No Charges For Running Over Alleged Thief

Anthony Stone, who ran over and killed an alleged Thief with his truck, will not face charges for his actions, so says Joe Deters, Hamilton County Prosecutor.

With the information presented, Stone would not have been convicted if tried. If witnesses state the alleged thief had a gun and was aiming at Stone and shot at him, then self defense is plausible. I hope evidence was found that the alleged thief did fire his gun.

It still appears like there is more to this case. How did Tyree Henderson happen to pick this person to allegedly rob her? According to the article, police are asking the same question:

Deters said that, although Stone has been cleared, Cincinnati police are continuing to investigate why Henderson targeted Sherry Doud, the woman with Stone.

Someone else likely was involved in this incident, and that person or persons may lead to a common link between the victim and the alleged thief. That puts this crime not into a random theft category, but instead into target crime, something that law enforcement and the public can do little but react when it happens.

In Your Face, Brinkman!!!!!!

Anti-gay bigot, activist, and State Representative Tom Brinkman took one on the chin yesterday when Butler County Common Pleas Court dismissed his lawsuit against Miami University for offering domestic partner medical insurance.

An End to the Sheriff's Patrol of OTR?

The County may be playing the same game as the Mayor's office, but the expectations are that the budget to be submitted ends the program that paid for the the Sheriff's patrol in Over-the-Rhine.

All the impressions I get are that OTR is better off. With violent crime spreading out to other neighborhoods, there is circumstantial evidence that this effort has worked to clean out some of the crime in OTR.

I hope that Pepper and Portune pull a Mallory and rescue this program. Hell, DeWine wants it to continue as well.

Nordstrom Coming to Cincinnati

A press release report states that Nordstrom has signed a deal to open a new store in Kenwood. The report indicates it will be a two floor location in the Kenwood Town Center where the Parisian store is now. It is set to open in 2009.

Count Every Vote

Let no vote go uncounted. The fight for Vic Wulsin to overcome the lead of Schmidt is still a long shot, but it is so very sad to see the news media publishing fool's letters complaining about the election process existing.

I hate to tell Doreen Isett of Loveland, but she really needs to quit her whining. Her Dragon Queen may yet win the Ohio 2nd District, but keep your bitching and moaning in check until all of the votes have been counted.

Morton's Steakhouse Moving to 5th and Vine

Morton's Steakhouse will move its current 4th Street Carew Tower location to a new location in the tower at 5th and Vine across from Fountain Square.

Downtown is just "Dead", ain't it? (cough, cough)

Mallory Alters Budget

Where was the disconnect between what Milton Dohoney issued a couple of weeks ago and then what Mayor Mallory proposed today?

Doesn't the City Manager report to the Mayor? It's like Mallory didn't have any input on what was announced. If that is standard practice, I'll stand corrected, but it just appears odd. Mallory now looks to have done 2 things, caved into certain groups or come to their rescue. He couldn't have done both, but to some people it will look like he caved and to others it will look like he came to the rescue. The game looks transparent, but will it matter?

CEA Winners

Congratulations to all who won and to those who were just happy to be there.

Speaking of being there, if you made it out to the ceremony last night, let me know how it was. A group from Cincinnati Advance headed out, but I bailed and stayed home.

Scarface

This episode from Friday Night sounds like something right out of a movie.

I Guess We Need Fashion Police

I am not one who dresses well, but it appears the local fashion community needs policing, and likely more than one police officer to do it.

Millworks in Oakley Still on Track

Not much as been said about the Millworks project for a while, but word has come out that the project has landed a deal for a new Movie Theater tenant. According to the article the project "could" start next summer and finish in the summer of 2008.

This should be a council issue next year. How about firming up some dates on this? How about firming up the construction of the proposed I-71 exit upgrade?

Budget Forum

Will the Mayor and Council members hear what the people are saying or will they hear what "4th Street" is saying?

Why Not Annex the "First Suburbs"?

