law applied to her, and said he would seek a formal ruling from the secretary of state."

Ken Blackwell's record on voting laws and how he interprets them are not known as impartial by anyone not a Republican.

Is Larry Gross Really Rick Hines in Drag?

The negativism Larry Gross is putting out rivals that of Rick Hines, whose anti-Cincinnati diatribes are well known. Yes, Redfish closed. It was never a great place, but restaurants close.

When a new restaurant opens up there, which Arn Bortz of Towne Properties stated, later this fall, will Larry champion it?

Heartless Bastards New Album

The Enquirer - Bastards pen mellow follow-up

Sucking Up To Si Leis

In what pretends to be a column this week, Peter Bronson profiles the Queensgate county jail. It is almost on cue that Peter whips out a column that seeks to provide support for the efforts of Si Leis to get a new jail built. The fact that it will be built on the backs of the poor under Phil Heimlich's poor tax efforts don't play into anything that Bronson or Leis care about.

What is strange is that the Hell-hole Bronson describes is what I thought conservatives wanted jails to be, places that sucked and you never wanted to go back to.

Jazz Fest Problems?

I caught only a few minutes of Ken Lawson's radio show this morning on 1230 the Buzz, but if I heard him correctly he seemed to be fishing for callers to tell of any discrimination at hotels during the Macy's Music Festival last weekend. I believe Ken Lawson stated their may be lawsuits in the works claiming such.

Can anyone confirm what I heard or that there were indeed any problems of discrimination with hotels or restaurants during the festival?

I don't trust much of anything Ken Lawson says, so he may very well be fishing for a nice juicy cut of a settlement.

Country Music Festival Cancelled

In what will be leaving fans with the taste of burnt rubber in their mouths, the Kentucky Speedway announcedcancellation of the Summer Night Jam country music concert. The announced reason was because of "routing and production issues," which could mean the truck hauling the stage equipment broke down, but you would think that if it were that simple another truck could be found giving them enough time before the event (24 plus hours) to get their stuff here.

Speculation in the article, as well on radio reports, indicate that slow ticket sales could have been a factor in the cancellation.

In most instances I remember if a performer can't go on because of health or equipment problems, they come right out and say so directly. Here they are tight liped, which leads to the speculation on why.

Is country music losing appeal either in this region or nationally in general? Or do these acts just not have a big enough fan base?

MidPoint Venue Background

Rick Bird gives a of the background into the venue planning for the Midpoint music festival.

Alchemize Moves to Northside

I am very pleased with the news about Alchemize.

Jailhouse Blues

City Beat's Kevin Osborne sings us the blues about the myths being put forth by the those trying to spin Hamilton County Voters into thinking their plans for a new jail will benefit the masses. The main spinner is Commissioner Phil Heimlich and his plan for a "Poor Tax" where he raises the sales tax, and lowers some of the property taxes, hurts the poor more than any other group. Kevin wisely reports that the tax plan does help the middle class much either, with how the property tax cut is structured.

One of Kevin's myth busting efforts must be repeated:

Fact No. 1: Although some offenders are being released early, including 266 inmates last year alone, all are non-violent offenders, statistics show. No murderer, rapist or even anyone convicted of assault has been let go early due to a lack of space.

If you listened to the cries of some, you would think every criminal picked up is just turned away after they get fingerprinted. A new jail is needed, but why is not what some are trying to spin.

In St. Louis

I am in St. Louis on business this week, so, couple that with my long recovery from Blues Fest, and my lite blogging becomes more explainable.

Downtown St. Louis is nice. There was a Baseball game last night and things were hopping pretty well. The Arch gets a good crowd, but when it is 100 degrees outside, you feel it on your way up to the top of the Arch in the tiny little elevator/Tram cars.

The Sheriff's in Town

Street cleaning is taking place in OTR, both with a broom and with the patrol car.

No Locals at Jazz Fest?

I was working the Cincy Blues Fest this weekend, so I did not at the Jazz Fest, now called the Macy's Music Festival, but were locals missing from the event?

