We appear to have chaos in city government all over the impending retirement of Police Chief Tom Streicher, who leaves his position in a month. The city has been conducting a national search for going on for a new chief, but it has been suspended, because City Council is considering a police merger with or partial outsourcing to the Hamilton County Sheriff's department.
So now we have various factions fighting over what happens. The FOP is fighting back against the impending change and fear the Hamilton County Sheriff, who for the lack of a better analogy fits the "Muslim Brotherhood" roll, but his operations are cheaper and more flexible to manage.
Thankfully we don't have any actual violence in the streets, but we lack much protest either way.
We need a City police department. The Cincinnati Police Department should remain a viable organization. Giving up on it means the City's safety will be at the whims of a different elected official with too many constituents who don't care much for the crime in Cincinnati, as long as it stays in the City. We have a horrible contract with the FOP, however and that is costing us far more than it should. Sounds like we have a great city council campaign issue to discuss, but one that will be twisted into a litmus test by the usual players.
Friday, February 04, 2011
A Redesign For Cincinnati.com Is Coming Soon to a Browser Near You
The Enquirer issued an announcement that the Cincinnati.com and the Enquirer websites will be resigned. A sample image shows a very different look, with some structural changes. No word yet on when the redesign will be launched.
Wednesday, February 02, 2011
Tuesday, February 01, 2011
P.G. Sittenfeld Leads Council Race In Fundraising
I'm stunned by the fund raising skills of Council Candidate P.G. Sittenfeld who has already raised over $100,000 as of December 31st of last year. He has over nine more months to go and has more money than most candidates will raise for the whole cycle.
Money can't buy a win in November, but it can take a well run campaign with no name recognition into a winning campaign with a large TV-Radio Ad campaign. I don't know if Sittenfeld is vying for any political party endorsements, but the ability to raise money is one of the factors that will give credibility to a campaign within political circles. Sittenfield's problem now, is that he will be expected to keep raising money at a high rate. Having money tends to bring more contributors, but you have to be able make a sell that he can win.
The details on how important his money will be comes with the list of his contributors. If this is mostly family, then it will be difficult for him to keep the fundraising up at this level. If he has branched out to a wider circle of friends or colleagues, he'll be better positioned.
Chris Seelback and Jason Riveiro did well, for this point in the race, and have a better chance to show improvement, if they can connect with more support and turn that into contributions.
Money can't buy a win in November, but it can take a well run campaign with no name recognition into a winning campaign with a large TV-Radio Ad campaign. I don't know if Sittenfeld is vying for any political party endorsements, but the ability to raise money is one of the factors that will give credibility to a campaign within political circles. Sittenfield's problem now, is that he will be expected to keep raising money at a high rate. Having money tends to bring more contributors, but you have to be able make a sell that he can win.
The details on how important his money will be comes with the list of his contributors. If this is mostly family, then it will be difficult for him to keep the fundraising up at this level. If he has branched out to a wider circle of friends or colleagues, he'll be better positioned.
Chris Seelback and Jason Riveiro did well, for this point in the race, and have a better chance to show improvement, if they can connect with more support and turn that into contributions.
Arrest Made In Tucker's Shooting
The Enquirer is reporting that one of the alleged shooters in an incident at Tucker's Restaurant was arrested. That is great news for the OTR community. There is no reason the other suspect can't be caught as well.
Monday, January 31, 2011
The Entire County Should Unify In Telling Mike Brown to Shove It.
There are few things that Hamilton County voters can agree on, uniformly, but I am hoping we can all unite in telling Mike Brown "No new scoreboard for you!" Yes, the County must help maintain Paul Brown Stadium, but only what needs to be replaced. The scoreboard works just fine. If Mike Brown wants luxury, he can pay for it himself. If he doesn't like that deal, then he can pack his bags and move the team.
I am serious. If any Tea Party person is serious about what they say, they should be the FIRST group to support the County playing hard and fast with Mike Brown. We don't need professional football. We do need public services. Brown has become a parasite. He must pay his own way, and he has the ability to do so and still make himself plenty of money.
A unified front is the only way the public can succeed. We need every County official on the same page. We don't need Joe Deters out there shooting his mouth off about contracts, in hopes of currying favor with Brown. One voice must speak and tell Mike Brown what he is going to get. That voice must not waver, must not cave into the fear of losing the team. Instead, that voice should publicly announce what it will pay for and then pay nothing more and "if Brown doesn't like the deal, he can move the team."
A way many people can show their personal displeasure is for current season ticket holders to give them up and buy Reds season tickets instead. Show Mike Brown how sports teams can work well with the County and get support from the public. Let us use the power of the purse to force Brown to either comply or just move. I think local bars would do better sales with 65,000 more fans going to their neighborhood bar on Sundays to watch better football on TV, anyway.
Stop buying Bengals jerseys and hats and anything that will make Brown any profit. Show him that the Customer is what matters. Tell him to shove it. If he wants your business, he can beg.
I am serious. If any Tea Party person is serious about what they say, they should be the FIRST group to support the County playing hard and fast with Mike Brown. We don't need professional football. We do need public services. Brown has become a parasite. He must pay his own way, and he has the ability to do so and still make himself plenty of money.
A unified front is the only way the public can succeed. We need every County official on the same page. We don't need Joe Deters out there shooting his mouth off about contracts, in hopes of currying favor with Brown. One voice must speak and tell Mike Brown what he is going to get. That voice must not waver, must not cave into the fear of losing the team. Instead, that voice should publicly announce what it will pay for and then pay nothing more and "if Brown doesn't like the deal, he can move the team."
A way many people can show their personal displeasure is for current season ticket holders to give them up and buy Reds season tickets instead. Show Mike Brown how sports teams can work well with the County and get support from the public. Let us use the power of the purse to force Brown to either comply or just move. I think local bars would do better sales with 65,000 more fans going to their neighborhood bar on Sundays to watch better football on TV, anyway.
Stop buying Bengals jerseys and hats and anything that will make Brown any profit. Show him that the Customer is what matters. Tell him to shove it. If he wants your business, he can beg.
Friday, January 28, 2011
Enquirer Gushes Over Berding
I didn't know it was possible for newspaper editorial page to have a crush on an elected official, but I think the Enquirer would have his baby after reading this gushing selective editorial rendition of the soon to be former council member.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)