3CDC is getting the job done in OTR. City Council needs to move forward and fund the next stage of development.
It is great seeing the building on the corner of Vine and 13th Streets undergo a massive rehab. In the new plan it is good to see more money for Main Street.
Monday, November 26, 2007
Sunday, November 25, 2007
Mmmm, Pie....
When I'm eating lunch at my desk (or in Fountain Square), my favorite place to grab a sandwich is Fred and Gari's on Vine Street. It's one of those Cincinnati gems that have been around for a long time--you know, the kind that you're proud to know about when you mention it to a life-long resident of the City who's never heard of it.
This Thanksgiving, no one in my family was going to have time to do much baking, so I decided to order a couple of pies from Fred and Gari's--one pumpkin and one chocolate. Since Thursday (well, really, since Wednesday, when I first got a whiff of the pumpkin pie), I've been struggling to find words to describe how magnificent these pies are. They're so good they make you feel privileged to eat them, so good that you feel a little sad knowing that sooner or later (depending on your degree of self-control), they'll be gone.
Fred and Gari's: another one of the things that makes downtown Cincinnati a great place in which to live and work.
This Thanksgiving, no one in my family was going to have time to do much baking, so I decided to order a couple of pies from Fred and Gari's--one pumpkin and one chocolate. Since Thursday (well, really, since Wednesday, when I first got a whiff of the pumpkin pie), I've been struggling to find words to describe how magnificent these pies are. They're so good they make you feel privileged to eat them, so good that you feel a little sad knowing that sooner or later (depending on your degree of self-control), they'll be gone.
Fred and Gari's: another one of the things that makes downtown Cincinnati a great place in which to live and work.
Thursday, November 22, 2007
Wednesday, November 21, 2007
A Plea to Governor Strickland
Governor Strickland, please send the State Police to Over-the-Rhine. Since I have been living in OTR I've seen 2 State Troopers patrolling, one on Vine St. and one on 12th Street. If the Sheriff can't find the money for it (or find the heart) and history shows that the CPD can't do it, please send in the State Troopers to patrol OTR. We don't need a massive task force, we just need the cars going up and down the streets of OTR to help send street thugs and suburban drug buyers scurrying for cover. If we can get the drug and petty criminals off the streets, then everyday life will improve for all law abiding residents of OTR.
Tuesday, November 20, 2007
Poverty and Homelessness: Who Cares?
"Then he will say to those on his left, 'Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.' They also will answer, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?' He will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did not do for one of the least among you, you did not do for me.'" (Matthew 25:41-45)
“And if anyone saved a life, it would be as if he saved the life of the whole people.” (The Qur’an 5:32)
“Poverty is the worst form of violence." (Gandhi)
"Money is better than poverty, if only for financial reasons." (Woody Allen)
"Jesus answered, 'If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.'" (Matthew 19:21)
I thought I may as well weigh in on this discussion of homelessness and poverty that Griff and Donald have started. Perhaps I come from a very different place, but it seems that we as a society have decided in this The Second Gilded Age that we just don't care about poor and homeless people at all and see them as just reaping the harvest of their choices. For at least the last twenty-five years -- through the administrations of right wingers who believed in the literal word of scripture and Dick Cheney and left wingers who believed in both the holiness of scripture and blow jobs --, we have embraced social policies that destroyed the social safety net and that manifested a radical social darwinism. Systemically, we have said to poor people, "we are tired of you and your whining --- you are bringing us down --- don't you understand that the reason you don't have all that we have is because you have not worked hard enough, you are lazy and lacking in education, because you dropped out. Sorry that many of you had long long ago ancestors that lived in slavery, but we just don't care. You are on your own now. We have power and will move you where we want to move you and make social policy that is driven by what is convenient for us." So what happens when you to say to desperate people, "you are on your own to make do; you get what you get in this world because you get what you deserve"? A social policy built on the theology of the survival of the fittest means that it is power against power -- who knows who will win -- yet it puts us all in a war zone.
And, how can it be that we have a museum down the road a little ways dedicated to the literal truth of the Hebrew scriptures when it comes to science and creation, yet have a society of literal believers who do not believe Jesus literally meant what he said when he said "If you would be perfect, go, sell what you possess and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me." So contrary to all scientific findings, dinosaurs and humans roamed the earth at the same time, but Jesus was just kidding around when he said this. Hmmm. . . . . .
“And if anyone saved a life, it would be as if he saved the life of the whole people.” (The Qur’an 5:32)
“Poverty is the worst form of violence." (Gandhi)
"Money is better than poverty, if only for financial reasons." (Woody Allen)
"Jesus answered, 'If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.'" (Matthew 19:21)
I thought I may as well weigh in on this discussion of homelessness and poverty that Griff and Donald have started. Perhaps I come from a very different place, but it seems that we as a society have decided in this The Second Gilded Age that we just don't care about poor and homeless people at all and see them as just reaping the harvest of their choices. For at least the last twenty-five years -- through the administrations of right wingers who believed in the literal word of scripture and Dick Cheney and left wingers who believed in both the holiness of scripture and blow jobs --, we have embraced social policies that destroyed the social safety net and that manifested a radical social darwinism. Systemically, we have said to poor people, "we are tired of you and your whining --- you are bringing us down --- don't you understand that the reason you don't have all that we have is because you have not worked hard enough, you are lazy and lacking in education, because you dropped out. Sorry that many of you had long long ago ancestors that lived in slavery, but we just don't care. You are on your own now. We have power and will move you where we want to move you and make social policy that is driven by what is convenient for us." So what happens when you to say to desperate people, "you are on your own to make do; you get what you get in this world because you get what you deserve"? A social policy built on the theology of the survival of the fittest means that it is power against power -- who knows who will win -- yet it puts us all in a war zone.
