Tuesday, October 1 2013

Reds Play the Pirates Tonight in NL Wild Card Showdown

The Cincinnati Reds take on the Pittsburgh Pirates tonight in a culmination of a long-fought battle to see who advances to continue to play baseball into the postseason. After a surprise injury to Mat Latos over the weekend, Reds’ Ace Johnny Cueto is scheduled to start at 8:07 p.m. tonight in Pittsburgh at PNC Park. Cueto has pitched only two games since returning from the disabled list, but is currently 5-2 with a 2.82 ERA.
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Mayor Mallory Urges Obamacare Signups

Obamacare is a thing now and Mayor Mallory is working hard to get the message out. Over the next six months, Mallory will work on encouraging more than 20% of county residents to sign-up via the new Health Care exchange offered by the state of Ohio. Failure to enroll carries some steep penalties that steadily increase as time goes on.
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Cincinnati Mayoral Candidates Promote Two African Americans to Shore-up Vote

Cincinnati’s two mayoral candidates Roxanne Qualls and John Cranley announced Monday that they elevated two African American supporters to new roles in their staffs. Councilman Wendell Young would serve as Vice Mayor if Qualls is elected and Cranley announced that former Cincinnati mayor Dwight Tillery is now co-chair of his campaign. Both Qualls and Cranley are both angling for the key African American vote to win this year. Since Cincinnatians first started electing our mayors in 2001, this will be the first year there is no black candidate on the ballot.
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Cincinnati Has a New Police Chief

As of yesterday, there's a new cop on the beat in Cincinnati and his name is Jeffrey Blackwell. As the new police chief, Blackwell brings experience and a fresh face to the city which has recently struggled with a rise in street crimes. Neighborhood leaders are looking for a smooth and speedy transition and hope that Blackwell will outlast his predecessor, who left within two years of accepting the post.
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Brent Spence Bridge Project’s Funding Still Unsure

Despite being on target to meet its 2015 deadline, the Brent Spence Bridge Project still has no solid funding in place. Funding options include a possible tolls, using motor-fuel taxes from both states as well as funding from the federal government.
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Thursday, October 3 2013

It's Official: Brent Spence Bridge Project will be Funded by Tolls

Like it or not, tolls will be an integral part of the funding to pay for the new Brent Spence Bridge project. Tolls could range from $1 - $2 and will be charged during a 40-year period to cover the $2.5 billion project to replace the 49-year-old bridge. Assuming no major hiccups, the project is slated to begin in 2015 and will be completed by 2019.
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City Launches Continuing Effort to Reduce Infant Mortality

Before 2013 Cincinnati’s infant mortality rate was more than double the national average, but thanks to outreach from the Cincinnati Health Department and local officials the number has fallen by 52 percent. In an effort further reduce that rate, city officials announced Cradle Cincinnati, a new coalition to educate first-time parents living in areas with unnaturally high rates of infant mortality.
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Pendleton Hits the Jackpot

As patrons of Cincinnati’s downtown casino continue to bring big money into the city, developers are planning big investments of their own in the neighboring Pendleton district. Broadway Square, a $26 million dollar endeavor, will bring both retail and residential properties within walking distance of Horseshoe. According to the developers, the project represents more affordable accommodations than other downtown properties and is expected to cater to casino employees.
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Cincinnati Eyes a Deal on Wasson Way

Biking and hiking enthusiasts may one day have a new trail to forge as city planners look to acquire an unused section of railroad track for the purposes of developing an urban trail which runs from Mount Lookout to Avondale. The corridor hasn’t been used since 2009 but there are apparently several ideas about what the future may hold for the track, which is currently owned by Norfolk Southern.
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Bengals Tap County for New $10 Million Scoreboard

The Cincinnati Bengals officially requested Hamilton County buy the team a new $10 million scoreboard by the start of the 2014 NFL Stadium. This shouldn’t come as a surprise to the county -- an arrangement in the team’s lease stipulates if new technology such as a scoreboard is installed in at least 14 other NFL teams stadium’s, the county must foot the bill for a similar item if the Bengals request it. It’s unclear where Hamilton County officials will come up with the money for the scoreboard since they barely came up with the funds to balance the stadium fund this year which doesn’t include the scoreboard. If the county refuses to buy the scoreboard, the team could buy it themselves and bill the county for it at a later date.
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Tuesday, October 8 2013

How the Government Shutdown is Affecting Cincinnati

CityBeat has published an extensive list of the essential federal services that are being disrupted during the government shutdown. Everything from flu vaccinations to new FHA loans to processing of applications for VA benefits are affected. See if your favorite program or service made the list (yet).
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Cincinnati is Home to World Class Street Art

