On your way to work tomorrow, listen to 55 WKRC. I'll be on at 8:10am to talk with the Morning Show about City Council, Brain Drain, Population Loss, and Cincinnati Tomorrow. Should be fun.

Catching up with this story from last week: Dayton is deploying a free wi-fi network in its downtown. And if all goes well, they plan to put out an RFP in mid-2005 for a citywide network. The network will also save the city budget some money-- they'll use the network for automated meter reading, mobile phone calls, automated vehicle location, and transmission of mug shots and finger prints for their police department.

How much money would Wi-Fi save in our budget? Hard to say, since Council refuses to do anything that might save money or improve services these days. While Dayton goes Wi-Fi, we have one small neighborhood up and running, and Council had nothing to do with that.

Greg Korte has a good story in the Enquirer today on the Brownout controversy. Best of all, it has a really helpful timeline of the events that got us here in the first place.

I think the Fire Union Leaders deserve a lot of credit for their hard work on this. If it wasn't for them, we'd be in even worse shape right now. One thing I think people should understand: reduced teams puts residents and fire fighters at risk. A four-person team is essential to preventing loss of life.

I put the blame for this solely on the backs of Council; brownouts should never have been an option. You can't tell me we couldn't have found that 1.4 Million elsewhere. I know a lot of people don't like managed competition, but it would have saved us more than enough to cover that number. And I know some members of Council don't like hearing about Managed Competition anymore, but the fact is, they're going to, because they haven't done everything possible to save money until they re-institute it.

Back when he got rid of Managed Competition (which had already saved us millions), Mayor Luken cited the morale of city employees. Well, I'm pretty sure morale is lower than ever down there, while our budget just slips further out of control. Nice work.

Two very important stories today:

First, Kevin Osborne takes an in-depth look at the breakdown in contract negotiations between the FOP and the City. Personally, I'd like to see us find room in the budget for the 6 percent raises the FOP is asking for, in exchange for some concessions on arbitration rules and Issue 5. I want our officers to be well-paid and well taken care of, but I also want more accountability and oversight.

And today, more complete coverage of a fire in Avondale that cost one man his life. There's debate about the effect that brownouts had in this case, but one thing is certain:

Union officials noted that Ladder Company 32 (also known as Truck 32), the closest firefighting unit to the blaze, was browned out at the time of the fire.

We've been passing pet projects and tax credit packages while ignoring our growing public safety crisis. Its coming back to hurt us now, and it looks like our citizens are being forced into taking unnecessary risks over the holiday season. Throw in the controversy over snow plowing, and you have to ask yourself what they're doing down at City Hall these days?

Expect some light blogging this weekend, as I try to enjoy the holiday and get a little rest. Hope you all had a great Thanksgiving.

But I did want to post on something. Its kind of silly, and I hate to bash anything in Citybeat the same week they put on another great CEA night. But Larry Gross' column, Living Out Loud, is so silly, so deceptive, and so FLAT-OUT wrong I can't resist.

Longtime blog readers know I'm not a cheerleader. There are plenty of problems with our downtown-- safety, big surface parking lots cutting off development, under-utilized space, and a lack of good residential units come to mind.

But Larry writes a column basically asserting that a huge number of downtown restaurants have closed down, and our beloved visitors from Portland are absolutely horrified by it.

Let's go through it, shall we?

I get a phone call from my old buddy Roger, who's been living in Portland, Oregon for the past six months. He'll be in town for Thanksgiving this week, visiting his family, and he wants to know if we could get together the day before the holiday.

"Hell yes," I say. "It'll really be good to see you. Let's do something special, hang out downtown."

"Yeah! Hey, after you get off work on Wednesday, let's head over to The Cavern, have a few beers, listen to some music, maybe get some wings or something."

"The Cavern is closed," I reply.

"Oh yeah? Well, let's hit Moose on Main or Have a Nice Day or one of--"

"They closed," I say.

"You've got to be shitting me," Roger says, astounded. "Well damn, let's just do lunch or something on Wednesday. That new place over on Seventh Street, I really liked it when we went. What's it called? Nick & Tony's? Let's go there."

"They closed," I say.

"What? Are you kidding me? How about that vegetarian place a few doors up from it. What was it, Manna's Deli?"

