Tuesday, July 2 2013

What You Should Know About the City's Parking Lease

Business Courier has a nice write-up on some of the lesser-known the particulars regarding Cincinnati's parking lease. Things such as advertising in the lots and dynamic pricing structures based on daily-use may come as news to some.
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Smale Park Awarded for Innovation

Smale Riverfront Park gets more awesome by the day and the National Recreation and Park Association is taking notice. This isn't the first award the city has received for the amazing development happening at the Banks, but it’s the latest for the innovation and creativity exhibited by the Cincinnati Park Board. If you haven’t checked it out yet, grab a picnic lunch and go see what all the buzz is about.
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Northside 4th of July Parade Welcomes Gabrielle Giffords

Former Arizona Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords is set to make an appearance at the Northside 4th of July Parade this Thursday. Giffords, who was a victim of a mass-shooting in Arizona in 2011, is on a speaking tour to support and promote responsible gun ownership policies.
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Compost Business Stinks up Warren County

Enjoy the smell of vomit and animal dung in the morning? Apparently Marvin's Gardens in Warren County is in violation of several zoning violations including emitting a "detectable off-site odor" that one nearby neighbor compared to an intensified hog farm. The composting facility’s zoning violations come months after a complaint was levied against the business by a local businessman alleging compost he bought contained solid waste.
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Xavier Celebrates Joining the Big East

Following an announcement in March, the Xavier Musketeers officially became the newest member of the Big East Athletic Conference yesterday. Fans and students rallied on Fountain Square to celebrate what Mayor Mallory has deemed "Xavier University joins the Big East Day".
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Tuesday, July 9 2013

Cincinnati Gardens Looking for New Ownership

The owners of Cincinnati Gardens are currently exploring options to sell the venue. During the past 34 years, the family-operated facility has hosted a slew of hockey teams and more recently housed Xavier Basketball and the Cincinnati Rollergirls. While they hope new ownership will continue the operating tradition of catering to local sports organizations, the Robison family concedes that they may have to consider alternate uses in order to secure a sale.
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OTR Line App Aims to Reduce Wait-time Frustrations

Regardless how you feel as to whether or not OTR restaurants should accept reservations, there's a new mobile app aimed to help reduce wait-time frustrations. Scott Miller and Scott Avera released OTR Line, a free app for iOS and Android devices that uses crowdsourced information to estimate restaurant wait times.
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Heavy Rainfall Causing Problems for Covington Residents

In a week of nearly constant rainfall, Covington residents are dealing with the consequences of an aging sewer system and complicated legislative efforts to combat the flooding. To make matters worse, Sanitation District No. 1 (SD1), the organization responsible for waste-water management in Kenton County, has few funds to deal with repeated complaints following a recent rejection of rate hikes.
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Kenwood Eyesore's Investors Reach Agreement

The eyesore off Interstate 71 in Montgomery known as Kenwood Towne Place might finally be coming to a resolution. Investors and contractors came to an agreement to move the $175-million project forward. The shopping center was purchased earlier this year and renamed the Kenwood Collection.
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Clifton Grocery Work Halts

Clifton residents eagerly awaiting a return to grocery shopping in the Gaslight District might have to wait a little longer. The general contractor on the project said they are pulling out of finishing the project due to a lack of financing. Real estate agents involved in the vacant grocery store are trying to shop the space to high-end grocery tenants such as Trader Joe's and Whole Foods.
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Thursday, July 11 2013

Mitigating Streetcar Misinformation

As with any hot-button topic, there's a lot of misinformation surrounding the Cincinnati Streetcar Project, such as streetcar funds being used to save police jobs and the fact that it can't go uphill. CityBeat sets the record straight on 10 common misrepresentations of the streetcar debate.
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Brent Spence Plans Begin to Take Shape

Northern KY commuters are likely to experience a lot more road rage in the next decade. The Enquirer reports tolls are likely central to the financing plan to replace the Brent Spence bridge with rates ranging from $1-5 per commute and construction could last up to seven years. Final plans for funding the project are due to the KY legislature by the end of the year.
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Cincinnati Seeks Input for Fort Washington Way

The renovation and development of Cincinnati's front yard continues with the city soliciting community input on what to do with Fort Washington Way, the exposed portion of the 71/75 corridor that runs below 2nd & 3rd streets. The goal of connecting the riverfront to the central business district was laid more than a decade ago when city planners first renovated the area. Some of the ideas that are on the table include a green-space similar to Chicago's Millenium Park or a retail district such as Cap at Union Station in Columbus. Provide your input by taking the survey on Connect the Blocks, a website the city has created to facilitate the discussion.
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Holiday Inn to Lure Sleepy Gamblers

