July 12, 201212 yr ^Did he even talk about the hike in rates Dukes want??????? The did discuss it, but Willie didn't at all grill her. She was on a speaker phone so I'm sure a lawyer or two was in the room with her. Question on why Duke thought it was necessary to raise the average electric bill by more than $6 a month and the average natural gas bill by more than $8 for residential customers in southwest Ohio. Her response was the same as that has been in the papers, millions spent on upgrades to lines and hardware. Then went on to say energy bills have been lower the past several years. Several communities have a choice where to get their electric. We could start a drinking game for the number of times she said "we keep the lights on." And then she breezed over his question on the $44M CEO payout by saying she's just a midwest girl and doesn't get involved in things outside this area. "It's just fate, as usual, keeping its bargain and screwing us in the fine print..." - John Crichton
July 13, 201212 yr Legal meter running on Blue Ash Airport sale Business Courier by Dan Monk The city of Cincinnati has racked up more than $200,000 in legal bills to challenge a Federal Aviation Administration ban against using Blue Ash Airport land sale proceeds to help fund the downtown streetcar. In 2006, Cincinnati sold 130 acres at the Pfeiffer Road airport, for almost $37.5 million, to the city of Blue Ash, which wants to build a park there. (Cincinnati bought it in the 1940s, thinking it might turn it into the Tri-State’s major airport.) That sale is a key piece of the city’s streetcar financing plan, which calls for the issuance of $64 million in bonds, ... Cont (Premium Article) "It's just fate, as usual, keeping its bargain and screwing us in the fine print..." - John Crichton
July 13, 201212 yr For everyone that is concerned about bicycle tires and streetcar tracks, there is a mod for that. “All truly great thoughts are conceived while walking.” -Friedrich Nietzsche
July 13, 201212 yr Author For everyone that is concerned about bicycle tires and streetcar tracks, there is a mod for that. When I was in Portland I conducted some bike/streetcar conflict tests on the east side extension. Basically if you know not to cross at less than a 15 degree or so angle, you won't have a problem
July 13, 201212 yr Legal meter running on Blue Ash Airport sale Business Courier by Dan Monk The city of Cincinnati has racked up more than $200,000 in legal bills to challenge a Federal Aviation Administration ban against using Blue Ash Airport land sale proceeds to help fund the downtown streetcar. In 2006, Cincinnati sold 130 acres at the Pfeiffer Road airport, for almost $37.5 million, to the city of Blue Ash, which wants to build a park there. (Cincinnati bought it in the 1940s, thinking it might turn it into the Tri-State’s major airport.) That sale is a key piece of the city’s streetcar financing plan, which calls for the issuance of $64 million in bonds, ... Cont (Premium Article) Of course COAST has no problem with the City or County paying Frivolous Finney $200,000 in attornies fees, do they.
July 14, 201212 yr Hearing ahead on streetcar bids Appeal seeks public disclosure A three-month legal battle over public access to Cincinnati streetcar bid documents could be resolved soon when an appeals court hears the case. The Ohio 1st District Court of Appeals has scheduled a Wednesday hearing in a trial triggered by The Enquirer’s April request to review the bids of companies seeking to build five sleek, European-style streetcars for the $110 million-plus line. After City Hall selected CAF USA to build the vehicles for the initial Downtown riverfront-to-Over-the-Rhine route, CAF and losing bidders sought in court to at least temporarily prevent release of the bid documents. The firms argue that the bids include trade secrets that, if disclosed, could place them at a competitive disadvantage in the future. Cont "It's just fate, as usual, keeping its bargain and screwing us in the fine print..." - John Crichton
July 14, 201212 yr Got a reply from Sen. Sherrod Brown He will definitely have my vote again in November! Dear Mr. Maximillian <---Edit by me :) Thank you for getting in touch with me about the Cincinnati streetcar project. Public transportation eases traffic congestion, improves air quality, and helps reduce energy usage. The Cincinnati streetcar’s 4-mile loop will connect neighborhoods across the city’s urban core, improving accessibility for thousands of people. Investing in Cincinnati’s public transit network can stimulate the local economy, create jobs, and bring in new businesses for the Greater Cincinnati area. I appreciate hearing your views on how important it is to fund transportation initiatives in Cincinnati. Recently an amendment was offered to the House appropriations bill that would restrict funding for light rail or “fixed guideway” systems in the City of Cincinnati. I share your concerns about this potentially overbroad language. Should relevant legislation come before the Senate, you can be sure I will keep your concerns in mind. Thank you again for getting in touch with me. Sincerely, Sherrod Brown United States Senator
July 15, 201212 yr I like how he says he shares your concerns, but I don't like how he merely says he will keep them in mind, rather than saying he will fight for them. Makes my enthusiasm level drop significantly. I am of the opinion that we should have very high expectations of our politicians, and when I see politician-speak, I start to feel sick. I want to see commitment and follow-through. He made no commitment to anything substantial, just threw a bunch of talking points out there to make you happy. The wording of the letter is quite interesting in that it's obviously meant to cover both streetcar supporters and someone who is not necessarily a supporter but opposes the amendment on the grounds of it being overbroad/blocking lightrail.
