The Nati

I know, I know.. I've kind of beat this one to death, but I wanted to send out a reminder about it, and there is a new piece of information that I hadn't mentioned before.

Findlay Market will begin it's Sunday Hours this weekend (11 AM - 4 PM). There will be a brief ceremony on Sunday to kick off the effort. Also new to the market is "Essen Strasse". German for 'Food Street', it will accomplish a long time goal of the market of providing an atmosphere for on-site dining. With café-style tables and 17 different food vendors such as Mr. Pig, Helen's Grill, Me and Julio's, Mejana Express, Tara's Coffee Shop, Kroeger Meats, and Luken's Deli.

Now on to the 'new' information. Also this weekend is the re-launch of Sunday Markets On Main (11 AM - 3 PM). Located in the Main Street Entertainment disctrict and North Main, the market will consist of regular stores, and street vendors creating an outdoor bazaar of crafts, food, jewelry, art and more. So come on down to Findlay, grab some lunch and then head on over to Main street, and enjoy the retail market!

When you are all finished with that, head over to Newport for CitiFest (Sunday is the last day) to view some unbelievable homes. Come on down and find out what the Urban core (on both sides of the river) have to offer. It should be a truly amazing day, and the weather looks great!

So... McDonald's is closed and torn down. Acropolis and Inn the Wood have given up the fight, and will shut down in June. Primetime and the garage at the corner of Vine and Calhoun will come down starting May 23rd. They'll finally making the final touches on the block. When this is all complete the south side of campus is going to be a very attractive place to live not only for students, but for faculty and hospital workers. Add to that the regional wifi plan they are talking about and you could have one very young and progressive area in Cincinnati.

There is discussion around some new retail and restaurants, but nothing is confirmed, sounds like CB Richard Ellis is now in charge of the retail mix, and with that hopefully we'll have some confirmed retailers soon!

People say what you will about Bob Huggins. Everyone does. The good, the bad. The failure to win in the NCAA, problems with players (most recently Roy Bright), drinking and driving, you name it. He has certainly had some problems, but what people fail to talk about is the unwavering support he recieves from his players (current and past). All you need to know about Bob Huggins can be summed up by these statements:

"I plan on fulfilling my contract," Huggins said. "I love the players. I think I have an obligation to them, certainly to their families - and I think to the fans in the city of Cincinnati.

"People have been unbelievable. They've supported me when I needed to be supported. They've always been there. I believe in fulfilling obligations. I fully intend on doing that."

So even faced with a clear indication that he is no longer wanted at UC, he is staying. He is fulfilling his contract... why? Certainly not because he couldn't find another job, but because he made promises to the kids that play at UC, and he intends to keep those promises. That is what Bob Huggins should be known for.

Have you heard of the Bold Fusion event that took place at Paul Brown Stadium in 2004? It was event focused on engaging Young Professionals in this city, and allowing them to sound off on issues that matter to them, and in front of some of the most influential people in the city (Nancy Zimpher President of UC, Stephen Leeper - Head of 3CDC, etc, etc).

Well, there is an event coming up on June 16th that is more intimate, and focused on re-igniting the passion that occurred at Bold Fusion in 2004. It is an interactive panel discussion focused on how Young Professionals in this city are already making a change in how Cincinnati is percieved, AND how you can get more involved in advancing this change! The panel is a group of very talented young people who are really making a difference in this city:

• Charles Attal - of Charles Attal Presents, Austin, Texas- based concert promoter and venue operator, now current owner of Covington's Madison Theater. This is the same guy responsible for booking the Austin City Limits Music Festival
• Bill Donabedian - President and Co-founder of Midpoint Music Festival, the Midwest's reknowned independent music festival
• Phil Duncan - Managing Director of the Cincinnati and Chicago offices of Landor Associates, who led the regional branding effort
• Ryan Rybolt - Project Manager and Co-founder of Lily Pad, a new, regional wi-fi initiative. This is going to be huge, bringing free wireless access to nearly every public space in Cincinnati USA.
• Moderator - Kerri Christian, Account Director on Tremor for P&G and former member of the regional branding team

Some come find out about these and other amazing new initiatives in the city. Found out how you can stop saying "Cincinnati has nothing going on" and get actively involved in these changes to our great city. It won't answer all the issues facing our town, but it will certainly make you say "I didn't know that was going on in Cincinnati." You'll be SURPRISED!

Register NOW - Only 60 spots available for the June 16th lunch (11:30-1PM) event... $10 and includes lunch!

For those that don't know me, or my role in Give Back Cincinnati, I am the Advisory Board Chairman of the group. We have a new initiative in 2005 the Give Back Cincinnati Road Show. We will be taking 12 folks to Catamayo Ecuador, and I am among the group that is going. It should be an amazing trip. So as not to distract from the content on this blog, I have created a new Blog - Give Back Ecuador. I am raising funds for the trip, and would like to make a sizeable donation to the Habitat Ecuador Affiliate. Rather than just beging for funds, I have created a challenge for myself that will hopefully encourage people to donate, while at the same time whipping myself back into shape.

Cincinnati USA and Catamayo Ecuador are 2984 miles apart, so for the next 100 days I will attempt to run/walk/bike 2984 minutes and over 1000 miles. I am asking for pledges per minute of activity ($0.01 donation would equate to roughly $29.84 over the next 3 months - ending August 23rd).

HELP ME RAISE $3000 for Habitat Ecuador!

So check out my blog and progress and donate. I will eventually create a website to track the pledges, and you can make payments via paypal, but for now, I want to get started, and will track the pledges manually via email (chairman@givebackcincinnati.org)

I guess I'd like to hear more of what happened, but anytime you have a kid going to the hospital with welts on him from a beating by his father you have to wonder. I can't think of anything that would warrant such severe physical punishment.

In case you haven't heard, councilman Sam Malone (a Republican) was arrested for beating his 14 year old son who on Friday was dismissed from a school field trip for disciplinary problems. It's really bad timing for Sam as the Republicans were expected soon to announce their endorsements for the 2005 council campaign.

Seems as though Republicans and Democrats alike are coming to Sam's defense, but if found guilty of this, it's not a good candidate for the republicans to support.