Tuesday, December 3 2013

  • Streetcar and Other Funding On the Skids

    According to Chris Wetterich of the Business Courier, successful prospects for the Cincinnati streetcar are bleak at best. Making good on his campaign pledge to kill the project, newly elected Mayor John Cranley has ensured that all related ordinances moving through the council include appropriations, thereby placing the opposition momentum right outside the realm of public referendum. Further complicating matters, the federal government has frozen the project’s grant and a major funding organization is now threatening to pull its money from several city projects, including Smale Riverfront Park and a planned renovation of Music Hall.

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  • Democrats Want Deters Investigated for Improper Voting

    Some Hamilton County Democrats have requested that state officials investigate whether county prosecutor Joe Deters improperly voted in Symmes Township in November 2012. According to recent divorce filings, Deters was not living at the residence as early as July. Deters maintains his full compliance with the law and stipulates that he voted on November 5th from his downtown residence.

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  • Where You Live in Cincinnati Could Shorten Your Life

    Here’s another log to add to the fire in the East vs. West-side debate: Residents of Hyde Park, Mount Lookout and other wealthy Cincinnati communities live an average of 20 years longer than those in South Fairmont or Avondale. The Cincinnati Health Department published data detailing those living in wealthy, largely-white communities have a life expectancy of 83.2 to 87.8 years compared to those living in lower-income, black or urban Appalachian neighborhoods who have a life expectancy of 66.4 to 68.2 years. Cardiovascular disease, cancer and stroke are the top causes of death in the area, according to the data.

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  • Cranley Picks Cincinnati Parks Director to be Interim City Manager

    Willie Carden Jr. will be Cincinnati’s interim city manager, according to the Cincinnati Business Courier. John Cranley selected Carden, the Director of the Cincinnati Parks since 2000, to be the city manager after the resignation of Milton Dohoney. Carden oversaw the expansion of Over-the-Rhine’s Washington Park and the creation of Smale Riverfront Park. Cincinnati’s mayor can only suggest city manager candidates, while the final decision will ultimately be up to city council.

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  • Jesus was a Wino: Brewpub Coming Soon to Former OTR Church

    Former Listerman and Triple-Digit brewer Kevin Moreland will lead Over-the-Rhine’s latest brewpub located in the former St. Paul’s Church at 1429 Race Street. The brewpub will be named Taft’s Ale House in homage of one of Cincinnati’s most famous historical figures, William Howard Taft. The owners hope to have the brewpub open by fall of 2014.

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Thursday, December 5 2013

  • City Council Pauses Development on the Streetcar

    The long battle over whether or not Cincinnati would get a streetcar seemed to come to a conclusion yesterday with City Council voting to pause development on the project until a financial audit determines if it makes sense to complete the first phase of development. The past week has been wrought with political drama with leaked documents, independent donors offering money and a showdown between newly elected Mayor John Cranley and Councilman P.G. Sittenfeld. Supporters of the streetcar continue to remain hopeful, however, and will continue to keep fighting for the project after the audit is completed within 2-to-4 weeks.

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  • CVG Board to Investigate Case of the Accidental Ass Dialing

    Anybody that has accidentally butt-dialed someone knows that it can be extremely embarrassing, depending upon who's being called and the potential content of what can be overheard on the line. In some cases, it can also be the subject of a federal lawsuit. Such is the case of a lawsuit filed against an assistant to the CEO of CVG, who allegedly overheard a conversation between board members discussing the demotion of her boss, embattled CEO Candace McGraw.

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  • Developer Kicks Off $400M Development in Dayton, KY

    Developments continue to pop-up alongside the Ohio river and now Dayton, KY is getting into the action. Following $27 million worth of infrastructure improvements, developer David Imboden is moving forward on an ambitious riverfront project in Dayton. The new development, which will start construction in January 2014 should create more than 1200 residential units alongside 29 acres of green space in an area known as Manhattan Harbour.

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  • Two New Lodging Options Coming to Old Enquirer Building

    The owners of the old Enquirer building on Vine street in downtown are moving forward with a plan to convert the vacant building into two hotels, a Hampton Inn and Homewood Suites. The $27 million dollar effort will cater to both business and extended-stay clientele in search of downtown lodging just off Fountain Square. Immediate efforts are underway to get construction moving; customers could be relaxing in the new suites as early as 2015.

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  • Old Man Winter Arriving Fast on Friday

    Hope you enjoyed these past few 60-degree days while they lasted, because this weekend is about to get a whole lot more like winter. An estimated 3 - 6 inches of snow and ice is expected to hit the area Friday. Saturday’s high is going to top at only 26 degrees and a low of 16 degrees with a wind chill making it seem like it is in the single digits. There’s a possibility of another round of snow and freezing rain Sunday morning. Looks like it’s a good weekend to stay indoors and trim the tree.

