Homicide: Real Life on the Streets

TV comes to the Cincinnati Police department in the form of the TV show "The First 48". I've seen the program before, and I've liked it. It really shows the investigation fairly straightforward. It will be interesting to see how our police stack up to other departments.

Portman Running for Gov?

Rob Portman is leaving his job at the White House and he reportedly may run for Ohio Governor in 2010. He would be a good candidate for the GOP to run, but Stickland will be tough to beat if he can keep things going on an even keel.

Phoenix Closes, Good!

I noticed this a week or so ago, but now it is permanent that the Phoenix Cafe is closed. This is great news for the backstage area. A dive bar like the Phoenix was a big negative to the backstage area. This should fit in nicely with the backstage loop of bar/restaurants opening up around 7th and 6th street.

Happy Father's Day

To all the fathers and especially to my Dad, Happy Father's Day!

Banks Agreement

I don't know if there was white smoke or not, but we have a Banks Agreement. Here's the highlight:

The non-binding agreement calls for 300 apartments in the first phase, followed by 100 condominiums and 70,000 square feet of retail. It will also include an unspecified amount of office space.

Non-binding is the problem, but that will hopefully not be the case in a couple of months.

Antioch College to Close in 2008

You don't hear of this often, but the Yellow Spring, Ohio college will close in 2008 in hopes of reopening in 2012. I will be surprised if it reopens in Yellow Springs.

Can't Totally Fault Bronson Today

I can't really go off on Peter Bronson's latest column, but I'll point out a few problems. He writes about classic rock and Wizards Records in Oakley. He is missing out on the big selection of music at Wizards from the 70's, 80's, and 90's, not just from Bronson's long haired days. The college kids who come to buy there are likely to want new wave, punk, and grunge more than classic 60's rock.

Finally, I don't know about Bronson, but I grew up storing my vinyl in milk crates, not cardboard boxes. I would guess Peter went through many boxes over the years. I still have my milk crates.

Moving Forward

Kudos to the entire metro area for moving up to 38th place in the "Cities Ranked and Rated" book. We are 38th out of 378 cities, and we moved up from 92nd place which was held in 2004 in the 1st edition of the book.

It's a New Skyline Time

Western & Southern has announced plans to build the tallest building in Cincinnati. The Cincinnati Skyline is a very pretty site, so I hopte this improves it, as well as adding new development to the CBD. Are there any mocked up drawings of what it would look like with this new building?

UPDATE: This morning's paper included a artists rendering of the building.

Dave Menninger: What is Inclusionary Zoning?

Learn something new from Dave Menninger.

Pick of the Fringe

The Pick of the Fringe was made last night. The Conveyor also gave their Top of Fringe choices.

Green Party Looking Foolish

I am often bewildered by the Green Party. I guess they will gladly give power back to the Republicans by attacking Democrats if they can't instantaneously create a Utopian fantasy world where there are no poor or stupid people living in it. To make a claim that the jail tax vote by the democratically elected Hamilton County Commission was "Undemocratic" makes the Greens appear to be ignorant and hypocritical fools. How many gas tax increases are put up to a referendums? How many times has the Green Party called for increased gas taxes to help cut fossil fuel use? Did they call for a statewide referendum in order to enact it? If they did, I'd like to see a reference to that.

Council Candidates - the List

A candidate himself, Michael Earl Patton, has compiled a list of those who have picked up petitions to get on the ballot for Cincinnati City Council. The list, sorted by party endorsement, is as follows:

Democrats:
Brian Garry
Cecil Thomas
David Crowley
Greg Harris
Jeff Berding
John Cranley
Laketa Cole
Minnette Cooper
Wendell Young

Republicans:
Andre Harper
Charlie Winburn
Chris Monzel
John Eby
Leslie Ghiz
Patrick F. Fischer
Sam Malone

Charter Committee:
Chris Bortz
Joan Kaup
Malanie Bates

The Rest:
Christopher Davis
Curtis Wells
Dadrin Washington
Eric Wolterman
Kellley Cowdrey
Malik Showes
Michael Earl Patton
Mitch Painter
Paul Makin
Robert J. Wilking
Ron Stallworth
Sean Holbrook
Sean Lackey
Steven Pavelish
Yvette Barbara Baldwin

How many will actually make it to the ballot? Are there others missing from the list? I know of a few of the Independents, but not many.

Please note that I grouped the candidates by party endorsement, not affiliation.

Downtown Relaxing

I'm off of my day job this week, so I've been spending lots of time in Downtown and OTR. Today I am trying out the wifi at Fountain Square. It works pretty well. The only thing to consider is that you need to find shade under a tree if you plan on using your laptop during the middle of the day, when the buildings don't any shade. It really is calming just sitting here. I got to watch the Daily Show on the big screen as well.

Protecting City Views

The battle over maintain city views boils down to property rights. Where does the concept of "right of way" come into play when thinking of the space above your land. How tall can you build something in relation to the structures around you? The zoning regulations are designed to cover this, but when the view of the river or of the city affects land value so heavily, I can see why people would make hay about new buildings.

Calculus: The Musical! - Extended Run

For those who missed out on this great CincyFringe performance, you have another chance. Call at 10AM today (Wednesday June 6th) and you can score some tickets. Do it now or miss out on the hottest Fringe ticket this year. The Details:

Calculus: The Musical!. Encore Performance
9:45 PM, Saturday, June 9.
Art Academy of Cincinnati,
1212 Jackson Street.
Tickets go on sale June 6, 2007 at 10 a.m.
Call 513.621.ARTS (2787)

Trying Anything

There is at least one Hamilton County Assistant Prosecutor that will say nearly anything in open court to push her case forward. In this case a claim was made that a defendant had a connection to al-Qaida. Yea, the prosecutor was claiming that a defendant is a terrorist, or at least connected to them. The defendant is up on charges of violation of his probation in a domestic violence case. He is likely a bad dude, but a terrorist?

iLove Sells Out On a Monday

Monday sell outs just don't happen at CincyFringe, but iLove Sold Out tonight at Fringe.

Inside the CAC Blog

CAC Public Relations Director Stacey Czar has begun an inside the CAC blog, giving a little bit of a behind the scenes peek at the happenings with the staff and the inside view of the Contemporary Arts Center.

Fringe Review: Girlfight | The Conveyor

For the record I did not write the play "girlfight" but I did review it: Fringe Review: Girlfight | The Conveyor