The Nati

My favorite local band and 2 time SXSW alumni the Sundresses are going to save us from the dredges of Justin Jeffre and his boy band infamy. See Brad Schnittger (Drummer, Singer, Songwriter, Guitar Player, etc for Sundresses) is outraged as I am that Mr. Jeffre is trying to make a game out of the Cincinnati Mayor race. Justin declares that he is 'determined to win', so Brad is going to run for mayor, 'determined to make sure 98 degrees doesn't win'.

On a side note, Brian at Cincinnati Blog mentions this as well, but says that he doesn't know Brad. Since Brian is a big fan of Jake Speed, (even mentioning Jake in a post today), I am surprised that he didn't know that before the Sundresses, Brad sat in with Jake Speed and performed on Jake's latest CD.

Thank goodness... I've been hearing about this for what seems like 5 years, and it looks like the ugly 5th St bus depot is finally going to get an overhaul! It'll be a nice improvement to the area, especially with the adjacent overhaul of Fountain Square.

It's not a joking issue. There is serious debate about whether crime is up or down. 'Statistics' reported recently indicate violent crime in the city is down. Anecdotal evidence by community members and recent rash of shootings indicate the opposite. So, a meeting was convened to talk about it. The Enquirer has a write up about it, and while some important issues were discussed I found this to be entertaining, after a debate about whether Reece's presentation or residents should be heard first, Law Committee Chairman David Pepper ruled that the residents would be heard first. Here is what follows:

"I don't care if we have to be here all night," Reece told Pepper. "This is an important issue, Mr. Chairman."

About three hours later, after residents spoke, Pepper asked several times if Reece still was in City Hall and wanted to speak. She had left the building, an aide said.

"Once I found out all he was going to do was muzzle me and prevent me from making my presentation, I left in protest," Reece said later.

What I get out of this is, Reece thinks crime is important and wants her voice to be heard on the issue. If however, residents are so concerned about violence that they speak for 3 hours, well then Alicia loses interest... after all, she doesn't want to waste her whole evening does she?

If you've never been, you are missing out... The Bacchanalian Society winetastings are amazingly entertaining, and a great collection of diverse individuals. It's not about fine wine (as you're bringing your own, so you end up with a lot of Jacob's Creek), but it is truly entertaining. (Check out the Pictures from the winter event)

If the fun isn't enough for you, then maybe one of your last chances to enjoy Old St. George will be. This fantastic former Catholic Church, has been used for the last couple years as a community center. But financial concerns resulted in the sale from the current owners to CHCURC, and it's future status is unknown, though it likely will be rehabbed. (And to CHCURC's credit they stepped in when the only other bidder was Walgreen's which offered 1.65 million with the goal of tearing it down to build that ever important drugstore directly across the street from a brand new CVS).

And if all that isn't enough, then come out to support the featured charity - Tri-State Parkinson’s Wellness Chapter-APDA.

To make sure you're up to date and hear about the next event, sign-up to the winetasting mailing list.

It was a beautiful Saturday afternoon, much better than you can normally expect in early April in Cincinnati. So I ventured up to Clifton, my former home, my alma mater. It wasn't until 2 years ago (3 years after graduating Electrical Engineering) that I finally left the clifton area. I made a trip to the campus I used to know. What I found was astounding. I've read the articles about the 'Main St.' Development, about the Linder (son) donation for University Village, the CHCURC Calhoun St changes, and even the new Greek Village going up on the West side of campus. However, there are no words that can describe what I found. It is truly a place that only five years removed I don't recognize. And I'd say it's all for the better.

At first it's hard to come to grips with the modern facade on the beautiful brick Tangeman Univeristy Center,

And difficult to see the bookstore torn down, which was brand new when I started at UC in 1994.

But sometimes progress requires some changes that are hard to take. I've included some pictures, (more here) and hope they are interesting, especially to those of you who are fellow bearcats that might not be able to make it back often. But if you are in the cincy area, I recommend you taking your own stroll around campus. I think you'll love what you see. It makes me want to go back and get a graduate degree in Urban Planning.

Clearly intended to boost my Accenture Stock price, Tiger Woods picked up his first major championship in 3 years. He wasn't over powering today, but his late round chip in, and the key putt shows why you don't ever want to be chasing Tiger on the final day.

Well, the world is certainly crazed with poker, and gambling in general for that matter. The number of 'charity' hold'em tournaments is astounding, let alone the number of private home games. I can tell you that I myself am a sucker for the 'flop, turn and river'.

(Image from Enquirer)

While I don't know if I am excited about the idea of a Newport Riverboat (didn't Newport just revive itself from the 'seedy days'?), nor am I excited about another of the propsed locations (the yet to be started riverfront Banks project in Cincinnati).

That being said, I don't think it makes much sense to keep sending tax dollars to Indiana. Perhaps the compromise is that you allow Riverboat gambling, but it has to be at least 10 miles from a city center. Keep it out of the urban core, as casinos are certainly a 'destination' and not something that would revitalize our city. As someone who enjoys the casino every now and then I can tell you when I am there, I'm not interested in heading out to visit a restaurant for dinner. At best I'm grabbing a sandwich and heading back to the craps table.

I'd love to hear what people think. The enquirer has about a dozen articles in the Sunday paper, and this is just 'Day 1' of the series. Good idea? Bad idea? If legalized should it be riverboat? Land-based? Should it be in a downtown area? What do you all think?