October 2, 200717 yr "As I've said elsewhere: Nothing is so obvious that it's obvious. When someone says that something is obvious, it seems almost certain that it is anything but obvious - even to them. The use of the word "obvious" indicates the absence of a logical argument - an attempt to convince the reader by asserting the truth of something by saying it a little louder." Errol Morris. http://morris.blogs.nytimes.com/2007/09/25/which-came-first-the-chicken-or-the-egg-part-one/index.html This really made me think...and I will now second guess myself every time I consider using the word obvious.
October 3, 200717 yr To think that an aside about the history of tobacco in Ohio sets people off. The original comment about the Cincy garment industry was interesting, as there were others outside of NYC. Chicago had this, as did LA. The point, in Cincinnatis case, is that this industry, though not known, represents economic diversity. It is an illustration that Cincinnati historically had a diversified economic base, which is something that should help the metro area weather econonic downturns, making the place more economically resilient. The question about white collar/professional mobility is another issue, though.
October 12, 200717 yr Verizon Wireless to create $20M regional facility BY LAURA BAVERMAN | October 12, 2007 Verizon Wireless will consolidate its southern Ohio network and call center operations in a $20 million facility under construction in West Chester. The wireless provider has invested almost $400 million toward expanding and optimizing its Ohio high-speed wireless network since it was introduced in Columbus, Cincinnati and Dayton in January 2005. Because of that growth, it will close a 10,000-square-foot office in downtown Cincinnati and a similar facility in Dayton to consolidate into a 74,000-square-foot facility set to open during the second quarter of 2008. The company wouldn't share the exact location but said it will serve Southwest Ohio and some areas south of Columbus. Read full article here: http://cincinnati.bizjournals.com/cincinnati/stories/2007/10/15/story7.html
October 13, 200717 yr Honda executive sees a bright future in Ohio By Thomas Gnau Staff Writer Thursday, October 11, 2007 After Honda decided last year to build an automotive plant in Greensburg, Ind., Ohio officials asked if they could have done anything differently. Honda's answer might be summed up in the one offered Wednesday by Tom Shoupe, senior vice president of Honda of America Manufacturing. ... http://www.springfieldnewssun.com/n/content/oh/story/news/business/2007/10/11/sns101107honda.html
November 1, 200717 yr Foreign automakers drive makeover of Smalltown USA By Kristi Keck, CNN, November 1, 2007 MARYSVILLE, Ohio (CNN) -- Timothy Hines remembers well November 1, 1982. It was the day he helped build his first car. The Honda worker recalls the pride and sense of accomplishment he felt as the gray sedan rolled off the production line at the brand-new plant in Marysville, Ohio. The automobile marked a first not only for Hines but for Honda and Japan as well, neither of which had ever produced a car in the States. "To get into something like that at the ground floor, there's very few people that ever get that opportunity," Hines said recalling the four-door Accord with the license plate "USA 001." ...
November 4, 200717 yr Marysville also has something those other places don't, Proximity to Columbus or a major city.
November 6, 200717 yr (Digging up articles for research, I'll post a few of the more interesting ones.) Downtown housing The Cincinnati Post, September 4, 1996 Lively and livable. That was the vision that 4,000 dreamers wrote for downtown Cincinnati two years ago. Ever so slowly, downtown boosters are moving toward the goals outlined in the Vision 2020 report. Sports stadiums, restaurants and retailers - all with the potential to make downtown more lively - are in the works... cincypost.com
November 16, 200717 yr Aussie firm opening here Printer cartridge recycler sets up shop in Hebron, will hire 130 BY JON NEWBERRY | November 16, 2007 Close the Loop Inc., an Australian manufacturer of plastic lumber and other products, has set up a facility in Northern Kentucky to recycle printer and copier cartridges as it seeks to break into the North American market. The company has leased a 128,000-square-foot facility in Hebron for 10 years and projects its employment will reach 136 within two years. Several weeks after beginning operations, the facility has fewer than 10 employees, but it's just getting started, said Steve Morris, the company's CEO and founder. Its plan is to be fully operational in the first quarter of 2008, he said. Read full article here: http://cincinnati.bizjournals.com/cincinnati/stories/2007/11/19/story4.html
November 21, 200717 yr Duke gets approval for $2B coal plant in Indiana November 21, 2007 | CINCINNATI BUSINESS COURIER Duke Energy Corp. has received approval from the Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission to build a coal-gassification plant in the southwestern Indiana town of Edwardsport. The $2 billion, 630-megawatt plant is designed to capture carbon emissions for storage underground. It will be the first commercial-scale plant of its kind built in the United States in the last 10 years...
