Cincinnati News

The image above, of a partial 2005 Cincinnati Reds schedule, apparently doesn't advocate Chris Monzel despite the picture of him and the text "Councilmen Chris Monzel." The Cincinnati Elections Commission decided Thursday to let Monzel slide. This situation has been well documented at the sources available below.

The complaint

Kevin Osborne of the Post wrote this story yesterday before the hearing

Korte's take on the hearing

Dean's response to findings

The citizens of Cincinnati deserve better than this. No one other than Chris Monzel and his campaign team want to see Monzel's name on the Reds schedule. It clearly serves no purpose other than to increase Monzel's name/face recognition with an eye toward successfully holding his council seat in the upcoming election.

Posted by JN at 8:37 PM | Permalink | Comments

This article was in today's Cincinnati Post.

The Maisonette, America's longest-running five-star restaurant and a downtown Cincinnati institution for more than a half century, closed today as its owners decided to refocus their attention on a planned relocation to Sycamore Township.

Although third-generation owner Nat Comisar had hoped to keep the classic French restaurant open at its current Sixth Street location until the new location opens in the fall of 2006, he said today that operating one five-star restaurant while planning another proved problematic.

"We came to the difficult business decision that continued operation downtown would not be feasible," Comisar said. "Our efforts now focus on the relocation."

La Normandie, the Maisonette's sister restaurant, located in the basement of its downtown site, also closed today.

The new Maisonette is scheduled to open in the fall of 2006 on Montgomery Road, about a quarter mile south of Kenwood Town Centre.

"Today is a sad day for our employees and our families," Comisar said. "While we remain optimistic about the future, we have to be realistic about the present." One of only about a dozen Mobile Five Star restaurants in the country, the Maisonette won the prestigious award an unprecedented 41 consecutive years.

In recent years, Comisar unsuccessfully tried to convince Cincinnati City Hall to offer incentives that would make it easier for the Maisonette, located downtown for 56 years, to survive in an inner city that seems to be losing the battle with the suburbs for high-end retail and entertainment attractions.

Posted by JN at 3:11 PM | Permalink | Comments

I just put together this list of cincinnati city council and mayoral candidates with links to their websites. If I am missing anyone or if any that don't have a link actually have a campaign website, please let me know.

Justin Jeffre

Alicia Reese

David Pepper

Mark Mallory

Charlie Winburn

Sylvan Grisco



Cecil Thomas

John Eby

Eve Bolton

Nick Spencer

Robert Wilson

Andrew Warner

Samantha Herd

John Cranley

David Crowley

Laketa Cole

Jeff Berding

Damon Lynch

Paul McGhee

Chris Monzel

Leslie Ghiz

Jim Tarbell

Chris Bortz

Bill Barron

Robert Wilking

Chris Smitherman

Gerry Kraus

Wendell Young

Curtis Wells

Sam Malone

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UPDATE: An interesting discussion about candidate campaign websites is developing on the Dean's site.

Posted by JN at 6:13 PM | Permalink | Comments

Interesting story on Governor Bob Taft's visit to the Cincinnati Museum Center on Friday.

Question of the Day:

whether he has played golf with Thomas Noe, the former Taft campaign contributor who now stands accused of stealing millions from the Ohio Bureau of Workers' Compensation.

Answer of the summer:

That's under investigation

This reminds me of the Bush administration response to any and all questions about Karl Rove. Check out this six minute video clip of White House Press Secretary Scott Mclellan employing the same tactic.

These examples show politicians on the local and national level using a technicality to avoid being held accountable for their actions. Comedian Louis Black touched on this in his HBO special Black on Broadway when he explained that he doesn't consider either Bush or Clinton to be leaders because neither of them ever admit to doing anything wrong.

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Cincinnati Blog has an interesting take on it here.

Posted by JN at 2:54 AM | Permalink | Comments

This article explains how two Cincinnati-native developers turned their desire to keep people in the city into a successful business model. Mike Boyer of the Enquirer writes

WALNUT HILLS - Sales at The Gates of Eden Park condominium-conversion project have been so brisk lately that developers are moving ahead on a second, larger phase. Developers Ed Horgan and Al Merritt expect to acquire buildings on the east side of Eden Park in August for phase two, which calls for 150 units selling from $99,000 to $350,000.