We had a ton of stuff going on along the river, so that may have kept people away from the concert at PBS, but is that was is keeping people away?

The Cincy Blues Fest did great, and was filled with mostly local people, so I don't know why Macy's didn't get the locals in.

I must say that if anyone is upset that 20,000 people came to town and were the majority at the concert, then I think they need to rethink their priorities. The region, and the City, did great. Music Fusion demonstrated that we are a vibrant city with a rich cultural, largely musical, tradition.

Help WAIF

On Monday July 31st from 5:30 -8:00 p.m. at Simone’s in Walnut Hills, the Urbanists will host a discussion about the future of WAIF (88.3) community radio. WAIF could be a huge asset to everyone in Cincinnati’s urban core, connecting us to each other and the key issues of the day. Your input is critical to maximizing the possibilities of WAIF, so please come out and get connected to others committed to building inclusive relationships in Cincinnati through community radio..

Simone’s will offer free appetizers, with a cash bar. The program will start at 6 pm.

FBI: Aggressively Fighting Terrorism!

Well, not so much.

The Death of Covington

I will be the first to JOKE about "the death of Covington." The closing of Jillian's doesn't make or break Covington, nor MainStrass, since Jillian's wasn't even really part of that part of town anyway. It is a surprise to most, I would guess. It is newsworthy.

This will not inspire anyone else to start writing or venting about the death of Covington, and that is funny. If this was in Downtown Cincinnati, we would read and hear about the troubles of the area, not the troubles of the business itself.

Gutter Republicans

Sleazy ultra conservatives never cease to amaze me. This guy was willing to make stuff up about his political opponent. That is called a lie, where I come from. That would a violation of one of 10 Commandments. Funny, this guy represents a group who wants the 10 Commandments put in our schools. Ironic?

Eminent Domain Loses in Norwood

Huge news on the property rights front, but bad news for Norwood. Will the green field with three houses remain empty?

Will the City survive this financially? Will Norwood consider being annexed by the City of Cincinnati?

Snark is Unbecoming for a Newspaper

Gee, based on this tiny article, you would think they were reporting bad news!

Mayor's YP Kitchen Cabinet Announcement

Mayor Mallory is going to hold a news conference this morning to announce his YP Kitchen Cabinet. He is holding the news conference from in front of the P&G. Without saying a word, Mallory's choice of location signals to me that this is going to be all talk and no action. The image of P&G as your center piece for YPs is not going to broaden your reach of getting professionals to the city. P&G doesn't represent a vibrant city, instead they represent the old guard, who are keeping the city treading water.

I will be interested in hearing about this news conference. Who was there, who did the mayor trout out as the show piece? Will this get any press?

Enough of Ignorant Old Men, Already

What Mr. Bob Stuhlreyer needs to do before he bashes works of art is to SEE THEM!

His ignorance is quite apparent:

As one example, recently The Enquirer promoted a stage production at the Cincinnati Fringe Festival called "The Catholic Girl's Guide to Losing Your Virginity." Catholic girl. I suppose a "Baptist Girl's Guide" or a "Muslim Girl's Guide" would not have been so catchy - or so appealing to foes of Catholicism.

I saw this play, and to call it "anti-catholic" is not only wrong it is insulting. I don't know how much time he has on his hands, but he might do more than labeling a play something because it has "Catholic" in its title.

The funniest thing about his attach is looking back as I watched each sold out audience line up to see the Fringe Show. It was filled with Catholics. Every female Catholic who I talked after seeing the show LOVED IT! Guess what, Bob, a Catholic wrote it! Hell, I didn't get half of the references in the play because it was filled with a witty satire of Catholic dogma, put forth in an fair and positive manner.

Maybe Mr. Stuhlreyer should stop complaining and get to real issue, he is pissed that there's not a Catholic Guy's Guide to Losing Your Virginity. Well, Bob, start writing.

Poll: Lucas 50 to Davis 41

Ken Lucas is smiling at this poll, while Geoff Davis is dismissing it.

