OCtoCincy

I thought about a month ago the Secretary of State ordered all local BOE's to stop pre-checking signatures. He did- then about a week later he allowed it for this election cycle, but not for future elections.

Or to highlight the language and implications of what people are signing? Would that be an okay thing to do -- to try to inform people before they sign? Even just a large sign that simply says- This amendment bans all rail, not just the streetcar. And then don't say anything, just hold the sign. I know John is against these sort of things- And I'm not really sure if you'll just end up drawing more attention. I think a better bet would be to get a marching band to play on the square right next to where they are signing petitions. That's my vote!

New Images from OTR Work Group July 11 release. Here are a few of them-- I'm sure Seth will post more soon.

^ and of course, who pays for nearly all GPS? The US Government. I was 30 days mistaken on the ballot deadline- My bad! It's gonna be tough for them-- but it's possible. Let's all hope for lots of rain Friday night. :P

Additionally- Census figures for individual tracts & census blocks are available now for Cincinnati on the Census website. The Gateway Quarter has a population of about ~3000 and is roughly 60% black, 35% white. Additionally, in the two Census Tracts that make up the Gateway Quarter, there are a total of 1000 vacant housing units. Meaning you could move in several thousand residents before you start to encroach upon people who have been in the neighborhood greater than 10 years. I think worries about gentrification are a LONG way off.

^ That's interesting-- I don't have strong distaste for the Walnut street one-- But my problem with the Vine st. one is that it's solid glass- And if you look at about 90% of the windows in the Gateway Quarter that have been fixed up, they have blinds or shutters and many are closed most of the time. Someone bought a unit in Trideca and installed a white plastic that covers the entire floor to ceiling window that faces the parking lot. It's hideous! This building will become even uglier because all the shades/blinds will be shut most of the time.

New Images from OTR Work Group July 11 release. The vine street building is hideous. I think I'm hating it more each day.

BTW- It's not two weeks. They have until September 9 - 60 days before the election. Like I said, they still could very well get there, but they are way behind where Smitherman's petition signatures usually are.

Where'd you find that? They aren't even halfway there yet. If this count is correct, it means Non Stop Smitherman guest appearances on 700wlw I updated my previous comment with more info- It's actually public info to know where any ballot measure is at any moment. You can go to the Board of Elections to find out- I got it in an email with a break down of Smitherman's other ballot measures. Ban on Police Merger at 2833 Ban on Trash Fee & Mayoral Recall are both at about 3500 Remember, Smitherman says he has MANY more turned in but that the BoE hasn't gotten to them yet. Either way, he's still significantly farther behind than he usually is.

<b>Official count as of today July 28, 2011:</b> <b>Streetcar Valid Petition signatures:</b> 3622 <b>Required:</b> ~7500 As a reminder, on June 13, 2009 NAACP & COAST had a press release announcing they had already reached 5000 valid signatures. They then reached 6,150 required for that year (the requirement number is based on a percentage of the previous election cycles total vote count). They turned in all of their signatures on Aug 3, 2009 and that number totaled over 11,000 signatures (7,100 valid). They are definitely VERY behind from where they were in 2009. This is good news for us- It is definitely still possible for them to get the signatures in time, but it shows significantly less excitement towards this ballot measure than towards Issue 9.

The BoE has been swamped with petitions for SB5 and the anti-Obama health care amendment. Everything has been put on hold and they are just now catching up. Also, I'm pretty sure the county will have about 1% wrong on all of it's rejected signatures. Have you seen some of the handwriting that gets turned in!? It's crazy, and it has nothing to do with the streetcar. The people at the County BoE couldn't give a damn about the streetcar.

^ look back a few pages- It's definitely the story- because they came back and apologized. In other news- Does anyone know if there is a rough opening date for the new giant Currito downtown?