Chris Bortz and Pat DeWine are making efforts to mix City and County services. This smells a lot like the first step in the dissolution of the County's municipalities. If places like St. Bernard, Elmwood Place, and Norwood are in trouble, then why don't they ask the City of Cincinnati to annex them and take advantage of the cost savings in that manner?

What I fear here is the anti-government forces out there trying to make Hamilton County into one big Township and a government with no teeth to do anything.

I would consider a metro type government that created a county wide city. That entity would have an even partisan stance, if not a slight edge for Republicans. That might suck on certain levels, but it would be one where the government would still have the structure to allow a city to function.

Greg Harris Running for City Council

CityBeat is reporting that former Congressional Candidate Greg Harris will run in 2007 for Cincinnati City Council. Greg is a great candidate and has a great chance to get on council. I love this early idea has as expressed in the CityBeat article:

I also see a strong need to create a seamless public transit grid to unify and support the emergence of a central entertainment corridor that unifies The Banks, downtown, Over-the-Rhine, UC, Clifton, Northside, etc.

I would throw in Mt. Adams to that entertainment corridor.

City Budget

Well, cuts are fairly wide spread, but how will it look in the end?

Crying Wolf?

I will believe it when I see Nordstrom's open and taking sales in Kenwood.

Two Nerds Enter, One Nerd Leaves

The battle of words at Jean-Ro Bistro ending before someone was taken to the hospital, thankfully egos were not so lucky and both suffered a near fatal blows. Luckily the glasses survived!

2007 City Council Race Is On

We are less than a year from Cincinnati City Council's make-up being on the ballot. We are already getting comments on who will be running for office.

We know Tarbell can't, so at least one new person will join council in 2007. Who else has the public service bug?

Another Strange Occurance

While I hate and despise robbers, I don't believe killing them under these circumstances is a good thing. I can't imagine the man who hit the robber with this truck likely would be convicted of anything but fairly minor offenses, if he is charged.

New Radio in Town

The much hyped format switch for 94.9 FM took place yesterday and produced what is being called a "Hybrid" station targeting 25 to 34 year olds with more taste in rock music than WEBN provides. The station is billed as "The Sound." I've heard a little bit of it so far and I like a large portion. It is going to have a wide mix, so people are going to have to either accept it and broaden their tastes or be like me and just use the pre-sets in the car more often. Yea, some of you will stick to your CDs and I-pods, as I do, but I still like the sense of a live over the air radio station.

New Local Blog

Want a different perspective on culture? Check out The Managed Expectations of Three Cincinnati Women for a take from three locals discussing life, ideas, and what ever else comes to mind.

Smoking Ban Wins

December 7th is the day the ban goes into effect. Will this hurt bars in Cincinnati and Ohio? One bar owner says it hasn't hurt him yet:

Nick Sanders, owner of five restaurants locally, including the Pub at Crestview Hills Town Center in Northern Kentucky, Nicholson's downtown and the Pub at Rookwood Commons in Norwood, said he will be watching closely. He owns a restaurant in Lexington, which enacted a smoking ban in 2003, and said that law didn't change sales much.

In the short run, there may be some problems, but I don't know about the long term. Thoughts? Will an outdoor patio now become the norm for a bar?

Oh Yea, Dems Win Big!

I left early this morning on business, so I haven't blogged on the news but the Dems won the Senate and the House! Locally Pepper Won, and on a state level the Dems won really big.

Wulsin Not Conceding

In the race of the OH-2 the fat lady is not singing. The dragon lady is singing, but she should hold her tongue until all the votes are counted.

2 Precincts Missing

The Enquirer and BOE seem to be making this into no big deal, but two precincts in the City of Cincinnati have not been tallied and are missing. The article indicates that that the BOE states these missing votes won't affect the results of any races. That is true only if these are part of OH-1, not OH-2. 13-H is in North Avondale and Precinct 6-B in Downtown. I am pretty sure 6-B is in OH-1, but not sure about 13-H.

At this early hour no other reports were online concerning the missing precincts. If this was something as simple as the poll workers locking up the poll location without turning in the votes, then that is understandable (someone should be banned from working the polls), but if not, when does the BOE call the police? What cause much concern is that there are two locations not near each other.