This is yet another sign of a weakness for Republicans. It is going to take a whole lot of money for the GOP to hold on to the House. They can do it, but it sure as hell going to cost a bunch at it will be the sleaziest attack campaign, top to bottom, we have seen in a while. I don't mean just this district, I am thinking nationally.

There She Is, Ms. Grandstanding?

Is councilwoman Leslie Ghiz seeking the crown as the top Grandstander? The crown was previously held by former councilmembers Chris Smitherman and Alicia Reece.

With a murder happening right outside City Hall, I think that the Mayor having a high profile body guard is not much of an issue. Where the money comes to pay for that bodyguard is as minor an issue as which work center gets charged with copy expenses.

Lets get a Banks deal, reduce crime, orientate the new City Manager, and get the City's Economic Development arm back.

Looking for logic in all the wrong places

In an amazing show of small mindedness, Larry Gross returns to defend his judgment that Downtown sucks because businesses sometimes close, his lumping of everything into a blender, and his ignorance of the huge development going in downtown—even bringing up a bakery that has been closed for going on 2 years. Somehow he thinks that this all ties into a nice bow to fit what I think is his disdain for change and success in the city.
Larry is living in the past, as he laments for the old institutions from his younger days. If you want things to be consistent, that is why people go to places like Camp Washington Chile. But, wait, does Larry boycott the "new" Camp Washington Chile? It just isn't the same for purists. For some reason, I think Larry sees the turnover of businesses as a sign of the apocalypse. Where was Larry when Fat Fish Blue, the I-Max, Empire, the Bamboo Club, the Bear Factory, and UpStarCrow closed in Newport? Oh, right in his original 2004 article he was writing this:

"Fuck it!" Roger says, yelling into the receiver. "Let's just go to Newport on the Levee."

"Now you're talking."

, but I am sure he thanks Zeus that most of those locations opened up again as something else, but his laments of those changes were lost in cyberspace. It just can't be the case that he didn't pay attention to the change in Newport. It is not like he paid attention to the changes of locations he complained where now gone: The Cavern closed to become alchemize and will rise again for Midpoint, Moose is now Cooper's, Have a Nice Day is Exchange, Manna's is Gondola Pizza, and oh yea, Nick & Tony's is now McFadden's, probably the most successful of all. Sorry that Busken's can't get its act together, but I don't fret that, when I instead can look forward to the new restaurants going in on Fountain Square. Is this a trend? Who knows? As long as you think its going to sucks, then to you, its going to suck, no matter what. If you want same thing over and over again, I think you may want to move out to the suburbs, where consistency is not only the norm, it is the desired above everything but the mundane.

This is how capitalism works, Larry. I don't know if you cried your eyes out when Pogue's closed down or if you cried more when Lazarus went bye-bye and moved a couple of blocks over, but thus is life. In your attempt to give us an "I told you so," you have instead provided the rest of us with an example of not doing your research.

A Pot, a Kettle, and a Can of Black Paint Walk Into an Editor's Office

It appears that the editorial page of the Enquirer is thinking that if they point the fingers at all of the other media outlets and include themselves in the finger pointing ever so slightly, they can retain the high ground of ethics in the modern world of media.

I shall point out them that their newspaper does plenty of harm to the intellectual discourse in the Cincinnati area. As a commenter pointed out, to which I agree, that with this editorial I would expect to see Peter Bronson looking for work.

I might also expect to see far fewer anti-city diatribes, and more fair news articles.

I mean we get a great a tiny story about Midpoint in today's paper, but when we get bad news about the city (as opposed to the Suburbs), its front page news.

3 Man Cage Match

What better way to get a plan for a new jail settled, than to lock the three county commissioners into a jail cell for a few weeks.

Make Si Leis be their jailer 24/7, including having to cook for them, and we could sell tickets and actually pay for the jail that way.

TV Movie?

Is this article a pitch for a TV movie of the week? The plot points and the drama is there. The only thing that sucked was that the writer had to drag in blogs into a talk radio discussion. Sure, Oba had a blog for a while, but didn't dive into blogging like his talk radio obsession.

Election Mess

How do you trust an election process with Ken Blackwell monitoring his own election for the top Ohio job?

