RockyMountainHigh

This is disappointing. Yet another underwhelming project for downtown. It'll fit in well with its neighbor to the east though - the Macy's building was originally supposed to support a massive skyscraper and instead it's a three-story mall store in the heart of the city.

Smitherman was sitting in a chair outside the Ham Co Board of Elections building on Broadway - two blocks from the streetcar route, ironically - yesterday shouting into his cell phone about taxes. It was in the early afternoon so I can only assume he was talking to Cunningham. Meanwhile, at the same time, a bunch of radios around the Tri-state were no doubt switching from WLW to anything else. Even if I were a streetcar opponent, I wouldn't be able to listen to that incessant daily ranting from them anymore. I'm surprised that Bill Cunningham, who obviously knows what makes for successful radio, would keep putting these fools on. It's beyond dull.

The Bengals have dominated the Browns for the past decade - not just the last three games that AJ Green has played in. Cincinnati is 13-5 since 2003 with season sweeps in four of those years. In fact, the Bengals have somewhat separated themselves now from the Browns in the all-time series, leading 42-36.

^This.

Flew from CVG to Washington Dulles and back over the weekend for $149 total on United - easily the cheapest rate of any airport in the region. It was my first time in Concourse A since its reopening and it was impressive, though somewhat empty. I love the new Bengals/Reds jet bridge artwork at the gates also.

Cincinnatians don't hate the Bengals, they just hate Mike Brown. This city/metro loves the Bengals and wants nothing more than to see the franchise win - and win big. Local TV ratings prove that. This past weekend, the Bengals/Redskins game more than doubled the ratings of the Reds division-clinching win over the Dodgers. When the Bengals win, this whole city feels good about itself. Mike Brown, on the other hand, is an idiot that people don't like. He's not particularly likable as a person and his team's on-field results show the folly of his misguided football-management philosophy. I'd add though that Cincinnati is hardly alone when it comes to beloved teams with hated owners. Heck, just look at Cleveland with the Indians.

P.G. Sittenfeld has sent out a mass email regarding his vote this week. I hope it's OK that I post it here: Dear Friends & Fellow Cincinnatians: Since Monday's vote in our Budget & Finance Committee meeting, I have received an enormous amount of correspondence from a broad cross-section of people, whom I know care deeply about our community. Many people told me they are grateful that I voted the way I did; many others expressed disappointment - sometimes, I'm sorry to say, in a mean-spirited way. In government and politics (and in life), we all know there's no such thing as making everyone happy. The promise I will always honor is that I'll work as hard as I can to gather information thoughtfully, and from there, to act on my common sense and do what I believe is right. Even when we disagree, I trust all of you would do the same. Thanks for your ongoing commitment to our city. Sincerely, P.G. Why I Voted As I Did: We took several big votes this week in City Council, and the truth is, they were about much more than just the streetcar. My "No" vote on the transfer of $29 million is a reflection of the need to change the way the city administration does business. It is a reminder of how desperately greater transparency is needed at City Hall. Here is why I voted as I did: 1) Responsibility to Taxpayers: The city now proposes to front $15 million to pay for the relocation of Duke's electrical and gas lines, while there remains a dispute between the city and the utility company regarding who should pay for what. If the city and Duke do not ultimately come to an agreement, and if the city were to be unsuccessful in litigating its desired outcome, we would then be left to shoulder a huge unexpected cost. Putting up $15 million dollars when you're far from certain you're going to get it back is not the kind of gamble the city should be making with taxpayer dollars. This is all the more true when that same $15 million was to be committed to improving Cincinnati's neighborhoods. Further, we no longer have the assurance that streetcar-related costs will not be passed along to utility rate-payers. I think there are many of us who support the concept of a streetcar and grasp its potential, but also feel that the handling of the project has strayed dramatically from the original promise made to citizens: that is, that this project would not raise our taxes and would not compromise the delivery of basic services. When we are suddenly taking tens of millions of dollars from new sources, thoughtful and reasonable minds should insist on concrete answers as to what services are we, in turn, sacrificing. "Act now, answer later" is not an appropriate or fair way to govern. 2) Public Transparency: In the midst of the city administration's move to make tens of millions of dollars in changes to various funds, many Councilmembers have never received a call, email, or visit from anyone within the city administration. We found out about the proposed funding changes via a mass press release that went out the second half of last week. The city administration seems - I hope and trust unintentionally - to have demonstrated an attitude of "Let's not tell them any more than they need to know" - and often even less than that. Specifically, they now tell us they have "found" $14 million from a fund established in 1995 that, in the face of a significant budget deficit for next year and pressing needs in so many of our neighborhoods, has never before been mentioned as a source of funding. When Councilmembers feel in the dark or like information is willfully being kept from us, we can only imagine how most citizens, who have much less access, must feel. Unlike the city administration, Councilmembers are directly elected to be the people's representatives, and citizens and Councilmembers alike deserve better, more transparent treatment. It's okay for people to disagree, and it's okay for there to be debate. I remain committed to the idea that our best decision-making happens when we do our work with citizens, not to citizens. I also trust that our community and its leaders realize that the progress of our city does not and cannot depend solely upon a streetcar, nor should our political debate be solely on that topic. Both the vote this week, and what will happen in the weeks and months ahead is, frankly, bigger than the streetcar - it's about good, responsive, and inclusive government. What's needed is an open, honest, respectful, and transparent conversation about continuing to make real the promise of a Cincinnati Renaissance, and to do so while living within our means.

