Soapbox - Blog

SoapBlog 2 - why public radio matters

Wed, 07 Jan 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Kevin Reynolds
SoapBlog 2 - why public radio matters

A not-so rhetorical question�.does the growth, or possible explosion, of one type of media, automatically mean the end of another type of media?

There are examples of that happening to be sure�cassettes killed 8-tracks; CD's temporarily killed vinyl (though it's fighting its way back); VHS killed Beta.

So with the advent of internet, iPods, satellite and other music and radio sources, what about the over-the-air radio stations, and more specifically, what about public radio stations?

The fact of the matter is that, here in Cincinnati, the two public radio stations I work for � Classical 90.9 WGUC and 91.7 WVXU � are doing very well in terms of number of listeners and memberships, and corporate underwriting is strong and seems to be on an uphill slope. All that bodes well for public radio and, more importantly, for our listeners.

Public radio is a unique institution. Remaining commercial free and often carrying content (classical or Americana music, round the clock news, jazz, talk with no pomposity or screaming) that commercial stations seem to have no real interest in airing. Public radio also fills the niche with community stations, often airing a different format of music or talk each and every hour, while the homogenization of commercial stations continues to take hold.

In global terms, the number of people relying solely on some other form of radio or music provider is still relatively small. Radio remains the primary source of music, news and information in the car, and often during times of crises (take the recent power outage for instance�battery operated or crank radios were in high use all over the region.)

Public radio audiences have become more reliant upon the news we provide because it is not influenced by sponsors or the general political leanings of the station's ownership. We are not formatted by consultants or media executives who have never been in Cincinnati.

Our classical music station is one of the last dozen or so of its type left in this country, but even a market the size of Cincinnati supports it because it is another cultural icon that they don't want to lose.

As for news and information, where else on the dial will you hear intelligent, engaging, provocative programs like "This American Life," "A Prairie Home Companion," "Wait! Wait! Don't Tell Me," "The Diane Rehm Show," and so many others? It's not just the same 40 songs in heavy rotation, or loud battles between hosts and guests, or a block of 10 commercials each and every hour. Public radio respects the intellect, offers an alternative, and asks those who listen to us to help fund us. What a concept!

And as technology grows, so does public radio. With HD Radio technology, did you know we can split our signal and add new formats? In order to meet the desires of our listeners, we now offer a 24 hour jazz programming service on one of our HD signals, and the other is the simulcast of the award-winning internet station woxy.com. We believe these are formats completely ignored in this market, and since we have the technical capabilities and financial support from our listeners to provide them, we do.

There's no doubt that our listeners feel a personal stake in our operations because their donations fund over half of our annual operating budget. They know we are local�our stations are across the street from the back of Music Hall and we are easily reachable by phone or e-mail�we are here, not sitting somewhere in Texas deciding what to play here. We spotlight local arts and cultural organizations, spend three hours each weekend doing stories of local interest to go along with the national stories that we air. We provide local businesses a way to reach a very strong demographical audience with their message.

As you pop in your ear buds and listen to your iPod, consider using iTunes to download some of public radio's best, and realize what else is out there. If you aren't a listener, try us for what we can bring to your life�information, comfort, news, entertainment. Then dial us up in your car and enjoy radio with character and emotion.

SoapBlog 1 - Survivor

Tue, 06 Jan 2009 00:00:00 GMT

SoapBlog 1 - Survivor
Kevin Reynolds

At this moment, I am a cancer survivor. I have been free of cancer (and both my kidneys) for a year and a half. I'm always happy to be able to say that, but also realistic in the knowledge that my status could change at any time. That's a truth that will keep you on your toes.

My story isn't much different from many others�cancer is rarely an anticipated outcome of a doctor's visit or medical test. When you're told, the words hang heavy in the air, your heart and soul constantly waiting for a "but�," or a "however�" followed by a "kidding" or "not you." That doesn't really happen. If they say it, they mean it. The dominoes then begin to fall.

Life�death�family�friends�hospitals�jobs�treatments�existence�pain...

The list is lengthy�it flies through your head like a hummingbird on crack. Fear grips you and you find it hard to breathe. You grab the one you love and hug, or you look at one another in total disbelief. You cry. You cry a lot.

Then you begin to figure things out. You and the doctor develop a plan. You start looking at a calendar, figuring out how to make this new reality fit into your existing reality. Then comes the really uncomfortable part�telling people.

I never knew the right way to tell people I had cancer. You can tap dance around it for awhile, but eventually it will come out. When you say it straight out, it's like slapping people you care about with an icy cold bath�knees buckle, jaws drop, words fade into stutters. Suddenly you, the patient, have to become the comforter to the listener..."it's okay�I have a great doctor�we have an aggressive plan�I'm going to fight this," anything to ease the shock.

Some of the hardest conversations took place with my employer and co-workers at Cincinnati Public Radio. It was a scant two years after I joined the stations that I received my diagnosis. I was heartbroken�this is my dream job and I knew I would have to be gone for at least 6 months, maybe longer. How do I tell them? How do I tell my co-workers, knowing many of them will have to pick up my duties while I'm gone? Will I be treated differently? What about the events I was in the middle of planning? How easily replaceable am I?

That last question is one that hurts, because it transcends just the job. How replaceable am I as a husband, friend, parent, and employee? To maintain some sanity, you have to believe that your family will stand by you, support you, and care for you. But you feel incredibly vulnerable when it comes to your job.

I admit that I was glad at this point that I was not working in a cut-throat corporate setting. I've been working for non-profit organizations for over 20 years and one reason, among many, is because the work environment is more to my liking. I prefer working for a greater good and that usually involves working with others with my same sensibilities.

When I returned to work after receiving my cancer diagnosis, I was in a fog. But I knew that I had to tell people because, in time, it was gong to come out. I wanted to do it my way. I met with our general manager and my immediate boss to explain the situation. They deserved to know first and to help me determine the best course of action. At no point did either of them ask me anything about the job or my upcoming events. Not once. Every question was about me, what was going to happen, how my family was doing, and repeatedly wondering what they could do. I felt a significant weight lifting from me.

I then had to tell the other folks in my department. Having held it together when telling my bosses, I wasn't so lucky with my co-workers. I felt the sadness creeping up my throat and it was hard to get the words out. I tried to stay matter of fact, focused, almost keeping it as if I was talking about someone else. I'm not sure it worked, but I got it out. Words of encouragement, support, and concern flowed�including offers to learn what I was working on so they could fill in.

There are a million stressors when you are diagnosed with a chronic illness. Finances, insurance, telling your child, telling your parents, travel details, medicines, keeping up the house and the yard, trying to remain an active partner in your marriage�everything is magnified, everything is not as it was. But knowing that your employer has your back�is more concerned about you than about the job�that your co-workers will happily pick up the slack�removes about half of those stressors. I can't imagine going into my surgeries concerned about my future employment. I had to worry about my future existence, and Cincinnati Public Radio allowed me to do that.

During my time off, I received regular cards, emails, calls, and gifts from the people at the stations. As soon as I was able, I visited the office to say hello, see what was going on, clear out any mail, and to feel like I would be useful again. I was out seven months, but was allowed to come back part-time while I built up my stamina. I had long talks with my boss about my schedule now that I was on home hemo dialysis. I planned on doing treatments in the evening after work, but there would be some days I'd have to go in the morning. I would have monthly doctor, counseling and clinic appointments. There would be occasional screenings for any reoccurrence of the cancer. I promised that I would keep up with my responsibilities despite these disruptions, and during the last year and a half, I have checked with my boss to make sure how we were going worked for her. She has assured me that all is well. Again, more stressors relieved.

Surviving a chronic or critical illness requires so much more than just good medicine and good doctors. It's a mental, spiritual and physical journey that is never smooth�a true roller coaster of emotions. My ride was made much smoother with the never-ending support of my employer. I thank Rich Eiswerth, Chris Phelps and everyone at Cincinnati Public Radio for being such an integral part of my healing, and for allowing me to return to a job I truly love.

SoapBlog 3: Commercial Development in 2009

Thu, 18 Dec 2008 00:00:00 GMT

SoapBlog 3
Dan Neyer
Commercial Building's Economic Outlook for 2009: More Difficult Before it Gets Better, Neyer Predicts

There are a lot of challenges coming up in 2009, the biggest of which is the credit squeeze. The ability to obtain loans is very difficult in today's environment, as many banks are afraid to make mistakes.

There are also many development, or short-term loans coming due in 2009 and 2010 due to increasing vacancies and downward pressure on rental rates, which will require a substantial amount of additional borrower equity at a time borrowers can least afford to provide it. We are very fortunate at our company that we continue to obtain loans due to the strength of our balance sheet.

Construction for private (non-public or non-profit) companies will be virtually non-existent in 2009 due to the lack of credit and the fact that construction costs have not been reduced enough yet to justify new development.
Cincinnati will not suffer as badly as other cities because we're not so dependent on the financial services industry. We have a diversified economy and the strength of P&G, Kroger, General Electric, Western Southern and other companies helping us weather the storm compared to cities such as Dayton and Detroit, which have economies more closely tied to the automotive industry.

I think the recession will last as long as the overall mood of our country is negative and lenders restrict the amount of available capital. This time around, commercial real estate overbuilding in our town is limited compared to other recessions we have had in the past. Compared to other cities, we will not fall as far as others will.

If you look at the past, we've gone into a commercial recession just about every eight to 10 years. These are generally caused by greed by either borrowers or lenders ignoring the basic principals of good, sound real estate investment and getting ahead of their skis.

Cash is King even more today than is has ever been. If you have the cash, you will be able to seize opportunities that come your way.

High growth areas will continue to be infill locations south of I-275 along the I-71 corridor, and the I-75 West Chester and Liberty Township corridor.

During times of stress and uncertainty, companies which have invested and spent wisely will be the winners. I personally believe 2009 and 2010 will be looked upon years from now as one of the greatest times for opportunity and think that businesses need to adjust their thinking and look to the future, not dwell on what occurred in 2008. Those who keep a positive frame of mind will be better for it.

SoapBlog 2: Why go green?

Wed, 17 Dec 2008 00:00:00 GMT

Dan Neyer
SoapBlog 2: Why Neyer Properties Has Gone Green

Three years ago, I didn't know much about green building, but the concept intrigued me.

My staff is committed, progressive and curious, and we began to investigate green building because we felt it was the right thing to do and would be an effective marketing tool. But was green building a sound business investment, or just a feel-good practice?

