bfwissel

I have heard people talking about painting a mural of convicts escaping via tied together bedsheets. I'm sure it's just a rumor, but I LOVE, LOVE the idea.

After living in downtown Cincy for five years, XUMelanie and I spent a night at my brother's home in the country. Those birds in the morning are louder than any car, bus, street sweeper or garbage truck.

In their minds projects like parks improve the neighborhood, increases property values, and pushes out the poor and elderly. Apparently, the fact that there are so many empty buildings in OTR has nothing to do with their efforts. :roll: Luckily, groups like 3CDC have thwarted their efforts to make OTR the Crack Alley of the Midwest.

+1 He really doesn't care about Cincinnati residents as much as he cares about himself and his future political career.

The Metropole was a completely different situation. The place had become a haven of drugs and prostitution due to an absentee landlord. They lowered the criteria for incoming residents and failed to provide support and security at the location. Other than the Josh Spring's of the world, most people were very happy with the conversion of the location to a hotel. The Anna Louise Inn has been the exact opposite. It has been a fantastic neighbor with almost no complaints. The Downtown Residents Council (which supported the conversion of The Metropole to the 21c Hotel) voted to support Cincinnati Union Bethel with a 40-0 vote. That is, forty downtown residents (including those that live directly across from the Anna Louise Inn) voted in support with not a single vote in support of W&S. John Barrett is just upset because he was not able to strong arm this non-profit to line his pockets. Don't forget John Barrett is completely anti-streetcar despite the economic study by UC saying how beneficial it will be to Cincinnati. His own commissioned UC study though is flawless :roll:.

Initial reports were that he appeared to be at fault and another poster here noted he may have been poorly dressed for nighttime biking (and without a helmet). I wouldn't pull out a race card yet until a bit more is known. "Witnesses told police the bicyclist, 59-year-old Ronald Richardson, attempted to cut in front of the bus and that's when the bus struck and killed the bicyclist." http://www.wcpo.com/dpp/news/local_news/police-metro-bus-hits-kills-bicyclist-in-bond-hill#ixzz26GxGaeMy

I feel almost sorry for the homeless that get duped by the "Homeless Coalition" to sell Street Vibes instead of working with agencies to actually improve their lot in life. My two year old son and I got harassed, followed around and then treated to a profanity laced tirade when I declined to buy a paper last month. Apparently, I wasn't "keeping it real"?

I'm sure I'm going to get flamed for this, but it must be said. The vast majority of cyclists: 1) do not know the laws regarding cycling, or 2) know the laws, but don't care to follow even the most basic of them. For the first time in over a week I finally saw someone following the laws by riding in the street, with traffic, and stopping at a red light. The rest of the week I saw dozens of cyclists riding on the sidewalk, riding against traffic (one fool almost got hit) and blowing through red lights. To top it off, a coworker of mine came in yesterday furious about his bike commute convinced that "all mankind is doomed". Apparently, the idiots walking on the sidewalk across a bridge were taking up the "entire sidewalk" when he was trying to ride past them. To be fair my experiences are limited mostly to downtown Cincinnati, but if all the supportive comments on the fools racing through traffic is any indication, there is no shortage of selfish/ignorant cyclists. It's not fair that those that do follow the law get accosted by angry drivers/pedestrians. However, given that most people's experiences with cyclists are with those that selfishly endanger themselves and others, it really isn't too surprising that people lump them together with the majority.

I believe Park+Vine sells them.

Worst case with this becoming a hotel is that it could be converted relatively easily to apartments/condos in the future with no lead remediation or major interior rehabbing necessary.

I have to somewhat agree with this point. Really what needs to be done is evict those individuals that are causing the trouble. Unfortunately, it looks like the current owner is an absentee landlord (possibly even a big bank which is the worst kind of landlord).

Almost four years ago I went to Robert Half and had them forward my resume out to local employers. I emphatically told them I would only entertain positions downtown. After a couple of "there is a great position out in Mason" misfires, I landed a position at my current employer at 4th and Walnut :).

Loss of life is always tragic, but it's important to understand that people living criminal lives are much, much, much more likely to be killed. There is value in making the distinction between an innocent victim and a criminal victim. In this way people can better gauge whether or not a community/neighborhood/city is really safe for them as well as becomes a lesson for others of the consequences of living a predatory life.

This is the reason why it is ALWAYS a bad idea to give anyone money if you don't know them (and sometimes even when you do know them *wink*). I know you meant well, but giving this guy money: 1) helped him buy drugs that fuels a destructive habit that he needs to break, 2) increases drug crime in our neighborhood, 3) emboldens a con artist to continue to feed on individuals in the neighborhood (money that could have been used for better things than purchasing illicit drugs).

"Eddie" is back panhandling to fuel his heroin addiction. Apparently, his wealthy parents from Hyde Park both died, he's squandered his inheritance, and his girlfriend has finally given up on him due to his addiction. The worst bit about this guy is his con/story he is using to get money from people. He says he is a UC student who was abandoned by his friends downtown. He's asking for cab fare ($5-$10) to get back to campus. He further goes on to say he needs to take a cab since Cincinnati is a very scary/dangerous place. If you see him harassing people (or yourself) CALL THE POLICE @ 765-1212. We really need to get this guy off the street and the first step is to make sure he hits rock bottom in jail before he hits rock bottom in a body bag in an alley. Description: White male, 6'2", approximately 35 years old, brown hair and usually decently dressed.

Cincinnati has a Macy's downtown directly across from Fountain Square. We are the headquarters for Macy's after all.

Wow, headline on the local tabloid paper, The Enquirer: "Downtown parade to hold up evening traffic". Mind you this is the major parade of the World Choir Games dubbed the "Celebration of Nations" and that streets will not start closing until 5:30pm.

