No Motive???

The headline misleads the reader, the rest of the story is all background from friends and family of the victim, and emotional commentary from more locals. There is nothing about motive from the investigators. Who ever wrote the headline should take heed that they are not doing an accurate job.

UPDATE: Just to remind folks, the reporters generally don't write the headlines.

Save the Dubliner!!!

Brendan at the Cincinnati Beacon writes on the plight of the Dubliner, a great Pleasant Ridge restaurant in danger of closing. Brendan's take is that things look bad, and baring a lightning bolt from a Celtic God, we won't be able to hit the Dubliner after the 20th of this month.

I wish to echo his article and encourage folks to get out and support the restaurant.

Murder in Hyde Park

My first thoughts on seeing the "BREAKING NEWS" on the 11PM news showing on the TV screen at the Main Street bar I was at was slight shock. I have been to that bar, and parked in that parking lot. A friend standing next to me lamented a bit about it, because she lives a mile down the road.

After reading the articles this morning I can say that it has the same ear marks of most of the rest of murders in the city, which leads me to speculate that it was simply a drug deal gone bad. If not drugs, then it was a personal beef with a family member or friend. This is horrible for the man's family, but it goes to show that this can happen anywhere. This section from the story bothered me and I hope indicates an aberration, not a commonality.

Crime scene tape in Hyde Park doesn't happen everyday, making resident Megan Elkus quite uncomfortable.

"It just scares me, and I would like to find someplace else to live," said Elkus.

"I keep hearing different things that don't make me feel safe," said Elkus.

For the chicken littles, like Ms. Elkus, I really must just laugh at their extreme timidity. I can understand being freaked out a little, but to feel unsafe in Hyde Park is just not a rational or sane feeling to have. Hyde Park is likely safer than living in Mason or West Chester. At worst it is just as safe.

What I find most objectionable in the whole situation is that some people inside the bar were allegedly being uncooperative with the police, which is the main reason I am speculating it was drug related. A theory could be that the guy was out buying drugs for his friends and things went south. If people were just pissed that they could not leave until the police were finished investigating, then they are just arrogant assholes who deserved to be kept there all night. Will Peter Bronson write a column about the idiots in Hyde Park (logic indicates would be white) who could help solve the case, but were uncooperative?

More from the Enquirer.

Anti-School School Board Members

There is just no other way to say it, but these two new school board members are anti-school. They don't want people to learn, they want people to comply with their views on how to live. One is an anti-government anti-union extremist bent on destroying the public schools, while the other is a Christian extremist (ergo theocrat), bent on the destroying the public schools.

Now, sure, the conservatives are going to moan and cry that they do the same. Well, no, they don't. Being prevented from branding the school with ones religious dogma or having to pay taxes and fund schools to keep society growing is not a hardship and nothing hurting you. Religion is not banned from School, for example, and claims otherwise are myths. If your kid can't bring their bible to their school, then protest, I will join it. If you want your kid, or worse, use your kid to push religion on other kids, which includes doing religious presentations, then no, don't protest and either put your kid a religious school, or stop pushing religion on others.

Koppel to NPR

This is great. I am a huge NPR Fan and Koppel adds the right tone and presence to that organization. The more he is on the air, the better it will be and the more I will listen.

Growth In Downtown Jobs

Seventh Street lunch lines will get a bit longer as Federated Department Stores adds 200 positions to their downtown headquarters.

These news jobs are going to be salaried positions, not clerical, and will be a shot in the arm to the downtown economy.

Progress On the River

Joe Hansbaurer points to progress in development on the site of the Gregory Banquet Center, where 140 new condos and locations for two new restaurants will be built. This sounds like a great venture, but it appears to not be their first choice, mainly because the Gregory's wanted a new site for the Banquet Center. Joe makes a great point, why not put it at the Banks?

Blunt With an Edge?

The Enquirer's Malia Rulon blogs the Blunt states he has the support of 100 GOP members of the house, as opposed to Boehner's claim to only 86. 116 would make one a winner. I don't really care all that much, but having a home Republican to bash would be much more entertaining for me, so I am backing Boehner. Thus we may have his kiss of death!

Police Shooting

The third shooting of police officer in 6 weeks is raising the tension of the police. Are these incidents just aberrations, or are they a marked change in behavior among criminals in the city?

Mythical Land of Make-Believe

Why do people need to have it explained to them that Cincinnati is not a small town? That "small town feel" is a myth and only exists in the minds of fools longing for world that doesn't and never existed. I am not saying that the neighborhood in question is not a great place or that the crime is not horrible, but anyone living today in East Walnut Hills must know that they are, oh I don't know, just East of Walnut Hills, where urban blight takes away any notion that Cincinnati is a small town.

We are a big city. I grew up in a very small city, and we didn't even have mythical notions of "Leave it to Beaver" in our heads, where crime didn't happen and June Cleaver vacuumed in heels. Come on people, break the myths. Journalists shouldn't enable this kind of theme.

Surprise! Not!

McEwen is running against Schmidt for the GOP Nomination. McEwen stands a good chance of crushing her.