We had a lot of questions, and the only way to find the answers was to do the research and do the math. What was the return on investment for installing high-efficiency HVAC or energy-efficient windows? Could xeriscaping be attractive and still offer significant water savings? Did offices with lots of natural light and green products in flooring, carpet and wall coverings really improve the health and attitudes of workers, or were they just cosmetically cool?

What we found was that green building is not only the right thing to do for the environment and our physical and emotional health, it makes economic sense, too.

Our green office buildings use up to 30 percent less energy and provide a 50 percent savings in water use over typical office buildings. Employees are healthier in a green environment�there are fewer allergens in natural carpets, flooring, and wall coverings-- which translates into fewer sick days. Fewer sick days means more employee productivity. Every business wants that. And happiness from being in a green, clean environment aids in employee job satisfaction and retention.

Now let's picture the following scenario and crunch some realistic numbers: A company named Green Living, Inc. rents 10,000 square feet of office space at $15.00 per square foot for a total of $150,000 a year. Average salary per employee is $60,000. Health insurance, employment taxes, and benefits add another 40 percent; and overhead adds another 30 percent for a total cost of $100,000 per employee per year.

Each employee is also at least 2 percent more productive in the green office space. This is because air in the space is cleaner and fresher, more natural light comes in, and employees are happy to work there. This small gain of 2 percent productivity (one less sick day per person per year) translates into a large number�$8.00 per square foot. For these same reasons, there is also a half-percent gain from employee retention over time, or reduced turnover, which equals $2.00 per square foot.

Energy savings knock off 25 percent of the utility bill, and green landscaping combined with low-flow restroom fixtures eliminates 50 percent of water use and treatment costs. These operating cost savings equal about $1.00 per square foot.

Added all together, this 10,000 square foot green office saves an employer $11 per square foot over renting a traditionally-built, non-green building. Net result: green building makes this effective office rent cost only $4.00 per square foot.

Now compare these numbers to the added cost of $11.00 to the $15.00 per square foot rent in a typically-built, non-green building. With two percent more sick days, a productivity drop, employee turnover, and increased water and utility costs, the cost to rent a non-green building is now actually $26.00 per square foot.

In essence, because employees are the biggest expense for a company, creating a healthier, more efficient work environment is a win-win for both employee and employer. Going green means increased productivity and quality of life for each employee, as well as an increase in revenue and cost savings for the company.

Green building significantly reduces a company's net effective rents. It transitions rent from an obligation to an investment that pays dividends in real dollars and human capital.

Dan Neyer is president of Neyer Properties, a leading commercial real estate, land development, and commercial development company in the greater Cincinnati-northern Kentucky region. It is headquartered at Keystone Parke in Evanston, the first LEED-certified Gold office campus in Ohio, Kentucky and Indiana.

SoapBlog 1: The secrets to a successful business leader

Tue, 16 Dec 2008 00:00:00 GMT

Dan Neyer
SoapBlog 1

Lately people have been asking me what it takes to lead a successful commercial real estate development company, one that has been successful even in a down economy. While I can't speak for every leader in every situation, I can talk about what has worked for Neyer Properties.

First of all, you have to lead with passion and strong convictions. You must be able to inspire and motivate people and make sure you have the right culture that promotes honesty and integrity above all else. Profits and sales goals should never be the only goal; they are a result. If you provide good value, profits and growth will follow. If you do the right things in the right way, you will have opportunities to grow and be profitable.

Everything ties into that. Our company committed itself to green building, for example, because it was the right thing to do and it benefits everyone in the long term. We started with that concept, and did the research, discovering along the way how green building and its subliminal effects on people adds to their contentment level at work as well as their good health, which results in improved employee retention. Happy employees come to work more often and stay longer in a job, which increases productivity and reduces employee training costs.

These are benefits in addition to helping conserve natural resources, energy, and water.

Secondly, embrace change, or, in my case, pursue change. It genuinely works. See things that others don't see, and don't wait to act. If you wait too long to act, you may end up with tire tracks on your forehead. View obstacles as opportunities and figure out a way to go over, under, through them. Turn the negative to a positive.

Third, never give up. If you are knocked down, get up. Failure sometimes is the best way to enlighten you on the road to success.

Fourth is motivation. There are more reasons not to do things than reasons to do them sometimes. Provide something that others will want and desire, even if they don't fully understand what it is. It's all about value; how you create it and how you provide it.

Finally, stick to your knitting. Keep focused on what you do best, but be flexible enough to try new things. You don't want to be too focused, like the auto industry has been. They built cars that they wanted to build, and not what people wanted to drive.

Today's environment is one of the best in which to start a business. Technology is at your fingertips. Find a need and fill it, but be certain it's the right thing for you and your potential customer base.

Dan Neyer is the recipient of the 2008 Ernst and Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award; 2008 Better Business Bureau (BBB) Torch Award for Marketplace Ethics; and the 2008 National Assn. for Industrial and Office Properties (NAIOP) Developer of the Year Award.

SoapBlog 3

Thu, 11 Dec 2008 00:00:00 GMT

Jeremy Neff, Post 3

�Where were you last weekend, and the weekend before that?� the bartender shot back when I complained that Courtyard Café�s kitchen was closed too early on Friday of Bockfest weekend. They were short-staffed because of the blizzard, but that didn�t change the fact that we were hungry and running out of options (Lucy Blue pizza window turned out to be our salvation).

Shauntae had a point. If I wanted Main Street to have a variety of late night dining options I needed to patronize places that provide that service more often than during the occasional festival. �You must be the change you wish to see in the world.� Gandhi was talking about more important things than pizza at one in the morning, but you get the point.

That offhand remark by the bartender at Courtyard Café is part of the impetus behind the BuyCincy Holiday Guide. The guest contributors are all folks who have committed to putting their money where their mouths are when it comes to having a great city.

Why don�t more people spend their time and money at locally-owned businesses? I think there are two main reasons. First, it is easier to go to the familiar. Shopping, especially around the holidays, can be a real pain. Why potentially prolong the pain by going to unfamiliar shops when everything you could possibly need can be found at a big-box store? Second, there is the perception that shopping locally is more expensive.

In my experience, shopping locally does take longer, but not always for the reasons you would expect. When I go to a big chain store I get in a zone, quickly seek out what I want, and keep time at the check-out to a minimum. It is not a pleasant experience, the other folks there (workers and customers) seem generally unhappy, and I want it all to be over with as soon as possible. When I shop locally I get to know the owners and workers, as well as other customers. I linger to chat about neighborhood news, plans for the future, and sometimes just to soak in the atmosphere (Findlay Market trips can become particularly prolonged for this last reason).

In fairness, local businesses can�t even come close to the marketing power of big chains. It is not surprising that people know more about shops at the mall down the highway than they do about the ones right in their neighborhood. That�s where www.buycincy.com comes in. They profile local businesses throughout Greater Cincinnati year-round, and are currently running the Holiday Guide with a focus on holiday shopping. Not finding what you need there? Let them know, or, better yet, do a little investigative journalism yourself and let them know what you find.

The issue of cost is not as easily dismissed. As a preliminary matter, price differentials really depend on what you are buying, and transportation costs are quickly eating away at the price advantage offered by some chain stores. I find that I save quite a bit of money at farmers� markets, and mom and pop restaurants have offered �value menus� since well before fast-food chains became the default eateries for hungry Americans.

But more fundamentally, you aren�t getting the same thing when you buy Product A at a big-box retailer versus the comparable Product A at a locally-owned business. My prior posts have spoken at length of the benefits of local shopping: walkable neighborhoods, superior customer service, and an enjoyable experience just to name a few. These things don�t just happen on their own � they happen because you are shopping locally. In other words, you aren�t just buying Product A at a locally-owned store; you are buying a stronger city, a happier day, and, if you�re lucky, gemütlichkeit.

SoapBlog 2

Wed, 10 Dec 2008 00:00:00 GMT

Jeremy Neff, Post 2

I woke up this past Saturday morning to see the city with a beautiful coating of snow with big, fluffy flakes continuing to fall. The news reported that the highways were getting a little sloppy, but I had no plans to drive anywhere. Our home in the West End is within easy walking distance of the Over-the-Rhine and downtown restaurants and shops. It was the perfect day to do some local shopping for the BuyCincy Holiday Guide.

On my way to the Gateway Quarter I noticed that Minges Candy was open. Never having been there I didn�t know what to expect, but that�s part of the local shopping experience. The friendly manager showed me around and pointed out the candy canes made by Doscher�s, a candy shop just a few blocks from my house. One of the other customers showed me some of her favorite sweets. Minges was a good find, and I�ll definitely be going back.

Laden with a sack of candy that would make a trick-or-treater jealous, I proceeded to Vine Street. I stopped in to pick up a couple items at Park + Vine and to check out the plants at City Roots on my way to Metronation. I ended up buying some candles there, but the real reason I stopped in was to chat with the owners, who happen to live down the street from me. Supporting your neighbors is a big part of what it means to shop local.

Next up was a quick visit with one of the owners of the Joseph Williams furniture store which recently relocated to the Gateway Quarter. I congratulated him on a great new space, and continued on to Main Street. There I talked about the local art scene and picked up a gift at Urban Eden, stopped in a few temporary craft shops where I bought some earrings and was offered cookies and hot cider, lingered over the delectables at Shadeau Bread, and then proceeded downtown.

Downtown is my beat for the BuyCincy Holiday Guide, so I�d already done some shopping at the Ohio Bookstore and City Cellars fine wine shop. I stopped in a few places and went to the Duke train display, but I really just wanted to see Fountain Square decked out for the holidays, crowded with happy skaters, and dusted with snow. I was not disappointed (the waffle and hot chocolate I got at the Taste from Belgium tent by the rink didn�t hurt, either). Far from the maddening crowds at the suburban malls I got to experience what holiday shopping is supposed to be like.

Do yourself a favor this holiday season. Resolve to spend a portion of your holiday budget on local shopping. Pick up a bottle of wine at the neighborhood wine shop and go to Findlay Market for some cheese for your holiday party. Pass up the chain coffee store and get your caffeine fix from an independent shop when you need to re-energize for more gift-buying. And while you�re at it, find a few of those gifts at locally-owned businesses. Check out the Holiday Guide at www.buycincy.com if you need more ideas � there will be posts from all over the city. No need to wait for the New Year for this resolution.

