What Do You Want at the Emery?

I've been very excites about this year Music CEAs taking place at the historic Emery Theater (Get your tickets NOW!). Efforts are underway way by the Emery Center Corporation to restore the grand theater to the greatness and huge relevance it held for most of the 20th Century. For a taste, check out this photo gallery from CityBeat showing just a little of the storied past of this great venue. Estimates are that the restoration will take at least 3 million dollars to complete. See below for a press release on the efforts.

The key element I want to find out is what do you want to see take place at a restored Emery? Give me your ideas in comments. Here are some of mine:

1. Where better to see the headliners for Midpoint?
2. Music Now! needs a bigger venue!
3. Why Can't the Oxford Film festival move again?

What else comes to mine? Post your thoughts and get your ticket to the CEAs today!

If you want to help out raising some of the money needed to make this happen, send me your contact information (email: cincyblog@aol.com) and I'll pass it along to Emery team and get your efforts moving in the right direction. If you have limited time, at least spread the word about this effort to bring more hands on culture to OTR and Downtown. This is a chance to have a world class venue be the home for great music, theatre, film and events that will augment the growing arts community in Cincinnati.

Here are the details on Saving the Emery from the ECC:

$3 Million Projected to Reopen the Emery Theatre

The board of the Emery Center Corporation (ECC) has been working on plans to reopen the Emery Theatre. After lying dormant for about a decade, this historic concert hall/auditorium will host 650 guests for the Cincinnati Entertainment Awards on Sunday evening, November 23. The ECC hopes that this event will demonstrate the potential of the hall to fill a niche in Cincinnati’s varied array of performing arts facilities and that other events will follow.

Vision

A restored Emery Theatre is envisioned as a mid-sized performance venue and an educational, community-based arts facility with world-class acoustics. The concept is to operate the Emery as a presenting hall for performances aimed at a young urban audience. The Emery can accommodate local and touring musicians, choral groups, lectures, movies and multi-media presentations, festivals, corporate meetings and conventions.

Current Activities

In January 2008, the University of Cincinnati (UC) charged the ECC to identify a viable manager and program for the Emery Theatre by the end of this year. After several years of dormancy, the ECC’s board of trustees has been meeting regularly and working intensively on this challenge. Numerous professionals and volunteers have participated in preliminary construction work and planning.

• Urban Sites carried out $15,000 of interior demolition and debris removal.
• Over 100 Give Back Cincinnati volunteers participated in a major cleanup, painting and cleaning of the lobby and orchestra level.
• GBBN Architects have produced a code analysis and scope of work to establish the minimum work required to reopen the hall.
• Al Neyer, Inc., has prepared a cost estimate.
• Property Advisors has produced a valuation study establishing the market value and equity in the building.
• A new preliminary operating plan projects a $500,000 annual operating budget.

Phased Revitalization

The ECC believes the revival of the Emery Theatre can be accomplished in a two-phased restoration. The first phase could open the orchestra and first balcony (1100 seats total) by the end of 2011, in time to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the hall in January 2012. The second phase could open the second balcony for a total of 1600 seats at some future date.

Projected at just $3 million, Phase I could open the Emery’s doors at relatively low cost and capitalize on this currently underutilized resource. The viability of the project is enhanced by potential income from the apartments, either through rent or condominium sales, which could yield $1 to 2 million in equity toward the theatre’s renovation.

History

Completed in 1911, the Emery Theatre/former Ohio Mechanic’s Institute-College of Applied Science (OMI-CAS) Building has a distinguished heritage, having been endowed by philanthropist Mary Emery and designed by architects Samuel Hannaford & Sons. The Emery Theatre has the highest quality acoustics and was compared to Carnegie Hall by the renowned conductor Leopold Stokowski. This nearly flawless concert hall was the home of the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra from 1912 to 1936.

Many Broadway stars and world-renowned performing artists have appeared on the Emery stage, including Russian ballet dancers Nijinsky and Anna Pavlova, actresses Bette Davis and Katherine Cornell, and composers John Philip Sousa and George Gershwin, who played his famous "Rhapsody in Blue" with the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra here shortly after premiering it at Carnegie Hall in New York.

