Thursday, May 1 2014

City Council Approves Central Parkway Bike Lanes

Depsite all the fuss it looks like there’s going to be a bike lane on Central Parkway after all. City Council voted Wednesday 5-4 in favor of bike lanes connecting Downtown, Over-the-Rhine, West End, University Heights, Clifton and Northside. The majority of the project's $500,000 price tag will come from funds provided by the Federal Government. Concerns regarding lack of parking spaces for businesses along Central Parkway have been addressed with a modified plan that will save 23 parking space near the Mohawk Building.
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Council Members Want to Publicize Names of Prostitution Clientele

This year, Cincinnati is cracking down on prostitution and human trafficking and there were several visible signs of that effort this week. First there was a notice from Law Enforcement that they would be erecting temporary barricades on McMicken, an urban corridor notorious for solicitation. Secondly, two members of City Council have announced an effort to publicize the names of any convicted johns so as to deter their behavior via public shaming.
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Ben-Gal Court Case Causes First Amendment Ripples

Last year, former Bengals cheerleader Sarah Jones sued a gossip website for defamation and was awarded more than $300k dollars. That judgement has created a frenzy amongst first amendment lawyers and tech companies who have stepped in to file briefs asking for a reversal on appeal. Experts say that the case could go all the way to the Supreme Court.
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Eli’s BBQ Returns to Findlay Market

Those dismayed by Eli’s BBQ’s long lines at its Eastern Avenue location have a reason to rejoice as the popular restaurant will soon be opening a second location at Findlay Market. Eli’s started at the market years ago and will open at one of the three renovated store fronts along the south side of the market. Eli’s new location will be open until 9 p.m. six days a week. A craft chocolate maker, Maverick Chocolate, also announced plans to open in one of the renovated store fronts.
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New Riff Distillery to Open Next Week

Ok bourbon fans, you'll be happy to know that the region's biggest liquor store Party Source has officially joined the ranks of the Bourbon Trail. And not because of their enormous retail selection, either. New Riff Distillery, which is set open to the public next week is the latest addition to the sprawling boozy-compound in Bellevue, KY. They plan to offer tours, events and other functions while their production line of bourbon and other spirits gets cooking.
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Tuesday, May 6 2014

Say Goodbye to Planned Marriott Hotel in Over-the-Rhine

There’s no debate about whether or not Over-the-Rhine is in need of a hotel. Unfortunately plans for the proposed Marriott that was set to inhabit the former School of Creative and Performing Arts have fallen through. Current plans call for 155 apartments in the building instead of the hotel.
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City Firm on Closing Price Hill Halfway Houses

The City of Cincinnati is adamant about closing a half-dozen halfway houses that violate city zoning laws. All of the houses are based in Price Hill and hold 12 to 14 people each. New Foundations Transitional Living, the company who manages the houses, has 90 days to have their residents seek other accommodations or bring its facilities up into compliance with the zoning code.
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Ohio to Vote on Brent Spence Tolling

A new Ohio bill will be heading to voters on the heels of the Kentucky Legislature’s failure to pass legislation allowing the $2.6 billion Brent Spence Bridge project to begin this year. The bill would allow drivers to pay tolls without having to stop on the bridge by using a remote transponder that tracks how many times regular commuters cross the bridge or by snapping license plate photos of drivers. According to the Cincinnati Business Courier, the bill would prevent any tolling company to keep the license plate photos past a certain amount of time.
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Metro Bus Drivers May Strike

Almost 100 bus drivers and other workers who are employed by MV Transportation my go on strike this week after their employer submitted their final contract offer the employees this week. The union representing the bus drivers is opposing a two-tiered wage system that would have employees pay 25 percent of their health care costs. MV Transportation is looking to cut wages because Metro wanted to save $500,000 on its contract.
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Jay Bruce to Miss Four Weeks

Jay Bruce’s recent struggles at the plate may have a simple explanation: the slugger’s knee has a partially torn meniscus. As a result of that injury, Bruce will undergo surgery for his left knee and is expected to miss three-to-four weeks. Bruce has a .352 on-base percentage so his absence will be sorely missed. Chris Heisey, Skip Schumaker and Roger Bernadina will take turns filling in for Bruce in right field.
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Thursday, May 8 2014

