First time Cincinnati Council Candidate Chris Seelbach is out early with his first online advertisement:
An early endorsement from former Vice Mayor David Crowley is strong showing for the very early days of the 2011 race. Raising money is the key now through next summer. An early start is the only way for a first time candidate to fare well in the election, and Chris has begun earlier than anyone.
Wednesday, September 08, 2010
Tuesday, September 07, 2010
The Big Dog is Coming to Town
Former President Bill Clinton is coming to Cincinnati to raise money for Ohio's Lt. Gov. Lee Fisher's Senate race.
The conservative zombies can already smell him and will rise from the dead to blame him for everything going on. They will blame him for the Reds losing 2 of 3 in St. Louis over the weekend. They will blame him for UC's embarrassing lose to Fresno State. They will also blame him for the Streetcar!!! Lock up your conservative middle aged women! A crisis is brewing! Conservatives can only blame President Obama for so much, they need to fall back on Bill for everything else.
The conservative zombies can already smell him and will rise from the dead to blame him for everything going on. They will blame him for the Reds losing 2 of 3 in St. Louis over the weekend. They will blame him for UC's embarrassing lose to Fresno State. They will also blame him for the Streetcar!!! Lock up your conservative middle aged women! A crisis is brewing! Conservatives can only blame President Obama for so much, they need to fall back on Bill for everything else.
Monday, September 06, 2010
BC, We Hardly Knew Ye....
I have no problem admitting that the Cincinnati Blog is not the best blog in town. That's not because CityBeat says so or because some other site gets more daily hits. It's because I read most of Cincinnati's blogs (with varying frequency), and I know what's out there.
In my opinion, the award for "Best Blog" in town over the last couple of years should go, hands down, to Building Cincinnati. (And I've said that before.) That's not to put down the quality of the work here or at other political blogs or other niche blogs (be they foodie blogs or diary blogs or sports blogs). But everything that Kevin LeMaster writes at BC is well-sourced, well-analyzed, and well-written. I lack the time (and probably the ability) to do those things as well as he does.
Unfortunately, putting together a blog the caliber of BC takes a lot of time. So much time, in fact, that Kevin can really only do it if he's able to make a living from what BC brings in through its partnership with the Enquirer and advertising. There's only a handful of blogs (none local, so far as I know) that generate this kind of money. So it looks like Kevin will have no choice but to leave the blogosphere and enter the "real world."
The loss of Building Cincinnati is a sad thing for Cincinnati.
Hopefully, Kevin will find another forum to write. Given the strength of his sources and his writing ability, surely someone in the print media must have a spot on staff for him? Cincinnati Business Journal? Cincinnati Magazine? Time for someone to take a chance....
In my opinion, the award for "Best Blog" in town over the last couple of years should go, hands down, to Building Cincinnati. (And I've said that before.) That's not to put down the quality of the work here or at other political blogs or other niche blogs (be they foodie blogs or diary blogs or sports blogs). But everything that Kevin LeMaster writes at BC is well-sourced, well-analyzed, and well-written. I lack the time (and probably the ability) to do those things as well as he does.
Unfortunately, putting together a blog the caliber of BC takes a lot of time. So much time, in fact, that Kevin can really only do it if he's able to make a living from what BC brings in through its partnership with the Enquirer and advertising. There's only a handful of blogs (none local, so far as I know) that generate this kind of money. So it looks like Kevin will have no choice but to leave the blogosphere and enter the "real world."
The loss of Building Cincinnati is a sad thing for Cincinnati.
Hopefully, Kevin will find another forum to write. Given the strength of his sources and his writing ability, surely someone in the print media must have a spot on staff for him? Cincinnati Business Journal? Cincinnati Magazine? Time for someone to take a chance....
Number 5 is Alive....
Bengals fans (including me) had better hope the offensive line provides Secret Service-like protection for Carson Palmer this season. Jordan is the backup? Really? Most people assume he only gets a roster spot because of some rider in Carson's contract. And now he's #2 on the depth chart.
There aren't many Frank Reich's in the league. But a playoff-caliber team has to have a viable backup QB to get through a couple of games if the starter goes down. Does anyone think the Bengals can win any of the games on their schedule if Jordan has to play the second half, much less start a game?
Someone better be making sure Carson is eating his Wheaties....
