Hot Air

It appears Greg Flannery and a couple of other activists are doing what ever they can to derail progress in OTR. It isn't good enough that the Washington Plan adds more green space. It has to create something that will cost more money and not be used to its potential. In fact what Greg wants is to keep more concrete in the area instead of helping add more oxygen to the atmosphere! Come on Greg, I thought you were Pro-Earth!

City Council does the right thing (for once)

Well, at least part of it has. The Enquirer reports that the Finance Committee voted unanimously to approve the funding request from 3CDC for improvement in OTR. Hopefully, the rest of Council will support it as well. The only way that improvement will "stick" in OTR is if the City is backing it financially as well as with some lip service.

A Nice Donabedian Profile

After a big opening Winter season I'd bet Bill Donabedian, Fountain Square Manager, is liking the Enquirer's profile. It it actually quite fair to him personally and gets insight from people who have worked with him. The square looked great on Friday during the day. I'd like to know if anyone was there Friday Night and can chime in how the event went?

Plans For Washington Park Look Great

The plans to expand and renovate Washington Park look excellent. Here is a pdf map of the plan.

Something that was mentioned in the article was the Drop-In Center, but the reason for it being mentioned is not obvious to anyone not familiar with the underlying issue: the Bums must go. All of the renovation of the Park will be lost if the bums still camp out in the Park and along 12th Street. That is the big question about Park renovation. If they have no plans there, then it will not matter how nice it is, the bums will do two things: keep people away and they will quickly ruin many of the renovations.

OTR Development Needs to Move Forward

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.

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.

Turkeys Don't Surf!

Happy Thanksgiving Day!!