GOP Heavy CincyPAC?

The voting is on for the members CincyPAC for the endorsements of Mayor, Council, and School Board. I've seen the CincyPAC Board of Directors' recommendation list and it surprisingly includes 3 endorsed Republicans and 2 very conservative endorsed Democrats. I am surprised this organization's leadership went that Conservative. For members of CincyPAC the voting is open until the 20th and the final slate will be announced at their big event on Saturday. It will be very interesting to see how the voting actually turns out, since the three Republicans have been negative on the Streetcar, but provide a 'maybe in the future' answer that gives a false impression of where their current position actually puts them on the Streetcars, which is against it.

It will be also be interesting to see how progressive the CincyPAC rank and file members actually are. The group I believe is very progressive on social issues, but on an economic front I don't sense an as progressive bent. The vote will tell.

Gotta Love Northside

Where else in world can you have your Brunch served by the lead singer of a really great band, then go buy her band's latest CD at the city's best record store?

Boo! Fixxed!

It is not humanly possible for the best bar in Cincinnati to be a bar I've never been to. Someone at the Cincinnati Man has some explaining to do!

Cable TV Bleg

Cincinnati Bell came a-knocking today, trying to sell me on their fiber-optic service. Their price for cable, phone, and internet beats Time-Warner.

I'm particularly interested in the television aspect of the service. (I've had Cincinnati Bell phone service before and used Zoomtown in a business environment.) Anyone have any experience with their cable service--either good or bad--that they'd like to share?

COAST Wrong, Again

The Provost at The Phony Coney details how COAST's Mark Miller wrongly tried to revise history.

Also, 5chw4r7z asks a great follow-up question to Mark (I paraphrase): If John Schneider is wrong and Miller is not the only COAST officer to live within the City of Cincinnati, then what other officers do? My additional question would be: what percentage of the COAST membership lives inside the City?

Has the FOP President Read This?

I don't like suggesting reading material for other people, but it would be a good thing for FOP President, Kathy Harrell, to read this new article. She might learn a valuable lesson.

A Plan That Falls Short

I can give Tony Fischer credit for being the only candidate for office to put forth his own plan to save more police officer positions. His play sorely likes in details on how departments are going to cut 10% of non-payroll. Additionally, how does one transfer a whole function to the county without the county paying for it? The translation is that his plan wipes out building inspection in the city, it just will not happen, the county can't pick up the slack without funding, which it doesn't have. If Tony wanted to make the politically difficult choices, like his press release suggest, he might look to trim the fat in the police department. In case people forgot, we survived a riot with fewer police than we have now. The issue is not the number of police, is issue is how we deploy the forces we have.

Additionally, and most importantly, his numbers don't cover the full shortfall. There is another 413,000 needed to reach the level of filled full time positions needing to be cut to meet the 28 million dollar gap.This doesn't even consider if the non-payroll levels listed by Fischer are above and beyond other non-payroll cuts provided by City Managers Plan. Fischer has taken a step, but it falls short and is incomplete. He is trading FOP votes for building safety. I don't see that being a fair trade.

UPDATE: Councilmember Laketa Cole tears the Fischer plan into shreds.

Was There a Blue Flu?

Did the FOP or any of it's members stage a "sick-out" over the weekend? The Chief thinks they did and is pissed and is making it known. It is a widely held belief that in 2001 the FOP staged a work slow down as a means of political and/or social retribution for the black eye they took after the Thomas shooting and resulting riots.

If the police union is conducting any type of blue-flu, then how many layoffs can be preempted with justified firings? If any police officer is not serious about doing their job, they should save us all some trouble by quitting now.

It's Downtown Restaurant Week

I love the idea of exploring Downtown's many varied Restaurants. For the price of $35 you can find some deals at some of the higher-end places. This is a good month to do it, from the perspective of business, where August is generally considered a slow month, where many people travel. I have not made plans of where I would like to go, but I am starting to think about it and would like suggestions on where, likely on Wednesday or Thursday. Anyone have thoughts?

(If you predict how fast it takes for the first snotty anti-city comment, then you may when a special prize.)

Another Place to Watch Soccer

Molly Malone's in Covington appears to be the place to watch soccer in Northern Kentucky, both the US Nation Team and the English League.