For what it is worth, they are trying to sell the building for what it was purchased for years ago ($1.8 million). Even if it is sold for their asking price I'm sure they've lost their shirt on this purchase after all the costs associated with the building over the years is taken into account.

I've done a bit more research on Over-the-Rhine Community Housing (OTRCH) and found that Josh Spring and Justin Jeffre are at least tangentially involved with OTRCH and that OTRCH is closely affiliated with the "Peoples Platform" which plans to protest at the Washington Park ribbon cutting this morning. While this organization has made some strides to clean up their act and do more for the neighborhood, they still hold on to outdated ideals that have done so much damage to OTR in the past. There are so, so, so many non-profits in OTR. I would highly recommend that if you're looking to improve the OTR via a non-profit, do some research on it before getting involved with the organization. Do not take at face value everything that they say they do and/or have done for the community. Look at their history, look at their projects, look critically at their actions, and talk to others in the neighborhood. While not everyone got what they wanted with Washington Park, the final $46 million product is on the whole an improvement for our neighborhood. To protest at the event, especially with a large international event taking place in the neighborhood, is shameful.

While it is unfortunate that any tax receipts are down, it is hard to be too upset with Ohioans living healthier lifestyles. The problem really is that the costs of health insurance would only go down slowly over time and loss of the tax receipts now does sting. We'll just have to see over time how this trend will affect our health care costs. I was pretty excited when Ohio passed medical malpractice tort reform in 2004, but it appears to have only had a very minor affect on insurance costs. Has Medical Malpractice Tort Reform Enacted any Positive Change in the United States? http://www.feldmanshepherd.com/blog/2012/03/has-medical-malpractice-tort-reform-enacted-any-positive-change-in-the-united-states/

I am admittedly out off date with OTRCH's efforts. I am very familiar with its past and how devastating the previous incarnation of the organization was to the neighborhood as well as countless individuals. That is where my concern lies. In the past there have been some terrible things done by many organizations in OTR with good intentions (the road to hell is paved with good intentions). I'm glad to hear that Buddy Gray's ideals of running the world on rainbows and puppy farts has been replaced with a more rational approach that works to actually reduce homelessness, addiction and crime. If you're truly working to make our community a better, more diverse place for all (regardless of age, race, or social-economic level), then I'm grateful. Given your organization's history, however, I still feel like a good dose of skepticism is warranted. As for volunteering, I just got off a busy two year stint on the Downtown Residents Council board and have been cutting back my volunteering in the short term to spend more time with my family including two year old son (although I still help the DRC with their communications). That being said, I will try to do a Saturday some time in the next couple of months. Out of curiosity, do you count Josh Spring or Justin Jeffre among your members? Also, is it your organization (or an affiliated organization) that will be protesting at the grand opening of Washington Park during the World Choir Games?

Oh crap, really? This seems like it could be pretty bad for the neighborhood then. These are the same people who were complaining loudly about any general improvement of OTR including public amenities. In their minds projects like parks improve the neighborhood, increases property values, and pushes out the poor and elderly. Apparently, the fact that there are so many empty buildings in OTR has nothing to do with their efforts. :roll: Luckily, groups like 3CDC have thwarted their efforts to make OTR the Crack Alley of the Midwest.

My letter to Sherrod Brown Sen. Sherrod Brown: I'm writing you to express my concern over Steve Chabot's recent amendment to a House transportation bill where he added the following amendment: ”None of the funds made available by this Act may be used to design, construct, or operate a fixed guideway project located in Cincinnati, Ohio.” The Cincinnati Streetcar has been studied extensively confirming its value to our region, has survived two anti-rail charter amendments, and has been awarded money that is currently being spent. To explicitly ban this project for federal funding (sending the funds elsewhere) would have tremendous negative consequences. I'm respectfully asking you to have this amendment removed from the Senate version of the bill to restore integrity to the transportation funding process. Thank you for your consideration. Ben Wissel

A former co-worker of mine sadly left for greener pastures last week. This year (2012) he finished getting his Masters Degree in Accounting, completed his CPA examinations (passed each of them on the first try), got an SAP certification and trained to run in the Flying Pig all while working full time. He is the type of person we should be trying to keep in Cincinnati/OH. My understanding is he and his girlfriend left Ohio because they wanted to live in a city that valued historic renovation, had a strong urban environment, good public transportation, had a progressive vibe, etc... (his girlfriend also mentioned warmer weather would be a plus). XUMelanie and I went on some condo tours in Over-the-Rhine with them a couple of months ago and they were extremely impressed with all the improvements in the area including some quality building renovations, new shopping/dining options and amenities (i.e. Washington Park). He even mentioned that had these improvements taken place years ago they may never have decided to leave. I think what Cincinnati is doing to foster the urban neighborhoods is the way to make Ohio a "high growth state". Sadly, with Kasich and other Tea Party Conservatives in power making improvements like this across the state will be much more difficult. My former co-worker and his girlfriend have no job right now. They are planning on visiting/evaluating a few cities (I believe they were Portland, some California cities, Albuquerque/Santa Fe and Austin,TX) they have researched in advance to get a good idea of which one they would best like to live. They will then apply for jobs at companies in the chosen area. For highly qualified people like them the city is more important, because they will not have any issues finding a job. I'll let you know where they choose and how they do when I find out.

Just walking to The Banks yesterday for lunch, I was nearly hit on 2nd Street on the way to Holy Grail. We did cross the street against the walk light, but no car was even on 2nd Street when we started crossing. Some jerk turning from Walnut must have been either attempting a high speed getaway, or was flexing his balls to make a point. On the way back a couple of people not in our group nearly got hit by a car, but they didn't even bother to look if anyone was coming down 2nd Street. I anticipate many pedestrian accidents as The Banks gets more and more popular.