Ram23

Perhaps they want to get him in a room so that they can have his full attention when they explain how grant money works. Isolating him from from the influence of his peers (COAST and Smitherman) may be the only way to get through to him. I find it funny that the first thing Cranley does after being elected mayor of Cincinnati is fly out to DC. Maybe it's a sign of where he actually wants to be, but never will because as slimy a politician as he is, Steve Chabot would eat him for lunch, again.

The one (completely random) person they interview, Mike Gendron, is some old fart living in Mt. Adams. He's exactly the type of entitled geriatric that continues to resist any positive change in Cincinnati - they want things to stay the same because they live comfortable lives. He's the epitome of the type of person that shows up to vote.

Clowns like that are the ones who show up to vote. I'm surprised half the people that show up to vote in this city can manage to tie their geriatric shoes in the morning, let alone fill out a ballot.

That is right across the street from the old Hudepohl Brewery. That whole area is extremely close to downtown, has lots of parking, etc. It's really ripe for development.

Can we start putting together a ballot initiative to stop any moneys being spent on "Hop on Cincinnati" or any form of "trackless trolley" systems until 2024?

I think the geriatrics showed up in force. PG probably reminds them of their own dorky grandsons, and half probably thought Mann has been on council this entire time. Winburn and Smitherman always run away with the elderly black vote, as well. PG is Cincinnati’s own version of the Manchurian Candidate. It’s insane how many votes he gets despite not standing for anything – really shows you what money can buy. I think Flynn is the most shocking addition. I would have thought Landsman or Quinliven would have been ahead of him for sure, but again, I think it’s a product of the geriatric vote.

It just shows how different running in a best of nine race is compared to running in a head to head race. I admit, I'm surprised how poorly Qualls did. Cranley didn't do very well, when you consider that only 28% of voters voted, but Qualls has been on the ballot so many times getting only 42% of 28% is really pathetic. How many progressives on this board voted for the 4 year council terms last cycle? Any regrets? I wonder if Laure Quinlivan has any regrets about that move now. Yeah, I was always against the 4 year terms and I'm not sure why they were so popular. Councilpeople have a lot less responsibility to the people now that they’re safe for four years. The things they do their first and even second years will be completely forgotten by the time the next election comes around.

Hopefully. I voted this morning near UC and there were only 6 or so other people voting the entire time I was there. Didn't see a single signature in the book when I signed in, either.

Gotta keep that status quo going! I think council elections are much more personal than state or federal elections. People vote based on personality, and that's not a bad lineup of personalities, except for PG-13.

Yeah, Cranley's ego is a lot bigger than he is, and people like that tend to pretend anything that may damage that ego doesn't exist. The blind rage against the streetcar is either completely ego driven or a brilliant political game; hopefully it's the latter, but with Cranley who knows.

I found a few thousand old photos of Cincinnati street improvements taken during the 1920's and 1930's. Of course the side by side comparisons were mostly depressing, but I still thought it was interesting to see the old photos next to current day Street View from the same location so I made it easy and put them on the same page. I can do some more of these if others find them interesting: http://zfein.blogspot.com/2013/10/cincinnati-then-and-now.html

Maybe, but while the TJ Maxx opens up to the the old Tower Place mall, it is actually a separate building and isn't owned by the city as far as I know. It is weird though as it seemed pretty packed all the time for a TJ Maxx.

"It’s the behavior of a candidate who knows she’s in trouble, some say." I always stop reading articles when authors think they can get away with editorializing by using the cliche "...some say" instead of just coming out and stating that's their opinion. Basic English classes in high school taught me not to write like that...

Isn't the land still appraised? The land my house is on has a view of the city and is appraised at 5 times the same size lot across the street. I guess in general it's much easier to just appraise the land, though. That would also encourage density.

The number listed on the auditors site is the RMV. The taxes are based on 35% of that number. It is a huge benefit, actually, to the owner if your property is undervalued. Usually if it is undervalued and is sold for a higher amount, the auditor is quick to adjust their value to get additional tax. I don't see the auditor undervaluing a property because of a political agenda. There's nothing to gain, really, and ultimately you're helping your enemy by giving them a tax break.

Did they ever fix the design? At the first game it was abysmal. Lots of dead ends, no pedestrian stairs or ramps: only escalators. Supposedly they had actual long lines to get on the escalators, which began well away from the entrances to same. The Browns fans ignored them, and got right on. I know we did, after looking vainly for the ramps. Remember, our own new house was only a year old at the time. We expected some similarities. There wasn't anything to fix - there are big wide stairs right next to the escalators. The escalators are just a bit more visible.

How does one mispronounce Over-the-Rhine? Say the h or something? I get it when the new guy from Carolina or some place gets Cheviot or Versailles wrong, but Over-the-Rhine is pretty straight forward.

Although it's a bit of hyperbole. While the stadium deal was absolutely terrible for the county, I'd say the collapse of property values and the tax rollback are the root cause for the county's lack of funds.

I hope there is a good moderator because I'm hearing COASTers are trying to troll the entire q and a It's Carl Weiser and he's generally a good moderator. I don't think it matters much because Deatrick is a smart guy and will make any troll attempts look silly.

Often times, at least in my eyes, this is an insult. A brilliant lawyer is one who is petty, kind of a dick, and believes in the letter of the law rather than the spirit. They’re the type that lawyer jokes and hatred are spawned from. Also, how fitting is it that the COAST case to permit politicians to lie in campaigns would be the one to reach the Supreme Court? Seems to be the basis of most of their campaigns.

Yeah Dalton was absolutely awful and as always, losing to the Browns is an embarrassment - luckily the entire AFC North is horrible so an 8-8 record will probably still mean playoffs.

^ ^^ Good points, Cranley is the de facto "Republican" candidate because he is opposed to one or two of the "issues" that the incumbent, and his predecessor are proposing. Cranley's opposition to both issues is a lot more political than ideological.

A few different companies make "green wall" type products that attach to concrete parking garages and have planting beds at each level and metal mesh vertical pieces that allow plant growth. The new parking garage behind the Vernon Manor has a cheap, poorly implemented version of one. If done right ($$$) they look pretty nice, though, and you get the ivy look after a single growing season rather than 5-10 years.

The thing that I don’t get is why people paid for something like this? Why not just get together with friends and have a picnic in the park? Why would people living in OTR drive to Kenwood to get on a bus to come back to OTR and have dinner in a park with their friends when they could just do that anyway? The irony of the organized, structured, yet supposedly seemingly spontaneous event strikes me as odd. I couldn’t care less about the whole white privilege gentrification angle; my criticism is on the cliché yuppie dorkiness of the entire thing.

I remember the Gold Star as well, and I miss the more recent Popeye's Chicken (although technically in the West End on Linn). Sadly, I don't think the chains we'll see in OTR will be the Taco Bell's and Popeye's - they'll be Starbucks and possibly some bars/restaurants. The crowd in OTR has become fairly generic these days; while you still have the hipsters around, you routinely see everything from families and young couples you only used to see in Hyde Park, to frat boys and coeds you would only find in Mt. Adams, and everything in between. If a Starbucks doesn’t represent the crowd that frequents OTR, I don’t know what does. I think it’s only a matter of time before chains start popping up in OTR. I’ll put my money on Starbucks being the first, as I think the one near Fountain Square on 4th street is the closest one to OTR currently.