31 July 2009

Business Courier on Streetcar

I am still on vacation for another week or two, but I really wanted to post this. Starting with the Mayor's speech earlier this week, and ending with this editorial, I think that this is the week in which the momentum has started to shift away from the anti-rail to the pro-rail crowd.

From the Cincinnati Business Courier. Wow. (Quoted in full because a subscription is required)
Now is not the time to give up on a Cincinnati streetcar

With state and federal plans emerging to bring long-awaited rail service to our region, it’s more important than ever for a convenient and economic development-based transportation system to be built serving downtown Cincinnati.

Sure, the economy is generally burnt toast right now – but history tells us that some of the most important companies, inventions and decisions were made during great economic strife. The Cincinnati streetcar should join that list.

Cincinnati’s operating budget is upside down, and City Council will continue to need to make difficult decisions about cutting the size of its government to match its reduced revenue. But a streetcar is a long-term investment, not an annual budget item.

To be more specific, I agree with critics that a downtown streetcar in a vacuum doesn’t necessarily work the best. Sure, economic analysis does justify the nearly $200 million cost of building both phases, riverfront to the University of Cincinnati area. But connect that streetcar to a rail system that conveniently brings visitors to Greater Cincinnati and local suburbanites into downtown, and the streetcar will pay even more dividends for decades to come.

If Cincinnati and its voters turn their backs in November on a streetcar and rail system this time, we once again will be cutting ourselves out of significant state and federal shifts toward this type of transportation system that are sure to propel other metropolitan regions far ahead of us.

Ohio Department of Transportation Director Jolene Molitoris, appointed in January and the state’s first female state transportation director, has been described as a “rail nut.” With her boss, Gov. Ted Strickland, somewhat damaged in the budget-making process, it’s time for Molitoris to step up and show some leadership on this issue – including coming out in favor of the Cincinnati streetcar plan.

Ohio’s 3C Corridor will connect Cleveland, Columbus, Dayton and Cincinnati as part of President Obama’s nationally prioritized Chicago Hub Network – which connects with Toledo, Louisville, Indianapolis and Chicago. With funding from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, Ohio’s plan would have initial conventional-speed service running by 2011. Cincinnati’s streetcar system could be put on the same timing, but the wrong vote could keep streetcars and a rail line out of Cincinnati as the rest of the nation adopts this new mode.

If you never plan to use Cincinnati’s streetcar, you should see it as a job creator. Permanent investments will be made along the routes. Portland, Ore., and Memphis provide direct evidence of that happening.

Still not convinced? Take a tour of the nearly daily posts at Cincystreetcar . Need to know the opposite point of view? Go to COAST. There’s a big difference in the quality of the content, favoring those who want to see a better Cincinnati than we have now.

We need a coordinated approach to transportation, using the streetcar to help get visitors and suburbanites downtown and out of their cars to enjoy all the benefits our great city has to offer. Giving up now would be so typical of Cincinnati and its historic conservatism. Let’s not be typical on this issue.

29 July 2009

Random Stuff Open Thread

I am taking a week or two off (I really mean it this time).

Here are a few parting thoughts:

1. Car seats. Why doesn't Goodwill take car seats, strollers, pack-n-plays? Turns out all car seats have an expiration date 6 years from manufacture. My take is that it is a way to increase seat sales and stuff landfills. I have some seats that are like new, yet apparently they must be thrown in the garbage. There are organized groups that are fighting to make sure old car seats are not re-used. I suppose I can still sell it on Craigslist or leave it on the stoop with a sign saying "free".

2. "Travel narrows the mind" An interesting and somewhat contrary thought that I generally agree with, especially after re-acquainting myself with some of my world-weary old classmates. I learned a lot through some travels I have made, but real learning and real knowledge of "place" comes from a long term study of your home. There is enough learning to last a lifetime in one neighborhood.

3. I am amazed sometimes to what degree people are unaware of their surroundings. when I meet people who don't even realize what political jurisdiciton they live in much less what some native plant species are.

4. Similar thing with people, usually city-born AA's, who are afraid of nature, especially dogs. Yesterday, a life guard at the pool was afraid of a butterfly!?!

5. Any observations?

my kids liked this

Music Painting by JUL & MAT from JUL & MAT on Vimeo.