July 16, 201212 yr The wording of the letter is quite interesting in that it's obviously meant to cover both streetcar supporters and someone who is not necessarily a supporter but opposes the amendment on the grounds of it being overbroad/blocking lightrail. He wrote several letters to help the city get fed funding, I doubt he's reneging now after spending political capital. More likely the wording reflects an attempt to under-promise and over-deliver. Even if Brown was just an average or even conservative Dem then he would still be way better than Ms. Josh Mandel.
July 19, 201212 yr Your company has written more than 70 articles on the streetcar, yet you still have no idea of the definition of a streetcar system or how it works, way to make yourself look like you put two minutes into researching your stories!
July 21, 201212 yr it doesn't go anywhere.... wow Good to see he's been sticking to WLW's talking points. Sheesh.
July 23, 201212 yr It's been interesting to watch the anti-streetcar arguments being taken away one-by-one. First, the streetcar was supposed to die when the governor took $50 million from the project. Didn't happen. Second, it was said there are no funds to operate it. That's been debunked. They said people were opposed to it, but Cincinnatians supported it twice. Then Duke's demands were going to kill the whole thing. With the opening of Washington Park, the continuous improvement of Findlay Market, and the investment in Music Hall, OTR is now viewed by more Cincinnatians as a worthy destination. Finally, add the explosion of investment at The Banks plus all the new residents in Downtown and OTR, and it's tough to imagine where the opponents go from here, but I'm happy to watch them continue to spin their wheels. The more they leave their fingerprints on the record, the less they will be listened to in the future. Kind of looking forward to seeing this play out over the next few years.
July 23, 201212 yr ^^ COAST/700wlw/Chris Smitherman make an outrageous statement, get called out on said statements, and then evolve to make another outrageous statement. For instance: Tom Luken "The streetcar will cost 1-2 billion dollars". He gets called out and proven wrong. Now he's spewing nonsense. The media continues to let them get away with this. Now, COAST and everyone aren't even arguing the project itself, they are arguing hypothetical/hyperbole conspiracy theories. BTW, everyday Mark Miller of COAST keeps tweeting 12.5% of fire stations are 'browned out because of *Insert childish stupid streetcar phrase here*'. Does anyone have any statistics to prove he's just making this up?
July 24, 201212 yr ^^Better question: Does the lying deadbeat have any statitics to prove his tweets? Of course he doesn't. Mark Miller is a proven liar.
July 24, 201212 yr Also, I just ran into this nonsense in a Barry Horstman article about Music Hall: There are numerous differences between the two sides’ proposed leases – among them, Budig’s group’s preference for a 99-year term, a period City Hall wants to shorten by half. The city also opposes various clauses that could leave the city financially liable for everything from Music Hall’s sewer bills to abating streetcar noise outside to the renovation group’s possible failure to secure $38 million in tax credits.
July 24, 201212 yr Biased Barry Horstman will go to any length to include a jab at the Streetcar in one of his hackneyed articles.
July 24, 201212 yr Funny how dozens of diesel buses on a cobblestone street apparently cause no noise issues at Music Hall, but an electric streetcar on metal rails is suddenly an issue.
July 24, 201212 yr Check out page 6 of this gem. I wish we were able to comment on these photo montages. http://news.cincinnati.com/apps/pbcs.dll/gallery?NoCache=1&Avis=AB&Dato=20120509&Kategori=NEWS06&Lopenr=205090801&Ref=PH&odyssey=mod|dnmiss|umbrella|3 What Will Cincinnati Look Like in 2015? While federal funding for the streetcar is currently up in the air, here's how it might fold into the city's landscape. By 2015, the $110 million Cincinnati streetcar should be in its second year of operation along a 3.8-mile route stretching from Downtowns central riverfront to Over-the-Rhine. Current construction targets call for the streetcar to begin carrying passengers in the spring of 2014. From Second Street on The Banks to just north of Findlay Market, the streetcars will travel an elongated figure-eight route, primarily along Race, Elm, Main and Walnut streets. Major points of interest along or near the route include the sports stadiums and U.S. Bank Arena on the riverfront, Fountain Square, the Contemporary Arts Center, the Public Library of Cincinnati and Hamilton County, the under-construction Horseshoe Casino, the Aronoff Center, the School for the Creative & Performing Arts, Music Hall and Washington Park.
