Mr. Anderson

From Journal News today Duke could pass streetcar cost onto Butler County customers http://www.journal-news.com/news/news/local/duke-could-pass-streetcar-cost-onto-butler-county-/nWQjx/

I enjoy House Hunters International. In House Hunters it always seems like the couples end up buying the cheap house, miles from their jobs, family, etc. They seem to always base their decision on outdoor space.

Spent a pleasant half day walking around both sides of the Arno River in central Firenze taking pics. Tramway construction

When I saw these pics all that came to mind was O-Zone's DRAGOSTEA DIN TEI. :laugh:

Ha ha...No, but they despise Berlusconi. Livorno was the center of the Italian Communist party - but I think they have lost most of their power as times have changed. Yes it was the Livorno squad - Il Amaranto. They were playing Vicenza - Livorno was about the win the match when Vicenza scored on a penalty kick in last seconds of stoppage time - for a moment I thought the fans were going to riot.

Spent a pleasant day in Montepulciano - located about half way between Firenze and Rome. It is a typical Tuscan hill town - settled by Etruscans, later the Romans and now it specializes in Vino Nobile di Montepulciano wine and Pecorino cheese. Nearly every shop in the center part of town contained Etruscan tombs in the cellars. Fiat 500 - perfect for Montepulciano streets :wink2: More vino aging in the cellar

Spent Spring Break in Italy visiting family and friends and taking lots of pics. Livorno, Firenze, and Montepulciano. Livorno is an industrial/port city of about 170,000 people - it was nearly leveled during WWII - so much of the construction is newer. The coastline just south of Livorno is spectacular. Viale Italia - the beach is right across the street. Livorno vs. Vicenza ended in a tie 1-1. Cinque e cinque (5 & 5) a local specialty. Polpo - octopus salad. Piazza della Repubblica built over old canal. Oddly enough - one of the tallest residential towers in Italy is located in Livorno. Spaghetti allo scoglio.

Take the Cake to open café Thursday, February 12, 2009, 4:00pm EST Business Courier of Cincinnati Take the Cake, the Northside bakery known for decadent cupcakes and by-scratch tarts, is opening a café as part of an overall expansion. See link for article. http://cincinnati.bizjournals.com/cincinnati/stories/2009/02/09/daily60.html

Ha ha...If they're getting a public bailout, then public transport is probably the way to go. :clap:

Great pics. I've been to Genova a few times - the last was in 2004 when there was a big celebration because the city was declared the European Capital of Culture - I recall they did a lot of improvements along the waterfront.

Yes, to be honest I have no idea how they let a development as large as Ruwe's Oak go without paying into a fund or making direct improvements to the area infrastructure. That project is massive and put hundred of new housing units into that little spot. There are two access points, to the development, but the access off of Wesselman is so far off the beaten path that nobody uses it. The Western Village (or whatever the crap the Meijer & Kohls development is) should have also been conditioned to making the improvements we're currently doing now that are after the fact. The development is done and the traffic has been increased. We wait until a year afterwards to start considering how to mitigate the traffic problem when we could have conditioned the development appropriately to where the problem wouldn't have occurred in the first place. Furthermore, this process of approval then places the burden of these infrastructure improvements on the taxpayer and local government. If you're a developer who plans to profit off of your development, then its impact on the local community should be at least partially shared by you. Rando - I know this development is near your stomping ground but it's total garbage :evil:- my cousin lives on Rues Oak Drive - the house is a cheap vinyl box with a driveway- like most of the other ones appear to be. As far as having developers pony up $$$ or take responsibility for off-site improvements necessitated by (their) development impacts - a great way to address it would probably be through Impact Fees.