Frequent patrons and out-of-town-guests of the Horshoe Casino will have a new place to crash after marathon gambling sessions. Plans for a Holiday Inn located four blocks south of the casino at Broadway and Seventh streets are moving forward. The developer hopes to have the hotel opened by January 2015.
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Krohn Showcases Sustainable Gardening

Krohn Conservatory opened it's newest exhibit, "Let it Grow," to the public this past Tuesday with the hopes of promoting sustainable gardening and food production. The exhibit hopes to educate patrons on vertical gardening, hydroponics and aquaponics.
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Tuesday, July 16 2013

Street Car to Open in 2016

After years of controversy including two failed ballot initiatives to cancel the project, the City announced the Cincinnati streetcar is set to open Sept. 15, 2016. An additional $500,000 was requested by the contractor, which was easily covered by the City’s $10 million contingency fund. The total cost for the project is just above $130 million.
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Controversy Over Parking Lease Continues to Rage

Following the recently inked deal to lease the city’s parking assets to the Port Authority, controversy continues to swirl in Queen City. From Todd Portune’s stinging rebuke of the port’s position to the administration’s response this week to criticism of the perceived benefits, it’s clear that this political fire is just getting started.
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Cranley Pledges to Minority and Women-Owned Businesses

Just under 10 percent of Cincinnati’s city contracts in 2012 went to minority- or women-owned businesses. John Cranley hopes to change that statistic if he gets elected mayor by pledging to double the amount of contracts awarded to women, increase the amount given to blacks by a magnitude of five and award at least one contract to a Hispanic-owned business.
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Senate Dogs– A National Treasure

As if the lengthy wait wasn’t notice enough, Senate’s gourmet all-beef dogs have just been named some of the nation’s best by Food and Wine Magazine. While the dog of the day always ranks amongst the most interesting fare, the Croque Madame and Lindsay Lohan are noted as menu staples. Better get in there soon... something tells me the wait times are about to get a whole lot longer.
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Cleaning Up Millenium Hotel

Try as they might, Cincinnati public officials just can’t get the aging Millennium Hotel to clean itself up. The Enquirer reports the City has been trying for at least six months to overhaul the hotel. City leaders say that because the Millennium is the only hotel directly connected to the Duke Energy Convention Center it can either make or break a visitor’s view on the city.
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Thursday, July 18 2013

Take Note Silicon Valley, the Queen City is a Technology Hotbed

While it comes as no surprise to the start-up community in town, Entrepreneur Magazine has just coined Cincinnati an "Unexpected Hub for Tech Startups." Notable examples include investment and acceleration firms like CincyTech and the Brandery as well as successful up-starts such as Roadtrippers and ChoreMonster.
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City's Credit Rating Downgraded

Cincinnati's aging city pension fund continues to be a nuisance for City Planner Milton Dahoney Jr. Moody's recently downgraded the city's general bonds from AA1 to AA2, which translates to the bond’s ratings being labeled "negative." Moody's said the blame for the downgrade primarily rested on the city's lack of a sustainable future for its pension fund. The downgrade in ratings means the city might have more trouble issuing debt in the future.
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Negative Parking Memo Draws City's Ire

A memo dated June 20 and released July 15 says Cincinnati received a bad deal on the parking lease agreement with the Greater Cincinnati Port Authority. The research reported in the memo found that it will be 257 percent more expensive for a private contractor to run the city's parking services compare to what the city currently spends. City Manager Milton Dahoney Jr. said the data used to generate the memo was out of date and no longer applies to the current parking lease deal.
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Streetcar's Optimism Improves OTR Real Estate

The streetcar project is already generating improved real estate sales in Over-the-Rhine. Teach for America announced their plan to move into the Jupiter Building at 1110 Main St. as part of a renewed interest in The Hanke Exchange, a collection of five buildings in OTR between Reading Road and Michael Bany Way. The properties occupancy rate is hovering close to 90 percent, a dramatic increase from 28 percent just three years ago.
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Explore Jungle Jims in Eastgate on Streetview

Google and Cincinnati based international foodie haven Jungle Jims have joined forces to offer an interactive view of the recently opened Eastgate location. Future plans of the partnership include a bird's-eye view of the store, giving uninitiated consumers a handy roadmap from hot-sauces to checkout. No word on whether network access will be extended to the beer cave.
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Tuesday, July 23 2013

State Representative Indicted on 16 Felonies

State representative Peter Beck has been indicted on no less than 16 felony counts of financial shenanigans. Facing up to 102 years in prison, the former CFO of Christopher Technologies is alleged to have withheld knowledge of the company’s insolvency from investors. WVXU’s Howard Wilkinson helped to distill the facts of the case yesterday.
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Its Official: The Streetcar is Coming to Cincinnati