SoapBlog 1 - I said Gemütlichkeit

Tue, 09 Dec 2008 00:00:00 GMT

Jeremy Neff, Post 1

Gemütlichkeit.

Before moving to Cincinnati five years ago this word was as foreign to me as "goetta," "who dey?" "cornhole," and alternate uses of the word please.

I still have a hard time defining gemütlichkeit, but I know it when I�m experiencing it. Meeting up with friends for burritos and bluegrass at the Comet. Having a snowball fight walking home from Bockfest during the blizzard. Discussing recipes with the folks at Madison's or Herbs and Spice at Findlay Market. Playing Apples to Apples at Grammer�s. Singing a few bars from Aida with downtown barber Fausto Ferrari while he cuts my hair. Spending a warm Oktoberfest afternoon in the Spaten tent. Spending a cold February night at a City Cellars wine tasting when a heavy coat of ice shut down all but foot traffic.

I never thought I would call Cincinnati home. I was going to be here for three years of school. If everything went just right I would get an offer from the firm that inspired me to be a lawyer, I�d move back north to Columbus, and all would be good. Regardless, I certainly wouldn�t stay in a city that my northern Ohio upbringing taught me was hardly even worth mentioning unless the Browns were playing the Bengals. I worked hard, things went just right, and I did get that dream job offer. And like a lot of people my age I chose a city first, job second. By the time that offer came I had chosen my city: Cincinnati.

I don�t know exactly when it happened. Gemütlichkeit is like that. That sense of comfort and belonging becomes so ingrained in your psyche that it is hard to remember when it wasn�t there. Maybe it was the first time I entered Music Hall and had my breath taken away � not just by the remarkable beauty of the structure and the sound of the symphony, but by the fact that I was part of a city that so values the arts that it built and maintains such a monumental temple of the arts.

It might have been at one of the festivals and celebrations that fill the calendar here. Maybe while I toasted the haggis with a glass of scotch at Nicholson�s for Burns Night. Perhaps when I looked over and saw Bootsy Collins nodding along to the same music I was enjoying at Know Theatre during Midpoint Music Festival. It could have been while I was sipping contraband bourbon from a flask at Tall Stacks while getting a lesson in Cincinnati�s musical heritage from none other than Dr. Ralph Stanley and the Clinch Mountain Boys.

Whenever it was, I am sure of one thing: it was at a local business or local event. Gemütlichkeit does not lend itself well to mass replication. It requires a degree of identity � of soul � that can�t be put in a box and shipped from place to place. While comfort and leisure are hallmarks of gemütlichkeit it doesn�t happen without some effort. Local businesses, events, and organizations require a commitment from the community to sustain them.

With that in mind, I approached the people at www.buycincy.com about putting together a holiday shopping guide that featured guest contributors from throughout the city writing about their experiences making a conscious effort to spend at least some of their holiday shopping dollars at locally owned businesses. BuyCincy already profiles local shops and restaurants, so the Holiday Guide is sort of a reality-tv take on the good work they do throughout the year.

Check out BuyCincy�s Holiday Guide, and head to a local business in your neighborhood for a little gemütlichkeit of your own.

SoapBlog 4 - A love letter: or how to find your dream home

Mon, 08 Dec 2008 00:00:00 GMT

Margy Waller
A Love Letter:
Or How to Find Your Dream Home

Looking for your dream rental home? If you�re anything like me � and interested in the kind of cool, walkable neighborhoods featured on the soapbox site � then you might find some tips for your search in this posting. But, this is really a love letter to everyone who helped me in my hunt for the place to call home and all the artists who developed and redeveloped the spaces I visited.

In Over-the-Rhine, Jim Moll is THE MAN to know. He�s been in the mix of development and revitalization for many years, and knows A LOT about the history of the neighborhood. I heard his name so many times while starting my search that it was obvious that I was working with the right guy if I wanted a rental in OTR or downtown.

Jim connected me with a short-term furnished place at Vernon�s Corner � older buildings lovingly renovated at Liberty and Main. When I first arrived, there were two campaign offices in the retail space downstairs. Now that the election is over and the holidays have arrived, the owners have decorated the gas lamps, street level windows, and terrace with seasonal items. It�s very sweet and nice to see looking out from my large loft windows. Mark Bernhardt is an incredibly accommodating owner/landlord � and also offers unfurnished, long term rentals.

Even before I found Jim, Kris Sommer at Urban Sites gave me a lot of time and information and a complete tour of his rentals in OTR. Bill Baum of Urban Sites has been developing units in OTR for over 20 years and continues at quite a pace today � with some units for sale, others for rent. (Special thanks to Chelsea who gave me a tour of her very own Urban Sites loft space in the super cool Washington Hotel at Race and 12th.)

Both Jim and Kris are lovers of old spaces and OTR. They know a lot of the area history and pretty much all of the current neighborhood gossip. Kris writes an occasional email to his listserv all about what�s going on in OTR and the latest on Urban Sites rental options.

In Clifton, I got a lot of help from Sandra Wilger � a real estate agent who also works with buyers. Sandra knows Clifton pretty much inside-out after working and living in the area for a long time. She�s currently co-located with Gaslight Properties � another source for area rentals. She generously offered to help me out with my rental search � going to great lengths to learn about my specific wants and doing her best to find my dream space. She was mostly patient with my indecisiveness, yet pushy at just the right moment.

At some point in my search, I got worried that I would not be able to find just the right size apartment, with the features that I have-to-have (all hardwood with a little but of outdoor space). (Call me Goldilocks � I don�t mind.)

And when more than one person told me I should try looking in East Walnut Hills, O'Bryonville, and Hyde Park for the kind of older, spacious apartment with details like glass doorknobs and original woodwork � I did branch out a bit beyond Clifton and OTR.

One morning, driving to the office, I noticed a �for rent� sign in front of a The Kendall building on Madison Road near Hyde Park Square. I could see that the building was well cared for and had some units with private porches. Missy from Paradrome Square gave me a tour that same day of the building I�d noticed and two others in East Walnut Hills: The Clermont and The Grandview. Paradrome is doing good while doing business � investing in and maintaining important old living spaces. All three of these buildings have apartments with hardwood floors, private porches, and fireplaces.

Finally � just as I was feeling real pressure and nearing a decision �Maggie from Grandin Properties showed me an apartment that requires a �WOW� when you enter. Grandin specializes in historic properties in neighborhoods like Hyde Park and O�Bryonville.

We started at the San Carlos on Madison Road. These units have great old features including solarium-style porches and huge old wooden framed mirrors over medicine cabinets in the bath. For people who need a short-term furnished option (like me), Grandin advertises these for the San Carlos.

It was easy to imagine living within walking distance of some favorite places like BonBonerie for cookies and What�s for Dinner for takeout. I also like regularly stopping into Chateau Pomije to get Tim Shumrick�s latest wine recommendation.

But, the WOW property is on Michigan Avenue in Hyde Park. The Weston Flats - built in the late 1800�s - have 14� ceilings, balconies, hardwood floors, fireplaces, pocket doors, and incredible views. These spaces are enormous and truly beautiful. On the day I was there, Maggie was able to show two of the six apartments � a very unusual opportunity from her report.

I�ve made my decision now and am relieved to have that step that behind me. All of these wonderful buildings are a tangible reminder of the art we experience every day. These architects and developers are artists and we get to enjoy their imagination and creativity any time we like by just looking up when we walk by.

It was a treat to meet so many people who share an enthusiasm for old spaces and features in walkable neighborhoods. I only wish it was just a bit easier for someone like me to navigate the options without quite so much work. Though, if Cincinnati had a one-stop shop option for renters � I would not have met so many wonderful people in the process.

Special thanks to everyone who put up with my indecisiveness and need to evaluate the options out-loud and in the presence of others. And a great big virtual hug to the one who was there when I made the final decision - you were a huge help. (Or maybe it was like getting married - and you were just there when I was ready to decide. Either way, I owe you a drink.)

Oh � you want to know where I will be living? It could have been any of these places, but�a girl needs a little bit of mystery in her life.

SoapBlog 3:

Thu, 04 Dec 2008 00:00:00 GMT

It�s Time to Share

A mother is a person who seeing there are only four pieces of pie for five people, promptly announces she never did care for pie (Tenneva Jordan). I like this quote because I think it�s an apt description of the state of our government in Ohio, and more specifically, in the Cincinnati/NKY region. We have fewer pieces to go around all the time (see County 2009 Budget cuts) and we need to start re-evaluating our pie�the proliferation of government entities and duplicated public service providers.

The first step is shared services across government entities. In a recent column in Cincinnati Gentleman, Commissioner David Pepper wrote that cutting alone doesn�t get us to the finish line and doesn�t address the underlying root of some of the budget problem. He said, "Citizens want to see the best services at the lowest cost, regardless of which government provides them. Having dozens of governments doing the exact same thing on a small scale does not make sense for many services, especially when budgets are squeezed. On the other hand, providing a service at a regional level, or in a shared way, will often provide both the best quality and nest price to the citizen."

We might not be talking about merging the City of Cincinnati and Hamilton County governments completely right now (although we should be) because many of the township leadership in Hamilton County thinks the City is more trouble than it�s worth (public schools, crime, etc.) and it�s really hard to merge large governments, but some people are doing more than talking about it.

A couple years ago, Cincinnati City Council and the Hamilton County Commissioners started a shared services task force called the Government Cooperation and Efficiency Project (GCEP) that is looking at how the City and County can actively begin to make bulk salt purchases together and share emergency dispatch services, etc. Do we really need two chiefs and two fire engines at two fire stations to put out fires in the same geographic areas?

Agenda 360, the regional community action plan that is set to be released in January, has identified GCEP as an important �pilot� for all four southwestern Ohio counties, and perhaps even NKY. It is a significant step that the regional community supports and should be encouraged.

The second step is merging small government entities themselves. Did you know that Ohio is one quarter the size of California and has one third the population of California but Ohio has 88 counties to California�s 58?! And did you know that there are 48 municipalities just in Hamilton County alone?

Does there need to be a Hamilton County and a City of Cincinnati in the long run? Or a Kenton and a Covington? Charlotte and Louisville, to name two, don�t seem to think so, and they�ve benefited from their merged governments.

Economic forces do not recognize political boundaries as hard borders for evermore. Neither should we. If we weren�t in a global competition with other regions, this would be good governance. But we are in an unprecedented competition, and sharing services and merging small governments ought to be in our game plan going forward.