And, how can it be that we have a museum down the road a little ways dedicated to the literal truth of the Hebrew scriptures when it comes to science and creation, yet have a society of literal believers who do not believe Jesus literally meant what he said when he said "If you would be perfect, go, sell what you possess and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me." So contrary to all scientific findings, dinosaurs and humans roamed the earth at the same time, but Jesus was just kidding around when he said this. Hmmm. . . . . .
Give a Bum a Fish
If you need more evidence that many charities servicing the alcoholics and drug addicts in Washington Park are not working towards helping these people live normal lives, then I don't think you read the article.
First you have three churches who bring food down for one day. Sure, that gives the bums something to eat for a day. Does it help them kick drugs or booze? No, it saves them buying food that can then be used for drugs or booze.
Second you have the "homeless" advocates (yes, I put that word in quotes on purpose) who in my opinion admit that they don't really want to help these people and improve the neighborhood, instead they want to force people to see the bums.
Well, how many times has Georgine Getty worked to move the bums away from the drug dealers and the corner stores with cheap booze? She does nothing but really make me want to protest her organization and the Drop Inn Center if they don't take any and every offer to move out of Over-the-Rhine. Her answer is:
Finally, if you have a problem with wanting the bums to live normal lives, then you want the bums to keep on being bums so you can keep the funding for your ineffective programs.
First you have three churches who bring food down for one day. Sure, that gives the bums something to eat for a day. Does it help them kick drugs or booze? No, it saves them buying food that can then be used for drugs or booze.
Second you have the "homeless" advocates (yes, I put that word in quotes on purpose) who in my opinion admit that they don't really want to help these people and improve the neighborhood, instead they want to force people to see the bums.
Well, how many times has Georgine Getty worked to move the bums away from the drug dealers and the corner stores with cheap booze? She does nothing but really make me want to protest her organization and the Drop Inn Center if they don't take any and every offer to move out of Over-the-Rhine. Her answer is:
"If you have a problem seeing homeless folks, you should end homelessness," Getty said.If you are a person hanging out around the park there are three possible things wrong you: 1. You are a drug addict 2. You are addicted to alcohol or 3. You are mentally unbalanced and can't afford treatment. If the Georgine doesn't want to find ways to treat those problem, then she doesn't want to help anyone in Washington Park. Giving a man a meal for one day does nothing to help him with why he is in the Park.
Finally, if you have a problem with wanting the bums to live normal lives, then you want the bums to keep on being bums so you can keep the funding for your ineffective programs.
Monday, November 19, 2007
Feed the Homeless, Break the Law
Stories like this one (noting that a consortium of churches that organized a free lunch in Washington Park are acting contrary to Cincinnati ordinances, as the city won't issue a permit for such events) are likely to become more common as OTR development continues. If CityLink is built (and remember, our court of appeals just said that it can be), there no doubt will be an increased effort to shut down the Drop Inn Center.
Ultimately, the problem of providing for our city's homeless is going to be an excrutiatingly difficult issue for Mayor Mallory and City Council. It's true, of course, that many associate "homeless" with either "criminal" or "panhandler," and to the extent that happens (regardless of whether that mental association is based on reality), a visible homeless population hurts development efforts. But it's also true that in America's cities, the homeless have always tended towards the inner-city. CityLink probably won't cause a migration of our homeless population to the West Side (and if it does, what happens to redevelopment efforts there?).
True solutions (e.g., finding ways to eradicate homelessness) are unlikely, as both city and county leaders are likely to slash the few dollars that are presently slated towards social services. How we treat our homeless (who are often some of the most vulnerable among us) will say a lot about what our City will become in these transitional times.
Ultimately, the problem of providing for our city's homeless is going to be an excrutiatingly difficult issue for Mayor Mallory and City Council. It's true, of course, that many associate "homeless" with either "criminal" or "panhandler," and to the extent that happens (regardless of whether that mental association is based on reality), a visible homeless population hurts development efforts. But it's also true that in America's cities, the homeless have always tended towards the inner-city. CityLink probably won't cause a migration of our homeless population to the West Side (and if it does, what happens to redevelopment efforts there?).
True solutions (e.g., finding ways to eradicate homelessness) are unlikely, as both city and county leaders are likely to slash the few dollars that are presently slated towards social services. How we treat our homeless (who are often some of the most vulnerable among us) will say a lot about what our City will become in these transitional times.
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