There aren't many Frank Reich's in the league. But a playoff-caliber team has to have a viable backup QB to get through a couple of games if the starter goes down. Does anyone think the Bengals can win any of the games on their schedule if Jordan has to play the second half, much less start a game?
Someone better be making sure Carson is eating his Wheaties....
All Smoke, No Fire?
The Enquirer lists the major property owners along the most likely streetcar routes. There's a name that's notably absent: Towne Properties.
Certainly, Towne properties has an interest in the streetcar. The Uptown Commons project represents a pretty big financial gamble for the company, and they'll net a ton of money if it succeeds. And there can be no doubt it's more likely to be successful if a nearby streetcar connects it to downtown.
But vocal streetcar opponents insisted that Towne Properties had land all along the streetcar route. They made it sound as if the streetcar were a pet project of Towne Properties. Clearly, that's not the case.
And clearly, some people owe Chris Bortz an apology. I'll admit, I gave him grief in a post this past May, but that was over the really bad judgment required to request--and then ignore--an Ohio Ethics Commission opinion. And I stand by that assessment. But it now seems as if maybe some of those most vocally against the streetcar were pushing the Bortz conflict issue to distract from the merits of the question.
Shame on them.
Certainly, Towne properties has an interest in the streetcar. The Uptown Commons project represents a pretty big financial gamble for the company, and they'll net a ton of money if it succeeds. And there can be no doubt it's more likely to be successful if a nearby streetcar connects it to downtown.
But vocal streetcar opponents insisted that Towne Properties had land all along the streetcar route. They made it sound as if the streetcar were a pet project of Towne Properties. Clearly, that's not the case.
And clearly, some people owe Chris Bortz an apology. I'll admit, I gave him grief in a post this past May, but that was over the really bad judgment required to request--and then ignore--an Ohio Ethics Commission opinion. And I stand by that assessment. But it now seems as if maybe some of those most vocally against the streetcar were pushing the Bortz conflict issue to distract from the merits of the question.
Shame on them.
21
That's the magic number for the Reds. The Enquirer now has a permanent spot for the magic number on its sports page. Wish I had seen it before removing my socks and shoes to do the math myself.
Barring some sort of historic breakdown, the Reds will be in the playoffs this year. But this weekend's series against the Cardinals has to give us some concern about how they'll do once in the postseason. Those two losses (3-2 Friday and 4-2 Sunday) looked like playoff games will look. Big, hostile crowds. Great pitchers. Low scoring, grind-em-out games. Can the Reds win these games? Colin Cowherd is a blowhard, but he usually has a point. Maybe he does this time, too. Maybe we're just a pitcher or two away (or a season or two away for the pitchers we already have) from the Reds being ready to go deep into the postseason.
None of this changes the following: the Reds are a lot of fun to watch this year, and I'm going to be a little sad when the season ends, whether that comes following the regular season or at the end of the World Series.
Barring some sort of historic breakdown, the Reds will be in the playoffs this year. But this weekend's series against the Cardinals has to give us some concern about how they'll do once in the postseason. Those two losses (3-2 Friday and 4-2 Sunday) looked like playoff games will look. Big, hostile crowds. Great pitchers. Low scoring, grind-em-out games. Can the Reds win these games? Colin Cowherd is a blowhard, but he usually has a point. Maybe he does this time, too. Maybe we're just a pitcher or two away (or a season or two away for the pitchers we already have) from the Reds being ready to go deep into the postseason.
None of this changes the following: the Reds are a lot of fun to watch this year, and I'm going to be a little sad when the season ends, whether that comes following the regular season or at the end of the World Series.
Saturday, September 04, 2010
Gameday Predictions
Some of the games have already started, but (I promise!) I haven't looked at any scores. Just wanted to offer some opening week predictions. (I'm putting them on the blog because, quite frankly, I'd privately predicted the Reds would go 6-3 on their last road trip (exactly what they did), but only two friends heard me, so I'm having trouble getting credit for my Rainman-like sports instincts.)
The Redhawks will lose. Big. Their loss will be so earth-shattering they might disband the football team after the game. (How many fans tuned into the game thinking it was the real Miami playing Florida?)
TCU and Boise State will both lose, causing a major shuffle to the polls after Week 1.
My Penguins, sadly, will not prevail.
Brian Kelly starts off the Notre Dame season with a win. It'll be one of just 5 his team gets all season, leaving the Irish ineligible for post-season play.