Businesses and residents should get prepared for even more construction downtown as Cincinnati has officially signed the contract for the controversial streetcar program. Following a number of political hurdles, including increased bids and multiple public debates, preparation and construction for the project moves forward with a target completion date of September 2016.
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Port Authority Seeks an Upfront Payment of $27 million from Parking Lease Deal

In a move that surprised many on Cincinnati City Council, The Port of Greater Cincinnati Development Authority is seeking an upfront payment of $27 million from the city’s parking lease deal to be used for economic development projects in Cincinnati. The original deal stipulated the city would receive a one-time upfront payment somewhere around $300,000 with the remainder being paid annually in $300,000 installments.
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Cincinnati’s Next Police Chief Search Attracts 28 Applicants

The deadline to be Cincinnati’s next police chief expired last Friday with 28 applicants throwing their names into the hat with the hopes of replacing James Craig, who recently left for Detroit. Three internal candidates are among the applicants as well as Detroit’s former police chief. Vice Mayor Roxanne Qualls cited the recent uptick in violent crime as an impetus for the committee speed up the selection process.
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Downtown Experiences Uptick in Violent Crime

The Cincinnati Enquirer reports that from Jan. 1 through July 13 violent crime is up 15 percent compared to the same time-period last year. Acting Police Chief Paul Humphries explained the uptick in crime as a response to downtown’s increasing popularity and said most incidents occur after bars close.
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Thursday, July 25 2013

Brent Spence Could Become a Federal Priority

New legislation introduced by Ohio Senator Rob Portman may help secure federal dollars for updating the aging Brent Spence and other “functionally obsolete” bridges around the country. This move should come as welcome news to city residents who have recently learned that per-use tolls are likely to be an integral part of the funding for the upcoming project.
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Successful Prostitute Rehab Organization in Danger of Shutting Down

The Hamilton County Tax Levy Review Committee has recommended that the successful prostitute rehabilitation program Off the Streets be shuttered to save $64,000 from the Family Services and Treatment Levy. Off the Streets success has been well documented, with 84 percent of participants never having another prostitution conviction. Committee members suggested the money instead go toward The Talbert House, a drug and alcohol rehabilitation program in Cincinnati.
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Local Money Manager Accused of Elaborate Ponzi Scheme

Glen Galemmo, the owner of Queen City Investment Fund — completely unrelated to QC Stacks, we promise — has been accused of operating an elaborate Ponzi scheme believed to cost investors upwards of hundreds of millions of dollars. Most of the 100 Cincinnati investors received an email which read “Queen City Investments will no longer be in operation” and directed them to local Internal Revenue Service offices to settle their investments.
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Mayoral Absentee Ballots to be Accepted Starting August 6th

Hamilton County residents will have the chance to cast their ballots in this fall’s mayoral race in as little as two weeks. According to the Hamilton Country Board of Elections, voters can skip the line by mailing in absentee ballots starting August 6th. Early voting traditionally helps alleviate long waits at the polls on election day and is generally seen as a great way to encourage voter participation.
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Public Access Media Bridges Organization Shutting Down

After more than 20 years of public service, Media Bridges is shutting down due to Cincinnati City Council’s decision to eliminate funding to the public access media organization. Media Bridges was founded in 1988 and allowed anyone in the city to record audio and video for broadcast.
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Tuesday, July 30 2013

Three Linder Family Members Top List of Biggest GOP Donors

How many Linders does it take to fund Cincinnati Republicans? The top three contributors to the Republican party in the 2012 election cycle, according to recent data from the Sunlight Foundation. The Sunlight Foundation released the top 25 donors to both Republican and Democratic campaigns. The top donor for the GOP was Carl H. Linder III with $380,000 and the top donor for the Democrats was Richard H. Rosenthal with $121,919.
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Over-the-Rhine Tastes Delicious

Come August 10th– you can get a taste of OTR... multiple tastes in fact. Thats right– the budding downtown community is holding its first official food festival in Washington Park. Sample vittles from many neighborhood eateries while enjoying the sweet sounds of live, local music.
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OTR Salivates Over Salazar

The former executive chef of the Cincinnatian Jose Salazar is hard at work on the newest addition to OTR’s culinary landscape. Named after himself, the new restaurant Salazar will serve French-American comfort food on 14th and Vine, starting this fall.
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Ohio to be Quiet when Marketing Health Care Law

Despite Ohio Gov. John Kasich's decision to let the federal government to Ohio's health insurance exchange, the state will be "hands-off" when it comes to marketing and promotion of the law. Outside groups such as Enroll America plan to help educate Ohio's uninsured.
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Budget Cuts on the Chopping Block

Vice Mayor Roxanne Qualls announced last week that the city might table specific budgets cuts thanks to higher-than-expected revenues from last fiscal year. Programs that stand to benefit include human services such as drug rehabilitation, job training and homeless shelters as well as parks and recreation.
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