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Tuesday, December 10 2013

  • Streetcar, Streetcar, Streetcar

    Even though it's been officially paused for review, the streetcar debate continues to rage in QueenCity with both sides refusing to budge on their positions. In the latest news, the Federal Transit Administration is pissed and has notified the administration as such in a curtly worded rebuke of the latest political developments. If the city doesn't get it's act together by the 19th, they government wants its money back and will immediately pursue collection. Meanwhile, Mayor Cranley is playing hardball and supporters are taking the issue to streets (no pun intended) by announcing a new petition drive to force a public referendum. And in related news, the spotlight on Cincinnati's efforts to hurry-up-and-wait on the streetcar continue to gain national attention.

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  • Mallory Family Patriarch Dies at 82

    The patriarch of the Mallory political dynasty, William Mallory Sr., died Tuesday morning at the age of 82. Mallory grew up in the West End and was raised by his working-class parents before being elected to the Ohio House in 1966 and staying in the seat for 28 years. Mallory’s sons said their father instilled in them a sense of civic duty as all five contributed to their father’s political successes. One of Mallory’s biggest achievements was a lawsuit that struck-down the at-large voting system, which diluted black voting power and prevented blacks from becoming elected judges.

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  • Carden Withdraws his Nomination for Cincinnati’s Next City Manager

    That didn’t last long. John Cranley’s choice for City Manager Willie Carden, the director of the Cincinnati Parks Department, withdrew his nomination Friday after criticism that Carden lives outside of city limits. In addition to residency concerns, the Cincinnati Enquirer uncovered an ethics probe that found Carden took pay from the private Parks Foundation and the city. Interim Acting City Manager Scott Stiles will continue to serve in the role until the Cranley administration concludes their search for a permanent replacement.

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  • Understaffed Police and Fire Departments Struggle to Maintain Services

    Cincinnati Police and Fire Departments’ staffing problems are beginning to take their toll on much-needed services around the city. Police Chief Jeffrey Blackwell said the department is 200 officers short of its peak of a few years ago, which means it takes officers longer to respond to 911 calls and could possibly change the way the department polices the city. The fire department is 20 people below their minimum number of daily firefighters, which forces fire stations around the city to temporarily shutdown certain trucks and other pieces of equipment at stations that are not properly staffed.

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  • Cincinnati’s Horseshoe Casino Revenue Continues to Fall in November

    Cincinnati’s Horseshoe Casino’s revenue has fallen more than 11 percent since September, and 3.3 percent since October, according to reported profits from the casino. But don’t feel too bad for the gambling powerhouse: they still managed to rake in more than $17.5 million in November alone. So far all of Ohio’s casinos have earned $758 million this year.

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Thursday, December 12 2013

  • Streetcar Saga Continues: Cranley Extends an $80M Olive Branch

    With the clock ticking on a federal deadline, Cincinnati's new mayor John Cranley held a press conference this morning where he proposed a new option for allowing the streetcar project to move forward. If supporters can secure funds to cover 30 years of operating costs, then he's willing to let the first phase of the streetcar move forward; a figure that would amount to at least $80 million. The mayor also cautioned that any pledge of private support would require a guarantee for his stamp of approval.

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  • Cincinnati Public Schools Open Enrollment Experiment Looks to be a Success

    Cincinnati Public School’s experiment to save the district from losing millions of dollars has so far been a resounding success, according to Assistant Superintendent Gabe Lofton. The savings came from enacting an open enrollment program that allows students who live outside of the Cincinnati Public School district limits to attend a CPS school. As a result of enrolling, $5,700 comes with the student to the district. More than 800 out-of-district students applied for open-enrollment this school year and about 600 were accepted and are currently attending more than 20 CPS schools. Before open enrollment students who wanted attend a CPS school had to pay a tuition fee.

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  • City Council Committees Cancel Two More Projects

    A Cincinnati City Council Committee voted to pull support for a 99-unit housing facility in Avondale because many local residents complained the facility would negatively alter the neighborhood by worsening the community’s problems with poverty and revitalization efforts. Christopher Smitherman and Amy Murray were the two council members who voted to rescind council’s support for the facility that aided low-income and chronically homeless individuals. Another City Council Committee voted to repeal bidding rules governing the $3.2 billion upgrade of the Metropolitan Sewer District system. The rules stated that bidders on some contracts require an apprenticeship program. Critics of the rules say that they unfairly limited contracts to union labor.

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  • Amid Controversy, Council Appoints Scott Stiles as Interim City Manager

    After the brief honeymoon of hopeful City Manager Willie Carden came to an end this week, City Council appointed interim City Manager Scott Stiles Wednesday to the post. But the move didn’t come without it’s fair share of controversy with some council members concerned with Stiles’ updated compensation package that raises Stiles’ annual salary to $240,000. If the city chooses someone other than Stiles to be the permanent city manager, Stiles would be demoted to an assistant city manager with a salary of $180,000, which is $30,000 more than the other assistant city manager. If on the other hand the theoretical permanent city manager relieves Stiles of his duty completely, the city is obligated to pay Stiles some form of salary until 2018, which allows Stiles to collect his full pension payment upon retirement.

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  • Orchids at Palm Court Among Top 10 Restaurants

    Cincinnati eateries continue to get national recognition in popular media. This week, Orchids at Palm Court was listed seventh in OpenTable's top 10 restaurants of the year. Listed alongside venues from Hawaii to Boston, the results of the list were compiled via millions of consumer reviews from diners verified by the online reservation service.