But my Bearcats will win their first game--a trap game, quite frankly. It'll be high-scoring but close. Local media will start dreaming Zach Collaros Heisman dreams. (Has he finished his diversion yet?)
Michigan will win, but barely.
That's just about all the football I care about this weekend. Anyone else?
The Redhawks will lose. Big. Their loss will be so earth-shattering they might disband the football team after the game. (How many fans tuned into the game thinking it was the real Miami playing Florida?)
TCU and Boise State will both lose, causing a major shuffle to the polls after Week 1.
My Penguins, sadly, will not prevail.
Brian Kelly starts off the Notre Dame season with a win. It'll be one of just 5 his team gets all season, leaving the Irish ineligible for post-season play.
But my Bearcats will win their first game--a trap game, quite frankly. It'll be high-scoring but close. Local media will start dreaming Zach Collaros Heisman dreams. (Has he finished his diversion yet?)
Michigan will win, but barely.
That's just about all the football I care about this weekend. Anyone else?
Training Day
For a few minutes of diversionary delight, go check out Kate the Great's post with embedded clips of Wendy's training videos. These are classic early '90's employment videos, set to music in order to capture the attention of their teenage new hires. The two-minute video on how to serve hot drinks is particularly instructive. Tips on how to pour a cup of coffee include the lyrics:
Gets a lid
Every time.
Wendy's coffee
Tastes so fine.
And from the segment on serving hot tea:
If they want lemon
It's very nice, don't think twice
Give the guests
Their juicy slice.
Awesome!
Gets a lid
Every time.
Wendy's coffee
Tastes so fine.
And from the segment on serving hot tea:
If they want lemon
It's very nice, don't think twice
Give the guests
Their juicy slice.
Awesome!
Thursday, September 02, 2010
Bhati Tops Speculation List for Coroner
Dr. Anant Bhati is the only name being mentioned in public by Democratic officials to fill the position of Hamilton County Coroner O'dell Owens who is leaving for Job as President of Cincinnati State.
Dr. Bhati sounds like a very compelling candidate. This is a job that gets little attention, unless someone dies or someone forgets to lock the doors of morgue. If Dr. Bhati can keep the door locked and oversee the team investigating all of the deaths in the county, he should do well. Job requirement #1 appears to be just being diligent. I don't know how a well respected doctor can NOT be diligent.
Dr. Bhati sounds like a very compelling candidate. This is a job that gets little attention, unless someone dies or someone forgets to lock the doors of morgue. If Dr. Bhati can keep the door locked and oversee the team investigating all of the deaths in the county, he should do well. Job requirement #1 appears to be just being diligent. I don't know how a well respected doctor can NOT be diligent.
Wednesday, September 01, 2010
CEA Winners Announced: Know Theatre Wins 5 Awards
The last Theatre CEAs awards program took place Sunday evening and the hosts of the event, the Know Theatre, took 5 awards, 3 individual performances and 2 production awards.
The list of winners for all categories are listed here.
The list of winners for all categories are listed here.
Monday, August 30, 2010
Well Said: Please. Shut. Up.
I'm not sure that I've every been in such heartfelt agreement with an Enquirer commentary.
Continuum of Care Decision: YWCA Should House Homeless Women
The Cincinnati/Hamilton County Continuum of Care for the Homeless has announced that following a request for proposals and a review by a panel of national experts, the YWCA has been selected as the agency to a women-only emergency homeless shelter. The "competition" for the responsibility was between the YWCA and the Drop Inn Center.
The Enquirer's coverage is here.
The announcement, frankly, raises more questions than it answers. According to the Enquirer, the shelter will not be housed at the YWCA on Walnut (where that agency presently has a shelter for victims of domestic violence). I'm not aware of funding having been secured to create a new facility, and there's no mention of where the new shelter will be. But CoC says that all funding for emergency shelter services for women will be directed toward the YWCA. The Enquirer puts that at about $42,000 annually (obviously, not enough to start a new shelter), which it appears DIC will lose in its 2011 budget. DIC, meanwhile, says it will continue to provide emergency shelter for women for years to come.
So:
We'll see.
The Enquirer's coverage is here.