SoapBlog 2: Bengals Failure is Reds Anti-Recipe for Playoffs in 2009

Wed, 03 Dec 2008 00:00:00 GMT

SoapBlog 2: Bengals Failure is Reds Anti-Recipe for Playoffs in 2009
by Bobby Maly

The Bengals organizational misery is cause for great optimism when thinking about the Cincinnati Reds� upcoming season. That�s because the organizations are essentially polar opposites. While the Bengals refuse to hire capable winning officers who have a proven track record for success, the Reds have put baseball people in charge who do.

The best indicator of future success is past performance. Sorry, Bengals fans. Cheers, Redlegs, you�ll make the playoffs in 2009.

The Reds have an ownership group headed by Bob Castellini who has been an MLB owner for 30 years�many of those were in St. Louis which is one of the best organizations in the game. Castellini hired Walt Jocketty who was also part of that winning formula in St. Louis. Jocketty�s Cardinals went to the playoffs seven of the 13 years he was there, including a World Series Championship. Dusty Baker took the Giants to the playoffs 4 of his 10 years in San Francisco, and even took the hapless Cubs there in his first season with Chicago. The Reds finally have winners in ownership and management positions.

The second reason the Reds will make the playoffs in 2009 is because of pitching. The Reds have arguably the best 1-4 starting pitchers in the National League. The 1995 Reds, the last to make the playoffs, had 48 wins from their top four; the �99 Reds had 45; last year�s Phillies and Rays (World Series participants) had between 48-50. Can the Reds top four get 12 wins each? Based on recent history, yes. Harang and Arroyo have had double digit wins in 4 of last 5 years, and both are perennial leaders in strikeouts, innings pitched and wins. Volquez led the MLB in ERA and wins much of last year, and Cueto had 9 W�s last year in his impressive rookie campaign. All four were in the top 20 in strikeouts last year.

The third reason they�ll make the playoffs is that they are led by young talent who now have big league experience. Once the team jettisoned Dunn and Griffey, their defensive rank went from the bottom third to the top third in the last part of the season (both the Phils and the Rays ranked in the top third in defense last season). They have the best second baseman in the game with golden glover Philips, and defensive improvements in Jay Bruce and Joey Votto.

The Rays�s Longoria led all rookies with 27 homers last year; second? None other than Joey Votto with 24 (and he didn�t start much of the first month). Bruce was right behind him with 20+. The Rays did not start a pitcher in the playoffs last year with anyone under the age of 26. Three of the Reds starting five next year will be able to say that, and the other two (Arroyo and Harang) are relatively young and in their prime. On top of that, the Reds� four or five best players are under the age of 26.

So when you start watching the NFL playoffs without the Bengals again for the 18th time in the last 19 years, you can take heart in their dismal organizational failure knowing that the Reds saw what the Bengals have done and decided to do the exact opposite. That�s makes me look forward to April.

SoapBlog 1: Fences vs. Streetcars

Tue, 02 Dec 2008 00:00:00 GMT

SoapBlog 1: Fences vs. Streetcars
Bobby Maly

Allow me to introduce myself with one of my favorite Mark Twain quotes: �Everybody talks about the weather but nobody does anything about it.�

You were expecting a different Twain quote weren�t you�one about Cincinnati specifically? I apologize, but that quote has been forever retired heretofore due to the fact that it just isn�t true. Based on recent successes and direction, we�re acting like a progressive group of people again - people who are going to build a streetcar.

Can/should we build a streetcar system here? The answer is: yes we must. And here�s a not-as-often-cited reason why.

Is anyone else tired of talking about �brain drain� and �attracting and retaining young talent� and want to do more doing? You might interchange those phrases with Twain�s �weather.� But unlike the weather, we can do something about attraction and retention.

Our City Government has wisely recognized the idea of dense mixed use development occurring along transportation lines is neither new nor untested. In 1800, our city was born because of a river and a significant number of steamboats (which we built here) on that river. In 1825 we proved to be early adopters of the canal, which led to explosive growth along the canal passages. Conversely, delays throughout the 1860s in adopting a direct railroad connection to New York and Chicago prevented city growth. Failure to complete the subway system in 1925 didn�t help us grow either.

It is a fact that people in this country have always been, are now, and will continue to be attracted to transportation lines. The lines induce development. The development attracts people, which attract other people. Jobs, environmental benefits, lifestyle benefits, connecting investment, connecting job centers and increased tax bases are all well documented arguments in favor of streetcars as demonstrated in clear and numerous case studies.

But here�s the most significant reason why our City will build a streetcar system.

Because we have one of the most successful corporate communities in America. Ask Fortune 500. These companies are built and sustained by attracting the best and brightest. The next best and brightest are 24-35 year olds. It�s simple, if you need that talent, create things that attract them. We know this group wants mass transit and environmental forward thinking. We know 50% live in (and 66% near) walkable high density urban neighborhoods. We know the streetcar goes a long way in creating that place because it creates smaller communities where chance encounters and random occurrences with real people are possible.

And we know there aren�t enough 25-34 year olds to go around. There are loser cities in which this demographic is not choosing to live. They are voting with their feet. Did you know that 66% of this group chooses a city to live in before finding a job? The ten cities best at growing this population group all have one thing in common�mass transit. It is a fact. So let�s embrace that fact and get busy getting more attractive.

There are important details to resolve on our streetcar endeavor, but we need a shared commitment for how to, not if. Stadiums don�t do it. YP initiatives at the Chamber are great, but they are not the bold difference-maker. As an added bonus, the other highly mobile demographic, empty nesters, are picking the same cities as their younger counterparts for many of the same reasons. We need to create an environment attractive to these movers now or lose them forever.

A friend of mine said, �the streetcar is sign of a city that wants to behave differently.� I like that. There are such things as defining moments. 1800. 1825. 1860. 1925. How will we remember 2009? We need riders of streetcars, not fences. Let�s go.

If you�d like more information on the streetcar, please email streetcarcincy@yahoo.com.

SoapBlog 3: Fun in Madisonville

Thu, 20 Nov 2008 00:00:00 GMT

On Halloween, Madisonville Arts Center presented a special treat for the community � a production of Hansel and Gretel with marionettes (puppets on strings, you know), music, singing, and candy treats. Kids in costume came with their parents and extended family.

I�m not sure what it takes exactly to introduce kids to the arts � opera and theater in this case � in a way that will translate to more participation and a community sense that the arts belong to all of us. But, the Halloween party in Madisonville sure seems like an important effort and a model worthy of support.

To see the show, I drove to the Center at 5021 Whetsel Avenue off Madison Road. As I cruised past the sparkling new center, Margie waved from the gallery on the first floor. As I slowed, she called out: �If you are looking for the show, you found us!� I parked in the spacious lot next to the center and listened to music playing over the outside loudspeakers as I made my way past the eye-catching mirrored murals on the doorway to the open gallery space on the first floor. Entering the upstairs theater, I was impressed with the intimate venue and comfortable seating � which I later learned will be the site of an upcoming Blue Chip Players� production of Arthur Miller�s play �The Price�. (That�s a play with a great story about family and the value of things we save.)

After the show, I watched as the kids bashfully got up close to the �cast�. They were still mostly afraid of the witch, but they liked Gretel and the forest animals a lot. As they left, the arts center volunteers offered kids water and a decorated bag of goodies. (Even the hand-created bags were little pieces of art!)

The Cincinnati Opera staff and leadership are on the cutting edge of offering performances in the community � not just in the lovely historic buildings downtown. And Dan Dermody at the Madisonville Arts Center offers his new space to all kinds of art producers.

Other traditional and older art organizations are often found in unexpected spots as well. The Chamber Orchestra recently started playing concerts in the new Anderson Center. Linton Music offers a Monday night series in Loveland and the popular children�s Peanut Butter and Jam Sessions in locations across town from Kennedy Heights to Wyoming to Mason. And leaders in neighborhoods from Evanston to Sharonville have opened their own arts centers creating a place for resident interaction and access to more arts for a diverse audience.

This is kind of community I want to live in � a region where there�s lots of opportunity and inclusion in the arts, spaces for people to share these experiences and talk together about the art they create and share.

SoapBlog 2: It's a lot about the food

Wed, 19 Nov 2008 00:00:00 GMT

Margy Waller - It�s A Lot about the Food

In the decade that I was away � living and working on the east coast � my father took care to send me treats from some of my favorite places for food and drink in Cincinnati. In particular, he sent me Graeter�s ice cream (always including caramel � the best flavor in the world) and Double Butter coffeecake, Awakening�s cinnamon-hazelnut coffee, and Bonbonnerie cookies.

And when I visited Cincinnati during those years, I often made my way to those three spots and also to The Echo, a childhood favorite on Hyde Park Square.

My parents � who did not go to high school here, moving as adults when they were hired to play in the Cincinnati Symphony � took me to some wonderful eat-drink spots as a child and young adult. And some of their favorite places are the ones I return to again and again as an adult. When I moved back to Cincinnati the first time � after college and law school - I discovered additional options with my friends. In recent years, I visited these places when I made my annual visits.

Now that I am moving back for the second time, I�m excited to be able to eat and drink at these spots and some new favorites too. Places I�ve made a point to go already include: Arnold's, What�s for Dinner, Bonbonnerie, Awakenings, Lavomatic, Zips, and Tinks.

But there are a few places I�ll visit often because they are stuck in my memory bank from my childhood in Cincinnati and are still luscious:

1. Graeter�s � Of course, it�s the ice cream place. In the ongoing battle of local ice cream options, this is definitely my favorite. Partly that�s because there�s nothing like Graeter�s Caramel anywhere. But also, the chocolate chip options are so amazingly choc-full of Graeter�s own bittersweet and milk chunks. But it�s not just the ice cream. I have three childhood memories of Graeter�s that make it special for me. First, my mother occasionally ate ice cream from the pink and white round cartons in bed, for breakfast. (Now, I do too � it�s pretty much just like yogurt � with a little more fat and sugar�right?) Second, my parents nearly always brought Graeter�s Double Butter coffeecake home for Sunday breakfasts; my three sisters and I fought over the gooiest pieces every week. Third, as an elementary-schooler, I would take the 24 or 69 bus to Hyde Park square on Friday afternoons, visit the public library to pick up a new stack of novels, and stop at Graeter�s for a bag of candy to snack on while reading. Now that my new office is a little too conveniently across the street from that same Graeter�s location, I have to practice some serious self-control and ration my visits.

