Something's Wrong Here

I have no problem with people debating the Street in a public forum. John Schneider is going to wipe the floor up with Chris Monzel. The only thing saving Chris is the fact that the Blue Chip Young Republicans are sponsoring the event and I am going to guess a large portion of that group is against Streetcars.

Here's what is wrong: This event about Streetcars in the City of Cincinnati is taking place in the City of Norwood. I understand how many non-city residents are concerned about this issue, but I am puzzled as to why and why there is so much opposition outside the City? Also, why is it so loud outside the City? Reading the comments on the Enquirer's site it was a surprise to realize that some many people from places like Harrison, Loveland, and Florence are so concerned about what happens in Cincinnati. I think they could show their concern a little more by coming down to the city for dinner once in a while.

Streetcar Plan Passes

Great news for Cincinnati came yesterday with the vote to support Streetcars. We have a long way to go before I start hearing the cars go by my OTR Condo, but we are closer to have a date when that will happen.

Local Bloggers shared the news:
5schw4r7z had the celebration.
Urban Cincy has analysis.

Glass Bleg

I have to get my windshield replaced, and it's unlikely my insurance will cover it (long story). Any suggestions on who's good/reliable/reasonably priced?

Please Make Sure Your Trash Is Pre-Approved

I couldn't help but laugh at the following line from this article in the Enquirer:

Monzel wants a $100 fine for anyone caught by police putting inappropriate garbage in the cans.

I'm glad the Republican Party is working so hard to protect us from the evils of "big government." But wait: there's more:

He also wants a quarterly report from public services to council's neighborhoods committee, including the number of all can calls and how quickly the complaints were resolved.

Really? A big, new government program to keep the citizenry safe from "inappropriate garbage"? And a bureaucracy devoted to tracking complaints about trash cans?

It's heartening to see the GOP stepping forward to take on such a critical issue. In the post-9/11 world, we must be safe from inappropriate garbage!

How Loud Is Too Loud?

An interesting article in Sunday's NY Times explains that because of a new European Union worker protection law governing the amount of noise to which workers can lawfully be exposed without hearing protection, European orchestras have had to alter the way they rehearse and perform.


Our own Cincinnati Symphony is just returning from a twelve-concert European tour. I wonder if the law impacted their performances and rehearsals (or if the Europeans aren't all that concerned with the hearing loss of an American-based group of musicians).

I also wonder how Paavo managed to schedule 12 concerts without a single performance of anything by Mahler....

Northside Tavern Expanding

CinWeekly's Soundcheck is reporting that that Northside Tavern is expanding with the addition a new room, doubling the size of the bar. I can't picture where it is and what the new room will look like, but the story indicates the improvements should be complete by late May or early June, so I won't have to wait long to find out. Will there be a second bar as well? Most important to the expansion is that you should be able to see the band playing. Let's also hope they get a new sound system. I love the Tavern, but for rock bands, the sound usually sucks.

Sunday Morning In Downtown

Since moving to OTR last year I've been trying to go for walks weekend mornings when the weather is passable. Sunday's end up being the best bet. I brought along my camera today, so here a few shots.

The Banks and Section 8

Last Tuesday, the Cincinnati Metropolitan Housing Authority voted to ask the county and city to set aside as much as ten percent of the housing to be built at the Banks for tenants with Section 8 vouchers (Enquirer coverage here). This looks like a political move by conservative West Siders to attempt to reduce subsidized housing on the West Side by moving it to the Banks. If we set that aside, though, I think there's two interesting questions that are raised:

First, is there a good argument for the inclusion of subsidized housing in Banks project? This is a public works project of enormous magnitude; isn't there a case to be made that everyone, including the region's poorest residents, should be able to be part of it? Or does the presence of subsidized housing depress a given housing market enough that financing for the Banks would disappear if developers were forced to include units that would include Section 8 tenants?

Second, Pete Witte is quoted as saying that the Banks "will become the 53rd neighborhood of the City of Cincinnati." Is this really true? Fifteen years from now, will we be discussing Downtown and The Banks as two separate neighborhoods, or will the Banks be considered part of "downtown"? (And will there be a streetcar to take me there?)

On The Docket: To Purge, Or Not To Purge

Recently, Judge Nadine Allen and former City Councilmember Charles Winburn have jointly proposed that misdemeanor warrants that are more than seven years-old be "purged," or deleted, from the Hamilton County court system. The Enquirer has posted the text of their proposal here. The basic idea is that warrants for misdemeanor offenses--except for domestic violence, TPO violation, menacing by stalking, assault, assault on police officers, sex offenses, OVI/DUI, aggravated menacing, and child endangering--that are seven years old or older would be purged and the cases dismissed. (I suspect that by "assault on police officers," Judge Allen and Mr. Winburn are referring to a first-degree misdemeanor charge of resisting arrest, which has as an element physical harm to the arresting officer.)

