Traffic Camera Plan Vetoed

Charlie Luken vetoed a plan this week that would have installed cameras at street corners to catch traffic violations on film and then ticket the offenders by mail. I generally don't like big brother creeping in on me as I walk or drive the streets. I was not up in arms over this one. I don't drive through red lights. If they started to record your speed down Columbia Parkway, and started issuing tickets, well, I would be out with picket signs and megaphones. Here I don't like it, but I am doing that which most Americans live by: if it doesn't affect me, I don't care. I do care, just not enough to take action. Mayor Luken, however, took action for me. I agree with this action.

Why not Wi-Fi outside?

Outdoors computing, do you do it? I have done it on Fountain Square and was not impressed. On my next day off, I may try out Piatt Park downtown. I am more interesting in indoors Wifi, mostly because I can there rain or shine, year round.

WVXU Buyout Approved

The FCC has approved the sale of WVXU to WGUG (2nd item). WVXU will change formats by Aug 24th. That format reportedly will be a drop of music and much, if not nearly all, of its locally based programming.

Free WiFi Coming to Four Locations in July

Project Lily Pad will by mid-July have free WiFi in Fountain Square, Government Square, Findlay Market, and Hyde Park Square. Excellent!

Bigotry Running Wild in Hamilton

The alleged rape of a nine year old white girl by a Hispanic man has unleashed ethnic hate in some Hamilton neighborhoods. Reports of threats against Hispanics are coming in, and the ugly face of bigotry is once again clouding Bulter County. It is amazing how quickly blame can shift from the actual suspect to anyone who shares an ethnic or racial background with that suspect.

Airman, Jesus Is The Only Way You Will Fly Jets

Will this be called an attack on Christianity because people are taking steps to keep religious freedom alive in a public institution? How can one practice one's religion freely if they can't force and pressure others into following it? (Feel the sarcasm)

Outsider Police Chief

It has taken forever and has been met with near rebellion from the police union, but the city is expected to hire a new assistant chief from outside Cincinnati. That will be a first for Cincinnati. I hope it is the first step in building a new atmosphere in the police force and ushers in a new age of cultural diversity in the CPD management.

How will people complain about it? They will find a way, but I just wonder how.

Zeleznik Moves to WVXU

Maryanne Zeleznik, news director at WNKU, will become news director at the combined WVXU and WGUC stations once the station merger is approved by the FCC. Maryanne Zeleznik is a great asset to local news and hopefully will be positioned to create much more local news for the two stations.

The article has this nugget too:

There's also a chance that Zeleznik and Hanselman could be heard on WNKU-FM later this year. Singleton says he's interested in exploring a local public radio news cooperative with WGUC-FM, WVXU-FM and Miami University's WMUB-FM (88.5 MHz), which Eiswerth proposed last year.

If the four stations combine news resources, I believe it would be a boon to local news in the area. It also could maximize quality levels and cost savings. That might open up more money for other local programming.

Taft Hires Lawyer

It is a criminal lawyer which he may need if possible ethics violations prove true or if Cointgate continues to grow. Taft may be in trouble. How will this affect the 2006 governor's race? Will it boost Dems? Will it tag all of those part of the Taft Administration, nearly all of the GOP field?

Still Supporting the Arts

I am glad that the City of Cincinnati was able to continue supporting local arts groups like the Know Theatre, Enjoy the Arts, and the Cincinnati Arts Association. It sucks that the overall funding level was cut well over 50%, but half is better than none.

CAC Renovation Campaign

The way this article paints CAC's plans to improve their exhibitions, it gives the appearance (or maybe just the tone I detected) that CAC is already obsolete and needs improvement. I think the contrary. It is a vibrant place with great things happening. I don't know why they need the improvements, but I don't think a place like the CAC is hurting.

The Brian and Joe Radio Show

Check out WAIF's the Brian and Joe Radio Show. Brian Mueller and Joe Wessels have put together a weekly show with local news, talk, and interviews with Cincinnati area happening people. It is every Wednesday at 10 AM. If you can't hear it live, like me, the archives are up and running.

During Fringe I was able to meet and chat for a bit with Joe Wessels about his show. I've be added their show's website, which is a blog, to my blogroll, so have a read and listen.