December 6, 200717 yr ... this is pretty freakin sweet ... Cincinnati Bell makes acquisition STAFF AND WIRE REPORTS Cincinnati Bell Inc. today announced it has entered into a definitive purchase agreement to acquire the assets of eGIX Inc., a privately held competitive-service provider headquartered in Carmel, Ind. eGIX, which has annualized revenue of roughly $16 million, provides advanced voice and data services to business customers throughout the Midwest. The transaction is valued at approximately $18 million, subject to certain additional performance-related payments in the future. Full article at http://news.enquirer.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/AB/20071206/BIZ01/312060043/
December 7, 200717 yr Experts: Local economy moving in right direction BY STEVE WATKINS | December 7, 2007 Things are finally looking up for Greater Cincinnati's economy. It's been nearly three full years that the local unemployment rate has lingered higher than the U.S. average, but that could be about to change. The local jobless rate in October fell to 4.8 percent, tantalizingly close to the U.S. rate of 4.7 percent. That's the closest the Tri-State unemployment rate has been to the national average in nearly two years. In September, the local rate was 5.1 percent. Read full article here: http://cincinnati.bizjournals.com/cincinnati/stories/2007/12/10/story6.html
December 9, 200717 yr Greensburg prepared for Honda 'to change the town' BY PATRICK CROWLEY | CINCINNATI ENQUIRER December 9, 2007 GREENSBURG, Ind. - Is a place best known for a tree growing out of the courthouse ready for the behemoth plant going up on the north end of town? When Honda Motor Corp. opens its $550 million, 1,700-acre, 2,000-employee factory next fall, life in this small central Indiana town of just over 10,000 people will never be the same. ...
December 10, 200717 yr Visit sign of IT growth BY MIKE RUTLEDGE | CINCINNATI ENQUIRER December 10, 2007 COVINGTON - Several local technology firms will use Wednesday's visit by the "Microsoft Across America Truck" to tout the tech community they are developing in downtown Covington. "We like to call it a technology showroom on wheels," Judith Goldfarb of Microsoft said about the 42-foot truck that will be parked at 1 Madison Ave., on the circular pier where Covington Landing used to be. "And it's decked out with the coolest, most innovative new solutions and technologies from Hewlett Packard, Cisco, AT&T - we have a ton of sponsors for the technology that's on the truck. "When people go on they can see the new software solutions," she said. "And they can also see the new hardware solutions from HP, and things like that. It's cool." ... More at: http://news.nky.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/AB/20071210/BIZ01/712100315
December 10, 200717 yr Cincimedia opens in January December 10, 2007 | CINCINNATI ENQUIRER CINCINNATI - Local Web designers will be in store for some East European-based competition when Cincimedia opens a North American headquarters in Cincinnati in January 2008. The company, headed by Lithuanian entrepreneur Andrius Bakutis, announced in a press release Monday that it plans to bring Web design and development, Flash animation, 3D visualization and 3D animation services to the U.S. Cincimedia is a Springdale-based division of parent company e-sense. Previous clients include MTV Europe, the BBC and major real-estate development companies, the company said.
December 10, 200717 yr "It is a familiar pattern followed by foreign auto makers in selecting locations for massive manufacturing plants, places like St. Mary's, Ohio, home to another Honda Plant, and Georgetown, Ky., where Toyota operates one its largest North American plants." Are the people of Marysville aware that Honda moved the plant to St. Mary's? :)
December 10, 200717 yr Reactive planning. I know Greensburg very well, its a shame they didn't decide good planning was something they should have been doing for years now. Something tells me most of the new development will be the same old same old. I hope not, this is one of those once in a life time chances for this small town to really make a change in how it looks and builds its community. I am not sure from their current developments that they even require someone to plant a tree.