Buried Treasure

It would appear that lawyers for the FOP and CODE for some reason believe the City has buried treasure somewhere in city, likely they will claim it's in OTR. I don't know where else they could hide it. I wonder if X still marks the spot and I wonder how long before I see a bunch of cops with shovels roaming up and down Vine Street.

Layoff Battle Doesn't Have Clear Heroes Or Villains

Well, there's one clear villain. But it's not human. We'll get to that in a minute.

This is a rare instance in which I disagree with Blogdaddy Griff. The current fight in Cincinnati over the city manager's proposal to lay off 138 police officers--over ten percent of the uniformed complement--is not one where the folks in white hats are easy to sort from those wearing black hats. There's merit to both sides of the dispute, and plenty of blame to go around for our leaders' apparent inability to handle the current economic crisis in a manner that inspires the confidence of the citizenry.

First, what do we know? Milton Dohoney has announced that he'll order the layoff of 138 uniformed police officers. But he says he has a plan to do so that will not reduce the size of any district's complement or affect "street strength," commonly understood as the number of officers on patrol. In the last few days, we've heard some officials say publicly that the Vortex unit would be effected or altogether eliminated in the layoff. I'm not sure why this is surprising. Anyone with even a limited understanding of CPD's organization understood that if officers were being cut but district force levels weren't being impacted, the layoffs had to be in non-district-based units, like Vortex. I don't think Vortex has 138 uniformed officers (I could be wrong), so you have to wonder about the status of other units, such as Vice, Special Events, and others.

Next, why has this turned into such a mess? Frankly, the process foisted upon the City by its own charter is the real culprit. In this pandemonium, we see the problems with a manager form of government. Milton Dohoney has never stood for election in Cincinnati, yet he's the one empowered to make all the decisions. The Mayor can't do it, and Council's budget votes turn into advisory statements of policy rather than legislation with the force of law. As I've previously argued, Cincinnati should have a truly executive mayor. Under the current system, the real power lies with an appointed (in other words, unelected) official. I don't doubt Mohoney's competence, integrity, or sincerity. But a city our size should be led by an elected mayor, not a politically-insulated manager.

The structure created by the charter created the chaos of the last week. City councilmembers have been free to do anything they want because they all realize that their actions don't matter. That means that the Dems on Council were free to do as they did: shrug their shoulders at the thought of laying off that many officers and and defer to the expertise of the City Manager. Similarly, the Republicans on Council were free to launch bottle rockets in the general direction of Dohoney without proposing any real alternative. An alternative proposal, by the way, does not have to find $28 million in cuts; instead, those who oppose police layoffs need find only an additional about $3 million, the amount to be saved this year by laying off police.

Even within the flawed process created by the charter, though, some of our leaders could have behaved better. Mayor Mallory was wrong to stifle debate at the Wednesday council meeting. That meeting was the only scheduled session prior to Labor Day. That meant that had the mayor had his way, the public would have had no opportunity to weigh in on the proposed cuts before they were enacted. And Council would have had no opportunity to publicly question the Manager about the necessity and breadth of the cuts. That's bad government.

Leslie Ghiz and Chris Monzel were right to call a special meeting of Council. Their action permitted the public, as well as Council, to be heard on the manager's proposal. Public debate is not grandstanding; it is political discourse, and essential to the healthy functioning of a representative democracy. If you disagree with NAACP/COAST's excessive referendum efforts (as I do, even though I do not support the streetcar), then you must favor a transparent decision-making process by our elected officials. For representative democracy to work, we must have access to our elected officials, and they must have open, public debates that explain their decision-making to their constituents.

Finally, what about the merits of the decision? When I first saw the numbers, I was aghast. 208 full-time positions are being eliminated city-wide. 138 of those--or 66%--are uniformed officers. No one (or at least no rational person) expected the police department to be entirely spared. Had 20, 30, or even 50 police layoffs been proposed, I'd have not been surprised. But the scope of the layoffs was startling, and immediately struck me as the position the administration would take if it were playing a game of chicken with the FOP. The problem with this particular game of chicken, though, is that the FOP has no reason to swerve. They take issues with the priorities the City has set. But more understandably, the City has been unwilling to give them any assurances about the 2010 budget. Why should the FOP give back bargained-for benefits if their members only keep their jobs for the next four months?