2. The Echo � Another scene of childhood memories. On Saturday afternoons, my Mother took us to The Echo before she and my Dad went off to play a concert that night. Her favorite menu item was the fried chicken with sides. Although I�ve never been a big meat eater � the Echo was the one place I would order a bacon cheeseburger, with fries and tartar sauce (in Frisch�s-land no one looks askance when you order tartar sauce for your burger). These days, I still love those burgers and also the vegetable soup that seems to be prepared just the way I remember it from my childhood. And of course, there�s always breakfast for dinner at the Echo � yum.

3. Grammer�s � When I was a kid, I thought it was a treat to play mini-adult and tag along to symphony concerts with my parents. On some Saturday nights, I experienced the extra treat of an invitation to join the after-concert gathering of musicians and friends at Grammer�s. I remember getting cake, while my parents drank something they called a �black and tan� and I listened to the orchestra gossip of the day (more interesting than you can imagine!). Grammer�s is closed for repairs right now. But when it was reopened this summer after many years, I stopped in with a friend and saw that - lovingly preserved by local-hero Jim Tarbell � it�s as sweet a place to sit and drink as ever.

SoapBlog 1: Moving Back

Tue, 18 Nov 2008 00:00:00 GMT

Margy Waller

Recently, my mother commented: �You know what they say: Children who grow up in Cincinnati are quite likely to move back someday.�

She said this on the occasion of my announcement that after 10 years of living on the east coast, I am moving back to the place I still refer to as �home.� And she was no doubt needling me because I spent a decade insisting this announcement would never be made.

But, it turns out that Cincinnati does indeed have an allure I didn�t fully recognize � and the city has gotten even better since I left.

What is that appeal? What�s changed?

For me, the appeal includes a �perfect-for-me� job that is exhibit A for both what�s wonderful about the region and how it�s changing.

I�m moving back to work on arts access, appreciation, and support at our local �united arts fund.� The Fine Arts Fund is the oldest and largest such fund in the United States. And it�s existence and tenure is a reminder that the Cincinnati region hosts a community of art organizations both bigger and stronger than most any city of its size.

Moreover, since I left, the Fund has started to provide support and services in new ways to numerous nonprofits like Ensemble Theatre of Cincinnati and Artworks. Plus, the community has expanded with the likes of new theaters: New Stage Collective and Know Theatre of Cincinnati have developed from the enthusiasm of local supporters and resources like Xavier University, the University of Cincinnati�s College Conservatory of Music and Northern Kentucky University.

People who live here are participating in a dialogue about access to and participation in arts activities for an inclusive community. My new position is a direct outcome of that conversation and the challenge is to develop it in a way that leads to even broader agreement about our public responsibility to cultivate and grow these local resources.

In addition, neighborhood and community art centers are sprouting up all over, in places like Evanston, Madisonville, Sharonville, and Anderson.

In these days of economic turmoil and stress, we are very fortunate to have invested in such local art spaces, organizations, and events. Now we have outlets for expression and community experiences, places for sharing ideas and joy.

What else pulls me back to Cincinnati? The cost of living here is crazy reasonable � particularly for housing. I�ve been searching for a place to live and have to keep reminding myself that just because the cost seems so low to me doesn�t mean it isn�t wonderful. I�ve been on tours of new and developing condos in Over-the-Rhine and have seen some amazing spaces in the Clifton Gaslight neighborhood.

And there are other options for fabulous housing and walkable business districts too � East Walnut Hills, Oakley, Obryonville, and Northside have all grown new restaurants, art galleries, and shopping options since I left a decade ago.

Right now - I�m stuck on two possibilities: one each in OTR and the Ludlow area. And it�s hard to decide in part because I know there are so many great options that something better might be (literally) around the corner.

Density � something I grew to appreciate as a resident of DC and Philadelphia � appeals to me now. Even though I�ll need to buy a car, I want to live in a neighborhood where one can go without too. It�s wonderful to live and work in a place where people walk to work every day and also access most anything they need by transit, bike, and the occasional cab.

And there�s much more to say about Cincinnati�s appeal and what�s changed, the lifestyle I happily anticipate, Cincinnati area arts, and hometown food � the old and new favorite restaurants, as my transition-log continues.

SoapBlog 1

Tue, 11 Nov 2008 00:00:00 GMT

Jan W. Hillard, Ph.D.

Sitting at my desk, thinking about what to write about Cincinnati, Wes Montgomery�s 1968 album titled �The Grass is Always Greener� played on the radio. Montgomery is a jazz guitarist from the 1960s who I have a fondness for.

I recall seeing Montgomery play in a jazz club on Vine Street in the late '60s on a hot summer night. I was a junior in high school. I remember thinking after seeing Wes that Cincinnati is pretty cool, with deep roots in jazz, soul, and funk. As a teenager I soaked it up. Perhaps it was serendipity when I heard those cuts from the �Grass is Always Greener�. The message of the saying the grass is greener on the other side was exactly where my initial thoughts had taken me in thinking about the Greater Cincinnati of today.

I left Cincinnati in 1980 only to return after 23 years of absence. My return was heralded by new buildings, Tall Stacks, and still vibrant institutions like Music Hall and the Art Museum. However there was something new in the air. Something I heard from leaders and prominent stakeholders across the region. It was envy. Envy of other cities and regions, that they had something we were missing. It was like people were hooked on this narrative. They sought out other cities as �benchmarks� and held conversations that started with �if only we could be like�.� and ended with ��.oh well remember it's Cincinnati after all��

I believe the secret to our success is in fact remembering. Remembering the business innovation that has gone on and continues everyday in this region. Our firsts in the arts, UC as the first municipal university in the nation, first in sports history, first in wonderful planned villages, and on and on. Our strength comes from celebration not regret. Our strength comes from our history. It is important to imagine what could be, to have a foresight. Yet no surveyor worth their salt would proceed without a good back sight as well. When we are tempted to go to the place of envy or regret about Greater Cincinnati�s vibrancy, I recommend picking up a copy of one of Zane Miller�s books on Cincinnati history, browsing to any page and being reminded of our region�s incredible journey both socially and economically. With a good back sight the journey ahead will be made clear and most importantly it will be our journey and not someone else�s.

SoapBlog 3 - Stable Neighborhoods Key To City Success

Thu, 06 Nov 2008 00:00:00 GMT

Cincinnati is trying to raise its profile from every possible angle and is using a variety of ways to do it. Several things are working in our favor presently and that makes it fun to show up every day to do our work. From a strategic standpoint the downtown must work as a gathering place for workers, shoppers, visitors, sports fans, and urban dwellers. It is our showpiece, and what we use to help generate the dollars to support many other areas of the city. But the backbone of the community and the key to the city�s success is its neighborhoods.

Aside from being the enclaves where the vast majority of the workforce dwells, we need neighborhoods to include local serving jobs and amenities that support the residential base like libraries, grocers, drugstores, restaurants and outlets for physical activities. Successful recruitment of the things that add substance and culture in the neighborhood requires the stakeholders there to engage and be actively involved in the life of the area. When people who live and work in a neighborhood give back it brings energy and vitality ensuring endless possibilities. Such is the case when the City of Cincinnati held the kickoff of the Neighborhood Enhancement Project (NEP) in the Evanston neighborhood in September.

The NEP is a program that is designed to build upon a neighborhood�s existing assets and to leverage a new wave of sweat equity to reduce crime and blight, beautify the area, and to stimulate new investment to its residential and commercial core. It is implemented using a partnership approach with the city government departments all working as a single team with the community based stakeholders of the Evanston neighborhood that includes the Evanston Community Council and the Business Association as well as Xavier University, the Home Ownership Center, the Cincinnati Area Board of Realtors, and US Bank among others. This broad set of partners is working through a 90-day labor-intensive effort that we call a blitz to make a significant impact on that area. We measure our progress along the way in 30-day intervals and then we do follow up after the 90 day period for an additional nine months. As with anything meaningful the focus is on identifiable results and much has been accomplished over the last two months.

There are many other efforts taking place around the city involving non-profits, volunteers from the private sector, school community service projects and several others. All of these efforts are part of the big picture aimed at making our neighborhoods stronger. The more jobs, investment, and home ownership we can stimulate the better impact we can make on reducing crime, improving schools, and making people want to live in the city.

We need all of our residents to see downtown as a place that has something for everybody. That spurs a sense of pride that shows when we talk about Cincinnati and resonates with visitors when they ask us to tell them something about the place we call home. That sense of ownership in downtown helps us as we aggressively court larger and larger conventions. But the foundation upon which this city will soar is a tightly integrated set of 52 neighborhoods and we can all play a role in making that a reality.

SoapBlog 2 - Civic Engagement Key to a Vibrant City

Wed, 05 Nov 2008 00:00:00 GMT

Cincinnati, Ohio is working hard to be in perpetual celebration mode. More night spots, more restaurants, more positive PR for the city makes it feel good to be here right now. If you study the line up for Fountain Square and some of the events/activities around our city, it is obvious that we will party for any reason imaginable. The rush from civic excitement encourages us to seek it out even more. That is a good thing. Being in love with misery does not add years to your life.

We have issues here just like any other big city. Accentuating the positive does not mean we�re in denial about our wants or needs. So what do we do about them? The short answer is ENGAGE. Texting, blogging, and emailing allow for instantaneous communication but the vibrancy of Cincinnati goes up when we �do.�

Like other cities, we have various leadership programs such as those sponsored by the Chambers of Commerce, Urban League, Talbert House, and even City Government. Gaining a more in-depth understanding about the community, its challenges and opportunities is good for self growth. But, for civic growth you have to do something with all that insight and information. The possibilities for getting involved exist in schools, neighborhoods, non-profits, and public institutions. If you haven�t been through any leadership program there is still a niche of involvement with your name on it.

For all that we are as a city, we can be that much more if each of us engage. Cleaning up neighborhoods, tutoring kids, becoming an entrepreneur, and working for digital inclusion bring a value and a richness to Cincinnati. Whether striving to make a big impact or a small one it�s all needed. Having fun while doing it is even better. Improving our city is another reason to throw a party. So let�s make it happen!

SoapBlog 1 - Ideas + Determination + Affinity = HQs

Tue, 04 Nov 2008 00:00:00 GMT

People with even a passing knowledge of Cincinnati can easily recite that we have professional sports teams and they might know that we are bordered by a river. They are aware of the universities, but they could guess that because one would logically assume a major city would have various institutions of higher learning. When those who are only remotely familiar take a closer look, either by visiting us or doing a web search, they are genuinely surprised by the number of corporate headquarters (HQs) that are located here.