December 10, 200717 yr I don't know Greensburg well (besides passing through their downtown and snickering at the courthouse), but it seems to be a trend with small, rural towns; they are so happy to get anything, quality of the built environment, sustainability, etc, etc go to the wayside.
December 10, 200717 yr I don't know Greensburg well (besides passing through their downtown and snickering at the courthouse), but it seems to be a trend with small, rural towns; they are so happy to get anything, quality of the built environment, sustainability, etc, etc go to the wayside. And that what makes planning and the development of regulations during a downturn in the economy a very difficult issue. Many towns and communities become 'just happy to get anything' no matter how it looks or what the longterm issues may be.
December 10, 200717 yr ^ Nice. We do have some very respectable design firms here ... I doubt the average Cincinnatian would know about.
December 10, 200717 yr ^ Nice. We do have some very respectable design firms here ... I doubt the average Cincinnatian would know about. And what is cool is that a number of them are located on 8th Street Downtown...it's a little corridor of sorts with LPK, Deskey, etc.
December 11, 200717 yr ^ Nice. We do have some very respectable design firms here ... I doubt the average Cincinnatian would know about. And what is cool is that a number of them are located on 8th Street Downtown...it's a little corridor of sorts with LPK, Deskey, etc. I was unaware of that about 8th Street. Kinda cool.
December 11, 200717 yr City set to give company $1M BY KEITH T. REED | CINCINNATI ENQUIRER December 11, 2007 DOWNTOWN - Cincinnati City Council's Finance Committee on Monday approved an agreement to give $1 million in public funding for a unit of a British firm to expand its U.S. headquarters downtown. [glow=yellow,2,300]The company, in turn, would guarantee the bond, agreeing to pay the city back over seven years with the new income taxes generated by the 135 new employees First Group plans to hire by 2010. If the job growth doesn't happen, First Group would have to pay the city back itself.[/glow]
December 11, 200717 yr This may be a little off subject, but I know someone who audits first group and the company seems to be a little "shady" in business practices.
December 12, 200717 yr This may be a little off subject, but I know someone who audits first group and the company seems to be a little "shady" in business practices. Well Greyhound sucks...I consider that to be "shady" enough.
December 13, 200717 yr IT firm coming to West Chester December 13, 2007 | CINCINNATI ENQUIRER WEST CHESTER TWP. - A North Carolina-based data center operator will open a 22,000-square-foot, state-of-the-art data center facility in West Chester. [glow=yellow,2,300]Charlotte-based Peak 10 will open the data center at 5307 Mulhauser Road in late spring, employing about 20 people.[/glow] “Peak 10’s expansion into Cincinnati aligns with our business strategy of scaling our business through select new market development and consistent organic growth,” David Jones, president and chief executive officer of Peak 10, said today. Peak 10 Cincinnati is the company’s third market expansion in 2007, having completed two acquisitions earlier in the year. In February, Peak 10 entered the Richmond, Va., market and in August, the Atlanta, Ga., market. ... More at: http://news.enquirer.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071213/BIZ01/312130047
December 15, 200717 yr And here's the Business Courier's piece on the story... West Chester lures another out-of-market IT company Peak 10 to open new data center, grow staff to 18 BY LUCY MAY | CINCINNATI BUSINESS COURIER December 14, 2007 WEST CHESTER TWP. - West Chester soon will be home to the region's newest information technology company. Peak 10, headquartered in Charlotte, N.C., in spring will open a 22,000-square-foot data center at The Pointe at Union Centre, a Class A office and warehouse development by RGW Development and Design Build Solutions. The data center will be fully operational by summer. [glow=yellow,2,300]Peak 10 CEO David Jones said his company will employ between eight and 10 people here initially and expects to grow the staff to 18.[/glow] The company is a data center operator and provides IT services to small and midsized companies. ... More at: http://cincinnati.bizjournals.com/cincinnati/stories/2007/12/17/story12.html
January 4, 200817 yr 2007 was year of big wins, big strategizing for future BY DOUG MOORMANN | January 4, 2007 I feel fortunate that my vice presidential switch within the Cincinnati USA Regional Chamber, from government affairs to economic development, occurred near year-end. The timing enables an easy look back on an outstanding 2007 for our region's growth, and forward to an even more prosperous 2008. Last year will be remembered for some signature wins that underscore our basic strengths and regional collaboration model. The Cincinnati USA Partnership, the economic development initiative directed by the chamber, significantly contributed to 10 new projects that bring 2,000 jobs and well over a half-billion dollars in total investment to the region. Read full article here: http://cincinnati.bizjournals.com/cincinnati/stories/2008/01/07/editorial3.html
