Tag: Cincinnati

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Arts & Entertainment News

Two national community engagement movements to gather in Cincinnati tonight

Transition Town Northside will be meeting tonight at 5pm, and members of the Over-the-Rhine community will be taking part in National Night Out at historic Findlay Market.

The National Night Out event in Over-the-Rhine offers a chance for community members to engage with their local law enforcement officers. Police officers from District One of the Cincinnati Police Department will be at the event that will include food and games. Organizers state that the event is geared towards creating a safe, healthy community by strengthening relationship with the community and its police force. The event will take place at Findlay Market’s farmers shed (map) on the north side of the market house from 5pm to 6:30pm. Please contact the Over-the-Rhine Chamber of Commerce for more information at (513) 241-2690.

The Cincinnati Police Department will also be participating in five other National Night Out events throughout the city.  District One will also be at Mt. Adams Monastery (map) from 6pm to 8pm, District Two at the Mt. Washington Recreation Center (map) from 6pm to 9pm, District Three at the Kroger Grocery on Ferguson Road (map) from 5pm to 8pm, District Four at Fleischmann Gardens Park (map) from 6pm to 8pm, and District Five at College Hill Presbyterian Church (map) from 6pm to 9pm.

Meanwhile in Northside, a group committed to helping the neighborhood build community and achieve a more fossil-free existence will be meeting from 5pm to 7pm at the McKie Center (map). The goal of Transition Town Northside is to create an umbrella under which like minded individuals and organizations can pool their efforts, with the main goal of working towards a neighborhood that is local and sustainable. The grass-roots, community effort is generally geared toward responding to the challenges presented by peak oil.

All of these events are free and open to the public and most can be accessed by Metro bus service (plan your trip). Free bicycle parking is also available in the immediate area for most locations.

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Business News

American Sign Museum provides unique look into Cincinnati’s past

You do not need to have the taste of an art critic or the knowledge of an historian in order to appreciate the beauty of the neon memories on display at the American Sign Museum in Walnut Hills. The museum is filled to the brim with historic signs that in their own way act as shimmering archives of Cincinnati’s past, providing us with an unwritten narrative of our own history.

The museum, hidden in Walnut Hills, opened its doors in 2005 and is the only public sign museum in the country. The space currently houses some 3,800 signs and pieces of memorabilia, some dating back to the late 19th century. It is, however, not always the objects themselves that provide the real attraction.

”We, of course, like to have the signs in the museum, but it’s as or sometimes more important to know the story behind them…they have more meaning that way,” said founder and museum director Tod Swormstedt.

One such example Swormstedt points to is the story surrounding an old Georgiton’s Pizza sign that last stood in the back parking lot of Mac’s Pizza Pub in Clifton Heights. According to Swormstedt, soon after opening his restaurant/bar Mac renovated his back parking lot and brought down the old sign.

He decided that it would be best to donate it to Swormstedt’s collection, and as the sign was brought down from its metal post a bit of history was, literally, uncovered. Once viewed up close it was apparent that Georgiton’s Pizza had simply been carved into sheet metal and layered over an older Papa Dino’s sign.

After some investigating, it was discovered that two brothers had once operated Papa Dino’s out of the building that now houses Mac’s Pizza Pub. The brothers eventually had a falling out that caused them to split up and form rival pizza restaurants. While one left and took the name Papa Dino’s just one block north to Calhoun Street, the other stayed and simply changed the name on the sign to Georgiton’s Pizza. Today, Papa Dino’s is still in business at the corner of Calhoun Street and Clifton Avenue, and although Georgiton’s Pizza is now just a memory, we still have two great pizza joints within one block of each other in Clifton.

You can currently view the Papa Dino’s/Georgiton’s Pizza sign and its story at the Cincinnati Art Museum. It is part of their Artworks: The American Road series that runs through August 29th.

The American Sign Museum is located at 2515 Essex Place in Walnut Hills and is open to the public on Saturdays from 10am to 4pm.  All other times must be scheduled by appointment by (513) 258-4020 or tod@signmuseum.org.

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News Politics Transportation

Three hybrid buses to be added to Metro’s fleet

The Southwest Ohio Regional Transit Authority (SORTA) will debut three new hybrid buses on Thursday, August 5.  The new buses will join a Metro bus fleet that is seeing the number of environmentally friendly buses grow with the help of federal funding through the American Recovery & Reinvestment Act (ARRA).

“As Metro’s fleet gets greener, Cincinnati’s air gets cleaner” said Marilyn Shazor, Metro’s CEO. “Mass transit itself is an important and easy way to go green, and our hybrid buses illustrate our system’s commitment to environmental responsibility.”

Metro officials have estimated that in the first year of operation, the existing six hybrid buses have reduced greenhouse gases by 190 tons, provided 330,000 “green” rides, traveled 210,000 miles, and saved the transit agency 7,000 gallons of diesel fuel.

