Back To Blogging, And A Shout-Out

Those of you who pay attention to who posts what know that I've not blogged much (if at all) in the last week or so.  That's because for most of that time, I've been feeling pretty sick.  We don't do much personal blogging here, but I wanted to share what's been up, and also to thank a very talented group of people who are responsible for me being back to the blog.

Since last weekend (at least), I'd not been feeling well at all.  I'd tried to convince myself it was the flu or a cold (or even the bubonic plague), but by this past Thursday, I finally had to get real about what was going on.  My heart was constantly racing, and walking more than a few yards at a time made me short of breath (by which I mean feel-like-you've-run-a-mile-short-of-breath).  And finally Thursday, I thought I felt a couple of twinges of chest pain.  That's what finally sent me where I should have gone days earlier--to the emergency room at UC Hospital.

Going to the hospital was the right thing to do.  But it also initiated what was the scariest couple of hours of my life.  When you walk into the ER of a major, urban hospital, you're supposed to have to wait for a bit.  But upon hearing my complaints, taking my pulse, and noting how pale I was, the nurses took me right back (in a wheelchair, no less).  I was immediately connected to a heart monitor.  More scariness:  the alarm on the monitor was going off.  And I'm far from a medical expert, but I knew a pulse of 165 was a bad thing.  My mind wasn't put at ease when I realized that "pacing pads" were stuck to my chest, just in case my heart needed to be shocked back to health.  And having oxygen administered (just the tube that runs into your nose, not the full mask) doesn't exactly make one feel healthy.

Through it all, though, the amazing group of doctors and nurses on duty that day made the situation bearable.  They explained to me what was going on, what was concerning to them, and what they thought might be wrong.  And when they decided on a course of treatment (an intravenous medicine designed to "reset" the heart rate), a cardiologist explained the reasons for the decision, the possible side effects (hearing the words "shockable rhythm" applied to yourself is a singular experience), and exactly what was about to happen.  Just in case that "shockable rhythm" came about, a team of at least six doctors and nurses was standing by.  Knowing that was in equal measures terrifying and comforting.

It turned out that I was suffering from a cardiac arrythmia.  It's not life-threatening.  It'll probably recur, and usually it will fix itself.  (And when it doesn't, it's unwise to wait several days to see a doctor:  I realize now I'm quite lucky I didn't pass out.)  The doctors and nurses had me fixed up and back on my feet in a few hours.  I was able to walk back to my friend's car without having to stop to catch my breath.  And that night, I slept amazingly well.  (I hadn't during the time I was in the arrythmia--imagine trying to sleep with your heart beating about twice as fast as it should.)  And finding out that I hadn't had a heart attack (a blood test of my "cardiac enzymes" was fine, as was my blood pressure) was a tremendous relief.

Early into my ER visit, I'd become convinced I was gravely ill, given my symptoms and the attention of the staff.  I wasn't.  But I could have been.  And if I were, I cannot imagine a place I'd rather receive medical care.  The doctors and nurses were great.  They treated me (and all the patients with whom I saw them interact) with a great deal of respect and compassion, even laughing at my truly lame jokes.  After a normal heart rate had been restored, an ER doc and two cardiologists each took the time to explain my condition, what to do about it in the future, and preventative treatment options.  Thanks to all of them, I've been able to spend the last couple days making up for lost sleep.  (I'd almost forgotten what it was like to sleep for more than an hour at a time without waking up to your own heartbeat.)

I also need to thank a couple of very good friends who helped pick up some slack at work for me over the last week (even though I was in denial about my health), and who were responsible for getting me to and from the hospital.  You guys know who you are.  Thank you, thank you, thank you.

So this weekend, I'm grateful to have some great friends who were looking out for me.  I'm also pleased to be living just minutes away from UC Hospital, where a bunch of people are always looking out for all of us.

CincyFringe - Big Brainer IV is Here

There is no Time to not waste on this, but Your Future depends on going back and there is no escape from this really unfunny comment.

CincyFringe Big Brainer III

There is way to much Fruit in this one.

It's a Bird, It's a Plane, It's a Frog

No, it's not Wonderdog, it's Shadow Hare!

Why can't I stop thinking of "The Tick!"

Spoon!

Triantafilou is a Gutless Wuss

The Enquirer's Political Blog has the original graphic used on the Hamilton County GOP Chairman's Blog post, where Triantaflilou pictured a bald cancer survivor (Sen. Arlen Spector) compared to Mike Myers as "Dr. Evil." Now the attack post on Sen. Arlen specter now has a graphic with a big read "Censored" on it. This change of graphic came after Triantafilou rightfully came under attack for making fun of Specter's hair loss after cancer treatment.

Stop misleading the public, Alex, YOU CENSORED YOURSELF. Blogger.com did not force you to do anything, unless they felt a copyright violation occurred with the use of the "Dr. Evil" picture which you likely used without permission. Pretending that someone else censored your blog is a joke, which is clearly your intent.

In all seriousness, how sad is it for a local political leader to be so petty as to make a childish post in the first place? This isn't an Ohio Senator, so the impact locally is non-existent. Instead of taking the time to post about national politics, why doesn't Triantafilou think about local politics? If he had the time to waste on this, no wonder the local GOP can only field 5 candidates for council and haven't put up a Republican for Mayor.

If this all the GOP political leaders can do, write blog posts, then I would suggest they are done in Hamilton County. This might be a good time for the local GOP to find someone else to run their party. If they don't, well, they can keep the egg on their face, and keep losing city and more County elections to Democrats.

Streetcars Guest Column

Check out a very positive column for Streetcars in the Enquirer.

Berding Not in the CIA or FBI

I know the masses out there kinda assumed there is something odd going on with Councilman Jeff Berding, but I think we can trust this statement from his office declaring he is not part of the CIA or FBI, no matter what Chris Smitherman cares to speculate on the radio.

I wouldn't be surprised to see Chris Smitherman make some other nutty claim. What is next? Is the Mayor part of the KKK? Is Jim Tarbell really a member of the Real IRA?

'Good Guys' Loitering

How well is this type of effort going to work in the long run? Does this just drive the trouble makers someplace else? In this case can people tell if the bad element generally lived in Westwood, or were they coming in from other areas? If they are local, this may have a lasting effect. If they are not from Westwood, then that bad element will find someplace else to go.

I like this idea, but how much time does it take to make a lasting effect? Once this group stops, will the street corner just go back to the way it was?

COAST Gets NAACP Contribution

So the Cincinnati Beacon has the PAC Campaign Finance Report from last year for COAST, the extremist conservative anti-tax and what I call anti-government group. On that report it lists a contribution of 3,000 from the Cincinnati Chapter of the NAACP last November. This contribution was made last October, according to the report, which was during the issue campaign that both COAST and the NAACP worked together on for the failed Charter Amendment to enact Proportional Representation in Cincinnati.

Does this constitute an endorsement of COAST by the Local NAACP? Or is this just evidence of the collaboration effort which was much more intertwined than average members of each group would have been told?

MidPoint Indie Summer On the Square

The Midpoint Music Festival is teaming up with Fountain Square for the Indie Summer Music Series and CityBeat has announced the initial list. Highlights for me are

June 5th - Lions Rampant at 9PM
July 10th - Pomegranates at 9PM
July 17th - Wussy at 10 PM
July 24th - Bad Veins at 10 PM for their CD Release Show.

This music series is one of the best things on the Square and I personally look forward to nearly every Friday walking down to the square for a few beers and some great local music.

Keep your eyes on www.myfountainsquare.com/indiesummer or their MySpace Page for updates.

Findlay Market Modifies Hours

Historic Findlay Market shifrts weekday hours to 9 AM to 6 PM Tuesday to Friday, which adds on Tuesday. They are also adding an hour on Sunday Mornings, Weekend hours are 6 AM to 6 PM on Saturday and 10 AM to 4 PM on Sunday.

Bankers Club Closing

I am sure the economy will be blamed for the closing of the Bankers Club, but who under 40 would rather go to an old fashioned stuffy club over someplace like Nada or Via Vite?

More from the Enquirer.

Song Remains The Same

Once a name for something has taken hold, it sticks. This is not a surprise in the least. If the name "The Banks" was so horrible, then it should have been excluded. I actually voted for the River District. Is that any better? No. If the County put it up to vote to rename Great American Ball Park and Great American Ball Park was included as an option, then when it would win, there shouldn't be any shock. The Banks was branded and just ask a steer, that branding doesn't go away.

