Yes, We Need Streetcars

The Enquirer asks "Does Cincy need streetcars?" The answer is obviously yes. We need need it for two reasons. First we need more public transportation. We as a society need to stop using our cars as often.

Secondly, we needs this to make Downtown and OTR into a residential community. Transportation is one of keys that will make it easier for more people to move downtown and to OTR. This will help push crime out, help pull in businesses that would serve residents. This also will feed the tourists (both locals and actual out of towners. Streetcars should be installed now. What sucks is that it will take years for it to happen. The mayor and council need to show leadership and make it happen.

This is an election year, so I look for council to be all talk and no action. With the recent arts funding troubles, this will be a battle. This is a top level issue we should hear where every candidate stands during the campaign. If they don't have an opinion on this issue, you shouldn't be voting for them.

Fringe Fest 2007 Kicks Off

The old faces from Cincy Fringe festivals of the past came out for a what ended up being one of the biggest Cincinnati Fringe related events ever. Over the course of the whole day, 500 people came through the doors. What felt odd yet good at the same time were the many new faces. The art and theatre crowds were out in good numbers, but the bigger influx of people came for music and the OTR Pale from Christian Moerlein.

The only comparison I could make to Fringe experiences of the past was the audiences who filled the seats to last years big hit The Catholic School Girl's Guide to Losing Your Virginity. That play brought Fringe new blood in 2006 that hopefully will be back in 2007.

This is second year the Fringe Festival is based at the Know Theatre space at 1120 Jackson street, but the first year with a bar at the Fringe HQ. The Fringe fest bar series is at the Know each night of the Fringe, so the Moerlein empty bottles will fill up a few trash bins. Most important to any festival are those looking to find a Fringe boyfriend/girlfriend. The prime time hook up zone will be about 12:30 AM most nights during the fest. How else do you think people come up with ideas from scripts for Fringe 2008?

The two biggest musical draws were Ellery and Jake Speed & the Freddies. Jake's set got off to a slow start with a little technical gaff, but they managed. My memory and the ears of my friends sitting near me were testing as I belted out the chorus to every song.

The festival officially start off on May 30th. Keep tuned to the Cincinnati Blog and theconveyor.com for interesting perspectives on the Festival.

City Population Bigger?

A new estimate of Cincinnati's population puts it much higher than even the revised numbers:

Cincinnati might be more populated and richer than the U.S. Census thinks. Results of a demographic study by Social Compact, a national nonprofit group supported by financial institutions:

Population: 368,868 (compared with the Census 2006 amended projection of 331,310; original projection was 307,573).

Households: 166,143 (139,590).

Avg. household income: $53,877 ($50,371).

Aggregate neighborhood income: $8.951 million ($7.031 million).

Median home sale value: $139,715 ($134,525).

The perception of a stable or dare I say even a growing city is one that should go along way to improve business and residential growth for the city and the entire region. Thinking positive and having the numbers to back it up is a good feeling.

Via Joe Hansbauer.

Hip Tips Minute: Arts Events in Cincinnati: May 18, 2007

For more information, check out the Enjoy the Arts website at www.etastart.com.

OTR 5K

June 2nd get out your running/walking shoes and take a jaunt through the historic Over-the-Rhine in the OTR 5K run:

See What’s Old and See What’s New in the GO OTR 5K Run/Walk in Historic Over-the-Rhine. The race/walk travels past much of OTR’s breathtaking historic architecture and provides a glimpse of the revitalization taking place in Over-The-Rhine. Proceeds benefit the Over-the-Rhine Chamber of Commerce.
Cost: $10 Pre-Registered, $15 Race Day. Both fees include T-Shirt and a Goody Bag.

For more info check out the Over-the-Rhine Chamber of Commerce's website at www.otrchamber.com.

Fringe Kickoff Party on Friday

The Cincinnati Fringe Festival kicks off early this Friday with a special happy hour from 6 PM to 8:30. Admission is free to this pre-event.

9PM to 1AM: join in on a great list of local music at the Fringe 4 Kickoff Party. $5 gets you a line up of: The Newbees, Jon Justice Band, O. yemi Experiment, Jake Speed and the Freddies, Ellery, & The Late Circuit.

Come out and support a great event with the best line up of music for a Theatre event in Cincinnati, ever!

Grandstanding Queen

If you were thinking ABBA, then you would have the type of show that came to mind when I read about the drama Ghiz and Cole generated about already vetted arts funding at Wednesday night's Council Meeting. Leslie Ghiz sounds like she is out to be confrontational for the sheer fact that she wants people to know she knows how to be confrontational with older men like Vice Mayor Jim Tarbell. The attacks on Tarbell were unwarranted and just mean.