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Tuesday, December 17 2013

  • MLK Interchange Project Held to Different Standard?

    While Mayor Cranley has repeatedly and publicly expressed his fervent opposition to the streetcar, his passion for the MLK interchange has to some, represented a double standard. At Monday's council meeting, members posed some of the same questions to supporters of the interchange as were lobbied at streetcar proponents. Among them, whether the maintenance costs for the interchange will be paid by the city vs. private funds, whether the project will affect property tax rates and what is the overall economic impact of the project.

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  • City Council Budget Committee Advances MLK and 71 Interchange Project

    A Cincinnati City Council Budget Committee effectively voted to prevent the city from lowering property taxes as planned by unanimously approving the allocation of $20 million in capital funding to the Martin Luther King Drive and Interstate 71 interchange project. The $106-million project is expected to produce somewhere between 5,900 and 7,300 jobs in and around the uptown area. The property tax savings to residents would have been an annual $10 per $100,000 home valuation after 2017.

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  • Merry Christmas: Congress Could Let 36,000 Ohioans Lose Unemployment Benefits

    More than 36,000 Ohioans could lose unemployment benefits in December if Congress doesn’t vote to extend emergency benefits for the long-term unemployed past Dec. 28. Another 128,600 would lose benefits in 2014 if Congress doesn’t take action on the issue. The benefits currently cost the country more than $25 billion a year and would sustain or create more than 310,000 jobs by allowing the unemployed to buy goods and services.

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  • Bengals Punter Injured in Last Sunday’s Game

    During Sunday's loss to the Pittsburg Steelers, Bengals punter Kevin Huber suffered a hit that will force him onto the sidelines for the remainder of the season. As a result of the hit by Steelers linebacker Terrance Garvin, which many have deemed wholly unnecessary, Huber sustained a broken jaw and cracked vertebrae in his neck. Garvin is expected to be fined by the NFL this week.

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  • Controversy and Debate Surround the Kentucky Gas Pipeline

    The Cincinnati Enquirer has an in-depth story about what’s at stake for the proposed Bluegrass Pipeline that’s designed to carry natural gas liquids through Kentucky into refining facilities in the northeastern United States. The controversial project is slated to be up and running by 2015 and is set to pay out more than $140 million in easement payments to Ohio residents and another $40 million to those in Kentucky. The proposed route for the pipeline is pitting neighbor against neighbor and carries with it a range of environmental concerns, including risk for explosion or spilling. About 6,000 to 7,000 temporary jobs will be created during construction of the pipeline.

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Thursday, December 19 2013

  • The State of the Streetcar: Dead Project Walking

    A lot has happened in the last few days regarding the city’s most controversial project. The financial audit came back yesterday and shows that cancelling the streetcar will cost $50 to $80 million while continuing will cost roughly $70 million. While the report appears to have swayed at least one swing vote on the council, Mayor Cranley has vowed to veto any ordinance allowing the project to continue. A final decision is expected today, as the deadline to secure federal grants expires at midnight tonight. And be sure to stop by the Senate for their dog of the day: The “John Cranley” - plain hotdog on a bun with no reasoning behind it.

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  • Kasich Outlines His Plans for 2014

    It’s getting close to the time to make New Year’s resolutions and Gov. Kasich made a number of them for Ohio in 2014. The governor’s wish list includes increasing funding for infrastructure projects in Ohio, new anti- poverty measures and a possible tax cut. Kasich needs to do something to curb state unemployment because Ohio has experienced several months of stagnant job growth and currently ranks 43rd in the nation for job growth rate during the past 12 months. Kasich also said Ohio has an image problem and has teamed up with L Brands CEO Les Wexner to brainstorm a marketing plan for the state.

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  • Landsman’s Promise Hopes to Enroll all Cincinnati Children in Preschool

    Only 57 percent of students in Cincinnati are considered “ready for kindergarten,” according to education-focused Strive Partnership’s executive director Greg Landsman. Landsman is heading up a new initiative called Preschool Promise that hopes to provide a preschool education to all local children. Landsman estimated it would take between $15-17 million per year to send all 3- and 4-year-old children in the city to preschool. The project still has far to go, however, and is currently exploring funding options such as private donations, a new property or income tax and having CPS appropriate money to the project.

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  • Kenwood Towne Project Developer Takes the Stand

    Real estate developer Matt Daniels took the stand Tuesday and Wednesday to answer questions about his role in the bungled Kenwood Towne Place project. Daniels faces 23 counts of fraud, including being accused of defrauding Bank of America by providing false information for the construction loan. Daniels, who was paid a salary of $225,000, told the courtroom that he wished he would have given the project “more time.” The project is now under active development under the name the Kenwood Collection and is set to open in 2016.

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  • SoMoLend Likely to be Liquidated by January

    Candace Klein’s SoMoLend will likely be liquidated before it faces a Jan. 23 hearing where it is being accused of securities fraud. Klein and her partners are accused of selling unregistered securities and making false financial projections. Investors in SoMoLend accused the state of Ohio of causing the venture to fail because of a bias against crowd-funded ventures and possible investor fraud associated with such investments.

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