CincyCapell

Smitherman is certifiably insane.

Although a record low number, less than 6%, of Cincinnati's registered voters cast a ballot yesterday, the only headline people will hear is that 'Cranley beat Qualls'. Those of you who have said that this is going to be an easy election and that Qualls will walk away with it, I hope that you got your wake up call loud and clear. Get out and vote. Volunteer. Donate money. Your vote does matter, and might have made a difference yesterday. Don't sit on the sidelines and complain, get involved. Our Streetcar depends on it.

As stupid as your comment?

From the Business Courier's Chris Wetterich via twitter: "As Joe Biden would say, pretty BFD: Council candidate Greg Landsman says his goal is to get the streetcar to Uptown. Reason it's a big deal? A lot of people think Landsman will be the non-incumbent elected in November." I think that now that the funding has been appropriated, contracts signed, and construction has started smart candidates like Landsman sense that there's a change in the air regarding public opinions about the streetcar and are evolving their opinions accordingly. I think that the resounding success of LumenoCity might play into this equation of changing opinions as well.

UC's scared that if campus isn't as easy to get to as a Wal-Mart that people will stop going to college. Cincinnati Tech has been repeating the same schtick, and Crankley was on the radio and on Twitter weeks ago calling for the streetcar Funds to be redirected to build a special exit from I75 dedicated to CTC. Because college students are going to cancel their education if they have to drive an extra 10 minutes to get to school.

There's an excellent new article by Paul Krugman about sprawl and touches on the need for rapid transit: Stranded by Sprawl: Are spread-out cities killing the American dream? http://www.nytimes.com/2013/07/29/opinion/krugman-stranded-by-sprawl.html?partner=rssnyt&emc=rss&_r=0 ".....And in Atlanta poor and rich neighborhoods are far apart because, basically, everything is far apart; Atlanta is the Sultan of Sprawl, even more spread out than other major Sun Belt cities. This would make an effective public transportation system nearly impossible to operate even if politicians were willing to pay for it, which they aren’t. As a result, disadvantaged workers often find themselves stranded; there may be jobs available somewhere, but they literally can’t get there....."

Cranley could stop it if he wins, but he's not going to be king. He would need the backing and votes of a majority of Council. I agree that we can't rest on our laurels, this is going to be a tough election.

After losing time and again on the streetcar and every other issue, COAST is apparently developing a bunker mentality. Here are two recent posts on their blog: 3 For Finney, Miller, Capell and company it's getting to be like the last days in the Führerbunker in April 1945. And like the occupants of the Führerbunker, the occupants of the COASTbunker probably think that their Führer will unleash the secret weapon at any moment that will finally win the streetcar war for their side.

They've never understood this project, so it should come as no surprise now that they cannot understand why the project cannot be stopped. I can picture it now -- on the first day of service, they'll be standing on the streetcar tracks as the first streetcar approaches, doing their best Baghdad Bob impersonations.....

Hopefully Mallory inserted a poison pill cancellation clause into the contract that will make stopping the project completely unaffordable.

If the contract is signed by then, the next Streetcar Social is going to be one big celebration.

Messer bid covered by contingency fund: http://cincinnati.com/blogs/politics/2013/07/12/messer-we-need-less-than-500k-more-to-build-streetcar/

Hell just froze over. The Enquirer wrote a balanced and informative story about the Duke rate increase as related to the Streetcar work. And no, Barry Horstman didn't write it: Duke rate request: What's really at stake? http://news.cincinnati.com/article/AB/20130218/BIZ/302180144/Duke-rate-request-What-s-really-stake- "The tussle over who’s going to pay to move utility lines for Cincinnati’s planned streetcar has prompted Duke Energy to ask for the power – unprecedented in Ohio – to pass costs of large public projects directly to customers. Duke’s proposal before the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio would not increase rates to pay for the $15 million cost of relocating utility lines for the streetcar. [snip] However, even if approved, the facility relocation rider would no longer apply to the current streetcar project because of a recent agreement between Duke and the city, he said. They agreed earlier this month to let a judge decide whether Duke ratepayers or the city of Cincinnati will pay the relocation costs. Even if Duke is held responsible, the rider would not apply, according to the agreement. The rider, if approved, could still be applied to any future streetcar expansions and other projects in Duke’s Ohio territory. Approval also could prompt other utilities in the state to ask for the same power."

There was a funny exchange on Twitter tonight between Chris Seelbach and Barry Horstman. Biased Barry was covering the Mt Lookout hearing about the parking assets lease when he tweeted about the Streetcar. Apparently Councilman Seelbach (who wasn't there because he had to take his cat to the emergency after hours vet) couldn't stand it anymore. I love that Horstman and the Enquirer finally getting called out by someone in City Government:

Smitherman didn't even attend the Neighborhood Summit this past weekend. He was probably too busy rehearsing his radio harangue to bother with attending.