Just Plain Guts

I stand in awe of the courage and guts on display every time Erich Kunzel conducts the Cincinnati Pops. When I see how he faces the challenges ahead and he still can muster the strength it takes to conduct, then yes as Jenelle Gelfand wrote, I would have had a huge lump in my throat last night at Riverbend. If you are looking for a person to emulate, I don't know if you can go wrong with Erich Kunzel.

2009 CEA: Theatre Awards Show August 30th

CityBeat has announced great news that on Sunday August 30th the 13th annual Cincinnati Entertainment Awards will be presented at a hip club, showcasing the best of Cincinnati Theatre. The CEAs are Cincinnati's longest running theater awards program, using votes from the public and from established theater critics to determine winners in 20 different categories. Everyone had a great time last year at BELOW ZERO LOUNGE (1122 Walnut Street, Over-the-Rhine, www.BelowZeroLounge.com) and the 2009 event is back.

The highlights include free appetizers, drink specials and keyboard tunes from musical theater favorite Terry LaBolt. They'll also of course present the 2009 Continuing Achievement Award, named by the League of Cincinnati Theatres, to the founders of Cincinnati Landmark Productions -- Tim Perrino, Jennifer Perrino and Denny Reed.

Here's the Schedule for Sunday evening, August 30:

6 p.m. Mix and mingle with your friends in the theater world - free appetizers and a cash bar.

7 p.m. Rick Pender and John Fox from CityBeat will recognize the nominees and the winners in the 12 publicly voted categories.

Break: Musical interlude by Terry LaBolt

8:15 p.m. Presentation of the League of Cincinnati Theares Continuing Achievement Award for 2009, plus recognition of the nominees and the winners in the 8 critical achievement categories, including outstanding premiere, outstanding play and outstanding musical.

9 p.m. Party on!

RSVP Not necessary -- it's free!

Parking $2 parking is available at the Gateway Garage, one block away. Enter from Central Parkway.

Get out and support Cincinnati Theatre and a great local venue.

Why Did the Enquirer Publish This?

In a new low, the Enquirer chose this story to pick up from the AP Wire. I guess they have a large equine readership down in the Bluegrass state that would be interested.

Brad "Down to the Wire" Wenstrup Has Nothing

Would someone break the news to the GOP Mayoral Candidate that Cincinnati is a City, not a Suburb? After waiting to nearly the last minute of July before he finally releasing his "platform" as promised, we got a whole bunch of nothing. As expected Brad Wenstrup has no plan to balance the budget. He does have a plan to abandon the urban core. I guess he thinks it doesn't need any more help and is perfect as it is. The "neighborhoods" need everything now. Way to appease Westwood! I mean this guy is as forward thinking as a 17 year old boy in the backseat of his Uncle's car with his 15 year old girlfriend wondering if she'll make him wear a condom. Well, the Reactionary Leaders in Westwood are ready to ride Brad bareback right now. Hell, Jim McNulty, vice president of the Westwood Civic Association would forgo an election for this guy. Forget that in the long run it spells doom. Forget that there is no plan, no vision for a city. Wenstrup is embracing concepts for the city that returns it to a 1958 mythical ideal that never existed! Next well hear he wants to build a Westood Lateral.

Wenstrup got someone at the HCGOP to come up with a few Conservative planks that don't address the 28 million or the possible 40 budget shortfall next year. No one in the local GOP is whiling to stick out their necks with detailed budget cuts that add up to anything near 28 million dollars.

Wenstrup is the quintessential empty suit Republican who appears to have no ideas not put into his head by others. This platform has no original ideas in it at all. It reads like a Congressional Republican bent on doing a whole lot of nothing, while still giving something to those who want to turn the City into an extension of Suburbia.

The only surprise: he doesn't call for tax cuts. He sounds like someone who thinks Tax cuts can cure Cancer, but that plank would have just made people laugh. He's got enough laughter for this as it is.

July Has Been Rather Cool

I was wondering why July has been so cold, it appears Hell has frozen over, because Gregory Flannery has written an article for Metromix Cincinnati.

Psychic Reporting From CityBeat?

I'm a fan of CityBeat generally and Kevin Osborne in particular, so I was surprised to see a bit of sloppiness in the new edition (on newsstands today, July 29). Osborne's latest Porkopolis column is about the mayoral race. To open, Osborne writes that "Dr. Brad Wenstrup . . . announced his platform July 29 in the city's Westwood neighborhood." Osborne goes on to describe (and critique) Wenstrup's platform, sprinkling quotes from the candidate throughout the piece. Osborne leaves the impression (hopefully unintentionally) that the quotes were spoken by Wenstrup as he rolled out his platform.

But wait....that can't be right, can it? Did CityBeat really hold its print edition until Wenstrup's press conference was concluded, give Osborne time to write it up, and then print and distrbute the new edition all on the same day?

Of course not. CityBeat is a weekly, published Wednesdays, so most people will read the column after the press conference has happened. Maybe it's understandable, then, that Osborne wrote about the press conference in the past tense. But Osborne should have made clear that the quotes he prints are not from the presser, but are instead from either an interview previously conducted with Wenstrup or (more likely) Wenstrup's press release announcing the platform.

CityBeat is an increasingly important voice in Cincinnati. Following the demise of the Post and the Enquirer's adoption of its new motto ("The Constantly Shrinking Newspaper"), Cincinnatians have few options for news coverage. If CityBeat wishes to remain one of those options, it should be more careful.

"You're God Damn Right I Did!"

COAST Tweets Truth, And Can't Handle It: This evening a lively debate on Twitter between Building Cincinnati's Kevin LeMasters and the Resident COAST un-named flunky brought forth a simple truth that COAST and the NAACP have been too chicken to be honest about: Their ballot issue is only about killing the streetcar and killing off the city. They have claimed it to be about the "right of the people" to vote, but that is, as crass as it will sound, "Bullshit." This exchange proves it, without a doubt:

@GOCOAST: Mallory: ""Yes' vote would kill streetcar" Of course. That's precisely plan. Someone, kill this stupid idea, please! http://bit.ly/2We1lX

@buildingcincy: @GOCOAST So it's not about empowering citizens, huh. It's about killing plan u don't like. Man, you've been a broken record last two days.

@GOCOAST: @buildingcincy Yes, kill that stupid idea. Limp. Dead. Cold. Move on to something else!

There you have it. COAST and the NAACP could not care less about giving people the power to vote, they are out to kill progress in the City and their main target right now is the Streetcar Plan. Their second target is High Speed Rail. Their goal, in my opinion, is the downfall of the City. Both the NAACP and COAST I believe would be delighted in a bankrupt city, where both groups then vie for control. Saner heads will prevail and the ballot issue will go down to defeat in November.

Mary's Back In Business; Flo Decides She Needs To Be Closer To Her

Hot off of Facebook: Hamburger Mary's is open, as of 5:00 this evening! If I knew how to post a screen shot of a website I would, but here's a cut-and-paste of what Hamburger Mary's just posted:

HEYYY HONNEYYY, come see me for dinner and COCKtails @ 5pm!! ITS OFFICIAL MARY'S is OPEN THIS EVENING!! XoXo, Mary

They've been teasing us for a week with hints that the reopening was imminent. It's fantastic that it's finally happening. Based on the FB response, I suspect the restaurant may be jam-packed tonight.

And Flo's Plate Full of Soul (which we reviewed last year) has moved: they are now on Vine Street in the storefront previously occupied by Tom's Pot Pies.

Both are awesome additions to Vine Street!

UPDATE: Good grief. Apparently, some of you think it's too much trouble to find Hamburger Mary's Facebook page on your own. So here's a link to it. And here's a link to Hamburger Mary's website. And here's one to her twitter feed. And one to the Business Courier article reporting the reopening. And here a link to Julie's post noting the auspicious occasion (Wine Me Dine Me doesn't display post times, so I'm going to claim to have scooped Julie on this one, regardless of whether that's true.) Here's a link to this post (how existential is that?). And here's a link to Hamburger Helper, which has nothing to do with Hamburger Mary's, but I was running out of stuff to which to link.

Can I get you guys anything else? Would you like some fries with that?