"No longer there," I say, trying to shake my words up a bit, feeling like a broken record.

"I'm really afraid to ask the next question, I really am," he says.

I think I hear smoke being blown into the receiver.

"Mullane's is closed," I say, trying to beat him to the punch.

"No, no, no!"

The article goes on to point out that a sandwich stand, Wendy's, McDonald's, Frisch's and one of our 10 Skylines have all closed as well. Then, he mentions how great Newport is these days.

Ugh.

I mean, what the hell is wrong with this guy? Did he think this would be funny, or make him look cool? He just LIES through the whole thing. Again, I'm not exactly a cheerleader. But this is just silly Cincinnati-bashing taken waaaaaay too far.

Let's see, we also have a brand new Thai place opening where Longhorn Steakhouse used to be. We have a new Ethiopian place, Queen of Sheba. The Apple went Mediterranean. We have a new morning Coffee place, Coffe Emporium, or you can go to First Watch for Breakfast. We still have the Maisonette, La Normandie, Bella, Shanghai Mama's, Kaldi's, Uno's, Harry's, Courtyard, Arnold's, Amol India, Rock Bottom, Washington Platform, Graeter's, Barrelhouse, blah, blah, blah.

Even The Diner is re-opening, for Christ's sake.

There are easily 10 times as many places Downtown to grab dinner or a drink as there are in Newport. The Levee's food selection is terrible. They're all tacky chain restaraunts with really bland food. Most places downtown are independently owned, which usually means better service and better food.

We also have a lot more retail downtown than Newport does. We have two department stores (Saks, Macy's) to their none. We still have GAP, Express, Brooks Brothers, Ann Taylor, Tiffany's, Limited-- compared to their American Eagle, Hollister, and Hot Topic. If you are over the age of 16, I wouldn't recommend trying to buy any clothes over there.

Don't get me wrong, Newport has some nice stuff. I love the AMC Theatre, Barnes & Noble, and The Aquarium. But they also have a closed IMAX, and a boarded up Empire Nightclub, so not everything pans out over there either.

Last time I checked, we have two stadiums, the CAC, the Freedom Center, The Aronoff, CSF, Ensemble Theatre, Know Theatre, The Taft, The Taft Theatre, US Bank Arena, Sawyer Point, Tower Place, The Main Street District, and Music Hall. And I won't even touch Mt. Adams.

Oh, and here's what's on the way, at least potentially: The Art Academy, The Beer Hall of Fame, The Gateway Garage, and a LOT more housing.

Sorry for the long post on this, but geez, what's with some people? Again, we've got a lot of work to do, getting more people to come down and check out what we DO have. We need Broadway Commons. We need more going on around Fountain Square. We need streetcars. And of course, we need it to be safer. I wouldn't mind a few big chains: Nordstrom, Borders, Virgin, Crate & Barrel, Armani, so long as they're surrounded by indepent businesses. I'd love to get Banana Republic back. I'd love a movie theatre, and definitely a grocery. An Extreme Sports Park, a rebuilt Emery Theatre, and Pro Soccer in OTR. There's plenty of work to be done.

While we're working on all that though, the last thing we need are columns like this one.

So, I debated on whether or not to even post on this, since I mostly just want this whole thing to go away. But I think this story sheds a little more light on what I'm dealing with, and I know you'll get a kick out of it, so here goes.

I found out about the whole 'warrant' thing Monday, around 5pm. By lunchtime Tuesday, I had forwarded a new copy of the report, along with a $110 money order for payment. I made 3 copies of everything, including the money order and all receipts involved. I sent it to the OEC via Fedex Overnight, and required a signature upon arrival.

So, today, I had some work stuff to catch up on, but I still managed to call Julie Korte, the attorney up at the OEC, around 10 'til 5 today, just to make sure they got everything. Here's how the conversation went...

Julie: "Well, Mr. Spencer, we did recieve your report, but you didn't send up your payment."

Me: "That's impossible. I sent it out myself. I enclosed a money order for $110. I have a copy of it right in front of me. You have to have it. Check again."

Julie: "I'm sorry Mr. Spencer, we do not have it. You may want to check with your bank, to see who has cashed it. We have nothing here."