January 5, 200817 yr How new jobs would impact us BY GEORGE VREDEVELD | ENQUIRER GUEST COLUMN January 5, 2008 The promise of getting two of anything for the price of one usually attracts some attention. A claim that a certain number of new jobs created by a new business will spur an equal number of additional jobs in a community may be a bit of a stretch, but those new jobs do leave a sizable imprint on the local economy. The Cincinnati USA Partnership is an economic development arm of the Cincinnati USA Regional Chamber and largely supported by local businesses. It has the responsibility for recruiting new businesses that will bring new jobs to our area and for helping local businesses expand or retain their employment base. Read full article here: http://news.enquirer.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080105/BIZ01/801050352/1076/BIZ
January 9, 200817 yr Bell makes $20M deal January 8, 2008 | CINCINNATI ENQUIRER CINCINNATI - Cincinnati Bell Inc. has acquired the assets of GramTel USA Inc., a South Bend, Ind., company that provides data recovery and backup to businesses, for $20 million. GramTel, a unit of Chicago-based Jordan Industries Inc., operates data centers in South Bend, Ann Arbor and Grand Rapids, Mich., and Lombard, Ill. The company expects 2007 revenues of $5 million. The deal was Bell’s second acquisition in Indiana in as many months. Last month it agreed to buy eGIX Inc., a Carmel, Ind.-based provider of telecommunications services to small and medium size businesses for about $18 million. “This acquisition of GramTel allows Cincinnati Bell to extend the geographic reach of our data center co-location capabilities and further strengthen our competitive local strategies,” said Shane Brown, Bell’s vice president for business development. Shares in Bell stood at $4.40, up 9 cents, in early mornig trading. Bell raises basic phone bill January 8, 2008 | CINCINNATI ENQUIRER CINCINNATI - Cincinnati Bell this week implemented a $1.25 per month increase in basic local phone service for customers in Cincinnati and Hamilton for the second consecutive year, the Ohio Consumers’ Counsel said this morning. The increase, permitted under an alternative regulation plan approved by state regulators in 2006, means customers who paid $18.20 a month for basic service will now pay $19.45 and those who paid $19.20 will increase to $20.45. Customers whose basic service is part of a more expensive package of custom calling services aren’t affected. The office of consumers’ counsel, which is appealing the alternative regulation plan to the Ohio Supreme Court, has challenged its legality. “Cincinnati Bell should not have been allowed to increase its rates unless and until there were choices for customers who only want local calling, without having to purchase a more expensive bundled package of features,” said Janine Migden-Ostrander, Consumers’ Counsel.
January 9, 200817 yr Hardly. The bill increase is to help offset the decreased revenue due to access line loss. Something like 80% of CBT customers have bundles anyway. So it is also to help sell the advantages of the bundle, while only 20% of our customers will be affected.
January 10, 200817 yr Zoomtown vs RoadRunner: Which is Better? Last Update: 6:11 pm Viewers have asked me for years which is the better high speed internet deal: Cincinnati Bell's Zoomtown, or Time Warner's RoadRunner? My usual response: It all depends on what kind of "bundling" plan you get. But tonight, we have the results of a new comparison from our partners at Consumer Reports Magazine. * Rated #3: Cincinnati Bells Zoomtown, cited for its solid reliability and performance. To read more: http://www.wcpo.com/content/news/localshows/dontwasteyourmoney/story.aspx?content_id=65650f5c-ba54-4624-99c5-5ad9f9b9863b
January 14, 200817 yr FirstGroup America wins development grant January 14, 2008 | CINCINNATI BUSINESS COURIER CINCINNATI - The project planned by FirstGroup America to expand its Cincinnati headquarters received a boost Monday from the Ohio Department of Development. Lt. Gov. Lee Fisher announced that FirstGroup will receive a $150,000 Rapid Outreach Grant to buy equipment for its planned $1.5 million office expansion downtown. The company, which completed its $3.4 billion purchase of Naperville, Ill.-based Laidlaw International in October, will lease space at the Center at 600 Vine, where it expects to create 135 jobs over the next three years. It also has offices on Central Avenue.