Cincinnati Taxi Drivers Take Issue with Lyft and Uber

Ridesharing services Lyft and Uber are already causing a stir among Cincinnati’s taxi drivers. About 20 taxi drivers, owners and supporters gathered outside of City Hall Wednesday to convince City Council to impose similar regulations on Lyft and Uber as are imposed on the taxi companies. Those regulations include mandatory vehicle inspections, liability insurance and fare meters in vehicles.
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The Afghan Whigs Named MPMF Headliner

Cincinnati-export The Afghan Whigs have been announced to headline this year’s MidPoint Music Festival taking place downtown and in Over-the-Rhine Sept. 25-27. The Whigs got their start in the late 1980s in Cincinnati before being signed to Sub Pop Records. The band is slated to play Washington Park Friday night. MPMF will be posting more of their 2014 lineup next week. In the meantime, grab your early-bird three-day passes at mpmf.cincyticket.com.
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Bengals Have Numerous Choices in Tonight’s NFL Draft

The Cincinnati Bengals are slated to pick No. 24 in the first round of this year’s NFL Draft happening tonight at Radio City Music Hall in New York. According to head coach Marvin Lewis, the team is looking for any position other than a quarterback. The Cincinnati Enquirer reports the team is leaning toward a cornerback — possibly Justin Gilbert of Oklahoma State or Darqueze Dennard of Michigan State — or a linebacker.
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Butler Country Voters Eagerly Awaiting School Levy Recount Results

Middletown residents are waiting on bated breath today for results of levy recount that will determine whether or not the Butler County school system will receive $40 million in state grants. The vote originally passed by just 18 votes with 2,924 in support and 2,906 opposing the 4-mill bond issue and 0.26-mill permanent improvement levy. The recount should be completed by the end of this month.
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Indicted State Rep. Peter Beck is Adamant to Finish Term

Representative Peter Beck, who faces 69 felony counts, is adamant to finish his term as state representative despite being rebuked by 91 percent of his fellow Republicans. The felony counts stem from allegations of defrauding investors out of hundreds of thousands of dollars. Beck lost the primary race to Mason real estate developer Paul Zeltwanger. Despite numerous requests from his own party to resign, Beck says he will finish his term that ends in January.
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Tuesday, May 13 2014

Cincinnati Catholic Schools Determined to Remain Close Minded

The much maligned teacher contract put forth by the Cincinnati Archdiocese won’t be changing any time soon. The contract includes a stipulation that prevents employees from supporting issues that run counter to Catholic teaching such as homosexuality, in vitro fertilization, living together outside of wedlock and other positions are not based in the 1800s. According to the superintendent of the Archdiocese fewer than six teachers have refused to sign the contract. The Archdiocese controls 113 schools in 19 counties.
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City Employee Steals $20k from Parking Meters

Now that’s a long con. City employee Marc Corsmeier pleaded guilty to stealing nearly $20 thousand in quarters from city parking meters during an 8-year period. Corsmeier stole about $50 per week after starting on the job in 2007. Another city employee noticed coins in the bottom of Corsmeier’s gym bag and contacted police who confiscated the gym bag and found the stolen quarters. Corsmeier has been placed on probation for three years and is prevented from working for the public again.
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Don Cheadle to Film Miles Davis Biopic in Cincinnati

Don Cheadle is set to shoot his upcoming biopic about Miles Davis in Cincinnati, proving that the city continues to be a destination for filmmakers. The announcement came just 10 days after “Carol” wrapped. Cheadle’s movie, “Miles Ahead,” will portray Cincinnati as New York City where Miles Davis primarily lived and recorded.
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Crosstown Shootout is Back on Campus