Major Corporate HQs are a significant asset for our community and when we talk about luring other HQ operations here, everybody sees that as a good thing. What�s not to like about expanding the skyline as well as bringing jobs, investment, and new talent to expand our capacity. The Regional Chamber, the City�s Economic Development Office and others charged with growing our pie of prosperity are primed to move towards any viable leads.

If you research company headquarters around the country and probe why they came to be in those places to begin with, you will find that many of them are in city x because their founders are from those cities. They grew up there or came there for college, developed an idea for a product, were determined to make it a reality, and because they liked the city where they lived, they launched their new enterprise there. So from the basement, garage, or virtual office a once budding enterprise blossomed into a giant corporate presence. In the beginning they probably had a healthy dose of skeptics that the ideas being put forth would ever explode but that scenario has been repeated over and over throughout the annals of business lore. I read just the other day about the two young men who began Google in their city with a $100,000 investment from someone who believed their idea could work and now both young men are each worth $19 billion. Hmmm.

So while we are roving the universe looking for corporations who have outgrown the space, talent pool, politics of their current home or simply need a new strategic location to continue the growth of their company, we must also cast an eye towards Price Hill, Carthage, Hyde Park, and Mt. Washington. While we�re at it let�s check in with UC, Xavier, NKU, and our research hospitals to find people who are developing intellectual properties that can be spun off into the future Humanas, Scripps, or Procter & Gambles.

We need local people bitten by the entrepreneurial bug who have ideas that can be translated into viable products or services that can be sold in the global marketplace. We need them to have the determination that they will not accept anything less than success. And we need them to love Cincinnati and have a desire to take their talent and let it flourish right here in the Queen City. While the naked eye might be tempted to dismiss the 5 or 10 person operation starting out, the visionary will see it as the 5 or 10 thousand person HQ 15 years from now. Admittedly, we may be able to lure someone here in less time than that, but you can never underestimate the true impact of a homegrown headquarters that has an affinity for where they are located.

For all of that to happen of course, our climate must include venture capitalists, angels, creative legal support, and systems that strive for fluid functioning not status quo mentalities. As we labor to recruit companies and grow companies, the talent that accompanies it will also help us to expand the culture, synergy, and can do spirit that any progressive city needs.

There is room in Cincinnati for a headquarters epidemic. The thing is, the person whose hand you shook in that business meeting last week in one of our neighborhoods or in downtown just may hold the key to help make that a reality.

BlogPost 1 - Books by the Bank

Tue, 28 Oct 2008 00:00:00 GMT

I have decided to be honest from the start. I am not a native Cincinnatian. (Please keep reading). I am from upstate New York, and if I told you what high school I attended you wouldn�t know it. I�ve floated about for several years- living on the East Coast, Europe and now here. Thankfully, when I moved here about three and a half years ago, I met several friends who took me under their wing. They taught me Cincinnati. And, with their guidance, I have learned about the city and still am excited to explore and find those new places all for myself.

And I really like it. Yes, it�s over selling it a bit, but I really like this city; more importantly I love the people. (Although, perhaps the topic of the next blog would be the whole East Side/ West Side thing, and the lack of snow plows- or traffic debacles in general). But, I digress. I was talking about the people.

A major influence of my love affair with the city and its inhabitants began when I started working on a project called Books by the Banks - a book festival held in downtown Cincinnati. Coming from the world of politics, a once optimistic young citizen excited about doing and changing, I had become callused to the idea that people can work together to achieve a common goal. Yet gradually, working on this project, I found myself starting to change back to the bright-eyed young political science student that I once was, filled with dreams of civic activism. I was able to collaborate with my peers from the Public Library of Cincinnati and we joined together to work with employees from Borders, CET, Cincinnati Magazine, The Mercantile Library and University of Cincinnati to develop a book festival.

Apparently, it all started a few years ago. Several of the �big wigs� from each organization were sitting near each other at a Reds game and realized that their missions were similar- to serve their communities and support reading and learning. And thus began the Books by the Banks book festival.

Last year saw the first Books by the Banks hosted by the Cincinnati Library. It was amazing. We�re doing it again this year, implementing those improvements we needed to make from last year. The same people are involved with the same mission and same excitement.

Why did it work? It�s the people. Everyone from the authors to the attendees as well as our sponsors and staff, all pulled together to create a great public festival for our community.

The free festival affords the opportunity for people to meet their favorite author and of course, read and buy books. There's even a special kids area.

I'm inspired by projects like this. I'm inspired by the people who attend festivals like this as well as the contributors and my late mentor, Keith Kuhn whose memory and vision inspires me daily. These are the projects and the people who have brought back my optimism and made me fall in love with Cincinnnati which I now call my home.

Our Region, Our Community

Fri, 24 Oct 2008 00:00:00 GMT

My wife Gretchen and I first moved to Cincinnati in 1979. I was with the United Way (then called the Community Chest) staff and Gretchen worked for an ad agency. Our sons Rich and Adam were both born here.

We were Easterners, born and raised in Philadelphia; and we had lived in several other East Coast towns and cities before moving here. It wouldn�t be an exaggeration to say that what I knew about Cincinnati was the Reds, the Bengals and Oscar Robertson � and I remember seeing Music Hall on a postage stamp when I was growing up.

We loved our eight years here. The first thing that struck us was the city�s beauty � the view of the skyline at night when you come through the �Cut in the Hill,� the views from Mt Adams and Price Hill. We loved its accessibility � it�s easy to get around, to get downtown � its pro sports (don�t underestimate this one, even when they�re not winning), the arts, Kings Island, good public golf courses, and the people. There was a lot to love.

So it was very difficult to decide to leave so that I could pursue the opportunity to be CEO of the United Way in Louisville, just two hours down the road. It was so difficult that, since I had moved us several times before to pursue my career, we decided that our next move would be on Gretchen�s and the boys� timetable. So we spent the next fourteen years in Louisville, which we loved as well.

When Rich was entering college and Adam was just beginning high school, we figured it was time to consider a move. As various communities asked me to interview for their United Way President position, and I would share the news with Gretchen, she would tense up. In Gretchen�s mind each city had at least one factor detracting from its consideration as our next home.

One day I came home and said, �Gretchen, Cincinnati�s opening up.� As I anticipated another potential roadblock(!), she responded, �Maybe you should throw your hat in the ring for that one.� I had received a message from on high � this was the one! Six months later, after two intensive day-long interviews, I was offered and accepted the position � and we were coming back to Cincinnati.

People have asked us why we came back. Some phrased it, �Why would you come back?� While we did fight some �You Can�t Go Home Again� feelings, it was an easy decision. Professionally, our United Way � like our Fine Arts Fund, our Chamber and many other nonprofits � is considered one of the best in the country. As I told the Search Committee when they asked the question, this community owns its civic organizations. I�ve never lived in a town where the volunteer and business leadership were so invested in leading and shaping their non-profit organizations, as they are in Cincinnati.

Personally, we knew we�d love coming back. And we did. Our son Adam blossomed in high school here, Gretchen�s an artist and for me, it�s been the most exciting time of my career.

United Way�s new brand framework is LIVE UNITED: a call to action for all of us to engage in Giving, Advocating and Volunteering in the work of community. And there�s never been a more exciting time to be engaged in Cincinnati. Having just returned with 50 other community leaders from a benchmarking visit to Minneapolis, the message is clear. With Agenda 360, Vision 2015, the Strive Education Partnership, United Way�s Agenda for Community Impact and other opportunities calling out for volunteers, it�s time to commit!

We have faults, areas we must improve. That�s the challenge and opportunity of this or any community. But take it from someone who lived here, left and came back: Cincinnati can be a great place to call home. Let�s make it even better.

BlogPost 2

Wed, 22 Oct 2008 00:00:00 GMT

It�s become almost a cliché to reference the old commercial when talking about the changes an organization has made: �This isn�t your father�s Oldsmobile� becomes �This isn�t your father�s Rotary� This isn�t your father�s Notre Dame� �This isn�t your father�s Boys Club.�

In United Way�s case, it may be a cliché, but it�s literally true. My father worked for United Way, for 30 years in Philadelphia, and today�s United Way isn�t my father�s United Way!

I�m often amazed at the number of folks I run into who aren�t aware that United Way has changed. Dramatically. I shouldn�t be surprised � our modest marketing budget doesn�t allow for primetime 30-second ads every hour or two. But being provided this opportunity to blog enables me to shout it from the rooftops, at least in this forum: �WE�VE CHANGED!�

You know United Way for conducting a large community fundraising campaign � to my understanding the single largest community engagement initiative in Ohio, Kentucky or Indiana, with 120,000 donors, and thousands of companies and volunteers participating � and then allocating those funds accountably to effective agencies which help people. We still do that.

But we�ve changed, big time. Building on a strong United Way created and expanded by excellent past volunteer and staff leaders, today�s United Way is, in partnership with many strong organizations, leading change in our community. Three years ago more than 200 volunteer citizens studied our community�s issues, looked at their root cause and barriers to success, and developed our Agenda for Community Impact.

What is the Agenda? It�s a blueprint for improving the quality of life in our community: a set of goals founded on the three building blocks for a better life. A quality EDUCATION. Which leads to the INCOME to support you and your family. Supported by good HEALTH, the foundation for a quality life.

Our Agenda�s goals are simple, but challenging to make happen. We want to help more children become prepared for success in kindergarten, more youth achieve academic and life success on the way to high school graduation, more families achieve financial stability. And we want to support a safety net of services for those who need it most.

The Agenda�s about focus, an action plan of specific strategies, and measuring results. It�s about preventing problems before they occur. It�s about creating long-lasting change. It�s about creating opportunities for a better life for all.

This work is new. It�s exciting. It�s difficult. We don�t have all of the answers. That�s where you come in. If you want to be part of the change, call 513-762-7100. Join us!

BlogPost 1

Tue, 21 Oct 2008 00:00:00 GMT

It�s timely that I�ve been asked to blog about our community and United Way at this particular moment. It�s a moment two weeks from the end of the annual United Way campaign. This same moment represents the interaction of a series of economic problems that makes this one of the most challenging times in our region�s memory � at least our recent memory.