Layoffs Coming to the City Government

Critics are not stepping up, so City Manager will choose what gets cut from the City Budget to make up the 28 million dollar deficit. I watched Leslie Ghiz's Twitter posts during the budget meeting yesterday and they were negative, as you might have guessed. She has been constantly stating something must be done, but Ghiz refuses to be a leader and make any choices. That goes double for the GOP Mayoral Candidate, Wenstrup, who, along with the HC GOP leadership, is only worried about the Mayor's travel. As if a few thousand dollars is going save even one part time job. What GOP refuses to understand or more like as an election ploy is ignoring is that Mallory's travel will help create private sector jobs, which is something GOP should love. I also missed the GOP attacks on Bob Taft when he went to Japan as governor. Twitter didn't exist then, but so I guess I didn't get a chance to hear their anger.

We don't know details now, but will have them next week. It is going to hurt, and the election year rhetoric will do nothing to help.

Money Will Talk

Annie's Nightclub has reportedly ended their Sunday night Hip-Hop shows after two men were murdered in the parking lot Sunday. Annie's was reportedly facing pressure from police to increase security after a shooting occurring on the dance floor last year. I really have no good answers on this one. It has been a problem that has plagued Hip-Hop based promoted shows in many places, not just around Cincinnati. Part of me wants to see this as a chicken and the egg type of situation, but part of me wants the Hip-Hop "culture" examined more and its flaws exposed. I have solution.

Money will drive Annie's and the promoters of the Hip-Hop shows, not safety for the participants or the public. I would expect that Annie's will bring the shows back, after a few months of quiet Sundays and as soon as they get a new promoter promising to do things better.

Kentuckians' Outlook Improves

I have no idea at this point who will win the 2010 Kentucky Senate race, but who ever wins it will not be Jim Bunning, which is a positive for the state and improves their outlook ten fold in perception, alone. If McConnell resigns, the world would be better off.

Toreador, en garde!

So I finally got to the opera this season, even though it took me until the final show of the summer. I was not disappointed by Cincinnati Opera's offering of Carmen.

Janelle Gelfand was unusually negative about the acting and staging. That's okay; she's entitled to be wrong her opinion. (In all seriousness, Ms. Gelfand no doubt has a much more sophisticated opera palate than I do. Since I go to the opera just once or twice each year, I'm generally destined to be blown away by just about anything on the Music Hall stage, particularly an opera that's as much fun to listen to as Carmen.) Unlike the Enquirer's critic, I enjoyed Ruxanda Donose's performance as Carmen. (I don't speak French, though; if Ms. Gelfand does, she's no doubt a better judge of Donose's acting ability.) Without any doubt, tenor William Burden (as Don Jose) stole the show.

I agreed with Ms. Gelfand that the Cincinnati Symphony's performance of the prelude was a bit rushed. In fact, it seemed at times almost as if the instrumentalists were tripping over themselves through the toreador theme. (Think about hitting the fast-forward button on your old "Bad News Bears" videotape while leaving the audio up.) The CSO also almost overpowered the vocals a couple times. But all in all, it was a terrifically-spent three-plus hours.

A friend who was kind of enough to bend her schedule to my last minute whim to buy a couple tickets and accompanied me to the opera commented that watching the opera brings into clear relief the type of entertainment those of us born in the 1970's and later are accustomed to. Can you imagine watching a movie set in only 3 or 4 different places, or with a single camera shot that doesn't cut away from over an hour? But I think that's part of why I love attending the opera or the CSO. An afternoon or evening at the CSO is all about that moment. It's not about what happens next; there's no hurry to move along to the next thing. The cell phone is stowed away and turned off, so there's no chance of the outside world pressuring me to hurry up and do something else. Instead, an opera or symphony performance provides two or three hours of pure escapism: the opportunity to totally immerse one's self in the music and story of that performance, leaving everything else behind.

Speaking of CSO, its new season looks pretty impressive, too (although perhaps a bit laden with guest conductors). Guess I ought to think about picking up some tickets.

Oxford Film Festival

I was very pleased when I heard about that the Oxford Film Festival was moving the core of the event to Cincinnati, but doing that at the last minute appears to have contributed to poor attendance as seen through the eyes of CityBeat's Steve Rosen. I hope this doesn't dampen efforts to keep the festival in Cincinnati. Many have long tried to stage film festivals in Cincinnati with limited success. What might help is one of two things: partner with another festival (say Midpoint or CincyFringe) or find a way to bring together the often splintered Cincinnati film community. You need a team to run any festival and need to divide up responsibility. One important task is marketing and outside of CityBeat, I've not heard much about this festival, with no sightings on the core social networking websites.

There is still time to hit some screenings which are running through Thursday at the Esquire. For all of the rest of festival information, check out their website: www.oxfordfilms.com.

You Could Have Told Us Beforehand....

In downtown Cincinnati, we rarely have power outages, as the lines are buried. In the aftermath of last year's windstorm, we were one of the few Cincinnati neighborhoods were power continued uninterrupted. So I shouldn't complain about a one-minute power outage.

I'm going to complain anyhow, though. It turns out the battery back-up in my alarm clock is dead. And having the power outage occur at 1:00 am was somewhat disconcerting. I woke up without the alarm clock at about 6:30 (though the alarm clock said 5:30). I thought there was way too much light for 5:30 in the morning, so got up and checked the time on my watch. Whoops. Running late.

Not a good way to start your morning.

CAAST Out The Demons

In a new blog CAAST which stands for "Citizens Against Antiquated, Stupid Thinking," we get a little dose of sense to counter the reactionary Neo-Feudalism being preached by the COASTers.

Election Year Stunts

Normally this type of stunt is carried out by a candidate during the election year. In this instance we have a few activists, a term I use loosely here, trying to gain attention. What I find sad about their micro-jingoistic plan is that it will do nothing but hurt their neighborhood. If I am the Mayor, I slam these guys down hard. Show them who is in-charge and don't let them forget it. They are not going to vote for him anyway, so no need to use kid gloves. I would seek out some sane people in that neighborhood and snub every person who votes yes on this crazy notion.

The unfortunate and real fallout from this foolish notion will be some residents increasing their hate for minorities and the poor, and they will continue to alienate themselves from the rest of the city. When you let the fringe view points, and in this case they are based on racism and/or classism, you are going to rightfully get blowback. These 'activists' need to learn they live in Cincinnati, not Mayberry. If they want to live in a little rural town where everyone looks the same and nothing ever happens, they can move there. Happily, that place is a myth.

Provost Schools Dean

In one of the more affective uses of disdain, The Provost of The Phony Coney Blog gets all Catholic-School-Nunish on Jason Haap, with a ruler to the knuckles and more.

UPDATE: It appears this post was taken down, so the link above doesn't work. Here is the Cache version. Would the party's involved care to comment?

In Memoriam: Les Lye

No discernible Cincinnati connection here; just felt like posting.

If you're around my age, chances are you grew up watching You Can't Do That On Television. Today comes news that one of that series' few adult actors, Les Lye, has passed away at the age of 84. Lye played, among others, Barth of Barth's Burgery and the general who was always about to execute someone by firing squad (and usually ended up getting shot himself). Lye was the only actor to appear in every episode of YCDTOT.

Reading the obituary made me remember how many hours I must have spent (alright, wasted) laughing at that show, which was really built around only a few jokes and sketches. Remember how the actors were doused with water if they said "water"? Or with green slime for saying "I don't know"? I sometimes wonder how many of today's young Nickelodeon viewers realize that the network's trademark green slime had its genesis on a show in the 80's. Or that Alanis Morissette was briefly on the show (before she was a giant music star)?

We now return you to your regular Cincinnati blogging.

Hofbrauhaus Happy Hour

Many thanks to Liz and the gang at Cincinnati Imports for putting together another great event. Last night featured a gathering at Hofbrauhaus over in Newport.

The paparazzi were present, so you can see who was there. (See pictures 14 and 19 for shots of the two dorkiest drunkest studliest bloggers in attendance.)

Summer Reading

For those of you interested in the death penalty in Ohio, you should check out No Winners Here Tonight by Andrew Welsh-Huggins. It's a thorough examination of the history and present application of the death penalty in Ohio. The author also discusses the philosophy of various Ohio prosecutors--including Joe Deters--in handling death penalty cases.

Hat tip: Streevibes, where I first learned about the book.

Yummy Food East and West

By "east" and "west" I'm not actually referring to cuisines, but instead to two restaurants' locations relative to downtown Cincinnati. My parents visited this weekend, and it was the perfect excuse to try a couple of restaurants I'd been meaning to check out. So armed with map and compass, we headed outside the friendly confines of downtown a couple times this weekend.