After two years at U.S. Bank Arena the Crosstown Shootout between the University of Cincinnati Bearcats and Xavier University Musketeers will be returning to campus arenas. The two-year hiatus for the annual game was prompted by a fight in 2011 at the Cintas Center at Xavier. The first game back on campus will take place Feb. 18 at UC’s Fifth Third Area with Xavier will hosting the game Dec. 12, 2015.
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Lunken Beerfest Announced

In a city that’s quickly becoming a craft-beer lover’s paradise, a new beer festival was announced this week. Lunken Airport will host its first beer festival this June 28 from 3-11 p.m. The Lunken Beerfest will feature a number of local breweries such as Blank Slate, Cellar Dweller, Fifty West, Listermann, MadTree, Christian Moerlein, Mt. Carmel, Rivertown, Triple Digit and Wiedemann’s. The brewery Bad Tom Smith Brewing is the event’s main sponsor.
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Thursday, May 15 2014

Cranley Reveals Straightforward City Budget

Before the beginning of the new fiscal year on July 1st, the city is required to pass a new budget and Mayor John Cranley has just released his plans to do so. According to the administration, his is the first balanced budget in more than a decade — that is, for every dollar spent, another dollar is cut. Further, the new budget hasn't proposed any layoffs or raised any taxes and also manages to close a $22MM budget gap. The only catch? It relies on a favorable federal judgement of the current mediation between the City and municipal employees.
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Taste of Cincinnati Bigger and Better Than Ever

Memorial day is right around the corner and as is customary in Queen City, so is the Taste of Cincinnati. This year marks the 36th anniversary of the edible event which kicks off on Saturday May 24th. Besides longer hours, organizers have announced that there will be more vendors this year than ever before. Last year, more than half a million hungry foodies were part of the feast.
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Holiday Inn May Be Coming Downtown Thanks to Recent Council

Thanks to a more positive financial outlook, City Council has approved two ordinances that relax some requirements on developers and paves the way for a new Holiday Inn to be built on the corner of 7th and Broadway Streets. Business Courier reports that the ordinances revise a development agreement from 2011 in a number of ways, most notably, removing a reference to the funding source of a new garage on Sycamore. Council has agreed that the city should pay for the new garage but has no idea how do that.
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Hamilton County Sheriff Cites Audit Detailing Department Changes

After taking office as Hamilton County Sheriff back in 2013, Jim Neil ordered an audit of his department to help find efficiencies and processes that could be streamlined. The result of that effort has concluded and the HCSO says its key areas of concern are pretty much what you'd expect: staffing, technology, and training. While the report contains praise for the officers it also states that they are resistant to change.
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Midterm Elections Fan the Flames of Voter Limitation

If you're a politics nerd, you know that mid-term elections are this fall so it should come as no surprise that the persistent war to limit voting eligibility is back on, again. And Ohio, being the swing-state that it is, is one of the hottest battle grounds for this sort of shenanigan, most often perpetrated by right-wing conservatives. In recent years, Secretary of State Jon Husted went to extraordinary lengths to limit early voting hours. And more recently, the dust-up about whether to move the Board of Elections out of downtown has caused a stir among political operatives here at home.
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Tuesday, May 20 2014

Planned Eden Park Brewery Receives Large State Grant

A state grant will go a long way toward rehabbing the historic Eden Park pump station into a modern-day brewery. The Ohio Controlling Board approved a Clean Ohio Assistance Fund totaling $736,520 to be used to redevelop the location. The brewery will feature an outside beer garden and a tap room. Retired city architect Jack Martin is a leading investor. Plans are to have the brewery up and running by spring of next year.
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Western Hills Viaduct Repair to Include Transit?

