LincolnKennedy

And my point was that I don't buy your argument. How many suburbs, be they bedroom communities or small industry towns, does Chicago have? Or L.A.? Or Northern New Jersey? The thesis that this is specifically a Cincinnati problem, or an Ohio problem, or a Northwest Ordinance problem (Indiana was settled under the provisions of the NW Ordinance, by the way) doesn't hold up against the facts. Regarding jmeck's comment that the outer suburbs "hate" the City of Cincinnati, I'd say that the hate the place no more or less than the City of Clifton or other such corporations in the 19th Century cherished their so-called independence. But there was a political will there to change the rules to favor a majority who preferred annexation.

Sure the idea has been thrown around out there...but the State government is ultimately what rules supreme and State regulations in Ohio are much different than many other states in this regard. You just don't see a whole lot of metro-governments in the Midwest (thank you very much NW Ordinance). Indy has one and Cbus has one by default of massive annexations. Other than that they just don't exist...Ohio in particular thanks to the massive amount of authority that has been granted to townships and other unincorporated areas. Now I'm no lawyer, but I'm pretty sure you aren't a lawyer either, Rando, and the Northwest Ordinance has nothing to do with the lack of metro governments in Ohio or the Midwest. There's no Metro government in San Francisco or Los Angeles, and they don't have townships in California. The whole theory of townships was that they would serve the functions of local government until the population reached a size that would encourage it to incorporate. That was still the standard- witness the proliferation of small cities in the Greater Cincinnati and Greater Cleveland areas- until recently. Now that a Democratic majority exists both in City Hall and in the County Commission local government co-operation has greatly increased. But for the Cincinnati area to have a meaningful metropolitan government, the authority would have to overlap three different states, and there simply isn't the institutional structure to handle that anywhere in the U.S. Personally I think both higher densities and smaller blocks would be good for the Banks. And I believe this stall is largely sour grapes from the local real estate elites. But I don't think we should be deriding these different polities from doing their due diligence and examining the changed rules for the project that they are supposed to contribute money toward. This is pretty typical for, and is the liability of, so-called public/private partnerships. A model is proposed, and a private developer chosen. Then after a while, the private developer needs more access to private profit to make the development worth his while. Any municipal or state government can raise just as much money for development as a private firm, but since that is not the style of the times anymore, we are left with this sort of bait-and-switch operation. Why we need to guarantee tax revenues to a private firm to build something that a bond issue backed by those same tax revenues could build by itself and completely in house is a mystery to me.

While there is no chance whatsoever that the overhead wires for streetcars will reduce property values, this is a legitimate aesthetic complaint. Frankly I think they should extend the overhead wire free zone into OTR as well.

That's only since they discontinued the sale of Kentucky Nip. Who's with me?

^Maybe people finally realized that their coffee tastes like swill, and that while you can buy a CD there you can't get your bagel toasted.

Nothing against the university, I have no opinion of it as an academic or athletic institution, but Xavier is not a pretty campus. It is randomly dispersed across two roads that are inconvenient to cross (Victory & Dana), and they still use many a former one family bungalow on that street that is Woodburn but isn't as offices. On top of that, the castle motif and light brown M&M color of the main buildings are a horrible and uninspired foundation on which to build anything new that ties into the old. Objectively speaking, the campus is a mess.

^I never really understood the mounds that now proliferate on UC's campus. One thing that UC's campus is surprisingly bad at (and Burnet Woods is as well, for that matter) is bringing people into it, particularly from the corners (Clifton and Calhoun, Calhoun and Jefferson, Clifton & MLK, MLK & Jefferson). I do think that the addition on CCM was inspired.

^While I, like Cramer, am not one for merely tossing away the memory of persons simply because they have passed, perhaps the title of "Mr. Cincinnati" legitimately move down the generations. That being said, I think Tarbell needs to do more to keep his title than simply dress funny on holidays.

^Clearly an absurd statement. I would be surprised if the square footage of "crowd space" has changed from the old layout to the new. If any room has been added it has been from the dismantling of the old permanent stage (though I believe there's a permanent skate rink now, not sure) and the leveling out of the lower well near the Fifth Third Bank building.