Ignorance, Again

It amazes me to no end when someone like Shaunna Howat writes a column with the most assumptive tone that reeks of ignorance and of blind faith in the Bush Administration. "It's us against them," she rattles off from behind her column. I don't know if she has been serving in the military or not, but I doubt it. This smells of astro-turf on the surface, but it is so blindly written by an ignorant person, that I doubt it.

Why doesn't Shaunna just advocate executing the prisoners? If they are all guilty because George Bush says so, why not just kill them? Who needs the rule of law? Who needs the Geneva Convention? Shaunna has the undertone of hate and revenge seething between the lines. It is subtle, but she is holding back, not wanting to appear like a blood thirsty ghoul.

Shaunna is the kind of ignorant person that endangers the American Democracy. Anyone whiling to blindly accept everything their leadership says is a fool. Anyone willing to blindly support the actions of this administration is willfully ignorant and a fool.

In the Name of the Father

I hope these candidates for mayor are more than just their father's child.

David Crowley Writes on Advocate.com

Councilmember David Crowley pens "A Father's Day tale" discussing the efforts to repeal Article 12 here in Cincinnati, which banned equal rights for people based on sexual orientation. He also talks about the power of conversing with people about issues directly, not in the political rivers, where people are detached from the humanity involved.

Charlie Winburn: Religious Bigot/Theocrat?

When reading the quote from the article in the Post, I can make no other conclusion that Winburn is both a religious bigot and theocrat, bent on establishing a Christians only government.

In the former book, Winburn writes, "We Christians must clean up politics. It is our job to elect only born-again believers to public office.

If officeholders are not Christian and refuse to obey the laws of God, we must work hard, under the law, to unseat them."

This is the best the GOP have to offer? Granted, it would take a socially liberal Republican to even get my attention, and that at this point is very rare, or even impossible

I applaud Leslie Ghiz for skipping Winburn's Sermon. I am flabbergasted that Damon Lynch III showed up. If he was there as a spectator, that is fine. The article leaves open how or why Damon was there, but it does not bode well for an endorsed Democratic candidate to support Winburn who spouts oddly hardcore support for the Cincinnati Police. Winburn takes a nuanced stance in supporting the police, but comes out on their side on most points.

Lynch can be noncommittal on the mayor's race, but he might go a long way in presenting a team player attitude to Democratic voters by saying that he will vote for one of the three Democrats running. Showing up at a GOP event and telling a reporter you don't know who you are going to vote for is either really bad press management, or a shot across the bow of the Dems. If Lynch says he wants to branch out to other groups for support, most would say he was talking about non-blacks, not Republicans.

Hype and Fear

The shooting downtown was shocking, but this type of hype ridden analysis will create panic and unwarranted fear. Did people freak out when a suburban trucking company was the scene a crazy guy going on a shooting spree? No, but because this is downtown and the scaredy cats living outside the city will use an isolated incident as a further reason to support their irrational fear of the City. Why do people bother living within 100 miles of a large metro area if they can't take news about a shooting in a city?

Yes, this was freaky and unnerving. It is not indicative of life in downtown.

Baby, If You Ever Wondered....

Maggie Downs has found the simple truth of life:

But as I sat at the event and listened to my peers speak, I realized that not much has changed since grade school.

We simply want the same things we always wanted.

We want people to play with. We want recess and activities. We want yummy snacks. We want music class, computer labs and art. And we want a bus to take us home at the end of the day.

Yes, even beyond my occasional 'teenage angst' attacks where I am 15 years old again for a few minutes of sheer terror, we are otherwise not much beyond life in the 2nd grade. When I was in 2nd grade I think I was watching WKRP. I actually like the idea of a WKRP museum. I think a WKRP festival might be more fun. Who would not want a huge game of "Are you a Bailey Quarters or Jennifer Marlowe kind of man?" I myself would be a Bailey kind of a guy.

Some Good News

City Council approved the 3CDC Fountain Square plan. This should work. It will be difficult during the construction, but it will worth it, once the retail plan is realized.

Banks Troubles

The Federal Government may cut funding for the Banks project now that the County took over the show. Add that to the city council troubles, which Nick Spencer indicates would not pass this plan, and we have a plan sinking.

The problem with the plan is that it is going to be a sterile mini-burbia tone for the non-urbanist, smack dab in the middle of a city. What it needs is an urbanists touch. 3CDC should have been keep involved. We don't need a Newport on the Levee feel on the Banks, people don't want to live there. We need something we character, and this plan has nothing to indicate it has that.