Baker Working For Berding

For political insiders it's good to see Shawn Baker working at city hall. Now we can hope Shawn can help pull Berding away from the dark side (Fiscal Five), and back in line with the City Dems.

A Mole Hill

Can someone explain to me how red-light cameras warrent 8,000 signatures and countless hours and money to try and prevent? It is getting very unseemly for Chris Smitherman and Chris Finney hanging out together like Batman and Robin. I didn't think it is possible for two extremists to become worse by teaming up in the most unholiest of alliances.

Honestly, I get why Finney is against the red-light cameras. His anti-government stance is clear. Smitherman is acting more loony on this one than usual. What makes this an issue for the NAACP? The anti-jail-tax effort had a small sense of relevance to the NAACP, but red-light cameras is about as relevant as parking enforcement. Is Chris up for a boycott of driving? The environmental movement might support things there.

Benazir Bhutto killed in attack

"Pakistan opposition leader Benazir Bhutto was assassinated Thursday in a suicide bombing that also killed at least 20 others at a campaign rally, a party aide and a military official said."

And Pervez Musharraf is our closest ally in the region . . . . . . .

This is a scary world!

Harris Running for County Commission

CityBeat's Kevin Osborne is reporting that Greg Harris is running for County Commissioner against Pat DeWine.

UPDATE: I guess this means that John Cranley is not running?

2007 Election Follow-Up

In case you missed it, GetCincy has a nice breakdown of the council race by ward. Knowing how each ward voted helps drive future campaign strategies. Cincinnati this year was far less varied as I would have thought, but you can still see the voting trends at work.

County Commission Race About To Start

At the Enquirer's Politics blog, Jessica Brown lists those who have picked up petitions for the two Hamilton County Commission seats up for grabs in 2008. Todd Portune and Pat DeWine have, of course, picked up petitions in efforts to retain their own seats. For the Republicans, Jim Weidman, Charles Winburn, and Ed Rothenberg picked up petitions; attorney Tim Deardorff picked them up for someone else (no word on who). Vlasta Molak picked up petitions as well; I don't know her party affiliation, though.

On Sunday, activist and blogger Nate Livingston announced that he's considering throwing his hat in the ring, but hasn't decided whether to do so as a Republican or an independent.

Picking up petitions is just a necessary first step to running. Completed petitions to be included on the March 4 primary ballot aren't due until January 4.

OSU Students Prefer To Be Above The Law

The Enquirer prints an AP story that reports that some OSU students who were arrested for underage drinking are upset that they were arrested for committing a crime.

For illegally sipping beer on the morning of an Ohio State University football
game - she's 19 in a state where the legal limit is 21 - [Chelsea] Krueger was
handcuffed, loaded in a police van and hauled off to jail for six hours.

Her sentence, following a guilty plea: a $50 fine.

The article doesn't mention the possible penalties. In Ohio, underage consumption is a first-degree misdemeanor. That means the possibility of 180 days in jail and a $1,000 fine.

Apparently, Chelsea was upset about the fact that she was locked up with the common riffraff during her quarter-day period of dentention (presumably, the time it took for her to be processed and her spoil-her-rotten parents to post bond):

As prostitutes ran their fingers through Krueger's hair and told her how pretty she was, she couldn't help question her situation. "They're putting the wrong students in jail," said the sophomore from Westchester, N.Y. "The people who should be more harshly punished are the ones putting themselves in dangerous situations."

First of all, the story about the prostitutes running their fingers through Krueger's hair sounds more than a bit apocryphal.

But Chelsea's defense is the one that lots of criminal defendants offer: go catch the "real" criminals. Lawyers and police officers hear it every day. People at traffic stops tell police to go catch people committing more serious offenses. Some people caught possessing drugs (from marijuana to heroin) will say that their crimes are nonviolent, and thus not worthy of prosecution. Some of the prostitutes who touched Chelsea would probably tell you that they're not hurting anyone, and that they just offer a service to men who want to make use of it (and some would claim that they actually save marriages in the process).

The point is: if you break the law, you run the risk of being punished for it. It doesn't matter if you're an indigent defendant caught with less than a gram of crack (for which you could serve twelve months in prison), or a spoiled rich brat from Westchester getting tanked before the Buckeyes game. If you don't want other people (police, prosecutors, and judges) to have the power to alter the course of your life, don't give them that power.

The go-catch-the-real-criminals defense almost never works. And neither does whining.

Jesus' Birth Was Virginal, Not Premature (Warning: Grinch-Like Post Ahead)

Every year, we're told by our various media outlets of a baby Jesus figure being stolen from a nativity scene. This year, we heard that same old news at least twice: once when it happened in Mason, and once when a Cincinnati attorney donated a replacement Jesus for a suburban Miami creche. (I'm not sure why he didn't just replace the Mason Jesus and save himself a long-distance phone bill. I suppose he wouldn't have gotten himself on CNN for doing that.)

