NBow37

What is Winburn's position now? I realize at first he was completely against the idea, but he said at the last meeting he has been meeting with people who are supportive of the streetcar and will listen.

Lawsuit threatened over Bortz vote BY BARRY M. HORSTMAN • [email protected] • MAY 10, 2010 "Arguing that Cincinnati City Councilman Chris Bortz should not vote on up to $64 million in bonds for the streetcar project because of a potential conflict of interest, a local lawyer has threatened to file a lawsuit to block any council action dependent on Bortz’s support. ....... His clients, he noted, are Tom Luken, a former Cincinnati congressman, mayor and councilman, and Mark Miller of the anti-tax group Citizens Opposed to Additional Spending and Taxes (COAST)" http://news.cincinnati.com/article/20100510/NEWS0108/305100038/Lawsuit+threatened+over+Bortz+vote Get ready. This week is gonna be a barnstorm of misinformation, bias from the enquirer through articles and letters, Luken/COAST/Smitherman hyperbole, and ridiculous quotations.

I've never read that the Enquirer is in favor of a comprehensive light-rail system. Show us. Nor have I. They always seem to be in favor of "another plan"/"any other plan" except for the one being proposed. John, do you foresee another charter amendment proposal? I know Smitherman made threats about it after the election last year that he would create something specifically for the streetcar, but I haven't heard anything since.

Cincinati City Council Prepares For Streetcar Showdown As City Council prepares to make its biggest decision to date on the controversial streetcar proposal, next week’s debate will be laced with intrigue and drama: Will the city give an unconditional green light to $64 million in bonds, or does that prospect unnerve some streetcar backers on the council? And another question lingers: Will opponents mount another ballot campaign to block the project? An article called "The Streetcar Showdown" is coming out this sunday in the Enquirer. There's a good chance given the Enquirer's track record that it will completely biased against the streetcar - especially with that last sentence in their teaser...Here's hoping they actually do some research on both sides of the issue this time

FED OFFICIAL PRESSES CITY ON STREETCAR $ BY BARRY M. HORSTMAN • [email protected] • MAY 5, 2010 Cincinnati's bid for tens of millions of federal dollars needed to build a proposed streetcar system could be "substantially improved" if the city unconditionally approves $64 million in local bonds, a top U.S. transportation official said Wednesday. Some council members and others, noting that the bonds would not guarantee the streetcar project's completion, have suggested that City Hall protect itself by making the bonds contingent upon the city's receipt of perhaps $50 million-plus in federal funds necessary for the line's $128 million first phase.... http://news.cincinnati.com/article/20100505/NEWS0108/5060341/Fed+official+presses+city+on+streetcar++

Just for future reference (and I apologize for getting off track a little bit from the details of the streetcars), I am keeping a tally of the Cincinnati Enquirer streetcar letters and articles from Nov 2009 to the present. All the letters I added up include only specific references to the streetcar and do not include all the Ohio high speed rail plan letters. So far my letter tally includes the following: November 2009 - 1 positive letter going after the Enquirer for their bias on the streetcar subject. Letter writer from Mt Washington December 2009 - 0 letters of any kind January 2010 - 5 negative letters. 0 positive letters. Letter writers from Mt Washington, Westwood, Delhi, Blue Ash, and Mt Lookout February 2010 - 4 negative letters. 0 positive letters. College Hill, Loveland, Hyde Park, Sycamore March 2010 - 4 negative letters. 0 positive letters. College Hill(2 x), Montgomery, Blue Ash April 2010 - 20 negative letters. 1 positive letters. 1 neutral letter talking about how the old streetcars worked during floods. Sycamore Township, Indian Hill, Hyde Park (2 x), California(OH), Mt Washington, White Oak (2 x), Price Hill, Sharonville, Mt Lookout, Union Township, Amelia, West Chester, Cheviot, Fairfield, Loveland, Springdale, Montgomery, Mainville, Blue Ash, Kenwood) May 2010 (As of May 3) - 4 negative letters already. 0 positive letters. Green Township, Westwood, Sharonville, Finneytown. So from November 1 2009 to May 3 2010, the enquirer has published 37 negative letters, 2 positive letters, and 1 neutral letter. That's a 92.5% negativity rate for letters related to this issue. 5% positive letter for the streetcar. 2.5% neutral rate.

