Tag: Cincinnati

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News

Metro service changes take effect on 3/7

In response to customer requests, Metro will start offering earlier service to the University of Cincinnati’s Raymond Walters campus along bus route #4 to Blue Ash, and will be making a variety of changes geared towards improving service to the Central Business District from the city’s west side neighborhoods.

The special service changes will go into effect on Sunday, March 7 along with the routine seasonal service changes all seen below:

Metro officials will be on hand to answer questions and field concerns at the Government Square Transit Hub from 8am to 10am on Friday, March 5. New bus schedules for affected bus routes will also be available.

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Business News

$8.5M Facilities Grant to Bolster UC’s Research Standing

The University of Cincinnati has been awarded nearly $8.5 million by the National Center for Research Resources (NCRR) for the repair, renovation, and modernization of existing research facilities in uptown Cincinnati.

In 2003, then University of Cincinnati president Dr. Nancy Zimpher championed UC|21 – a comprehensive academic planning process that would help lead UC into the 21st Century. Among UC|21’s six primary goals, Goal 2 was to “grow our research excellence” by building on the university’s greatness as a major research university.

The goal was taken even further by Dr. Zimpher who often said she intended on making the University of Cincinnati the nation’s premier urban research institution.

Click to open larger version in new window. Chart produced by Randy A. Simes.

In 2009, the University of Cincinnati generated $378 million in research funding compared with $194 million in 2000, just before the start of UC|21, representing a 95 percent increase in research funding over a ten year period. Announced by the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services (HHS), the nearly $8.5 million grant will be issued tomorrow on March 4, 2010 and remain active for five years after its activation.

“This is great news for the University of Cincinnati,” said U.S. Representative Steve Driehaus (D-OH). “UC carries out cutting-edge research in a wide range of fields, and this investment will help ensure the university can continue its important work.”

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Arts & Entertainment News

Make your plans now for Bockfest 2010

There are many things to get excited about when it comes to Bockfest that go beyond the wonderful, oh so wonderful, beer. Some of that excitement should revolve around the many great events and features of the celebration this weekend. While Bockfest truly does not start until Friday evening, things get an early start today. Take a look a UrbanCincy’s Bockfest celebration picks below to start planning out your Bockfest lineup.

Mecklenberg Gardens – Tonight, March 3, Cincinnati landmark Mecklenburg Gardens will be hosting the tapping of Hudepohl Bock & Schoenling Bock starting at 5PM. The event is free and open to the public as some lucky folks will be able to get the first few drinks of Hudepohl Bock, the 2009 Bockfest homebrew winner, and Schoenling Bock which returns after nearly a 25 year absence.

Bockfest Parade – The annual Bockfest Parade rolls through the streets of Downtown and historic Over-the-Rhine on Friday evening to officially kick off the weekend’s festivities. The parade will start in front of Arnold’s Bar & Grill at 5:30pm and will head north along Main Street through OTR. You can either watch the parade from along the route or join in as it requires no advance sign up.

Bock Beer – Bock Beer is a centuries old tradition dating back to 14th Century monks that brewed it during Lent while they fasted. It is always a sign of the coming spring and does pack a potent punch. There will be no shortage of Bock beers to try over the weekend including many offerings from Greg Hardman and our friends at Christian Moerlein.

Bockfest Hall – Every year Bockfest Hall is the cornerstone of the festival and this year is no exception. The one thing that is different this year though is that Bockfest Hall is part of what was the historic Kauffmann Brewery near Vine & Liberty streets (map) in Over-the-Rhine. Be a part of history and have a beer in an old Cincinnati brewery that is also rumored for “big” news in the near future.

Arnold’s – Cincinnati’s oldest continually operating tavern, Arnold’s, will be playing host to entertainment through the weekend, has a special Bockfest menu that is definitely worth checking out, and will feature six Bock beers on tap, the most of any Bockfest establishment.

Free Shuttle – Bockfest Hall & Arnolds are only two of the participating venues at Bockfest, and all weekend a free shuttle (see map above) will run between all of the participating Bockfest establishments. Not only is this beneficial because it gives you access to many venues around the area, but it works great as you can park near any establishment and hop on the shuttle for the night (sounds a little familiar to something else being proposed).

Great Local Music – Great music occurs all weekend long at the participating Bockfest venues, but the one can’t miss act has to be local favorite Jake Speed & the Freddies who will be playing their Cincinnati flavored tunes at Bockfest Hall on Friday evening. Here are the rest of the Friday, Saturday, and Sunday events and bands that can be found at any one of the 13 participating venues.

Great Cincinnati Food – While the 14th Century monks may have brewed Bock beer because they were fasting during lent, you won’t have to. Food can be had at the many fine establishments as well as Bockfest Hall which will feature German food from Mecklenburg Gardens and waffles from Taste of Belgium.

Hudy Bock & the Homebrew Contest – This event, brings together home brewers from around the city to compete in a contest to see who makes the best Bock beer. While many varieties will be judged, the winner of the Traditional Bock category will be honored by Christian Moerlein who will use the recipe for the 2011 version of Hudepohl Bock. The competition starts at noon on Saturday at Bockfest Hall.