Me: "Look, that's just not possible. Check again."

So I get off the phone, and call Kinko's, thinking maybe, just maybe, by some freak accident, it fell out of the envelope or something. The guy at Kinko's says nothing has been found, when my call waiting beeps. Its Julie Korte, of course.

Julie: "Mr. Spencer, we found your payment."

Me: "You FOUND it?"

Julie: "Yes, it was in the envelope. Unfortunately, we already forwarded via mail to the Prosecutor's Office notice that you failed to make a payment."

I'm not kidding. They apparently didn't even bother to look in the damn Fedex envelope before they sent a letter off to the Hamilton County Prosecutor's Office, accusing me of not paying my fee. So now, they have to call the Prosecutor's Office, first thing Friday morning (they assure me), to let him know that this is THEIR mistake. I will, of course, be following up with both.

I think this more than demonstrates who just might be a bit disorganized on this one. That Fedex envelope was probably already sitting in a trash can in their office when I called to confirm its receipt. If I hadn't called, I would have been in serious trouble (again, by no fault of my own) with the Prosecutor's Office. Seriously, the damn package only had two things in it. How the hell do you not see the money order?

This is what I'm dealing with right now. And thanks to them, I had an arrest warrant out for me-- an arrest warrant for God's sake!! This is crazy.

So, first things first, read Korte's column. Having lived it the last two days, I'm not real eager to do a full recap.

So, here are the three biggest points our campaign would like to make:

1. We are sure this got filed in 2003. If you look back at our campaign that year, we filed every piece of paperwork asked from us on time, and thoroughly. Every report due to Columbus, the Hamilton County BOE, and the City was submitted, usually early. None were returned due to any kind of error or misreporting. We took pride in being one of the most organized campaigns out there. My treasurer, Barry Gee, is the best there is at this. Everything we did, we ran by BOE, the city, and anyone else concerned. In fact, there were times we submitted paperwork that wasn't even needed; we were that cautious. We were also the only campaign to post our contributions online, usually within 48 hours of getting them. Only an extremely organized, open campaign can even try to do that.

So to find out some paperwork wasn't in order, and to find out over a year later, was jarring, to say the least.

2. We are not sure why the attempted contacts didn't get made, but we have a good idea. It looks like the problem may have been me moving this year. This is probably the most confusing part of the whole ordeal. Obviously, if I had known they needed this form, I would have been more than happy to provide it. Its certainly no big deal on our end.

3. The issue has been resolved. Within 24 hours, we had the situation under control. As soon as I heard about it (Greg Korte was actually who contacted me about it), I was on the phone with all involved parties, finding out what needed to be done. By Tuesday afternoon, we had the situation well in hand.

So, I'm not sure what lesson this is for us, other than send everything via certified mail. Again, I ask that everyone look at our 2003 campaign, and how organized we really were, before making any judgements based on this. I'm not assigning any blame to anyone on this.

As noted in the article, its not like my 2002 income and debts are anything to take note of. I was in school full time, and I worked part time at Banana Republic. My only debts are student loans.

So, please, do what Greg did, and get a good laugh out this, at my expense. Trust me, it looks a lot worse than it really is. But feel free to make fun of me and point out that I'm in the pocket of Big Fashion, not to mention the all powerful Student Loan lobby.

The new U2 record hit stores today, and I finally made it out to pick it up around 8 tonight. If you knew how stressful the last couple of days have been (actually, you'll know tomorrow), you'd understand. Its been crazy, and finally getting my mind off it was nice. I got the Deluxe Edition with a book and DVD, definitely worth the extra cash.

In an earlier post, I got some good natured ribbing about calling U2 the Best Band Ever. Somebody suggested Elvis Costello & The Attractions-- a fine choice, for sure. And of course, Greg brought up the Stones and Beatles; I definitely get the former, but I gotta admit, I'll probably never understand the latter.

But for me, U2 is it. Mostly, I think, because I grew up with the band, and their work tends to correspond with periods of my life. There's an emotional connection that plays a big role. And no band have used their status to help impact so many worthy causes; that goes a long way for me. But more than anything, its just my kind of music.

Anyhow, the new album is beautiful; some of their best work yet. My favorite song so far is "Sometimes you can't make it on your own," which I can't get out of my head. Its kind of haunting, melancholy, and restraining by U2 standards.

