Author: Randy A. Simes

Randy is an award-winning urban planner who founded UrbanCincy in May 2007. He grew up on Cincinnati’s west side in Covedale, and graduated from the University of Cincinnati’s nationally acclaimed School of Planning in June 2009. In addition to maintaining ownership and serving as the managing editor for UrbanCincy, Randy has worked professionally as a planning consultant throughout the United States, Korea and the Middle East. After brief stints in Atlanta and Chicago, he currently lives in the Daechi neighborhood of Seoul’s Gangnam district.

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News Transportation

Metro announces winners of “Tell Your Story” contest

Metro officials have announced the winners of their Tell Your Story contest that asked Metro riders to share their stories about how transit benefits their lives and their community in terms of jobs, the environment, energy independence, and overall quality of life. The transit agency narrowed down the many entries to five finalists for the written and video entries, then opened the contest to public voting which determined the winners of each category.

After hundreds of votes were cast, Teresa Roush of Wilmington and Travis Theiss of Hamilton respectively won the written and video contests. According to Metro officials, both individuals won a year of free rides on Metro and will be featured in the transit agency’s advertising this fall.

Roush’s written entry described her five-day-a-week commute on the 71X from Kings Island to downtown Cincinnati and back. In her story Roush highlighted how she is able to use her time effectively by knitting afghans that she donates to a children’s charity in Clinton County.

Meanwhile, in Theiss’ video entry filmed at the Taste of Cincinnati he described how he uses Metro as an opportunity to catch up on sleep, and he explained how his Metro bus route provides him with easy access to work while also providing a time to take a nap.

“I just gave it a shot and thought it would hopefully entertain people, and I was glad I could share my feelings that Metro is a great option for transportation,” said Theiss of his video entry.

Metro also awarded 96-year-old William Kenny a year of free rides on Metro for his written story on August 21. In his entry Kenny described how he uses Metro to get to and from the Over-the-Rhine soup kitchen where he volunteers five days a week. It is also believed that Kenny is Metro’s oldest regular rider.

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Arts & Entertainment News

2010 Mt. Adams Oktoberfest keeps season of Bavarian festivals brewing

Oktoberfest season is in full swing in Cincinnati. Last weekend MainStrasse Village celebrated its popular annual Oktoberfest celebration, and a slew of additional events and celebrations are scheduled to take place over the next two weeks including the world’s largest Oktoberfest celebration outside Munich which takes place this weekend in downtown Cincinnati.

Before Oktoberfest Zinzinnati takes place this weekend, German food and beer lovers can celebrate in Mt. Adams Wednesday evening as that neighborhood celebrates the season in grand fashion.

The 2010 Mt. Adams Oktoberfest will include authentic Bavarian music, dancing, food, and beer. The free outdoor street festival will take place Pavillion Street (map) which will be closed to traffic. The festival is being presented by Moerlein Lagers & Ales who will be proudly serving their seasonal Fifth & Vine Oktoberfest Marzen.

Eight nearby bars including Aliveone, Blind Lemon, Crowley’s, Longworth’s, Monk’s Cove, Mt. Adams Pavilion, Tavern on the Hill, and Yesterday’s Old Time Saloon will be participating in the Oktoberfest celebration.

The event will take place from 6pm to 10pm on Wednesday, September 15 in Cincinnati’s historic hilltop Mt. Adams neighborhood. Automobile parking will be available at nearby garages and lots, but availability is expected to be limited. As a result, event organizers are encouraging those willing to take Metro bus service (plan your trip) or take avantage of free bicycle parking available.

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Arts & Entertainment Business News

Cincinnati-area cultural sites to take part in Museum Day on Fountain Square

More than 60 museums and historic sites throughout the Cincinnati region will be open to the public on Museum Day on September 15.

Locally, Museums & Historic Sites of Greater Cincinnati is organizing the efforts to get residents and visitors out to the many cultural attractions including destinations like the American Sign Museum, Betts House, Cincinnati Museum Center, Cincinnati Observatory, Contemporary Arts Center, Fire Museum of Greater Cincinnati, and the William Howard Taft National Historic Site.