City officials and planners are floating the idea of leveraging the Western Hills viaduct for new transit options into downtown. The crumbling bridge, which has been named one of the worst in the country, has been estimated to need at least $240MM in repairs– a huge sum for any cash-strapped city and some see the additional transit corridor as a way to sweeten the deal. Michael Moore, Cincinnati's director of transportation and engineering will present the idea to council's transportation committee next week.
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$11 Million Worth of Drugs Seized by FDA in Norwood

Nearly $11 million in pharmaceuticals were seized by the Food and Drug Administration from a Cincinnati company because the drugs were either unapproved or misbranded. The bust took place from Masters Pharmaceuticals Inc., which is based in Norwood. The drugs included ear infection drops, hemorrhoid and other inflammatory condition pills, and a skin-rash cream.
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City May Relax One Trash Container Policy

Controversial regulations put in place last year limiting the number of trash cans per household may be changing in the near future. Even still, the regulations seem to have achieved their goal of encouraging more recycling and limiting the number of injuries by public service employees. Despite the successes and compliance by more than 90% of citizens, the city seems poised to relax those requirements.
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City Hall’s Budget Cuts $6 Million from Port Authority

The city’s proposed budget will not include capital funding that was promised to the Port of Greater Cincinnati Authority that was intended for neighborhood redevelopment efforts. Mayor John Cranley said he personally had no involvement in the decision and that it was Interim City Manager Scott Stile’s decision not to include the $6 million. The mayor did propose the Port Authority receive $1 million in annual revenue during the next 30 years by leasing the Fountain Square South Garage to the port.
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Thursday, May 22 2014

Northern Kentucky Chamber of Commerce Taps Trey Grayson

On Wednesday, Northern Kentucky Chamber of Commerce announced that it had selected and hired a new leader, former Secretary of State Trey Grayson. Starting July 1st, Grayson will spearhead the organization's goals of business development and advocacy. Thanks to his political ties to Frankfort and well-respected reputation, the choice seems like a great one according to regional business leaders cited in the press release.
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Protestors Gather Against the Church’s Antiquated Contract

Protesters are expected to gather downtown today to rally against the new teacher contract put forth by the Archdiocese of Cincinnati that prohibits teachers and employees from living in the 21st century. The contact prohibits participating in or supporting gay lifestyles and out of wedlock sexual relationships. The contract came after teacher Carla Dias was awarded more than $170,000 after she was fired because she used artificial insemination. Mike Moroski, the former principal at Purcell Marian, was also fired last year after he wrote on his personal blog that he supported same-sex marriage.
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Regional Businesses Add Lots of Jobs Last Month

In April, Cincinnati businesses added more than 15,000 jobs to the regional workforce, a number that surpasses totals from any month in the past year. Not surprisingly, the unemployment rate is down to the lowest rate its been in half a decade. It seems that the recent job additions have benefited lots of different industries as sectors such as construction, transportation, leisure and hospitality, etc. have all seen noticeable gains.
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$20k in Rewards Offered for Missing UC Student

Rewards for information relating to the disappearance of missing 21-year-old University of Cincinnati Brogan Dulle have reached $20,000. In addition to the $2,500 being offered from Dulle’s family and $7,500 from Jeff Ruby, UC President Santa Ono said he will fork over $5,000 of his own money and another $5,000 from a discretionary fund at UC. Dulle was last seen at Mac’s Pizza Pub and The St. Clair Cat early Sunday morning. Police are also searching for 16-year-old Fort Thomas teenager Edyn Nicole Palmer who has been missing since Sunday afternoon. No rewards have been offered from Jeff Ruby or Santa Ono for information related to her disappearance.
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Potential Funding for CVG to Downtown Commuter Train

Cincinnati's rail-based transportation fever continues to grow as Hamilton County Commissioner Todd Portune recently floated an idea of installing a railway between downtown and CVG. The plan to ferry commuters to and from the airport is nothing new, but legislators think they have a viable funding source if they can persuade Congress to allow Airports to invest in capital projects.
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Tuesday, May 27 2014

Summer Entertainment in Cincinnati Starts With Fringe Festival

With the passing of another Memorial Day, a new summer season begins. And nowhere is that more evident than throughout the Queen City where a whole slew of evening activities are starting to kick off. The Fringe Festival, Know Theatre's 17-day dramatic extravaganza starts tonight. Be sure to check out the first seasonal installment of Bandstand Bluegrass in Washington Park, Thursday night. Then on Friday, you can watch Brave with the kiddo's in Smale Riverfront Park. And next week kicks off the first round of Wednesdays on the Green at the Cultural Arts Center in Clifton.
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Brogan Dulle’s Body Found