I went to the game in Washington on Sunday. A few observations: - There were a lot of Bengals fans in attendance. One Redskins fan I was talking to at halftime said he was impressed by the Cincinnati turnout and said it was the most he'd seen from visiting fans at FedEx Field other than their three division opponents, the Patriots and the Steelers. - FedEx Field is in the least convenient location of any stadium/ballpark I've been to. It's in Landover, Md., about a 25-minute Metro ride from Farragut (where we stayed). But there is no station at the stadium. Rather, you have to get off about a mile away and walk - with thousands of other fans - through a residential neighborhood and up/down a decent hill to get to/from the stadium. - FedEx is huge but completely enclosed, offering zero in the way of views or even perspective of where you are. You're looking at the field or the seats, nothing else. At PBS, you get the river, downtown, Covington, the bridges, Mount Adams, etc. - Redskins fans are great - most are welcoming. There were one or two rude comments but overall most were gracious. We were in our Bengals jerseys and got far more "good game" comments than anything else. Much different than the hostility in Pittsburgh and Cleveland.

Smitherman on Cunningham's show now, trashing the streetcar. He said he still has high hopes that the project will eventually be stopped after the next council election. He said that voters will send a strong message and elect an anti-streetcar mayor and council who will then, in turn, stop the streetcar construction wherever it is. He said he didn't care if there are rails down and construction is half-done - he said the next mayor and council will stop it immediately. Cunningham then said that a streetcar can work in a city like Tampa, which is flat. But in Cincinnati with the hills it would be a disaster. He said it will never be able to make it up the hill to UC/hospitals. Lather. Rinse. Repeat.

Nice sentiment, and very constructive. I'm sure whoever didn't originally see your side totally agrees with you now. :roll:

^ Sounds like the Metropole, which few people outside of the residents had a problem with its low-income apartments going away for a luxury hotel. 3CDC worked hard to find better housing for each of those who were displaced. If ALI could move into a bigger, better facility that would better serve its constituents, I don't understand what the problem would be. It's not like that location is imperative to its mission. If the situation is win/win (upgraded larger modern facilities for ALI, more women in need who could be served, major economic boost for the city that needs it, revitalization of an underused part of downtown), I'd be all for it. Frankly, if this acrimony being built up toward W&S eventually forces them to scuttle all of their development plans for that part of downtown and put their time, money and efforts elsewhere, what a big-time loss that would be. Maybe Roxanne Qualls should think about that before she laughs at one of Cincinnati's most important corporations again.

W&S is going to have to up their offer from $3 million. I wonder how high they'd have to go to get the shelter to pay attention? I like W&S's enthusiasm and passion for downtown, which is exactly what we need. 3CDC can't do it all themselves.

I walked by this lot today and the For Sale signs are now down.

But how much building weight will the caps be able to support, even in a best-case scenario.? It's not like we're gonna see a 25-story tower in that space, more like a one- or two-story building.

No way would I prefer this to be in the suburbs. While I have some concerns about the design, there are also some aspects I'm liking. I'll reserve final judgement until it opens.

Historic house may stop Dewey's Pizza in Centerville: http://www.bizjournals.com/dayton/blog/morning_call/2012/09/historical-house-may-hinder.html

So, a massive $467 million (half billion-dollar) Interstate 75 road-widening project is now slated to start in 2021. Where's COAST? Their outrage is strangely missing from this article. http://www.bizjournals.com/cincinnati/blog/2012/09/massive-i-75-widening-project-to-start.html

This is good news. Even if no development is imminent, at least 3CDC will stabilize the structures. These seem like they'd be prime-location condos - maybe the best location downtown between The Banks and downtown. And they would remove some eyesores that nearly every Reds/Bengals visitor sees.

But there are already plenty of those options within two miles of Habit's, MLTs, O'brien's, The Establishment, etc. and they don't seem to be hurting those local places at all. There's The Pub at Rookwood, Rusty Bucket, Longhorn, Bonefish, multiple Bdubs locations, not to mention the chains that will undoubtedly go into the new Rookwood and also at Xavier's new development.

Agreed about the side profile of the tower. I think it needs another 10-15 floors to have that "wow" effect from the north/south.

Carroll also railed against the big bad city going against "a good corporate citizen like Duke Energy." WLW is so over-the-top I don't even know how their diehard listeners can do anything other than take everything they say with a huge grain of salt. And who is Dan Carroll anyway? Last I knew he was anchoring 6 a.m. weekend newscasts on Fox 45 in Dayton - the absolute last step before you're out of the TV business altogether. And aren't news anchors supposed to be unbiased?

Well, what is the holdup with the operating agreement? If that's the sticking point, get it done. Good god ... someone should make a movie/documentary out of this entire saga. :drunk:

ALI was more than willing to sell to W&S as recently as 2009 for $3 million, but W&S held out thinking it held all the cards and could drive the price lower. This whole thing could have been avoided rather easily. I wish W&S would concentrate on some other nearby tracts of land that are ripe for development, especially the site of their spinning-clock garage. A new tower there has long been discussed. The ALI building just doesn't seem that significant to W&S in the larger picture to be going through all this nonsense and creating a negative vibe in the community.

The Wine Guy Bistro has now posted its menu (not the cheapest place in the world) at its Banks site, in addition to employment information.

So when do we think construction will begin? Maybe October? I'm surprised we don't even have a rendering yet. What's the holdup?