Mr. Anderson

Ohio offers refinancing plan for distressed homeowners Cincinnati Business Courier - 10:37 AM EDT Tuesday, March 27, 2007 The Ohio Housing Finance Agency will issue $100 million in taxable municipal bonds in April as part of a refinancing program to help homeowners faced with foreclosure. The program, offered through OHFA's 185 lending partners throughout the state, will provide 30-year fixed-rate loans for homeowners burdened by adjustable rate or interest-only mortgages or faced with circumstances like unemployment and divorce. The bonds should provide assistance for about 1,000 loans (average loan amount is $100,000 per home) at about a 6.75 percent interest rate. ... More at: http://cincinnati.bizjournals.com/cincinnati/stories/2007/03/26/daily18.html?jst=b_ln_hl

URando...looks like you're gonna have some competition...the Spicy Pickle has some very Panera"esqe" sandwiches.

Pictures taken by my wife during her trip to Barcelona last year with her sisters. This pic is from an outdoor market in Livorno, Italy, her home town.

I see these clowns are back at work. Anti-tax group opposes film commission funding plan Cincinnati Business Courier - 9:58 AM EDT Thursday, March 22, 2007 A Tri-State group says it will file suit if Hamilton County and the city of Cincinnati go ahead with a plan to fund the Greater Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky Film Commission. The city and county had made plans to spend surplus money from the hotel/motel tax that had been used for the expansion of Duke Energy Center, which included funding the film commission. The Coalition Opposed to Additional Spending and Taxes (COAST) maintained in a news release that the city and county are exceeding their authority to utilize the money, which they said should be spent only for the construction, maintenance or marketing of the downtown convention center. http://cincinnati.bizjournals.com/cincinnati/stories/2007/03/19/daily34.html?surround=lfn

I noticed the Burnet Woods plan shows parts of MLK between Burnet Woods/EPA and UC having a planted landscape median - similar to the one just further west near Stetson Square and the medical campus. Does anyone know if it will be constructed like this?

Wait a minute...what planning department?!?! What? Did they reinstate the cumbersome planning department yet in the new city budget?

Well it will bring both growth and gridlock...whereas having rail transit in place would bring growth, and lesser congestion. There is a piece to this puzzle that we are missing...and guess what no mention of inter-city rail connections once in these articles. But hey 4 improved intersections!!!! Rando not to nitpick but only two interchanges in the story currently exist - Monroe Exit 29 and Middletown Exit 32. The two new interchanges...Austin Road south of Dayton and Liberty IMO will simply increase congestion along I75 and any development would likely be at the expense of someplace else i.e. Dayton or Cincinnati.

Ford to invest $200 mln in Sharonville, Ohio plant Guess this makes it official - in any event good news for Cincy area. Last Update: 3:52 PM ET Mar 9, 2007 SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) Ford Motor Company said Friday it is investing $200 million in its Sharonville, Ohio, transmission plant. The investment will be used to retool the plant for flexible manufacturing and advanced powertrain production, the automaker said. Ford added that the investment is supported by a "significant" incentive package from the state of Ohio, Hamilton County and the city of Sharonville. Ford shares fell 3 cents to $4.24 in Friday afternoon trade. http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story/ford-invest-200-mln-sharonville/story.aspx?guid=%7B5731345D%2DE491%2D4402%2D9D46%2D48B271988B32%7D

What? Is this the same group from Warren County now crusading in Hamilton Co?

Ohio lost 12,000 jobs in January Cincinnati Business Courier - 2:10 PM EST Thursday, March 8, 2007 Ohio had the fourth-largest employment decrease in January, according to a report issued Thursday by the U.S. Department of Labor. Ohio lost 12,000 jobs in the month, coming in under Michigan, down 23,900 jobs; Wisconsin, minus 13,600; and Indiana, minus 12,500. The Buckeye State had the fifth-largest percentage decrease in employment in January, with minus 0.2 percent, falling in line with North Dakota, Rhode Island and West Virginia. Michigan had the largest over-the-month decline at minus 0.6 percent. The state's unemployment rate without seasonal adjustment for the month grew to 6.2 percent in January, up from 6.1 percent January last year. Full article at http://cincinnati.bizjournals.com/cincinnati/stories/2007/03/05/daily40.html?jst=b_ln_hl