The annual Bockfest Parade kicks off the weekend of festivities Friday at 5:30pm – photo by SlimWhitman.

“Little Kings” Sausage Queen Finals – To be held at Bockfest Hall on Saturday evening at 8pm this event is not to be missed as the Sausage Queen of the festival will be crowned. The road to becoming the Sausage Queen includes making it through preliminary rounds that have been held over the last few weeks and is a high honor for whomever is wins the crown. The contest has become legendary and is always lots of fun.

Historic Church Tour – New to Bockfest this year is the Sunday afternoon Historic Church Tour of six of Cincinnati’s most historic churches located in Over-the-Rhine. The tour starts at 2pm and is scheduled to last for two hours. The price of admission to the tour is $20 and includes drink tickets for Bockfest Hall.

Regardless of how much time you spend at Bockfest, it looks to be a great weekend. Temperatures look to be in the mid to upper 40’s with clear skies. There will always be something happening, and with the free shuttle getting from place to place should be very easy. So take the time to come have some fun and support Cincinnati’s rich brewing history and the time old tradition of the coming of spring with Bockfest 2010.

Photo of Tom Hartman at Mecklenberg Gardens from BuyCincy.

Categories
News Politics

Public safety spending consumes Cincinnati’s strained budget

As Cincinnati faces a $51 million operating budget deficit for 2010, with the chance of the deficit worsening in 2011, many Cincinnatians and local leaders are looking for ways to close the gap without further cutting into already slim programs elsewhere.

Cincinnati’s 2010 General Fund Operating Budget totals $393.8 million of which public safety departments make up $181.9 million or 63 percent of the annual operating costs. A large chunk of that $181.9 million is made up in payroll costs for 1,135 police officers (3.4 officers per 1,000 residents). The question that must be asked is if other operations have continually been cut over recent years, then how can we close a $51 million budget deficit?

For comparison purposes, the City of Columbus has more than twice the population of the City of Cincinnati with 773,277 residents spread out over a much larger land area. Compared to Cincinnati though, Columbus has only 1,876 police officers (2.43 officers per 1,000 residents) and a Part 1 crime rate 4 percent lower than Cincinnati.

The objective data seems to indicate that a more robust police force alone is not necessarily the path to lower crime rates. But since 1974 while Cincinnati’s population has decreased 26 percent the police presence has increased 36 percent. Over that same time period public safety’s portion of the annual General Fund Operating budget has increased from 31 to 63 percent, and has seen spending increase 124 percent while non-public safety spending has decreased 43 percent.

The data is alarming. While the City continues to cut essential programs in order to balance a budget in a shrinking city, public safety programs continue to see expenditures increase with virtually no public opposition or discussion about the need for these expenditures. Of the more than 1,100 police officers only 698 are used for patrol purposes. The Cincinnati Fire Department meanwhile saw 86 percent of all fire runs in 2009 go to non-fire events.

“Police visibility in crime hot spots and enforcement of nuisance properties actually prevent crime, but in Cincinnati much of our approach is responding to crime in a defensive manner,” said former City Council member Greg Harris. “This reactive approach will never lessen crime and we will never have enough cops to make it effective. As a result, we have to implement proven crime fighting strategies built on greater police visibility.”

Public Safety related spending has risen 124% since 1974 while non-Public Safety spending has decreased 43% [LEFT]. In 2010, Public Safety related spending accounts for 63% of Cincinnati’s 2010 General Fund Operating Budget [RIGHT].

In Cleveland, Emergency Medical Services (EMS) have begun rejecting calls for minor ailments such as toothaches or hemorrhoids, and as a result has been able to reduce its ambulance fleet by three vehicles in an effort to help close their own glaring budget deficit. The difference between Cincinnati is even greater as Cincinnati EMS also sends fire trucks on these calls.

Reductions in Cincinnati’s public safety budgets could very easily help close the budget deficit for 2010 and offer long-term cost savings for the city. The comparisons to Columbus and Cleveland are only so useful as each city is unique, but they do offer an interesting insight into Cincinnati’s budget discussions especially when current budgets are examined with past budgets.

The answer for Cincinnati seems to lie in more efficient public safety operations, as with Los Angeles’ or New York’s high-tech crime mapping strategy, where the police force is managed to operate in a proactive way that helps reduce violence long-term and fire fighters are used to fight fires and not to respond to 911 calls for toothaches. The question now is whether or not our political leaders will have the courage to stand up to the police and fire unions and make these decisions.

Cincinnati Police photograph by Ronny Salerno.

Categories
News

On-street bike corrals coming to Cincinnati

In this week’s issue of Soapbox Cincinnati, I wrote about the first on-street bicycle parking in the region coming this April to Northside. The move is another important step by the City of Cincinnati towards becoming the bicycle friendly city this administration wants the city to become.

Bicyclists that are in the know are already clamoring about the new addition. But for those who have yet to experience on-street bike corrals, take a look at how they have positively impacted businesses, pedestrians, bicyclists and more in Portland.