In the old days, the Cincinnati Street Railway sent spotters to Crosley Field to estimate the number of people who would be taking transit home. They adjusted the number of streetcars accordingly. If Queen City Metro had it's act togather, they would adjust their routes as need be.

 

  Metro used to have a series of special routes between suburban shopping malls and Riverfront Stadium on game days. The buses unloaded right on the plaza level. The fare was $7.00, which at that time was the cost of service without a subsidy. The reasoning for the high fare was that the City didn't want to subsidize transportation to an event owned by a private owner.

 

   

Language for the charter ammendment is decided by council today.  Anyone going down for the meeting?  Any idea when we will see the finalized language?

^

 

Council's Rules Committee left the ballot language unchanged. Goes to City Council on Wednesday and to the Board of Elections on Friday. Then to the Secretary of State, who is the final authority.

Do Charter amendments pass with a simple majority, or do they need some form of "super majority?"

^ simple majority, I believe

^

 

Council's Rules Committee left the ballot language unchanged. Goes to City Council on Wednesday and to the Board of Elections on Friday. Then to the Secretary of State, who is the final authority.

 

I would guess 12-15 people filled out speaker card to speak on this issue.  Every single one was opposed to the anti-passenger rail amendment.

I heard that Finney got quite loud at the event.

I heard that Finney got quite loud at the event.

What else is new?  Did he smack his hand to his butt at people again like previous times?  Or curse them out again?

I heard that Finney got quite loud at the event.

What else is new?   Did he smack his hand to his butt at people again like previous times? Or curse them out again?

 

Ha, no, but he did have to be asked to lower his voice a few times and at the end of the session Tom Luken kept raising his hand trying to speak and had to be told that he was out of order. He had been reminded multiple times earlier that if he wanted to speak all he had to do was fill out the card.

^

 

Under intense questioning by Roxanne Qualls today, the attorney for the "We Demand a Vote" group admitted that the language would be operative no matter what the source of funds for the rail investment.

 

She asked, "Does this mean that if Cincinnati receives Federal, State or private funds for a rail investment, that we would have to vote on that too?" His answer: "Any means any." Meaning: any funds, no matter the source, that flow through the City's checkbook, must be first approved by the votes before they can be spent by the City.

 

So much for the idea of protecting the taxpayers.

^That's in stark contrast to what COAST chairman Mark Miller said on the COAST blog the other day, he claimed federal dollars wouldn't be affected by the charter amendment. How bad is it when your group's own chairman doesn't understand your charter amendment?

 

John, great points today at council by the way.

That's key, because you have to wonder to what extent Finney dragged everyone else into this and why, if his flock has been deceived, they've chosen to stick with him. He seems like a bit of a cult leader, if you ask me.   

^That's in stark contrast to what COAST chairman Mark Miller said on the COAST blog the other day, he claimed federal dollars wouldn't be affected by the charter amendment. How bad is it when your group's own chairman doesn't understand your charter amendment?

 

Mark Miller is treasurer

Chris Finney is Chief Counsel

Jason Gloyd is Cahairman

I think Mr Miller has been the spokesperson because he is the only one who lives in Cincinnati.

They probably don't share information with one another because they are terrified of being captured and tortured by ~shudder~ liberals.....

From what I can tell, Mark Miller also seems like the one who knows how to behave like an adult in public. Probably a much better public face for COAST than perpetual toddler Finney.

^That's in stark contrast to what COAST chairman Mark Miller said on the COAST blog the other day, he claimed federal dollars wouldn't be affected by the charter amendment. How bad is it when your group's own chairman doesn't understand your charter amendment?

 

Mark Miller is treasurer

Chris Finney is Chief Counsel

Jason Gloyd is Cahairman

I think Mr Miller has been the spokesperson because he is the only one who lives in Cincinnati.

They probably don't share information with one another because they are terrified of being captured and tortured by ~shudder~ liberals.....

 

My apologies on that. Where do the others live then, doesn't Chris Finney live in Blue Ash and where the heck is Tom Luken coming from?

I thought Finney lived in Anderson Township, but I could be wrong.