And regardless of whether the end result of the current dilemma is 1 layoff or 138, it is (and should be treated as) a sad decision by the City. The officers to be laid off will be young officers, fresh out of the academy. These are individuals who made a decision to serve the residents of the City; many are people who could have done what many others their own age did and left the region in pursuit of other professional opportunities. Their decision to stay and to serve and protect should be honored, and we should not make light of a decision to add them to the unemployed in our region.

As long as we have a weak mayor and an overly strong city manager, Cincinnatians will be spectators to overly dramatic but non-productive political theater. But the players in that theater need to behave like adults, something almost all of them forgot this past week.

Brad's Gone Fishin'

So, the Republican Mayoral candidate, Brad Wenstrup, has time to read the Mayor and Council's emails, but he doesn't have time to provide a detailed budget that fills the $28 million deficit? I mean just last week he was complaining about the need to save cops jobs, but now he is off the deep end with a new attack on the Mayor. It appears Brad can play politics, but doesn't know the first thing about running a government.  He cares more about winning an election, than about letting the Mayor do his job by balancing the budget.  What a complete political tool, being led around by the non-city Republicans who care more about tearing down the city, than helping it grow. To make matters worse it seems Wenstrup is now taking his lead from Chris Smitherman, wow, that's a doozy of a move.

Enquirer Takes Down COAST's 'Poison Pill'

Readers of this blog have known that COAST's effort to destroy any type of rail plan was clear in their actions and their language of the anti-passenger rail charter amendment. The Enquirer has reached a similar conclusion.

Where is the Republican Budget Plan?

The last 24 hours have seen the City Republican council members, candidates for council/mayor, and conservative activists all blatantly Grandstand, stomp their feet like children, over the tough decision, the kind leaders and adults make, to cut 319 city jobs. Where is their Plan? What is preventing any of the Republican leaders sitting down and coming up a list of cuts they would make instead of those outlined, especially the 138 jobs from the Police Department they are apparently claiming they wouldn't cut if elected? The city manager listed in detail how he would reduce the 28 million to zero. There are a few gray areas left to fill, but the big numbers and big cuts are on the table. You don't get that from the likes of Leslie Ghiz, Chris Monzel, Brad Wenstrup or local GOP hack supreme Alex Triantafilou. All of these Republicans are Grandstanding and misleading the public on what these cuts means, which they don't really know, and don't know what can be done to offset the reductions.

So now is their chance: put up or shut up! If you claim you can make things happen, then do it! Post it here, email me, or hell put it up on anyone's website. Just stop making the false claims and promises you know you can't keep.

The New Outlet Mall: Be Wary

Cincinnati's traditional media are agog over tomorrow's grand opening of Cincinnati Premium Outlets (here's the Enquirer's coverage). The media coverage--almost at a frenzied pitch--interests me, largely because I'm in the midst of reading Ellen Ruppel Shell's new book, Cheap: the High Cost of Discount Culture. I suspect that in the next few months, I'll succumb to the temptation and visit the new outlet mall. But Ruppel Shell's chapter on outlet malls ("The Outlet Gambit") should be required reading for anyone who can't wait to grab the kids, hop in the car, and drive out to Monroe.

Ruppel Shell argues forcibly that when we go to the outlet malls, we're not really getting the deal we think we are. There's two reasons for this. First, the outlets tend to use exaggerated reference prices to convince us we're getting a better bargain than we really are. (You know what I'm talking about: those price tags that say something like, "Normally: $1,000, Your Price: $1.50.) Second (and perhaps more nefarious), the merchandise offered at an outlet often isn't the same as what's offered in a department store. Does the price on a bag at the Coach outlet seem great? Sure. But that same bag is probably not offered at a regular Coach store. In fact, Ruppel Shell tells us, about eighty percent of the stuff at Coach outlets is lower quality merchandise manufactured specifically for the outlet store.

