Categories
News

"Shadow Hare" protecting Cincinnatians?

This goes down as one of the strangest stories I’ve heard in a long time. There are so many things to comment on here from the names of these self-described “superheroes,” the “Allegiance of Heroes” that Shadow Hare is part of, the pitch of his voice, the fact that he’s 21 years old and from Milford or their costumes.

Just watch this great news piece from WLWT to see for yourself (be sure to notice the reaction of the Hamilton County Sheriff that Shadow Hare approaches in the video).

Categories
News

Coal moratorium presentation & Q/A – 4/29

The Cincinnati area League of Women Voters is sponsoring a presentation on coal generated energy that will focus on the impacts that a coal moratorium might present for a state like Ohio where 90% of the electricity comes from coal.

The presentation will take place this Wednesday, April 29th at the Mt. Auburn Presbyterian Church (GoogleMap) Social Hall, and will last from 7pm – 8:30pm. The presentation is free and open to the public and will include a Q/A session immediately following the presentation from guest speaker Nachy Kanfer who is the National Coal Campaign representative in Ohio for the Sierra Club.

The League of Women Voters has recently called for a coal moratorium that proposes a 10-year freeze on the construction of new coal-fired power plants. The event is co-sponsored by Citizens for Civic Renewal, the Sierra Club Miami Group and the Women’s City Club of Greater Cincinnati. For additional information you can call (513) 281-8683 or email nrc@lwvcincinnati.org.

Photo: Duke Energy coal power plant at the confluence of the Great Miami and Ohio rivers – by Jake Mecklenborg

Categories
Arts & Entertainment News

Great day in Cincy

This past Saturday was a great day. It started at Fountain Square where I met up with several friends. The Square was crowded, the Reds game was on the LED board, a wedding party posed for pictures and horse-drawn carriages were in high demand.

Chris, Jake and myself went for a walk around Downtown to take some photos and enjoy the beautiful, albeit windy, weather. We eventually made our way over to the historic West Fourth Street area. Just after checking out the progress on the McFarland Lofts project we looked up at the new Parker Flats midrise and saw 5chw4r7z and Ms. 5chw4r7z with a couple friends enjoying their wrap around balcony.

They invited us up to check out their digs which we discovered to be a chic urban living space complete with ‘city doors.’ We arrived just in time to see the Bengals make their first selection in the 2009 NFL Draft and were pleased with the selection of an offensive tackle.

We worked our way back to the Square where Sherman and Chris had dinner on Via Vite‘s rooftop terrace. I worked my way further north into Over-the-Rhine where I met my father for dinner on Lavomatic‘s beautiful rooftop terrace.

Following dinner I met back up with Chris outside of Park + Vine and we walked down to City Cellars where we met a couple more people and had a couple glasses of wine out on City Cellars‘ patio. We then worked our way south, en route to the Cyclones game at US Bank Arena, stopping at Chipotle on Fountain Square for a quick bite for our other friends who had not yet eaten.

We arrive a little late to the Cyclones game and noticed we were already trailing 3-1 which quickly became a 4-1 deficit. Right about this point a t-shirt was launched from a canon in my direction. Making quick use of my eye-hand coordination, I snatched the t-shirt out of the air and savored my prize.

The third period hit and the Cyclones had charged all the way back and tied the game at 4-4. To overtime we went and the Cyclones quickly scored ending the game and taking a 2-0 series lead. After the game finished we split off as our two friends went to JeanRo Bistro for some drinks while Chris and I went to go meet up with Sherman once more in Over-the-Rhine.

Categories
Business News Politics Transportation

We need Zipcars in Cincinnati

Living car-free anywhere can be a bit of a challenge. It’s even more difficult in Cincinnati where our transit options are limited to bus service.

With that said, living car-free is definitely possible and I know several people that are able to make it work even here in Cincy. One thing that could make living car-free a lot more feasible would be the use of Zipcars.

Zipcar is a carsharing company that allows people to get a membership and use the cars on an as needed basis. Basically what you do is you get a membership (which gets you a Zipcard) and then go and get a car when you absolutely need one. You just walk up to the car, wave your Zipcard over the windshield, get in and start driving (keys, gas card and insurance are all awaiting you).

Presently there is no Zipcar service in any Ohio city (closest locations are Chicago & Pittsburgh), but Cleveland does boast its own carsharing club called Citywheels. The Ohio State University, in Columbus, used to have its own Zipcar service that came to a close in January 2009. It’s about time that Cincinnati get into carsharing and introduce Zipcars to our urban core.

Categories
News

Local black community turning on Smitherman?

Christopher Smitherman is the controversial President of the local chapter of the NAACP. He has always been a somewhat controversial figure, but his recent actions as the President of the NAACP has led several prominent local black activists to openly criticize Smitherman and the NAACP. Smitherman’s outspoken opposition to the proposed streetcar system, Mayor Mallory and relationship with Chris Finney seem to be leading this dissent within the black community that is causing them to break away from Smitherman. What does this mean for the local chapter of the NAACP, Mr. Smitherman and his current prominent stances on issues like the proposed streetcar system?

Smitherman and Chris Finney:

Chris Finney is the attorney for the local chapter of the NAACP and the ultra-conservative group COAST. He has been known for his bold stances against minority groups like GLBT and even the black community. This continuation of the relationship between the NAACP and Chris Finney has led many to question Smitherman’s motives.

Smitherman “scaring” senior citizens:

It gets even worse as one local black activist has alleged that Smitherman is “scaring senior citizens” about the proposed streetcar in order to drum up more support for his personal opposition to the project, and he is doing this all while wearing the suit of the President of the local chapter of the NAACP.

The author of the Black Fist Blog states that Smitherman is, “slithering in and out of area Senior Citizen Facilities/Centers and comparing the building of a proposed Streetcar to “The Great Depression”, and to outright tell to our precious senior citizens that to NOT sign the NAACP Streetcar Petition would be something close to signing on to one of the “Greatest Economic Tragedies” since “The Great Depression” is at the least irresponsible, and at the most could be classified as (mental) elder abuse.”

Not much is clear on any of this aside from one thing – Smitherman is surrounded in a lot of controversy and it appears to be clear that he is in no way truly representing the interests of the black community in Cincinnati. What I truly want to know is what the actual concerns are, from the black community, in regards to the proposed streetcar system. A conversation should be had so that they are engaged and involved in the process to help make this system a success.

In the end this seems to be damaging the reputation and credibility of the local chapter of the NAACP for the sole cause of advancing Christopher Smitherman’s political interests. In a time when the economy is in the pits we really need groups like the NAACP to stand up and fight for the equal rights and standing for the black community…and it seems as though President Smitherman is failing at this.

Keep following these stories at the following:
The Black Fist Blog
Cincinnati Black Blog
The Phony Coney