The East: Saturday night, we had dinner at Cafe Mediterranean in Anderson Township. I'd heard good things about it for some time (and had read Julie's review a few months ago). And the restaurant lived up to the praised it had been paid. We started with appetizers: hummus and stuffed grape leaves (my favorite dish of the Mediterranean), both of which were terrific. I had iskender kabab for dinner. I'd not had (or even heard of) it before; it's lamb and beef, piled high over chunks of pita bread and yogurt, all covered in a simple tomato sauce. It was delectable. For dessert, I had to try the baklava, which might have been the best I've had. It certainly gets my vote for best in Cincinnati. The phyllo incredibly flaky. And I learned something: while the traditional Greek baklava uses honey (I knew that), the Turkish version (which is what's served at Cafe Mediterranean) uses simple syrup, making it just a bit lighter. On top of that, the service was terrific. I'll definitely be back to the AT.

The West: Ever since Taste of Cincinnati, I'd been wanting to get out to Vitor's Bistro. For Sunday brunch this weekend, I finally got my chance. My mom had the corned beef hash, which looked great. My dad had an omelet, equally scrumptious. I chose to be adventurous, opting for the three-course tasting menu Vitor's now offers for breakfast. You tell the server about any allergies or dealbreaking ingredients and what spiciness level you'd like, and the chef serves you based on his whim--although they promise that one of their dishes will be their now-famous french toast. The first course was, for me, the show-stopper (since I knew what to expect with the french toast from Taste). It was a clever variation on Eggs Benedict, served with croquettes instead of an English muffin, capicola ham, and a spicy hollandaise sauce. The second dish was a Mexican omelet: good, but not as awesome as the first dish. When you go, don't be afraid to go high on the spicy-meter. I ordered 8 on a scale of 10, but wasn't at all blown away by the heat level.

Back Home: For those of you worried that I ignored downtown this weekend, don't worry. We ended my parents' stay with a meal at Arnold's. I've been there lots, of course, but they hadn't, so it seemed time to introduce them to Cincinnati's oldest bar. I've always stuck with burgers, though, so following through on the adventure theme, ordered the Hot Brown. Yummy.

No, this was not a heart-healthy week. At least not in the physical sense. But it was in the metaphysical sense!

Nate Livingston Sued By State of Ohio

The Enquirer is reporting that Nate Livingston Jr. is being sued by the Ohio Elections Commission for not filing campaign finance reports for his 2001 campaign for Cincinnati City Council. The article reports that the state is seeking $43,042.08. It is kind of odd to be filing suit almost 8 years after the election.

Hometown Glue

Cincinnati's Gorilla Glue treated the President with kindness after the comments from former Georgia Senator Zell Miller. What I'm not sure about is whether Gorilla Glue is well known enough for Miller to reference or did Miller make a racist joke? I have driven past the company location out on Red Bank Road, but have never used or seen their products. I'm guessing Miller called the President a Gorilla, so I'm glad we have one less racist in the Democratic Party.

Walter Cronkite: Icon

When I think about history in the second half if the 20th Century I put it in terms that relate to the broadcasts of Walter Cronkite. Next to Edward R. Murrow, no one has witnessed history as Walter Cronkite did thoughout his career. I am just old enough to have experienced him in his prime and he was a man with a presence like few have had. He could relate to the common man, but commanded the attention of kings. He will be an icon in American history for tearing up on air in November of 1963, telling a hard truth about Vietnam to the country, and as we commerate 40 years later his boyish glee and wonder for space and the moon landing. For those younger than I, take the time to listen to his reports or read up on the events he was charge with being the face the public turned for comfort, truth, and pride.

Great NY Times Article About Cincinnati

I don't know if the writer for the NY Times read my mind or read the minds of all of my friends or was stalking everyone I hang out with, but this travel article highlights what I believe are many of the of the coolest places in Cincinnati. If you want to explain to people living anywhere, including people in the Cincinnati area, why this a vibrant place to live, point them to this article and tell them this is just the tip of the iceberg. If City and Business leaders want to attract people to live or visit Cincinnati, they must promote these facets on par with any other attribute.

WOXY.com Moving to Texas: Not a Big Deal

News of the move of woxy.com's studio from Cincinnati to Austin, Texas will likely cause some to freafk out. Bottom line, don't, woxy.com in real terms was not doing much for local music. I am not saying they didn't support it, but did local music get much air time? This will be a PR negative that some anti-city twits will be happy about, but otherwise the local music scene will go on. Woxy was off the air and our music scene went on. I am disappointed woxy is leaving, but once they came back from they dead with outside backing, it was only a matter of time before they were pushed to leave.

I will admit that I am far less likely to to listen, and I think it is in WVXU's best interest to program local content for their digital frequencies.

What Happened to County Government Reform?

Last year, David Pepper floated the idea of a significant reformation of county government. (Links: Pepper's post; my post.) The notion raised, I thought, interesting questions. Do we really need to have an elected Recorder, Treasurer, Auditor, Engineer, Clerk of Courts, and Coroner?* Does Wayne Coates do a better job recording deeds because he's a Democrat? Does William Brayshaw build better roads because he's a Republican?

A better county government might have a commission with three or five members with a strong president (called, in some states, a county executive). The commissioners would appoint most of the current elected row office holders. Presumably, there'd be not be an unelected county administrator, and the budget would be initially proposed by the commission president instead.

At the time Pepper floated the idea, I praised him for thinking about the big picture of governance. Unfortunately, we haven't heard any more about structural reform of county government. Granted, Pepper and his two colleagues have been busy putting out budgetary fires. (Okay....Pepper has also recently found time to start thinking up ways to harass homeless people sleeping outside the courthouse but I'm sure that's just a hobby, since the homeless have occupied that space for years without incident.) But I hope that the commissioners aren't so busy examining the trees that they're not able to see the forest.

Pepper is in an interesting position. He's essentially a lame duck (since he's announced he's running for State Auditor in 2010, he obviously can't run for re-election to his commission seat that year, when his term expires). Certainly over the next year we'll see less and less of him in the county as he ramps up his state-wide campaign. But a lame duck--someone whose efforts cannot be viewed as a power grab--could be just the right kind of person to lead a massive overhaul of county government, as he might have some immunity against the entrenched interests (i.e., the elected office holders who'd lose their jobs) who would oppose any sort of progress.

Of course, Pepper might take the tack of another politician whose name begins with "P," decide that being a lame duck is just no fun, and ignore the tougher aspects of his office for the next year and a half. But that doesn't seem like Pepper's style. And I think he'd actually enjoy the challenging of redesigning our local government.

*For native Cincinnatians who learned about all these offices in grade school or high school civics: be glad you didn't grow up in Pennsylvania, where you had to figure out what a prothonotary is! (It's basically the clerk of courts.)

The President's Pitch

I'm watching the All-Star Game (which will no doubt be ruined by Fox's terrible sports coverage), and have a lingering thought about President Obama's ceremonial first pitch.

What's up with the weird camera angles used to show us the pitch? The live shot was taken from third base, isolated Obama, and didn't pan over to home plate to follow the pitch. The replay was simply an isolation shot from another angle.

Why didn't we see one of the more traditional views of a pitch, either from center field or from behind home plate? Please tell me that Fox Sports wasn't complicit in some effort to spare Obama from the possibility of a national Mallory moment. Were there some sort of security concern? Is the President simply so important that he can't be shot with Albert Pujols? Were there some fans behind home plate that Fox didn't want to show because they were being disrespectful to Obama in some way?

I've no doubt the right-wingers will pick up on this and hatch some wild conspiracy theory. I'd just like a simple explanation.

UPDATE: Just as I was about to publish this post, I rewound the DVR to look again (thanks, Time Warner!). I think the two traditional views were unavailable. The giant American flag was still in center field, so the mounted camera out there wouldn't have worked. And the old guys Cardinals Hall of Famers were standing behind home plate, blocking that view. Still, it's weird that the live shot, taken by a camera operator who was on the field and probably just a few steps behind the pitcher's mound, didn't follow the flight of the pitch to Pujol's glove.

Others Questioning Goals of COAST and the Local NAACP

Quim at Blogging Isn't Cool questions what COAST and Chris Smitherman really want from their Referendum-crazed efforts and the question that comes up is do they want to turn Cincinnati into a third world nation?  I can see COAST as the colonialist corporation looking to exploit the people, so does that make Smitherman into a wanna-be Jean-Claude "Baby Doc" Duvalier?

Cincinnati Ranked 15th in Most Job Postings

I am sure everyone in the media and those who seek to knock everything about Cincinnati will shout this from their rooftops, but there are jobs in the area. The type of jobs are the question and this ranking doesn't go into that type of detail. Cincinnati ranks 15th out of the top 50 metro areas in the nation. The only negative is that we were 13th last quarter, so the trend is not good leading into the Summer.