27 July 2009

218 W 14th Before and After

Before:


After:


People seemed interested in the dramatic improvement shown in the before and after photos at 13th and Republic Street, so I thought I would show one that didn't go so well. The buildings on this block face the side of Music Hall. There are only 2 buildings missing in this block, and they were both demolished in the past 10 years. The other one is next to the Symphony Hotel and is used to park 2-3 guest cars during concerts.

This vacant, trash-strewn lot is very unlikely to ever see another residence built on it. The lot is small, and Building Codes make it difficult to build new on such lots. But even if someone had the resources to build here, the first question most homebuyers ask is "where can I park?". And that is why half of OTR is demolished, yet it is still not enough for people who need cars to go everywhere. It's a neighborhood built for walking in an age of driving.

26 July 2009

Real Full-Size Livable LEGO House

According to this BBC Article, TV host James May is looking for volunteers to help him build a new house in Surrey - made entirely out of Lego bricks.
As part of his BBC series James May's Toy Stories, he plans to build a two-storey house in the middle of the Denbies Wine Estate, in Dorking. More than three million Lego bricks have been delivered to the site.

May will host a building day next Saturday, when members of the public can help him with the project. The house will be life-size with a staircase, toilet and shower, and May said once it was completed he intended to live in it for a few days. He said although the house would be temporary, there had still been various "planning hoops" to leap through.

"I've got a man working on a flushing Lego lavatory. We think it's possible. Things like power supply, sanitation and plumbing coming into the house are as they could be for a real building... everything within my Lego house must as far as possible be Lego," he said.

May said although he already had thousands of Lego bricks, he could not be sure there would be enough. "So if people do have bricks that aren't being used that they would be happy to donate to a very worthy pioneering Lego cause, then we'll be happy to take them off your hands."
First of all how do you get used to living in a place called "Dorking"? Then how do you get code authorities to signoff on a structure constructed entirely from combustible petrochemicals? I'm pretty sure Lego bricks don't have the kind of UV stabilizers that would allow them to remain outdoors for any length of time. But this would definitely be fun to build!

Parking Lots are Black Holes

... surface lots do not allow for the building of congenial places. ... "Parking spaces in the city are like dark matter in the universe: we tend not to see them, but somehow they add up to an enormous area that deadens the environment."
...
What dealing with parking usually means are expenditures at heroic levels to hide the parking. Although the numbers vary, a typical amount needed to build an underground parking space is $40,000. Amortize that over 30 years at 6 percent interest, and the capital cost alone is $240 per month. Few Americans outside of New York City and a few other places expect (consciously) to pay that much to house their car (although they may do so unconsciously, in the increased cost of housing).
-Frank Gruber at Huffpost

24 July 2009

LID to Help Pay for Streetcar in PDX

I know this has been tossed around in Cincy as a way to help pay for streetcar construction. What interested me was that there are over 1,000 owners in this small area, and that only a dozen have objected:

... homeowners in Portland's Pearl District will be taxed for a new streetcar extension.

The extension is tiny -jutting just two blocks north of Lovejoy Street- but planners say it's pivotal in accommodating future growth of the streetcar system across the river, eventually to the Hollywood District.
...
The taxing district is called a Limited Improvement District.

...Of more than a thousand condo owners impacted, most will pay less than $300 apiece.

...willing to pay the assessment because they're looking forward to transit improvements and anticipating a boost in their property values. ...

23 July 2009

Conservatives Hate Shel Silverstein

At least some hate the book The Giving Tree. Maybe they really like Where the Sidewalk Ends, or the song Boy Named Sue. The responses by readers are very good. Amazing how powerful such a simple book can be. I think it is an adult book in disguise as a kid's book.

Shel Silverstein's website here.

Cars Dominate Public Space

A 1940's transit ad from Seattle:
The verbiage:
We asked our trick photographer to make a picture showing you an automobile in its true light – considering the number of people it usually carries and the amount of street space it occupies. Even though the result looks monstrous we assure you it’s very much on the conservative side.

Now we don’t propose to hinder progress. The fact that almost every American family can own an automobile is a fine thing. But when they use automobiles in the limited street space of a city to the extent of seldom or never using the public transit system, thus causing stagnation or traffic, then it is time for traffic engineers to go to the source of the trouble.

The way to reduce traffic congestion is to revitalize the MOST EFFICIENT USER OF STREET SPACE – THE PUBLIC TRANSIT SYSTEM. Any city government can render the citizens a real service by co-operation with the transit company to modernize and promote increased use of its system.