 

Here is the streetcar route through Over-the-Rhine:

love the video.  thanks for sharing. 

My apologies on that. Where do the others live then, doesn't Chris Finney live in Blue Ash and where the heck is Tom Luken coming from?

no apologies necessary.

Luken lives, or used to live, in College Hill. We would have used the same bus route but I never saw him on the bus.

^

5300 Hamilton Avenue.

 

I bet when he was on the SORTA board, he never rode the bus.

^ Correct. The Hammonds North. There was even a bus stop at the entrance.

But that was for "the help".

And my time using Metro began while he was on the board.

He needs to move up the hill to Twin Towers.

Coast caught confused and contradicting their own amendment:

http://caast-usa.blogspot.com/2009/09/coast-caught-confused-and-contradicting.html

 

Lesli Ghiz seemed very concerned!

Lawyer language vs clear language: ie vs eg:

 

http://www.citykin.com/2009/09/exempli-gratia-lawyers-vs-communicators.html

Students are definitely not learning Latin anymore, not only not in Catholic schools (where Latin is only spoken at about 1% of Masses), but it is definitely viewed as being Euro-centric and not even the basics (e.g. latin roots) are being taught as part of a core curriculum at almost any public school in the country.

 

I tried to take Latin in college, and it did not fit into my schedule. There was from what I recall only one section for each level, so if it conflicted with something from your major, you couldn't do it. It's definitely the case nowadays that you have to take electives if you want to get a classic education.     

I've posted this information elsewhere, but you all should have this readily available here. In fact, keep it handy for imminent use....

 

http://www.cnu.org/node/2329

 

The salient excerpt is this from the Texas DOT:

 

Another way of describing this is to do a “tax gap” analysis, which shows how much the state fuel tax would have to be on that given corridor for the ratio for revenues to match costs.

 

Applying this methodology, revealed that no road pays for itself in gas taxes and fees.

 

For example, in Houston, the 15 miles of SH 99 from I-10 to US 290 will cost $1 billion to build and maintain over its lifetime, while only generating $162 million in gas taxes.

 

That gives a tax gap ratio of .16, which means that the real gas tax rate people would need to pay on this segment of road to completely pay for it would be $2.22 per gallon.

 

This is just one example, but there is not one road in Texas that pays for itself based on the tax system of today. Some roads pay for about half their true cost, but most roads we have analyzed pay for considerably less.

Students are definitely not learning Latin anymore, not only not in Catholic schools (where Latin is only spoken at about 1% of Masses), but it is definitely viewed as being Euro-centric and not even the basics (e.g. latin roots) are being taught as part of a core curriculum at almost any public school in the country.

 

I tried to take Latin in college, and it did not fit into my schedule. There was from what I recall only one section for each level, so if it conflicted with something from your major, you couldn't do it. It's definitely the case nowadays that you have to take electives if you want to get a classic education.  

 

Walnut Hills has had a required Latin curriculum since its beginnings.

Students are definitely not learning Latin anymore, not only not in Catholic schools (where Latin is only spoken at about 1% of Masses), but it is definitely viewed as being Euro-centric and not even the basics (e.g. latin roots) are being taught as part of a core curriculum at almost any public school in the country.

 

I tried to take Latin in college, and it did not fit into my schedule. There was from what I recall only one section for each level, so if it conflicted with something from your major, you couldn't do it. It's definitely the case nowadays that you have to take electives if you want to get a classic education.      

I wanted to take Latin in college but wouldn't have counted toward my requirements because a "modern foreign language" was required.  Also, the high school from which I graduated is soon eliminating Latin as one of the 3 foreign languages it offers.

^And where was that?  (Probably should just feed my curiosity and then get back on topic.)

This thread has been locked for cleaning. In the future, please do not copy/paste full-text articles, posting only the link, attribution and a paragraph or two for a teaser. Thanks.

That last one gave me goosebumps....

Group sees danger in streetcar vote

By Barry M. Horstman, Cincinnati Enquirer, September 6, 2009

 

If the proposed streetcar line from Downtown to Uptown is ever built, the leaders of a new group called Cincinnatians for Progress will deserve much of the credit for keeping the uphill campaign on the right track.