July 25, 201212 yr Well, more than 24 hours after Cincinnati's wealthiest philanthropist died, her tribute article in the Enquirer has only 19 posts, of which only one attempts to kick any dirt: http://news.cincinnati.com/comments/article/20120723/NEWS/307230035/Louise-Dieterle-Nippert-arts-patron-dies-100 Meanwhile, streetcar articles often attract hundreds of responses.
July 25, 201212 yr I just noticed this blurb on Slashdot which made me think of Cincinnati's efforts to retain young talent... but now, more and more, the center of gravity is shifting to San Francisco [from Silicon Valley], and the move seems to be hitting a tipping point. The reason: the young talent companies want to attract would rather live in a hip city than in suburban sprawl, and don't want to commute 45 minutes to work." http://www.itworld.com/software/286835/techs-center-gravity-shifts-north-san-francisco
July 27, 201212 yr So I guess COAST will have to stop tweeting that the streetcar is starving the Cincinnati Fire Department of funds. See: http://www.building-cincinnati.com/2012/07/new-station-to-bring-cfd-engine-35-into.html
July 29, 201212 yr So I guess COAST will have to stop tweeting that the streetcar is starving the Cincinnati Fire Department of funds. See: http://www.building-cincinnati.com/2012/07/new-station-to-bring-cfd-engine-35-into.html They're pretty fact-allergic, so that seems optimistic to me.
July 29, 201212 yr Recent post about COAST lays out their newest attack: Construction "started" 6 months ago but nothing has happened yet. Will seem true for about 2-3 more months (until contractor is announced) but then they'll need a new argument. Additionally- I've decided that by posting peoples supposed complaints about random streetcar systems constantly, they have shown that streetcars get great ridership.
July 30, 201212 yr http://www.wlwt.com/news/local-news/cincinnati/-3-7-million-approved-for-streetcar-line/-/13549970/15837390/-/10vvdbu/-/index.html?absolute=true&utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter&utm_campaign=wlwt $3.7 million approved for streetcar line
July 30, 201212 yr ^"This is a very complicated project. It is the first time our city has done this project. We're learning a lot of new territory here." :wink:
July 30, 201212 yr ^"This is a very complicated project. It is the first time our city has done this project. We're learning a lot of new territory here." :wink: I liked how they wrote "Tom Lunken"
July 30, 201212 yr http://www.wlwt.com/news/local-news/cincinnati/-3-7-million-approved-for-streetcar-line/-/13549970/15837390/-/10vvdbu/-/index.html?absolute=true&utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter&utm_campaign=wlwt $3.7 million approved for streetcar line Who writes this crap? "In the souls of the people the grapes of wrath are filling and growing heavy, growing heavy for the vintage." -- John Steinbeck
July 30, 201212 yr ^ John London. I checked with a contact at the city. I feel pretty good about things.
July 30, 201212 yr ^ John London. I checked with a contact at the city. I feel pretty good about things. About the Duke Energy negotiations?
July 30, 201212 yr ^ John London. That's shocking. He's always been a good guy to me and supportive of rail, and yet he writes this piece with an extremely negative slant. "In the souls of the people the grapes of wrath are filling and growing heavy, growing heavy for the vintage." -- John Steinbeck
July 30, 201212 yr It reads like an echo from a forgotten time when such an article would have attracted a ton of interest. I think people are bored of the subject. It reads like a half-assed article from a time when the word streetcar would get a local news story thousands of page views and hundreds of comments.
July 30, 201212 yr Tom Luken is too senile to even remember his own name, and yet he's the go-to man whenever a media outlet needs a token quote from the opposition. Gotta love that hard-hitting journalism.
July 31, 201212 yr The Enquirer's piece on today's vote: City moving money in place for streetcar "It's just fate, as usual, keeping its bargain and screwing us in the fine print..." - John Crichton
July 31, 201212 yr ^"This is a very complicated project. It is the first time our city has done this project. We're learning a lot of new territory here." :wink: I liked how they wrote "Tom Lunken" Hahaha, I didn't read it yet, but I find so many errors in the Enquirer on a regular basis. It's just plain sad, from words not being spelled correctly, to poor sentence structure.
July 31, 201212 yr ^ John London. That's shocking. He's always been a good guy to me and supportive of rail, and yet he writes this piece with an extremely negative slant. I'm assuming it was written by John London because he called me today to pick my brain about what's going on. I told him that he should call the city. Duke is the last obstacle. There's agreement on the three feet of separation but disagreement on the costs to achieve that separation. The essence of the disagreement likley results from the fact that Duke didn't lift a finger to do any planning until the results of last November's election were known, and so its design work is behind the rest of the project. A complete set of construction drawings was delivered to the city a week ago. Now city staffers are going over them and are about to hire a construction cost estimator. Rail will be ordered soon. The city is moving forward on vehicle procurement and selecting a contractor -- there are many contractors interested, apparently -- and so at some point Duke's dragging its feet will be very apparent to everyone.
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