Repent Ye Heathens, Cin No More!

Last week marked the end of CinWeekly. Cin had been around for about six years. I was a faithful reader from even before the start when I got leaked peak of their website and paper. Early on, one of the names being considered for CinWeekly was "Barge." That didn't last. Cin was born and flourished.

From the beginning I wanted Cin to be something more than it was. Cin never was CityBeat. They competed for business, but rarely on content. From Cin I wanted more hard news about issues that "YPs" would be concerned about. Part of the original concept was to appeal to people, generally youngerish, who were not reading the Enquirer. What that meant to me, was that you served the reader with some "real" news and helped that wash down with a whole shitload of lifestyle. Cin never really was about "real" news and was all lifestyle. It had it's own voice and it knew what it was. Over the years I felt its appeal leaned far too much to mainstream culture, kind of the traditionalism that brings to mind numbness of taste. Lately, I was actually pleased with an increase in the coverage of the City. It wasn't to last with the layoffs of CinWeekly's entire staff last Wednesday. Was that the wisest choice? I am sure no one laid off would say so. It wouldn't have been any better to keep them and lay off others. What ever the situation it sucks. Cincinnati loses coverage. Yes, Metromix will replace CinWeekly, and that actually wasn't new news either, according to one former Cin staffer, but on Thursday as I checked out Metromix's website I didn't see places for much of the lifestyle that Cin provided. Where is the stream of Arts and Theatre articles? Where is the stream for volunteer effort articles? Where is the stream for health and fitness articles? These may all be coming in next week's issue, but who is going to write those articles? National stories about the latest pop band or newest Hollywood block buster is just not going to do much that readers can't already get from the web. I really hope the Enquirer/Gannett management have provided the local Metromix editors/producers with the resources to create something other than an events calendar. I will be reading this week to find out. I hope the readers don't get less.

MidPoint Indie Summer on the Square is Hot

Last night Fountain Square was packed for Midpoint's Indie Summer with the Pomegranates. Next Friday (July 17th) it should be just as packed for Wussy and on July 24th it will be insane when Bad Veins hold their CD release party at Indie Summer.

A Barney Fife Layoff May Be In Order

Someone in the Hamilton County Sheriff's office needs to quickly become the victim of budget cuts for allowing a laptop to be stolen with personal information from an undisclosed number of people. For an organization charged with providing security to the citizens of Hamilton County, someone should lose their job over this. How much other equipment or evidence is stolen throughout the year? This incident only became public because people could have their identity stolen, therefore letters are being sent out to those affected.

Is Brad Wenstrup or the HCRP Running For Mayor?

I know there's not much of a Republican Presence in the City of Cincinnati, but one would think that the Republican mayoral candidate would have his own events calendar on his website instead of the Hamilton County GOP's calendar. I really hope this is not Wenstrup's appearances, because if it is, then he's spending more time outside of the City, then in it. That's where likely more of where his contributions are coming from. When his campaign finance report is available on-line, check the addresses.

Good Luck Peter Bronson

I think Peter Bronson's political and many of his social views especially are terrible. I've spent many of the last 7 years writing on this blog in rebuttal to the unchallenged conservative view point Bronson was able to spouse in the Enquirer. I am not going to jump for joy now that Bronson has been laid off. I instead wish him well and hope he lands a new job soon. I only met Peter one time at the BOE when Joe Wessels made a point of introducing me. He was nice. Everything I heard from people who met him in person would say without question that he was a very nice guy. They would just agree that they couldn't stand his political views.

One element of politics and media that many people fail to do is see the opposition as human beings. There should not be glee when a hard working person loses their job. Bronson is a good reporter, when he takes his opinion and bias out of a story. In life it never bodes you well to kick a dog when he's down. I hope to hear that Peter has transitioned to a new job or maybe new career soon. Good Luck Peter!

Enquirer Layoffs

A source indicates that Peter Bronson, David Wells, and the entire CinWeekly staff were laid off today.

UPDATE: Via Twitter Tom Callinan, #2 at the Enquirer, stated "Need to clarify: CiN in print and online will continue with Metromix as dominant brand. That does not lessen the sadness of layoffs."

Mob Rules

Randy at UrbanCincy strongly points out where the COAST cabal is trying to steer Cincinnati City Government. Their destination is a mob rules state where the gang that can round up biggest number of people with clubs to beat up the opposition with, wins. It's not about Representative Democracy, the form of government this Republic was founded on it, is about forcing your views on others with fear, tricks, and an abuse of the system.

COAST will scream about voting. They don't want people actually voting, they want to destroy government and create a society where only the strong rule and rule by force. They are conservatives with a far right-wing agenda and seek to make everyone succumb. Anyone who thinks otherwise is fooling them self. If you support what they do, what you are supporting is the destruction of City Government and along with it the City of Cincinnati and Hamilton County with it.

Think I stating things too strongly, then I have to ask why? Where else could they possibility be headed? Their rhetoric is clear. At worst they are conservative anarchists, at best they are just old fashioned Reactionaries. If they wanted good government, they would be talking about reforming the charter, not trying to put some insane exemption in it. If you are against capital spending, then try to add an amendment that requires a plebiscite if it is over a certain dollar amount. Instead, the anti-rail and general conservative views are what are trying to push. If 100 million was going to fund a new religious university, COAST wouldn't be doing a damn thing about this. At that point, the Constitution they claim to support would be ignored. Can you imagine the the changes they would try pass if we had a straight up vote on amending the Constitution? That is where and why Representative Democracy works best. Mob rules is thuggery. Don't let the thugs go unchallenged and don't support them, in any form.

Council Candidates

The Fourth of July is a big day for Cincinnati Council campaigns and the parades on Saturday were filled with candidates and their supporterss. I saw two parades myself (Northside and Madisonville). I didn't see all of the candidates, but a majority. At this point, the only analysis of the race that can be made is by their foot print on web and each has a website of various types. As time goes on, the key to the race is who has troops on the ground, signs around town, and commercials on the air. If you don't see a candidate's face or name on t-shirts out at events this summer, the first of two reasons is: the candidate is so well known they don't need to do much until October, which is a foolish thing to believe about one's self. The second reason is that the candidate doesn't have much of a campaign, either money or volunteers. On election day the real measure will be who has both reached the most voters and gotten the most of them to come out and actually vote.

It is still early enough for other candidates to get into the race, but at this point here is who I believe is running. If I am missing anyone, please chime in with the name and/or website.

Incumbents
Jeff Berding (D)
Chris Bortz (C)
Laketa Cole (D)
Greg Harris (D)
Leslie Ghiz (R)
Chris Monzel (R)
Roxanne Qualls (C)
Cecil Thomas (D)

Endorsed Challengers
Tony Fisher (D)
Kevin Flynn (C)
Nicholas Hollan (D)
Amy Murray (R)
Laure Quinlivan (D)
Bernadette Watson (D)
Charlie Winburn (R)
Wendell Young (D)
George Zamary (R)

Independent Challengers
Anitra Brockman (I)
Darryl Cordrey (I)
Scott Pavelish (I)
LaMarque Ward (I)

Please note that some of the above may not actually get the valid number of signatures to appear on the ballot, and others might jump into race before the August deadline, meaning this is not a final list by any means.

Pools ARE a Basic Service

I thought City Council--led by Laketa Cole--was off the mark with its mid-year budget correction. Some ideas (like having police park their cars an hour per shift) don't seem likely to save the city money, and others (like the new environmental bureaucracy, a first-of-its-kind proposal that adds to the city payroll when the city is furloughing its existing staff) simply prioritize the city's agenda incorrectly.

But Cole has taken far too much flak for her recent argument that city pools are a "basic service" of municipal government. Leading the derision is HamCo GOP Chair Alex Triantafilou, who twittered that he was "laughing" at the statement, which Cole made to the Enquirer's editorial board. GOP council members piled on, and Triantafilou has since added a blog post on the topic (featuring a picture of what must be Green Township's public pool).

The truth, however, is that Cole is absolutely correct. Public pools have long been a staple of municipal government services. In Contested Waters: A Social History of Swimming Pools in America (2007), Jeff Wiltse writes that one of the first municipal pools was opened in Philadelphia in the summer of 1884. Municipal pools were a central battleground in the fight for desegregation in the United States during the middle part of the twentieth century.