I also read that the govt includes such things in GDP counts as a guy running a red light and crashing his car upon returning from visiting his divorce attorney before checking himself into drug rehab. :wink2:

Warren Co. gets its list together for stimulus money By Elaine Trumpey • [email protected] • January 28, 2009 If Congress passes President Barack Obama's $825 billion stimulus plan, Warren County officials hope it includes about $58 million for 14 projects - including fixing the traffic nightmare at Interstate 71's Fields Ertel Road exit. The president touted his package Tuesday to Republicans on Capitol Hill. Democratic leaders have said they would like to have a bill ready for him to sign by President's Day on Feb. 16. ... http://news.cincinnati.com/article/20090128/NEWS0108/901280331/1172

Clifton arts center wins $1M grant for renovation Friday, January 16, 2009, 11:07am EST Business Courier of Cincinnati The Clifton Cultural Arts Center said it has received a $1 million gift that will allow it to renovate its historic building on Clifton Avenue. The gift, from an anonymous donor, will be combined with a $250,000 grant from the city of Cincinnati to allow the center to proceed with the project, according to a news release. The Clifton Cultural Arts Center was founded in 2004 to preserve and utilize the 102-year-old Clifton School and adjacent McDonald Estate Carriage House. The center offers arts and cultural programming, classes, performances and exhibitions. http://cincinnati.bizjournals.com/cincinnati/stories/2009/01/12/daily76.html

Cincinnati Mills Mall sold to realty company, official says By Michael D. Pitman, Staff Writer Friday, January 02, 2009 Cincinnati Mills Mall has been sold, according to a city of Fairfield official. Fairfield Economic Development Director Greg Kathman said officials with the Port of Greater Cincinnati Development Authority notified him on Wednesday, Dec. 31, a company called North Star Realty purchased the mall from Indianapolis-based Simon Property Group. "When the deal when the Mills Corporation purchased (the mall), they were involved in some of the financing and bonds of it, they run the TIFs on the project," Kathman said. "As property owners, they were involved in the sale of the property." Read full article here: http://www.journal-news.com/n/content/oh/story/news/local/2009/01/02/fe010809millssold.html

UD gets $5 million from NCR for development By Dave Larsen, Staff Writer Tuesday, December 30, 2008 DAYTON — NCR Corp. will donate $5 million to the University of Dayton that will help UD to transform property on the Great Miami River. NCR is relinquishing all participation rights in the commercial development of the largely unused 50-acre parcel UD purchased in 2005 from the global technology company.The gift allows UD the flexibility to develop the land for academic and mixed use without sharing a portion of future revenues. The property runs from Brown Street to the Great Miami River. http://www.daytondailynews.com/n/content/oh/story/news/local/2008/12/30/ddn123008udgift.html

Sounds promising. Reaction To LaHood Cabinet Nomination By Tom McIntyre WEEK-TV Ray LaHood is scheduled to be introduced as the nominee for U.S. Transportation Secretary on Friday. The news conference will be in Chicago. Thursday, GOP Presidential candidate John Mccain praised LaHood, saying "He has always fought for the best interests of our nation--recognizing that bipartisan compromises often provide the best solutions to the problems facing our country." " Ray LaHood's experience will be critical to forging reasonable solutions to these challenges and I trust that he will be quickly confirmed by the U.S. Senate." Meanwhile, Teamsters General President Jim Hoffa issued the following statement "Congressman Ray LaHood has been a long-time, strong ally in the Teamsters' unwavering fight to stop unsafe Mexican trucks from traveling freely throughout the United States. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/

Wells Fargo economists see recession's end in late 2009 Minneapolis / St. Paul Business Journal - Atlanta Business Chronicle Friday, December 19, 2008, 2:30pm CST The deepest and longest recession since the 1930s will end in the second half of 2009, Wells Fargo & Co. economists predicted in their annual forecast. The third quarter of next year will be “better than expected” by many, said Jim Paulsen, chief investment strategist. “It’s like you’re at a cookout and you’re trying and trying to get your charcoal going and you keep squirting on lighter fluid, and all of a sudden it goes ‘poof!’ ” Paulsen said “fear mongering” by government officials who were trying to sell the $700 billion Troubled Asset Relief Program in the fall made the situation much worse, freezing everyone in their tracks and bringing on “economic paralysis.” ... http://twincities.bizjournals.com/twincities/stories/2008/12/15/daily54.html

It's funded by TIFF. Unless you live in the area it's not effecting your taxes. If this is a waste then every other interchange has been a waste. Look down the road at Union Center. Like I said - there are better things to spend the money on - regardless of where it comes from.