Believe it or not, but Cincinnati’s streets are home to work by world famous street artists. BuzzFeed rounded up 9 famous street art murals around the Queen City from artists such as Shepard Fairey to The London Police. You can thank local art and design groups BLDG, the Contemporary Arts Center, YES Gallery and others for helping brighten up some of the city’s otherwise bland walkways.
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Seelbach Pays City for Trip Expenditures to Avoid Lawsuit

Another day, another lawsuit from COAST (Citizens Opposed to Additional Spending and Taxes) at the ironic expense more of taxpayer dollars. This time the ultra-conservative group takes aim at Councilman Chris Seelbach, alleging improper use of campaign funds on a recent trip to the nation's capital. Rather than engage in lengthy litigation, the Councilman has agreed to write a personal check for approximately $1,200 to have the suit dismissed. City Solicitor John Curp has responded in a 5-page rebuttal saying the allegations are entirely without merit.
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Educate Yourself on this Year’s City Council Races

With less than 30 days remaining until elections for Cincinnati city council seats, CityBeat has a handy at-a-glance guide to this year’s candidates. It’s as good as spot as any to get familiar with the party, background and who is running against whom in this year’s races.
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Design Firm CAF Releases Streetcar Renderings

Design firm CAF released renderings of the streetcars for the $133 million streetcar project yesterday. The cars will have four doors on each side and are designed to be low to the ground, which should theoretically make onboarding and moving around the vehicles that much easier. The streetcar project’s director, John Deatrick, said the city should have the cars by June 2015.
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Thursday, October 10 2013

Mayoral Candidates Debate to Little Fanfare

The first televised debate in Cincinnati's highly-anticipated mayoral election took place Tuesday night at the Freedom Center downtown. Overall, the forum was pretty uneventful as both candidates Cranley and Qualls have each levied very public criticism over major issues for months now. The general election for Hamilton County will take place on Tuesday, November 5th– who are you planning to vote for?
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UrbanCincy Blogger Voter Eligibility Being Investigated

In an interesting thread during this year's election cycle, The Hamilton County Board of Elections commenced a hearing this week on the voter eligibility of Randy Simes, a local blogger who submitted an absentee ballot for the upcoming mayoral race. According to the complaint filed by the Ohio Voter Integrity Project, Simes who operates the UrbanCincy blog, has made social media references to living in Chicago at the time he submitted the ballot. Also complicating the matter, Simes has since moved to South Korea on work assignment.
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Details Announced for Cincinnati’s Parking Lease Deal

Cincinnati will receive $7 million less than originally projected as part of their parking lease deal with the Port of Greater Cincinnati Development Authority. According to Cincinnati City Manager Milton Dohoney the loss in revenue is due to rising interest rates. In related news, the Port Authority released the details of their plan, which will include a 10-year deal with Xerox to operate and maintain 4,900 meters in Cincinnati.
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Gov. Kasich's Anti-Abortion Measures Challenged by ACLU

The American Civil Liberties Union is suing the State of Ohio to combat Gov. John Kasich’s relentless attacks on abortion clinics and public hospitals who perform abortions. The ACLU takes issue with three of the anti-abortion measures placed on next year’s state budget insisting the amendments have no place on a budget bill. The three amendments include showing a mother the heartbeat of a fetus before performing an abortion, banning public hospitals and abortion clinics from making transfer agreements that are require to keep clinics open and to create a new pregnancy program that moves state funds into private organizations that are banned from mentioning abortion services.
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Food and Wine Festival Coming to Washington Park Next Year

Come next September Cincinnati will have its own Food and Wine Festival. At least that’s the hope of former dining editor for Cincinnati Magazine Dana Covrett and her partners. The group is hoping to have the festival Sept. 12 and 13 at Washington Park. A gaggle of executive chefs -- including Jean-Robert de Cavel -- are helping the group plan the festival, which will feature a large tasting tent with an emphasis on Cincinnati’s pork heritage, as well as education events and book signings.
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Tuesday, October 15 2013

Issue 4’s Language Revision Causes Early Voting Problems

More than 3,000 Cincinnati voters who voted early will receive new ballots in the mail after an Ohio Supreme Court decision forced a wording change on Issue 4, the charter amendment aimed to semi-privatize Cincinnati’s public pension program. And if that’s not enough voter drama, this year’s elections could be the lowest turnout for a Cincinnati election in history. The low turnout is due to a lack of a polarizing state-wide issue such as 2011’s Senate Bill 5, the bill concerned with limiting collective bargaining between unions and their employers.
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First streetcar tracks to be installed today

If you've been down Elm street lately, you've no doubt run into the massive construction project taking place just north of 12th street, in front of Music Hall. The work is some of the first visible developments of the street car installation, whose initial tracks will be laid today. The project continues to be a hot topic of controversy for mayoral candidates, but shows no signs of slowing as we move closer to the pivotal race next month.
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OpenDataCincy Seeks to Liberate Public Information for Developers