People like to ride in modern electric coaches. They carry them swiftly, noiselessly, comfortably, and at low cost. Furthermore, this means of travel pays its own way. We think that when the facts are known they will appeal far more to the people than huge expenditure for street widening, express highways, and municipal parking lots which load them with unfairly proportioned taxes – and never provide more than a partial solution of the problem.

1 Trolley Coach will seat all the people who ordinarily ride in 24 automobiles requiring at least 10 times as much street space (based on the national average of 1.72 passengers per automobile).

60 years later, advocacy groups are fighting for the right to use the street for all types of transportation:

22 July 2009

Knights of the Golden Trail

I will not be able to attend this event, but it sounds cool, and is designed specifically for urban families:

Saturday, August 1, 11:00AM to 2:00PM, Please join the Young Professionals Family Connection as we present Kids of the Round Table @ Eden Park. Come see a Live Comedic Knights Tournament performed by the "KNIGHTS of the GOLDEN TRAIL". Fun for the entire family. Enjoy live renaissance music , facepainting, and more...

Bring a picnic lunch if you'd like, or enjoy hot BBQ (including smoked turkey legs!) from one of Cincinnati's finest vendors.

Brought to you by: Mayor Mallory's YPKC in collaboration with Loveland Castle, Scott's BBQ, and the Cincinnati Park Board

Accessibilty vs Mobility

Here is an article that discusses two concepts in transit:
Mobility = how fast can the system get you different places
Accessibility = How accessible are the places you want to go.

Many people automatically think transit should equal mobility. Think fast cars, fast trains connecting distant places. Mobility is a fine measure as far as it goes, but really what we want in our daily life is accessibility. And some forms of transit inherently change how cities operate and they therefore increase access.

For example. Train stops often are hubs of commercial activity where daily purchases can be made. Bus stops, not as much. Density hubs are essential to walkable urbanism.

When these hubs develop, many of the daily needs can be satisfied with short walk: to the convenience store, the coffee shop, a place for lunch with friends, and the two trips to school with the kids every day etc..., even if you still commute to work for example. Studies have shown that walkable urbanism reduces car trips by 40%. For example a household in Green Township may have start their car 8 times a day. But that same family living in an walkable urban area may only start their car 4-5 times. Food for thought.

Update:
Amory Lovins and the other authors of “Natural Capitalism” cited a study’s estimate that reinstating the corner grocer would by itself reduce gasoline consumption by 6%.

21 July 2009

Cleveland Hero

....He put the car in reverse and turned onto West 44th, girlfriend Becky Sanders said. "Then he ran to one house, busted out windows and went inside."

There he found Julie Skala struggling to get out of a bed and into her wheelchair. Mills grabbed her, carried her outside, then went back inside and rescued her dogs. He entered the house a third time to get Skala's medication and wheelchair, Sanders said.

Firefighters arrived and had to pull Mills from the burning house.

..."He was limp and screaming that his hands were burning and that he couldn't breath. He was coughing up blood,"...

Reunion - Does Anything Really Change

My old mates from the 1980s DAAP returned to Cincinnati this past weekend. They came from all over the country had a few beers together, then they all quickly left again. Most of them have not been to Cincinnati in 20 years and will likely not come back soon.

Back in 1989 our lives were completely in flux. Most of us moved several times in that first year out of school. It's hard to remember, but back then, none of us had ever heard of email much less Facebook. We lost track of each other, and I really never thought I would see them again. I kept in touch with one or two of my best friends. Sometimes in my work, I will run into one old classmate who stayed in Cincinnati, but not very often.

But here they all were, re-assembled for a short weekend. I guess my first impression is that the essence of a person does not change over time. It was almost like we had just been away for 20 days, not 20 years. And unfortunately, that was their impression of Cincinnati. Several of them remarked to me that driving down Vine Street from Clifton was like going back into a time warp. Nothing had changed. "So much potential..." I heard that phrase over and over.

I made my attempt at showing the positives. I took a small group on a tour of Downtown, Clifton and OTR. And even though they demanded we see the starchitecturual icons, I don't think they found the Eisenman, Gehry, Libeskind or Hadid buildings the most memorable. I took them to a few OTR rehabs, including a building on Broadway that is being lovingly restored. They were fascinated with the quality of the buildings. And when we went all the way to the rooftop and saw OTR spread in front of us with the church steeples, the distant hills and the curve of the river, they were again blabbering about "the potential" of it all.