Laketa Cole seems to have not been paying attention every year when this annual arts funding takes place. She was "disgusted." How the funding is determined isn't any different than it has been since 2002, so what is different in Cole's mind now? Did she forget how the process worked? Is she losing her memory? More puzzling, after all of her complaints, she voted for the funding anyway. If the process is disgusting, then its outcome should be voted down. Cole appears to want to play both sides for effect. Complain and look conservative, but in the end her voting record is in line with most Democrats.

Jeff Berding appears to be an obstructionist against fine arts. He will vote for "community" arts projects, but not fine arts project because they somehow don't help the public enough. I'm not being helped enough by Paul Brown Stadium, I'd like the Bengals to pick up the tab, immediately. I wonder if Jeff would agree there. How about funding community sports leagues instead? I think a pee-wee football stadium would have been the way to go.

City Wide WiFi?

I don't know how this would work, but in concept it sounds great.

Ken Lawson's Law License Suspended

For some very strange reason this news article about Cincinnati attorney Ken Lawson labels him as an "activist." Lawson has had his law license suspended until the Ohio Supreme Court makes a decision about the allegations Lawson mishandled cases. Lawson may be considered an activist by some, a small number. He is known foremost and in this situation it is most relevant to refer to him as a lawyer, his profession.

Joan Kaup Un-Interview Blog Post

The Enquirer's Jane Prendergast has an interesting blog post talking about what she talked to City Council candidate Joan Kaup about over coffee.

The impression Jane paints of Joan has a little bit of rookie overtone to it. Without any direct quotes that might be a little bit misleading, whether intention or not.

I do like this type of blog post. I called it an un-interview because it references what I presume was an interview, but what is in the post isn't anything close to what one would call the publication of an interview. It is something you wouldn't ever read in the newspaper. It is an odd mix of journalism the and personal influx that occurs with blogging. I hope Jane repeats these types of interactions with council candidates.

For The Record

In hopes that local TV news teams are reading this, please note that the Enquirer is reporting on a survey of 25 cities about Road Rage and Cincinnati was 18th, with Miami at #1 with the worst road rage.

Road Rage is not a problem here. We don't need any more stories of the alleged problem. We don't need to know about any alleged road rage incidents in any other city, either.

Ike Doesn't Work Here Anymore

Cincinnati Fringe Festival

Alice is sweet, but Tina is Wine.:

New Local Blog: UrbanCincy

Check out UrbanCincy for what so far seems to be a focus on Downtown projects.

Second Sunday on Main

Pictured here is a new mural painted on Main Street just this week. I spend a great Sunday afternoon on Main Street at the Second Sunday on Main Festival, the monthly summer street festival that showcases the North Main business district.

The highlight was the cooking demonstration from Chef Jean Robert de Cavel and a great lesson on matching wines from Sommelier Paul Ortiz. The dish was salmon with this egg dressing that was excellent. The wine chosen to match was actually champagne. If you've not seen Jean Robert cook live you really should take the opportunity. He looks like a symphony conductor, a friend even said he has conductor hair.

I can also attest that the Christian Moerlein OTR Pale Ale is pretty good.

Save the Second Sunday's for the rest for the rest of summer: June 10, July 8, August 12, and September 9.

Below the scene at Enjoy the Arts where the cooking demonstration took place.

The Goat - At New Stage Collective

There is still plenty of time to see the New Stage Collective's production of the Goat. To the left is a photo of the set of the goat from NSC's open house back in April.

Check out www.newstagecollective.com for more!!!!!

A Start, But Not Enough

This trolley idea is a good start, but it needs to be run Friday nights and on the Weekends as well. There is more to downtown and to the Square than lunch time during the week.

Sorry I'm late. I was taking a crap.

Cincinnati Fringe Festival

Mommy, I want one too:

Lobbying By Race

I am tired of race. I am sick and tired of people using race as the impetus to lobby the government for money. Lobbying is part of our democracy, but doing so based on Race increases the racial divide, and does nothing to create an inclusive society. Invoking George Wallace is a hollow and misleading rhetorical tactic, especially from the mouth of Chris Smitherman, who appears to be angling to become a local Al Sharpton, playing the race card as his first and last play.

Everybody's GOP Fightin'

In local politics, party really is not thicker than personal beefs between bitter foes. In this case seeing the Republicans fight like dogs, is quite a sporting evening.

UPDATE: A lot of detail at CityBeat's Porkopolis Blog.

Ohio 2nd: Heimlich vs Schmidt

The GOP primary is going to have a real race for the Ohio 2nd Congressional district.