Can illegals be denied birth papers? BY SUE KIESEWETTER | ENQUIRER CONTRIBUTOR LEBANON – Illegal immigrants in Warren County may not be given birth certificates for their children born here if one commissioner has his way. Commissioner Dave Young plans to discuss his thoughts at today’s 5 p.m., commission meeting. It would be part of a discussion initiated by Citizens for Legal Communities, a group that wants local governments to adopt laws making it illegal for anyone to rent to or hire undocumented workers. Young says he wants to challenge the 14th Amendment, which grants citizenship to anyone born in the country. He is researching the possibility of instructing the Warren County Health Department to refuse to issue full birth certificates to children of illegal immigrants. MORE: http://news.enquirer.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070308/NEWS01/303080049

Why can't a developer in Cincy actually do a real lifestyle center that is mixed use? Weather you like this type of development or not (Greene), its a lot better than what has been built in the suburbs (Deerfield Town Center, etc...). If we are going to continue to build suburban crap than why can't we at least build quality suburban crap. The same goes for new urbanist/mixed use developments, Cincy developers just seem to be determined to hold onto the 80 and 90s development patterns to the end. This project is really close to a lot of single family homes.although not connected via sidewalks as ink pointed out..my guess is the developer just plunked down somehting that would get approved (least NIMBYISM) and appeal to the wallets of fairfield township sect (who probably moved there to get away from urbanist/mixed use stuff in the first place). It is a big improvement over the stuff on the other side of Route 4. :clap:

The details of the parking area may depend on where you plan on building it. For example, some places may require a certain amount of the property to be set aside for landscaping/buffer areas, and the space sizes will vary as well as drive aisles. Is the property in an urban or suburban setting and what use is it associated with? A parking garage would be a gazillion times more expensive than surface parking...just some thoughts.

First off I would say that anyone living in a typical cincinnati suburb (I'm thinking west chester, liberty twnship, deerfield twship, hamilton township, all those similar places) that has a 5 minute commute is very rare - it should be more like 15 or 20 minutes. From what I've seen there would be little, if any opportunity to bike (or walk) because all the subdivisions are located off of two-lane country roads - so you'd probably be stuck driving to your local Kroger (again 15 to 20 minutes). Entertainment and dining options would also be dependent upon driving not to mention generic (deefield town centre) - I'm not sure about the living efficiently question but from what I just described this life would pretty much suck IMO. :wink2: I agree with thomasbtw..you have to deal with the consequences of where you choose to live.

Hideaway a nice find in Northside POLLY CAMPBELL | [email protected] The Hideaway in Northside is one of the better examples I've seen of the ugly lamp school of décor. Click here for article: http://news.enquirer.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070202/ENT01/702020326/1025/LIFE

Wally - check out this website for the latest master plan for the burnet woods park www.uptownconsortium.org

I think I see your point...if this project moves forward as I hope it does**fingers & toes crossed while clinching rabbit's foot** it should be funded like any other city transportation project and not announced to the world as a project that is taking $$$ away from neighborhoods or heaven forbid - public safety.

quite the contrary we're all experts on this forum especially on matters like the subject of engineers vs planners - BTW if I were you I wouldn't base my conclusions soley on what I read in the newspaper :weird:.

...and someone who views transportation not purely through a windshield!

Great idea..in a place that sorely needs some good urban design. Now if you could round up all the individual propertyowners get them on board with the idea to make it happen that would be great. It really boils down to educating the property owners the value (return on investment) of mixed use projects that blend both residential and commercial. My guess is you would need all the properties to be in agreement or at least clusters of sizable the properties to make it worthwhile. I think you can forget about eminent domain for somehthing like this. As far as the existing residents go...you'll probably have some NIMBYism but that's expected. They just need to be shown the value of well designed projects that function well from pedestrian and auto traffic standpoint. my initial thoughts.