The enquirer is desperate. They are trying every which avenue to try and get this project buried. Take a look at some of these letters the enquirer approves. These are all listed in order from most recent to older. No omissions. The order which you see is the exact order they are listed: "Bortz proves panel's point with rebuttal" (May 1st - Sharonville) "Streetcars not worth our money" (May 1st - Finneytown) "Why is council pushing unwanted streetcar?" (April 28 - Sycamore Township) "Motorized Trolley an option" (April 28 - Hyde Park) "Let trolley company provide trial run" (April 27 - Indian Hill) "Streetcar spending example of Irresponsible City Council" (April 27 - California OH) "Problems with streetcar proposal" (April 27 - Mt Washington) "How streetcars maneuvered during Flood" (April 26 - White Oak) "Who benefits from the streetcar?" (April 26 - Price Hill) "Fund transportation improvements privately" (April 22 - Sharonville) "Why not try a streetcar experiment?" (April 21 - Mt Lookout) "City dumped streetcars long ago, for good reason" (April 21 - Union Township) "Cincinnati can't afford a streetcar" (April 21 - Amelia) "Streetcar Magic and costs" (April 20 - West Chester) So from April 20th until the present, the enquirer has published 13 negative letters against the streetcar, with 1 that's neutral. Combine this with the rash of anti-Bortz articles and the timeframes/erasing of the Bortz rebuttal from last week, and one can see the desperation from the Enquirer. If we are hearing about potential good news, the enquirer is certainly hearing about it as well which means the next couple weeks they will continue try every which tactic to destroy the project and its supporters credibility. Get ready

http://nky.cincinnati.com/article/AB/20100430/NEWS0108/5010366/0/NEWS0103/Ethics-panel-asked-to-investigate-Bortz Ethics panel asked to investigate Bortz BY BARRY M. HORSTMAN • [email protected] • APRIL 30, 2010 A former Cincinnati mayoral and City Council candidate has asked the Ohio Ethics Commission to investigate whether Councilman Chris Bortz violated state ethics laws by voting on the proposed streetcar despite his family's property interests on and near the proposed route. If the commission opens an inquiry, a decision that could be made this month, the fact that Bortz ignored an ethics panel staff attorney's advice to not take an active role on the streetcar issue could leave him facing sanctions that include removal from office, Ethics Commission officials said Friday. Click on link for rest of article.

Umm...John, Details please! How did no one else ask about this post yet? Because John doesn't like to elaborate on such things. :-P Just think it's best not to talk about these things until they're signed, sealed and delivered. By mid-May ... Haha. I just got an email response from Councilman Bortz I think regarding the same thing you are referring to John...I don't want to post for fear of jinxing as well

They appear to have moved it back to the main "cincinnati" part of the website instead of NKY, but is only accessible after searching. So to recap what the Enquirer did: Earlier this week(Either Monday or Tuesday) - Luken's(and presumably COAST's) hit piece ethics charge against Bortz stays on the front page in headlines for more than a day. It gets moved to the "most commented" section of the Enquirer front page to be viewed by all up until early this afternoon. Two days ago - Bortz responds to defend himself in a letter to the Enquirer. Less than 1 hour later, his article disappears from the front page to the archives where one can find it only if they search. Yesterday/This morning - The article is removed in its entirety. Clicking on the link takes you to a "We're Sorry" page. Late this morning - the Bortz response is put in the NKY Opinion section for approximately an hour before being removed. Early this afternoon - Now the response is put in the "archives" on the Cincinnati part of the website again where one can view it only after searching for it...Still buried Also, it's important to note that there is still no response from the Enquirer...

I got a response from a member on Bortz's staff and they are aware of the problem. I wrote to the enquirer and naturally no response. However, I just noticed Bortz's letter clarifying Luken's "ethics accusations" has been hidden under the NKY opinion page...Naturally there is no way for anyone in the general public to be aware of it unless one searches the entire website for it. http://nky.cincinnati.com/article/AB/20100430/EDIT02/4300355/I+am+not+ignoring+advisory+panel+on+streetcar+issue Gotta keep calling out Cincinnati.com on their half truths, COAST like tactics, and mediocre reporting. I don't mind if they are blatantly bias as long as they report both sides of the argument in a well researched way

Don't know if anyone caught this, but this Cincinnati.com ethics piece against Bortz and the streetcar was posted on the front page for well over a day and it is still on the front page under most commented for almost a week...http://news.cincinnati.com/article/20100427/NEWS0108/4280369/Bortz-defies-state-ethics-advisory-on-streetcar-vote Bortz's rebuttal to the accusations, a letter in which he responded to the ethics violations allegations, was on the front page for less than an hour before being buried and has now been removed... Something fishy is definitely going on. I wrote to Bortz and am writing to the enquirer now Sorry for the double post, apparently I hit the wrong button

Naturally COAST is running wild with this latest "poll"

True...But remember that was before rising gas prices. Two summers ago many people of both sides of the political spectrum were outraged on why we don't have any rail transportation. It's all about timing. Now gas prices are quietly rising again. It will be interesting to see how the region acts if the prices become outrageous again this summer