CincyFringe - Big Brainer Episode II

It is starting to get a little hot in the Big Brainer House. I'm wondering who is going to be condemned to death first.

Great American Tower Impact On Reds?

Last weekend, I watched the Reds beat the Pirates, 2-0, from a sun-soaked, right field seat. As the back of my neck burned, I couldn't help but notice the crane, which is installed for the Great American Tower construction, looming over the ballpark.

And I wondered: will the Great American Tower impact games at Great American Ballpark? Is it close enough to block wind from the north (keeping balls from carrying out to right on a day they otherwise might do so)? Or instead, will the wind move around the Tower and become stronger (some sort of wind tunnel effect) by the time it gets to the stadium? Or will the new building have no impact at all, apart from giving folks in the sun deck something to look at between innings?

And speaking of looking at the building, will all that glass create a glare/reflection during day games that could distract a right-fielder (or first- or second-baseman) trying to catch a pop fly?

Anyone have any answers? And how cool would it be to watch part of a game from the "tiara"? (That is, of course, once we come up with a more manly word for the top of Cincinnati's tallest building than the tiara....)

UC Law Holds Steady In New Rankings

Several websites are reporting that the 2010 US News & World Report law school rankings have been leaked. Assuming the authenticity of the reported rankings, the University of Cincinnati College of Law will be ranked the 52nd program in the nation (it received the same ranking for 2009). While normally a ranking outside the top 50 would be (and for the past several years has been) a disappointment for UC, holding serve is likely a relief, given the school's horrific 2008 bar results.

Other top-100 law schools people around here might care about: Kentucky will be 55, up 4 spots from last year; Ohio State will be 35, down 3 spots; Indiana will be 23, up 13 spots; Pitt will be 72, up 2; Case Western will be 55, up 8, and Louisville will be 98, down 2.

Ohio's six other law schools (Toledo, Akron, Dayton, Capital, Ohio Northern, and Cleveland-Marshall) all sit outside the top 100, as does Chase (NKU).

(Hat tip: TaxProf Blog.)

DHL Express Going Back to CVG

Business is tough on communities. Wilmington, OH has been facing tough times, but Northern Kentucky is getting a boost. Almost 4 years ago DHL Express moved out of CVG in favor of Wilmington, a consolidation of DHL operations. Northern Kentucky knows how Wilmington feels. In today's world, businesses can and often have to move where they can make better profits. They don't have to look at the big picture of a community. It is a cold way of living, but in the end businesses are not people, they are owned and managed by people, but those people don't have to face living next door to anyone losing their ability to make a living.

I am glad 800 jobs are moving here. I feel bad for Wilmington. I would feel worse if those 800 jobs went out of the area. What communities, mainly small communities, have to deal with: don't be a one one horse town.

"Sex Offenders": Another Approach

We've been discussing (both here on the blog and throughout our community) what to do with convicted sex offenders once they've served their time. California is one of a slowly growing number of states to decide that with respect to a particular subset of sex offenders--pedophiles--the best course of action is to declare them mentally ill and place them in a "hospital" for treatment. Here's a report on one of these facilities.

To be clear, I'm not advocating this approach: I just found it in interesting in the wake of recent events and debate.

(Hat tip: Althouse.)

Is Issue Five Being Tested?

Something odd is happening in the top ranks of the Cincinnati Police Division, and it's not clear to me that anyone really has a handle on it. I also haven't seen anyone asking some important questions about how what's happening comports--or conflicts--with the City Charter.

Jane Prendergast blogs that Cincinnati Police Chief Tom Streicher has created a new job for Assistant Chief Richard Janke. The move was made because Janke allegedly raised his voice to another assistant chief and was disrespectful towards Streicher himself.

Ordinarily, a little rearranging in the upper police ranks wouldn't be too interesting. But assistant chiefs aren't like captains or lieutenants. That's because assistant chiefs are appointed by the city manager, not the chief. That's a result of the passage of Issue 5 by city voters back in 2001. (When Chief Streicher leaves his post, he too will be replaced by the city manager.) This is spelled out in Article V, Section 5 of the Charter. (We've previously discussed Issue Five here.)

Until Chief Streicher's unilateral decision to reorganize the department, CPD had five bureaus (Patrol, Resource, Administration, Investigations, and Information Management) each headed by an assistant chief. Lt. Col. Janke previously headed the Administration Bureau, but is now being moved to something new called a "Special Projects Bureau" in an effort to limit "the necessity for him to interact with his peers and subordinates." Remember: if Chief Streicher simply demoted Janke, leaving the position in charge of the Administration Bureau vacant, his replacement would be appointed by Milton Dohoney (and perhaps "burdening" the Chief with an assistant he likes even less). Instead, the Chief has radically redefined Janke's job duties, ostensibly leaving no assistant chief vacancy.

To me, this all raises the following questions:

• Does the Chief has the authority to change the organizational table in this way? A knee-jerk response would be "of course," but I'm not sure it's that simple. At the very least, the number of assistant chiefs is fixed by Council; we have five chiefs only because the City--not the Chief--created an additional position in 2004.
• Assuming the Chief has this authority, at one point does he so limit the authority of an assistant chief that he's not really an "assistant chief" any longer?
• If the Chief has, in fact, made Janke a de facto non-chief (albeit with the rank of lieutenant colonel), can the City Manager declare the creation of a vacancy and use his authority under the Charter to fill it?
• Finally, is Janke grieving this or otherwise appealing it through civil service laws (since--I believe--he was grandfathered into his position and is not himself subject to Article V, Section 5)? Or is this a non-grievable, non-appealable decision in that it (apparently) doesn't impact Janke's rank or pay?

This could quickly become a messy, thorny thicket. The charitable part of me wants to believe that Chief Streicher, while dissatisfied with Lt. Col. Janke's work, wants to spare him (given his decades of service to CPD) the embarassment and financial cost of demotion. But my more cynical instincts suspect that the Chief has essentially ended Janke's tenure as an assistant chief, but done so in a way to deprive the City Manager of the ability to make an appointment.

Or maybe there's nothing at all going on here, and I'm just procrastinating rather than organizing my messy desk on a Saturday.

UC Law Alum Gets Promoted

Cris Collinsworth, a 1991 alumnus of the University of Cincinnati College of Law, has been named as John Madden's replacement on NBC's Sunday Night Football.

Perhaps an even more impressive honor for Cris: on May 10th, he will be the graduation speaker at UC Law's 2009 Hooding Ceremony.

UPDATE (4/16/09 at 7:00): Fifth word of the post corrected to limit the shame I caused my high school Latin teacher.

Free Legal Advice: A Corollary

A little over a year ago, I offered the readers of this blog some free legal advice:

Don't steal from the blind guy visually-impaired gentleman who runs the deli at the courthouse!

It seems that an addendum is in order. Here it is:

Don't steal the Hamilton County Prosecuting Attorney's lunch!

OK....so it apparently wasn't his lunch, but instead belonged to an investigator in the office. But it allegedly happened three times. Getting the munchies once is understandable, but three times? You're not working in a normal office, you're working for prosecutors. Did you think they wouldn't, after their food disappeared a second time, use their investigative skills to see why their pizza stash was dissipating overnight?

And you're right: at any other job, you'd be admonished. Maybe you'd even be fired. (This isn't exactly an employees' job market, if you haven't noticed.) But take a prosecutor's lunch, and you're going to jail.

On the flip side, it'd be fun to defend this case to a jury with exactly that thought: Ladies and gentleman of the jury: remember the last time someone took your apple or Coke from the office refrigerator? What do you think would've happened if you'd called the police and tried to press charges? We all know that when you stash your food in a communal refrigerator, you assume the risk that your food will be consumed by a greedy office-mate.

But come on, folks: is a frozen, microwavable pizza really worth the risk of prosecution? There are judges just a few floors up: wasn't there better food in one of their break rooms? And better yet, couldn't you just wait until the end of your shift to eat?

I hope this has been helpful in resolving any questions you might have about the legality and wisdom of committing theft offenses in the Office of the Hamilton County Prosecuting Attorney.

Mmmm, Doughnuts....

So the Enquirer has posted a letter from a woman who believes that the Postal Service's decision to make a Homer Simpson stamp is "highly objectionable."

I wonder if the author realizes that for the last several years, "The Simpsons" is the only network television show whose characters regularly attend church. And what does it say about television--and American religion--that this is the case?

Widmer Revelation: Deja Vu All Over Again

What is it with you people? What part of "don't investigate on your own" don't you understand? Why won't you listen to the judge when he gives you instructions? Did you think following his warnings was optional?