^The square is where you walk. It is the sidewalk on that section of Fifth Street. Was the thin row of plantings and comfortable benches that fronted the southern edge of the Square and shielded it from traffic really that bad? This whole non-dispute is really kind of silly. I think we can all agree that the increased activity on the Square, the replacement of small tchotchky businesses with restaurants has improved the area, making it a destination. The rest of the changes (except perhaps the entrance to the parking garage) are all relatively minor.

^Try the sidewalk.

That's pretty funny. Since 5th street is eastbound than it would be heading into town. I actually preferred the look of the old square. But it is certainly sour grapes to bitch about the changes. It is a a family friendly destination with lots to do and little crime, exactly what the haters said they wanted.

I love how all types of different people are out in the heart of downtown, watching the same television, together.

I don't know...that seems like a good way to protect the emerging nightlife scene in the CBD. There has always been questions as to whether The Banks would hurt efforts in the CBD and in particular around FS. By essentially prohibiting bars, you'll encourage them to maybe cluster around the emerging bar/club scene that I mentioned. I think it's smart. I thought that half of the people on this message board wanted the Banks built so they could go have a drink and hang out after a ballgame without having to cross more than one street.

Why're you undermining me, man?

Yep Well, they had something to do with those events, so I guess the people are right.

Personally, I think the Liebskind building looks like a gimmick. The best view of it is when it seen through the buildings of downtown Cincinnati, coming south down '71.

^The Wainwright Building (which I believe is in St. Louis) designed by Louis Sullivan is typically cited as the first skyscraper. Nobody has ever called the Ingalls building on 4th and Vine the first skyscraper, but it was the first to be built with reinforced concrete or some such method.

The Mercantile is actually a pretty decent library. I found some obscure titles there, old books too, that even as a member I was surprised they were willing to lend me. A great place for a bagged lunch downtown.

I think variety of the "crowns" of skyscrapers is a much more important thing for a city to consider and take an active interest in than building height. The fact that Queen City Square has a pyramidal (loosely speaking) crown rather than a flat top adds to the variety of the downtown buildings. I think the skyline as a whole is a more important aesthetic consideration than height. The only other pyramidal downtown buildings I can think of are CG&E, 800 Broadway (Times Star) and PNC Bank. Not paying attention to this detail can result in the unfortunate skyline that Boston currently sports. And since QCSII lies more on the edge of downtown I think it is better that it not be of grandiose height.

^Aren't air traffic controllers federal?

I believe that currently the mayor may serve two consecutive four year terms before he is term-limited. Council members are eligible for four consecutive two year terms, so both can serve eight straight years. Whether the mayor has to sit out for two terms to come back, like council members, I don't know. Exactly.

For anyone interested, and by that I mean dmerkow, notice that Mallory picked Crowley, an old man with no noticeable further political ambitions (similar to Tarbell), to be vice-mayor. This is a smart move, in my opinion, mostly as it lets all the ambitious youngsters on council know that they aren't getting any favors from the mayor, that he is the first among equals, and also it helps make constant a vote for Mallory and his agenda.

That is very far from the truth, ask the 15 or so members of the Riverfront Advisors who donated months of their time to take the County's insane plan and make it something worth a whole lot more. Plus, the Banks plan came out well after the sales tax for the stadium was passed. There were renderings shown during the sales tax campaign, but it was not "The Banks". Well, in the mind of the public who had a vague interest in the Riverfront developments those renderings, as well as the information on www.riverfrontplanning.org, consisted of the Banks plan. Why don't you educate me? Isn't that what the forum discussions are for? I don't really have the ability to delve deep into this topic at the moment. I can't imagine what Charlotte does that is better than Atlanta, but I am an amateur enthusiast so perhaps there are some elements that I am unaware of. Regarding public building- historically speaking, churches, centers of government, are typically grander and more ornate/expensive/architecturally famous than private business or homes. This seems pretty intuitive. And no, I don't work in the industry. Why not spend a moment educating yourself by checking out my profile?

Yeah. While the range of choice of beers was impressive, it became less impressive when you realized after purchase that some of the more obscure brews that had to travel further to get to Dupont Circle had been sitting in the Brickskeller for some time. But that Ms. Pacman game in the corner was definitely cool. Of course, I was too busy drinking some slightly skunked Vietnamese beer to bother playing it.