Wouldn’t it be cool if there was an app that coordinated Metro bus routes with child-care clinics with open seats for parents with hectic schedules? Well there might be one soon. Local developer Erin Kidwell recently launched OpenDataCincy with the aim for public organizations across the Cincinnati area to release their data sets to local developers to create applications such as the Metro and child-care app. The program is currently looking for more data sets and is collaborating with City Government to release more public data in a friendlier form for developers. Check out the project at OpenDataCincy to get involved.
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Here's the latest on the Tower Place Mall project

The plan for what to do with Tower Place is moving forward with developers hoping to start construction before the end of the year. Assuming sale of the property closes as expected, the aging building on the corner of 4th and Race will be transformed into a multi-level parking facility with street level retail space. Retailers have already expressed some interest in the opportunity.
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Mob-style Brawl Erupts at Hyde Park Nail Salon

Who knew things could get so heated at a nail salon? According to The Cincinnati Enquirer, Chanh Luong, owner of the Escape Nail Spa in Hyde Park, was threatened and then beaten by his competitor John Nguyen who owns the Ambiance spa group. The incident occurred April 1 when Nguyen entered Escape Nail Spa and threatened Luong to remove a promotion or else. Within moments of refusing Nguyen and three of his employees punched Luong, broke a chair and swept bottles and equipment from a counter inside Escape. Nguyen was thrown in jail for 10 days and paid Luong’s $8,000 hospital bill.
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Thursday, October 17 2013

Opposition to Streetcar Ignores Money Already Spent

Recent political rhetoric surrounding the dismantling of Cincinnati's Streetcar ignores the financial realities, according to CityBeat. Former Councilman John Cranley, who's opposition to the project has been a cornerstone of his mayoral campaign remains steadfast in his intention to halt progress already underway, despite more than $117 million dollars already spent or obligated to the effort.
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Chabot and Wenstrup Vote for Federal Government Debt Default

Cincinnati Republicans Steve Chabot and Brad Wenstrup both voted to allow the Federal Government to default on its debt Wednesday, which would have caused financial shockwaves throughout the economy. Both Congressmen bucked fellow Ohioan House Speaker John Boehner who voted to raise the debt limit. Thankfully level-headedness and common sense prevailed when President Obama and Congress ended the 16-day government shutdown by passing legislation to raise the country’s debt ceiling late Wednesday night.
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Cincinnati’s 21c Museum Hotel Named No. 1

21c Museum Hotel, the newest addition to the collection of downtown Cincinnati lodging has just been named the #1 hotel in the country by Condé Nast Traveler Readers’ Choice Awards. The hotel ranks within the top 100 worldwide and boasts a unique collection of contemporary art.
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Luxottica Plans $250 Million Retail Investment

Parent company of Lenscrafters and Mason-headquartered eye-wear manufacturer Luxottica plans to invest $250 million into its operations between now and 2016. While that money will be spread throughout its North American operations, the mayor of Mason is confident the move will bring positive financial impact to his community. The investment is part of a strategy by company executives to grow their business by billions over the next few years.
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Emery Theater’s Woes Continue in Court

The embattled legal battle to wrestle control of the Emery Building from the University of Cincinnati by The Requiem Project continues to play out in court. The Requiem Project filed an amendment to its lawsuit against UC arguing that the university has failed its obligation to keep the theater from falling into disrepair. The Requiem’s co-founders claim UC is prohibiting their ability to renovate the theater and turn it into 1,600-seat “acoustically pure” theater.
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Thursday, October 24 2013

Privatizing Pension System Could Mean Big Cut in Services, Opponents Say

As a citizen of Cincinnati, would you prefer to cut municipal services by 41% or raise taxes and sell assets to offset the implications of dismantling the cities pension system? According to a political opponent of the upcoming pension charter amendment, those are your options. Look for the controversial issue on your ballot this fall.
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Qualls Interest in StreetCar Not a Conflict, According to Ethics Commission

Speaking of political controversies, the mud-slinging in the mayoral race continues by the day. The latest involves former Councilman candidate John Cranley alleging that his opponent, Vice Mayor Roxanne Qualls’ position on the streetcar presents a conflict of interest, since her work as real-estate agent would indirectly benefit from the highly contentious project. Not so, says City Solicitor John Curp and Ohio Ethics Commission Executive Director Paul Nick– Cranley’s attack doesn’t hold water.
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Dear Cincinnati, You're the Best

Owner and operator of Boca Restaurant Group, Chef David Falk has written a love letter to his hometown and its making the rounds on social media and news outlets this week. His poignant tribute to Queen City, both inspiring and well-written, was posted to Huffington Post yesterday morning– definitely worth a read.
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Omnicare Settles for $120 Million

Omnicare, a residential pharmacy services provider based in Cincinnati has agreed to settle over allegations that the company was giving improper discounts on prescriptions to nursing homes. The settlement will amount to $120 million and could possibly net 30% of the payout to the whistleblower who originally brought the case to authorities.
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Woman Attacked Downtown, Stands Her Ground