So, five out of five stars, go pick it up, hope you like it half as much as I do. And here's hoping we finally get them to come by Cincy on the next tour.

Apologies, first of all, for the lack of blogging over the last copule of days. I've been dealing with a campaign-related issue that you all will probably be reading about tomorrow.

Also, a big thank you to everybody who came out to show their support at the CEAs. I got to plug my candidacy, Puck plugged the bar, and Death in Graceland won the Punk award (which we gave out-- congrats to Ricky Nye, who won for Blues, which we also gave out). Also, huge congrats to my friends, The Cathedrals, who won best new artist. These guys are gonna be BIG-- I promise. The best performance of the night goes to Big Joe Duskin, who was inducted into the CEA Hall of Fame. THAT was amazing.

Huge thanks, as I said on stage, to John Fox, Dan Bockrath, Dan McCabe, Mike Breen and Rick Pender, for making the whole night happen. Its one of my favorite evenings of the year, getting to see all my favorite people, and getting a chance to give awards out to some of my favorite artists.

Lots of news to post on, including protests over the budget, the big safety ranking, and the possible new home for Cincinnati Black Theatre. Please be patient, I'll do my best to get to it ASAP.

BTW, what's up with comments? Is it the new format, or is it the moderation? I like to think I've been approving comments really quickly-- I've certainly been trying. Just let me know-- we're certainly open to your suggestions. Maybe my posts have been a little too tame-- do you all need me to throw out some red meat or something?

I can't believe I didn't post about this last week. Tonight, make sure you come out to the Cincinnati Entertainment Awards at Old St. George. If you've never been, this is one of the best nights of the year in our city- period. Its the only night of the year when theatre people and local music people are in the same room, creating a really magical atmosphere that reminds you how many creative people we do have in town.

And this year, I'm excited about being a Presenter; Puck & I will be giving out the awards for Blues, Hard Rock/Metal, and Punk, along with Chris Comer and Rob Ervin from WAIF. Should be fun.

Seriously, there's no better way to spend a dreary Monday night. Highlight live performances should be The Heartless Bastards, and of course, Culture Queer.

As you all know, the Thanksgiving Weekend is a HUGE weekend for bars, and I figured I'd let you all in on some of the big events we have planned for the 5 day stretch.

Wednesday night, the legendary Dan McCabe has put together a stellar lineup of indie bands for Rock the Turkey! Come see Chalk, Campfire Crush, Will-o-ee, Hilltop Distillery, (In)Camera, and Chocolate Horse. This show is gonna be HUGE.

Friday Night, the Enterprise Network and Perry Productions present The Awakening, a professionals event that brings in a diverse, cool crowd. DJs will work both floors. We did an event like this two weeks ago, and it was our biggest night of business ever. For more info, visit Perry on the web.

Saturday Night, and this is a VERY big deal, we finally welcome Girls & Boys to alchemize. For those of you who don't know, G&B; is a monthly party that started out at Plush, then grew to Lava, and is now ours. DJs Boy Radio spin Brit Pop, Indie, and Garage with band opener 4192. Girls & Boys is, in my opinion, the best party in Cincy, and with this being its alchemize debut, and on Thanksgiving weekend no less, this should be one of the best nights of the year.

Finally, on Sunday, for those of who are really hardcore, we have national act The Lot Six with local darlings Death in Graceland. Tickets are 6 bucks, for two really exceptional rock bands.

Speaking of nationals, if you hadn't already heard: Juliana Hatfield, at alchemize, December 7th. Tickets are available at Shake It Records or Everybody's Records. I'd get them now, this show will definitely sell out.

And for those of you who have emailed me about Cincinnati Magazine, yes, I have seen it. And yes, of course we're very proud. More details for the rest of you soon.

Contract negotiations between the FOP and the City broke down yesterday. I don't have a whole lot to say about this right now, other than stating that I support raises for our officers in exchange for an improved Arbitration process that helps us better discipline the handful of bad officers we have. And I really don't like quotes like this:

"For the last three and a half years, since the (April 2001) riots, our officers have been criticized, stabbed in the back and not supported," union President Sgt. Harry Roberts said. "I want the citizens of Cincinnati to know what's going on. It's their money."