This last election may have been one of the biggest in the last 25 years. Rail supporters essentially won a trifecta. Mallory - Issue 9 defeated - Issue 3 passed. Factor in city council and all but 4 and possibly 2(depending on Ghiz's mood and Cole's position) support the streetcar. Now 700 - McConnell, Cunningham, and Sloan are switching their positions on the streetcar because of issue 3. Hopefully in 20 years other cities will be following Cincinnati's lead and using us as an example along with Portland - Tampa - Charlotte etc TAMPA? I was using some economic impact examples. Tampa has seen a ton of development along the route. WHERE? Have you riden that one track line? What do you mean where??? Ybor City. 1 billion dollars worth of transit oriented development along 2.3 miles. Ybor city was built before that line was redeveloped. It's a tourist bus. It's single track, minus the first two (or three) stations and a station in the middle of the line and one station in ybor, where cars wait to pass in both directions. example It's not a viable mode of transportation as the majority of riders are tourist and the city just took over financing of the line. I never said it was a viable mode of transportation in Tampa. I said it helped create incredible economic development along the route. You imply that the over $1 billion dollars in growth would have happened regardless over years with or without it(A question we'll never fully answer but the development within 2 blocks of the tampa route is undeniable). I was making the comparison to Cincy because of the potential for extreme economic growth here because our route is actually better and more ripe for success

This last election may have been one of the biggest in the last 25 years. Rail supporters essentially won a trifecta. Mallory - Issue 9 defeated - Issue 3 passed. Factor in city council and all but 4 and possibly 2(depending on Ghiz's mood and Cole's position) support the streetcar. Now 700 - McConnell, Cunningham, and Sloan are switching their positions on the streetcar because of issue 3. Hopefully in 20 years other cities will be following Cincinnati's lead and using us as an example along with Portland - Tampa - Charlotte etc TAMPA? I was using some economic impact examples. Tampa has seen a ton of development along the route. WHERE? Have you riden that one track line? What do you mean where??? Ybor City. 1 billion dollars worth of transit oriented development along 2.3 miles.

This last election may have been one of the biggest in the last 25 years. Rail supporters essentially won a trifecta. Mallory - Issue 9 defeated - Issue 3 passed. Factor in city council and all but 4 and possibly 2(depending on Ghiz's mood and Cole's position) support the streetcar. Now 700 - McConnell, Cunningham, and Sloan are switching their positions on the streetcar because of issue 3. Hopefully in 20 years other cities will be following Cincinnati's lead and using us as an example along with Portland - Tampa - Charlotte etc TAMPA? I was using some economic impact examples. Tampa has seen a ton of development along the route.

This last election may have been one of the biggest in the last 25 years. Rail supporters essentially won a trifecta. Mallory - Issue 9 defeated - Issue 3 passed. Factor in city council and all but 4 and possibly 2(depending on Ghiz's mood and Cole's position) support the streetcar. Now 700 - McConnell, Cunningham, and Sloan are switching their positions on the streetcar because of issue 3. Hopefully in 20 years other cities will be following Cincinnati's lead and using us as an example along with Portland - Tampa - Charlotte etc

I would show how were the 2nd largest metro without any form of passenger rail...Then list all the cities around our size or smaller that have rail. Maybe list the economic impacts. In another commercial I would show an average cost of maintaining an automobile combined with past to projected gas prices. At the end of both commercials, show modern light rail in various cities. Show families and all sorts of people from all backgrounds boarding. Show the interior, how quiet it is, smooth, etc. People just need to start being introduced to what it really is, not what they perceive it to be. The majority of arguments I hear against rail can all be dismissed easily: 1) It's not profitable 1a) If it is profitable a private company will invest in it 2) It's ancient technology and outdated 3) Its subsidized and a never ending money pit 4) It will never work here. We are too small and besides we have highways Just gotta keep spreading the word. On a side note, I really like the high speed rail they are going to construct in California...I wish that's what they were proposing for Ohio. Sacramento to LA in 3.5 hours! Unbelievable.

Sloan just said he's warming up to the streetcar idea as well...

Tracy sounds like an angry man talking to Mallory. Said the "trolley is stupid" and "high speed rail is dumb"

Was he saying that he supports the Streetcar specifically? He didn't flat out say "I am behind the streetcar" but he did say that exact phrase of "But now I think I am in favor of it because of the casino". Cunningham wanted to talk about it some more but CFP kinda of went off topic into passenger rail. Regardless, its a positive step. It's around the 2:10 (2 hours and 10 minutes) mark of the podcast

Cunningham said "I think I'm in favor of it because of the Casino!" He also spoke highly of passenger rail. Also Mallory on Tracy and Eddie at 3:10

"Streetcar advocates win across the US!" http://news.cincinnati.com/article/20091104/NEWS0108/911050315/Streetcar+advocates+win+across+USA

Great article. Did not know Quinvalin was a staunch streetcar supporter. So we add Qualls, Thomas, Bortz, and Berding to make 5. Ghiz is back and forth depending on her voting support. Cole is still undecided and is in her last term, so she wont be swayed by re-election concerns. She could go either way. I really like the direction this is going. Just need to get this funding squared away. I'm glad the city decided not to let Smitherman and COAST decide the future. Although these Smitherman ballot initiatives are troubling. These next 7-8 months will be crucial. Lets do this!