brian korte

Been closed and the space emptied out for at least a month. Don't know why yet or what the plan is.

But the Nashville location - a county fairgrounds - is far different than in the middle of an urban neighborhood. Additionally, politicians in Nashville are now looking at denying the funding of forcing a different site for the stadium (https://www.tennessean.com/story/news/2018/05/15/nashville-mayors-brileys-challengers-unsure-mls-stadium-fairgrounds/608910002/).

I think FCC knows they'll make so much money if they join MLS that a few hundred thousand dollars per year to the community is more than worth it to finalize a deal that will push them over the edge in their quest for an MLS invite.

I disagree that it is a component of a firearm. It's an addition to an existing firearm. Happy to let the courts figure this one out.

793 E. McMillan is slated to be rehabbed into a bar restaurant. WHRF will do the remodel and they claim to have "an experienced bar/restaurant owner to lease the property and operate a bar/restaurant." http://city-egov.cincinnati-oh.gov/Webtop/ws/council/public/child/Blob/50271.pdf?rpp=-10&m=1&w=doc_no%3D%27201800766%27

The recusal of 3CDC could also be due to Leeper sitting on the joint banks steering committee. Glad to hear that they're looking into the Emery renovation.

Harry Black has indicated on multiple occasions he has no intention of resigning (at least, not with just 8 months pay). We'll see if he changes his mind if/when Cranley continues his infantile scorched-earth campaign to bring him down.

3CDC also owns the building next door, 1726 Vine St. Tons of square footage there for development.

Cranley just said he'll be introducing West End FCC legislation soon. Did not give an exact date nor did he say what would be in legislation. It seems like FCC is probably okay with the CPS deal and will give the West End one last shot at City Council before bailing to Newport, presumably. John Cranley pushing this in spite of what seems to be pretty ardent opposition from West End residents, claiming he knows what is good for them.

Saying "Harry won't let me run the administration anymore" won't fly....

Because the severance would include a clause the neither Harry Black nor John Cranley would disparage each other (or the city, in Harry's case). John doesn't get that protection if he simply submits Harry's firing to Council.

While the Enquirer has refused to run it because it doesn't fit their narrative, the Charter Committee did release an Oped defending our current form of government: The recent upheaval at Cincinnati City Hall created by the conflict between Mayor John Cranley and City Manager Harry Black has some calling for changes to our strong mayor-council/manager form of government. However, both our history and the example of cities across the country tell us that the form of government Cincinnati uses is not the problem, and changing it is not the solution. Many decades ago, Cincinnati suffered from immense corruption during its last period under a strong mayor. The solution was implementation of progressive-era reforms, including the innovation of professional city management. This approach has been adapted with many different variations (such as the current Cincinnati version) and works successfully in cities of all sizes and regions, including the best- run cities. We need look no further than a peer to our west, Kansas City, Missouri, to see a thriving city, that uses a strong mayor-city manager form of government. It works well because the Mayor leads the charge and collaborates with elected council members to set policy. The city manager then enacts that policy through the city staff. In large corporations, a board of directors sets policy that is carried out by a chief executive who has the training and experience to manage large, complex organizations. The majority of cities follow this model, with the mayor and city council functioning as the board of directors and the city manager functioning as the CEO. Cincinnati government has a workforce of over 5,000 employees and a total budget greater than $1.5 billion. An organization this size – a conglomeration of many distinct lines of business (public works, parks, recreation, police, fire, transportation and engineering, public health) – should be managed by a professional, not a politician. An appointed, professional city manager, unlike elected politicians, is not swayed by the need to secure votes and keep constituents happy; rather the city manager is afforded the opportunity to do what he or she believes, and experience suggests, is best for the city. We saw this in the summer of 2016 when City Manager Black disagreed with and tried to prevent the Mayor from usurping his authority to provide larger raises to the city’s unionized workforce. Unfortunately, as the city manager predicted then, this caused an enormous budget deficit that the politicians have yet to address. Is our form of government perfect? Far from it. This is why in 2014 Kevin Flynn launched the Charter Review Task Force when he joined council. The Task Force’s report recommended several minor changes to the City Charter that would clarify the roles and responsibilities of the mayor and city council to ensure the balance of power is in alignment with the spirit of the Charter, items such as allowing the city council to initiate the firing of the city manager and eliminating the chance for the mayor to block legislation indefinitely. Unfortunately Cincinnati voters were not given the opportunity to vote on these improvements. The current Mayor, not wanting to have his power limited, threatened to veto any ordinance putting these Charter changes before the voters. City Council backed down and these improvements to the City Charter never made it to the ballot. Rather than abandon a form of government with a proven track record of success, it is time to revisit these simple changes, among others, to make our current strong mayor-city manager form of government even better.