Don't Call It a Comeback

LL Cool J will be performing at the grand opening of Club Red in the former Red Cheetah on 12th Street in OTR.

Cincy Fringe Festival 2007

Cincinnati Fringe Festival

But, wait, there's more:

Jason Haap Sued

Local blogger Jason Haap (aka "the Dean of Cincinnati) is listed as a defendant in a lawsuit relating to the feud between Henry and Peter Heimlich. Henry Heimlich developed the Heimlich Maneuver, which is the source of much of feud.

I've seen Jason go off the deep end on posts about Henry Heimlich and the Maneuver, but I've never known them to be worthy of a law suit.

More Smearing of Crowley

Here's a video on Youtube from a user called "HamCoGOP." I can't find this on their website, but it's a hackjob, so I would expect the HCRP to claim it without remorsing the smear of Councilman David Crowley:

What would be funny is if the "HamCoGOP" user was really a Jeff Berding supporter.

Shoe's on the Other Foot

Michelle Incanno of Springboro was offended by this saying on the side of a Starbucks coffee cup

"Why in moments of crisis do we ask God for strength and help? As cognitive beings, why would we ask something that may well be a figment of our imaginations for guidance? Why not search inside ourselves for the power to overcome? After all, we are strong enough to cause most of the catastrophes we need to endure."

If I am able to keep my cool over the many religious comments I have to endure in my life, then I think Michelle can swallow a cup full of someone questioning the existence of her deity.

Side note:Questioning the existence of "God" is not a religious exercise, other than the inference made in this argument that the concept of a "God" could exist.

Jeff Ruby Denies OJ

In a very bizarre occurrence local restaurateur Jeff Ruby denies OJ Simpson service at his restaurant in Louisville. Good for Jeff.

Why is OJ in Louisville?

Sub Rosa

Very well done web commercial:

2007 is the Year of OTR

John Fox has had an excellent editorial in CityBeat last week. The impression I get from it is that like me, John is sensing 2007 could be the year that OTR turns to a positive. He is very right about the need for all interest groups in OTR to work together. To me that means that no one can drag their feet. The biggest feet dragger has been the vocal supporters of the Drop-In Center. It must move. I would bet if they don't move, the center's location will be challenged in court for "housing" sex offenders once the SCPA is completed.

The way to finally tip OTR over to a positive comes in two ways:

1. Everyone living there must work together to fight the criminal element. If you have to lock up your old friends or relatives, so be it. Also, the long time residents need to work with the newer residents. That means a lot of racial and class mixing. That is a good thing, even outside of the action of fighting crime.
   
2. More people should take the challenge up and move to OTR. The condos are going in and the prices certainly beat those in the CBD. This year odds are in favor of this blogger putting his money where his mouth is.
   

Bates: The Candidate of Fear?

Is council candidate Melanie Bates trying to tap into the fear vote? In the city I would say she would be misguided. City residents are not the ones afraid of living in the City, that would be a majority of the Suburbanites.

One might argue she is pushing the anger buttons too, but when she says:

Melanie Bates, 53, expected a heightened crackdown on gun violence after her husband's shooting. City officials said they were united in their commitment against gun violence and tried to reassure residents that Cincinnati was safer than most big cities. It seemed - to the Bates family - that officials made little distinction between the killing of a public official's husband, in a residential neighborhood, and frequent drug-related shootings in the inner city.

Some of Bates' anger was directed at Mayor Mark Mallory.

"When Mayor Mallory called and said he was going to have a press conference on crime, I didn't even question it because I assumed it was to announce that he was going to assume some leadership in crime prevention, not telling the city that we really are safe and Phil Bates' death was an anomaly," she said.

I can understand why Mrs. Bates would be personally focused on her husband's murder, but it clearly is an anomaly. The vast majority of murders in Cincinnati and the entire country are either personal or drug related. It is also odd that in this article she comes across as if she was angry at Mallory because her husband didn't get a massive political attention. Why her husband deserved more hoopla than any of the other people murdered is puzzling.

From Bates we have no positive view of where she wants to take the city. I can understand why she doesn't emit anything positive, since its been less than a year since her husband was murdered. In a city council person we need to look forward, and this article is not good for her, he has her looking back and sounding bitter.

Finally, as can be seen I will not hold punches on Mrs. Bates. She chose to run for city council and is basing her campaign on the murder of her husband, therefore she is not above criticism on topic of his murder or her reaction to it.

Adios

WLW's "The Big Juan" billboards arecoming down, thanks to a complaint from the Hispanic Chamber Cincinnati USA. Good! There were 82 of the tasteless billboards. A little bit of an over kill.

