Cincy1

Man I hope AJ Green is alright - the big toe really can be one of those nagging injuries. So I was thinking about the Bengal's attendance again and decided to look up last year - it is interesting that although fan support is seemingly so poor the Bengals still drew 506,000 fans, or 96.6% of capacity. They also sell out the great majority of their games including every game in 2013. I mean it's not like they are drawing less than half of capacity. Also interesting is that with the 2,476,000 fans drawn by the Reds there were 2,982,000 fans who witnessed major league sports in the past full season in Cincinnati. I would think this is more than a lot of other cities with two (of the 4) major sports teams and probably some with three.

I think Bengals fans are going to remain skeptical until Dalton wins a playoff game. But it could be worse - poor Indians: http://espn.go.com/mlb/attendance

Thanks - I went ahead and got the one day pass (Friday is the only day I can go) - at first I was thinking I would cut out after Washington Park but figured I would want to check out some other venues. I like that someone like P&G is sponsoring a free stage, and that was good work by whoever got that done.

Not sure if anyone is going, but it looks like for Friday the Midpoint Midway stage is free - is that right? I am going to pay for the Whigs and Wussy in Washington Park,(but might be skipping the full pass) and I would not mind seeing some bands on that stage. It seems surprising that Real Estate, Knox Hamilton, and Colony House would have no charge. Aside from Cincy, Brooklyn and Nashville are pretty well represented.

I am not sure if this is impossible or just rendundant: "Baby Cranley"...that is all.

Your very last sentence is a storyline right from WLW - when I was at lunch I made the mistake of tuning in for the news and changed too soon. Cunningham referred to the teens as domestic terrorists. I am definitely one for creating a safe environment and addressing crime, but trying to create mass hysteria is ridiculous. This will probably be part of their loop for a few days and is simply following their typical formula. Talk about picking the wrong random victim to punch out on the street. Joe Deters' son? These punks are going to be found and have the book thrown at them. Hopefully they're made an example out of, not only to deter future copycat acts, but also to show visitors and suburbanites that Cincinnati is serious about safety. This kind of behavior is one of the worst things that can happen in terms of perception of downtown. It's exactly what suburbanites are afraid of. For the second day in a row, I overheard conversation at local retaurants on the westside about these reports. People ARE talking about this, and they ARE questioning visiting downtown. This needs to be resolved. I joined one of the conversations in an attempt to put it into perspective. With over half a million visitors downtown over the weekend, the rate of incidents was probably pretty small. More people were probably injured or killed in auto related accidents. In the end though, we all agreed that this behavior is unacceptable, and the city and police department need to be very vocal about their willingness to end these random acts. One lady likened it to terrorism, as she claims to be truly afraid to go downtown now.

Cloud Nothings is a nice, low-fi Cleveland band that has been getting some airplay. KEXP has had a lot of bands: I forgot about Bad Veins from Cincy who are surprisingly good live - they have a KEXP clip as well but it is from 2008 so...:

Here are a few from SW Ohio..... Cincy: Afghan Whigs, The National, Midnight Star, The Deele, Walk the Moon, Heartless Bastards Dayton: Guided by Voices, The Breeders The Whigs on KEXP after they reunited: One of the newer songs from The National:

I did not see this snippet posted anywhere, but this pretty much sums up Cranley who apparently was trying to fool people into thinking he was not conservative and anti-urban with an interview with Urbanophile. This piece is from Chris Wetterich commenting the interview (I love the "old person's idea of a young person" comment): But Cranley does make a few cringe-worthy statements his persistent critics will pounce upon. It’s the kind of stuff that reminds me of political writer Michael Kinsley’s old dig at Al Gore - that Gore was “an old person’s idea of a young man.” Asked whether he is going to butt heads with millennials, who are the strongest supporters of the streetcar and expanding Cincinnati’s rail transportation options, which Cranley doesn’t see the point of, the mayor says, “I am a Millennial – I mean I am a young person. I am an urbanist.” And on the skyrocketing housing prices in Over-the-Rhine, he says, “I like to say, we tell ourselves we’re revitalizing Over-the-Rhine and downtown for young professionals but increasingly it’s divorcees who are bidding up the price.” http://www.bizjournals.com/cincinnati/blog/2014/04/why-you-should-read-this-interview-with-mayor-john.html?page=3

I think this is a reference to Katie Blackburn, who was added with negotiations finalized today. It was nice of Castelini to pull in a Bengals contact.

^^^ I am cautiously optimistic GE will go to the Banks now that this deal is done. It is not often 1,400 to 2,000 jobs new to a region come along so this would be huge and continue the momentum in our downtown. Regardless of where they will go this is still good news for all of Cincinnati, and the fact the GE guided the state here is positive news and should send a nice message to other prospective employers.

As an ultimate inside joke for me when people ask me how I am doing I am thinking of saying quite well for I am a "landed gentry". I am not sure why that term is so sticky, but it seems hilarious to me.

Thanks for posting this! I thought this was very insightful and helps give a good perspective on the festival. Imgagine Dragons (which he specifically discusses) and Grouplove were the first two acts I thought of on the "buy early and cheap with the expectation they will get bigger by the time of the festival" philosophy. I think Morning Parade and obviously Young the Giant are building some steam for this year. I also liked the explanation around Empire of the Sun, which seemed like an eclectic choice.