If someone were to argue that public pools should be provided by the federal government, then that, of course, would be worthy of laughter. That's simply not a federal function. But municipalities provide services--police, fire, trash collection, and parks and pools--that don't come from national or state government. And cities have been providing pools since the nineteenth century. Public pools are not part of the FDR-era expansion of government. They're not even a service added by the City during the 1990's when the economy was strong and tax money was easy to find. Instead, from an historical standpoint, they are a core service of municipal government and woven into the fabric of our communities.

Laketa Cole is trying to protect a municipal service utilized primarily by the working poor and lower-middle class. While some of the more affluent Republicans in town may view that as worthy of laughter, their jocularity is not supported by reality or history. And their chronic disregard for the underserved and underrepresented may help explain why Republicans typically do pretty badly in City-wide elections.

The Day Cincinnati News Coverage Died?

How will the Cincinnati Enquirer survive as a news outlet after laying off an additional 100 people?

It is possible this could be a huge restructuring effort, where base functions of the company are centralized. That would involve the business side (advertising, accounting, systems) and not reporters, but I would be surprised it would not affect the content side as well.

If the content side (reporters, editors, layout, web tech) is greatly affected, this would mean a thin news outlet becoming affectively nothing. There would be no one left to gather any news, let alone maintain the limited news gathering level they have presently. Add this to the cuts at CityBeat, the lack of news coverage on TV, and radio being limited, and we are left with little else. It is dangerous when the public have no base level of journalism they can count on. Cincinnati has been losing and may totally lose that base in a couple of weeks.

On a human level, this is a huge deal and my best wishes go out to everyone at the Enquirer. I've gone through this recently myself, so I know the feeling. Keep your heads up and roll with the punches.

Racist Scum Still Are Out There

I would like to know if these scumbags are from say the East End or Linwood area or are they the usual crowd of asswipes from out towards Amelia? I am not going to find out because the couple of idiots leaving these fliers around are too chicken to make themselves known.

New Website: The Cincinnati Man

If you are a man or want to know what these men are writing about, then The Cincinnati Man may be a website worth checking out. It comes from a group of mostly Northern Kentuckians, so we are very glad they think in the broader "Cincinnati" area vision. It also gives a counter weight to the mostly female bloggers around town, who lend the most cultural critique of the City and its happenings.

Ignorance of Smitherman and Real Agenda of COAST

It's being said by Republicans, Democrats, Charterites, and every other logical thinking person, but Don Mooney Jr. lays out the reasons why the anti-rail ballot issue is shortsighted and something that will hurt the city now and later.

This once again exposes the ignorance of Chris Smitherman for not understanding what COAST is trying to do, stop any and all rail project. COAST pretends to only be about destroying government, but it is just a bunch of conservatives with an extremist and outdated political agenda.

CAC Cancels Fall Show

Yeah, um...could there be a slight problem with the leadership at the Contemporary Arts Center? When I say leadership, I'm talking the top of the ticket, accent and all.

Don't Give Kids (Or Jounalists) Candy

Councilmember Chris Bortz needs to learn something about dealing with the media. If you wave a big piece of candy in front of them, they are going reach out and grab it like a seven year grabbing for a candy bar. In this case the mere mentioning of Chris Smitherman's name will generate a story, and more importantly, a headline.

Hard Ball

If the Cincinnati Police Department wants to play games in the media, then at least they could put their name behind their action like Greg Harris has done. The rumor leaked by "someone" in the police department that 200 layoffs await was anonymous political move that lacked class and honesty.

I don't believe this is a serious plan. This is just Greg talking to Leis about what it would entail or what would be possible. I take this as a "two can play at that game, Chief" towards CPD Police Chief Tom Streicher who has been in the media talking about being forced into police layoffs, an attempt by Streicher to put fear into the public in hopes of pressuring Council to not cut his budget.

Cincinnati Chamber Cut Jobs

The Business Courier is reporting that 7 employees of the Cincinnati Chamber of Commerce are being laid off. No detail on what positions were affected.

Council Must Make Tough Decisions On Police Spending

As Griff notes, the Cincinnati Police Division's administration is suggesting that it may be forced to lay off up to 200 officers over the next six months. With $40 million to cut from next year's budget, it's unrealistic to believe that CPD's budget will be untouched. But all of us (including City Council) need to keep in mind that Cincinnati is not Hamilton County.

Last year, Hamilton County went through the painful budget process that now faces Cincinnati. The commissioners were forced to cut the budget of the Hamilton County Sheriff's Office. But they were powerless to address line-by-line spending within the HCSO budget. That's because the sheriff is an elected official who, by law, controls his own budget. Some (including the FOP) questioned whether there weren't additional administrative savings to be made. I still don't know the answer to that. But the decision was left to Simon Leis alone; the Commission could tell Leis how much money he was getting, but not how to spend it.

This is not true of the City of Cincinnati. The police chief is not an elected official, and is subordinate to the City Manager. The chief has no statutory authority protecting his right to set his own budget. Council has the power to set spending priorities--and it must use it. Before a single patrol officer is laid off, Council must examine the CPD's administrative budget.

The assistant chiefs are a good example of possible administrative savings. Do we really need five assistant chiefs? Chief Streicher's redeployment of Lt. Col. Janke a couple months ago would suggest we don't. In fact, we've only had five assistant chiefs since 2004. Of course, reducing the assistant chief compliment by one is just a drop in our financial bucket, but it provides an example of how a bureaucracy can become top-heavy in good economic times.

Beat officers are the lean meat of CPD. They're what are required to keep us all safe. City Council needs to take ownership of the job of finding CPD's fat and gristle. These are policy decisions that need to be made by elected officials, not by the appointed City Manager or the (non-appointed) Chief.

And if you're trying to figure out how to decide who to vote for in this fall's Council race, this is as good an issue as any. Any candidate who cannot give you a clear idea of where they'll find $40 million in cuts--with specifics from each department they intend to cut--probably isn't worthy of your vote.

Haap Agrees: It's A Vanity Campaign

This morning, Cincinnati Beacon blogger Jason Haap appeared on Newsmakers. At the end of the interview, the following exchange occurred:

Hurley: What are you in this for? Are you in this to win, are
you in this to educate, what are you in this for?
Haap: I think I'm probably in this to educate.

In other words, Haap is running for mayor, but has absolutely no intention of becoming the mayor. Running for an office one has no plans to occupy would be like the Reds or the Cardinals announcing tomorrow that they understand that mid- and small-market teams can't do well in Major League Baseball, and that they're just playing the rest of the season to try to teach others how to play ball.

Haap's a valuable voice in the blogosphere (and I know many of you will disagree with me--but guess what? You only disagree because you read the Beacon!). But while "political performance art" (which is how he describes his nom de plum) is an excellent way to get page hits to your blog, it's not such a good thing to inject into a serious political race, at a time when serious challenges are being addressed.

With Haap's admission that mayor's race really is between two candidates, that's how I plan to discuss the race: as one between Mayor Mallory and Dr. Wenstrup.

If you want performance art, go rent Borat. We don't need it in the mayoral race.

Let the Posturing Begin

Well, "someone" is doing their best to scare the public as means to position the CPD into avoiding any pain from the impending Budget Cuts.

I laugh when the word "could" is used 5 times. That makes this article generate the smell that accompanies a leak from the CPD that was on purpose, all the way from the top.

Dear Maija?

Ok, does the Dear Maija column in CityBeat work? I understand and actually like the tone, but is this what is right for CityBeat, as opposed to more hard news stories?

Nasty Council Attitude or PAY ATTENTION?

I can only consider Council Member Leslie Ghiz's "Twitter behavior" to be nothing short of childish. The tone she expressed toward fellow Council Member Laketa Cole was something one might hear in the head of a Student Council Member, not City Council. Instead we got an open display of what Leslie's teenage years may have been like. Here is a series of posts to her account made during Wednesday's Council meeting:

# Environmental Justice Ordinance is passing. New cost to city: 500k. City deficit? 40 mil.3:58 PM Jun 24th from TwitterBerry

#
Here she goes again. Does not know when to shut up.2:45 PM Jun 24th from TwitterBerry

#
Keep digging a hole Laketa. Never shuts her mouth.2:40 PM Jun 24th from TwitterBerry

#
I don't have to go to church Sunday because I just heard a sermon from Cole.2:05 PM Jun 24th from TwitterBerry

#
Cole just said budget isn't about the same old thing. Really? Did I miss something?1:59 PM Jun 24th from TwitterBerry

#
Weigh in: should we lay off more city workers in order to have an environmental dept, keep under utilized pools and rec centers open?1:53 PM Jun 24th from TwitterBerry

I don't know how I feel in general about a council member posting tweets during council. My first thought was to scream "Pay Attention Leslie!" at the top of my lungs, but she was twittering about the meeting, not something else. From Enquirer report Jane Prendergast's Twitter we did learn Laketa Cole slammed Ghiz for that during the meeting as well.