 

The irony is, Cincinnatians for Progress hasn't even endorsed the controversial streetcar project - a political paradox that seems appropriate for this complex campaign.

Cinci rail debate tonight at the uptown consortium.  Not sure if this was publicized earlier but didnt see anything.

 

http://hosted.verticalresponse.com/156220/55206b47d5/50003081/43478a5818/

Nothing really new from this debate.  There were a few blunders from Miller when the topic of race was brought up by an audience question.  First he said that the Streetcar would not serve any African American communities.  Then he said that the Streetcar is an effort by "choice riders" to build a "separate but equal" transit system.

First he said that the Streetcar would not serve any African American communities.  Then he said that the Streetcar is an effort by "choice riders" to build a "separate but equal" transit system.

 

Obviously Mark Miller never uses public transit. I've seen plenty of people ranging from homeless folks scraping change together to ride the bus to professionals on a lunch break. I still don't get why COAST is trying to turn this into a race issue, but then again Chris Smitherman is partnering with them and this is his favorite tactic.

Nothing really new from this debate.  There were a few blunders from Miller when the topic of race was brought up by an audience question.  First he said that the Streetcar would not serve any African American communities.  Then he said that the Streetcar is an effort by "choice riders" to build a "separate but equal" transit system.

 

Yeah, because OTR, Mt. Auburn, Clifton Hts., and Coryville are such rich, white neighborhoods :roll:.  What the fuck is this guy smoking?

Which Route Serves More Riders and Jobs?

http://cincystreetcar.wordpress.com/2009/09/09/the-red-route-or-the-blue-route/

Is anybody even seriously proposing the Red route? Such a long route would be beyond the scope of a streetcar, anyway; that's the type of route that would be most appropriate for light rail or heavy-rail metro.

Is anybody even seriously proposing the Red route? Such a long route would be beyond the scope of a streetcar, anyway; that's the type of route that would be most appropriate for light rail or heavy-rail metro.

 

No one is actually proposing the route, it was selected to connect as many contigous neighborhoods as possible (22) and have a similar population to the blue route.  The map is just to show that a much longer route doesn't necessarily translate into greater coverage

I see your point and I don't disagree with it... I just get a little nervous when mass transit options are presented as zero-sum, either/or scenarios... Same with the whole city vs. suburb or Ohio vs. Northern Kentucky arguments that inevitably come up from time to time. It implies that the streetcar must necessarily come at the expense of regional rail, or that the streetcar will hurt Metro ridership (our friends at COAST are now trying to make that argument), or that what helps the city must by definition hurt the suburbs, etc. The region will need to put aside such turf wars if it ever wants to move forward.

 

I think a stronger case needs to be made that the streetcar is a lynchpin and first step toward a mass transit system that will benefit the entire region, not just a few select neighborhoods along the route, and not just the city of Cincinnati. Streetcars, regional rail, and intercity rail each have an important role to play in Cincinnati's future. Roads and aviation will also continue to play important roles. They need to be developed as parts of a well-coordinated system, rather than as competitors.

^agreed entirely.  This was just an exercise to get people thinking about population density.

How Much to Cincinnati Area Consumers Spend on Transportation?

http://cincystreetcar.wordpress.com/2009/09/09/how-much-to-we-spend-on-transportation/

Can someone post a link or post a list that shows exactly how the funding for the streetcar is broken down. I have tracked down the information once, but I'm having a hard time finding it again.

It's being reported the anti-rail ammendment will be Issue #9.  Get the word out:  NO on 9!!!

Next Stop-- University of Cincinnati

 

gotta love photoshop.  thanks for those. 

I'm Not 100% certain what direction this streetcar is traveling

Yeah, they usually raise the rear pantograph, so not the one above the driver. 

 

These are great Brad. This is not an easy exercise on photoshop and way better than I could do.   

^Agree!

 

Can we expect any campaigning like yard signs, bumper stickers, commercials, etc.??