The proximity to downtown, Eden Park and Mount Adams are among their selling points. Horgan and Merritt, Cincinnati natives, said they began doing condo conversions when they kept losing the best tenants from their apartment buildings. "We wanted to do something that would keep people in the city,'' said Horgan.

This is a fine example of the kind of community-conscious development that is good for neighborhoods and good for the economy.

Posted by JN at 5:26 AM | Permalink | Comments

Joe Wessels of the Enquirer ran this story yesterday on a plan by Rev. Damon Lynch to turn part of downtown into a distinctly ethnic community.

OVER-THE-RHINE - A proposal is being floated to turn an area near Findlay Market along Elm Street into an African Quarters - a themed shopping and residential area similar to ethnic neighborhoods found in such cities as San Francisco.

The Rev. Damon Lynch III and Peter Block - a Mount Adams author of several best-selling books and an international organizational development consultant to several Fortune 500 companies - have partnered with community leaders to realize the project.

This would be the first African-themed neighborhood project started in the country, Lynch said. Detroit is considering a similar project, but it has not launched, he said.

The six Elm Street buildings that would hold the project are owned by New Prospect Baptist Church, where Lynch is pastor. Lynch hopes to have the first visible signs of the new undertaking by this fall.

Block and Lynch would not discuss the costs associated with the project but said that because the church already owns the buildings, little additional money would be needed.

Lynch says there's a need to bring disparate parts of the black community into one place to support one another.

Block said the area would have a distinctly "African" feel - with retailers focusing on food, clothing and music with an African flare - but the area won't be for black people only.

He calls the project "an alternative to gentrification - it's for the people who live there."

Living spaces above stores would be turned into condos and apartments, with storefronts below.

James Clingman, a Cincinnatian and author of the nationally syndicated "Blackonomics" newspaper column, said he sees the plan as a step in the right direction.

"I think it's important not only for the economic benefit but for the symbolic role-model effect our youth must have in order to select alternative behaviors," he said.

This looks like an interesting development and I am looking forward to seeing how it progresses.

Posted by JN at 8:46 PM | Permalink | Comments

This information came from the 700 WLW website

Cincinnati Police are investigating a series of armed robberies that took place in College Hill, Northside, and Clifton. Overnight, there were at least seven aggravated robberies. Two of the robberies happened within 15 minutes of each other in the 5700 block of Hamilton Avenue. The other robbery reports came from Cedar Avenue, Chase Avenue, Resor Avenue, McAlpin Avenue, and Gray Road. Police say at least four of the robberies happened so close to each other they believe the same person may be responsible for all the robberies. If you have any information that may help police, please call Crimestoppers at (513) 352-3040.

Welcome to Wednesday night in the Queen City!

Posted by JN at 8:41 PM | Permalink | Comments

This AP article explains how a local police officer died while off-duty last Friday.

A suburban Cincinnati police officer who was killed in a car crash while off duty had a blood-alcohol content higher than the legal limit for operating a motor vehicle, the Hamilton County coroner said Thursday.

My condolences go to the officer's friends and family.

Golf Manor police Chief Stephen Tilley

had said that he would be very surprised if toxicology tests showed that alcohol was involved.

We were very surpised as well Chief Tilley.

Posted by JN at 8:35 PM | Permalink | Comments

Following Tuesday's resignation of cincinnati city manager Valerie Lemmie Mayor Luken has appointed David E. Rager to the position. An article in the enquirer explains,

Rager’s appointment will be sent to City Council at its Aug. 3 recess meeting. The exact terms of his compensation were not released, but the mayor said they would be similar to Lemmie, who made $192,302 plus benefits last year.

Luken has also made it clear that Rager would be a short-term appointment, allowing the next mayor the opportunity to hire his or her own city manager. Luken is not running for re-election, and leaves office Dec. 1.

Dave Rager is one of the most qualified public servants I have ever worked with,” Luken said in a statement. He touted Rager’s diverse experience in city government.

Rager has led the Water Works, a city department, since 1993. Before that, he was Safety Director. He has also worked in the Finance and Planning departments, and in the city’s Regional Computer Center.

He was the acting assistant city manager under Timothy H. Riordan in 2001 and 2002, in the transition period between city managers when Luken began his term.

So far so good.

However, an enquirer article from 2002 portrayed Rager in a different light. According to the article

The city of Cincinnati paid $2.3 million in overtime last year for management employees exempt from overtime under federal labor law, and Councilman Pat DeWine wants to put a stop to it

A supervisor in the sewer department received $31,251 in overtime on top of a $55,741 salary — an increase of 56 percent.

City agencies with the most exempt overtime were Water Distribution Maintenance, with $230,709, and the Regional Computer Center, with $227,169.

As the Water Works Director (as well as interim city manager), David Rager was the city official directly responsible for $31,251 the supervisor was paid, as well as the $230,709 in Water Distribution Maintenance overtime. Rager reportedly

said much of that overtime was unavoidable. When repair crews work 100-hour weeks fixing water mains, the field supervisors who oversee them also get overtime.

To this, Dewine

said he can't find any city with a policy as liberal as Cincinnati's. “And it's almost unheard of in the private sector to pay management-level employees overtime,” he said.

It is interesting how this was characterized as a liberal vs. conservative issue. I find it hard to believe that any reasonable liberal would support such overtly gratuitous misuse of millions of taxpayer dollars. If anyone has other relevant information on Rager's tenure either as Interim City Manager or as Water Works Director be sure to drop me an email or, better yet, leave a comment.

Posted by JN at 2:50 AM | Permalink | Comments

This enquirer article, by Howard Wilkinson gives an update of some of the recent developments in Paul Hackett's campaign for Ohio's 2nd Congressional District seat. Stumping from James Carville (former Clinton strategist) and Max Cleland (former Senator) is sure to give Hackett a boost in the August 2nd special election.

The article also makes reference to the role played by the DCCC.

The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee helped the Hackett campaign secure Carville's appearance and provided some fund-raising assistance that allowed the Hackett campaign to begin a TV ad campaign this week. That made Hackett the first Democratic candidate in decades who could afford TV ads in the 2nd District.

Unfortunately the Committee's website doesn't even mention Hackett's campaign.

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A few Hackett events of interest
Thursday July 21st - Noon
Military Event w/ Max Cleland, Blue Ash, OH
Veterans Park in Downtown Blue Ash adjacent to Towne Square at the southwest corner of Hunt and Cooper Roads.

Friday July 22nd - 12:30pm
Al Franken Radio Show

Saturday July 23rd - 6:00pm to 8:00pm
Meet PAUL HACKETT
With Special Guest Speaker: Congressman Tim Ryan
At the Katkin’s, 7420 S. Mingo Lane, Cincinnati, Ohio 45243

Suggested Contribution: $20 per person
Please RSVP to info@hackettforcongress.com or (513) 735-4310

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Check out Ohio 2nd for more info on the race.

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UPDATE:
Ohio Watch just informed me that the commercial is now available here as a .wmv file.

Posted by JN at 8:52 PM | Permalink | Comments

This article from the Enquirer, penned by Greg Korte gives a decent overview of actions and statements made by several mayoral candidates on Tuesday.

It became clear Tuesday - about two months before the Sept. 13 primary - that crime has become the major issue of the 2005 campaign for Cincinnati mayor.

While this may be true, it doesn't strike me as a revelation that is particularly poignant. I have not lived in the city for long but after a close friend was carjacked and my own car was broken into with a brick last year I knew that crime reduction would be a primary political issue.

The article does mention one interesting tidbit about David Pepper's slash and burn style of campaigning.

Pepper sent a volunteer to walk into Mallory's news conference - inside Mallory's College Hill campaign headquarters - to distribute a news release. The headline: "Mallory Opposed Anti-Crime Legislation in Columbus."

Maybe I am naive about the extent to which this kind of thing happens on the local level but that is not the type of campaign that I want to see in Cincinnati. Perhaps Pepper would be better off distributing his attack messages somewhere with a higher percentage of undecided voters, rather than at a competitor's headquarters.

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Also from Korte, an article that highlights Mark Mallory's interesting-to-say-the-least strategy for capturing the growing latino vote.

The Mallory campaign also may have coined a new word for Spanish-speaking Cincinnatians: "Cincinnatianos," the web site calls them.

For some reason I doubt that he "coined a new word." It appears to be some sort of misguided combination of the words "Cincinnatian" and "Latino." While I am glad the Mallory campaign has stepped up by offering part of their website in Spanish, I feel that the attempt to coin a term for a population he is not a part of comes off as silly at best, and patronizing at worst.

Posted by JN at 4:51 PM | Permalink | Comments

From Independent Eye and the Dean.

INDEPENDENT MEDIA NETWORK MAYORAL CANDIDATE SERIES #2- July 27

Please join us at an open meeting with Mayoral candidate Justin Jeffre on July 27th, 6:30 pm at InkTank World Headquarters, 1311 Main Street.

Cincinnati’s Independent Media Network, in association with InkTank, invites you to its Mayoral Series…

Mark Mallory was the first mayoral candidate to meet with local bloggers on June 23rd, and we are pleased to continue this series
with independent candidate Justin Jeffre.

Bloggers, members of independent press, and even just interested citizens, are invited to participate in an open meeting with
candidate Justin Jeffre on July 27th, 6:30 pm at InkTank World Headquarters, 1311 Main Street.

This is an opportunity for area bloggers to sit down one-on-one with candidates. Ask whatever you like. Talk about issues facing our City.
Feel free to report on the event at your web site.

More on Inktank at http://www.inktank.org

CINCINNATI CANDIDATES GRILL OUT TOUR

At the idea stage for now - we need volunteers Any candidates are welcome. There has been council candidate interest in the concept. In short, we will mount a “tour” of target neighborhoods, say places like Avondale and Bond Hill, and we will find a public space with grills.
Each candidate will bring hot dogs and pop. The candidates will host a free picnic to the neighborhood, giving everyone a chance to talk one-on-one with the people.

The event could probably get positive press coverage, and it would surely become rather popular after the first or second one. It’s non-partisan spirit will also encourage citizens.

We need to figure out how to get this arranged. I think we should look at Saturdays in August.

To Do List:
*Find a place
*Verify candidates who can attend
*Make sure the food list is adequate
*Press Releases

If any of you want to be directly involved in planning, please let me know, or if you have a staff/volunteer who would like to help.

NEW YEARS EVE PARTY AT THE MOCKBEE

We’re sponsoring a new year’s party at the Mockbee and need some help planning. The tentative theme is Willie Wonka. Anyone want to volunteer?–

Steve Novotni
IMN Coordinator
1746 Mills Ave. Cincinnati, OH 45212
vox/fax: 513.841.9729
steve@goxray.com

Posted by JN at 4:33 PM | Permalink | Comments

First of all, nothing but respect for Queen City Forum for doing this weekly(???) segment about City Council candidates.

The segment on Damon Lynch III, however, left a lot to be desired. It reads like a campaign advertisement without the clever wordplay. I can just picture a volunteer staffer typing late at night "People who really know Damon Lynch III love him."

Isn't that wonderful!

The "guest columnist" continues

The City of Cincinnati is in a state of emergency where our youth and crime are concerned. The system is failing them. Jobs are lacking, the school system needs substancial improvement, and unfortunately, once they get into trouble, it’s terribly difficult for them to integrate back into society. Our young people are dying and their families and community are in despair.

Unfortunately, Lynch's strategy for dealing with this is to put them in "Curfew Centers" in an atempt to "get these children off the street and out of harms way."

Posted by JN at 6:03 PM | Permalink | Comments

Cincinnatinews.net ran this story today about a Union dispute at Nutone in Madisonville. The article mentions that

Hundreds of local workers are taking to the picket lines Monday morning after they were locked out from their jobs.

However, the accompanying video clearly shows just TWO people, um, yanno, "taking to the picket lines."

Posted by JN at 12:59 PM | Permalink | Comments

This article from the Cincinnati Post provides the Offical Department of Justice response to claims of irregularities in voting procedures in Franklin County

Aside from the claim that there were no irregularities found, the DOJ didn't even address the questions raised by the DNC.

The DNC claims that twice as many black voters reported problems as white voters. The problems included long lines and intimidation from poll workers.

Without so much as mentioning the issue of poll workers intimidating voters the Justice Department

pointed to high numbers of first-time black voters and unanticipated spikes in overall turnout as factors in those election problems.

If you are a number person, have microsoft excel (and a way to open a .zip file), and want to see for yourself, download the election results for Franklin County.

Posted by JN at 12:29 PM | Permalink | Comments

The Dean of Cincinnati wrote an article about last week's "Candidate night" at Mcfaddens downtown. In the article the Dean was astute enough to see Justin Jeffre for the capable candidate that he is. The Dean wrote,

Justin Jeffre continues to rise to the occasion at public forums. Despite the sarcastic local press concerning his music career, Jeffre is articulate and confident in talking about Cincinnati issues.

Also from The Dean, this press release announcing an open meeting between Jeffre and members of the independent media.

Mark Mallory was the first mayoral candidate to meet with local bloggers on June 23rd, and we are pleased to continue this series with independent candidate Justin Jeffre.

Bloggers, members of independent press, and even just interested citizens, are invited to participate in an open meeting with candidate Justin Jeffre on July 27th, 6:30 pm at InkTank World Headquarters, 1311 Main Street.

This is an opportunity for area bloggers to sit down one-on-one with candidates. Ask whatever you like. Talk about issues facing our City. Feel free to report on the event at your web site.

InkTank is "... a grassroots collective of writers committed to connecting people through the power of words," so it was only natural to hold this meeting at their facility. They do not sell drinks, but we are invited to bring our own, or to share. If you have not had a chance to visit InkTank, they have a wonderful space and it will be fun to meet there.

So mark your calendars for July 27th. We look forward to seeing you at this second installment of bloggers meeting mayoral candidates, and we look forward to talking with Justin Jeffre!

I plan on being there and look forward to participating in the event.

Posted by JN at 12:27 AM | Permalink | Comments

Image courtesy of City Beat

In a recent Cincinnati Enquirer Article Hamilton County Prosecutor Joe Deters gave his opinions of the City leadership as well as criminals downtown and in over-the-rhine. Of the City leaders, Deters said they lack

the background, training and experience to dictate how the police can do their job.

According to The Enquirer Article, Deters declined to name any names whatsoever.


Of the criminals Deter said,

The time has come for the city to realize what we are dealing with - lawless vermin.

This is exactly the type of talk that makes law-abiding citizens of crime-plagued Cincinnati communities afraid to participate in a relationship with local police.

Posted by JN at 10:53 PM | Permalink | Comments

Although this may be old news to some it is new to me and I thought it was interesting. Wirearchy posted this article which explains the city's decision to restrict employee access to weblogs. Just wait, it gets better. According to the post

Brendon Cull, the press secretary for Mayor Charlie Luken, was granted an exception to the rule and allowed access to two local blogs, Cincinnati Blog and Black Cincinnati Blog.

Apparently only some city employees need access to timely and relevant political information.

Posted by JN at 10:39 PM | Permalink | Comments

According to an article in this week's Citybeat

As it stands, municipal Wi-Fi is banned in 11 states. Eleven others, including Ohio, have bills pending in their legislatures. Ohio House Bill 188, introduced in April, would force a municipality that already has two Internet providers -- the cable and phone companies -- to go through such a lengthy process of public evaluation that it would essentially block any such project before it got off the ground.

State Senator Mark Mallory (D-West end) commented on the bill by saying "I see a real need for community Wi-Fi. I just think we need to find a fair and balanced way to do this."

I applaud Mallory on his ability to see the important issue in this, the "real need" for citizens of Cincinnati to have affordable wireless Internet access.

Posted by JN at 10:10 PM | Permalink | Comments

Governor Bob Taft's approval rating has dipped below 20% for the second time in three months according to a survey recently released by SurveyUSA. Even more telling is the 13% approval rating he was given from citizens over the age of 55 and the 14% rating from males in ohio.

Of local interest, Taft was most popular (24% approval) in the "West region" of Ohio, which includes his hometown of Cincinnati.

It looks like the former Hamilton County Commissioner has his work cut out for him.

Posted by JN at 9:52 PM | Permalink | Comments

Welcome to the Cincinnati News Blog. On this site I will highlight the news that goes virtually unmentioned by the mainstream media in the Queen City of Cincinnati, Ohio. Additional emphasis will be placed on issues of politics, entertainment, and crime within the city.

Posted by JN at 9:16 PM | Permalink | Comments