So I did my duty as ambassador until Sunday 1pm when I drove some to the airport. Sitting at the Delta Check-in door were three other classmates heading east. I said, come back in 5 years and it will be even better. "Yeah, OK..." They made a crack about Walter Cronkite actually dying 5 years ago, and it just now making the front page of the Enquirer. That was pretty funny.

Then I drove back home through Florence Y'all, back up 75. I turned on the radio and first heard Jimmy Buffet. The next station was country. The next had a DJ saying that Cheap Trick was coming to concert and "Next up.. some Jude-aass Priest..." Ugh.

19 July 2009

Mid Air Jump

 

17 July 2009

Thirteenth Street Before

The Southeast corner of 13th and Republic in the mid 1990s. This was a very rough corner, and dangerous with several handgun murders etc:


A close-up of rear wall of 1235 Vine, showing the brick wall nearing collapse:


Today:
From left to right: Rear of 1237 Vine (now Lackman Lofts), 1235 and 1233 Vine (now housing owned by OTR Community Housing), 1222 Republic (now Mottainai lofts):


** UPDATE ** UPDATE ** UPDATE **
A commenter asked for more info on the building in the left background of the first photo. I posted before and after photos of that building last year:
1300 Vine Street Before and After

16 July 2009

Pueblo Street

My son has been interested in fossils, and we have been taking treks to the Mt. Auburn hillside to dig for fossils. Here is some of what we have found:

Street sign in the woods:


Auditor's map of the area:

Here is the area on Google Maps.

hillside sliding onto sidewalk down on Boal:


driveway/street from Young to two Pueblo houses:


hidden house:


wooded view of city:


Young Street steps, looking down:


The Mt Auburn Pool, which is actually one of the better city pools. Solid pool buildings, deep end with diving boards, good quiet site on a bus route. Also, just found out they are open late Mon-Thursday! We may be going here next year:


at the top of the steps, looking up Young Street. The pool is to the left, TV station is to the right and God's Bible School is straight ahead:


Old stone wall in the woods:


remains of an old house foundation:


Plants growing out of the wall. I plan on figuring out this species:


backyards built into the hillside:


found fossil:

Rubber Playgrounds

...Kids at McDonald's playgrounds follow the restricted options offered by a post and platform ensemble: wait, go up, go across, go down, start all over again. The interactions amont young users is limited; there is nothing to do together. Only very small children, those around age three, find the repetition comforting.

Todays playgrounds irritate many of the more thoughtful people who care about how children learn. Several educators have argued that this totally safe environment "lacks most of the important elements necessary for meaningful play. These include variety, complexity, challenge, risk, flexibility and adaptability." ...children need oppportunities to take acceptable risks in an environment that encouragtees them to push against the boundaries of their current abilities, to stretch their skills and confidence. ..
-American Playgrounds, by Susan G. Soloman, 2005

15 July 2009

Stupid O'Toole Quote

http://www.nytimes.com/cwire/2009/07/15/15climatewire-a-son-of-portland-ore-tries-to-puncture-the-52412.html
Randall O'Toole is given a fair write-up in the NY Times since he was called by Congress to testify on transit funding. But he cannot avoid sticking his foot in his mouth when he speculates that the smart growth movement is just a reaction of the upper classes against the working class moving into the suburbs. What kind of crack is this guy smoking?
...Smart-growth advocates see another flaw in O'Toole's argument. They say he focuses narrowly on transit's carbon footprint but never considers how transit can reshape communities.

... vast research shows that if transit serves a dense area where people can meet many of their daily needs by biking and walking, the whole "transportation system" shrinks its carbon footprint. ....

Other cities see something in the hype. According to the American Public Transportation Association, light-rail systems or extensions have been proposed in 37 cities, among them Phoenix, Atlanta and Jacksonville, Fla.

O'Toole, of course, sees another force behind the movement -- class warfare.

"I think a lot of the anti-suburban sprawl crowd is made up of middle-class people who resent the fact that working class people have adopted their lifestyles," he said. "Many of them have moved into their neighborhoods, and they don't want to see those kind of people in their neighborhoods, because they have different lifestyles. Maybe they drink more, maybe they're noisier. I don't know."


But it it not just about shrinking carbon footprint either, it is about building places that people want to be. Building places for people, not for cars.

Hydrogen Rail Reality

A Statesville, NC paper reports on a paradigm shift. It will be interesting to see if hydro technology will really proceed like this scientist believes it will:

.... the biggest railroad in the USA, (just) presented to the world the first full-scale hydrail locomotive.