Laketa Cole blasts colleagues who didn't help w/ budget cuts - It's easy to complain and "sit at your desk and Twitter." Take that, Leslie

Cole made her contribution to not paying attention by her dog getting lose at her home during the same council session. The dog was "impounded" up by the SPCA and she was fined.

Farewell, Michael

Like most people my age, I've been glued to the television for the last hour or so, mouth agape at the news that Michael Jackson has passed away. I'm solidly a member of Generation X, so I grew up watching Michael. Many others will write much better obituaries than I could, so I won't even try. Suffice it to say that Michael was every bit (or more) woven into the fabric of my childhood as were the Cosby kids and Family Ties; the Challenger disaster; and (near the end of high school) the end of the Cold War.

Michael's death brings into sharp focus another "death," though: that of MTV. Once I'd gotten my fill of CNN, I turned on MTV. MTV, I was sure, would be covering Michael's death. After all, if it weren't for Michael Jackson, MTV wouldn't even exist. For a while, the network seemed oblivious to the news. Eventually, they started playing Michael Jackson videos, with a crawl reporting the death. It finally struck me: MTV no longer has any live human beings to put in front of a camera (or a studio, for all I know). Twenty years ago, if MTV lacked a "v-jay" for an event like this, a producer would've stuck an intern in front of a camera. Today, MTV is nothing but pre-programmed pseudo-reality shows.

So today is a sad today, leaving us wistful for the music and motion of Michael Jackson, and leaving us thinking, "I want my MTV!"

City Council Poised To Break Its Own Rules?

Last night, I watched the replay of yesterday's Finance Committee meeting. (Yes, I do know how geeky that makes me.) It's clear that the Council is facing extraordinarily difficult choices. But there may be an interesting procedural show-down at Wednesday's Council meeting that the press isn't really talking about.

City Council, like any legislative body, operates according to a set of internal rules. These are rules that the Ohio Revised Code gives it leeway to create. City Council makes them, and by a two-thirds vote, City Council can alter or suspend them. A few years ago, a rule was adopted that was designed to protect the City's "reserve" fund. Apparently, it requires that any time Council spends money from the fund, it finds corresponding funds to replace it.

Rules are, of course, made to be broken. And this one can be, too, just like any other rule. The catch? According to the rules, any rule can be suspended by a two-thirds vote of Council.

The plan to balance the 2009 budget that passed in Finance Committee relies heavily on reserve funds. There's no plan, of course, to replace the newly-allocated reserve funds. But as far as I can tell, the proposal is supported by just five Council members (Cole, Crowley, Harris, Qualls, and Thomas). That means that while there are enough votes to secure passage of the measure, there aren't enough votes to suspend the rule--which should be a necessary precondition to passage.

Ultimately, this will leave the decision to Mayor Mallory. When the question is called (assuming the vote count doesn't change), he'll have two options: ignore the rule and and declare the amended budget to have passed, or enforce the rule, thus requiring a two-thirds majority for passage. I don't know what the mayor intends to do.

Before you litigation-hungry types get all worked up, don't bother. I highly doubt there's a taxpayer's suit that can be filed that would prevent Council from breaking its own rules. Just like the US Supreme Court doesn't intervene to stop Congress from breaking its own rules, it's unlikely a Common Pleas court will tell Council how to operate, as long as it acts within the external constraints placed upon it. Enforcement of internal constraints are entirely up to the Council itself. A court would probably rule that this is a non-judiciable "political question."

Reasonable people can disagree as to the wisdom of depleting the reserve fund. Frankly, I lean towards the position that the current economic crisis is precisely the reason a government has a reserve fund. If this isn't a contingency that demands extraordinary action, then what is? If it means poor kids can swim and the uninsured get health care, then dip into the reserve.

But regardless of where you come out on the substantive issue, how can a reasonable person believe it's good for Council to break its own rules? If the rules require a two-thirds vote to cash in the reserve fund, then that's the process that should be followed. I might like the result this time, but that's just the problem: I might only like it this time. Maybe next time there's a rule the enforcement of which would lead to a result I'd be happier with. But if the suspension rule is expendable this time, why would a five-member majority pay it any heed next time?

We elect our Council members to act as a professional, responsible legislative body. They sometimes fall short of that standard. But one would think that at the very least, they can follow the rules they wrote for themselves.

Eating Heart-Healthy in Porkopolis?!?

Is it even possible? I guess I'm going to find out.

For the first time in my life, I had my cholesterol level checked. According to the test, it's entirely plausible that there are bacon bits flowing through my veins and arteries.

Those of you who have met me are thinking, "Duh! Has the guy looked in a mirror in the past decade? What did he think his cholesterol number would be?" You're right, of course. But for a while, I've been operating in a world in which I didn't know with certainty that my cholesterol was high. And in that world, if I didn't know there was a problem, there really wasn't a problem.

Luckily, my doctor is a pretty restrained guy. Rather than whip out a prescription pad, he told me I was to start a "heart-healthy diet" and come back in four months for another blood test. And if the cholerestol level isn't better, he's probably going to follow me around, sprinkling ground Lipitor over all of my meals.

So now that I know, I have to face reality. And that means that my first trip to Five Guys (really more of a pilgrimage, made earlier today) will be my last. And my future gastric adventures involve lots of boiled chicken and salad. I'm trying to figure out if there's anything I can eat at this weekend's Panegyri Festival.

At least my blood pressure is OK. Somebody pass the salt.

Bogus Dangerous Claim, Bad Reporting Across the Board

So I know the discredited "study" really isn't news, but I wanted to make sure everyone got the truth and a press release from 3CDC sums it up well:

Statement from 3CDC in regard to the study by Location Inc, published today on AOL.com on the 25 Most Dangerous Neighborhoods in America.

“The study released today regarding Over-the-Rhine (OTR) focuses on approximately 20 square blocks, some of them not even located in OTR and is based on data that is more than two and a half years old. In fact, reported crime through 2008 in the area of OTR south of Liberty Street, known as OTR Gateway, is down 37% since 2004.

"OTR is 110 square blocks and includes several neighborhood districts including OTR Gateway, centered at the corner of 12th and Vine streets. This area, and other OTR census tract areas, was not part of the study.

“It is unfortunate and intellectually dishonest that the entire neighborhood was labeled in such a negative way. The fact is, $84 million has been invested in OTR Gateway since 2004 and new home owners and business owners are investing in the neighborhood. This past Saturday, a 5K run and day-long Summer Celebration arts festival brought about 2,000 people to the corner of 12th and Vine to shop, eat and listen to music. The only problem was that some of our vendors didn’t anticipate such a large crowd and ran out of food.”

The website that published this list is out to sell subscriptions, so you have to pay to view the underlying data. For free you can see the most pathetic element: where the website made up a neighborhood. Out of thin air they have declared that something called "Central Pky./Liberty St." is a place that has meaning to someone. That's right, in other words, they CHERRY PICKED a part of OTR and claim it is the worst. I am sorry, but people really are going to tell me that our so called "small town" Cincinnati has the worst criminals in the country? Is anyone also going to tell me that zip codes 45210 and 45214 are based in OTR? It is clear the data used by this website is outdated and either manipulated or just mishandled. I think they complied a bunch of data, didn't check for its relevance, didn't make sure it was up to date, chopped it apart based on some magical method they don't disclose, then bam! you get the junk results. If you are a credible organization providing statistical information, you outline your methods and your data. You are not credible if you will only provide for a fee.

Since this website has no credibility, one might think that local media outlets would be skeptical of the results. I guess chalking it up to an act of god, the local Media, nearly across the board, played right along and created a hot controversial topic. The one thing the website did not do: claim "Over-the-Rhine" was the most dangerous neighborhood. Instead the local media refer to the Frankenstein's Monster of a neighborhood ("Central Pky./Liberty St.") as OTR. I guess no one in the media can read a map. The Enquirer, WLW, WKRC, and FOX 19 took no time to analyze what was a clearly a bogus claim.

For the details, check out UrbanCincy for the analysis that the mainstream media is lacking.

A Budget Fix?