First, Judge Allen and Mr. Winburn are to be commended for the proposal. Their effort represents bipartisanship that we don't often experience here in Hamilton County. It's also a serious effort to address a problem the existence of which everyone involved in the criminal justice system recognizes, but for which, so far, no one has been willing to offer solutions. While the proposal may overestimate the amount of money that would be saved by the purge, the cases do extend the courts' dockets and force prosecutors to spend time that could better be spent on more serious (i.e. violent) offenses that are more likely to end in successful prosecutions. It also forces the Public Defender's Office to spend time on cases that likely aren't going anywhere, instead of cases that are much more likely to go to trial. So everyone loses when these ancient cases suddenly pop back up into the system.

That being said, there are actually two different types of outstanding warrants, and we might need to discuss each type separately. Broadly speaking, you could separate the warrants into two categories: those in which the defendant has been served and made aware of the charge, and those in which which he has not. For me, the second category is easy. If the police haven't bothered to serve a warrant within seven years of the time a charge was filed, the case should be dismissed. (And in fact, assuming the defendant hasn't been avoiding service, a defendant served seven years after a complaint was filed could probably successfully move to have the complaint dismissed on constitutional speedy trial grounds.)

Here's an example. A few years ago, I represented an individual who, in September of a particular year, got into a fight with his then-girlfriend's roommate over the phone. Unbeknownst to him, she went to the police and filed a telephone harassment charge. The police made no attempt to serve the warrant (not surprising--it's not exactly the crime of the decade!). In June of the following year, my client's apartment was robbed. He called the police. When they came over, they ran a standard check for warrants, and he was arrested on the outstanding warrant, now nine months old. The charge was, thankfully, dismissed. It would've been difficult to prepare a defense nine months after an offense allegedly occurred; think about trying to do it seven years later.

The other category of defendants, though, may be a tougher case. These individuals are people who were served with a warrant, who then may or may not have made an initial court appearance, and then disappeared. The warrant is actually a "capias warrant," issued by a judge at the time of the missed court appearance. Obviously, if a capias is outstanding for seven years or more, the person has lived pretty clean (since any contact with law enforcement would mean an arrest on the outstanding warrant). But some will still question whether such people should be "rewarded" for avoiding prosecution. On the other hand, I suspect that the vast majority of the warrants to be purged will be for traffic-related misdemeanors--driving without a license and driving under a suspended license.

This is the perfect time for the proposal to be tendered. Many of the municipal court judges just won fresh six-year terms in 2007, and HamCo Prosecutor Joe Deters is running unopposed, so no one faces immediate political pressure to look "tough on crime." (The City of Cincinnati prosecuting attorney is not an elected official, but instead serves at the pleasure of the City Solicitor, who is appointed by the City Manager.) It'll be interesting to see what the judges do with this at their "Joint Session" later this week (I've always envisioned the "joint session" to be a gathering at which the judges get together with some weed and rolling papers, but I'm told that's not what actually happens, despite the meeting's moniker). Hopefully, the judges will agree at least to study the proposal, getting formal input from the Clerk and the County and City prosecutors about its ramifications.

Sweet Deal

Are there any investors out there looking to make money? Here is one opportunity worth the risk. Embrace Sweets is a local business making a great product that is looking to expand. This business is seeking to open up shop in the Gateway Quarter of OTR and they will make this into something special. Check out their website or better yet, check out their products at most of the indie coffeehouses around town and at most local theatres including New Stage Collective (See Bug now!).

Earthquake

For as far as it was away, I still felt the the Earthquake this morning. It felt like someone was rocking my bed and I got to see what was going on. I couldn't notice it standing up, but I could notice one of my window frames rattle. Reports indicated it lasted 30 seconds. I must have been awake only at the end of it, because it didn't appear to last that long to me.

Joe Wessels has the full coverage of the Quake in Cincinnati.

Market Wines Opens At Findlay Market

The Details:

Market Wines is located at 128 W. Elder St., directly across from the main Market build-ing. Hours of operation are Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday from 9-5, Friday from 9-6, Saturday from 8-6 and closed Sunday and Monday. In addition to fine wines, Market Wines stocks a selection of micro-brewed and imported beers and wine acces-sories.

Market Wines is hosting a wine tasting, this Saturday, April 19 from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Have a Belgian waffle and a glass of wine at THE place for Saturday Morning shopping.

The Jordan Moved?

According to this Enquirer article on the City fighting certain liquor licenses, the 12th and Main mini-mart/booze stop has been evicted and moved to a different Main Street location. Can anyone shed any light on this? Where on Main Street did the Jordan move?

There's No Place Like Home

A few days ago, City Beat's Larry Gross announced that he's moved back to Cincinnati, taking up residence in an undisclosed location in Westwood. First, welcome back, Larry! Second, the post caused me to ponder one of Cincinnati's best--and sometimes its worst--feature.