Berding, Just Move On

Jeff Berding is sounding like a pol on Hardball with this trite quote:

“We don’t put our signatures on something and then say we changed our mind, something better’s come up,” said Councilman Jeff Berding.

Fund small arts group, already.

Berding sounds like he is trying out for higher office with the way he is on the attack all the time. Is he going to run for Congress in a few years?

Bortz comes across poorly too, attacking his fellow Charterite. Who are the "Bortz supporters" who are either playing out Chris's wishes or stepping into a pile of crap, bringing Chris into something he may not want.

We don't need more of the bickering and we really don't need 5 people trying to create an agenda that doesn't seem to be based on much of anything coherent.

Sweet!!! HB Video

A brilliant video for the Heartless Bastards' "All This Time". The visuals really are cool. This is a first class effort. The guys at Lightborne should really be proud of their work.

Music At Northside Tavern

Who is this?

Title of the video is called "Not Sold in Stores." The band's name? They have a nice early Beatles sound going on.

Need More Goat Bell

New Stage Collective extends it's production of Edward Albee’s 'The Goat or Who Is Sylvia?' through May 27. Get out and see it while you still can! Get your tickets at www.newstagecollective.com.

Portune Working For Rail Transit

Joe Wessels' column this weekend brought news of Todd Portune's efforts in favor of light-rail for the East side. Fitting street cars is interesting, but one that I think easily makes sense. Use light rail to bring people in from the outlying areas, and have them hop on a streetcar to go into CBD/OTR/Pill-Hill to work.

Another interesting point in the column is that Todd is making overtures about a high-speed rail line between Dayton and Cincinnati. Most thinking about the census likely would agree that eventually, Dayton will be included in a combined Cincinnati Metro area. When it will happen is a bigger issue, since it affects much more than broadcast revenues, namely federal funding. Whether high speed rail would be a before or after effect of the Cincinnati-Dayton-NKY-SW Indiana metro area creation is the type of issue we pay politicians like Todd Portune to figure out. Connecting Downtown Dayton to the senior Downtown Cincinnati makes for a great conduit of people that not only would affect commuting, but day/weekend trips would become be a fun/easy activity for Dayton residents.

Rocking on the Square

On the Myfountainsquare.com website, a very promising summer line up of programming is scheduled, including an interesting one called "Rock the Square" which seems to be set for most every Friday. Many of those events are tied to larger local festivals/events taking place on that Friday. One of the first one's is slated to be themed for the Cincinnati Fringe Festival.

What is missing is a line-up of acts. It is very hard to book that far ahead, but when it comes to music you have to consider you music fan likes to know who they are going to see well ahead of the day of the event. If anyone has an idea of any acts playing "Rock the Square," please let me know. I got a quick response from the folks at CinWeekly, so we might get someone with first hand knowledge to chime in.

Tragic

The Enquirer is reporting that a Flying Pig Marathon runner collapsed at the finish line and later died. The coroner reportedly stated the deceased was a 45 year old man who had a history of hypertension and was allegedly not taking proper care of himself.

Warped Sense of Party Loyalty

There can be little question that Jeff Berding and David Crowley are not working together to help each other get reelected. Berding's negative efforts are most clear in the CityBeat Blog post:

Later, Jeff Berding — Crowley’s Democratic colleague on council — was quoted in a newspaper column criticizing Crowley. Berding stated: “Can you believe it? This is the guy who wants to tell the generals how to run the war in Iraq, but in this case he says we’re in no position to judge, that we shouldn’t stand up for the family of a slain police officer.” Also, Berding added, “It shows a warped value system.”

Berding is acting like he's a Republican and is doing so on purpose, showing no respect for the party that just recently endorsed him. Saying David Crowley has a warped value system is not only wrong, it is a nasty thing to say. Berding seems to think his only way to win is to campaign on the same issues and stances as Chris Monzel. He will need to have lots of money to win a second term, something he likley can do.

Rise of Gen X

As a card carrying member of Generation X, I feel no sympathy for companies who are squeezing the workforce they currently have down to a stone dried turnip, and now worrying about not having enough people to fill the jobs of the soon to be retiring Boomers that GenX has been carrying on our backs for a while now. If the retiring Boomers are going to have their stock portfolios appreciate a little slower because corporations are going to be paying people more wages over the next decade plus, then I say "cry me a river." With the cost of health care rising, the amount companies are paying for not increasing, GenX is once again left to clean up the generational mess being left by the Boomers. This is just the beginning.

