cincySAL

I don't think you have to have MSN to keep the email account anymore. MSN is like the old AOL. Not sure why anyone would use it. Get TWC's Road Runner, it's very fast (much faster than Zoomtown) and isn't too expensive. You can even talk them into giving you the fastest connection for free for a few months, not that you'll really notice a difference. Then get an email account at hotmail, google (privacy concerns), or yahoo for free. Outlook will work with hotmail but not the others. Once you get TWC buy a wireless router that you'll be able to use your iPhone to connect to it while at home. I have a landline but only for safety reasons if the power goes out.

So right in the middle of the parks is going to be a truck route? That should fit in nicely with the parks.

Does anyone know the total amount of parking spaces there will be in these garages? It seems like there will be a boatload of spaces. Can't wait to find out how much they will cost to for monthly parkers.

So for those of us who don't quite understand the process as much, what is the next step? Assuring federal funding? And if that happens is the streetcar pretty much a go?

Bad is subjective. Maybe it was the wrong term to use. They don't impress me, how is that? They look like just about every new development I see popping up. Looks just like the Banks design, looks just like the new building on Calhoun, looks just like every new development down in Florida and out in California that I've recently seen. Do I think the Banks could have been better designed from an architectural point of view? Yes, but I am still pumped that the Banks is popping out of the ground and can't wait to go there and enjoy it. I'll also point out that I'm not an architecture so I could be way wrong, I'm just going by the eye test. also, just out of curiosity, what awards did those buildings win?

Not sure where all those pictures are so can't say if I've seen any of them in person. Have I seen very similar structures in a bunch of cities across America? Yes, and they pretty much all look the same. But, that doesn't mean I'm not satisfied, but it also doesn't me I don't want the best.

The only ones I like out of those pictures is picture #5 and maybe #3. The others are pretty bad.

man, I think City BBQ is horrible....also, aren't they based out of Columbus?

I'd love it if they just close off some of the streets during games, festivals, etc but I don't know if it's possible based on where the garage entrances are. Blocking off freedom way to cars during those events would be great.

No, Marriott's luxury brands are the JW Marriott & Ritz-Carlton. In addition, select Marriott Marquis and Renaissance properties are luxury. I guess what should be asked is, what is your definition of "luxury"? The plain old Marriott brand hotels I've stay at were very nice. Much nicer than the Renaissance's that I've stayed at. And I've travel quite a bit. The Marriott's rooms were much nicer, nicer lounge areas, have concierge levels, and very nice restaurants inside them such as a Schula's steakhouse.

Great article. But after reading it is obvious change needs to happen, but how? Me moving there isn't feasible. I love going there as much as possible but that isn't going to save OTR. Does the city need to step in to really save the area and the historic architecture? It kills me everytime an old building in OTR comes down. I couldn't believe my eyes when I was watching the news and saw the fire to the Christian Moerlein building.

I always assumed they made there liqueurs there (such as DeKuyper, etc.) rather than Bourbon. This is where they make their liqueurs such as Apple Pucker, Schnapps, etc...

They started tearing up the western part of the Freedom Center lawn yesterday. Anyone know what they are doing there?

The regular Marriott brand is pretty luxurious, at least the one's I've stayed in. The Courtyard, Spring Hill Suites and others are not, but the plain old Marriott's are very, very nice.

There is a need for more hotels in CBD but between the Banks, Bartlett, Metropole and now this, there will probably be too many higher end hotels. I highly doubt all four will be hotels. Perhaps it's a first come first serve and whoever takes the longest will choose apartments/condos instead.

Somehow I get the feeling that if they lose all their life savings it will end up costing me some money. If the gov't has taught us anything it's that these people will be bailed out with my tax dollars.

actually, a casino in the Freedom center would be a decent place (partially tongue in cheek).

I don't think that's going to be as big of a deal. Even if the city had decided it was going to try to sell the WW, a judge could have forced a public vote anyway. And what does the general public know about selling public services? That's the problem with these things. The general public doesn't know anything about it therefore they shouldn't be voting on it. Leave it to the people we elected to make the decisions (I'm not directing this at you).

I don't know the statistics but it is just what the people I know live there say about it. They were hoping the Ohio issue passed so it would take some traffic away from the Indiana casinos.

I'm not sure what you are going for here. The residents resent the people committing the crimes. Who were you thinking? The same people who are going to ride the streetcar?

nevermind, not worth it.

What riffraff has the casinos brought in Indiana? The funny thing is he is probably referring to residents of Cincinnati who travel to Lawrenceburg! Nope, I'm not. Go there. Talk to the residents there and you will know.

Good, I hope you guys are right. I'm skeptical as I know people that have been born and raised in Lawrenceburg and they don't like casino's and the riffraff it brings. But it was voted on and now I have to suck it up. And I guess while I'm at it I may as well play a few hands of poker. Are there the same urban design boards and all that stuff that went into the design of the Banks buildings? Or is the casino going to be allowed to build whatever cookie cutter they want?

Yeah. So if I'm going out to have a few drinks and wasn't planning on gambling, why would I choose to go to a casino over FS? This seems a bit like saying that the Reds are drawing people away from FS, because people choose between going to FS for some fun, or going to a Reds game for some fun. What's the difference? The difference is people going to the Reds game go to FS before hand and afterwards, otherwise they wouldn't go to FS at all...That is the whole value of a sports franchise. When people go to the casino, do they go to restaurants, bars, etc before/after they go to the Casino? If yes, then it may be a good idea (ignoring the crime aspect). If no, there is the huge difference between the Reds and a casino.

Of course people don't go to FS to gamble, there isn't gambling there. But people will now choose between going to FS for some fun, or going to the casino for some fun. Haven't there been independent studies showing that there isn't a net gain with a casino? People drive in, park in the mega parking lot, gamble their money away, and drive back home.