The Enquirer reports that in support of his motion for a new trial, Ryan Widmer's attorney has filed an affidavit from a juror in which that juror claims that other jurors conducted their own experiments to figure out how long it would take someone to air-dry after taking a shower. He also says a juror mentioned that there was water on the edge of the tub hours after she dried her child after a bath.

(For those of you who live under a rock or outside southwestern Ohio: last week, following a two-week trial and over twenty hours of juror deliberations, Widmer was convicted of murdering his wife by drowning her. The defense claimed that he was in another room while his wife bathed, and that she likely had a seizure while in the tub and slipped under water while unconscious.)

Jurors aren't allowed to experiment. But we also tell jurors that they don't have to leave their everyday experiences at the door to the jury room. So I'm not bothered that a juror might mention that she gave her kid a bath, and that the bathroom was still wet some hours later. That's part of your normal life experiences. We wouldn't expect a juror in a drunk-driving case to forget about his observations of drunk people in the past or forbid him from comparing those to a defendant in a police video. But intentionally experimenting to try to figure out a body's air-drying time? That seems--to me, at least--off-limits. And it might mean a do-over for Widmer.

If a court agrees that a new trial is warranted, it wouldn't be the first time a Tri-State verdict in a high-profile case was set aside because of jurors' actions. One of the most famous instances of juror experimentation took place over a quarter-century ago following the first civil trial regarding the Beverly Hills Supper Club fire. The case is included in law school texts on civil procedure. As you might recall, the plaintiffs (represented by Stan Chesley) argued that the fire was caused by aluminum wiring in the restaurant. Following testimony on this issue by the plaintiffs' expert, a juror went home and checked out his own, similar wiring. When the plaintiffs appealed their loss, the federal Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals ordered a new trial, writing:

Our decision to reverse is most regretfully made, as the length of time it has taken to reach it may suggest. The trial was generally a fair one, vigorously and effectively presented by able counsel before a skillful and experienced trial judge who cannot be faulted for the events which have occasioned the reversal. We are mindful of the trial judge's observation, earlier stated in an unpublished opinion of this court, that "[e]xperience teaches that while every additional day of trial increases the possibility of error, it correspondingly reduces the risk that any single error may have prejudicial effect upon the ultimate result." Nonetheless, the recited facts of the improper experiment and its use in the jury deliberations are too compelling and too fraught with potential for prejudice to be ignored. [Internal citation omitted.]

I don't know if what happened in the Widmer case rises to the level of what happened in the Beverly Hills trial. Maybe a body's drying time is part of one's ordinary experiences. But here's a tip: if you're on jury duty and selected for a trial, don't conduct your own experiments; decide the case based on the evidence presented in court. You'll save everyone a lot of time, money, and anxiety.

Miami Wins, Makes Final Game!

Miami Hockey is in the championship game after a victory over Bemidji State in the Frozen Four.

Way to go Miami!!!!!!!!!! Repeat after me:
Love and honor to Miami,
Our college old and grand,
Proudly we shall ever hail thee,
Over all the land.

Alma mater now we praise thee,
Sing joyfully this lay,
Love and honor to Miami,
Forever and a day.

Neckties for the Stars

I'd encourage you to enter this contest, but frankly, I'd rather you didn't: I'm trying to elbow my way into a group date that'll include Kate the Great and Red Kat Blonde (even though they're trying to pretend as if Kwame Jackson is the top draw).

And 5chw4r7z: don't think I haven't noticed that you entered twice.

Dems Council Endorsements (Almost)

Via Facebook, the Democratic Party endorsements for City Council are:

Council Members: Laketa Cole, Jeff Berding, Greg Harris, and Cecil Thomas

Candidates: Wendell Young, Laure Quinlivan, Nicholas Hollan, Tony Fischer and Bernadette Watson

UPDATE: I jumped the gun a bit. This is the recommended slate of candidates that still must be approved .

Law Dog Gets Jail

Ken Lawson, a local attorney who gained attention with high profile cases over the years, has been sentenced to 2 years in prison on a drug conspiracy conviction. Lawson was best known as the attorney for Angela Leisure, the mother of Timothy Thomas, the young man killed by police 8 years ago, sparking a riot.

Cincy Fringe is Big Braining

You will not be able to take your eyes off the Cincinnati Fringe Festival Trailers! Here is the first episode.


Any resemblance to actual science, math, or brainpower is strictly a coincidence.

Unintended Consequences

The Enquirer reports that Westwood Concern is upset about an apartment building in which eight registered sex offenders are residing. From the article, it appears that the building is simply a private apartment building at which several sex offenders have chosen to live. Unfortunately, Westwood Concern is probably complaining about the inevitable consequences of our residency laws.

First, let me clear: I like Westwood Concern. I don't always agree with it or its leader, Mary Kuhl, but I respect them for their commitment to their neighborhood and their activism. So please, don't anyone think this is an I-hate-the-West-Side post.

Having said that, though, concentrations of sex offenders in certain neighborhoods--or even buildings--are the logical result of draconian restrictions on where sex offenders can lawfully live. If 60 percent of the city is off-limits--as the Enquirer reports--then that only leaves the remaining 40 percent available to registered sex offenders. Subtract out the portion of that forty percent that is commercial or high-end residential, and sex offenders have few options for housing.

We're certainly not the only community dealing with this issue. Back in 2007, CNN.com carried a piece regarding a trailer park in Florida that was a safe haven for sex offenders. The answer probably lies in ending the one-size-fits-all approach to monitoring convicted sex offenders. Not all sex offenders are pedophiles. And a sane approach to law enforcement and criminal justice must recognize that. Sadly, Megan's Law and the Adam Walsh Act, while politically satisfying, are ineffective at actually keeping anyone safe.

And finally, people are right to be concerned about the Pogue Center being a collection center for offenders from across the state. According to ODRC's report on the facility, 75% of residents are from Butler, Clark, Clermont, Clinton, Greene, Hamilton, Highland, Miami, Montgomery, Preble, and Warren Counties. That's quite a broad area. (And the remaining 25% may come from anywhere in the state.) But it's also important to know that very few Pogue Center residents who are not Hamilton County residents are permitted to remain here once their treatment program is concluded. ORDC reports that in order for a non-resident placed at the VOA to stay here, an offender has to show that he has full-time employment, stable community support, and adequate savings; since 2006, only 3 out-of-county offenders have been permitted to establish residency here at the conclusion of their treatment.

Ultimately, the continued adherence to strict, Adam Walsh-like regimes will lead to sex offender ghettoes. That's not useful, it doesn't protect the public, and it's not in the interest of the community in which the ghetto is created.

New York Times Reports on Cincinnatian's Love Story

On Friday, the Fashion and Style section of the New York Times contained an article on the upcoming nuptials of Cincinnatian Laurence Meade. Why does the Times care about a wedding in the Midwest? Well, it's the logical result of a love story only possible in the twenty-first century. Here's the short version:

Ann Althouse is a professor at the University of Wisconsin Law School. But more importantly (at least for our tale), she's a blogger who boasts a significant readership. Mr. Meade began reading the blog and began flirting with Professor Althouse in the comments. Eventually, he asked her out (his first, failed attempt was through email, but his second, successful venture was a comment to a post). And the rest, as they say, is history. Professor Althouse has provided something of a roadmap to the Times's chronology. After a first date on Professor Althouse's home turf and a second date at a neutral site, Professor Althouse came to Cincinnati in February. (Peruse many of her posts from that visit here.) While she was here, she accepted Mr. Meade's proposal. My first thought was that the professor fell in love with Graeter's and Montgomery Inn, and that Mr. Meade was just a nice bonus prize, but the Times reports that the couple will reside in Madison.

It's a fun story, and one that makes me smile. I read Professor Althouse's blog frequently, but I have to admit I was fairly clueless about what was going on until other blogs reported it (and I was wondering what would bring her to Cincinnati when I read that she was having a meet-up, which I did not attend--I assumed that UC Law was having some symposium at which she was speaking). That's probably because I read her posts, but usually not the comments to them. Now I'm thinking of skipping the posts and only reading the comments.

And I certainly understand how the professor would finally be willing to relent and grant Mr. Meade a date. I, too, receive countless romantic overtures in the blog comments (this post in particular really cranked up the Love Machine), but I have Griff delete them as soon as they appear so as to maintain our commenters' privacy and dignity. Some day soon, though, I will probably tire of playing hard-to-get and accept one of my would-be-wooers' earnest advances.