The search for missing UC student Brogan Dulle ended this morning in heartbreak. His body was found hanging in the empty house next to his apartment complex, which was currently under rehabilitation. Though foul-play has been ruled out by police and his death has been described as a result of self-infliction, many are wondering why a seemingly happy and responsible young man would take off to look for his phone and ultimately decide to commit suicide. One thing's for sure, there are plenty of unanswered questions in this sad-saga.
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Stone Brewing Considers Cincinnati for Expansion

Anybody who appreciates good craft beer knows the name Stone Brewing. So it's not surprising that WCPO's latest report about the Escondido based brewery possibly considering Cincinnati as a hub for it's expansion to the East coast has the adult-beverage crowd swooning. If it becomes reality, the latest addition to the city's brew-culture could add 374 jobs and thousands of gallons of flowing, sudsy refreshment. Cheers, indeed!
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Imboden to Buy Marina, Paves Way Toward $400M Development in Dayton, KY

The city of Dayton, KY has agreed to sell the Manhattan Harbour marina to a developer who is planning a $400MM development, and hopes to rebuild the riverfront replete with restaurants, retail and more than 40 residential homes. Developer David Imoboden, who has been working on this project for some time, plans to rename the marina the Manhattan Harbour Yacht Club but will continue normal operations after he takes ownership in July.
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New Options for Bubble-Tea in OTR

With the recent addition of BoBa Cha in OTR, bubble-tea lovers have a new destination for fresh tea made from healthy ingredients. Since opening this month, the little shop has attracted big crowds. While there is no food available, the owners have an arrangement with Maki in nearby Clifton to supply patrons with fresh sushi.
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Thursday, May 29 2014

Western Hills Viaduct to Include Light Rail?

As Cincinnati city planners and transportation officials discuss rehabilitation or replacement of the Western Hills Viaduct, some residents are voicing their desire to include light rail in the plan. WVXU reports that the additional transit lines for rail could add approximately $50 million to the project but would help to connect more than 20% of the city's residents to the urban core.
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Riverfront Commons Project to Transform NKY

Not to be outdone by big brother's recent developments along the river, Covington is looking to up it's game with big plans for KY's most picturesque, waterside real estate. City officials want to transform the south-side of the riverbank into a "waterfront activity center" with walkable trails, recreational pavilions and more under a new project that's being dubbed Riverfront Commons. The plan calls for development from the Purple People Bridge in Newport to Devou Park in Covington and will hopefully be funded in part by grants from the US Department of Transportation.
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'Aerospace Corridor' Provides New Designation for Greater Cincinnati Region

Thanks to regional cooperation, the Greater Cincinnati area was awarded a federal designation this week which should result in better opportunities for regional development efforts. The designation comes due in part to the 'aerospace corridor', the aerial traffic lane which runs between NKY and Dayton, OH and should not only give the region preferential treatment on federal grant applications over the next two years but will also appropriate a federal liaison to help with the complicated process of applying for future grants.
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'Mayhem' at Taste of Cincinnati This Year

With more than half a million people in attendance, the Taste of Cincinnati marked a new record last weekend as foodies and festival goers descended upon the Central Business District for the 36th installment of what has become a delicious Memorial Day tradition. But according to Police Commander Capt. Paul Broxterman, the event was not all brats and cream-puffs. As WCPO writes, there were numerous incidents of assaults and robberies reported around the outskirts, including one incident of rocks being thrown at police officers.
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Ohio Judge Imposes Moratorium on Lethal Injections

The Columbus Dispatch reports today that a Federal Judge has placed a moratorium on future executions by lethal injection in the state until he can learn more about the new drugs being used. Following last month’s botched execution of Dennis McGuire, in which the inmate was seen visibly gasping and choking, states are scrambling to come up a process to ensure that future efforts do not constitute cruel and unusual punishment. Accordingly since that controversial incident, a number of court challenges have been filed against the state alleging a violation of inmate’s constitutional rights.
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