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Do you think there would be noise and/or light issues with a project like this, or are these pretty moot points?

I just found out this morning that I may be attending the public portion of the "CINCINNATI CASINO CHARRETTE" tomorrow representing the DRC (Downtown Residents Council). I have some of my own thoughts on design aspects formulated from various sources (including this message board and talking with some downtown residents), but if there is anything you can think of that is a critical factor for making the casino a good neighbor to urban residents those ideas would be greatly appreciated. Sorry about the last minute post, but I was just recently asked if I could to attend and have just now started marshaling my thoughts.

10 Cities for Real Estate Steals #10 Cincinnati "Home prices in Cincinnati have remained relatively affordable throughout the nation's recent boom-and-bust cycle." http://news.yahoo.com/s/usnews/20100218/ts_usnews/10citiesforrealestatesteals

OK, I was wondering why free residential Cincinnati trash pickup only covers individual homes and MDUs (multi-dwelling units) of 4 or less units. The only rationale I have come up with is that the city figures apartment/condo fees would be more likely to pick up the tab. However, doesn't this policy discourage more dense development since it adds additional fees to homeowners in larger buildings? As a side note, this means that recycling is also an additional cost to these large building dwellers. I would image this would have the additional effect of discouraging recycling.

^"There is not a finalized route because nobody knows what the budget's going to be. The Banks > Findlay Market route is finished. The Uptown route depends on how much funding is available." This is exactly why I'm so miffed with Roxanne Qualls for forcing the Uptown Connector as Phase 1. We could be building the Findlay -> Banks line right now and applying for extensions if it weren't for her "leadership".

Jeez, between this and the 3C corridor skipping Cincinnati it's like we're the Rodney Dangerfield of cities.

I thought I'd start a topic covering the City of Cincinnati's basic public services focusing on: 1) what the city does/doesn't provide, 2) how to report an issue or get access to a service, 3) what the city should/shouldn't provide and 4) how well the city provides its services. If a topic of this nature is already posted elsewhere or this is too vague please let me know. I will follow up with some contacts and comments regarding a service issue I have already bumped into.

I think a lot of people forget that there is a Kroger grocery store right in the center of OTR. It's on Vine Street half way between Central Parkway and Liberty. The reason why people tend to ignore it is: 1) it is not advertised (Kroger sent us a letter in the mail welcoming us to the community and telling us our local store was miles away when we were mere blocks from the OTR location), 2) much of their stock is subpar in quality (Mad Dog is some of the best wine and brands tend to be generic) and lacks freshness (many items are near expiration), 3) the area can still be a bit sketchy for those who are a bit on the wimpy side and 4) the design is not really an "urban grocery" design. I'm hoping with the streetcar running a block away and some pressure on Kroger this location could be transformed into a signature store. Then again, I'm generally an optimist.

"I believe that the plan to go to Lunken has cost the plan support in Cincinnati and that it ought to be dropped as soon as possible." I'd have to wholeheartedly agree. I was really excited about the project and talked it up with all my friends/family. Now I'm a bit disillusioned since the project appears to be leaving Cincinnati out until the next phase. I suppose it's good for Ohio, but I just can't get excited about a plan that was supposed to include our city and now it appears as though this is no longer the case.

Well, we thought we'd make it official and get the word out that XUMelanie is pregnant with a "No on 9" baby! Need to get moving on finding larger digs in Over-the-Rhine in Cincy. Blog Post: http://mycincinnatilife.com

I'd recommend Nada (http://www.eatdrinknada.com/main.html) or Sung Korean (http://www.sungkoreanbistro.com/) if you're going for somewhat upscale ethnic.

I've been reading "Urban Sprawl and Public Health: Designing, Planning, and Building for Healthy Communities". It's a relatively good book for people like me who aren't urban planning experts, but are interested in the subject matter.

I think we saw these guys set up in front of Below Zero Wednesday night. We really should have stopped to get that burger.

XUMelanie and I love our current place in the American Building, but some day we figure we'll need a little bit more space. As such, we have started getting information on whether or not it would be feasible to fix up a property in OTR (still in the exploratory phase). We're talking with experts in the neighborhood and seeing what we could realistically do and what is available. Of course, we are computer programmers by trade, so obviously we'll need to do a great deal of due diligence along with working closely with professionals to do the structural analysis, design, etc.... I have the same concerns of John S. on whether or not we could actually pull it off given our background, but we're committed to at least try. We love living in Downtown/OTR and can't imagine going back to the suburbs with low walkability, mediocre public transit and quiet boredom. It seems like now is the time to get things moving on a place we'd prefer to call home in case later we are priced out of our own neighborhood.