If this was an error at the BOE, then I hope they stayed to account for the vote before they went home. The BOE should not sleep if it is possible anyone's vote could have been literally stolen.

Hamilton County Vote Counting Delays

I hope we get more of an explanation than we got here as to why it took so long to have votes counted here in Hamilton County. Ohio held reporting any results until 9PM because polls up in Cleveland remained open, but why did Hamilton County not have any votes counted by then and not until about 10 PM?

The Candidate Doesn't Know How To Vote

Well which is it going to be? Is the Steve chabot an idiot for not knowing what was needed to vote or is this an example of how people will not vote because of the foolish ID requirement? How many people are going to go home and get a phone bill when their Diver's license isn't good enough?

I can tell you that many will not!

When I re-read the SOS website it actually quotes the ID law:

R.C. 3505.18(A)
Voters must bring identification to the polls in order to verify identity. Identification may include a current and valid photo identification, a military identification that shows the voter's name and current address, or a copy of a current utility bill, bank statement, government check, paycheck, or other government document, other than a reminder or a voter registration notification, that shows the voter's name and current address. Voters who do not provide one of these documents will still be able to vote by providing the last four digits of the voter's social security number and by casting a provisional ballot.

Voters who do not have any of the above forms of identification, including a social security number, will still be able to vote by signing an affirmation swearing to the voter's identity under penalty of election falsification and by casting a provisional ballot.

If you have a valid driver's license, why does your address have to match? That doesn't appear in the law on that website. Who made the interpretation that a matching address on a driver’s license is required?

Finally, this report indicates that a poll worker may have violated the law by denying use of a military ID.

WCPO Staffer Challenged by Pollworkers

The Enquirer Politics Blog is reporting that a WCPO videographer was "challenged" by poll workers at 6:30 AM today after he shot video of Jean Schmidt voted. Poll workers cited a law regarding polling procedures.

It is unclear what the "challenged" meant. I am not sure if they kept him from filming or were claiming he could not use the film he shot. WCPO is reportedly going to air the footage.

Clear Channel owned WKRC was able to film Jean Schmidt and aired it on TV.

[Hat tip to Atrios]


UPDATE: Further down on the Enquirer blog they report that an Enquirer Reporter and Photographer where threatened with arrest in Butler county when trying to interview and photograph John Boehner as he voted.

Report from Cranley Campaign

The Cranley Campaign reports that things going "smoothly at the polls... better than expectations."

They also stated John Cranley has hit College Hill, Mt. Airy, and Wyoming already this morning and that there are reports of "very high turnout" in Avondale and College Hilll.

WCPO Voting Stories

WCPO has reports on experiences voting, including a problem Jean Schmidt had.

Live Blogging the Election

Brandan at Spacetropic.com will be live blogging throughout the day.

I will not be, but as I said will be posting as much as possible. If anyone else locally is live blogging election day, email me and I'll post a link.

Go Vote!!!!!

I'll be chiming in throughout the day with comments and news. The Enquirer has a special section that will have their updated news.

If you have stories or run into problems voting, please comment on them here or email them to be and I'll share the information as appropriate.

Take your ID with your when you vote, and you can still vote without ID, but you must complete an affidavit and complete a provisional ballot. For the ID requirements, please check out the SOS website.

Who's Anti-Religious?

So when Democrats espouse their religious beliefs they are attacked as paying lip service.

This type of blog post shows a clear sense of religious bigotry. It’s extreme, rather hateful, and very unchristian.

A Marketing Niche Story

What if you were doing a local story on Chile Parlors and you didn't mention Camp Washington Chili? That is what was done with this article by ignoring coffeehouses like Kaldi's, Sitwell's, and Baba Budan's. Those are community coffeehouses like no others in this city. Throw in Lookout Joe's and Sidewinder too.

Enquirer Endorses Silver

I missed this from Friday, but the Enquirer backed Steve Silver for the 34th District. Brinkman couldn't even find the time to show up for an interview. More evidence of his arrogance and inability to work with anyone who he disagrees with, which ends up being nearly everyone.