The announcement, frankly, raises more questions than it answers. According to the Enquirer, the shelter will not be housed at the YWCA on Walnut (where that agency presently has a shelter for victims of domestic violence). I'm not aware of funding having been secured to create a new facility, and there's no mention of where the new shelter will be. But CoC says that all funding for emergency shelter services for women will be directed toward the YWCA. The Enquirer puts that at about $42,000 annually (obviously, not enough to start a new shelter), which it appears DIC will lose in its 2011 budget. DIC, meanwhile, says it will continue to provide emergency shelter for women for years to come.
So:
- Where will the new shelter be?
- When will it open, and from where will the money come?
- How will the need for emergency shelter for women be met in the meantime?
- Is this connected to Pat Clifford's dismissal earlier this month?
- Is this just the first in a planned series of moves designed to eventually make DIC so small as to be meaningless and eventually de-funded out of existence?
We'll see.
Main Street Cooperation Will Help Reduce Crime
The Main Street area will get a boost from efforts of local business owners. Some minor changes to the type of products sold will help reduce crime. If local corner markets stop selling just a few products or certain items in single quantities, the minor street crime will start to go down.
The key is vigilance. Keep an eye on what happens outside your business or residence and report crimes, all of them, no matter who is responsible. If all residents did this all over OTR, the drug trade and the theft rings would dry up in the neighborhood. The drug trade has in the past used intimidation of some residents, so standing up to them requires police to lead the way and patrol the area.
The key is vigilance. Keep an eye on what happens outside your business or residence and report crimes, all of them, no matter who is responsible. If all residents did this all over OTR, the drug trade and the theft rings would dry up in the neighborhood. The drug trade has in the past used intimidation of some residents, so standing up to them requires police to lead the way and patrol the area.
Sunday, August 29, 2010
Harang Back on Tuesday
With the troubles for Leake and Volquez, along with continued inconsistency from Bailey, it might be a relief to see Harang getting his first start since July on Tuesday.
His two rehab starts for the Sluggers, though, were terrible. He was 0-2 with an ERA of 9. (On the bright side, he had 10 strikeouts to just 2 walks.)
Let's hope for the best.
His two rehab starts for the Sluggers, though, were terrible. He was 0-2 with an ERA of 9. (On the bright side, he had 10 strikeouts to just 2 walks.)
Let's hope for the best.
Hate Crimes in Covington: Victim Speaks out
A local woman was interviewed by the Huffington Post about one of the worst incidences of an anti-gay hate crime to occur locally. Good reporting, but I wish we never had to have this kind of story written about Covington or anywhere in the Cincinnati area. I really wish the local media had the connections or were given the resources to get this type of interview, but alas they don't have the enough reporters to do the shoe leather work needed.
For a rash of crimes like these it should not take that big an of effort to track down the individuals or groups responsible, as long as the police are aggressively investigating the crimes. The story indicates that Covington Police have some work to do on how they react to such crimes. Time for the CovPD to get to work.
For a rash of crimes like these it should not take that big an of effort to track down the individuals or groups responsible, as long as the police are aggressively investigating the crimes. The story indicates that Covington Police have some work to do on how they react to such crimes. Time for the CovPD to get to work.
Saturday, August 28, 2010
Local Ballet School Launches Website
During the first week of our first semester, when we learned that one of our classmates had been a "dancer" before coming to law school, we all knew what that meant. A couple of chuckles and elbow nudges later, we found out that--as is typical of law students and lawyers--our minds had been in the gutter for no apparent reason. Our friend was a ballet dancer (and teacher) before law school. Plans to install a stripper pole in the law library were hastily--albeit sadly--abandoned.
Rather than plie-ing her way through courtrooms after graduation, Amy Tevlin returned to her first love. She spent a few years teaching ballet in the northeast and eventually came back to Cincinnati to launch, with her husband Michael, Tevlin Ballet. The West Chester-based enterprise boasts a school, a pre-professional company, and a professional company.
Tevlin Ballet is hosting an open house next Friday and Saturday, and registration for fall classes is ongoing.
So if one of your kids is dreaming of growing up to be a ballerina (or whatever it is they call male ballet dancers), this looks like a good place to start....
Rather than plie-ing her way through courtrooms after graduation, Amy Tevlin returned to her first love. She spent a few years teaching ballet in the northeast and eventually came back to Cincinnati to launch, with her husband Michael, Tevlin Ballet. The West Chester-based enterprise boasts a school, a pre-professional company, and a professional company.