Later on today City Council will reportedly announce a plan to fix the budget and wipe away the $20 million deficit. I don't see how this can be done on furloughs alone, which is all the news story from WVXU includes as detail of the plan.

GOP Candidate Profiled

The Hamilton County GOP's sacrificial lamb had a good profile in CitBeat this week. Brad Wenstrup has the Bio of the type of candidate the GOP should be running for Congress. He makes Schmidt and Chabot both appear like bizarre extremists who have one foot in the loony bin. Granted, that's not a hard thing to do, but he makes the contrast far clearer. Will they have the sense to run him for Congress after redistricting makes the 1st and 2nd less Conservative districts?

The base problem with Wenstrup now is he has the message and views of a mainstream Republican who talks big ideas but has no experience with what it takes to get anything done in a Democratic City, let alone having the best policies. If you want to know what his policies are, then reportedly will announce them in detail in July. He's anti-streetcar and seems to not really know what is going on Downtown. He seems to think Newport is some type of Mecca. That type of rhetoric is so old it I think pre-dates WLW's move from Mt. Adams to Kenwood. Which appears to be where Mr. Wenstrup gets much of his political mentality.

OTR5K

I started out this morning in the Gateway Quarter for the 3rd Annual OTR-5K. Here are a few photos:





The Winner:

Civil Rights Game

Who's going tomorrow? (I am.) Maybe we should have a meet-up.

As of right now, tickets are still available.

Dems: Don't Let The Far Left Take Control

I've been a life-long Democrat because (at least in my mind), that's always been the party that has stood up for middle- and working-class people, as well as the poor and under-represented. I've begun to worry that my party is moving away from this role.

There's always been a far-left wing of the Democratic Party that has valued "the environment" over all else. For them, there's no human need that can trump the needs of an obscure species of spotted horned deer flies. The voices of that wing should certainly be heard. The problem is, they seem to be taking over the governance of the party.

We see the growing interest of the environmental left both locally and nationally. Locally, the City is poised to create a new "environmental justice" bureaucracy at the same time it faces a $20 million shortfall. Environmental justice is a real issue, and one that deserves attention. But the solutions are relatively easy: Council just needs clear zoning ordinances that prevent noxious, smoky factories from locating directly adjacent to residential (usually impoverished) neighborhoods. My concern here isn't about business vs. the environment. It's about people vs. the cost of the new proposal. It'll be a miracle is anything remains of the City's social services budget next year. There's almost no chance neighborhood pools will open next summer. So if I have a choice between creating an additional level of bureaucracy and letting poor kids swim, I'd choose the latter every time.

Nationally, the "Cash for Clunkers" program shows how the environmental left is pursuing its agenda at the expense of the working class. Here's how it works: the government will get old, lower-MPG cars off the road by offering owners a $4500 voucher towards a new car once they turn the old one in. The old car will not then be returned to the secondary market (e.g., used car dealerss, classified ads, etc.). But here's what people aren't talking about: most people don't buy cheap used cars because they want to. They buy them because that's what they can afford. Getting rid of the market for cheap used cars will hurt lower-middle class and poor people. So again, the environmental left values some unquantified benefit to the environment ahead of the needs of poor people, and has successfully codified this preference.

One of the major reasons the GOP is "wandering in the wilderness" is because it gave too much control over its agenda to the religious right. The party had become all about social issues--issues that, it turns out, don't matter to most voters during a weak economy. The "'small-l' libertarian" wing of the party began to abandon the GOP, and its apathy this past election cycle likely has a lot to do with the current composition of the government.

If the environmental left is permitted to dominate the Democratic party, it'll experience a similar fate. The populist wing of the party will abandon it (or simply stay home), and the party will lose its influence.

I'm not anti-environmentalism. I think recycling is a good thing. I'm in favor of finding ways to conserve energy. But it's hard to notice the environment if a person's basic needs aren't being met (think about Maslow's hierarchy). We shouldn't have to make choices between people and "the environment." But when the choice arises, let's make sure we choose the needs of people first, and strive--within that paradigm--to make the best choices possible for the environment.

Ideas For Budget Cuts

There is a lot of detail coming out about how some Council Members would cut the City's Budget to reduce the deficit. Some of the proposed changes are big and would be seen as non-starters. One idea that caught my eye would be combining administrative departments (HR, Accounting, etc) between the Police and Fire departments. I think this would work. This would reduce some jobs, most notably management jobs, but it wouldn't greatly affect services.

More Changes at CityBeat

Joe Wessels writes this week that this is his last column for CityBeat, at least until Fall. Joe does not go into detail about the reason for the reduction, but does indicate that it is financial. Additional cuts/changes at the paper are rumored, but not confirmed.

Powderfinger

Look out, Mama, there's a white boat comin' up the river
With a big red beacon, and a flag, and a man on the rail
I think you'd better call John,
'Cause it don't look like they're here to deliver the mail
And it's less than a mile away
I hope they didn't come to stay
It's got numbers on the side and a gun
And it's makin' big waves.

The Hamilton County Sheriff got his boat for keeping Cincinnati's riverfront safe from international fiends where ever they lurk.

City Budget Woes

What should be done to fix the City's budget deficit?

I would like to know how many police chiefs we actually need. That would just be a dent in the budget shortfall, but it would be a good start. There needs to be a combination of efforts: budget cuts, fee increases, and dare I say a tax increase. Unless someone (I am looking at the Republicans on council) care to propose what can be cut without killing social services or city development, I don't see how some revenue increase is avoidable.

CAC Robot Is Gone

On Saturday morning I witnessed work crews dismantling the CAC Robot on 5th Street in front of the old CAC across from Government Square.







This morning I walked by again and it was totally gone:


I had hear rumors it might being going someplace other than the CAC. Anyone know where it is headed?

For some older photos check out Make Cincinnati Weird.

ONLY 18 Picks From CityBeat

There is just nothing to do today. I may just have to stay home. I mean, why can't the Buffalo Killers be playing at Northside Tavern? Cool bands like that aren't from here, they only live in places like Chicago where there is no crime or hate or conservatives. Chicago where everyone is the same, just like me! Chicago, the Suburbs for Hipsters!

Ok, that's enough ragging on the hipsters for now. It appears my post from yesterday got under one self labeled Northside Hipster. I just suppose that particular person doesn't get out much and I was surprised he actually didn't really understand how much he exemplified the type of person I was criticizing.

Also for the record, I really like Northside. I think at least one commenter didn't score well on reading comprehension. That, or he just decided to make stuff up. I am going check off both columns on this one. Also, Average Joe, if you really live in OTR, I expect to see you at Second Sunday on Main tomorrow.

"Nothing" To Do Here

Not long ago I would hear from many quarters of the metro Cincinnati area that there is nothing cool to do here. I'm just going to point out three options for tonight:

1. Wilco at the Aronoff
2. MidPoint's Indie Summer on Fountain Square
3. "A Praire Home Companion" at Riverbend

These are a mere three very cool and fun things happening which is only a sample, so I don't want to hear any Exurbanites or Northside Hipsters complaining. If you can't have fun in Cincinnati, it most likely is your fault. Yes, I just called out the hipsters. I expect I will feel the angst bubble that encompasses Lingo Street burst all the way down on Fountain Square tonight.

Another Step Forward For the Streetcar

Cincinnati moved another step forward on the streetcar with the naming of the project manager.

Corporate Loyalty Means Something Else to Fifth-Third

In the Corporate world hometowns do not matter. I am glad I bank with PNC and I hope all of the National City branchs start taking my ATM card soon.

Buddakan Closed?

I have not read anything anywhere about this, but after walking by the Buddakan Restaurant this weekend I can only assume that it has closed. There are "Coming Soon" signs on the door, but the front door is padlocked.

Does anyone have any information on this? Online news searches turned up nothing in the local media.

Time To Close The Book On Shadowhare

After several quiet weeks, "Shadowhare" made another public appearance, this one at Mt. Adams Pavilion.  (His appearance was not spontaneous; it had been listed as a selling point for the DERF Happy Hour in the Enquirer's "Five things to do:  Friday" feature.)  Mayoral candidate Jason Haap (through his own alter-ego, political performance artist "Dean of Cincinnati") currently has several Shadowhare-related posts, including video of the young, masked man at the Beacon.

I think it's time the media--both "mainstream" and "alternate"--stop giving "Shadowhare" the attention he so obviously craves.  (Yes, I know:  I just wrote a blog post calling attention to someone I think we should all ignore.)  Based on what I saw in the videos at the Beacon, I strongly suspect that there are is some sort of mental illness that underlies Shadowhare's behavior.  Even Jason's co-blogger, Justin Jeffre, agrees that Shadowhare may have a problem:

I feel sorry for the guy if he really suffered the kind of abuse that he claims he did, but I think this guy might have some serious mental health issues and should probably talk to a mental health professional.

