Gordon Bombay

And people like you need to get it through your head that the money set aside by the federal government can't just be automatically transferred to road and highway construction. So if we let Kasich have his way, we'll turn down the federal funds for the 3C, won't get an upstart rail system that will lay the foundation for future expansion and since that money could only be used for that, another city will have it's rail service benefitted. Meanwhile, we now have no new rail service and we STILL have no money to add to the highway fund. Tea Party for the win!

That's what I had been hearing too, in the Transit Center? Would that work well?

Is the tiara really that bad?

I love how the other Issue 9 supporters told him to settle down and kept saying "It's alright" and how stupid the guys looks when he realizes his friends didn't jump on his "assault" bandwagon.

Thank you gentlemen, glad you enjoyed it. I have a friend who works for Turner Construction, the company that built the tower- I'll ask him if there are any internal talks regarding the tiara- although in our talk the other day- he implied its basically done. When I was up there, they seemed to say it would stay open and they had no plans to add anything to it except signage. However, they did mention that the thing would be lit up quite impressively. Their words though, not mine. I'm still bummed there's no observation deck.

Is there really no other news in this city to report on that the paper has to get their own attorney to create news even without all the facts. I mean, the ONLY person they interviewed in that story is their own attorney. How about someone from council, an attorney that specializes in these matters or someone who actually knows what they're talking about? Whatever happened to objectivity.

More proof why the Enquirer is a rag. After the Reds clinched the division I was outside the ballpark and paid $1 for a cover that some Enquirer folks were selling that said "Reds Reign." I joked with the lady I bought it from saying: "This is the first time I've bought the Enquirer and not used it to wipe my ass." She laughed and said: "We hear that kind of stuff a lot."

Rise of an Icon. "In July 2008, the second phase of Queen City Square began construction. Phase II, dubbed the "Great American Tower" (after primary tenant Great American Insurance) would eventually come to be a 41 floor office tower topped with a "tiara" inspired after the late Princess Diana's, a tribute to Cincinnati's nickname of the "Queen City." The first Cincinnati skyscraper to be constructed in the past two decades would continue to rise despite the onset of the "Great Recession" while other major construction projects in nearby Kenwood became rusty hulks on the suburban skyline. A new icon was rising in Cincinnati." New multimedia piece I did from photos I shot this summer for the Cincinnati Business Courier. If you go to the main page, it features an interactive slideshow and audio interview with Mario San Marco of Eagle Realty Group, the firm in charge of leasing the new building. In it he talks about what inspired the tiara, what other options were considered and how he feels the building is becoming a symbol for the city. Let me know what you think. Check out The Rise of an Icon.

I would too and this is a problem I'm wrestling with. I'm all for the 3C project, event the quick start program despite its "speed." However, as someone who leans Republican, I've never been too happy with Ted Strickland. What aggravates me about Kasich is the things he says about the train. Way too closed minded, has shown he hasn't given any time to actually study the project and he aligns himself with the joke of the tea party. I'm not saying my vote comes down to one issue, but this issue is important to me and if Kasich treats other political topics like he treats this one...in an arrogant and ignorant fashion...strickland is getting my vote.

I'm still holding out hope that one day the subway tunnels will be utilized for light rail/heavy rail service. That way a stop right above the Race St. station on Central Parkway would make streetcar connectivity really convenient, not to mention you could then take the streetcar to connect to the RTC.

I only caught the end of his interview, but he didn't sound prepared at all. Kept stumbling over himself when talking about how the price of gasoline could potentially affect ridership.

Listening now...good stuff. Does anyone still think we'll see a 2012 start date for the 3C?

Any idea when we'll know who's selected?

I think Skoda and the aforementioned Inekon are related companies.

Does Siemens make a modern streetcar? Or would we see one of its types of light rail vehicles used? Because the ones in Houston look awesome: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/ea/Light_Rail_Houston.jpg

I really like the look of those.

Yeah, but if we had kept Crosley and still played in it our fans might be as arrogant as those jerks in Boston and Chicago (No offense White Sox Fans)

Does this cost anything to go to?

Love that last shot, the hancock is still my favorite tower on that skyline.

When do you think we'll have a final decision on the routing or a groundbreaking?

Great photos INK! Fort Wayne is a great city. I've been going there since I was kid, my mom's side of the family is all from there. The Komets are my favorite minor league hockey team and their downtown is really on the upswing. Only thing I don't like about Ft. Wayne is the new baseball name. I grew up with the "Wizards." The Tin Caps name is just dumb, or as many locals refer to the team.... "The Pot Heads."

After reading this topic the past few weeks and reading about "free zones," I was a bit skeptical. However, the past three days I was visiting Pittsburgh and my opinion changed. While their Subway/Light Rail dubbed the "T," isn't too similar to Cincinnati's streetcar plan, the downtown portion of it is free. I used it to get around the whole time and traveled outside of the "free zone," but having the downtown area free to ride was a great way to encourage ridership. It also made it really easy for the numerous tourists I saw to get around, especially those who weren't familiar with tranist.

I love (sarcasm) the opening sentence of this typical crappy Enquirer article: "Hamilton County isn't big enough for two rail projects." That sounds like something stupid the local tv news reporter would say at the beginning of a crappy video montage.

I'm not picking up on it? Has Chabot ever discussed the streetcar? A quick Google of "Chabot" and "Cincinnati Streetcar" didn't bring up much. I think what John's getting at is that Afghanistan, marijuana legalization aren't typically popular subjects with big support, he's lumping the streetcar plan in with those.

Today's been a bad day, thanks for posting this, I needed a good laugh. The comedic stylings of Tom Luken always crack me up. Luken is one of my favorite stand up comedians. Some times I actually think the man believes the jokes and goofy stories he's telling. What a hoot.