January 15, 200817 yr here is PNC Bank's forecast of the Cincinnati Metro economy: Click the link... it has lots of neat graphs and charts https://www.pnc.com/webapp/unsec/Requester?resource=/wcm/resources/file/eb1100463ac2a8c/R_Cincinnati.pdf the summary: "The Cincinnati economy is vulnerable to net job losses through 2008 as both U.S. and global economic drivers cool down. The area has little forward momentum to resist the drag from slackening demand for consumer goods in the months ahead. While technology sales to the Middle East will continue to ride the wave of high priced oil, other global markets are vulnerable to cooler growth over the next year, including Japan and Europe. Job growth in the Cincinnati area will fall into negative territory in the months ahead with only limited gains in some service industries offset by widening losses in construction, manufacturing and finance. Cincinnati’s unemployment rate is expected to continue its upward track and income growth will be very weak in 2008 Housing markets will begin to recover by the end of 2008, but a robust turnaround in housing is very unlikely over the next few years. Longer term, the area faces serious demographic challenges that stem from weak job growth."
January 16, 200817 yr These forecasts are always interesting. The chamber's has more detail, but appears a little more optimistic regarding job growth. While pointing out the challenges such as decentralization of population, manufacturing etc. it projects .8% growth in employment. It also discusses populaton growth, which is still slow at .6% in 2006 (through July) compared to .8% in 2005 - we really need to get to 1% a year to get the economy going: http://www.cincinnatichamber.com/pdf/eco/eco_outlook.pdf
January 16, 200817 yr I'm not sure how these explanations for Nky don't also apply for Cincinnati. It seems a bit like a stretched headline. N.Ky. predicted to miss much of economic woes BY LISA BERNARD-KUHN | CINCINNATI ENQUIRER January 16, 2008 An increasing threat of recession, rising energy costs and a sluggish housing market are expected to continue to drag down the economy nationally this year. But the impact is anticipated to be less severe in Northern Kentucky, according to predictions by two economists. The Northern Kentucky Chamber of Commerce Tuesday hosted Owen Humpage, a senior economic adviser of the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland, and Ken Troske, an economics professor at the University of Kentucky, as the keynote speakers for its annual economic forecast. Read full article here: http://news.enquirer.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080116/BIZ01/801160397/1076/BIZ
January 16, 200817 yr I'm not sure how these explanations for Nky don't also apply for Cincinnati. It seems a bit like a stretched headline. N.Ky. predicted to miss much of economic woes BY LISA BERNARD-KUHN | CINCINNATI ENQUIRER January 16, 2008 An increasing threat of recession, rising energy costs and a sluggish housing market are expected to continue to drag down the economy nationally this year. But the impact is anticipated to be less severe in Northern Kentucky, according to predictions by two economists. The Northern Kentucky Chamber of Commerce Tuesday hosted Owen Humpage, a senior economic adviser of the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland, and Ken Troske, an economics professor at the University of Kentucky, as the keynote speakers for its annual economic forecast. Read full article here: http://news.enquirer.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080116/BIZ01/801160397/1076/BIZ Its always different, some place or its doesn't apply to them. We shall see.
January 16, 200817 yr But NKY has their giant force field which will ultimately repel any type of economic downturn. They also have sharks with laser beams on their heads too!
January 16, 200817 yr Nice work...only two days behind the Business Courier's reporting. FirstGroup receives $150K grant BY MIKE BOYER | CINCINNATI ENQUIRER January 16, 2008 CINCINNATI - The Ohio Controlling Board has awarded FirstGroup America Inc. a $150,000 grant to support plans to expand its corporate office in downtown Cincinnati by adding 135 new jobs to the 140 it now employs.