Recent Redevelopment

The Emery Theatre/former OMI-CAS Building came under the ownership of the University of Cincinnati in 1969. When OMI-CAS moved to its new Edgecliff Campus in 1988, the building sat vacant, and the theatre was operated for a decade by the American Theatre Organ Society. The Emery Center Corporation (ECC) was created in 1988 to promote the restoration and sustainable operation of the Emery Theatre.

While restoration of the theatre was delayed, the rest of the complex was redeveloped in 1999-2001, with 59 units of market-rate housing, interior parking, and commercial office and retail space. The $9.7 million project included exterior renovation and interior stabilization of the theatre. The complex is leased long-term (40 + 40 years) to the Emery Center Apartments LP (ECALP), and the ECC holds a sublease for the theatre.

Need

Cincinnati has pent-up demand for a mid-sized theater. The Emery will have 1600 seats, as compared with 3400 in Music Hall, 2700 in the Aronoff, 2400 at the Taft, and 900 at CCM’s Corbett Auditorium. Cincinnati needs a hall for mid-sized audiences to complement our other performing venues. Cincinnatians drive to other cities in our region such as Louisville, Columbus, Indianapolis, Lexington, and Dayton to enjoy entertainers who skip Cincinnati for lack of a suitable venue for their touring shows.

Key characteristics

* Proscenium: 54 feet wide, 45 feet high at the top of the arch
* Stage depth: 35 feet deep, could be expanded to 60 feet
* Stage loft: 72 feet high
* Wing space: 15 feet wide (both sides)
* Rigging: New counterweight system needed
* Gym: 54 X 80 feet (for rehearsals and events)


Open to the Public

The Emery is scheduled to be open to the public one night only this year. On November 23, the Cincinnati Entertainment Awards will be held in the Emery and all bar proceeds will be given to Save the Emery. Tickets are required and can be purchased at cea.citybeat.com This event is happening with a temporary certificate of occupancy. Stop in to enjoy the award show and take a look around. Then buy a drink and tip heavily! There is more work to be done.

License Suspensions: A Primer

I'm always amazed: every time the Enquirer has the opportunity to educate the public about a criminal justice issue, it fails. Today's article on license suspensions is an excellent example. The article notes the number of individuals who drive despite having a suspended license, and quotes HamCo Municipal Court Judge Nadine Allen regarding the drag this becomes on the court system.

Judge Allen is right: we don't do a good job, either in Ohio or in Hamilton County, on dealing with the enormous number of individuals who are caught driving with a license in a non-valid status. In this post, I'll describe the problem in greater detail. In my next post, I'll lay out my suggestion to fix this.

Driving without a license or with a suspended license in Ohio is a first-degree misdemeanor, which means that it's an offense punishable by up to 180 days in jail and a $1,000 fine. (The exceptions are driving on a license expired for fewer than 6 months, which is punishable only by a $150 fine and no jail time, and repeat driving under OVI-suspension, which is punishable by up to a year.)

It's important to understand the types of license suspensions. I suspect the most common is an "FRA suspension." "FRA" stands for Financial Responsibility Act, the Ohio law that requires all motorists to carry car insurance. The easiest way to get such a suspension is to be cited for a simple traffic violation during a time when you don't have car insurance. The BMV suspends a motorist's license in this situtation. (The BMV also conducts random checks on motorists' insurance; if you fail to respond to a BMV notice requring proof of insurance, your license is suspended.)

Closely related to the FRA suspension is a "judgment suspension." This generally occurs when a person is an automobile accident and doesn't have insurance, and the other driver sues and gets a judgment. In those cases, your license becomes suspended until you've paid off the judgment or entered into some sort of payment arrangement.

Falling too far into arrears on child support can cause a suspension. This can be fixed only by paying a certain percentage of the arrearage and making other arrangements with CSEA.

All felony drug offenses in Ohio carry a mandatory driver's license suspension.