I really don't think we need any more of this kind of talk. It doesn't help negotiations, its counterproductive, and it negates the positive progress we have made. Harry Roberts has been pretty reasonable as FOP President, and I know he's very frustrated right now, but I hope he understands why drudging up 2001 isn't good for our city right now.

The overtime reforms are needed, but I'm not sure this was the best time to bring them up-- not when we really need to focus on arbitration reform.

The Post has two good stories today on projects impacting the poor in our city.

The first involves 3CDC, and their first project in the Washington Park District. Longtime Blog readers know I have some criticism of their work so far, but I will say this looks like a very good start.

Located at 31 W. 13th St. and 1223 Republic St., the buildings mostly contain efficiencies and small one-bedroom apartments that attract a transient clientele.

The units will be converted into 37 larger units designed to provide housing for low-income working families in Over-the-Rhine.

Construction will begin immediately.

Once completed in December 2005, the buildings will feature seven three-bedroom units, 25 two-bedroom units and five one-bedroom units.

This is a good example of improving the low-income stock without gentrifying. Living across from the biggest low-income development in OTR, I can tell its all about the quality of housing and the quality of the building management. I have absolutely no problems of any kind with my Bracket Village nieghbors. But I do have problems with the vacant buildings and the ones run by absentee landlords.

I've been consistent in my call for zero displacement in Over the Rhine. I believe we can get this neighborhood moving again without major displacement of our low income residents. Some buildings will be changed, some will be improved, and some will have to come under new ownership. But there are enough empty buildings that we don't need to displace anyone, unless they happen to be breaking the law.

The second story covers 2.3 million in new funding from the State for Laurel Homes, a mixed use project in the West End, and Fairview Estates, a low income development in OTR and East Price Hill.

He's got one more year. Keep telling yourself that.

Charlie Luken is being lambasted by suburban Mayors, for his absence from a forum of area leaders on regional cooperation.

"Cincinnati, many times, acts like an island - and that the world drops off at its corporation lines," said Sharonville Mayor Virgil Lovitt II after Cincinnati's mayor was a no-show for a regional mayors' forum Friday morning in Fairfield.

"They talk regionalism, but they don't participate in regional issues," said Lovitt, one of 30 representatives from Southwest Ohio municipalities to participate in the group organized by Mason Mayor Peter Beck.

What's funny about this story is how well our suburban Mayors seem to understand the importance of a healthy central core-- something many of our own Council members don't seem to understand.

Suburban officials said the new Mayors' Action Planning Committee will provide some clout dealing with such issues as growth, development or redevelopment, regional transportation and finances. One concern which touched every community was the economic and social health of Cincinnati, the core city, they said.

"All you have to do is walk from Fifth and Vine downtown to 15th and Vine (in Over-the-Rhine) to understand that the condition of the center city is an issue," says Wyoming Mayor David J. Savage.

"Cincinnati is our brand," Lovitt said. "If nobody is coming to Cincinnati - with their business, for a house, or for tourism - then they're not coming to any part of this region. So we have to have a healthy Cincinnati."

It is imperative that the next Mayor and City Council understand the importance of working within the region. We need to rebuild our relationships with the County, the Suburbs and Exurbs, and Northern Kentucky. Actually showing up to meet with them might be a good start.

One year.

I'm not exactly sure what Mayor Luken thought he would get out of sending that letter to the Justice Department, asking them to let the city out of the Collaborative Agreement. There's practically no way JD is letting him off the hook so easily, and it incensed every other party involved in the effort. Now we're being sued by one of those parties, the ACLU.

There is absolutely no good reason to end the Collaborative Process two years early. We readily admit we haven't done everything that's been asked of us, and until we can say that, I don't think we have any right to play victim.

"The basic problem is that the city is trying to unilaterally declare success and end federal supervision of the city when the problems haven't been fixed," ACLU lawyer Scott Greenwood said.

"The city can't just walk away from these agreements. They are about police reform and are not just public relations campaigns to attract tourism."

The ACLU said the city has failed to implement problem solving in the police department, improperly used arbitrary arrest sweeps and is seeking to end the agreements prematurely.