The savings are particularly important as transit officials look to deal with fewer people riding transit due to the economy, and lower financial contributions from the City of Cincinnati’s earnings tax which contributes 3/10th of one percent of that tax. In addition to the economic benefits, officials see the growing hybrid fleet as a positive for the local environment.

“Smog is a problem in the Cincinnati area and Metro’s purchase of cleaner, lower emission buses is a positive step toward helping clean up our air,” said Cory Chadwick, Director of the Hamilton County Department of Environmental Services. “In fact, everyone can help by increasing their use of public transportation, especially by choosing to ride a diesel-hybrid bus with significantly lower exhaust emissions, better fuel economy, and a quieter ride than a standard diesel bus.”

The new hybrid buses will be on display at Ault Park (map) from 10am to 11am, and on Fifth Street between Walnut and Main (map) from 12pm to 1pm. Metro now has nine hybrid buses in its fleet, with another four to be added in fall 2010.

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Arts & Entertainment Business News

Macy’s Music Festival headlining busy weekend in downtown Cincinnati

The Macy’s Music Festival takes place this weekend in downtown Cincinnati at Paul Brown Stadium. Nearly 50,000 R&B and soul fans from around the region are expected to pour into the stadium and nearby venues as they are treated to performances by Jaheim, Melanie Fiona, Teena Marie, Charlie Wilson, Cameo, K’Jon, En Vogue, Maze, Raheem DeVaughn, and Erykah Badu who was added to replace Jill Scott. The two-day music festival is expected to have a local economic impact of $20 million.

Jill Scott canceled her appearance at this year’s festival after learning of an illness in the family. Her absence is certainly a loss for the festival, but the addition of Erykah Badu is one of the few replacements that is able to fill Scott’s proverbial shoes in the festival lineup.

The music festival is complimenting a host of other events that are expected to keep Cincinnati’s center city packed all weekend long.  One such event is the annual convention for the Gospel Music Workshop of America (GMWA) which is expected to draw 5,000 people from around the world, and create an economic impact of $3 million.  The first-place Reds are also in town and hosting the Atlanta Braves in a three game series that is expected to draw three sell-out crowds totaling more than 120,000 fans over the weekend.

Tickets for the Macy’s Music Festival range from $48 to $88 and can be purchased online, or by calling 1-800-452-3132 for group sales.  Performances begin at 7:30pm both nights at Paul Brown Stadium (map).  In the mean time, enjoy ‘Other Side of the Game’ by Erykah Badu.

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News Politics

After Issue 9 victory, next generation of leaders need to stay involved

This past Thursday evening more than 40 people crowded themselves in a meeting room at the Over-the-Rhine Chamber of Commerce. The group was a diverse collection of individuals who had gathered for one purpose: to address safety concerns in the Main Street/Mulberry Street/McMicken Street area of Over-the-Rhine. The three policemen and chamber members in attendance could not believe the turnout, and mentioned their pleasant state of surprise several times.

Safety sector meetings like this are held regularly throughout the historic Over-the-Rhine neighborhood as engaged members of the community look to find out how they can continue to improve their neighborhood.  At this particular meeting, the majority of the people in attendance were under the age of 35. The common thread, beyond age, was that they were members of the community, either living in or around the Over-the-Rhine neighborhood, who wanted to help make a difference.

The momentous build-up and defeat of Issue 9, the anti-passenger rail amendment, in last year’s local election sparked a wildfire of community activism not seen in this area for some time. For the first time in my relatively young life, I became totally and thoroughly passionate about doing all I could to inform and educate others about the importance of rail transit in Cincinnati. It felt pretty good to be involved in a cause I believed in, and a strong bond was formed between those who spent their time rallying to defeat Issue 9.

Fast forward to today, and there is no doubt that the Cincinnati Streetcar will be built, and the 3C Rail Corridor plan is moving ahead thanks to our efforts to defeat the anti-passenger rail amendment.  With these goals accomplished, many of us now must figure out what to do with all this energy, enthusiasm and excitement we have for the urban core.

I challenge you to get involved in your community.

There are countless ways to give your time and effort to strengthen and build your respective neighborhood. From participating in community councils to volunteering to serve with neighborhood groups, getting involved in your community not only builds up the place where you live, but it creates bonds between neighbors and truly builds a sense of camaraderie and sense of place.  For too long, too many have chosen to close their doors and picket fences.   Electing instead to stay inside a safe, often isolated, bubble of Anytown suburbia.  The results have turned neighbors into strangers in cases where it should be anything but.

It is not just Over-the-Rhine that calls for your involvement. There are 52 neighborhoods within the City of Cincinnati, and many more throughout the region, that all have needs, goals, and a heavily established “old guard” that is eventually going to want to retire. The time is now for this generation to become actively involved so that the torch of community responsibility can be passed to us.

As I looked around the room on Thursday evening I was surprised to see that I knew at least a third of the people in attendance. They are not just my friends. They are my neighbors, my community. And we are ready and excited to invest in our area, strengthening Cincinnati and making it an even better place to live.

We Love Cincinnati