More HB Goodness

I missed last night's Erika Wennerstrtom solo act at Southgate, but Mike Breen reports on the first official Heartless Bastards music video for All This Time.

I've not yet found the new video online, but here's a youtube.com live video from March of 2007.

Drilling Down to Me

It is an odd feeling when I am on Hillary Clinton's press relations email list. I'm getting emails now because she is coming to Dayton and Cleveland and it would appear that her campaigns press department has a very good list of bloggers that can be targeted as the candidate swings through the state.

I don't think Ohio will be a big state for the primaries, so I do not expect to see all of the candidates here before our primary.

Smoking Ban Lack of Impact?

It has been six months since since the smoking ban went into affect and yesterday enforcement went into effect. Most establishments have been following the ban since last December. From the Enquirer we hear both sides to the issue, but my experiences agree with this quote from the article:

Habit's Café in Oakley has not experienced any change in business. In fact, more people are coming in for the food at Habit's, said manager Brian Dobbins.

"It's a non-issue for us," he said. "There are always a few complaints but by and large, everybody's been very happy. Every night I get a customer who says it's a much better environment."

I've heard nothing about a mass exodus over the last 6 months. This weekend, the hardcore smokers may be going to Kentucky, but they will be leaving a small number of bars. Those places, like the Pilot Inn, may face a business down turn, but that conventional wisdom is likely to end up being false. With gas at $3 a gallon, how many Norwood smokers are going to drive to Kentucky to drink? They might do it more a few times, but in the end, they will adapt. Maybe after their first DUI they will have no choice but to walk to the neighborhood bar.

I would expect the standard for new bar construction will include a patio or deck.

It's Driehaus vs. Chabot

The Papers have been files so as Howard Wilkinson puts it The Battle of the Steves is on.

Cuz'nJake

Oh, the love, the politics, the stylings of a new duo: Cuz'n Jake.

CSO Keeps Paavo Jarvi

Great news about the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra signing Paavo through 2011. Paavo brings a fresh approach to classical music that is helping keep the artistic reputation of the CSO at the high level it holds.

CiN Stage Lineup Announced

Kari Wethington of CiNWeekly has announced the lineup for the CiN Stage at the Taste of Cincinnati. This lineup is subject to change:

SATURDAY, MAY 26

1-2 The Swarthy Band
3-4 Kristen Key
5-6 Ellery
7-8 Wussy
9-10 Kim Taylor


SUNDAY, MAY 27

1-2 Ill Poetic
3-4 Paper Airplane
5-6 Fairmount Girls
7-8 Bad Veins
9-10 Freakbass

MONDAY, MAY 28

1-2 Buffalo Killers
3-4 Pearlene

The last spot is still open for Sunday night.

UPDATE: I got an update that Freakbass has filed the TBA Sunday night spot at 9.

Chain Resturant Wins Best Damn Dish

Does this mean Carrabba's is that good, or that most of the better non-chain restaurants did not participate? I really enjoy going to Taste of Cincinnati, but for the restaurants it can be a big expense and effort to participate. This makes it something bigger chains can afford better than the independent establishment.

Targeted Bigotry

John Kiesewetter opened the can of worms on WLWs "The Big Juan" billboard campaign. I've not seen the billboards, so I can't speak to what they look like, but I have a more important question, where are they? The where speaks to whom WLW is targeting with the billboard. If these are only in Lower Price Hill or only in Mason, that says something very bad. If these are only in generally high traffic areas, like along highways, that says some less aggressive and more tasteless.

Leonard Pitts Jr wrote about this type of thing and summed it up brilliantly, is WLW being a bully about this? It sounds like they are, which is unfortunately what WLW is all about.

CAC 's New Director

Raphaela Platow comes from Brandeis University and has a very interesting background. Most interesting element is that she is young, but has already been a chief curator and action director while at Brandies.

I am intrigued by this pick. I think it takes the CAC in a new direction, brings new perspective, and hopefully the positive vibe of events of the last year plus will continue.

More at the Enquirer Arts Blog and CityBeat's A&E Blog.

Cincinnati Is Not Chicago

One of the biggest problems many people in Cincinnati have with grasping the concept that we are making progress in improving downtown is the delusion that Cincinnati is Chicago (2nd letter). I honestly don't understand what people like Phil Weintraub of Amberley Village want. What ever it is, it is not here, and will never be here. That shouldn't stop the rest of us from embracing the Cincinnati that is and revel in what we are becoming.

A simple fact people have to understand is that Cincinnati is not a Mega-opolis. We are not NYC, LA, or Chicago. Phil Weintraub needs to move to Chicago, instead of trying to making Cincinnati into something it can't and will never be.