Tevlin Ballet is hosting an open house next Friday and Saturday, and registration for fall classes is ongoing.
So if one of your kids is dreaming of growing up to be a ballerina (or whatever it is they call male ballet dancers), this looks like a good place to start....
Friday, August 27, 2010
Miss Print Blogs on her Last Game of the Season
"Miss Print" of the Cincinnati Roller Girls (also known as Lauren Bishop of both the Enquirer and Cincinnati Imports) tells of her last game of the season. (CRG has two games left on the West Coast this weekend.)
Miss Print may have been disappointed with the way the game and her season ended, but I finished reading Lauren's post with the same thought I often have after reading her stuff for either her blog or the paper: Damn, that woman can write.
Miss Print may have been disappointed with the way the game and her season ended, but I finished reading Lauren's post with the same thought I often have after reading her stuff for either her blog or the paper: Damn, that woman can write.
Conservative Poll Has Chabot-Driehaus Even
The Enqurier's Carl Weiser reported on the Politics Extra blog yesterday that in a Conservative Group's poll Chabot was leading Driehaus 47% to 45% with a +/- margin of error of 4.9%, making the race a dead heat. This is something of a surprise. Conservative polls are almost always going to lean towards the conservative candidate, usually based on the structure of the questions or the population based used for the sample. A dead heat here goes against the conventional wisdom of this race, which in national press outlets was giving Chabot a big advantage. This poll would sound to me on the surface to be good news for Driehaus, but there is a long way until November, and the economic news will drive this race.
This poll isn't a fair indication of much, but some of the internals are very interesting about people in the 1st district:
68% of those polled were age 50 or older.
45% of those polled make $75K or less per year.
71% of those polled are white.
50% are Male and 50% Female
51% are "Pro-Life" and 40% are "Pro-Choice" (I thought this would be a much wider gap)
Steve Driehaus won:
17% of Conservatives
61% of Moderates
83% of Liberals
This poll isn't a fair indication of much, but some of the internals are very interesting about people in the 1st district:
68% of those polled were age 50 or older.
45% of those polled make $75K or less per year.
71% of those polled are white.
50% are Male and 50% Female
51% are "Pro-Life" and 40% are "Pro-Choice" (I thought this would be a much wider gap)
Steve Driehaus won:
17% of Conservatives
61% of Moderates
83% of Liberals
Is the Theft Related to the Lawsuit?
A tenant, Ramdake Lewis, of the Metropole is accused of stealing documents from a company in charge of the Metropole transition. There are many questions on what this all means, but I've get several initial inquiries that raise this incident up a bit. What are the documents and how do they relate to any of the lawsuits or complaints made on the Metropole renovation? Could any of these documents be evidence in the lawsuit filed against HUD and 3CDC? Could the motive for the alleged crime be that the man in question was looking for information he could give to attorneys in this case? Is this what some would call spying?
Was Mr. Lewis spying on the Model Group/Brickstone? Spying is a big word, but was the guy snooping around? Did he "steal" the documents as he is accused? If he did this, was he acting alone? Was he advised by anyone to obtain this information? The facts of the case are not known, but if this goes to trial, more details will emerge.
Was Mr. Lewis spying on the Model Group/Brickstone? Spying is a big word, but was the guy snooping around? Did he "steal" the documents as he is accused? If he did this, was he acting alone? Was he advised by anyone to obtain this information? The facts of the case are not known, but if this goes to trial, more details will emerge.
Thursday, August 26, 2010
Give the Daily Show an Emmy For This NOW!!!
Jon Stewart is brilliant and this looks easy, but it is so well done, I almost peed. Yes, me, crusty blogger, Brian Griffin, almost peed my pants in laughter. The Daily Show summed up the fundamental problem with FOX News in a 9 minute gut busting segment. Watch and enjoy:
I learn towards Team Stupid, but Team Evil makes really good points.
Via: Liberalfix.com.
UPDATE: The above embedded video seems to be updating with newer episodes. To see the clip I referended, check out the full show from Monday August 23rd.
| The Daily Show With Jon Stewart | Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c | |||
| The Parent Company Trap | ||||
| ||||
Via: Liberalfix.com.
UPDATE: The above embedded video seems to be updating with newer episodes. To see the clip I referended, check out the full show from Monday August 23rd.
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