January 18, 200817 yr Bringing big guns Partnership wants top CEOs' help selling city as place to do business BY LUCY MAY | CINCINNATI BUSINESS COURIER January 18, 2008 Midland Co. CEO John Hayden has taken over as chairman of the Cincinnati USA Partnership as the economic development organization crafts a new strategy to bring more jobs to the region. As part of its plan, the partnership will look to the region's high-profile chief executives to spread the word about Greater Cincinnati as a great place to do business, and Hayden said he and other local CEOs stand ready to help. Read full article here: http://cincinnati.bizjournals.com/cincinnati/stories/2008/01/21/story2.html
January 18, 200817 yr Doom, gloom? Not so fast EDITORIAL | CINCINNATI BUSINESS COURIER January 18, 2008 "It's the economy, stupid" might - as in 1990 - be this year's presidential campaign mantra. But here in Greater Cincinnati, that theme doesn't resonate. As the "r-word" occupies the language of businesspeople across the country, few people in the Tri-State seem to be able to relate. The Business Courier's monthly Pulse survey of economic conditions finds most people feeling that the economy will be the same or better in six months than it is today. And a recent informal survey taken at an event featuring a Courier speaker found less than 1 percent of the attendees predicting the economy is or will be in a recession anytime soon. Read full article here: http://cincinnati.bizjournals.com/cincinnati/stories/2008/01/21/editorial1.html
January 18, 200817 yr IT firm needs to stretch legs, thanks to Microsoft More Mason office space, hiring spree on tap for NuSoft BY LAURA BAVERMAN | CINCINNATI BUSINESS COURIER January 18, 2008 MASON - A Grand Rapids, Mich.-based information technology consulting firm plans to grow its Cincinnati office by 50 employees in 2008. NuSoft Solutions, which opened an office here in 2004, will triple its Mason office space this month and begin a hiring spree, ramping up both sales and technical staff from its current total of 25. The company credits Microsoft Corp. for its growth. Because NuSoft only provides IT support for Microsoft's products, the software giant asked it to locate in Cincinnati to serve its large Fortune 500 clients. ... More at: http://cincinnati.bizjournals.com/cincinnati/stories/2008/01/21/story11.html
January 18, 200817 yr ^ the audiance where that informal survey was taken is not exactly "unbiased". However, I've said it before on other threads on Urban Ohio (and other blogs), that Ohio in general, and Cincinnati in specific, seems to run some-what counter to the national business cycle. Yes, Cincy has a lot of recessionary-proof companies, and they do a lot of business outside the US, which helps. But from my own personal experience over the past 30+ years, it seems to me that Cincinnati lags the national economic business cycle by several years. National ups and down do creat a shadow up/down cycle in Cincy, but its somewhat mutted and lags by 3 years. So as the national economy goes down now, look for Cincy to go down (to a lesser degree) in a couple of years. Also keep in mind that all those building cranes were planned for and financed for in the past. One has to wonder how the pipeline will hold up over the next couple of years (particulary the financing part). As has been argued, we may be seeing a return to inner-city construction projects at the expense of urban sprawl. That would be the most wonderful thing in the world. (I'm rooting for you, Michael!!)
January 18, 200817 yr County may join Duke suit County sets up hotline BY DAN HORN | CINCINNATI ENQUIRER January 18, 2008 CINCINNATI - Hamilton County officials are investigating whether they should join an antitrust lawsuit that accuses Duke Energy of giving kickbacks to big companies in exchange for their support of a rate increase. Commissioner Todd Portune today said the county has launched a "full legal review" of the matter and will hold a public hearing Feb. 5 to gather more information. [glow=yellow,2,300]He said the county also has set up a hotline in hopes of getting more details from anyone with information about Duke's deals with the companies. The hotline, which opens at noon today, is 946-4353.[/glow] • Tell us: What do you want to know about how Duke charges its largest customers? "We must make sure we understand everything that went on," Portune said. "Something is wrong when people get special dispensation." The antitrust suit, filed in U.S. District Court, claims Duke agreed to make payments to several big corporate customers if those customers dropped objections to a rate increase the utility requested in 2004. The companies did drop their objections and the rate increase - 30 percent for residential consumers - took effect in 2006. "Energy is incredibly expensive," Portune said. "What we don't need is to have those financial difficulties compounded through rates that are 30 percent higher than they were because of special deals."
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