I'm sick of hearing these stories.

Blaming the victim is usually wrong. But these nativity-scene owners are at least partially to blame for the kidnapping of Jesus. If they had just held to tradition, baby Jesus might still be safe and sound. It always used to be the case that the baby Jesus figurine/statue/what-have-you wasn't placed in the nativity scene until Christmas Eve. Until then, the manger sat empty. Tradition is a good thing a lot of the time. Displaying a completed nativity scene prior to Christmas Eve is (in my opinion) one more symptom of a general failure to remember the "reason for the season." (The Miami Jesus was stolen sometime before December 5, for you-know-who's sake.) The act of laying the Jesus in a manger on the night before Christmas helps to focus our attention on the religious nature of the holiday. A nativity scene shouldn't be an accessory to a Christmas tree and plastic reindeer (or worse yet, one of those awful inflatable globes with a scene inside).

In fact, every time I drive past a nativity scene with a prematurely-displayed Mary's child, I fantasize about stealing it, only to surreptiously return it late on Christmas Eve. Stealth, however, has never been one of my gifts, so I have no doubt that I'd be caught either taking Jesus or giving him back. With my luck, I'd probably be tased before being taken into custody.

Merry Christmas, everyone.

Happy Festivus, et al

Happy Holidays, Merry Christmas, and a belated Joyous Solstice to you!

Food, Glorious Food

The only thing new in this article on the effort to get a full service grocery store in Downtown are the quotes from Council member Roxanne Qualls.

Bearcats 31, Southern Miss. 21

O Cincinnati magic name
I proudly to the world proclaim
No sweeter name e'er charmed my ear
None to my heart was e'er so dear;
A fountain of eternal youth,
A tower of strength, a rock of truth.

Varsity, dear varsity
Thy loyal children we will be,
Thy loyal, loyal children we will be!

The Bearcats won their bowl game for their first ten-win season in 56 years; Team Lachey came through Thursday night; can the Bengals make it a Cincinnati trifecta on Sunday?

New Year's Eve: Where Are You Going?

CityBeat has their guide (pdf) to what is happening on New Year's this year, and Zipscene's NYE page has some of the bars with deals.

The Know Theatre has announced their NYE bash as well.

CSO is having their annual NYE Concert.

CSL is having a party at the 20th Century.

Cincinnati Victorious

That's something you haven't heard much this year.

OK. I'll admit it. I watched the finale of "Singing With the Stars," or whatever it's called. It was pretty good TV. And Nick Lachey's team won. The Enquirer's early coverage is here.

I'm pretty sure that a lot of people assumed Patti LaBelle's team would win. I know I did. I don't mean any disrespect to Lachey by that--say what you will about boy bands like 98 Degrees, but at the end of the day, Nick's a very talented singer. But Patti LaBelle is . . . well, Patti LaBelle. Lachey's choir, though, really put it together, from what I could tell by the live performances tonight and the clips from the past few days. (The vocal rendition the choir did of Flight of the Bumblebee was particularly imnpressive, I thought.)

In fact, Tracy Morgan (who NBC had announce the winner, in order to promote his new movie--yeah, that's right, now he's got his own movie) was so sure he'd be calling Patti LaBelle's name, he didn't bother to make sure he knew how to pronounce "Lachey." (Morgan thought the winning team's name was "lake-ee".) He tried not to pronounce it at first, just pointing and saying "this team over here. I think someone must have whispered to him to read the name.) I have to admit, I got a chuckle out of that. Five minutes too late, you could hear him yell, "Lachey" correctly. It was hilarious.

During the show, LaBelle announced that she's going to do at least one more performance (on New Year's Eve) with her choir. I hope Lachey follows suit. He seemed guininely moved by the experience. And it's not as if he's got anything better to do--none of his former bandmates are running for office right now, and he doesn't seem to be able to compete with Tony Romo in the romance department.

Sorry, that last bit was a little snarky. Congratulations to the outstanding group of Cincinnatians who got together for a good cause. And a big thank you to Nick Lachey, for making a Cincinnati team competitive on television. And I do hope we see Lachey and his choir singing somewhere again soon. They're entertaining.

Next year: Lachey replaces Marvin Lewis; Bengals go 16-0.

Public Service Announcement On Street-Crossing

My earlier post on red-light cameras led to some comment-thread discussion about downtown drivers mowing down pedestrians. As both a downtown driver and a downtown pedestrian (though usually not at the same time), I feel it necessary to offer the following advice to those strolling about downtown:

In order to safely cross the street, follow these simple steps:

1. Proceed to the nearest crosswalk. Downtown, you can usually find one every half-block.

2. Wait for the crosswalk indicator to say "Walk." The flashing "Don't Walk" sign does not mean "Walk, but do so very quickly."

3. Cross the street at a ninety-degree angle to the curb, within the marked lines.

For those that think it's okay to cross the street with the traffic signal when the "Don't Walk" sign is flashing, you're wrong. You may notice that the pedestrian signal on one side of the street will read "Walk" longer than the one on the other side. This is not an accident. Instead, it occurs so that cars can turn off the street they're on without fear of hitting someone in a cross walk. Race Street, for instance, is a one-way street headed southbound. Fourth Street is one way headed west. The crosswalk indicators on the west side of the intersection (to cross Fourth) will start flashing "Don't Walk" well ahead of the traffic light turning red. If it didn't, cars that want to turn right could never do so. So when you cross against the pedestrian signal, you create a traffic jam. Don't do it.

And for the commenter who wondered: pedestrian injuries are a real issue downtown. Over the last year, I can think of at least two downtown pedestrian deaths, just off the top of my head.

Finally, to the guy who yesterday afternoon decided to run across Central Parkway (at Main Street) while carrying a baby in a car seat after the light turned red (meaning oncoming cars had a green light) : you're an idiot. And if I find out who you are, I may try to file a complaint for child endangering. I don't care how expensive your suit was. You need a couple of days at Queensgate to reflect on life.

Nativity Scene on Fountain Square

I don't know when this was put up, but a very permant looking structure is displaying a Christian Nativity scene on Fountain Square. I took the above picture today just before 1 PM. I could find no signage indicating who put it up, who paid for the very significant (close to permanent) structure, or why it is even there. A Menorah was up during Chanukah, which all stems back to preventing the KKK from putting up a cross on Fountain Square. In prior years Christian groups got together and put up a cross, preventing the KKK from doing so. That cross was very much non-permanet, like the Menorah. This year it appears to be to be different, unless I don't remember it being there last year.

This display is a more prominent place than the Menorah, which was placed behind the tree. This display is very up front on the Vine Street side of the Square. I really personally believe all of these displays violate the Constitution, but courts have ruled that the short term displays can be permitted. What I find most objectionable here is that this Nativity scene was not constructed as a short term display. A landscaper was likley used to build it. The display can be removed, and I am sure it will be, but at whose expense? That is the other problem, who paid for it? I think it should be the policy of the city to have any religious display accompanied with a reasonable notice, preferable a sign, stated who got the permit and who paid for the display.

If any city or 3CDC money or services where used and not reimbursed, then favoritism and thus a violation of the law would have occurred.

I will be waiting people to chime in here and say "What the big deal." Well, I have the legal right to pay to have a statue of Zeus (or phallic symbol or a wood carved Homer Simpson) displayed on Fountain Square on my religious holiday. I have to the get the right permit, clear the size, safety, and insurance concerns with the Fountain Square management. If I can't, which I would bet there are things that would be blocked, and I don't mean just the phallic symbol, then that is a "big deal." When religion or certain religions get favored over other religions or the lack of religion by the government or its representative, then a violation of the 1st Amendment has occurred. If the constitution and the 1st Amendment specifically aren't a "big deal," I would then bet you voted for Bush.

UPDATE: Bill Donabedian, Manager of Fountain Square, has confirmed the following:

• A private organization put up the Nativity Scene
• There is a sign stating such.
  
• This was done last year as well.
• The display will be removed after the 25th.
  

Eye of the Beholder

At the Enquirer's Politics Extra blog, Jessica Brown quotes Butler County Chief Deputy Anthony Dwyer as saying that "other than [the difficulty with visits from family members], I think they [inmates] were happier to spent [sic] time here."

At least with respect to pre-trial detainees, that wasn't what I was hearing from my clients. They felt that they were being treated as "second-class" inmates up in ButCo. Here in HamCo, there are some programs that even pretrial detainees can make use of to try to improve their post-incarceration lives. Those weren't available to them in ButCo, presumably because ButCo's sheriff wasn't interested in doing anything with them other than collecting the rent HamCo was paying him. And ButCo seemed to pay absolutely no attention to some pretty standard rules regarding which inmates should (or should not) be housed together.

And Dwyer downplays the importance of visits to inmates. Let's face it: most people that are locked up (at least prior to trial) are poor (otherwise they'd "make bond" and be out on the street). I've represented clients stuck in jail on as little as $1,000 bond. If they're poor, their families likely are, too. And that means that getting to Hamilton (the city) can be extremely difficult. For an inmate waiting for the resolution of a case that could lock him away for many years, contact with family is often one of the few stabilizing things in his life.

HamCo's decision to house pretrial detainees in ButCo also created another problem that's not much talked about: attorney visits. The HamCo Public Defender set up a video conference system so that attorneys (even those of us in private practice representing clients on appointment) could talk to clients from the Defender's office via video feed. But it's impossible to pass documents to a client that way, and sometimes, there's no substitute for a face-to-face meeting.

Finally, I've never seen any figures on the cost of transporting inmates back and forth to ButCo. We routinely see the per-bed cost paid to ButCo itself, but every time a ButCo-housed inmate was transported to HamCo for a court date, there was some, additional cost (both in deputy-hours and gas money).

While I understood the need to find another space to house inmate, I, for one, am not sorry that the ButCo contract has ended.

Red Light, Green Light

Cincinnati City Council--where bad ideas never really die, they just . . . hang out until the next budget shortfall.

It looks like "red light cameras" have enough votes (Cole, Cranley, Crowley, Qualls, and Thomas) to become part of Cincinnati life. Mayor Mallory seems to object to the idea (so far as I can tell from the Enquirer's coverage) only on the grounds of timing. So there's no telling what he'd do if the cameras are part of the overall budget submitted to him.

Assuming the cameras will be implemented as they have been in other Ohio cities, here's how they work: go through a red light at an intersection with a camera, and a picture of your car (in the middle of the intersection under a red light) will be taken. A "ticket" will be sent to the vehicle's owner.

It's not a typical traffic ticket, though. The violation is strictly a civil offense. No "points" are reported to the BMV or to your insurance company. And you have the right to appeal. But, if Cincinnati uses the plan used elsewhere (and we haven't seen the details yet), you'll have to pay the fine before you appeal. And your "appeal" won't be to HamCo Municipal Court (where we have elected judges), but probably to some hearing officer the City hires.

I suppose we'll soon start seeing lots of ads from this company, which claims to make a product that will make your license plate unreadable when photographed by red light cameras. (I guess it'd make a great stocking-stuffer for your favorite traffic scofflaw.)

Exchange Closed

Another Dance Club on Main has bit the dust. At this point it would seem it was closed, at least in part, to allow focus on the new and nicer Cue. I walked by Exchange on Saturday night at about 11PM and was surprised to see it closed up tight. I think that either this is going to be a slow year of change, or this is it for the Main Street Entertainment district. Right now, there are only three places open: Kaldi's, Courtyard, and Cue. Speakeasy and Mixx are supposed to open soon and I just don't see Rhino's ever open to really count. Is Ocho Rios open at all? I am lumping Below Zero into the Gateway Quarter area, which is warming up nicely, but needs the restaurants to open up. At this point, unless something really big happens, I don't see how MidPoint could happen on Main Street next year, at least not focused on the Main Street area.

OtR: Cincinnati's homegrown holiday tradition

Every year-- since 1994, I believe-- Over the Rhine has hosted its own sort of holiday party. It started at the Emery Theater (whose website needs to be updated-- the last update was in 2001!) and has now moved to the Taft Theater, where on Saturday night (despite the weather conditions, enough to make any Cincinnatian stay home for the evening) they played to a full house.

Karin Bergquist and Linford Detweiler started up the band in 1989 in an apartment on Main Street, and in subsequent years gained a pretty impressive local following. After the release of their 2003 album Ohio, they gained real national attention-- awards, great reviews in national magazines (including Paste Magazine's first five-star review for Ohio), and sold-out tour dates both in the US and abroad.

The Cincinnati Entertainment Awards just this past year voted them "Best Musical Ambassador for the City"-- which is why I'm mentioning them here. Nearly every time I talk to someone from out of town who asks where I live and I say, "Over-the-Rhine," I don't get the response I get from locals (who react as if I said I lived in Gaza or Baghdad), but instead, "Over the Rhine-- you mean, like the band?" This gets a nice little dialogue going-- there's nothing like connecting with someone over music-- and we can talk not just about the band, but the rich history of Cincinnati's neighborhoods-- not just Over-the-Rhine.

If you want to support a local artist this holiday season, pick up their holiday album Snow Angels (available at your favorite local record store).

What do you consider a Cincinnati holiday tradition? Playhouse's A Christmas Carol, the trains at CG&E/Cinergy/Duke? The Nutcracker at the Cincinnati Ballet?

Joe Wessels To Write For CityBeat

Joe Wessels will be writing for CityBeat starting next month. I look forward to reading Joe's perspective. I also am very interested in what the "mild refresh" of CityBeat shall entail.