The city also has failed to implement terms on police accountability and has prevented access to training, police ride-alongs and documents, the ACLU charged.

So, there are things I love about campaigning, and things I hate about campaigning. And the one thing about an early start is this: you see the things you hate before its time to do the things you love.

Now, everybody can take this as a whining post. That's fair enough, this stuff still needs to be said, I think. A lot of it explains why so many good people refuse to run for office.

I run because I think I have good ideas to help our city get moving again. Its pretty simple. I don't think I know everything, or that I'm the world's greatest person. But I'm not somebody's puppet, I stand up for what I believe in and try to always put the city first.

But I certainly have my flaws. I don't have a natural inclination to make people like me. I don't pander, I say what I think, and I let people know when I think they're wrong. I take clear, steady positions on issues, even the unpopular ones.

Now, a lot of people say, 'well, you have to do those things if you want to get elected.' I certainly hope they're wrong. I hope people want honesty, ideas, and commitment, 'cause that's all I've got.

Look, I don't need this to complete me. I have a pretty good life: I have a beautiful girlfriend, great friends, I run a successful business, and I do a lot of quiet work in the community. Its not bad, being me. I really, REALLY can't complain.

But when you start running for office, you really see the worst side of people. Everybody rushes out to explain what you're doing wrong, what you could be doing better, why you'll never win, blah, blah, blah. People attack your character, your motives, and your past.

An anonymous post over on Cincinnati Blog posted something that I really take with me on this stuff:

It just occurred to me that people around here love, love, love to talk about how great cinci could be with a fresh leadership, a changing of the guard, etc.

But when someone new comes along, especially someone YOUNG, everybody's all over him (or her) about how miserably they're going to fail and how much they suck.

Don't worry, by January, I'll have a thicker skin and I'll be able to shrug this stuff off. It just seemed like this week, everybody had a problem with me. I recognize I have a lot of support out there, a lot of good people who believe in what I'm trying to do, and I appreciate that. I believe we'll win, and that we'll get a chance to help a lot of people in this city and reverse some of our past mistakes. And at the end of the day, that's worth it.

Tomorrow, I want to post some campaign insider stuff for you all, and get your feedback.

For now, and much more importantly, I want you to give the new U2 record a listen-- for free. Best. Band. Ever.

Don't say I never did anything for you.

So, when I started the new blog up, I promised to tell you all about the Election Recap I participated in, hosted by the Cincinnati Women's Political Caucus. Unfortunately, yesterday was a big news day, and I didn't get a chance. So here are some great stories.

I went as Charter's representative, mostly talking about the Yes on 3 Victory, as well as Fanon Rucker's campaign. The Republicans and democrats each sent a Representative, as well Kevin Osborne from the Post, and a Representative of the Cincinnati Herald. Fun group.

So, the first funny story comes when somebody criticizes the Republican rep for all the nasty direct mail they got from the GOP. I said, "Well in the Republicans' defense, and I don't like to defend them on this too much.."

Jenny O'Donnell, from the Democratic Party cut me off, and said "Nick-- now, you ARE a Republican." I said "Well, not locally. I'm a Charterite. The local party is too socially conservative for me." We then moved on-- I talked about how negative direct mail is a natural tool for both parties to excite their base, and when you're campaign plan is targeted at your base, you can be nastier because you don't care about alienating swing voters.

But I still can't get over it. I mean, here's somebody from the Dems, giving me a much harder time than she actually gave the Republican Rep. Funny how I never heard this "Secretly Republican" stuff when I raising money and getting votes for some of their candidates this year. Of course, now that we're in a Council race again, I guess class goes back out the window.

If I were the Dems, I'd be a little friendlier to moderate Republicans and Independents right now. I'd stop fussing over what letter someone puts after their name, and try to build coalitions to beat the ultra-conservatives. That's just me though.

Anyhow...

I got to make my first Candidate Stump Speech; I was pretty good, but still a little rusty. We'll get there, though. Also, Jeff Berding attended the event, and made a few remarks. Jeff seems like anice enough guy, still developing his message and figuring out what he wants to say next year. I was in the same boat when I started my first run. I wish him luck-- its going to be a tough race.

Overall, it was a lot of fun playing pundit with some very smart folks. It got me even more excited about next year, and fired up to get out and join more discussions.