Ok Bronson Column

Peter Bronson is not in a position to be credible on the subject of community police relations, but his column makes mostly valid points. He could have done without this:

Jordan's aunt, Cassie Jamison, said the murder made her ashamed to be black. But dozens of witnesses saw who killed a young mother and said nothing.

They're the ones who should be ashamed.

Coming from Bronson it sounds bad. I doubt claim it's wrong, it just sounds bad.

"The Poor" Are Not the Problem

There's a great debate on CityLink over on Nick Spencer's blog. What I think is being missed is a definition of the type of people being discussed. The term "poor" is thrown around, as is "homeless," and as are other terms. In this discussion I believe we are having the preverbal apples vs. oranges debate.

The problem with OTR, the West End, and other urban blighted areas is not "the poor." When I say "the poor" I mean the people who live in little apartments, collect welfare, food stamps, and need the food bank for help, but generally function in society. I don't mean they lead stellar lives, but they are not living on the street asking you for money, not smashing in car windows, not dealing drugs, and not taking drugs. Am I generalizing? Yes. I am going to be called hatefilled and callous? Yes. I am just talking, what I am saying I think points out an important distinction that is causing the discussion to fixate on macro political issues unrelated to the situation.

The people who are the problem are criminals and those not willing (or unable) to get to a level of "resonable" living. These are your drug dealers, drunks, bums, petty theives, sex offenders, and the mentally ill living on the street. If these people have no place to get help, then we as a society are beyond cruel, we are sick. If these people have the opportunity to gain help, but refuse, then they bare most, if not nearly all of the responsibilty for the choices they made and are continueing to make. One simple thing people refusing to live life without help should to be forced to take is that the location of the social services they need will be moved, likely with their place of living, to areas where the society as a whole can best function. Is that fair? It is fair. I do not believe in bending over backwards for bums and drug addicts. I believe in helping them, and for the government to take the leading in providing that help, but not at the expense of progress for the city.

Does this mean we are kicking out the poor? No. A person who lives in OTR, but who need help should be given a fair chance to live where they want to live. This does not mean they have to pay market rate rent because that is "fair" to everyone. That is not fair to them to have to suddenly battle for housing with people with more means. Fair allows those who are making a good effort to get help on terms that they would prefer. Those not willing to make a good faith effort to live within basic socital norms do not get to pick and choose where they run amock.

I feel sorry for the person forced to beg for money. I don't think making their feelings more important then the rest of society. Pandhandlers, drug addicts, and bums have as much responsiblity to the society as the rest of us, and if their only inconvience is to move to Queensgate to have get help, then they will just have to accept it, or then can just not have any help from the society I consider myself a member.

Compasion does not equal coddling. Hate does not equal toughness. Being liberal does not mean that people can avoid responsibility because they want to. If you want to be a bum, you can be a bum, but don't expect to get helping living that way from the government.

CityLink is not a panacea. It will likely be another tool of evangelicals to feel good about themselves, which can be fine, but at the same time they lock in the poor to exposure to their religius dogma as the ticket to getting assitance.

I have no solutions. I believe that there will always be poor people and there will always be bums living on the street, that is a fact of life in a capitalistic democracy. We shouldn't try to force a common solution on both groups, and shouldn't lump the groups together in our discource nor in our actual policy making.

The issue of the West End develpment is something almost seperate from the CityLink issue. I don't see West End development happening, at least not on the potential scale that OTR has with the school for performing arts plans on Central Parkway. The West End may indeed suffer if this social service center goes in. The NIMBY stance is one that I rarely agree with, and in this case I make no execption.

This is Disturbing

This is not the type of thing I would link to normally, but this happened here in town. I don't want to know exactly. I could have drive by, and I would just prefer to keep this type of crazy thing out of my mind on that direct a level. These things are back ground noise when they happen 4 states away. When it could be 4 miles or 4 blocks, then it gets creepy.

Boehner House Majority Leader?

Will Ohio's John Boehner become the next House Majority Leader? Last time Boehner was mentioned this much in the news, he was allegedly part of the coup d'etat against Newt Gingrich. Will it be Blunt or Boehner?

Lawsuit

Someone is getting sued over this, and someone is going to be issuing a beefy settlement.

Great Bengals Season

Tough game today, but an overall great season for the Bengals. I hope everyone stays positive and gains a little civic pride.

Pre-Post Mortem

The recent announcement from the Cincinnati Post on another round of buyout to employees has been played up by WVXU, including even audio quotes from an employee of the Paper, local Newspaper Guild President Bob Driehuas.

Greg Flannery has dire views on the Post, and believes the Post may not survive the JOA.

Sinnard Running Again

"Centrist" Democrat Jeff Sinnard is running as for the Ohio-2 district. I call Jeff a "centrist" from my own impression. He has many liberal views, but others that would put him in his own version of the middle ground.

CAM Loses Director

Timothy Rub is leaving the Cincinnati Art Museum effective in April. Rub has been considered a true asset to the Museum. What does the bode for the CAM and the visual art scene in Cincinnati?

Sara Pearce comments more on the Enquirer Art Blog. The Post has a story as well.