Perhaps most interesting is Ruppel Shell's discussion of the geographic placement of outlet malls. They always seem to be a not insignificant distance from urban areas. Doesn't it strike anyone else as a bit cheeky that a shopping center outside the I-275 belt--more than a half-hour's drive from downtown--appropriates the name "Cincinnati"? This is all no accident, but instead helps the outlet perpetuate a certain atmosphere:

Generally [the location of an outlet mall] is a long drive from any particular population center--25 to 100 miles outside the metropolitan shadows, where real estate is cheap and the tax incentives sweet. . . . But the remote location of outlets is not merely a defensive, cost-saving maneuver. It is also a deliberate strategy. In the public mind, convenience is a trade-off for price, and price is traded off for convenience. Inconvenience connotes cheap, while convenience connotes pricey. . . . In a very real sense, outlets are the anticonvenience store. Visiting the outlets demands an investment in time, deliberation, and energy beyond what we invest in most other leisure activities. And because the effort to reach and shop at them is substantial, even extraordinary, the experience of going to the outlet is elevated in our minds to "special occasion" status. . . . The mall has extracted a price, and in demanding repayment, we are in fact taxing ourselves. Our expectations are raised at the same time that our guard is lowered, and in making this bargain we are willing to forgo many things that we once demanded from a satisfying shopping experience: variety, serendipity, aspiration--and fun.

(Cheap, p. 91.) I'm not suggesting that you shouldn't go to the outlet mall. I'm just saying that when you do, go with your eyes open.

Lead By Cooperation, Not Conflict and Blame

I am fairly flabbergasted at the conservative members/candidates of/for city council, at least the one's I was able to follow on Twitter today during the Council meeting.  Honestly I don't know if they are playing ignorant on purpose or are so hot headed to make a mockery out of democratic governance.  Ghiz, Murray, Monzel, Cordrey et al are up in arms about the Mayor shutting down discussion on job cuts.  When the unions are making noises that might consider making more concessions in place of layoffs, why would any City official want to start taking about ideas that the unions could do during an open session?  Why not wait to hear what the Union has to say, or more importantly willing to say, behind closed doors. Then try and negotiate with the unions for a better solution than layoffs.  Getting one’s dander up and putting on a show for “the public” might get you more Westside votes, Leslie (who I single out as one who should know better), it will not reduce the number of layoffs in the police department. Instead, stop campaigning for a little while, and start leading by example through cooperation and team work WITH the Mayor and the rest of Council. Blame is a game used by those who when times are tough, lack the courage to get in the batter's box and take a swing, instead of trying to push the other team under the bus.

City Job Cuts: Over 300

WLWT has the known details on the job cuts, which includes 138 from the police department, but none from the fire department. In his memo the city manager stresses that the number of police on patrol is not being cut. It is not clear what functions are being cut. It would be helpful if sitting council members, council candidates, and activists DO NOT push the panic button. Nothing shows a lack of leadership more than using fear as a political tactic on an issue like public safety. More to come later. If you have facts with valid sources, share them. Keep you rumors and baseless speculation to yourself.

Uncivilized Teabaggers Are Parrots

This article plays down the report I got from an attendee that those heckling Congressman Steve Driehaus were spouting talking points, literally. The "Harassment Policy" as posited in Washington Monthly's Political Animal yesterday sums up the tactics and play book being used by the GOP and its many fronts. This is another example of how the Teabaggers, the new collective term used for GOP activists, are not grassroots people, they are organized by the party and its affiliated groups. The article even quotes one of the so called activists who doesn't even live in Driehaus's district, she from Anderson Township. I guess she is willing to travel into the scary city to spout propaganda. Here is her quote right from a talking point and has nothing original in it:

“I think the bill as presented is going to eliminate a competitive market and the private insurance industry.”

In other words: "Raymond Shaw is the kindest, bravest, warmest, most wonderful human being I've ever known in my life."

Great Business Courier Editorial

In case you missed it, please have read of a great editorial from the Courier's Publisher Doug Bolton. This gives one of the best layman's take as to why we need the Streetcars. Being bold is exactly what we need and those opposing streetcars have nothing to replace this bold idea, at least noting that will actually have a positive impact on the city.

For those without a subscription, CityKin has the whole editorial.

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

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

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

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

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

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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.