Dan Horn covers Rashad Young's testimony in Federal Court yesterday concerning the Empire Theatre Fiasco. There's not a lot new here, but I do think its worth reading, just to confirm a lot of the accusations thrown at City Hall on this one. Turns out it was all true-- no big surprise, really.

With time and distance from it, I think what's really sad about the whole debacle is that we lost the Theatre structure. Vine Street lost a potential anchor, and that Street is now searching for something resembling a theme or identity. I'll be the first to admit I actually struggle to define what it ought to become.

With every other street in OTR, you have important anchors that you can point to: The Emery on Walnut, the Entertainment District on Main, Music Hall and the new SCPA on Elm, and Washington Park on Race. But Vine struggles in large part because no one can figure out what to do there. The Kroger helps, but on its own, it doesn't do much.

I don't know. Any of you have ideas?

More details are coming out around the proposed 1.7 million expenditure for Procter's new Airport Hangar and the resulting Golf Course renovation.

I feel pretty bad for P&G; on this one. They're essentially paying for all the Hangar construction (15mil), adding jobs and economic impact, and offering to pay for almost half of the Golf Course renovation costs.

But wait. Turns out that 1.3 million might be all we need to renovate the Course, and this should be a moot point. Check it out:

Under the proposal, P&G; would pay between $12 million and $15 million to build a larger hangar at Lunken to handle six new corporate jets. The hangar would encroach on the city-owned golf course and driving range, requiring them to be redesigned.

Besides the hangar, P&G; has agreed to pay $670,000 to reconfigure the golf course, $470,000 to redo the driving range and $100,000 to move a bicycle trail.

"We're paying 100 percent of the cost to develop the hangar area," said Linda Ulrey, a P&G; spokeswoman.

"That's new development at Lunken, which will make it a more attractive corporate gateway" for other users, she added.

The Recreation Department, however, wants $650,000 in city money to expand and upgrade a clubhouse at the golf course, as well as $580,000 to cover contingencies.

The big loser in this one is the City Manager's office. They tried to sneak this into the budget, then tried to pawn it off on Procter. The Recreation Department looks bad too. As mentioned in the story:

If the Recreation Department wants an expanded clubhouse, it should use money from the municipal golf fund, which is generated by golf revenues, opponents said.

Most importantly, this frees up 1.7 million (or at least a big part of that), from the Capital Budget. That money should be invested in some of our hurting neighborhoods.

The Enquirer has two great editorials today, one from the Ed board, and another Op Ed.

The Board chimes in with support for the Indoor Smoking Ban. I wish they'd been a little stronger in their endorsement, but its certainly a start.

J. Andrew Keller's Op Ed focuses on Issue 1, and the negative impact it will have on ALL Ohioans. Anyone with any update on potential legal fights over Issue 1 should feel free to post in the comments; I'm very curious. Keller's first two paragraphs are great:

While the reverent straight folk of the Buckeye State could not remove their gaze from the first sentence of Issue 1 - "Only a union between one man and one woman may be a marriage valid in or recognized by this state and its political subdivisions" - the gay folks, curiously, zoomed right to the second sentence: "This state and its political subdivisions shall not create or recognize a legal status for relationships of unmarried individuals that intends to approximate the design, qualities, significance or effect of marriage."

Apparently, the majority of our fellow Ohioans were so busy hyperventilating about two dudes kissing, they failed to notice that the rest of Issue 1 strives to ban every nontraditional relationship - gay or straight. So high were the passions that if the second sentence had read, "all puppies within the state will be shot," Issue 1 still no doubt would have passed. Given state demographics, Issue 1 as passed may have the unexpected result of affecting far more straight couples than gay ones.

Let me clear something up. Not all bar owners oppose the Indoor Smoking Ban. In fact, at least one here in the Main Street District is a strong supporter of it (ummm... that's me).

When we first opened, we toyed with being smoke-free, or at least smoke-free on one floor. Unfortunately, we couldn't do it because we're in such tight competition with so many other clubs just around the corner. But we hate risking our employees' health, and the health of our patrons, the way we're currently forced to.

So we plan, as a business, to push hard for the City of Cincinnati to pass a Smoking Ban for bars, nightclubs, and restaurants. This is a public health issue, and City Hall needs to show some leadership.