WCPO is reporting that a woman was attacked yesterday morning on her way to work, in downtown Cincinnati. Approximately 7:30am, two assailants attempted to relieve her of her purse but she was having none of it. A nearby video camera captured the incident, which shows the resilient woman resisting her attackers, after which she notified authorities and then strolled into the office and started her day.
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Tuesday, October 29 2013

Kentucky's Affordable Care Act Website Ranks Among Nation's Best

We all knew Kentucky was known for their bourbon, but who knew Ohio's neighboring state could outbuild a website better than everyone else? Despite a large conservative delegation and being home to Obama-foe Sen. Mitch McConnell, the Bluegrass State has been cited by multiple sources as being the best marketplaces for the Affordable Care Act. Gov. Steve Beshear decided to forgo the federal HealthCare.gov site and build a website for the state’s residents instead. So far more than 26,000 have enrolled in coverage through the site and another 50,000 residents have started applications.
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Enquirer Surprises No One, Endorses Cranley

In a move that shouldn't surprise anyone, The Enquirer has endorsed COAST-favorite John Cranley to be Cincinnati's next mayor. The Enquirer mentions Cranley’s "creativity" as a vital resources for Cincinnati to move forward. The paper has a long history of endorsing conservative-leaning candidates, including endorsing John McCain in the 2008 Presidential Election.
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Most of Issue 4 Campaign Money Came from Out-of-town Contributions

Despite being a highly local issue, most of the financing for the ballot initiative that would semi-privatize Cincinnati's pension system has been funded by out-of-town tea party groups. Issue 4 has received more than $231,000, of which $209,500 came from groups in West Chester and elsewhere.
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UrbanCincy Voting Battle Continues to Play Out in Court

The drama regarding whether or not UrbanCincy.com blogger Randy Simes is eligible to vote continues to play out in court. A lawsuit filed Oct. 23 and spearheaded by COAST-friendly attorney Curt Hartman claims Simes isn't able to vote because he currently lives in South Korea and had previously resided in Chicago before his move overseas. Despite the late filing of the lawsuit, Hartman expects a ruling before Nov. 5 voting day. Every vote matters, people.
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Cranley Agrees to Repay $75,000 Loan

Cincinnati Mayoral-candidate John Cranley has agreed to pay back a two-year-old loan of $75,000 he received from his former development company for a portion of his East Price Hill Incline Village project. Cranley said he will repay the loan when the Incline Village project becomes profitable, which could take 10-to-15 years.
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Thursday, October 31 2013

Macy’s Security Guard Claims Arrest Quotas and Discrimination in Lawsuit

A security guard for Cincinnati based retailer Macy's is claiming that she was subject to weekly arrest quotas and routinely targeted minorities in one of their Manhattan locations. The allegations are the subject of a lawsuit which may be given class-action status soon, and follows similar lawsuits presented against other New York retail outfits.
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Cranley Helped Paycor Relocate to Norwood Prior to Running for Mayor

When human resources and payroll company Paycor was looking to make the move from Cincinnati to Norwood in 2012, Cincinnati-Mayoral Candidate John Cranley was there to help finalize the deal. Cranley was working as a lobbyist for Keating, Muething & Klekamp, the law firm who helped Paycor gain tax incentives to relocate to Norwood. Cranley's campaign manager said the candidate was simply doing his job at the time and was only doing what his client asked. Three weeks after the Norwood City Council approved Paycor's move on Oct. 23, 2013, Cranley announced his candidacy for mayor.
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Mallory Delivers His Final State of the City Address

In his final State of City speech, Mayor Mark Mallory capped off his second term with a proposal to build a new bridge to Kentucky from the West Side. As part of that effort, he threw out a lot of related ideas, including community farming, easy access to CVG and an entertainment zone that would allow residents to watch movies against a waterfall. The Cincinnati Business Courier has video of the speech.
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CVG Board Members Travel, Wine and Dine on Public's Dime

Despite a recommendation from Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport's oversight board to revamp travel policies and expenses for board members, airport chairman and vice chairman are currently on a trip to Italy totaling at least $20,000, according to the Enquirer. The six-month-old recommendation said CVG's travel policies were not in line with other airports around the country. The airport board is setup as a public agency and is considered a governmental agency. In addition to the Italy trip, The Enquirer has a lengthy list of documents detailing other spending habits of the board on its website.
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Nasty Forecast Causes Some Neighborhoods to Reschedule Halloween

Happy Halloween! If you haven't heard, spooky weather around the tri-state tonight is expected to dampen the regularly scheduled Halloween candy pilgrimage for youngsters. Check out WCPO for a full update on neighborhood trick-or-treat schedules, as several have moved their events to tomorrow.
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