Metro unemployment rates up slightly in December Cincinnati Business Courier - 2:20 PM EST Tuesday Jobless rates in Ohio's and Kentucky's major metropolitan areas rose slightly in December, compared to the month before, but remained lower year over year. The figures are compiled monthly by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, part of the U.S. Department of Labor. December rates by metro area: - The Cincinnati/Middletown area had a jobless rate of 4.8 in December, the same as in November, and down from 5.1 percent in December 2005. - Akron saw its rate jump to 5.3 percent, from 4.9 percent the month before, but stay below 5.5 percent in the same 2005 month. - The Cleveland/Elyria/Mentor area had a 5.3 rate, up from 4.9 percent in November and matching the December 2005 rate. - Columbus' 4.5 percent rate rose slightly from 4.4 percent the month before, but was down from 4.8 percent a year ago. - Dayton's rate rose to 5.7 percent from 5.6 percent the month before and in December 2005. - Toledo saw its rate jump to 6 percent from 5.6 percent the month before, but stay below December 2005's 6.3 percent rate. - In Kentucky, the Lexington/Fayette area had a 3.7 percent rate, compared to 4 percent in November and 4.8 percent a year ago. - The Louisville/Jefferson County area had a 4.7 percent rate, down from 5.2 percent in November and 6 percent in December 2005. - Honolulu had the lowest December jobless rate, at 1.6 percent. The highest rate was 14.5 percent in El Centro, Calif., the bureau said. Full article at http://cincinnati.bizjournals.com/cincinnati/stories/2007/01/29/daily20.html?surround=lfn

We ate here Saturday night..it was awesome I would advise anyone interested in a good meal to check this place out. They don't have a liq license so you can BYOB or pick something up at the Northside Tavern.

City loses Clifton Heights eminent domain case Cincinnati Business Courier - January 26, 2007by Dan MonkSenior Staff Reporter Hamilton County's First District Court of Appeals has struck down a portion of the city of Cincinnati's eminent domain ordinance, dealing a major blow to a $100 million Clifton Heights condo project. The ruling prevents the city from taking two parcels held by Clif Cor Co., a real estate partnership that owns two parcels in the Calhoun Avenue business district. That's where the Clifton Heights Community Urban Redevelopment Corp., or CHCURC, has been trying since 1999 to build McMillan Park. The $100 million development was supposed to bring hundreds of new condominium units and several new retailers to the business district south of the University of Cincinnati. Today, the district stands empty, most of its buildings demolished. http://cincinnati.bizjournals.com/cincinnati/stories/2007/01/22/daily58.html?surround=lfn

600 new jobs for Erlanger BY JON NEWBERRY | [email protected] Convergys Corp. says it is opening a customer services and technical support call center in Erlanger that it expects will create about 600 new jobs. Hiring is already under way for the 85,000-square-foot facility. It will begin operations by the end of March and be fully staffed by fall, spokeswoman Lauri Roderick said today. The Cincinnati-based provider of outsourced services is subleasing the site on Pacific Avenue from GE Information Technology Solutions through September 2009. It will include 400 work stations. ... http://news.enquirer.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070125/BIZ01/301250015/1076

Local home sales slip in December, 2006 Cincinnati Business Courier - 12:20 PM EST Thursday Home sales in Cincinnati were down 5.9 percent in December, but better than the 7.9 percent drop-off nationally. The Cincinnati Area Board of Realtors reported 1,668 home closings in December, compared to 1,772 in December 2005. Gross volume was $291.6 million, compared to $318.9 million in the year-ago period, and the average sale price was $174,830, versus $179,980 a year ago. For the full year, the area saw 25,204 closings, a 5 percent drop from 26,553 in 2005. Gross volume fell to $4.5 billion from $4.8 billion, and the average price dropped slightly, to $178,298 from $179,488. "Considering the downward trend of home sales across the nation last year, Cincinnati didn't perform too badly," said Tom Steele, president of the Board of Realtors. Read full article here: http://cincinnati.bizjournals.com/cincinnati/stories/2007/01/22/daily45.html