Cygnus

On that note. Credit to @teachbarefoot via Twitter:

And this week's front page headline in the Cranley Enquirer... New streetcar revenue estimates not as rosy City taxpayers may have to pick up more of the tab to run Cincinnati's streetcar. New revenue estimates were unveiled on Tuesday, and the numbers aren't as rosy as previously projected. The streetcar is expected to make at least $500,000 less per year, mostly because fares and advertising will not generate as much money. Cont More details are expected to be revealed during City Council's transportation committee meeting at 1 p.m. Tuesday.

Now up:

Spot on: Dem justice urges pals to leave party over PG snub

Ted to P.G.: This isn't a Little League game COLUMBUS – Ted Strickland – and not P.G. Sittenfeld – received the endorsement of the Ohio Democratic Party Saturday, despite a few pleas that the party avoid stifling a primary for the chance to face U.S. Sen. Rob Portman in 2016. "This is not a Little League Baseball game. This is a U.S. Senate race," Strickland told delegates on the state party's executive committee. "I think I am the guy who is best positioned to have a possibility of winning this seat." The former Ohio governor received 82 votes out of the 102 Democrats who were present, more than the 60 percent he needed to receive the endorsement. Strickland's supporters had warned party leadership earlier in the week that they were working to orchestrate a rogue endorsement on Saturday. Cont

Why can't Cincinnati have a Bean? Glenetta Krause is a Clifton resident. One summer, my friend and I took a little road trip to Chicago. She is born and raised on the West Side and can tell a lot about a person by the grade school they went to. I think of her as Old Cincinnati. I moved to Cincinnati when I was in my 20s and have been here for only 25 years. I think of myself as young, vibrant, New Cincinnati. We are the same age but in many ways she is old and I am young. It strikes me that, on our own City Council, David Mann seems "younger" than John Cranley. I guess that can happen in the city that is home of Oil of Olay. So we went to Millennium Park. We went to the Bean. If you haven't seen it, it's a mirrored sculpture, a kidney bean the size of a small whale. We surely didn't travel to the Windy City only to see the Bean – there was some shopping to do – but there we were looking at the Bean, taking dozens of pictures of ourselves. It lay on the sidewalk, a gigantic piece of art that drew hundreds of tourists to it in the half hour we spent there. Many of us bought a drink at the little stand, and my friend bought sunglasses. I said, "Man, Cincinnati needs something like this." Cont

Sittenfeld's campaign manager out, new hires coming Less than three months after launching his bid for the U.S. Senate, P.G. Sittenfeld is reshuffling his campaign staff. Sittenfeld's campaign manager – Cincinnati native and longtime friend Ramsey Reid – left the campaign about a week ago, said Dale Butland, Sittenfeld's spokesman. Butland said the campaign will announce a new manager and other hires soon. He said Reid's departure was not a shake-up, but part of Sittenfeld's strategy from the get-go. Cont

Here’s how much Sittenfeld has raised for the Senate race – and how bad a poll shows him losing Chris Wetterich - Staff reporter and columnist - Cincinnati Business Courier Cincinnati City Councilman P.G. Sittenfeld raised more than $750,000 for his U.S. Senate bid in the first three months of 2015, a total his campaign touted as being an impressive haul for a first-time statewide candidate. But the total came on a day that a poll showed just how steep a mountain Sittenfeld must climb to show his fellow Democrats he’s a better candidate than former Ohio Gov. Ted Strickland against incumbent Republican U.S. Sen. Rob Portman of Terrace Park. Sittenfeld raised $757,043 from about 1,000 people, his campaign said in a news release. The campaign did not release a detailed list of contributors or expenses, which is due April 15. Cont

Get a first look inside the new restaurant in Mahogany’s old space: SLIDESHOW Andy Brownfield - Reporter - Cincinnati Business Courier The former site of embattled soul food restaurant Mahogany's at the Banks has new life as the owners of neighboring Holy Grail open an Italian comfort food concept in the space. Santo Graal – Italian for "holy grail" – hosted a soft opening on April 2 and is now open for business in the 3,250-square-foot space in phase 1 of the Banks. The space formerly housed Mahogany's, which closed in mid-September 2014. "Business down here is fantastic," co-owner Jim Moehring told me. "We still think it’s in its infancy stage, but it’s been nothing short of phenomenal over the last four years." Cont

Above conversation moved form the OTR General Development thread. Yesterday's announcement: Cincinnati adjusts parking meter rates based on demand Chris Wetterich - Staff reporter and columnist - Cincinnati Business Courier The city is changing parking meter rates in downtown and Over-the-Rhine, increasing some areas by 25 cents and decreasing others by the same rate to price the meters based on parking demand. The changes, planned last year as a part of a parking plan approved by the City Council and Mayor John Cranley, will go into effect on Tuesday. The city studied parking usage since new parking meters were installed at the beginning of this year to come up with the plan. The plan does not constitute true “dynamic pricing” where parking meter rates could change hourly. Cont

Moved the parking discussion here: Cincinnati: Parking Modernization

I believe Spatz's is closed.

