Month: January 2009

Categories
News

UrbanCincy and the Streetsblog Network

This website is proud to be the first Cincinnati-area blog to become a member of the Streetsblog Network. This national blog network is focused on sustainable transport, smart growth, and livable streets issues.

The network serves as a “one-stop shop for transportation policy goodness” with over 170 blogs contributing their best work from a local perspective all over the nation. If you feel that another blog, or your own, is qualified to be a part of this network then please fill out the nomination form and start contributing today.

UrbanCincy hopes to contribute its local perspective on transportation and smart growth issues here in Cincinnati. This will extend beyond the normal coverage of Cincinnati’s modern streetcar proposal and also cover topics such as complete streets, development patterns, and livability issues. Help UrbanCincy accomplish this goal by offering specific topics to cover. As always, share your thoughts on the issues through the comment section provided with each article.

NOTE: UrbanCincy’s good friend, CincyStreetcar Blog, has also become a member of this national network within the past day. View its Streetsblog Network profile here.

Categories
Business Development News Transportation

Around Town

“On a recent Saturday with about 10 other young professionals, locked in a new, for-sale Over-the-Rhine condo that didn’t have any heat talking about how we can make Cincinnati a better place for people like us. It was organized by CincyPAC — a political action committee of about 1,100 young professionals who specifically target Cincinnati City Council races to lobby for a better city for those in their age bracket — as a retreat where we might invigorate ourselves for this fall’s council elections.”

During this retreat the young professionals discussed what it is that could improve Cincinnati. Naturally their discussions were taken over by talks of the proposed streetcar system. As this effort progresses to bring fixed-rail transit to Cincinnati, the number of passionate supporters continues to grow. It’s not just the political wonks, it’s the young people, residents, business owners, and others who have seen what streetcars have done elsewhere, and what they once did for Cincinnati. Stay tuned as more and more get on board.

On another completely unrelated note. If you’re one of those people who believe nothing is happening at The Banks, well you’re wrong. While the bad economy has plagued many projects, it has been a gain for others like The Banks. Contract after contract is coming in under budget due to the competitive bidding process for the work. Small-business participation has exceeded initial goals, there have been 9,000 work hours without a lost-time accident, and the project is making some very visible headway.

LEFT- You can see the first of the two-level parking decks that will lift the development out of the flood plain.
RIGHT – You can see the support columns rising first along the path of what will be Freedom Way.

Photos courtesy of Chad McCann
Categories
News

I Love You Because premiers at Know Theatre

Saturday night (1/17) marked the regional premiere for the Off-Broadway show, I Love You Because, at the Know Theatre (GoogleMap). The comedic musical is a modern day telling of the romantic favorite Pride and Prejudice set in New York City.

Described as a “wickedly funny musical with enough heart to make the cynic in all of us melt.” When paired with a great dinner before hand, at the nearby Lavomatic Café, the show makes for a fun and romantic date in Cincinnati’s Off-Broadway Theatre District (GoogleMap).

The musical itself endears the audience with entertaining, hilarious, and downright catchy tunes. Certainly, the presence of the house band playing all of the music live adds a wonderful touch, but the primary actors were well rehearsed and very tight with some songs that could only be considered as tongue-twisters. In typical playwright fashion, the cast successfully took three small sets of props and transformed them into a variety of imaginative settings, inviting the audience to come along on the emotional journey of the four main characters, all quirky and different in their own right. Speaking of the quirky characters, the actors all did a marvelous job in conveying each characters’ personality. Without myself having seen the original New York production, I could only imagine that the authors would have had an exceptional performance such as this in mind.

All in all, if you and a date are looking for something different, I would give this a try. You’ll laugh and feel all “warm and fuzzy inside” as you watch the characters struggle with relationships and all grow closer together. Tickets are only $12, so for a few dollars more than a pre-filmed movie matinee, you can watch a live performance and feel the connection with the actors. I’m not typically a musical guy, but I don’t think you could go wrong with this comedic take on differences and the dating scene.

You can order tickets online or by calling the Know Theatre box office at 513.300.KNOW (5669). Due to the current economic downturn, the Know Theatre has had to modify its previously announced schedule for the 2008-2009 season. The new schedule for the remainder of the season can be found below.

  • I Love You Because: 1/17 – 2/21
  • Eurydice: 3/7 – 3/28
  • Vigils: 4/11 – 4/25
  • Mr. Marmalade (reading): Date/Time TBD
  • Cincinnati Fringe Festival: 5/26 – 6/6 (dates unchanged)

Review by UrbanCincy contributor Adam Hawkins
Photograph Provided

Categories
News

Programming Note: Explore Cincinnati

Starting today, every Friday between 10am and 11:30am will be the ‘Explore Cincinnati’ radio show on Bearcast Radio. The show will discuss current events going on in Cincinnati.

This week’s show will look at topics like repopulating the city, gentrification, the Greg Harris appointment, streetcars, UC’s landlord accreditation program, and more. The discussion panel this week will be made up of Jake Mecklenborg, Kevin LeMaster, Brad Thomas (call in), and myself (call in).

Tune in (listen online) and check out this new program. There should be some great discussion that will elaborate on some of the more popular topics you’ve been reading about lately; all the while being discussed by some of your favorite bloggers.

UPDATE: You can now download and subscribe (it’s FREE) to the Explore Cincinnati podcasts

Categories
News Politics

Breaking down the chatter

It seems that lately all you have to do is say something will turn out like the never-completed subway, the stadiums, The Banks, or the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center and your position of opposition immediately gains some sort of credibility. I don’t get it.

The connections are normally weak at best, and the projects are so incredibly different. What’s most disturbing though are the criticisms of the Freedom Center. Ever heard someone refer to the museum as a “handout?” Have you ever heard people criticize crimes committed by blacks in one sentence and then suggest turning the Freedom Center into a prison to solve Cincinnati’s jail overcrowding in the next?

I have, and on more than one occasion. I find it very surprising that this seemingly in your face racism is tolerated in public dialogue. People talk about the museum as being a drain on taxpayer dollars. Well guess what, it is quite typical for museums and other cultural institutions to receive public aid. Why single out this one institution over the others?

So while I’m upset that people use the museum as a way to somehow predict failure for other unrelated projects in an anecdotal fashion, I am even more upset that the overtly racist tone of those comments is even tolerated in the first place. We’re better than that Cincinnati.