The Nati

Maybe I'm crazy, but this sure sounds like a process reverse-engineered to back into a candidate already in mind. Newport is looking for a new city manager. Someone to run the day to day, and handle everything from Police and Fire to Economic Development. Newport obviously isn't a huge city, but some of the plans in the works are definitely large.

Commissioner Jan Knepshield is leading the group (or at least he's the only one that really ever makes public comments) to select the next city manager. This quote says a lot to me:

"It will be from the inside out," Knepshield said. "We will look locally first,
because we have some really talented people locally; then we will expand to
regional, then national, if necessary."

That last part 'if necessary', to me is telling. Perhaps I'm reading to much into it, but I'd be willing to be a nickle that they don't go beyond the list of candidates from Newport for the job.

And finally, there is another interesting comment:

"Knepshield said experience should include a deep knowledge of city history."

Doesn't that pretty much eliminate anyone not from here? And history is important, but is that really the key ingredient to a successful city manager? I just feel like this is a bad case of 'Yur not from 'round here are ye?'. And I also feel like a big part of this decision is going to come down to who the 4 incumbent commissioners can best control... they're looking for a yes man/woman. But I guess we'll see, perhaps they'll prove me wrong.

Invest in Neighorhoods hosts the annual Neighborhood Summit on Saturday at Xavier University. I'll be attending to learn more about communities and programs available to help with development of communities. However, I'll also be interested in finding communities were Give Back Cincinnati may be able to get active. We certainly aren't the cure all, but places where we can help get long term projects kick started with a long-scale volunteer event, we'd certainly have interest.

Our projects are all single day, so having a school, community council or other organization that is interested in partnering and managing the long term impact is always a goal.

I've never attended the event before, so I'm interested to see how it goes. Sounds like nothing but rave reviews from some of the various community activists that were quoted.

Just because the developer of the Mall of America is interested in developing the Banks, doesn't mean that we'll end up with Tri-County Mall on the river. It's actually a really good sign. As the County opens up the Request for Proposal phase, it's good news that a major developer with experience is interested. Granted, what Verdi Construction really wants is to bypass the RFP process and be named preferred developer (ala Corporex), but hopefully they'll submit a proposal and be considered along with other developers. The last thing we need is a repeat of Corporex and another 6 months down the drain.

Hopefully something will get done, and we'll have garage construction started by the end of 2006.

Exile on Main returns for the first Friday on Main St. The event features local original music at 4 venues for $5. It started about a year ago, and has continued to gain momentum. It's a great way to catch some local music without committing your entire evening to a single bar or a single musical act.

Don't miss an opportunity to have your voice heard in a series of events that pair the Young Professional crowd with some of the regions top officials/executives. First up, Tony Brown, President and CEO of the Uptown Consortium.

Click here to register online

YP Sounding Sessions are quarterly events offering young professionals the opportunity to discuss prevalent issues between civic leaders and organizations throughout the region. These relaxed after-work sessions are an opportunity for YPs to learn more about pressing issues facing our city and to provide input and suggestions.

First session will feature Tony Brown, president and chief executive officer of the Uptown Consortium, http://www.uptownconsortium.org/. The Uptown Consortium is a non-profit organization made up of Uptown's five largest employers: Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden, The Health Alliance of Greater Cincinnati, TriHealth, Inc. and the University of Cincinnati. Uptown generally includes the neighborhoods of Avondale, Clifton, Clifton Heights, Corryville, Fairview, Mt. Auburn and University Heights.

The Sounding Sessions will be hosted on the following dates at an Uptown location:
March 1
March 2
March 6
March 7

When registering please select your preferred date. All sessions will start at 6pm until 8pm.
Space is limited. The registration deadline is February 18, 2006. Registrants will receive a confirmation e-mail with time, date and location of their session. Please note the automatic confirmation will list all sessions. Your second confirmation will be date and location specific. While we may not be able to accommodate everybody in this first series of events, we will keep all registrants informed of future opportunities.

With over 50% of it's units sold before the foundation is dug, the Ascent continues to make progress. Yesterday they had possible interior designs on display to media and to confirmed home buyers. Very few images were provided.