Cincinnati is, more than anything else, a city of neighborhoods. No doubt this blog focuses too much on Downtown and Over-the-Rhine. That's to be expected: three of us (Julie, Griff, and I) live downtown or in OTR, and the fourth works downtown (I've no idea where Jack lives--perhaps up in Indian Hill down the street from Stan C.? :-) ). But Cincinnati has dozens of terrific neighborhoods. In all of these neighborhoods, many residents identify strongly with their neighborhood. It tends to create a real sense of community and feeling of familiarity. Years after "natives" have moved from their neighborhood, they can return to have conversations with people who have gone to the same schools and know the same people as they do. Julie described the phenomenon in a recent post.

That strength, though, can also be a weakness. With so many neighborhoods, there are lots of groups fighting for pieces of a limited pie. When City Council spends substantial time talking about downtown and OTR development, folks in other neighborhoods (often rightly) wonder when their neighborhood's "turn" will be.

Sometimes, though, "community" and "familiarity" can turn into provincialism and xenophobia. We all need to be on guard--whether we live in the "urban core," where we're more likely to get the attention of our political leaders, or in areas that aren't presently on a majority of Council's radar screens--that a healthy sense of community and feeling of belonging doesn't turn into unhealthy division that rends our city.

I think we all should make an effort to get out of our own neighborhoods regularly to see what's going on elsewhere. I can't remember, for instance, the last time I've been up to Northside, and I should remedy that promptly. What's on your list of places to get to soon (and what should be on mine)?

Good Eats: Tom's Pot Pies

I know that culinary critique is Julie's bailiwick, but I'm hoping she won't mind an intrusion today.

I have no idea how many times I've passed (and ignored) Tom's Chicken Pot Pies, on Vine Street between Ninth and Court, on my way from the courthouse to my office. But yesterday, it was just chilly enough that upon seeing the sign out front, I thought, "Hmm, a pot pie might hit the spot today."

It was the best pot pie I've ever had. It was perfect. Really tasty. Big, tender chunks of chicken. Just a few veggies in the mix (the requisite peas and corn--anything more just gets in the way). A really good sauce (see the website for the list of ingredients; my palate isn't sophisticated enough to guess at them without help). And the crust was delicious. And best of all? $5.50.

Usually when I pick up lunch on my way to the office, I call ahead and see if I can get anything for my office-mates. I was in a hurry this time, so I didn't. (Besides, I didn't know if the pot pies would be any good, and didn't want to be responsible for my colleagues having a bad lunch.) Imagine my guilt when, as I dined on my scrumptious pie from Tom's, my friend microwaved his sad, store-bought, frozen pot pie.

It may be the best "comfort food" in Cincinnati.

From The "I Am Not A Racist" Category Or What Does This Say About Our Region?

Sometimes no comment is even necessary:

"I'm going to tell you something: That boy's finger does not need to be on the button. He could not make a decision in that simulation that related to a nuclear threat to this country."

Northern Kentucky's own Republican Representative Geoff Davis discussing Democratic Presidential candidate Senator Barack Obama. Since Davis is only three years older than Obama, one can only assume that the "that boy" comment was not a reference to age.

Does It Matter?

By now, you've all read or heard about the possibility that the HamCo Democratic Party may endorse Chris Dole in his bid for the Dewine seat on the HamCo Commission (the Republican candidate and presumptive winner of the "contest" is Greg Hartman). Of course, that would break a deal made between HamCo Democratic Party Chairman Tim Burke and then-Republican Chair George Vincent. So current Republican Chair Alex Triantafilou is indicating the likely Republican response would be to endorse Ed Rothenberg, who is running against Todd Portune.

First, my own belief: the Dems should not endorse Dole. Whatever people think of the deal, it was made by the party chairman. If people think Burke was out of line for doing that, then there's a remedy: replace him. Of course, so far as I know, there's no one willing to step up to the plate to lead the HamCo Democratic Party other than Tim Burke. But so long as Burke is our chair, we should abide by the decisions he makes.

Second, I'm not sure how likely it is that Dole will, in fact, be endorsed. I'm not sure that there's really a huge portion of the Central Committee that would favor the endorsement. And I suspect the possibility is only getting the hype that it is because some members of our local media can't resist the urge to reprint anything that Tom Luken says as though it's a proclamation handed down from God to Moses on Mt. Sinai.

Finally, though: how much does the endorsement matter? Even if Dole is an endorsed candidate, he still won't be on the ballot as a "Democrat" (although I suppose he could at least then use the label in his campaign ads). Rothenberg, on the other hand, regardless of the endorsement, will appear on the ballot as a Republican. Does the no-endorsement deal preclude the parties from funneling money or support to the candidates? If not, then does any voter really care about the endorsement? I suspect that many will go to the polls not even knowing that Rothenberg wasn't "endorsed" by his party, even though he's its candidate. Those who pay enough attention to know the difference will also know that neither Dole nor Rothenberg would have been on the ballot had the deal not been struck (in all likelihood, the Dem would have been Greg Harris, and the GOP would have gone with Tracy Winkler).