The Enquirer also endorsed Hale over Dale Mallory for the 32 District.

Wulsin's Final Ad

Smith for Ohio Senate

Cincinnati Fed Up with the GOP?

The numbers for both the 1st and 2nd district indicate that Cincinnati is not voting for the GOP in the numbers that the past would indicate.

Good old CW would say that the polls are wrong. Well, one poll maybe, but there are far too many polls showing Cranley up and any poll showing Wulsin has to be a sign that the GOP has lost support. Much of that support may not be gone for any significant length of time, but this election people want change.

The question that remains is how far down the food chain will this trend run? Will it hit the statehouse? Will Brinkman feel the bite? Logic I feel says no. Hardcore Brinkman supporters are likely to vote against Jean Schmidt in a protest vote, but will vote for Brinkman as well, splitting their ticket. Will ticket splitting be the norm or will people vote by party?

Dem Sweep in Ohio?

Kos is pointing to Dispatch poll that indicates huge leads in every statewide race.

I think for Governor and for Senator, most agree the Dems will win, but will the Dems take the rest of the statewide offices?

If the Dems do take everything statewide, what does that do to Ohio for the Presidential race in 2008? Does the GOP write off the state now and focus on Pennsylvania or Wisconsin? Do the Dems focus on Virginia if Webb wins?

My Picks For Tuesday's Election

Office	My Picks/Analysis
Governor/Lt Governor; State of Ohio
Larry Bay/Debra K. Fries, Independent (Write-In)
J. Kenneth Blackwell/Thomas Raga, Republican
Robert Fitrakis/Anita Rios, Independent
William S. Peirce/Mark M. Noble, Independent
Ted Strickland/Lee Fisher, Democratic	Will and Should Win
James Lundeen/Kevin Becker (Write-In)
Attorney General; State of Ohio
Marc Dann, Democratic	Should Win
Betty Montgomery, Republican	Will Win
Auditor of State; State of Ohio
Barbara Sykes, Democratic	Will and Should Win
Mary Taylor, Republican
Secretary of State; State of Ohio
Greg Hartmann, Republican
John A. Eastman, Independent
Jennifer L. Brunner, Democratic	Will and Should Win
Timothy J. Kettler, Independent
Treasurer of State; State of Ohio
Sandra O'Brien, Republican
Richard Cordray, Democratic	Will and Should Win
US Representative; OH District 1	Too Close to Call
John Cranley, Democratic	Should Win
Steve Chabot, Republican
US Representative; OH District 2	Too Close to Call
Nathon Noy (Write-In)
James J. Condit, Jr. (Write-In)
Jean Schmidt, Republican
Victoria Wulsin, Democratic	Should Win
United States Senate - Ohio
Sherrod Brown, Democratic	Will and Should Win
Richard Duncan, Independent (Write-In)
Mike DeWine, Republican
OhioState Representative; District 34
Stephen E. Silver, Democratic	Should Win
Tom Brinkman, Jr., Republican	Will Win
Ohio State Senator; District 7
Rick Smith, Democratic	Should Win
Robert Schuler, Republican	Will Win
Judge; Ohio State Supreme Court; 6 Year Term Starting 1/1/07	No Idea Who'll Win
William Michael O'Neill	Should Win
Terrence O'Donnell
Judge; Ohio State Supreme Court; 6 Year Term Starting 1/2/07	No Idea Who'll Win
Robert R. Cupp
Ben Espy	Should Win
Judge; Ohio State Court of Appeals; District 1; 6 Year Term Starting 2/9/07
Mark Painter	Will and Should Win
Judge; Ohio State Court of Appeals; District 1; 6 Year Term Starting 2/10/07
Patrick Dinkelacker	No Idea Who'll Win
James T. O'Reilly
Judge; Ohio State Court of Appeals; District 1; 6 Year Term Starting 2/11/07
J. Howard Sundermann, Jr.	Will Win, duh!
Judge; Ohio State Court of Appeals; District 1; 6 Year Term Starting 2/12/07
Penelope Cunningham	Will Win, duh!
Judge; Court of Common Pleas, General Division; 6 Year Term Starting 1/1/07 other sites
Steve Martin	Will Win, duh!
Judge; Court of Common Pleas, General Division; 6 Year Term Starting 04/01/07 (2 Elected)
Dennis S. Helmick
William L. Mallory, Jr.	Will and Should Win
Judge; Court of Common Pleas, General Division; Unexpired 6 Year Term Ending 02/08/09
Robert C. Winkler
Judge; Court of Common Pleas, Juvenile Division
Karla Grady	Will Win, duh!
Member; State Board of Education; District 4	No Idea Who'll Win
G. R. Schloemer
John Hritz
County Commissioner ; County of Hamilton
Phil Heimlich, Republican
David Pepper, Democratic	Will and Should Win
County Auditor ; County of Hamilton
Dusty Rhodes , Democratic	Dino Dusty Will Not Get My Vote