On Wednesday, September 15 from 10:30am to 2:30pm, organizers say that more than two dozen of these destinations will be on Fountain Square to showcase their programs with costume interpreters, objects from their collections, and other hands-on activities. Organizers hope that the event will allow for more people to see a large collection of the cultural attractions from around the region in one convenient, central location.

The Fountain Square (map) event is free and open to the public. Those interested can find off-street automobile parking available in the underground parking garage located beneath the square, and in other nearby on- and off-street parking locations. Free bicycle parking is available outside on Fountain Square, or inside the underground parking garage near the Vine Street entrance. Metro bus service also provides convenient access to the area via the Government Square Transit Hub (plan your trip).

Categories
Arts & Entertainment News

Bearcat Block Party to host UC tailgaters throughout 2010 season

The University of Cincinnati boasts one of the most urban college campuses in all of America, and quite possibly the most unique stadium in Division 1 football. As a result, Nippert Stadium’s scoreboard is mounted atop a neighboring building, midrises surround the sunken playing field, and the intimate venue is situated in the heart of campus.

This urban football setting also means that there are not seas of asphalt where fans can tailgate before and after the game. Bearcat fans instead tailgate on campus green areas, inside parking garages, and on surrounding streets. But as the Bearcats have their home opener tomorrow, fans will not only be treated to back-to-back Big East champions, but also a new tailgating experience just blocks away from the stadium on Short Vine.

Partially to satisfy the tailgaters displaced from one of the last remaining parking lots on campus which is now home to the Jefferson Avenue Sports Complex, and partially to create a fun new urban tailgating experience for fans, the Short Vine Business Association (SVBA) has created the Uptown Cincinnati Bearcat Block Party.

With help from UC Athletics and the Uptown Consortium, the SVBA will offer live music, food and drinks, and entertainment in addition to the wide array of businesses found on Short Vine that will remain open during the event. Organizers say that the free street festival will take place two hours before and after every single Bearcats home football game along the 2600 block of Short Vine.

Nearby parking lots will be made available for fans needing to stash their cars away during the game, and a free shuttle will transport those to the game that would prefer to not walk the few short blocks.

Categories
Development News Politics

Cincinnati region awarded $6M through third round of NSP funding

The Cincinnati region was awarded nearly $6 million from the U.S. Department of Housing & Urban Development (HUD) for the stabilization of neighborhoods that have been hard hit by the nation’s ongoing foreclosure crisis. In particular, the funds will be used to acquire and rehabilitate existing housing and demolish badly damaged properties.

The money was awarded through the third round of HUD’s Neighborhood Stabilization Program which awarded an additional $1 billion to communities across America this week. The previous two rounds of funding included $3.92 billion in 2008, and $2 billion in late 2009 through the American Recovery & Reinvestment Act which included $24 million for seven communities throughout Cincinnati region.

“These grants will support local efforts to reverse the effects these foreclosed properties have on their surrounding neighborhoods,” said HUD Secretary Shaun Donovan. “We want to make certain that we target these funds to those places with especially high foreclosure activity so we can help turn the tide in our battle against abandonment and blight.”

Winners in the third round of funding were determined by a number of key indicators that match funding to need in the 20 percent most distressed neighborhoods as determined by the number and percentage of home foreclosures, the number and percentage of homes financed by subprime mortgage related loans, and the number and percentage of homes in delinquency. HUD officials also say that housing price declines, increases in unemployment, and neighborhood vacancy problems are also taken into account.

Of the $6 million awarded throughout the Cincinnati region approximately $1.5 million went to Hamilton County, $1.3 million to Butler County, and $3.2 million to the City of Cincinnati.

“This is great news for greater Cincinnati. Our region was hit hard by the foreclosure crisis, and we need to do all we can to help neighborhoods rebuild and recover,” said U.S. Representative Steve Driehaus (D-OH). “The Neighborhood Stabilization Program brings resources into the hardest hit areas, and will make a difference for families and communities as we continue on the path toward recovery.”