Congratulations to Mr. Meade, and best wishes on his upcoming move to the Badger State.

Thoughtful Discussion On Newsmakers This Morning

The video is not yet available, but Channel 12's Dan Hurley led a typically thoughtful discussion on this morning's Newsmakers.  The topic was the VOA, and what should be done with it in the wake of Anthony Kirkland's alleged crimes.  The guests were Margie Slagle of the Ohio Justice and Policy Center and City Councilmember Chris Monzel.

No one will accuse either Griff or me of being Monzel cheerleaders.  But I'll admit:  I was surprised by the thoughtfulness and candidness with which Monzel addressed the issue of how to deal with convicted sex offenders.  I didn't agree with everything Monzel had to say.  (When asked, for instance, where to move the VOA, his suggestion--Lebanon--is one that's clearly non-workable, as there will always be some need to house individuals trying to re-enter society somewhere in Hamilton County.  And he cited a fairly discredited study regarding recidivism rates for sex offenders.)  But Monzel acknowledged something that many politicians--Democrats or Republicans--won't:  treating all sex offenders the same is probably not good public policy.  I was surprised to hear that assertion from him; it's not the typical knee-jerk law-and-order response calculated to win votes.  And it's clear Monzel has given a lot of thought to the issue.

So check back at Channel 12's website for the video in the next couple days and watch it, once it appears.  And will someone from Channel 12 please tell me:  why can't Dan Hurley have a full 60 minutes?  There's no way to thoroughly explore the issues he raises in the fifteen-minute segments available to him (as long as he's not showing pictures of birds).  Certainly, at least during the eight months when the Bengals aren't playing, Hurley could be given the whole 11:00 hour.  Maybe it's time to start a "Sixty Minutes for Hurley" Facebook petition.....

What's Familiar May Not Be Common

Growing up in Buffalo, I knew that some things were particular to that city.  Everyone knew that Buffalo wings were invented in Buffalo (and weren't really available outside western New York twenty years ago), and that beef on weck was something you could get only in Buffalo.  (If you're ever in Buffalo, by the way, try a kummelweck roll; decades after leaving the city, I still crave the delicacy.)

But there were some things I thought were universal that, it turns out, were only regional favorites.  Until I moved away, I'd assumed you could find sponge candy or loganberry (a fruit drink actually bottled by Pepsi in Buffalo) anywhere.  I'd grown up with them; it just seemed natural that everyone else did, too.  I think just about every city has things like that:  items or events that locals take for granted, but about which the rest of the world is clueless.

Cincinnatians know goetta and a chili-like concoction on top of spaghetti are uniquely Cincinnati, of course.  But as my ninth Opening Day in Cincinnati arrives, I wonder whether native Cincinnatians know how  unique our version of Opening Day is.  Do people who grew up here realize that if they were to drive tomorrow to Pittsburgh or Cleveland or even Chicago, Opening Day would be greeted just as any other Monday?  Do you realize that people in other major league towns haven't been paying attention to spring training games?  And that most cities won't have a parade that closes most of their downtown (unless, perhaps, their team won the World Series last year)?

Since I've become a Cincinnatian, Opening Day has become one of my favorite events.  I don't have tickets to the game this year, but I intentionally refrained from scheduling any work events.  So I'll watch the parade from somewhere near Fountain Square, watch the game on TV, and hoist a few beers (unless one of our beloved readers has an extra GABP ticket they'd like to share).  And I'm not the only lawyer who treats the day as an unofficial holiday:  it will be remarkably quiet in the Hamilton County Courthouse Monday afternoon, save for the sound of fireworks emanating about ten blocks south.

So have fun tomorrow, and do so remembering you're probably having much more fun that folks in other major league cities.

Feel free to use the thread to talk about either Opening Day, or to write about the things you'd miss most about Cincinnati if you moved elsewhere.

It is Still a Joke

Jane Prendergast of the Enquirer is reporting she has confirmed Jason Haap (AKA the Dean of Cincinnati) is not joking when he posted on April Fool's day that he is running for Mayor.

It is still a joke, a waste of time, and a mockery of those who are credible candidates out to do good, instead of to gain attention.

April Fool's Day Is Not The 2nd

Someone needs to tell the Dean that his Joke was a day late. Yeah, if it is not a joke, than it is just sad and a mockery of our political system.

UPDATE: It appears the Enquirer''s political blog is slow on the take and doesn't read the date on blog posts.

I'm Such A Geek

Like City Beat's Stephen Carter-Novotni, I've been excitedly anticipating the May 8 arrival of the new Star Trek movie. (For those keeping track, this is the eleventh Star Trek movie. But since the release of the first movie in 1979, we are currently in the longest gap between Star Trek movie releases; the last movie was Nemesis, released in late 2002. This is also the first summer release since The Final Frontier, which premiered in 1989.)

So how about today's news that Star Trek will be be in AMC at Newport on the Levee's new IMAX theatre? (Way to bury the lede, Enquirer!)

I'm positively giddy.

Let the hurling of ridicules in my general direction begin.

UPDATE: If anyone at AMC, Star Trek, Paramount Pictures, or anyone else is interested, I'd happily blog about the movie here in exchange for preview or premiere tickets....

Are You Happy?

Here's an open thread for anyone who wants to tell me how much fun the Cincinnati Imports Happy Hour was tonight.

Because it's 9:00 and I'm still at the freakin' office.

Fool's Day Parade Starts At 11 AM

Be sure to make it Downtown today for the Annual Fool's Day Parade. Floats, bands, and dancing girls! The fun starts at 11 AM. This year Cher is the grand marshal.

Find your place along the route early, space will fill up fast. The Cost is free, but if you want to participate in the parade you can just add your float to the end.

Hope to see everyone there!




(I also hope people can take a joke)

The Jail Situation: Raw Numbers

Commissioner David Pepper and Councilmember Leslie Ghiz are reportedly collaborating on a plan through which Cincinnati would pay to incarcerate individuals sentenced for misdemeanor offenses in Campbell County, Kentucky. I supported the public safety tax when it appeared on the ballot. But I keep hearing from people (largely on the margins) that Hamilton County's correctional system should be large enough as is. So I set out to find out how we compare to other cities.

Here's what the Internets has taught me:

Cincinnati has a population of about 332,458. Hamilton County's population is about 842,369. Its jail capacity (now that Queensgate is closed) is 1,448. That's about one bed per 581 county residents. (If Queensgate were open, total capacity would be 2,270 for a ratio of 1:371.)

Columbus has a population of about 747,755. Franklin County's population is about 1,118,107. Its jail capacity is 2,331, for a ratio of 1:479.

Cleveland has a population of 444, 313, with Cuyahoga County at 1,295,958. County jail capacity is 1,749. But Cuyahoga County is unique; in 2004, local municipalities operated jails with an additional (cumulative) 700 beds. That leaves a combined ratio of one bed per 529 residents.

Pittsburgh has a population of 312,819; a total of 1,219,210 live in Allegheny County. It has 2,700 jail beds, for a ratio of 1:451.

So what do we know? Of the three most populated counties in Ohio, Hamilton County has the highest number of residents per jail bed. I threw in Pittsburgh, because it is of similar size and nearby. It, too, has a lower ratio of population to jail beds than Cincinnati.

This is based on my quick tour of Google. I leave open the possibility that I have overlooked something critical to this analysis. But if it is correct, then it is maybe not so surprising that the jail is severely overcrowded.

Reminder: Be Happy

Cincinnati Imports has organized another happy hour, this one set tomorrow at Northside Tavern beginning at 5:30.

Just so there's no confusion (or excuses): this is not a blogger meet-up or twitterer tweet-up or anything like that. So while a few of us will make the trek to Northside from our behind-the-keyboard location in the basement of our mothers' houses, that's not true of the vast majority who showed up at the last, very well-attended happy hour put on by Liz, Lauren, and Avani.

Hope to see you there!

Digging a Hole

Chris Smitherman is digging himself a hole he will not get out of, unless he is looking for the GOP to drop him a rope.

Vigils and Tax Relief @ Hugo

The Know Theatre's next show opens on April 11th. Here's a little taste:


Also, if you are looking for a way to spend your tax refund, look no further than Hugo for the Know's Post Tax Relief Fun! on April 16th from 6 to 9 PM.

Coverage of the Widmer Trial

It's wrapped up for the day, but WLWT is liveblogging the Ryan Widmer trial in Warren County. The software being used actually permits readers to pose questions to the blogger in real time. It's an interesting way of covering a live event and one that is, in this instance, quite effective.

Final Weekend For Bent

This weekend is the last chance to see Newstage Collective's production of Bent. The importance of this show is captured in the video preview:


Tickets are $20 and available on-line at www.newstagecollective.com or at the door. The final performances are April 2-4 at 8 PM and April 5 at 3 PM. Don't miss this show.

NAACPCOAST

Kevin Osborne uncovers the unseemliness of the Chris Smitherman and Chris Finney relationship.

He has another blog post adding to the print article.

Yeah, I really don't see how anyone can see the Finney-Smitherman union as anything other than a "Fuck You" to the GLBT community.

Is Smitherman tilting the local NAACP to the right on some issues to appease Finney? This article puts that thought in my mind. That aside, I think the Enquirer needs to stop reacting to every press release from Smitherman.

Miami Makes Frozen Four!

Love and honor to Miami,
Our college old and grand,
Proudly we shall ever hail thee,
Over all the land.

Alma mater now we praise thee,
Sing joyfully this lay,
Love and honor to Miami,
Forever and a day.

Read all about Miami's first ever trip to the College Hockey final four.

Cincinnati Has a Buzz

We still have a ways to go but a 4% increase in YPs is a sign that things are looking good.

I Just Want To Bang On The Drum All Day

One of the real joys of living in Cincinnati is the opportunity to hear the Cincinnati Symphony.  It's become a  bit cliche to say this, but it's true:  we are shockingly fortunate to have a symphony orchestra this good in a city the size of Cincinnati.

Last night, CSO performed three pieces, the world premiere of a piece by Jeremy Mumford, a percussion concerto by Jennifer Higdon, and Beethoven's Fifth.  Janelle Gelfand's review of Friday's concert (with the same program) is here.

I'd never heard a percussion concerto before, but it was terrific.  Read Gelfand's review for a more coherent description of the performance, but it was breathtaking.  The audience rewarded it with one of the most robust standing ovations I've seen at Music Hall (and perhaps the most sustained approval of any non-Paavo-conducted performance).  I'd read a review of Colin Currie's (the featured percussionist) performance of the work with another orchestra, so I was expecting an excellent performance from him.  I didn't realize, though, how much work the piece left for the CSO's own percussionists to do (or how brilliantly they'd do it).

I'm going to politely disagree with Gelfand's review of the Mumford piece.  That was the kind of work that gives people bad feelings about modern orchestral music.  (When the conductor feels the need to explain to his audience "how to listen to" the work his orchestra is about to perform, there's a good chance the next fifteen or twenty minutes of your life will be a bit unpleasant.)  And any time you read in a review about "tone clusters," you know that the music is comprised of the discord that pops up in the background of your worst dreams.  (Yes, my dreams are often scored--aren't yours?)

It was a particularly interesting--odd?--choice to place the Mumford on last night's program, with Higdon and Beethoven.  Beethoven's Fifth is one of those pieces that even non-hardcore symphony-goers enjoy.  So, frankly, was the Higdon.  But the Mumford?  After the concert, I couldn't help thinking of Liz's review of JeanRo's "nose to tail" dinner.  Both are artistic forays that people would really like to convince themselves they're sophisticated to enjoy, but at the end of the night, you'd be a lot happier with a classic (like Beethoven's Fifth or a fillet mignon).  So maybe it's my fault--my musical palate just isn't up to Mumford's level.

Luckily, a few weeks from now, all I (or most people, I suspect) will remember from the evening will be Currie's amazing performance of Higdon's awesome concerto.

Local, Local, Local!

I want to see more of this type of article in the Enquirer. A locally written profile of a local musician. Actual local articles about local people is so refreshing!

Yeah, I know this is done at the Enquirer on a regular basis, it is just not done enough.

Bold Fusion 2009

This year's Bold Fusion took place this past Thursday and I again had to work, so I want to open up a post to solicit front line takes on the event.

I will point people to well done first hand take from Redkatblonde.

Other reports and background are
a report from the Enquirer,
a webpage of resources from the event, and
photos of participants.

The Cincinnati Bible War

Because I didn't grow up in Cincinnati, I didn't get the education in local and state history that a lot of you received in grade school.  So I'm always interested in learning more about Cincinnati's history.

Next week, the Ohio Supreme Court will sponsor a seminar on the "Cincinnati Bible War."  Until the 1870's, a school board policy mandated daily reading from the King James Bible in public schools.  When the board acted to repeal that rule, a local group sued in an effort to reinstate the required reading.  The case ultimately made its way to the Ohio Supreme Court, which sided with the school board.  (The court avoided the Establishment Clause issues and instead rested its holding largely on the legal authority of the school board to make such a decision, and the lack of authority for the judiciary to review it.)

The provided link will take you to an interesting (and brief) introduction to the subject, led by Linda Przybyszewski, formerly of the University of Cincinnati (and the author of a really good biography of the first Justice Harlan).  I wish I could be in Columbus Wednesday for the event.  

More Signs Of A Growing Number Of Downtown Residents

One of the ways, perhaps, to gauge the success of those who want Downtown to be a neighborhood (as opposed to merely a retail, dining, and bar district) is to look for services that cater to Downtown residents.

A few days ago, I noticed a sign in a window of a building on Plum Street just north of Fourth indicating that a veterinary clinic will soon be opening.  Building Cincinnati (in all likelihood to be announced as 2009's best blog in CityBeat's Best of Cincinnati edition next week) had this story back in January.

It seems to me that this is the type of business geared towards neighborhood residents; I'd think it unlikely people will drive downtown to have their pets cared for.  So I view this as a positive sign regarding the number of people living downtown.  At some level of population density, there should be some sort of tipping point that will have lots of resident-geared services coming downtown.

Tower Place Revisited

The power of blogging is its instantaneousness.  You can read something, react to it, and share your reaction with the universe.  And sometimes, that can be its downfall, as well.

Earlier this week, I criticized Chris Bortz and City Council for delaying action on a request by Northeastern Security Development Group to vertically divide the property that includes Tower Place Mall into two separate lots.  Since then, I've talked with (and been chewed out by) a couple of people whose opinions I respect and who know far more about real estate than I do, and it seems that Bortz is probably taking a fairly prudent course of action.  

(Mr. Bortz, by the way, graciously offered to speak with me about the issue....I called him back--in hindsight, probably when he was in the middle of Wednesday's Council meeting--but didn't start a phone tag game, because sometimes I have to pretend to actually be a lawyer who blogs rather than a blogger who practices law.)

NSD is an out-of-town development company and, as far as I can tell, doesn't have any history of development projects in Cincinnati.  So Council doesn't have any basis on which to simply trust in their promises of pouring money into Tower Place.  Granting their request would make it a lot easier to sell off the mall and retain the parking garage.  Yes, it's possible (as I pointed out) that they'll let Tower Place die in the absence of action from Council.  But Council doesn't want to act in such a way as to make it easier for them to kill off Tower Place.

So Council just needs a clear picture of what NSD has in plan for Tower Place.  They need to see a real commitment to turning Tower Place around.  No one wants to see the mall fail.  Council has limited power to help it succeed, and in this instance, they're doing what they can to make sure an out-of-town developer with no local ties doesn't turn a quick buck at the expense of a key downtown attraction.

So there you go.  I'm wrong, again.  And apologies to Council and Chris Bortz for my too-quick reaction.

NFL Rules Changes Announced

According to this story at ESPN.com, the NFL owners have decided that tackling is too likely to cause injury to their highly paid athetes. Beginning in the 2009 season, a player will be considered "down" when a member of the opposing team touches him with two hands between the knees and shoulders. Knocking a player to the ground will result in a fifteen-yard penalty and an ejection.

NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell, when asked about the wisdom of the rules change, responded, "By the middle of the second quarter, most of our fans are too intoxicated to know what's happening on the field of play." He continued, "Fans only care that their favorite player is in the game, not what that player is doing."

New Hope For Tower Place, If Bortz Doesn't Get In The Way....

The Enquirer reports that Northeastern Security Development, the owner of Tower Place Mall, is hoping to revitalize the mall by attracting new, "unconventional" tenants. The company needs, though, to arrange some financing to make improvements both to the parking garage and the exterior of the building. As I blogged over a year ago, improvements to the exterior are much needed and would be extremely welcome.

So NSD has come to City Council looking for help. What do they want? A chunk of money? Stimulus funds? A tax break? No: they just need City Council to divide their property into two lots, one for the garage (which is profitable) and one for the mall (which currently is not). Such a division is apparently required in order to secure financing. Chris Bortz,--the chair of Council's Economic Development Committee--is standing in the way. According to the article:

At issue is whether Northeastern has a long-term commitment to the mall–or if it’s just asking for the separation so that it’s in a better position to sell the less lucrative retail space.“The question remains, ‘What if?’” says councilman Chris Bortz, who chairs the economic development committee. “We don’t want to be left in a situation where we have a dark mall and the attached parking garage is doing just fine. They may have the best intentions, but we can’t predict the future.”
Davis said the concern is unjustified. “What good is it to own a parking garage next to property that is vacant?” he said. “We’ve spent millions of dollars to buy this, and we want it to be successful. Fourth Street has great potential, and to say we helped turn Tower Place around, I’d love to put that feather in my hat.”
Bortz said he’s doesn’t plan to revisit Northeastern’s request until the council receives the firm’s plan for the mall. “It’s in a holding pattern for now,” he said.

So let's review. Tower Place Mall wants to bring new in new tenants. Its ability to do so is derived, at least in part, from its ability to secure financing to upgrade the facility. And its ability to get financing is dependent on the lot subdivision it is requesting from Council. But Bortz won't even take the matter up for consideration until Tower Place tells him who its tenants will be--which it can't do, because it's likely no one will commit until the financing is in place. Brilliant.

One wonders what the problem is here. Why does the legal division of the property make it more likely that we'll have a "dark mall" with a vibrant parking garage? That's nearly what we have now. And if NSD isn't able to secure financing, that is what we'll end up with for sure.

Chris Bortz's experience with residential development has been an asset for City Council the last few years. But this is another example of how City Council is, on balance, pretty inept when it comes to downtown, non-residential development.

For those of you who favor the streetcar (as Bortz does), remember: a streetcar is great, but no one will ride it if there's nothing to do once you get off. Tower Place Mall sits just a block off the proposed streetcar route, and if it's revitalized properly it will be a significant draw downtown.

We threw millions of dollars at Saks to stay in town. We can't help another company out with a simple administrative matter? Why does it seem lately that if a development project isn't being run by 3CDC, Council just doesn't care about it? With regional unemployment at its highest in a quarter-century, City Council should be making it easier for business to operate, not harder.

Lavomatic Cafe: New Website

A new website for LavomaticCafe :: Urban Food & Wine Bar In addition to the new website, there is a new name for the parent company: Relish Restaurant Group, renamed after Jenro departed the organization.

Furlough II at the Enquirer

CityBeat has the full story of the 2nd furlough for Gannett, which includes the Cincinnati Enquirer.

How is the news business going to survive? Are people just not bothering to pay attention? Do they care anything about knowing what is happening in their community? I honestly wonder how people are consuming local news. As we get less and less of it, are they going to notice when it is gone?

We Scooped the Enquirer!!!

Carl Weiser confirmed yesterday what we blogged over a week ago: Lemarque Ward is running for City Council. And all I had to do to get the story was show up to a parade....

Chris Finney NAACP Lawyer?

I am getting the impression that the local NAACP and it's fearless leader Chris Smitherman have rid the city of all racism. I say that because they are wasting their time (again) on a Charter Amendment that is not needed and unwise, not to mention it has nothing to do with their mission.

Furthermore, they must believe Civil Rights no long matter if they are going to use Chris Finney as a lawyer. The Beacon ponders this as well.

Cincinnati is Becoming Bicycle Friendly

You know by now that I have a pretty de minimis standard as to what it means for a community to be "bicycle-friendly." Luckily for my two-wheeled friends, some of our leaders have much higher aspirations.

First, our newest Council member, Greg Harris, is pushing Council to pass a resolution that would require Spring Grove Avenue, set for some resurfacing this spring, to have a bike lane. It looks like this will be passed at tonight's Council meeting. Harris has been doing a good job of picking his spots and judiciously using the bully pulpit that comes with an office in City Hall.

Second, the Enquirer reports that the City will begin painting "sharrows" on some streets this spring. Sharrows designate lanes as shared space for both motorists and bicyclists. For a little more information (and a picture of what a sharrow looks like) check out this blog post.

I'm still not giving up my car (or the right to curse at bicyclists who ride in the wrong direction on one-way streets downtown), but I'm glad to see the City making it a bit easier for those who do.

Rescue Me: Cincinnati Enquirer, or The National Inquirer?

Cincinnati firefighters are the new Bengals. They're always getting into trouble, and they're going to be subject to extra scrutiny even when they haven't done anything wrong.

But the Enquirer is going too far. A blog post by Jane Pendergrast links to a series of 92 photographs that someone posted to the website of a Fort Myers, Florida, newspaper. The pics are purportedly of Cincinnati firefighters on spring break.

I quickly went through the pictures, many of which are of bikini-clad beach-goers (okay, maybe I went through some of those more slowly). I'm not sure if all of the people pictured are supposed to be Cincinnati firefighters, just the men, some of the men, or what. I don't even know if any of the people who are allegedly Cincinnati firefighters really are Cincinnati firefighters--and the Enquirer doesn't seem interested in finding out.

I suppose this is the natural consequence of a newspaper attaching blogs to its website and recruiting its journalists to post. Ultimately, what the Enquirer staff posts there will be no better than what any other blogger posts on his or her own blog. The problem is compounded when the newspaper's website's front page links to blog posts in a manner indistinguishable from the manner in which it links to actual stories (the kind that appear in the print edition). So until you click the link, you don't know whether you've read a headline or a blog post title. Apparently, the Enquirer now considers the two to carry equal weight.

Besides the question of authenticity, Pendergrast's post raises the question of newsworthiness. Assuming some or all of the pictures are of Cincinnati firefighters, so what? These pictures are patently different from the "Real Men of Genius" videos publicized in the last few weeks. Those videos were apparently made inside firehouses and shown at an official event. Instead, in the pcitures, they're on vacation. They're not wearing CFD uniforms, or anything else that would identify them as firefighters. Firefighters are not elected officials. They're just municipal employees. Granted, they do a tremendously important job for the City, but they're still just employees in one of the City's departments. Are Parks Department employees now going to be subject to this level of scrutiny? Are we going to be treated to summer vacation pictures of snow plow drivers?

This reminds me of an odd moment I had the first time I visited Cincinnati. I wanted a local newspaper, and walked into a Walgreen's and asked for one. The clerk told me that the Enquirer was "over there." I didn't know what the name of the local newspaper was, and assumed she was referring to the National Inquirer. So I said again that I was looking for a newspaper. We went in circles a couple times before the poor clerk realized what a moron I am.

Given Pendergrast's post, I'm no longer sure there's such a big difference between the two publications.

Good Eats: Gilpin's Bagel and Deli

Last month, I mentioned that someone was working to open a new restaurant on Seventh Street between Vine and Walnut. Gilpin's Bagel and Deli is now open for business; they opened a few days ago. I believe this is what's called their "soft opening," as they have some Grand Opening festivities planned in the future.

I stopped in today for lunch, and wound up with a bagel sandwich (turkey, cheddar, and a garlic-herb spread on a sesame bagel) and a cup of soup. The staff was friendly and the food was good. I chatted with the folks behind the counter as I waited for my sandwich, and learned a little bit.

Giplin's steams its sandwiches. The machine on which this happens looks like a panini machine, only with steam billowing out from time to time. The result is quite good. The place is loosely modeled on a similar bagel shop in Oxford. (Maybe Griff can compare the two for you sometime--the only place I ever visit in Oxford is Area I Court.) But apparently, there are significant menu changes from the Oxford restaurant, and there's no affiliation between the two.

Gilpin's will be open for pretty long hours, planning breakfast, lunch, and after-hours service. In a few weeks, they'll have finished up an area upstairs where you can enjoy your meal while watching a game on TV. And they also have a catering service available. It all seems quite ambitious, but the folks running Gilpin's seem young and eager--aren't they supposed to be ambitious?

The menu seemed a little cumbersome at first. I grimaced a little when I was told that ordering a non-vegetarian sandwich is a "simple six-step" process, but it turns out that all of those "steps" merely involve choosing your bagel, your meat, your cheese, your spread, your cream cheese, and your veggies. They were very generous with the amount of turkey on the bagel. And the soup (chicken with rice) hit the spot. (Although given the size of the sandwich, it all would've been too much for lunch had I not waited until after 2:00 to eat.)

Anyhow.....the concept is cute, the staff is friendly and energetic, and the food is good enough for a return visit, especially at Gilpin's quite reasonable prices. So help stimulate the economy and go check it out!!!

Cincinnati Tea Party Harkens Back To Eighteenth Century

In 1773, American colonists led by Samuel Adams gathered at Boston Harbor to protest the Tea Act, a law passed by the British Parliament.  The parliament had exempted Britain's East India Company from duties on teas that colonial merchants were required to pay.  The Act was particularly galling in that the Americans were not represented in Parliament.  Disguised as Native Americans, they rushed aboard ships laden with the tea and dumped the tea into the harbor.

Earlier today, scores of Cincinnatians gathered at Fountain Square for a protest in the best tradition of the Boston Tea Party.  The parallels between today and 1773 are striking.

After all, who would not be incensed by the massive taxes just imposed by our Congress?

Oh--what?  Congress didn't raise taxes, but instead lowered them?  That's all right.  The laws passed passed by our government are still onerous.  Just as in 1773, the citizens of this continent are subject to laws passed by a legislature in which they have no elected representatives and by a king whose power to rule is derived from God, rather than the people.

Oh, dear.  You say that's not right either?  We just elected the entire House of Representatives?  And the two senators that represent each state are directly elected by the people of that state every six years?  Wow....not even the Framers believed in direct election of the members of the Senate; that required the 17th Amendment.  And...we have no king?  Just a president who was elected by a majority of voters just four months ago?  Geesh.

Well...the parallels are still obvious.  After all, the Cincinnati Tea Party was near water.  And the people there want to sell tea at lower prices.  I think.

OK.  Maybe there are no parallels between the tea parties across the country and the Boston Tea Party.  Maybe calling the gatherings "tea parties" is really just a clever marketing gimmick thought up by those who are disappointed that their candidates lost in November.

I suspect the mood of the Cincinnati Tea Party crowd is accurately captured in this Enquirer picture.  Note the clever sign near the front of the crowd reading "Nobama's Bin Lyin'."  Now there's some intelligent public discourse for you.  

Thanks to DF--you know who you are--for inspiring this post.

More on Council 2009: Politics and Race

According to the 2000 Census, African-Americans make up nearly 43% of Cincinnati's population. But only 2 of 9 Council members (or 22%) are African-American. Why is there such a disparity? And will the gap narrow in 2009?

The HamCo Republican Party has already announced its slate of endorsed candidates. Of the five GOP candidates, only one, Rev. Charlie Winburn, is African-American. Last week, the Beacon published Tim Burke's response to an inquiry about whether the HamCo Democratic Party's ticket will be racially diverse. Burke wrote, "At least 50% of our City candidates will, almost certainly, be black." Last week, in two separate posts (here and here) Nate Livingston suggests that the Democratic Party isn't leaving itself much space to endorse candidates of color this fall. He also notes that the party has been slow to endorse black candidates; he forgot, though, (or was too kind) to mention in support of his argument regarding the parties' poor treatment of black candidates that in 2007, the Dems reportedly approached one of their endorsed black candidates, Wendell Young, about leaving the race to make room for Roxanne Qualls.

Tim Burke is a lawyer, and we lawyers always have a tendency of talking in a way that makes you wonder if you really know what the meaning of "is" is. He writes that 50% of his party's "City candidates" will be black, not that 50% of the City Council candidates will be black. So, he leaves himself room to include Mayor Mallory as a "City candidate," meaning the party would need to include only 4 African-Americans on its Council slate in order to fulfill his pledge.

Where do we stand now? Historically, the Dems endorse all of their incumbents. So Berding, Cole, Harris, and Thomas will all be endorsed, barring any surprises. As mayor, Mark Mallory's voice carries a lot of weight in the party (much as a sitting president's voice has significant impact in a national party). One would anticipate, then, that Quinlivan and Fischer, already endorsed by Mallory, will be endorsed by the party. And given that Representative Driehaus is a fairly politically astute politican, it'd be surprising if he endorsed a candidate that wasn't headed towards his party's endorsement; that means Nick Hollan would be the party's seventh endorsed candidate.

That calculus means that, if Burke's prediction is to come true, both of the of as-yet-unknown endorsed Democrats will be black. (And this assumes that Qualls won't seek to return to her home in the Democratic party and will instead continue to run with only the Charter Committee's endorsement.) Assuming that leaders in the party have people in mind for these spots, why haven't they had the media rollouts thus far enjoyed by Fischer, Quinlivan, and Hollan?

In a city whose population is nearly 50% black, why does the Democratic party seem to have such a hard time identifying black candidates? This is particularly perplexing given Burke's assertion that 50% of the 220-member Cincinnati Democratic Committee is black. Are black candidates out there and being ignored or snubbed by the party? Does the party need to do a better job of identifying and nurturing black candidates? The HamCo GOP is on a mission to identify viable candidates from the suburbs to take control of county government. Should the HamCo Dems have a similar focus on identifying and supporting black candidates (for either City offices or county offices)?

I generally don't blog on issues of race--not because they're not important or interesting, but because I'm not sure I'm skillful enough to do so in a way that furthers intelligent public discourse. So let's (please!) keep things calm and civil in the comments.

Handicapping the 2009 Council Race

The election is still nearly eight months off.  We don't yet know who the Charter and Democratic parties will endorse (we don't even know who all the incumbents will be).  But that shouldn't stop us from far-too-early, pointless prognostication, should it?

I'm curious about this question:  which of the non-incumbents will have a shot at winning a Council seat this year?  I know it's early, but here are my thoughts.

It could be the "year of the woman," so to speak.  I suspect Quinlivan will do well, with both Mallory's and (probably) the HamCo Dem endorsement, along with huge name recognition.  And Amy Murray, with the HCRP endorsement, may well be a candidate to watch; I'll bet she runs an energetic campaign and quickly makes up for non-Hyde Park voters' current lack of familiarity with her (although I'm a bit disturbed that she doesn't seem to have a campaign website yet).

Tony Fischer, also Mallory-endorsed (almost certainly Dem-endorsed, and perhaps Obama-endorsed by the end of the campaign) has to be viewed as a strong contender (of course, he might not be a non-incumbent by election time).  I also think Lemarque Ward is a candidate to keep an eye on.  He's known by a lot of Cincinnati leaders, and I'll bet he puts together a strong grass-roots force.  I don't know if he's seeking the Dem endorsement, and if so, whether he'll get it.  And Nicholas Hollan, a Driehaus-endorsed candidate (which may foreshadow a Dem endorsement) will likely enjoy strong West Side support.  Finally, Reverend Charlie Winburn, 2007's first runner-up, has to be the early non-incumbent favorite.

How about the opposite--non-incumbents without a prayer?  Again, it's hard to know.  But one candidate who is apparently trying to stake out a last place spot for himself is newcomer Daryl Cordrey, a Republican who did not gain his party's endorsement.  Based on his website, he will seek a seat on Council employing a troika of poor grammar, typographical errors, and race-baiting (in the sole entry on his blog, he tells us he is running because Cincinnati is on "the brink of becoming another Detroit" and refers to "the Jesse Jackson wanna be [sic] Chris Smitherman").  Looks like we've found our 2009 fringe candidate.

What are your thoughts?  Who am I missing?  Who's doomed to fail?  Who will keep us entertained?  What are the issues that are going to drive the campaign?

Of Parades And Politics

Reason Number 1,247 to live downtown: once in a while on a Saturday morning, a parade goes by your front door.

First, kudos to the high school marching bands that were in this morning's parade. The St. Patrick's day parade is always an awkward one for marching bands: quite a while has passed since the end of football (halftime show) season, and it's a while before you need to be ready for the summer parade season.

Second, today's parade marks something of an unofficial start to the meet-and-greet portion of campaign season. Several local politicians were out and about. I missed the first third of the parade, so I'm not sure who I missed, but here's some observations about what I saw:

• Jeff Berding isn't quite ready for the fall campaign yet; he's still using banners with the slogan from his last campaign, "New Leadership for Change." I'm not sure you can run on that theme when you're an incumbent.
  
• Greg Harris was out, meeting people and shaking hands. So were Amy Murray and Chris Monzel.
  
• Laure Quinlivan had some folks carrying her banner, but I didn't see her. That's kind of strange.
  
• There were some Council candidates in the parade who I'd not known were running. Brian Garry (who finished 18th in 2007's race) is gearing up for the 2009 campaign. Lemaque Ward, founder of the Cincinnati Dream Academy, was energetically shaking hands, even at the parade's conclusion on Plum Street. Kevin Flynn, an attorney whose website indicates he is endorsed by the Charter Committee (I haven't seen any announcement about their full slate of endorsements--can someone point me?) was present. And there was another new candidate whose name I don't quite remember--Polovich, perhaps? (Someone help me out here.) Steve Pavelish, who finished 23rd in 2007, was out shaking hands.
  
• Steve Chabot hasn't stopped campaigning since 1994 and today was no exception. And either Jean Schmidt or her twin sister was also in the parade.
  

It was nice to see both the nice crowd and the large number of local politicians at the parade.

(Post updated on 3/15/09, with some help from philgirl in the comments.)

Help Recovering CPD Sergeant Get to Disney World

You might remember that back around Thanksgiving 2007, Cincinnati Police Sergeant Bryce Bezdek was seriously injured on I-75 while he was laying stop sticks in an effort to end a high speed chase. The driver who was being pursued lost control of her vehicle, slamming into a truck that slammed into Sergeant Bezdek; that driver was eventually sentenced to serve 20 years in prison. (Original coverage here.)

I just saw on Facebook (and there's also a story at WCPO) that Modern Mom is sponsoring a contest; first prize is a Florida getaway vacation to Disney World. Sergeant Bezdek's wife, Toni, has entered a video. To see (and, hopefully, vote for) her video, go here.

As of a few minutes ago, the Bezdeks have a commanding lead, with over 15,000 votes, constituting about 97% of all votes cast. The contest runs through next Friday. You can vote once per computer per day.

There's a lot of platitudes that could be written here. Suffice it to say: Bezdek's a guy who was injured while trying to protect our community, and who by all accounts is making an unabashedly courageous recovery. So point and click a couple times, and help him, his wife, and his kids get to hang out with the Big Cheese for a few days. Vote!!! I can't think of a family more deserving (and perhaps in genuine need) of a few days of fun in the sun.

And I suspect (apart from possibly noting the results of the contest next week) that this is the last time this blog will ever link to Modern Mom.

Vernon Manor Closing

The Vernon Manor will close its doors at the end of the month. I don't have much to say, other than it's unfortunate. The Vernon Manor has been a terrific, historic, non-downtown place for guests to stay. When I was in law school, it was where we housed out-of-town judges (primarily federal appellate judges and state supreme court judges) who came in for the annual moot court competition, always to positive reviews.

JenJen (a/k/a Tavern Wench, my favorite bartender blogger), alerted us to the news on her own blog and in the comments to the post below. I wanted to bump the story to provide a thread for folks to share their thoughts.

Best Advice Column Ever

Except for the fact that I was in Cincinnati while I was reading this, there's no discernible Cincinnati connection here. I just had to share this.

A woman sends a letter to an advice columnist with the following question:

How do I tell my fiance that I want to adopt children, because he's so ugly I don't want to bear children that might end up looking like him?

Have a great weekend!

Support Streetcars!

On March 25th you can show your support for Streetcars in Cincinnati by attending a fundraiser at Grammer's.
5:30PM to 7:30PM
Suggested Donation of $35 (Contribute on-line)

Inscrutable

Police officers have really difficult jobs; I'm quite sure I couldn't handle the responsibility, stress, or thanklessness of the position. But sometimes, I just can't fathom what motivates their policies and procedures.

This morning, as I drove to the Justice Center a little before eight o'clock, the traffic light at Central Parkway and Vine was out. I'd heard about the problem on the news; I hadn't realized that the light wasn't even flashing red, but was just dead. So I was pleased as I approached the intersection to see a police car, lights flashing, parked at the corner. I assumed an officer was directing traffic at the intersection. A good idea, given how many pedestrians cross Central Parkway there.

Nope. The officer was sitting in his car. Maybe he was there, prepared to catch anyone who didn't treat the intersection as a four-way stop. Beats me. But he sure wasn't much help to people trying to safely cross the street or drivers trying to navigate the intersection.

Some Truth About the Kirkland Case

The details trickling out regarding the murder of thirteen year-old Esme Kenney are grisly. Whomever committed this crime engaged in an unspeakably horrific act against humanity. If that person is Anthony Kirkland--the man under arrest and accused of the murder--he will most likely face the harshest sentence allowed under Ohio law, the death penalty.


A trio of commentators have emerged today to use this week's events as an opportunity to raise the possibility that systemic failures in the criminal justice process paved the way for Esme's death. But the Enquirer editorial board, Peter Bronson, and several members of City Council all seem prone to histrionics, exaggeration, and outright falsehoods. So let's see if we can clarify the question they all raise: Why was Kirkland free?


The Enquirer reports that Kirkland was convicted in 1987 of killing his girlfriend and then setting fire to her body. That's obviously a horrible, horrible offense, and perhaps a foreshadowing of the most recent allegations against him. He was sentenced to serve 7 to 25 years in prison. He served 16, and then was paroled. From the editorial board:

Convicted of that killing, he received a 7-25 year sentence, which seems a light sentence given the grisly details of the case. He was paroled in 2003 and released from probation 13 months later. That's one big crack [in the system] - 16 years for intentionally immolating someone.

Should Kirkland have been paroled in 2003? I don't know. I wasn't at the parole hearing. I don't know what influenced the parole board to let him go. (The fact that he spent 16 years in prison for an offense committed while he was a teenager was probably considered by the board.) But this is why Ohio sentencing law changed in the mid-1990's in favor of "truth in sentencing." We don't want parole board members deciding how long a defendant should serve; that's a judge's job. These kinds of indefinite sentences no longer exist. When we hear about people being released early for parole, we're hearing about "old law" cases--that is, offenses committed prior to 1996.


So, what about the years since Kirkland was released from prison? In 2005, he was charged with rape and aggravated burglary. But he went to trial, and a jury found him not guilty. I'm unwilling to fault "the system" for that. In 2007, he was twice charged with crimes. The first time, he was charged with two counts of kidnapping, inducing panic, and endangering children. This is where Bronson jumps the shark:

But he wound up serving just 115 days on two counts of unlawful restraint. One of the charges that was dropped was "endangering children."

Usually, when people talk about charges being "dropped," they're referring to the prosecution dismissing charges. But that's not what happened here. Instead, Kirkland went to trial and was acquitted of endangering children and inducing panic. He was found not guilty of kidnapping, but
guilty of the lesser included offense of unlawful restraint, a misdemeanor.

Later that year, he was arrested for importuning, a felony, and public indecency, a misdemeanor. Again, Kirkland went to trial. He was acquitted of public indecency, but convicted of importuning. And this is where the Enquirer editorial board's handle on the facts goes awry:

He went back to jail for about a year before being paroled again - another crack.

Umm, wrong. He didn't serve his sentence in "jail," he spent it in prison (at least the part of it he hadn't already served by the time his case went to trial). What's more, he was sentenced to the maximum sentence: one year. He was also classified as a sex offender as a result of that conviction. He was not released on parole--parole no longer exists. Instead, once he served his full sentence, he was placed on post-release control, or PRC. PRC is supervised by the Adult Parole Authority and begins after certain offenders have completed their sentence. It is not an alternative to prison. When an offender violates the terms of PRC, the Parole Authority has the option of returning him to prison for up to nine months or half of his prison term, whichever is greater.

And now we get to Kirkland's recent conduct and abode. While on PRC, he was ordered to live at the Volunteers of America halfway house. City Council has complained in the past (and does so again today) of sex offenders being relocated to Cincinnati to live at the VOA. But this isn't what happened in this case. Kirkland was from Cincinnati. Once he served the one-year sentence, he would have returned to Cincinnati. While our leaders are right to be concerned about Cincinnati becoming a "dumping ground" for sex offenders from across the state, that trend did not impact the Kirkland case. And wasn't placing him in the VOA, under at least marginal supervision, a better choice than no placement at all? City Council members question the propriety of permitting a "serial killer" to reside at the VOA, but that's not quite right. He wasn't known to be a serial killer at the time of his placement, and he wasn't being supervised in connection with the 1987 murder any longer.

Everyone raises a valid point about the VOA's ridiculously bad judgment back on February 29th, when Kirkland apparently was expelled from the facility for fighting with a fellow resident. It appears that the VOA didn't notify Kirkland's parole officer for three days that Kirkland had been kicked out. I cannot fathom why. The parole officer would have immediately reached out to Kirkland, and if he couldn't have found him, a warrant would have issued. Did those three days make a difference? We'll never know.

Cases like this rightly cause us to evaluate and re-evaluate our criminal justice system and its strengths and weaknesses. But such evaluation should be based on facts, not half-truths and fear.

Sorry for the long post.