... the total supplanting of petroleum rail power by hydrogen is a matter of two or three decades at most ....

... rail and maritime applications were by far the easiest ways to move people and goods using energy delivered via hydrogen. ...named the new technology "hydrail."

...In 2008, because of our hydrail initiative, Proterra LLC wrote to the Town of Mooresville, Iredell County and the State proposing to build hydrail streetcars here, employing 200 to 500 people.

This summer, UNC and Mooresville focused the Fifth International Hydrail Conference on replacing overhead wire systems with wireless fuel cell streetcars (hydrolleys) as the new standard for urban rail, saving $5–to–6 million per mile of track construction. Charlotte is now studying that technology as one option for their proposed Beatties Ford to Eastland streetcar.

New LA Streetcar Website

A Downtown LA advocate just announced a new LA Streetcar website. Just knowing there is a LA downtown that people are advocates of is interesting to me. They hope to have the system up and running by 2014:

Building Museum Video of Columbia Heights

In the third installment of Great Green Places Washington, D.C.'s Office of Planning's Harriet Tregoning takes us on a tour of Washington, D.C.'s Columbia Heights neighborhood to explore how transit and mixed-use facilities help make for greener neighborhoods.

Totes Isotoner Outlet

I heard about a new outlet store, and rushed out to see it. It is quite fancy:
 


And so are the prices:
 

14 July 2009

View From Broadway and Liberty Roof

Looking South: 


View south and west:


Northwest:


North, looking at Mt Auburn:

Rock Throwing

Happy Bastille Day.

I don't have a long time to formulate thoughts about the recent rock throwing incident, so I'll keep it brief.

Below is a police photo of a rock thrown at a car on Columbia Parkway:
 


1. My dad had his windshield smashed with a rock while driving on Columbia Parkway over 5 years ago. It did not make the news and the police did not find the rock thrower.
2. I threw snowballs at cars as a teen. I could have caused an accident and killed someone. I was stupid, but at the time it seemed like a lot of fun.
3. I do not understand the extreme hatred shown towards the rock throwers in the comments section of the Enquirer. What they did was bad, real bad, but calling for long prison terms or physical punishment is crazy.
4. The police had to let one of the kids go because they did not have enough evidence to indite him. Did the police really hold a press conference in front of the kids house? That doesn't sound right.

13 July 2009

Jerome's Memorial

Site of a July 4th weekend shooting:
 


Green and Republic: 
This is just a block south of Findlay Market. I walked this way to the Market Sunday, and my son was asking why there were so many empty buildings up here and why the owners don't fix them up. I told him there was a shooting here, but he wasn't so interested in the memorial.

Thanks Mainstream Media... for this.

OK, so if I'm going to complain, I better step up and applaud. The Enquirer just ran a piece called Streetcar film comes full circle on an upcoming showing of a 1996 documentary on Streetcars that is critical of GM's role in their demise. Enquirer reporter Lauren Bishop interviewed Jim Klein, a Wright State University professor and documentary filmmaker who helped produce the film.

In the answer to the first question he said:
What I discovered in making the film is the type of transit you have impacts the type of city you have. A city that has more opportunity for its citizens to travel around with each other and for neighborhoods to be places where business takes place rather than the car-oriented, mall-oriented type of society, I think is a lot healthier and has a lot more long-term potential.
Go to the Enquirer story for more details, it is worth the read. You can see the movie at the Carnegie Visual and Performing Arts Center this Tuesday and Wednesday at 7:00 pm.

12 July 2009

Grafitti Van

 
Posted by Picasa

Style at Parade

Northside:

11 July 2009

Electrical Testing Method

From The Electrician's Handbook, 1928: 


 

Electricians often test circuits for the presence of voltage by touching the conductors with the fingers. This method is safe where voltage does not exceed 250 and is often very convenient for locating a blown-out fuse or for ascertaining whether or not a circuit is alive. Some men can endure the electric shock that results without discomfort whereas others cannot. Therefore, the method is not feasible in some cases. Which are the outside wires and which is the neutral wire of a 110-220 volt, 3-wire system can be determined in this way by noting the intensity of the shock that results by touching different pairs of wires with the fingers. Use the method with caution wan be certain that the voltage of the circuit does not exceed 250 before touching the conductors

The presence of low voltages can be determined by "tasting". The method is feasible only where the pressure is but a few volts and hence is usde only in bell and signal work. Where the voltage is very low, the bared ends of the conductors are held a short distance apart on the tongue. if voltage is present a peculiar mildly burning sensation results which sill never be forgotten after one has experienced it. The "taste" is due to the electrolytic decomposition of the liquids on the tongue...