Never heard of this guy. LaHood to Get Transportation Post Illinois Congressman and Friend of Emanuel to Be Second Republican in Obama Cabinet By JONATHAN WEISMAN and CHRISTOPHER CONKEY DECEMBER 18, 2008 http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122955244259215675.html?mod=article-outset-box Rep. Ray LaHood, an Illinois Republican and close friend of incoming White House chief of staff Rahm Emanuel, will be nominated as secretary of transportation, congressional officials said Wednesday. Obama's Cabinet Mr. LaHood would be the second Republican picked to serve in President-elect Barack Obama's cabinet, helping to fullfill a pledge for a bipartisan panel of advisers. The first was Secretary of Defense Robert Gates, whom Mr. Obama has asked to stay on in that role. Mr. LaHood's resume on transport matters was seen as thin by some critics. He does not currently serve on the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, although he has in the past. As a member of the House Appropriations Committee he did not work on transportation funding. more: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122955244259215675.html?mod=article-outset-box

What a waste! I could think of so many better ways to spend $41M.

I hope this doesn't mean Walmart will be the last man standing.

OK so let me get this straight - Butler County wants the US taxpayers to help lower their water rates for all the sprawling communities outside of Hamilton under the guise of an economic stimulus - crafty folks :wink2: County leaders say water plant needed to lower user rates Area leaders hope to secure economic stimulus funding. By Josh Sweigart, Staff Writer Wednesday, December 17, 2008 HAMILTON — Butler County leaders say they were forced to explore building a $75 million water treatment plant and drilling wellfields after Hamilton officials declined to lower the cost of water the city sells to the county. A proposed new water plant was ranked second in a list of projects the county has submitted for possible funding under President-elect Barack Obama's economic stimulus plan. A lot of planning is needed before a plant could be built, but the city's refusal to renegotiate the county's water contract is forcing them to do so, country officials said. ... Contact this reporter at (513) 820-2175 or [email protected]. http://www.journal-news.com/n/content/oh/story/news/local/2008/12/17/hjn121708water.html

Best Buy eyes layoffs, slows U.S. expansion No. 1 electronics seller says it may be forced to lay off some corporate employees amid 'historic slowdown in economy.' By Parija B. Kavilanz, CNNMoney.com senior writer Last Updated: December 16, 2008: 9:55 AM ET NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Best Buy Co. announced Tuesday that a worsening sales environment could force it to lay off employees and significantly slow its new store openings in the United States. Minneapolis-based Best Buy (BBY, Fortune 500), the No. 1 electronic seller, said it had already informed "nearly all" of its 4,000 corporate employees on Monday that they are eligible for a voluntary separation package in order to reduce its corporate expenses. The company said the voluntary package provides an incentive for employees who choose to leave the company by offering a "significant increase in" the company's base severance offer. http://money.cnn.com/2008/12/16/news/companies/best_buy/index.htm?postversion=2008121609

Butler County submits for federal stimulus dollars County could save $100 million on projects and create up to 10,000 new jobs By Jessica Heffner, Staff Writer Monday, December 15, 2008 BUTLER COUNTY — Officials from Butler County are working on securing their own piece of President-elect Barack Obama's economic stimulus package. At the top of their list is federal funding to complete the Ohio Bypass 4 project. County economic development director Brian Coughlin said he has received a letter requesting he submit up to five projects for funding through Obama's stimulus package. The future president is promising billions of dollars for infrastructure projects in hopes of creating jobs. ... Contact this reporter at (513) 705-2843 or [email protected]. http://www.journal-news.com/n/content/oh/story/news/local/2008/12/15/hjn121608tid.html