The only poll was that strange won several months ago that asked county voters what they thought of the streetcar. The most recent campaign finance filing reports have come out now, and public records show Bortz paid $3,000 to the same firm who did that poll around the same time the poll came out. The only time polls get done in Cincinnati is if someone pays for them- Most political candidates can't afford it and the Enquirer prefers it's silly online polls to realistic polls. In other words, no polls so far.

I just saw a sign in a window on Main street that said, "My kids proudly go to Fairview German Language School, Boycott Cafe De Wheels!" - I googled it and found this discussion. Another reason I love UrbanOhio!

Ah! Yes. I was counting from the 12th and race stop. Very interesting- I wonder if the city will allow those zoning changes to go into effect when construction begins, or not until the line is opening. I'm hoping for sooner, rather than later.

K- Go change the world- End every single PAC and union and business group and non-profit that supports political positions. End them all! While you do that, I will continue to provide a list that helps people know who is pro-streetcar, and who is against. From there, they can take that information and consider those candidates based on other issues they support and other values. I won't be voting for all 9 in the fall- But it's a fact, those 9 support the streetcar. I've put my support behind a few of them who I feel compliment other issues I'm most supportive of.

I think the zoning exemption is for buildings within 600 feet of a streetcar stop. Pretty sure 1314 is at least a football field from the nearest streetcar stop.

Let's try this again. The AFL-CIO releases endorsements based solely on peoples opinions to labor issues. The Chamber releases their support of candidates solely on business issues. The Sierra Club releases their endorsements solely on environmental issues. Right to Life releases their endorsements based solely on abortion issues. There is nothing bizarre, strange, unintelligent, etc. about listing the 9 candidates who support the streetcar. Individuals then weigh that list against their other concerns and interests and decide who to vote for. I'm pretty sure this was Civics 101.

Ok- These comments are ridiculous-- But the point of having a Streetcar Slate is no different from any PAC or political group that endorses. Based on one issue, these are the best 9.

^ this rendering dates back to 2008. The other ones are from 2010 and 2011. I've seen the above rendering brought up on many blogs that they may be saving these older buildings. The current plan is the top pictures. I think it would end a lot of confusion if the internet just erased this older rendering- haha

^ Almost... The portions north of Mehring Way aren't there. But very cool, none-the-less

^ Dear God!! I knew about a lot of those things, but to see them all in one place, and with tentative dates it's really quite shocking. The Gateway Quarter in 2013 will be completely different form today, just like the GQ in 2011 is incredibly different from GQ in 2009. Basically, in just under 2 years, about 250 more residential units will be added to about 4 square blocks of OTR.

^ Where is Cincy bell moving to again?

Personally, I wish 471 *was* I-71. I-71 would officially split onto 275 from the south until reaching the current 471 interchange, it would then continue through highland heights and reach the river as its own interstate designation, diverting half the traffic off the Brent Spence, removing the need for Ft. Washington way, removing half the chaotic overpasses that take up lots of potential developmental space on the southwest side of downtown, etc. On google, it adds about 2 minutes to your drive, but probably half a billion dollars in potential new development and at least a billion in savings on the Brent Spence. WHY ARENT WE IN CHARGE! ___________________________ In streetcar news.... Today COAST attacked all pro-streetcar candidates who don't have "I support the Cincinnati Streetcar" explicitly in bold on their websites. They tweeted at: Yvette Simpson Kevin Flynn Chris Seelbach Cecil Thomas Wendell Young Nick Hollan Jason Riveiro They did not tweet at PG Sittenfeld, showing that he is NOT considered to be a streetcar proponent by the most anti-streetcar group in existence.

^ Yup, I forgot about that City Hall meeting- I did hear her speak out for the streetcar there. So that's 5 members who are very strongly advocating, also, Thomas and Young vote for the streetcar, but Young has seemed a bit more hesitant lately. If Sittenfeld is a streetcar supporter pretending to be against it to win, I wouldn't trust him once in office. He has raised more money than any other candidate, and if he's been raising it by being against (or at least not for) the streetcar, his major donors will expect the same from him once he's on council.