I was surprised to find out that the streetcars in Portland are not managed by the same people who manage the light rail and buses. However, despite their different operating entities and some animosity towards each other, they work together to handle disruptions in service with bus contracts.

My peeve of the moment is people who post an acronym assuming everyone knows what it stands for. I have run across this a half dozen times over the past few days which forced me to look it up (can't even determine sometimes). Is it that hard to think of your audience and type out the meaning once?

My understanding is that at least a good portion of the route would be cut off until the issue is resolved. I believe there are occasional cross points that allow at least some of the route to still run. Also, this type of issue while rare does occur and needs to be planned around. Work arounds could be done by partnering with Metro with a SLA (service level agreement) to have buses handle that part of the route within a certain period of time (half hour to an hour) from when the issue is identified.

XUMelanie and I will be posting some of our takeaways from the Portland trip over the next few days on http://mycincinnatilife.com .

Got an update on the "Fountain Square" robbery from the District 1 Citizens Alert System: Wanted For Aggravated Robber An Aggravated Robbery occurred in the Central Business District on January 1, 2010 at 8:50 p.m in the evening. This offense was previously reported by the media as having occurred on Fountain Square. Further investigation has revealed the location for the offense was the 400 block of Walnut Street; at the northeast corner of Walnut and East Fourth Streets. A patron of downtown, having brought his children to the ice rink at Fountain Square, returned to his vehicle to retrieve his winter coat. Three male blacks, wearing black clothing and neoprene face masks, rounded the corner from East Fourth, and confronted him at his vehicle. One produced a snub-nosed revolver and demanded his money. The victim complied and handed over his cash from his pockets. Another suspect rifled through the cab of his car and removed other currency from the glove box. The suspects are described as being 16-18 years of age, wearing black clothing. One had a "squeaky" voice and was approximately 5'05" tall. Another was taller, being about 6'02" in height. The suspects fled in the direction they arrived, eastbound on East Fourth Street. A preliminary search of surveillance cameras in the area produced the attached photograph. As more cameras are examined and more pictures found, the alert will be amended. An as yet unidentified jogger collided with one of the suspects as they fled from the corner of East Fourth and Walnut Streets. The jogger was a white male, with earphones on and carrying an music player in his hand. The jogger continued running westbound on East Fourth. This jogger is asked to contact Detective Rick Malone at District One for his assistance in identifying the suspects: 513-352-3505.

One of my pet peeves is when someone is sick and should be resting, but is spending most of the day posting to forums (hint, hint xumelanie).

I want my Cincinnati Streetcar. Stretch gift would be a truly integrated multimodal transit system. I'm dreaming big this year. Then again, I wouldn't turn down the latest Simpsons Season DVD set either :-).

I am all for moving away from coal as a dirty source of energy, but it bothers me when people quote Kennedy as though he's some great environmentalist. The guy is one of the biggest environmental hypocrites of our time. If anything he is hurting the cause more than helping. Let's stick with the facts of "Coal and its effects" and avoid soundbites from corrupt politicians.

I would take any environmental claims by NIMBY Kennedy with a grain of salt. http://www.grist.org/article/capecod/ He's your typical "do as I say not as I do" politician.

xumelanie and I are taking the Megabus up to Chicago (staying downtown) this weekend and would like some feedback on your favorite places. We aren't there long and won't have a car, so we'd prefer to check out the downtown area. Below are some really generic ideas we have been punting around. Navy Pier Magnificent Mile Science and Industry Museum House of Blues

The link below has a couple of mini charts that I use to get a high, high level idea if I'm saving appropriately. It has savings and debt ratios to compare to your salary as well as a percent of how much you should be saving. It seems to be written with the reality that people tend to start saving in their late 20s, so I wouldn't worry if you're not even thirty yet and don't have tens of thousands saved up for retirement. http://www.mymoneyblog.com/archives/2009/05/personal-finance-ratios-savings-to-income-debt-to-income-and-savings-rate-to-income.html