DeWine Desperate

"It's Bad" Those are DeWine's own words. He is right, what he did on Hardball is really bad. When you stoop to this level of crap, you reveal your desperation for power. Mike DeWine was not a bad Senator. This episode goes along way to make he a horrible Senator.


[Via Eschaton]

CCV Voting Guide

If you want a laugh, check out Phil Burress's GOP HandoutVoter Guide for my zipcode.

Virtually none of the Democrats returned the survey. I don't blame them, but how is this any kind of objective guide?

Wulsin Leading Schmidt

Another Poll has Dr. Wulsin leading Jean Schmidt in the race for the Ohio 2nd, 48% to 45% (7 % undecided) This is within the MOE (4%), but if Jean is not getting 50% in the rest of the polls for this race, she is seriously in trouble.

If Wulsin takes this seat, I think most people would agree the Dems will gain 40 Plus seats. This race is one the GOP shouldn't have to worry about at all. It is a clear sign that the Independents have shifted this time around in large numbers. They are fickle, but they appear to be leaning Dem. Wulsin may still lose, but most GOP office holders in the 2nd are going to lose votes this time around.

[Via Kos]

WLW Fires Furman

The Fur Ball, Andy Furman has been fired by 700 WLW-AM.

Daily Show - Elitist Scum! (wink)

If you think like John Stewart and the Daily Show:

"'The Daily Show' correspondents Samantha Bee, Dan Bakkendahl and Jason Jones drew huge laughs claiming to be reporting live from Applebee's restaurants in cities around the state, while actually standing near Stewart in the studio."

I guess that makes you elitist scum.

A Gift That Keeps On Giving

When you raise the population, you cut the crime rate.

Rudy Too Late

Rudy Gulianni is coming to town support Mike DeWine. Plane fare for Rudy appears to be all they can afford to spend on Mike's campaign. I'm getting a ton of 8x11 postcards from the RNC trying to scare me to not vote for Wulsin. Mike has taken a back seat to Mean Jean.

City Growth

The City of Cincinnati is stopping the bleeding. We have an opportunity now to grow. What is it going to take? Attitude is one thing. What else?

Enquirer Endorses Cranley

This to me is somewhat of a shocker. Logic and Conventional Wisdom stated that the Enquirer would have endorsed Chabot, but this year the Enquirer is all over the map on the national offices. They will pick some Democrats in local races, especially in the City, but not for people going to Washington.

In comparison to the 2nd district, Chabot has much more experience and has far less baggage than Mean Jean Schmidt. Jean however got the nod for office, but not Chabot. This contradiction is strong evidence that these picks are made with social, political, and personal overtones, not based on the qualifications or performance on the job of the candidate. Yea, the Enquirer claims they pick each race individually, sure, but they have agenda items in play other than the fitness for office or policies of the candidate.

This endorsement is going to make a difference in the 1st district. The West Siders not happy with Bush, the War, or being left behind in the Bush Economy will use this as another reason to believe Cranley passes the West Side Litmus test for political office.

Combing the Blogs

Take Back Cincinnati has this little gem.