The report was released prior to any review by the city manager or the police chief. The report apparently contains inaccuracies concerning the figures cited. Additionally, the individual who is accused of abusing overtime is claiming that she was not kept in the loop on changes to overtime policy that every other district commander was told about just so the good ol boys network could play gotcha with her. There are many sides to this story and frankly I don't trust the mayor or the racists in CPD.

Hard to get outraged over coworkers going out for drinks after a long day of work and happening to end up at a strip club. Were they supposed to not invite everyone along? No taxpayer money spent at the strip club, no problem.

During John’s press conference he has said he is trying to fire Black "Based on a pattern of behavior over several years that has been abusive and in some cases retaliatory and threatening and in some cases unprofessional and in some cases completely inappropriate. I advised him to cease and desist certain behaviors … those behaviors are resurfacing and getting more egregious. I feel in good conscience I need to share this with council to decide how to move forward with the city. I am very worried a number of employees between now and then will suffer from retaliation. We’re going to have to create a safe space for employees to testify. There are citizens who have been subject to similar treatment who also will come forward. Obviously, this is tragic and sad."

2506 Moorman, a 2,000 sqft SFH, was flipped and sold for $429,900. This is the highest cost I've seen a rehabbed SFH in this area go for so far...

Nan Whaley drops out and endorses Rich Cordray.

That's a good question. I can't imagine they just sit on it so they could use it to fund one-time capital costs or pay down other debt.

According to the city's most recent comprehensive annual financial report these are the debts that will be coming off the books soon: General Obligation Bonds - $30,000,000 issued in 1987; fully paid off in 2018 Urban Redevelopment - $1,085,000 issued in 2014; fully paid off in 2021 Recreational Facilities - $5,950,000 issued in 2007; fully paid off in 2021 There is other various debt that rolls off the books between 2020-2040 but it doesn't show me how much comes off the books when. The city currently has $1,181,058,000 in debt outstanding.

Landsman is not super progressive, but worse, he won't be standing up to John Cranley at all. They are pretty tight. There will be zero mayoral veto overrides from this Council. Landsman is much like PG - Switzerland not looking to rock the boat. You could argue it is smart politics to not get on John's bad side because he is so vindictive and will make life at City Hall very difficult for anyone that does. But if six council members had any spine they could anything they wanted, whether Cranley agrees or not, including introducing any legislation John decides to "pocket veto." Anyway, the next four years will be much the same as the last four. Don't expect much progressive policy out of City Hall. But your roads will continue to get paved (as if they weren't before).

Is The Banks, or the Central Business District, not a neighborhood?

Short answer: Math. Long answer: Assume you ranked your candidates in preference of how much you liked them 1-9 and you vote for all 9. There is a small probability that your vote for your 9th favorite candidate makes it so your number 1 ranked candidate doesn't make it onto council. That's essentially the reason; you dilute your vote. However, by voting for all nine you're also giving all 9 a better chance to get on council. And the likelihood of the above happening is slim. But that's the reasoning. I say: vote for however many you like, up to 9.

Mallory was a bully. He just wasn't always as overt as John is. He bullied people to take his side and only introduced legislation he wanted to pass and knew would pass. Shrewd politician. But definitely a bully.

And here's an article about it: https://www.bizjournals.com/cincinnati/news/2017/09/28/three-story-self-storage-facility-coming-to.html

Left unsaid? What happens when/if 3CDC can't make the garage financing work? Project dies.