More on Cincy's YPs

Brendan at spacetropic discusses the Mayor's YP Cabinet and how YP groups could improve.

Will the RNC Bail Out Ken Blackwell?

The Columbus Dispatch has a poll out today on the governor's race that has Ted Strickland leading Ken Blackwell 47% to 27%. 20 points is not impossible to overcome, but it will take money. Lots of money. More money then Ken Blackwell can raise on his own. He is going to need the help of the national party. He may get it, but he may not.

Also in the article is a second poll where Mike Dewine is trailing Sherrod Brown 45% to 37%. Mike is going to need quite a bit of money as well. The RNC is going to value keeping a sitting Republican in the Senate, over trying to hold on to a governor's seat they could still loose even if they give Blackwell a billion dollars.

It is still early, mistakes can be made, circumstances can change, but if Blackwell hasn't cut Strickland's lead significantly by mid September, then its going to be very difficult for him to win. Look for Blackwell to go negative soon, ala DeWine.

Enquirer Business Section Clarifies

In a story today about the moving of Chad Munitz from the City's Economic Development Director to EVP at 3CDC, we get the truth about the Fountain Square Delay:

It announced last week that a planned early-September reopening of Fountain Square, in the midst of a $43 million renovation, had been pushed back five weeks until mid-October. Roughly $50 million of additional private development is already under way in buildings around the square.

Good reporting!

On Chad Munitz, I know nothing about him, but his new position indicates he is going to be a key person at 3CDC. If there are development deals already in the works, lets hope he can land them, especially ones for Vine Street.

MidPoint Schedule Out

Via Citybeat's updated blog we get the word that Midpoint's Schedule is out. I say great! The list of bands has been out for a while, but now we'll get to know where to go. Small problem: Alchemize, J Hall, and Jekyll & Hyde's are listed as venues. Am I missing something, or didn't we just go through a little thing on this blog about these clubs all closing? Granted, Jefferson Hall moved to Newport, and Alchemize is moving most likely to Covington with a new name. Does this mean that the former locations of the three will be opened up as venues for the event by the festival or other private groups? Or will new bars be opening in those spots under new management?

Logically I would guess that each of the three locations will be open as temporary as bars, and each former operator may even have leeway to open them as a full bars just for that weekend. Anyway, the locations work great. Only thing missing is more food on Main Street. The line at Lucy Blue is going to be a mile long.

Crappy Story

Can someone at WLWT do a little reporting before you post a story like this? The story doesn't say anything about how the poll was conducted and the allegations made by the Schmidt campaign are slanderous as quoted. Granted, those quotes are surely cherry picked for effect.

I personally want Wulsin to win, and I have a totally disgust for Jean Schmidt, who is all the extremist she is painted to be, however the demographics of this district are clearly fertile ground for GOP candidates. On the other hand, Jean has not won a ton of friends in the local party team, and had a bloody primary.

Mallory's 'YP Kitchen Cabinet'

I am interested in the Mayor's idea of a 'YP Kitchen Cabinet', but I am very concerned about who is included on the Cabinet. Lumping this into Bold Fusion is the wrong approach. The Mayor should not limit this to the Chamber's corporate crowd. He should expand its reach and break out of the YP mold that is incasing the Cincinnati scene like a dish of bad jell-o.

Yes, I say this as the President of a group, Cincinnati Advance, that is considered a YP group. What I think the Mayor needs to be sure to do is include a wide variety of YP organizations, not just the usual suspects, and not just the corporate/upper income 28 to 35 year olds. A start would be to change Bold Fusion to a weekend event that doesn't cost more than going to a Reds Game.

Why be more inclusive/diverse? Well, frankly because most of the YP groups are lead by the same people. There is a very obvious insulation problem in the YP scene in town and Bold Fusion leads, in part, to that insulation.

I hope this concept leads to something more than just talking about what needs to be done to make this city a better place. Instead I look for this group to be a place to gain help for ACTION from the Mayor and the City.

Losing Kentucky?

Is the GOP losing steam in the Blue Grass State?