10 July 2009

It's Lovely I'll Take It

A collection of poorly chosen photos from real estate listings here.

Movies at Washington Park

REMINDER, Hollywood comes to Washington Park tonight. I'll be there. The movie starts at 9:30 and whereas the park usually closes at 10. It should be interesting:
 

This is Kinda Like Our Pool

Yeah right. Famous continuous camera scene from the 1964 movie "I am Cuba" that travels from rooftop to pool. The music is not original:

09 July 2009

Contrast Cowboy

At Northside Parade Festival. The Contrast Cowboy, from Happen Inc.: 

2 FUNCKY

Seen in Northside:
 

08 July 2009

Old Aquaintance

"Hey Mike!"
"Mike! Mike... wait up.."
"Can you help a brother out?"

He looks like his face has been punched in. He's real thin, face crooked.

"You don't remember me do you?"

"No, I do. You're.. "

"Its Tee, man. We used to do all that stuff with buddy. Remember?"

He had been a very handsome young man. A charmer, and smart.
"Sure, yeah. How you doing?"

"We'll you know. I need help man, I'm kinda off the path."

"I don't have much on me. I don't want to help you drink."

"Well, you know how it is."

I reach in my pocket and pull out a bill.
"That's all I got on me, sorry."

"Pray for me, man, pray for me."

07 July 2009

Pez-a-Mania Next Week

The world's largest gathering of PEZ collectors will reconvene again in Cleveland next week. Not my thing, but kinda interesting in an Ohio centric way.

Ruins of 2nd Guided Age

NYT slideshow of partially built projects that may never get finished:
 


In a similar vein, an article in WSJ:
...Small houses on small lots—or condos and townhouses—require more dense zoning than is currently on the books in suburbia. Unless an area is already blighted and abandoned, the "threat" of higher density inevitably resurrects "not in my backyard" fears of more noise, traffic and overcrowded schools, which often results in considerable citizen pushback and bad publicity for the builder. That is, of course, why sprawl happened in the first place—builders almost always find it less of a hassle to build on undeveloped land than to create so-called "infill" housing.

... several big suburban builders, including K. Hovnanian, KB Homes and Toll Brothers, have started divisions for building urban housing, while other companies have started to convert failed suburban shopping malls, office parks, car dealerships and even golf courses into denser mixed-used buildings....

06 July 2009

Russ Alley

 
I think I know OTR pretty well. But everyday I notice new things. Sunday, while walking down Republic Street, between Green and Liberty, I noticed this gated alley. I am generally negative on privatized public space, but was pleasantly surprised by this short section of alleyway. Places where 2 alleys intersect in the middle of block are usually pretty unsafe places anyway.

I think all the buildings that surround this alley are part of a project called St. Anthony Village, which is a "renter equity program" consisting of 28 apartments. From what I have seen, it is a peaceful part of the neighborhood.

Here is Russ Alley on an auditor's map. It runs e/w below the yellow highlighted building and a few other buildings. The gated section runs from Republic Street to Goose Alley:
 


1635 Republic, gate on alley:
 


The eastern end of the alley, here unfenced to the left of this red building, runs out to Vine Street:  

What City is This

Clue, it is in the US:
 


 

05 July 2009

O'dell Owens on OTR Crime

I missed this nugget the other day from our Coroner:
Hamilton County Coroner O'dell Owens isn't buying a survey that named Over-the-Rhine the “most dangerous neighborhood” in America.

Dr. Owens said in a press conference on Wednesday that Cincinnati is a good city that suffers from “poor self esteem.”
...
"At our worst we had 89 homicides. Philly had 440, Detroit has one a day, Indianapolis had eight in one day. Toledo had multiples in one day. We've never had eight homicides in one day in Cincinnati," said Owens.

Owens said there is a problem with crime but people shouldn't let fear keep them out of the area.
Channel 9 follow up story yesterday.

04 July 2009

Dunking Booth

The kids loved the Northside 4th of July parade, especially the dunking booth:
 

02 July 2009

Happy 4th

Some Patriotic images for your weekend: