urbanpioneer

Advice from PG Sittenfeld for anyone planning on testifying at City Hall is included in his most-recent tweets, which BTW include stupid remarks by P. Witte, who I never knew much about before, but who seems to suffer from some kind of personality disorder: https://twitter.com/VotePG

Our bus system heavily relies on the FTA for funding. If anyone or anything's jeopardizing our bus system it's the mayor, who is developing an increasingly contentious relationship with that federal body.

In a way I can understand why attorneys may have been wary of the offer. Issues about liabilities, etc., that may not have been inherent in the deal would've concerned them -- after all, it's a big construction project.

...or maybe a full court press from reporters.

What was the given reasoning and why did no one call him out on it during the press conference. Seems like an obvious response to his argument that operating costs should have been figured out years ago. I was wondering the same thing. They are allowed to repeat their lies until people start believing them because no one calls them out! Let's give them a chance to address Cranley's assertions in any forthcoming articles.

After 2009 the casino money was slated to fund the streetcar. Not sure why this has been forgotten. SORTA is funded with a city earnings tax, that fund goes directly to SORTA. City has no say over how it is spent. Jake, would you mind refreshing our memories about what you've said before about Cranley having helped cause the current pension dilemma?

Yes, inquiring minds want to know why. One possible angle could have to do with the fact that Flynn financed his own campaign for council. Reporters need to dig around and find out more about his personal finances. I really hate to think a payoff could be a factor in all of this. He was an ardent streetcar supporter when he ran before. Something's fishy.

At the We Believe gathering tonight it was just reported that we have a very good validity rate on our petitions. :clap:

When I turned in a completed petition Friday and picked up another one, I was told by HQ the deadline was Tuesday. So I plan to turn in the one I have by then. The Saturday deadline was to get a sense of interim progress.

A new low: saw a Pete Witte tweet inferring private streetcar funds will hurt little children by jeopardizing Pre School Promise: https://twitter.com/petewitte This reminds me of the scene near the end of The Dead Zone when Martin Sheen holds up the baby to shield himself.

^no doubt he lobbied hard :roll:

KUDOS to Chris Wetterich of the Cincinnati Business Courier, who's doing the kind of reporting on this issue the likes of which we've never seen before in this city. His latest article (that was cited here earlier) spells out the NET operating costs in detail. What a tremendous relief to have a journalist actually bother to report pertinent data that are informative and insightful, as opposed to Barry Horstman's (R.I.P.) usual fare that mainly focused on political posturing and banter, seemingly with the purpose of roiling public opinion. Who knows -- if Horstman would've done the same caliber of work that Wetterich's been doing, maybe a lot of the misperception and dissension about the streetcar could've been avoided.

Any summary? I could only catch part of it. But as far as what I was able to hear I thought Ryan did well, considering how mendacious Cunningham can be. For instance, he badgered Ryan about the ballot language, perpetuating the myth that streetcar SUPPORTERS crafted the previous 2 anti-streetcar ballot issues! Unfortunately Ryan's late to the game and didn't correct him on this lie. Cunningham surely knows his dear friend Chris Finney and his fellow COAST members wrote the language of the previous ballot issues. If voters were confused it's COAST's fault. WE know this. Yet he continues to misinform people. I can only SMH... Also, Cunningham kept harping on $5M or more/year in operating costs, when the actual estimate has been less, again misinforming his listeners. Shame shame shame on Bill Cunningham. He performs a terrible disservice to his listenership (and the people of Cincinnati in general) by lying to them.

Big crowd at petition meeting tonight, which is still underway.

I'm surprised Flynn, an attorney, would make such an unguarded and presumptuous statement. Lends more evidence to believe that A) last week was a total sham and B) this independent study is rigged from the get go Maybe more importantly than the obvious prejudice his comment reveals, what exactly is the basis for his confidence that KPMG's audit won't support continuation of the project? He's not an accountant. And the audit isn't close to being completed. Inquiring minds want to know.

I'm surprised Flynn, an attorney, would make such an unguarded and presumptuous statement.

I brought up this question as well and have received no response. The charter makes no sense unless council approves construction again before Jan 19. If they don't, this is all for nothing. I'm not sure I understand either, unless a proposed charter amendment forces resumption of construction. I'll try to find out more.

Found this national item posted on the Cincinnati Streetcar FB page: http://thehill.com/blogs/transportation-report/public-transit/192291-city-halts-streetcar-that-had-fed-support Unfortunately, it isn't just the costs that some opponents object to. I can remember the puerile gesture of COASTers/WLW talk radio fans who placed decals resembling gunshots all over utility pole streetcar signs the city placed along the route a couple of years ago.

It'll be here eventually http://www.local12.com/entertainment/features/newsmakers/#.UqSl2SjvMUh They didn't say if the audit will take into account ROI. Mann indicated they will taake into account building Phases 2,3,4,5.... We're going to see some wild numbers. Nothing will be clear. Portune did the Eastern Corridor in the 2nd half. Portune & Mann baffle me anymore. I must've missed the comment about Phases 2,3,4,5... I don't see how auditors could even evaluate anything beyond the first phase -- what data exist?

Anyone old enough to experience more of Tom Luken's political career would see that Cranley's following his playbook. It's not about ideology, it's all about personal political viability. Bill Clinton didn't invent "triangulation". Luken reaped the benefits of that kind of strategy long before. Plus, Luken has a reputation for being utterly disagreeable. Sound familiar? Also, Luken made a lot of noise last summer about the IRS scandal, scoring points among Tea Partiers and their sympathizers. They in turn favored his protege Cranley with their support. Factoid: Qualls beat out Luken for mayor in the early 90s. He's probably been strutting around like a rooster ever since Cranley defeated her. The key to second-guessing Cranley's moves is probably figuring out what serves his political ambition, which (as previously stated on this thread) may be the hope of unseating US Rep. Brad Wenstrup in the 2nd District. Democrat Tom Luken was a fairly long-serving congressman, ironically representing the conservative west side. SO, I may have been wrong when I replied earlier that Cranley wouldn't trash 3CDC's efforts in OTR. I've long suspected that there are many who want OTR to remain an urban ghetto, effectively functioning as a reservation for poor AAs. Scrapping the streetcar will certainly serve that cause.

Both Sittenfeld and Mann were guests on Newsmakers. It was obviously taped before KPMG was tapped and the Feds granted the extension until Dec. 19. PG was very assertive about not wasting "10s of millions of dollars" and has faith that Phase 1 will provide a decent ROI. Mann reiterated that if the costs to cancel or complete are close, he'll vote to complete.

Turns out it's on the schedule at 6:00 AM today so I missed it, but I saw a tweet that PG Sittenfeld was slated to appear on Local 12's Newsmakers with Dan Hurley to discuss the streetcar. It'll probably be available online tomorrow. Should be interesting. ETA: I think it may be on Ch. 20 at 10:30 AM today

Sheesh. This thread could use some inspiration:

Since Luken Pere and Fils are Cranley's mentors, I kinda doubt he wants to sabotage 3CDC, which Charlie seems to be proud of since it formed on his watch. Plus, undermining 3CDC could really wreck his relations with the business community. I agree though that Cranley wants to kill the streetcar no matter what. Tom Luken is a notorious foe of even the bus service here. I guess we'll find out before long whether Mann and Flynn will see the light. The FTA's letter to the mayor and all council members was stern, and hopefully there will be 6 council members who won't be willing to poison our relationship with the Feds. It would be an absolutely terrible legacy to bequeath to our city. Cranley may be burnishing his support among streetcar opponents, but there've got to be business people who are forming a dim view of his management style -- he blew it with the Willie Carden nomination, and he's failed so far in his assertion that he could get the Feds to "repurpose" the streetcar funds. Plus, it may turn out that the new council may end up needing to fashion a parking deal not that dissimilar to the one he abruptly axed, if it hopes to effectively address the city's pension liability. These folks will be in office for 4 years, which is enough time for the public to witness the consequences of mismanagement. ETA: I was chatting with someone today who knows the Cranley family well, and who said John Cranley's been a "brat" all of his life!

^ https://www.facebook.com/david.mann.33821