If you're interested in getting involved with the effort to ban indoor smoking, read this Enquirer article and then visit Smoke Free Ohio on the web.

Or feel free to tell me I don't know what I'm talking about in the comments. Either or.

We'll be adding a blogroll soon. I've always felt kind of bad about not having one, but my old template didn't really allow for it.

For now, the quality and quantity of local blogs are really on the rise. One of my new favorites is Grassroots Cincinnati. Not too much in the way of commentary, but a lot of good links and a really nice layout. Definitely skews left, emphasis on the Dean Movement.

Another new blog I'm really into is Space Tropic, written by a moderate Republican. The author focuses on national stuff, mostly, but seems open to posting more on local issues, as well. Here's hoping he does.

What better way to start off the new blog than a story on Brain Drain in the Enquirer?

Maggie Downs adds the final story in the 'State of the Community' special series, with a look at our region's struggles to keep and attract young talent workers.

What's probably most depressing in this story is that I actually know two the folks who are used as examples of young people leaving: Peipei Zhou and Ethelbert Williams. Both of them worked very hard to integrate themselves into the community, but left frustrated by the city. They were not complainers or negativists. They more than gave us a chance.

Here's my first quote from the story:

Whether for higher pay, a warmer climate or a more diverse population, many young workers are leaving - despite efforts to keep them.

"I really wish I could say we've slowed the loss of young professionals somehow, but I haven't seen any evidence of that," says Nick Spencer, founder of an almost 2-year-old young professionals group, Cincinnati Tomorrow.

And Ethelbert Williams points out a major reason young people are leaving-- a lack of diversity and tolerance in our community.

At the same time, Williams says, he wanted a more racially diverse city where he would feel more welcome. He recalls a racial slur he suffered at Newport on the Levee. And he says poor treatment at a local car dealership clinched his decision to leave.

"Nobody wants to leave if you're vested in the place," she says. "But you can get a new job anywhere P&G; has an office location. It's perfect."

Arriving from Austin, Texas, Zhou says she was originally very optimistic about moving here.

She participated in several young professional organizations. "At the end of it, I kind of surrendered because I feel like our voices are really very marginalized."

When Cincinnati Tomorrow was formed in February 2003, it presented a "Creative City Plan" to the mayor, city council and public. Action groups were formed, and things began to take off.

But now, says founder and City Council candidate Nick Spencer, 26, "the issue has lost some steam."

"Cincinnati Tomorrow was good for what it needed to do, which was to get out there, make people aware of the issue and get people talking," the downtown resident says. "But with no money and no support from the city, that ship has sailed.

"This organization can only do so much," Spencer says.

Lots and lots of news to blog on today, which is good because we need to fill up the space and make it looked lived in. I'm really hoping a few more of you will use the comments, if only so we can get them running smoothly. I promise to check my inbox to improve them as fast as possible, but I do have two jobs and a Council Campaign to run.

One thing I forgot to note last night was to hurry up and change your bookmarks. The new addy is pretty simple: spencer2005.com/blog. I'm not sure how long Blogger will let us keep that redirect going, and I don't want you to get lost.

Finally, we'll be updating the left sidebar links throughout the winter. I'll post on here whenever we do so.

Welcome to the new blog site. Please let me know what you think-- we'll adding new stuff over the next few weeks, including some more graphics to spruce the place up a bit. Hope the redirect worked fine for everyone, it did for me, at least.

We're working to get the archives from the old site up onto the new one, but it may take a little while. Please be patient on that one.

As discussed on the old site, the new blog will contain moderated comments, meaning no more trolls. Hopefull, we'll manage to approve comments quickly so we can keep the good discussions going.

As always, thanks for visiting the blog, for your support and ideas, and for caring about the future of our city. I'm looking forward to continuing the conversation from this new and improved blog.

Tonight, I spoke at a Roundtable Forum on the 2004 Election Cycle, hosted by the Cincinnati Women's Political Caucus. I have some really great stories from that, and I really, REALLY enjoyed it. Look for that and more, starting first thing tomorrow morning.

So come on, start posting comments. I can't wait to hear what you think of the new site. I for one love it. Good work, Shawn.