So who cares?  If all Shadowhare does is show up and entertain drunk YP's on a Friday night, what's the harm?  The problem is twofold.  First, I doubt he's going to stop at just entertainment.  Eventually, he's going to do something dangerous.  He'll hurt himself or someone else.  And then we'll all wring our hands at why we didn't get this troubled young man some help, rather than encouragement.  Second, he encourages and emboldens others to act without appropriate training or knowledge.  If he continues to garner attention, someone who is like him--ill but functional--will think "crime-fighting" in a mask is appropriate, attempt it, and get hurt.

A couple caveats:

I don't have any formal training in diagnosing mental illness.  But I work with individuals who suffer from various mental illnesses on a daily or weekly basis, and watching the videos reminds me of the interactions I've had with some of them.

Second, I don't blame or in any way condemn Jason for posting about Shadowhare.  Shadowhare was first publicized by the traditional media, and the blogs have simply followed along.  (Jason, of course, is behaving typically--like a pitbull with a young child's leg in its jaws--by putting up multiple posts, suggesting (or at least hinting) that Shadowhare should be prosecuted, and posting about a fictional organization that jokingly opposes superheroes.)  But maybe, on careful reflection, those of us in the "alternative media" should show the restraint and responsibility so often lacking in the legacy media these days.  And in the meantime, we'll all hope that there's someone in "Shadowhare's" life who is close enough to him to get him the help he needs.

Last Day for CincyFringe

OK, it is time to put up or shut up! I am seeing three Fringe Shows today and that will bring my total to 31 shows, which is all of them. You need to get out and see at least one show today. This is your last chance and you will regret it if you don't go.

Here again are my recommendations for today:

It Might Be OK - 2:00 PM
Sex, Dreams, and Self Control! - 4:30PM
Guns and Chickens - 5:00PM
Cinema Fantastique - 8:00PM
April Fools - 8:30PM
7 (x1) Samurai - 8:30PM
Assholes and Aureoles 9:15PM

Go to www.cincyfringe.com for all of the details.

2 Days of the Cincinnati Fringe Festival Left

There are two days left of Cincinnati Fringe Festival remaining and a ton of great shows to see. The Conveyor has show reviews. Here are shows that top my list and the times they are showing:

Friday:
The Edge - 7:00PM
4 Food Groups - 7:30PM
Gravesongs - 8:30PM
Empire of Feathers - 9:00PM
April Fools - 9:00PM
KAZ/m - 9:00PM
The Success Show - 9:15PM
7 (x1) Samurai - 9:15PM

Saturday
It Might Be OK - 2:00 PM
Sex, Dreams, and Self Control! - 4:30PM
Guns and Chickens - 5:00PM
Cinema Fantastique - 8:00PM
April Fools - 8:30PM
7 (x1) Samurai - 8:30PM
Assholes and Aureoles 9:15PM

See as many as you can and then hit the Underground at the Know Theatre for the Awards Show and finale party.

Who Would You Honor?

The Hamilton County Board of Commissioners is considering inviting five "local civil rights pioneers" to enjoy the Civil Rights Game from the county's suite at Great American Ballpark.

Here's my question:  which local, living civil rights figure would you choose?  I certainly have my own preferences, which I'll keep to myself for now.

We'll Always Have Paris....

Well, I won't. Some of you may always have Paris, but I just wasn't hip enough to have heard the Paris-Hilton-is-coming-to-Cincinnati gossip.

It turns out she spent last night right next door to my apartment building. I couldn't figure out why Bang had a bigger-than-usual Wednesday night crowd, but now I know.

I've previously mentioned here that when Bang opened two years ago, I confidently predicted its quick demise. I figured it'd last about six months. I was wrong, and ultimately I'm glad I was. Even though I'm not young enough, pretty enough, or rich enough to be Bang's target audience, Cincinnati needs places like Bang and Bootsy's. (It also needs places like Madonna's and Nicholson's and Jefferson Hall (come back, J-Hall!); my point is that a diversity of club/bar atmospheres is a good thing.)

When the restaurant being built next to Bang (Boss Cox's) fell through, I wondered if Bang's owners were running out of cash. Apparently not: they're relaunching Bang as new club called Lush later this summer. (At least, I hope this is a real re-launch, and not simply a way to close up shop entirely without being embarassed about doing so.)

Paris: if you're still in town, give me a call or shoot me a text message. We'll hang out.

Cincinnatians Embark On Civil Rights Bike Ride (6/4 Bump and Update)

Originally posted 6/2/09.

Today, Cincinnati civil rights attorney Al Gerhardstein embarked on a 1200-mile bicycle ride from Mobile, Alabama, with his daughter, Jessica. Riding a tandem bike, the two intend to trace the Underground Railroad on their way back home to Cincinnati. They plan to arrive in time for the June 20 Civil Rights Game between the Reds and the White Sox.

You can follow Al and Jessica's journey on their blog, Civil Rights Bike Ride. As Jessica explains in her inaugural post, they are riding to raise money and awareness for the Ohio Justice and Policy Center. For those of you not paying attention, for some time now, OJPC has been leading the way in local criminal justice reform efforts. Most recently, OJPC has been working to eliminate the City's blanket prohibition on hiring convicted felons. Donation links are available either at the CRBR blog or OJPC's website (here's a direct link).

And if any of you are questioning whether a desk-bound attorney in his late fifties in really going to slog through a 1200-mile bike ride just as summer starts to heat up, don't worry about it. Four years ago, Al spent his summer vacation riding from the West Coast to the East Coast.

If you want to join in the fun, a group ride is planned on June 20 at 9:00 am, from Pendrey Park in Melbourne, Kentucky, to Sawyer Point. The suggested donation for the ride is $20, and there'll be help available to get you back to your car, if necessary. (The group ride anticipates people riding their own bikes, not one, really long tandem bicycle.)

UPDATE: Al has made his first appearance on the blog. I gave pretty short shrift to explaining OJPC's mission or the purpose of Al and Jessica's ride. Al does a better job:

Read about OJPC. Quietly OJPC is challenging the status quo. A prison population that is 50% black is intolerable. A prison population that exceeds 55,000 in this state is intolerable. Treating as criminal many acts that are driven by drug dependence is intolerable. Sweeping into the criminal system drug addicts and mentally ill folks and then doing little to help them conquer their underlying problem is intolerable.

Go read the whole post. It's well worth the time.

36 Reasons Streetcars Are Better Than Buses

There are more than 36, I am sure, but the Cincy-Streetcar Blog has the list.

Totally Random Observation

Did anyone else know that in El Paso, Texas, there's a group of bars and clubs known as the "Cincinnati Entertainment District?" Apparently, it's so named because the bars are either on or near Cincinnati Avenue....

Another Transportation Alternative

A few weeks ago, a friend suggested a blog post topic: the need for some sort of transportation service that connects Cincinnati's entertainment districts. She was right. We really could use a shuttle or bus that connects downtown, Mt. Lookout/Hyde Park/Oakley, Mt. Adams, Clifton (perhaps), Northern Kentucky, and wherever people gather west of Vine Street (I'm kidding, West Siders....please no effigy burnings today!). This isn't an alternative to the streetcar, since the streetcar, even if it happens, will only connect Clifton and downtown. When we talked about it, I thought the most likely provider of such a service would be Metro, but that there'd be a lot of red tape to cut through at SORTA to make it happen.

My blog rantings have been pretty sporadic lately, and I never got around to it. But a couple weeks ago, this same friend linked to a new business on her Facebook page. It sounds intriguing: the CincyZipLine. They hope to open this July and aim to provide transportation to and from "designated hot spots" for three bucks per person on Friday and Saturday nights.

Cincy ZipLine is apparently too hip for an actual website, but they do have a Twitter feed and a FB page. My initial reaction is that it's a good idea. It reminds me of what, in college, we lovingly referred to as "the drunk van," a convenient way to get to and from establishments where alcohol is consumed without risking an OVI or worrying about parking. Of course, it appears that ZipLine will only ferry you between bars and clubs, and you'll be on your own to get home, but it's still provides a service presently lacking in the city.

Hamburger Mary's To Reopen

Great news for Cincinnati Hamburger Mary's is reopening this summer at the same location (909 Vine St.).