The city attached a stop work order to the front door on 03/31.

Cranley: Streetcar managers spent $200K on next phase without council permission Chris Wetterich - Staff reporter and columnist - Cincinnati Business Courier Mayor John Cranley accused leaders of the streetcar project of spending $200,000 planning phase 1b of the streetcar project last year without council authorization. Cranley’s statement came during Thursday’s City Council meeting amidst another contentious discussion of the project. The mayor’s comments followed a statement by Councilman Chris Seelbach that project leaders did not hide a Duke Energy estimate that it will cost $38 million to move utilities for phase 1b of the project, as Cranley told the Cincinnati Enquirer on Sunday. Cont

Not that this has anything to do with the AC Hotels article yesterday, but there was a crew at the hotel pad location removing the wrap from the fence surrounding the site. Before it was pictures/lease advertisements for The Banks. It has been up since 2011 and was quite faded. They replaced it with a plain green wrap.

Slightly misleading answer from the Enquirer... the poles are black, the catenary arm is silver. Need to Know: What color will streetcar poles be? This installment of Need to Know answers a reader's question about the aesthetics of the incoming streetcar.

I agree this is a fantastic use for the building. The club scene just never made sense for that corner. Curious how Richter & Phillips will handle parking for their suburban customers. Their radio ads always mentioned free parking in the surface lot behind the Gwynne Building.

Portman's first quarter fundraising take? $2.75M in 90 days Sen. Rob Portman raised $2.75 million in the first three months of this year, a haul that hints at a super competitive – and very expensive – Senate race in Ohio next year. With the 2016 Senate election still nearly 20 months away, Portman, R-Ohio, will report a cash balance of more than $8 million, according to figures provided by his campaign and obtained exclusively by the Enquirer. The first quarter ended on March 31, but candidates do not have to file their campaign finance reports with the Federal Election Commission until April 15. Cont

Brief conversation on this one page back beginning here.

Your memory was correct:

Reds debut room for nursing moms When Cincinnati Reds chief operating officer Phil Castellini was told by stadium operations that there was an increased number of women asking where they could nurse their children at the ballpark, as a father of five, he couldn't dismiss the idea of doing the best he could to provide a worthwhile solution. "It just didn't make sense that we would put a couple chairs in the women's bathrooms," Castellini said. The site, built by local home builder Fischer Homes and sponsored by Pampers, which is owned by Cincinnati-based Procter & Gamble, will have five gliders that will give the female fan the comfort of home while at the ballpark. Cont

^ Agree. Also though they made name and branding changes when moving into Queen City Square. Great American Insurance Company to Great American Insurance Group and the logo from blue letters (as still seen at Dixie Terminal) to white.

Motion could drive up streetcar costs Cincinnati Councilwoman Amy Murray is chair of the transportation committee. Whether you are for the streetcar or against it, a motion is coming before the Transportation Committee on Tuesday that might be the only streetcar-related issue that we can all agree on. The issue to be discussed is who will operate the streetcar and at what cost. If you are a supporter of the streetcar, this should be concerning because if this motion passes it could potentially drive up costs. This could impact the future of the streetcar, including how often it runs. If you are an opponent the streetcar, this motion could unnecessarily require more taxpayer dollars to operate the streetcar. Cont

Carter names local real estate veteran as Banks project executive Tom Demeropolis - Senior Staff Reporter - Cincinnati Business Courier For the first time since the start of the Banks project in April 2008, the project’s lead developer named a local project executive to oversee the development. Carter, which serves as master developer for the Banks, named Dan McCarthy as project executive of Cincinnati’s largest mixed-use development. McCarthy has more than a decade of experience in project and construction management. In this newly created position, McCarthy will identify and lead new development opportunities and assist Carter’s project team on day-to-day execution and project delivery. He’ll also support Carter’s construction efforts for Phase II of the project, which includes residential, retail and General Electric Co.’s nearly 340,000-square-foot office building. Cont

Bake's Place, a small breakfast/lunch spot in the Mercantile Center lobby and directly across from the 5th & Walnut streetcar stop, decided their tip cup message this week should be: "Cincinnati's new strategy, let all the streets crumble so we are forced to ride the stupid streetcar!" :box: I decided my ≈$45 a month for lunches there would be best spent elsewhere.