The above suspensions don't carry mandatory jail time. But there are two that do:

First, a twelve-point suspension occurs when you accumulate 12 points on your driver's license. It's done automatically by the BMV. If you're caught and convicted of driving under a 12-point suspension, you'll face a mandatory three days of jail time.

Second, driving under an OVI (formerly DUI) suspension carries mandatory time that increases with each offense (first three days, then ten days, then thirty days). If you're convicted of OVI, the court will suspend your license (your license is also suspended automatically upon testing at or above .08). Ignoring either the automatic (or "administrative") suspension (even prior to conviction) or the court-ordered suspension are treated the same under Ohio law.

Finally, there are a broad category of people who, if caught driving, would be charged with "failure to reinstate." These are people whose license was suspended by either the BMV or a court and whose suspension has expired, but who failed to go to the BMV and pay their reinstatement fee (and perhaps satisfy some other requirements). These folks don't have a valid license, but aren't technically suspended. Nonetheless, the offense is a first-degree misdemeanor.

Now that we now what the various license suspensions, if we're worried about the impact these motorists are having on the court system, what do we do?

Speaking of Food

It shouldn't be suprising that the Freestore Foodbank will be in high demand over the next two months. The Enquirer reports that they're predicting record demand.

For what it's worth, you don't have to donate actual food items; the Foodbank has a virtual food drive where you can donate cash based on what items you'd give had you actually gone to the store.

It seems there ought to be a way for all of the local blogs to have some sort of contest to see who can raise the most money and food for the Foodbank. I'm still thinking about how that would work and what the prize would be (other than bragging rights). For the time being, I'll be satisfied by challenging every other Cincinnati blogger to link to the Foodbank's virtual food drive on their blogs.

And if you're stuck deciding between an "Obama Victory" T-shirt and a donation to the Foodbank, go for the Foodbank. Barack will understand.

Whoops (Top Chef Spoiler Ahead)

Julie pointed out that this season of Top Chef would feature a Cincinnati contestant, Lauren Starling Hope of Jag's Steak and Seafood.

Unfortunately, she didn't even make it into the kitchen, being eliminated during the first episode's "quickfire" challenge.

The LA Times offers an episode recap and critique here.

Aside: Bravo's bio of Lauren says that Jag's is the "most luxurious and contemporary steakhouse in Cincinnati." Is this really true? Is it more luxurious than Ruby's or the Precinct?

I Voted For Obama, And All I Got Was This Lousy T-Shirt

I donated both time (all day Election Day) and money (twice, both in small amounts) to the Obama campaign. It's no surprise that I was happy when he won. But after a two-year long campaign, I was looking forward to the end of emails and calls soliciting support.

A week later, and not so much. I'm still getting emails. Apparently, the DNC went into debt for the Obama campaign. So President-Elect Obama is still fund-raising. But I can get a T-shirt if I give $30 or more.

Woo hoo.

Pulse Ends Print Edition

In a surprise move last week Cincinnati Pulse (Formerly known as the Downtowner) haulted the printing of their weekly newspaper and launched a web only edition at www.cincipulse.com.

Web only news sites, as I can tell you personally, are difficult to profitable when you have reporters to pay. As a new source, the paper has greatly improved under the new owners. I hope they are able to make this model work, but without the print copy, they are losing a downtown niche that I think drove readership: available in local establishments. When you could pick up a copy inside Skyline and read it while you ate lunch, that provided a solid niche that will disappear with an online edition.

Silver Lining

Over at PepTalk, Commissioner Pepper notes an 8% increase in third-quarter revenue from the HamCo hotel tax over the same period last year. That's good news.

My guess is that a large portion of this increase is from the NAACP and National Baptist conventions downtown. Are there any indicators that can sort out convention traffic versus what I'd call "pure tourism" (someone saying, "Hey, let's go to Cincinnati for a weekend!")? Nonetheless, it's definitely a positive sign.

Of course, maybe HamCo just found a way to start taxing bedbugs.

(Sorry for the bedbug snark...as a downtown resident, I check my bed and body for signs of the critters daily, given the recent outbreak. They're been spotted everywhere, as has been widely reported, including 800 Broadway--the county building that houses juvenile court--and the courthouse.)