I am confident a new arena would rectify any issue with acts bypassing Cincy. Honestly there are not that many of these shows and I am not concerned with the next time Katy Perry plays, but it would be nice to be a stop on everyone's tour. There was an article that I am trying to find that discussed this very topic, and Cincinnati actually had the most concerts of any regional city (with all venues considered), but there were some large acts that did go to the newer arenas. One thing to consider is that Riverbend is one of the most successful outdoor venues that gets the biggest shows of the summer each year (e.g. Radiohead) so I would think this would translate to an indoor venue. US Bank arena is serviceable but definitely not on the same level as the newer arenas.

This is a great photo - 1st and 3rd no outs in the 8th was a killer, but the Reds should have decent attendance this year and will hopefully bounce back. Interestingly, although there was concern of the Findlay Market parade route change to Elm due to streetcar construction there was a very large crowd yesterday. Many have said they had the largest attendance they could remember (I know many kids were on Spring Break but still good news).

I know we want to create allies, but I had to chuckle at different times with each letter. It's as if Murray tried to distance herself from the project throughout the letter even though she is going to be in charge of it. I also appreciated this gem from Mann....really? You don't say? This is the first time anyone has made these points: It is also worth underscoring a point made by Rick Gustafson, who leads Portland Streetcar Inc., the nonprofit company that operates the Portland streetcars. Yes, streetcars move people and provide for public transportation, but perhaps the major benefit from a streetcar system is in the substantial economic development that occurs because of the fixed streetcar line, development that would occur in a diminished form without it. This development attracts new taxpaying residents and adds to the real estate tax base.

This article brings up a great talking point the next time some over-zealous conservative rants about the streetcar...."well you know the Hamilton County Republican Chairman considers it a great asset and even used it as a way to sell the city to land the Republican national convention." Hopefully the one of many more critics to fall into the supporter camp. This can only help the overall success and increase the possibility of future expansion.

Someone beat me to it, but jackass used to whine about Mallory having too much power with a "pocket veto". He always seems to try to stack the deck in his favor but is playing a game of catch-up. If this passes it would be comical if a mayor he hates get voted in - there would be some poetic justice in watching him react if he happens to be around.

Interesting - this would be much larger than even the Fred Meyer acquisition and would not be very long after just closing the deal with Harris Teeter. I think there would be some overlap but probably more in the far west. It seems as least in the eastern half of the US there is not a ton of duplication (but I will admit I have not done any research).

Ha...I am older than most on here and I recognize more than a few bands, but I listen to a lot of music. You touched on something interesting in that this festival needs to decide what it wants to be. Midpoint is a great festival that brings truly indie bands to the city each year. This has been a mix of indie, alt, and bands that have moved to pop (although they likely started as alt. While I would prefer a show with the Pixies, Pavement, Afghan Whigs, and even somebody like Death Cab every year that is not going to happen. I also can appreciate a festival that has Flaming Lips and bands like Young the Giant and Wild Cub and even Hunter Hunted (who does a nice Pixies cover). I will say that each year I have had a great time as it is great to be out by the river in the summer with a bunch of friends. The set up allows easy access to see which bands you want and socialize (and drink) if you want - I just like seeing live music though.

Kind of an underwhelming line-up this year although I am happy to see Flaming Lips as a headliner. Hopefully they come up with a good band for the final slot although I usually enjoy the lesser known acts more - there are some diamonds in the rough but it is just not a deep roster.

New Politics are at least alright - anyway just want to put this out if anyone is getting tickets. The prices will go up once all acts are released 2/21. This year they are holding anouncement parties in Cincy, Indy, Columbus and Lexington, which is a nice little change: http://bunburyfestival.com/launchevents

^ Keep in mind that UC's $86 million renovation is being funded by donors and those who bought suites and club seats - all through extensive fund-raising efforts specifically for this project. It's not as simple as saying UC should have just spent the stadium money on the streetcar because they are not paying for it out of some general fund.

I am extremely happy and excited.....this was quite a turn of events. Let's hope this was the biggest hurdle for transit because once people see the development around it I have to believe future phases will be added and hopefully light-rail after that. Interestingly, I think all of the Dems voted in favor to continue construction. I still have my suspicions about you know who.

I hope and would think anyone working with the mayor on funding is also working on guaranteeing a way to get a return themselves based on any investment they make. He is not a finance major, but I would like him to outline exactly what is needed to consider operations funded so everyone understands. Although the media keeps saying $80 million is needed I understand the requirement to be that somenone guarantee any operational costs not paid by fares/ads/sponsorships will be covered up to $80 million. I think technically money is not needed right now but the contractual obligation to pay is. Considering present value, future value, and that some costs will be covered I would argue the actual cost would be much less. Flynn seemed to do a little better at explaining the requirement but some clarity from the mayor's office would be nice. Admittedly I have not read the full Courier analysis so it might have been covered in the recent ariticle. EDIT: the two responses above explain the funding, but I still think many in the genral public do not get this - surprise.