So other than the negative publicity the Dems would generate by backtracking on the deal, is there any real benefit to an endorsement? And will anyone pay attention to the Commission race, or will it get lost amongst the hoopla that accompanies a presidential election?

Economics for the Simple Minded

Let's see, we are in the midst of one of the great economic meltdowns in recent history, and what do John McCain and dear irrelevant President Bush think about all this.

Well, as you may recall, a week or so ago, John McCain rolled out to great fanfare, his assessment of the mortgage crisis and how it should be fixed:

"A sustained period of rising home prices made many home lenders complacent, giving them a false sense of security and causing them to lower their lending standards. They stopped asking basic questions of their borrowers like "can you afford this home? Can you put a reasonable amount of money down?" Lenders ended up violating the basic rule of banking: don't lend people money who can't pay it back. Some Americans bought homes they couldn't afford, betting that rising prices would make it easier to refinance later at more affordable rates. There are 80 million family homes in America and those homeowners are now facing the reality that the bubble has burst and prices go down as well as up.

Of those 80 million homeowners, only 55 million have a mortgage at all, and 51 million are doing what is necessary -- working a second job, skipping a vacation, and managing their budgets -- to make their payments on time. That leaves us with a puzzling situation: how could 4 million mortgages cause this much trouble for us all?"

So the problem was simply that overall Americans had been irresponsible in buying homes they could not afford and that we needed to do something about these pesky 4 million mortgages that were in trouble because the people holding them were out on vacation and not working hard enough. As McCain said, "Let’s start with some straight talk: it is not the duty of government to bail out and reward those who act irresponsibly, whether they are big banks or small borrowers."

Having now decided a week later that his "straight talk" was just idiotic, naive, and more bamboozlement, McCain is running far away from his speech and proposals. Mr. Straight Talk has apparently decided that perhaps Americans who are losing their homes do not like to be told it is because they are not working hard enough and are lazy. Perhaps those who are in danger of losing their homes should follow Mr. Straight Talk and just marry an heiress.

Speaking of straight talk, our increasingly irrelevant President tried to explain yesterday how being the first president ever to cut taxes in a time of war made economic sense. As Salon points out: "Lincoln raised taxes to pay for the Civil War. McKinley raised taxes to finance the Spanish-American War. Wilson raised the top income tax rate to 77 percent to afford WWI. Taxes were raised, multiple times, to help the nation pay for WWII, Korea and Vietnam. Even the first President Bush raised taxes after the first war with Iraq to, you guessed it, keep the deficit from spiraling out of control."

President Bush yesterday defended this insane financing of an unpopular war by trying to place it in historical context. Basically he argued that his idiocy and irresponsibility are not as bad as those that came before him in spending on defense and war. Yet, speaking of straight talk, "today's defense spending is 14% above the height of the Korean War, 33% above the height of the Vietnam War, 25% above the height of the 'Reagan Era' buildup and is 76% above the Cold War average. In fact, since the September 11, 2001 attacks, the annual defense budget -- not including the costs of military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan -- has gone up 34%. Including war costs, defense spending has gone up 86% since 2001."

So John McCain says you are on your own if you are losing your house and doesn't care if we have troops in Iraq for a hundred years, while President Bush keeps passing the cost of this war on to those generations to come.

Seems like a winning formula for the fall election, don't you think?

CityBeat Announced MidPoint Changes

John Fox, CityBeat editor published an update on the changes for the 2008 Midpoint. Included as a venue this year is the Southgate House, which will house three stages for the event. The rest of venues were not annoucned, but organizers plan on stretching the festival from OTR through Downtown to Newport. I am going to put my thinking cap to figure the possibilities and figure how transportation will work. That sounds like a bit of a challenge. The history of walking to all of the venues is clearly not being carried forward this year.

The other big change will be to include signed acts, like opening party headliner Cursive. Where these acts will perform was not announced, but Southgate's Ballroom would be one logical choice. Additionally, there will be a themed showcase each year highlighting part of Cincinnati's musical history. This year it will be the Shake It Records Soul Spectacular Review. The venue for this was not announced. Classic local artists will perform with Pearlene as the backing band. An interesting mix.

This year's sponsors include Scion, Dewey's Pizza, and Bud Select.

MidPoint Changes Hint

John Fox hints at changes being announced tonight for Midpoint 2008. Changes hinted include new sponsorship, an expansion outside of OTR/Downtown, and away from the only unsigned bands philosophy.

Head down to Below Zero tonight at 5 PM to hear the announcement for yourself.