United Way � and the human services initiatives and agencies it supports � have faced economic ups and downs before. This one feels different. Challenges in past years have affected specific industries, companies and the employees of those companies. Today�s issues � gas and food prices, home foreclosures, real estate downturn, pensions, banks and financial institutions � cut across a very wide spectrum of our community�s individuals, families, companies, even neighborhoods. They have the potential to affect everyone from the struggling family in the inner city to the residents of Indian Hill � in much the same way that the dramatic windstorm of weeks ago played no favorites in determining which families lost their power.

As a result, United Way�s �business is booming� in ways we never want. Calls to United Way 211, our 24-hour helpline, are up 25% year-to-year, and 38% in the past two months. In September we received more calls for help than in any month in our history. The Freestore Foodbank and many other United Way agencies are experiencing similar increases, many from individuals and families that have never asked for help before. In difficult times, needs increase.

In the campaign, we�ve been astounded by the number of wonderful individuals, companies and organizations that have increased their giving this year. They�ve said, �I may be hurting some, but I know others are hurting more. I can do more, so I will.�

Truly amazing � but knowing our community, not surprising.

But the reality is that many of our supporting organizations, and individual donors, can�t do more. The simplest way to put this is that if you�re no longer working, you can�t give. So we have a big gap between what we think we�ll raise and our goal of $63,000,000, which is a modest $200,000 above last year�s result.

Some facts you may know. This campaign helps parents help their children become prepared for kindergarten, helps connect a child with a big brother or big sister, helps a family with a child with cerebral palsy, helps a woman deal with breast cancer, helps a senior stay in her home by providing a visiting nurse.

What you don�t know: in some modest ways our community�s United Way sets the pace for United Ways across the country. We�re the ninth largest United Way, the fourth highest per capita giving community, in the country. And each year we�re the first campaign in the country to finish. So others will be watching what Cincinnati does this year. My Dallas United Way colleague last week asked me, �How�s Cincinnati doing? We look to you as an indicator of where we may be headed.�

So we have a very visible opportunity to set a positive example for our community � and even the nation � if we can achieve success this year. We can say, �let�s continue our positive community momentum � let�s not take a step backward.�

Much more importantly: we can at least maintain current services to so many who are needing support. We can continue to connect that big brother and little brother, continue to support the child with cerebral palsy, and the woman with cancer.

If you can support this effort with a little more � start a campaign at your company, make a personal gift yourself, help your organization�s campaign achieve success � please call 762-7100 today and we�ll help you make a difference.

This is a wonderful community. Let�s move forward together. LIVE UNITED.

SoapBlog 1

Tue, 14 Oct 2008 00:00:00 GMT

When I moved to Cincinnati six years ago to be the Assistant Curator of Education for School & Teacher Programs (yes, that is a really long title) at the Cincinnati Art Museum, I never dreamt that I would be writing a blog about my vision for the Art Museum�s education division. Frankly, I didn�t know if I ever wanted to be the Curator of Education. Six years later here I am writing about my �vision� for the future of educational programming at the Art Museum and really couldn�t be happier. I should first mention that is this is not only my vision; I am just one of many individuals passionate about the Art Museum�s vision - but I am the one that gets to write about it.

But first, what is the Education Division and who are we in the greater scope of the museum?

We are the people at the Art Museum whom you may never see. We are behind the scenes who create the programming you enjoy during your visit. We are the ones who care about how you want to learn at the Art Museum. We are the Division of Learning & Interpretation, formerly known as the Education Division.

The first order of business when I took on my new role as Curator of Education last December was to remove the term education from everything we do�shocking, I know. But stay with me. In order to more clearly state the changing function our division, we changed our name from the �Education Division� to the �Division of Learning & Interpretation.� So what is the difference? Well, the term education conjures up images of school, textbooks, and more than anything a whole set of ideas that most people find to be too heavy. However, the term learning puts an interesting spin on things as it puts control into the hands of the visitor. In this new understanding, the visitor chooses what they want from their experience.

Personally, I feel very strongly that our role is not to just to educate. It is to present the Art Museum�s collection in a way that allows each individual to learn in their own way, be it through a tour, a provocative lecture, a wine tasting, sketching in the gallery or through a gallery interactive. The term education is too stodgy, and it is not our role. We are here to guide learning, not to merely �Educate.� Honestly, I can �educate� you on a lot of things�you may not want to learn them, but I can definitely educate you, just ask my family, but to help open someone up to learning something through interaction and discovery, I think there is real power there.

So, what is this Interpretation part all about? As a division we take responsibility, along with the curators, of interpreting the collection. In essence we tell the stories the way you, the visitor may want to hear them, thus creating Interpretation. We look at the term interpretation as both a noun and a verb - a theory I happily swiped from a colleague in Maine. As a noun, interpretation is the material of an exhibition - the gallery guides, interactives, labels, cell phone tours, etc. It is how we choose to interpret the collection through tangible objects.

Looking at interpretation as a verb, we focus on how individual visitors �interpret� what they see and experience at the Art Museum, what they understand, how they interact, how they feel about a particular object, theme or idea and accept that this interpretation will be ever changing and diverse. It is our responsibility to harness these varied interpretations into an understanding of how people learn and interact with our collection.

So that was a lot to digest. You may be wondering so what? With this new focus, or at least slightly altered focus, we are putting learning back into your hands. A trip to the CAM is now about how you want to learn, interact, experience, contemplate, engage, or just chill among this amazing collection. It is about establishing an awareness through the collection of where you are and where you come from and where you are going. It is our hope that through our work you may see your face and your story in the objects on view and are able to share those views and exchange knowledge in an open and supportive setting.

SoapBlog 3

Thu, 09 Oct 2008 00:00:00 GMT

I believe in evolution.
I believe in God.
I believe in science.
I believe in challenging my beliefs.
I believe in dialogue

If you would check yes to some or all of the above, then I have the event for you. On Wednesday, Oct. 22 at 6:30 p.m., at Northern Kentucky University, there will be a mock trial to explore an important public policy question: Should creation science be taught, side by side with evolution, in the public school classroom?

I can assure you that where I work � on a university campus � the immediate answer is no, not until hell freezes over, that is, if there is a hell other than the literary one described by Dante or the earthly one defined by state budget cuts for higher ed. Say they, isn�t creation science an oxymoron? If you see it that way, come listen, because I�ve been talking to some of the creation crowd and they have a nice ability to get you thinking and questioning whether you know as much as you think you know. When someone with a doctorate in genetics begins talking about how genetic mutations are known to be neutral at best, damaging perhaps, and never advantageous to a species, I find I am anxious at least to hear a pro-evolution answer. Think about the creation science argument in terms of a single generation: You might wake up tomorrow with a genetic mutation that will make you gravely ill. Cancer happens that way. I�m a cancer survivor, so I get that. Genetic mutations suck. You probably won�t wake up with a genetic mutation tomorrow that will make you 20 years younger, with knees that don�t ache when you run a few miles. Too bad. I�m training for my first marathon. About mile 18, I�ll be wishing for a quick genetic mutation to get me through the final 8.2.

Make no mistake. There is a counterpoint to the argument that genetic mutations don�t help a species. Remember SARS? It was a virus that mutated to its advantage, much to the disadvantage of the human species. Evolutionary science, according to the National Academy of Sciences, not only provided researchers with the tools for understanding SARS, but also to combat it. More generally, creation science suffers from this reality: Most scientists are on board with evolution, as reflected by this passage from the Academy in a seminal report earlier this year: �The theory of evolution is supported by so many observations and experiments that the overwhelming majority of scientists no longer question whether evolution has occurred and continues to occur and instead investigate the processes of evolution.�

So the question settles out: Can and should this be discussed in a high school classroom -- or must a high school science teacher hew closely and solely to evolution? However you answer, it�s a question very much on the public�s mind. Sarah Palin�s perceived agenda was only the latest scratch to expose this raw nerve in the body politic. Even before McCain�s Alaskan acolyte walked on stage, many states were struggling against the public pressure of this issue, coming from both sides.

Our mock case is set in a fictional Kentucky county (Chandler County) where a high school biology teacher comes to believe that she should include in her science class information challenging evolution, given that an increasing number of credentialed scientists are publishing on the topic. She rigorously teaches evolution, fully meeting the guidelines of Kentucky's stringent core curriculum for high school science. But in the spirit of academic freedom and learning, she also points out there are some scientists who are publishing conclusions at odds with evolution.

Should such a teacher be fired? In the real world, this is a gray area. A top education official told me that teachers can �teach but not preach� � suggesting that a dialogue in the classroom about the merits of creation science would be legal. There�s even a state statute in Kentucky that expressly protects the teaching of Genesis. But federal case law tilts the other way, as do the Kentucky curriculum guidelines. And a friend gave me an even better personal measure: If your child�s school announced the teaching of creation science, would you object or applaud?

As director of the Scripps Howard Center for Civic Engagement, it�s my job to translate into action a mission that NKU President Jim Votruba often mentions, that a university should be a safe place for difficult conversations. In our mock trial planning, we�ve tried to reflect that � and bring to the witness stand thoughtful, informed people who will testify in ways that may or may not convince you; but if all goes well, they will at least get you thinking

And, I might add, the night should be especially good on another level. Two very talented Northern Kentucky lawyers will be squaring off. Margo Grubbs will represent the school board that fired the school teacher. Phil Taliaferro will represent the school teacher. These are two attorneys, who when one of them tries a case, attract an audience of other attorneys who come to watch the masters at work.

So join us. At 6:30 p.m., we�ll begin seating. Then, at 7 p.m., the trial will start. We�ll go for about two hours at the Budig Theater on campus. The audience will be our jury.

One more thing: This is the 150th anniversary of the publication of the �Origin of the Species� and the 200th anniversary of Charles Dawin�s birth is upon us. A lot of programming is planned around those anniversaries, and you can see a full list, compliments of the University of Cincinnati. And NKU is in planning stages of more events. Stay tuned.

SoapBlog 2

Wed, 08 Oct 2008 00:00:00 GMT

It�s not any given Sunday that 400 or so people forego football and gather to hear poetry. But they did on a mid-September afternoon at Northern Kentucky University to hear poet, essayist and novelist Wendell Berry, who makes fewer public appearances these days but gladly made this one on behalf of the Friends of Steely Library.

