Open Mouth, Insert Foot?

Last week, I was mildly critical of the Hamilton County Young Democrats for their alleged inactivity.

A recent check of the group's website, though, reveals lots of stuff coming up in the next few weeks, including:

• A St. Patrick's Day Party at Hamburger Mary's (no, I still can't get myself to call it Universal Grille);
• An after-party at Below Zero following the Century Club Reception (you need an after-party to make the Democratic prom complete); and
• The local premiere of Uncounted at the Esquire on March 26th.

Guess I just should have been more patient. Sorry, HCYD.

History Question

As a Cincinnati transplant, one of the things I missed out on was being educated (probably during grade school) about local history. One of the things I've always wondered about is the historical reasons for the Swiss cheese-like appearance of Cincinnati. Why do Norwood, Elmwood Place, and St. Bernard exist as separate political entities?

In most major cities, you could hear an argument over whether a particular adjacent suburb should have been incorporated or annexed. But having small pockets of sovereign municipalities in the middle of a city is a little unusual, even by Ohio standards. What gives?

Not A Good Sign

Question you'd rather not hear a judge asking a prosecutor as he's sentencing you or your client for a speeding ticket:

"How much can I fine him?"

CincyFringe 2008 Line Up Announced

The 5th annual Cincinnati Fringe Festival has announced its lineup for 2008. The Enquirer has more here.

TheConveyor.com is planning on wall to wall, beer to beer, and play to play coverage again this year of the Cincinnati Fringe festival. Keep an eye on The Conveyor's Fringe Coverage for more news and previews of Fringe.

Stickland Dismisses No. 2 Spot

Ohio Governor Ted Strickland reportedly told the Cincinnati Enquirer's Editorial Board that he would not accept the VP spot if asked by either Clinton or Obama.

The talk of VP and Ohio brings to mind one big and simple question: How do the Dems win Ohio? Yes, grassroots GOTV is what I think is the main weapon for turning any election, but that is not factor at play. On the surface the tide is pouring against the GOP, but many Ohioans are easily swayed by fear and bigotry. For evidence just look to the election of Bush in 2004 and to the Gay Marriage ban.

A VP candidate isn't going to win a national election. A VP candidate could win a state, and a state could turn the election. Yep, it is elementary political science, but sometimes elections are that simple.

Streetcars!

I actually considered not putting anything in the body of this post, as I have a theory that we can generate 30-50 comments just by writing the word "streetcar." But there is news to discuss.

Earlier today, reports the Enquirer's blog, Council agreed, 6-3, to appropriate $800,000 to fund the uptown-link study. The "no" votes were cast by Qualls, Cranley, and Monzel.

It's still unclear (at least to me) what the plan is going forward. Does the City begin funding and construction of the Downtown/OTR loop while the Uptown study takes place? Or do we wait for the study to be finished? And does the "I-want-an-Uptown-connection-now" crowd have enough votes to kill the project if the City can't build the entire proposed system immediately (and it almost certainly cannot), rather than in two phases, as was initially proposed?

Amongst the usual nonsensical comments to the Enquirer's blog (I'm proud to say that Griff has generated a readership that gets us the best comments of any local blog!) are two thoughtful comments by Greg Harris (or at least someone claiming to be him). You can read them here and here. Kind of makes you wish Harris were on Council instead of . . . oh, say, Qualls, Cranley, or Monzel? Kind of makes you wish he had run for County Commission. Kind of...never mind.

And why can't I get any councilmembers to introduce an ordinance to rebuild the inclines? :-)

All Dressed Up And No Place To Go...

You might recall that one of my New Year's resolutions was to become more involved in the community. Recently, I even joined (by paying membership dues) the Hamilton County Young Democrats.

Realizing I might actually have a little free time this month, I went to the HCYD website to figure out how to do something constructive. Luckily, they have lots of upcoming events to keep me busy.

If Hamilton County does "turn blue" this year, it will be despite the local party's best efforts.