Mr. Berry, whose literary life has always been woven together with his example of how to live � that is, close to the land and with a sense of responsibility about your community � is a hero in the environmental movement. His words at NKU underscored why. He has been an eloquent voice against mountaintop removal, the strip-mining method for getting at Appalachian coal by blasting the top of mountains. Asked how to stop it, he replied humbly that if he could answer that it would be stopped already. He knew only how to keep telling people that this practice, which he described as �geological genocide,� needs to end before it utterly destroys to splendor of Kentucky�s mountains. He thought maybe joining the citizens group Kentuckians for the Commonwealth might be a good start. If you�ve seen mountaintop removal, you understand. Streams are destroyed, as are homes and wildlife and old, beautiful forests. Yes we need energy, but not this way. Interestingly, both presidential candidates seem to understand this and are on record opposed to mountaintop removal.

Mr. Berry is a hero, too, to those who love storytelling. At the NKU event, I heard an audience member behind me whisper, �There�s nothing like a storyteller,� as Mr. Berry read a short story about a boy�s adventures in science. The boy decided to test the tenets of �Twas the Night Before Christmas� by seeing if he could ascend a chimney. Think soot. Think of a mother unamused and armed with a switch. Think of a boy trying to avoid wrath. Read with warmth and wit, the story had the audience in stitches.

The stunning thing about Wendell Berry is his range. After his public reading, I dug out an old book of his essays and read one about his going to camp for a couple of nights alone into the Red River Gorge, c.1971. It was a reflection on the time it takes a person to move from modern society into a wilderness. It�s not a journey of distance but of spirit. Though you can get there at 70 mph in a hurry from town to trail, the spiritual decompression isn�t so instantaneous. Thirty-seven years after that essay was published, the essay rings even more true today, what with BlackBerrys, cell phones, text messaging and, yes, blogs.

And 37 years later, Mr. Berry is still writing and relevant. His range isn�t just years. It�s also his formats: essays, short stories, novels, poems. The poems are especially compelling for me. My wife, Kate, and I boned up on our Wendell Berry the morning of the event, and as horse owners we especially enjoyed his poem, �Come Forth," which is found in "The Selected Poems of Wendell Berry," published in 1998 by Counterpoint. In the poem, a son dreams he is with his elderly father and they come upon "some horses in a field�� The poem continues:

They were sorrels, as red almost as blood,
the light gold on their shoulders and haunches.
Though they came to us, all a-tremble
with curiosity and snorty with caution,
they had never known bridle or harness.
My father walked among them, admiring
for he was a knower of horses, and these were fine.

I have gone back to the poem a few times since, and asked my daughter, herself a knower of horses, to read it to me so I could hear it in her voice. Poetry is made richer each time it is given a new voice. And each time I heard �Come Forth,� I marveled at the beauty of it and at the perfect combination of words. "Snorty with caution.� Exactly right and devoid of cliché.

Kate and I mentioned our little poetry reading to Mr. Berry in a moment with him, and he of course knew the poem we meant and related that his mother asked him, �Did you really dream that?� He did, he told her. We should all dream in such majestic verse and with such art. Until then, we can celebrate the fact that 400 people gave up their mid-afternoon to hear a poet. No offense to the NFL, but it was worth a Sunday afternoon in the way that some other things are not.

This wasn�t the first score for the Friends of Steely. The Friends have a knack when it comes to landing literary talent. One of the first events I attended after taking a job at NKU last year was a Friends-hosted reading and lecture by Robert Olmstead, whose gem of a novel, �Coal Black Horse� is sort of a �Cold Mountain� from a boy�s eye view and, for my taste, more poetic and haunting. I was taken by the quality of the event and made a promise to myself to attend anything the Friends put on in the future. This year�s reading by Wendell Berry set the bar even higher.

There�s a larger context for this, too. If you�ve not been by NKU in a few years, visit. The physical look of the campus has changed dramatically, which is not to say all of the concrete is gone but there is more architectural diversity among the buildings and more plant life. More significant is what�s happening inside the buildings. There is a flood of cultural contributions that goes unnoticed to much of Cincinnati. Music, art, theater. The examples are endless. I had the pleasure of sitting in on a taping with the string quartet in residents, the Azmari Quartet, one Monday morning. There�s no better way to start a week. If you get a chance to hear them, do so. The upcoming Alumni Lecture Series, with Dee Dee Myers and Karl Rove on Oct. 9 is tailor-made for political junkies. The Military Lecture Series already has a following and the next one, on Lincoln and Grant, with the highly regarded Civil War historian Dr. James Ramage, should add to the following. It�s on Oct. 14 at 7 p.m. on campus.

And the list goes on. It�s a rich and robust menu, and Wendell Berry was a taste of it.

SoapBlog 1

Tue, 07 Oct 2008 00:00:00 GMT

As a lifelong print journalist until The Cincinnati Post and The Kentucky Post closed last year, I�m neither comfortable being a blogger or with blogs. They�re new media. I�m old media. Yet here I am, saying yes to an invitation to blog. What�s my discomfort with blogs? It�s not that I�m wed to print. I�m a dedicated Internet user, and I buy into the forecast that the future of newspapers and, more broadly, journalism is with the web, not newsprint. Sites like Soapbox bring a new resource for defining and describing the community, for conversation in the community and for reaching into the community�s nooks and crannies. All good.

What concerns me is that a community also needs vibrant, serious, in-depth reporting. That takes people who are doing the hard work of authoritative reporting. They�ve got to hit the streets and gather information, talk to those in the know and make sense of the chaos and confusion. An especially complex story takes time to sort through. It takes grasp of context. Traditionally in the media, we�ve accomplished that by hiring reporters with expertise in certain categories (be it business or politics, sports or the arts) and then leaving them on a beat long enough to gain insight and institutional memory. They become the town�s expert on some topic, whether it is City Hall or the delivery of medical care or the governance of the school system or the city�s professional sports franchises. Doing this well is a tremendously expensive enterprise because it is labor-intensive and has to be done not once but a thousand times over. It�s a sustained commitment. What�s more, a community is best served when such reporting is done well by more than one outlet, which was why having two daily newspapers in town was better than having just one. But two papers is a luxury few towns have these days. Add in the declining resources available for today�s remaining newsrooms and you are witnessing a reduction in the quality and quantity of local news.

Can the online community step in? The answer may be yes, and may even be emphatically yes. A wider array of talent is invited to the dialogue by the online model, and with the invitation comes the opportunity for new expertise in the analysis of the community and in providing information about a community. The challenge is whether the continuous, daily collection of timely facts � the basis for good analysis of the news � can be accomplished as the model changes for how news is gathered and delivered. If there were some local issue, for example, as complex as the nation�s current economic woes and the remedial legislation proposed, who would accumulate a journal of the information needed for people to make informed commentary and to form informed opinions? In some instances, the current online models are up to the challenge. Posting the whole legislation (and counterproposals), for example, is a greater level of information than traditional print could offer, with its limited space. But there will remain some information that has to be dug out and made public. Governments tend to be selective about what information is released, and some of the hard work print journalists have provided over the years is a dedication to fighting to make secret records public. Again, that�s an exercise that takes time and money. Try going to court to get a document released. You�ll empty your wallet in a hurry.

We�ll be exploring some of these topics early next year at Northern Kentucky University, where I now work as director of the Scripps Howard Center for Civic Engagement. So consider this blog an invitation to join us at Greaves Concert Hall on Tuesday, Jan. 27, at 7:30 p.m., when we host a free public lecture by Washington Post reporter Dana Priest. She was this year�s co-winner of the Pulitzer Prize in the public service category for stories on conditions at Walter Reed Army Medical Center. Ms. Priest�s work with colleagues Anne Hull and Michel du Cille created an outcry in the nation. A question posed, I think, by the current transformation from old media to new is whether the next generation of media can financially support this kind of journalism. There are important ancillary questions for new media, too, including whether there is an appetite for the kind of digging required. Serious reporting often means knowing you will hit deadends, and then starting over. The instant gratification of posting what you find has to give way to discipline of persistence until you have the story nailed. However this challenge is met, it must be met because online is where things are headed � or so it seems to me. Now is the time to think through this and find revenue and structure models that take the best of the old and build it into the new.

We�re still working out the details of the programming that will accompany this event, but we hope to include panel discussions and other elements that will allow people to be heard � and to hear. So stay tuned. And plan to join us in January.

SoapBlog 3 - Residential Housing in Cincinnati

Thu, 02 Oct 2008 00:00:00 GMT

Redidential Housing in Cincinnati by Jami Stutzman

Real Estate is a hot topic for most people these days and having this as your full time occupation means I�m never at a loss for words. Once people find out that I�m in real estate they quickly and almost reluctantly ask; �How is business? Are you doing okay?�

My reply is always, GREAT! Sure, I know what you�re probably thinking, how is it great? She must always be lying to people. Not so and here is why.

Cincinnati is really doing well despite what you hear on the national media. As most of you know all real estate is local. What happens in one part of the country doesn�t mean that it is happening in your back yard. Sure things are down when compared to only a few years ago, but if you look at the larger picture they are still up. Just like most markets, real estate is cyclical; you can expect highs and lows to happen. You just want to try and buy low and sell high, just like playing the stock market.

Let�s take a look at the history of residential sales in Hamilton County over the past 15 years. When looking at the numbers things don�t seem as bad as the media likes to report. You can see that 2005 was the height of the market in both sales price and # of listings sold. This is also true if you look at the nation wide trends. Historically speaking 2005 was the largest increase in home prices ever and the national average of wages just couldn�t keep up. People weren�t able to afford the homes they were buying. Something had to give and everyone should have been expecting the bubble to burst.

Burst it did and here we are 3 years later. So what is the good news? Cincinnati didn�t see the unusual highs that other parts of the country saw and therefore we can�t expect the extreme lows that they are showing either. We have a relatively strong economy and a great selection of homes.

Bottom line, if you bought your home in 2005, chances are your home hasn�t increased in value. If you don�t have to sell it, don�t. If you have to sell just realize that you�re buying another home and home prices and interest rates are both low so you�ll be taking advantage of this great buyers market.

Homes are still selling in Cincinnati, its just taking a little longer than sellers would like. People are always going to need housing and they�re always going to be moving. Lets be happy that we live where we do and enjoy the great market! The city is growing and flourishing with shops, restaurants, housing, etc. After all, where else in the county can you get remarkable city views for an unbeatable price?

Sibcy Cline Realtors
Environmentally Conscious Real Estate of Cincinnati
Environmental blog: www.encorecincinnati.com
Real Estate Blog: www.livingcincinnati.com