Diversity

Red Cross takes gold and opens Green Umbrella

By Newsroom

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October 4, 2011

At the latest gathering of 140 local sustainability advocates, members of the newly forming group known as the Green Umbrella shared best practices, brainstormed ideas for the future and experienced fellowship in the first Gold LEED certified Red Cross headquarters in the country. Located in Keystone Park in Evanston, and clearly visible from I-71, the Red Cross headquarters has a rooftop garden that, along with a bioswale, helps the nonprofit reuse 90 percent of the water that falls on the property. “They also add beauty to our building,” says Sara Peller, CEO of the Cincinnati Area Chapter of the American Red Cross. The building, which came in $1 million under budget, was a joint project between the Red Cross, Neyer Properties and emersion DESIGN. “It’s functioning extremely well for us,” says Peller, who notes that 120 volunteers helped with the building design process. In addition to energy-efficiency elements and minimizing construction waste, the building allowed for the Red Cross to incorporate a Disaster Operations Center, a long-time community need that could not be met at the old headquarters downtown. Now the Cincinnati area Red Cross, which services 36 counties, can serve as the information hub in case of emergency or disaster. “Many ills have been cured by this building,” Peller says. As for the Green Umbrella, the ongoing initiative to create a comprehensive network of sustainability initiatives around Greater Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky continues to gain steam and support. Working groups focus on areas as diverse as urban agriculture and corporate sustainability. The ultimate goal, to create a single resource from which all sustainability-minded residents can learn, moves ever closer to reality with website development and continued cooperation between local businesses, nonprofits and educational institutions. By Elissa Yancey

Latest in Diversity

Green means good for local parks

By Becky Johnson

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Diversity

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October 4, 2011

In a park system rated “excellent” by the Trust for Public Land, green energy initiatives are showing Cincinnati residents that their city parks are far more than playgrounds and hiking trails. Encouraged by Mayor Mark Mallory’s “Green Cincinnati Initiative,” the Cincinnati Parks has been using green technology to save money and conserve fossil fuel since 2006. Since the beginning of this year, the parks have saved $30,000 through the use of alternative energy generation. Multiple solar energy sites, one wind turbine site and two geothermal sites are reducing the parks’ reliance on tax money for energy consumption. “At the same time, we’re producing excess energy that we can actually sell back to Duke Energy and that they can sell on the grid,” says Deborah Allison, business services manager for the Parks Board. “We’re not only a consumer, we’re a supplier.” The parks have adopted strong energy conservation initiatives, too. “Big Belly” trash containers use solar energy to compact garbage, which saves on the cost of trash pickup. Hybrid and electric cars, bio-fuel mowing equipment, ethanol trucks and a solar powered cart have joined the park’s fleet of vehicles. The Park Board also sells recycled timber from fallen trees to the Cincinnati Public Schools at cost. This reuse of downed trees as wood for school flooring provides a significant savings for CPS over fair market value for new lumber. Chosen by Green Energy Ohio to kick-off the 2011 Green Energy Ohio Tour last weekend, the Cincinnati Park Board gave tours of its many green initiative sites. From the Krohn Conservatory to Mt. Airy, LaBoiteaux Woods, Eden Park and Berry Friendship Park, the Park Board and Green Energy Ohio want the public to see the measures the city and local businesses are taking to create a more sustainable future for Cincinnati. Do Good: • Visit: Any of the five regional and 70 neighborhood Cincinnati parks that are open from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. every day. • Adopt: Some of the new green initiatives that the Cincinnati Parks Board is using, like rain barrels and pourous pavement, can be adapted for your own home or business. • Volunteer: Opportunities are plentiful at Cincinnati Parks. Call 513-321-6070. By Becky Johnson

New festival draws international attention

By Evan Wallis

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Arts + Culture

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October 4, 2011

Violinist Tatiana Berman loves a good challenge. When the Russian-born transplant saw how little the world knew about Cincinnati’s arts community, she looked for ways to raise her adopted town’s international profile. She reached out to personal friends and artists she knows and soon the Constella Music Festival was born. Constella brings traditional chamber music, dance and visual art to the heart of the city, downtown. Guest artists, many from Cincinnati, have already achieved international acclaim. For Berman, planning multi-faceted performances that mix and match genres makes the interdisciplinary celebration unique. “I’ve always enjoyed experiencing many forms of music and art,” Berman says. “They are simply different languages to express feelings and ideas.” Ballet will be performed while chamber music plays; jazz will be paired with classical piano; romantic Russian piano will accompany visual art displays. One concert will take place in a candle-lit theater. Constella, with events, spanning three and a half weeks and a variety of venues, allows for a wide range of guest players and audience members to participate. Violinists Joshua Bell and Hilary Hanh, saxophone player, Ted Nash and pianist Alexander Toradze are just a few of the many performers. Berman founded the event last year and held special events leading up to the first performance, slated for Oct. 13. Berman hopes for plenty of community support to keep the inaugural festival in the spotlight. So far, response has been overwhelmingly positive. “Every idea needs time to be accepted, but already, so many have shown their support,” Berman says. “I think there is an appreciation that Constella is bringing national and international visibility and talent to Cincinnati.” By Evan Wallis

Business school at Miami U aids Afghan students’ efforts to solve country’s social problems

By Lisa Cornwell

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Cincy In The News

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October 4, 2011

Students from war-torn Afghanistan are hoping to find solutions to that country's social and economic problems with help from a southwest Ohio university's business school. Read the full story here.

The sex book that hit the spot

By Newsroom

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Arts + Culture

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October 4, 2011

Our Bodies, Ourselves was the kind of book that libraries banned and women stashed under their beds like pornography—a fixture of college dorm rooms that shocked conservatives with its candid discussion. UC's Wendy Kline even wrote a book about its influence. Read the full story here.

Tech job incubator nurtures talent, growth

By Newsroom

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Architecture + Design

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September 27, 2011

Silicon Valley. Boston. Austin. When it comes to technology jobs, those familiar locations top the list. Unless you consider a report issued in February by Dice.com, a career site with more than 8,000 customers who advertise or post their tech jobs nationwide. Based on the number of job postings that month, three Ohio cities -- Cincinnati, Cleveland and Columbus -- ranked second, third and fourth, respectively, in the percentage increase in job opportunities over the previous year. Silicon Valley ranked 10th. While those Ohio cities dropped out of the Dice.com top 10 this summer, similar reports by those like Monster.com and BusinessWeek indicate that one or all are consistently in the mix for new IT job opportunities. And with average salaries ranging from $66,000 in Cleveland to $74,000 in Columbus -- at least among employers posting on Dice.com -- those opportunities are significant, say those who follow Ohio's economy. Alice Hill, Dice.com's managing director, says part of the surge is related to a recovery that has not yet come to many other economic sectors. "A lot of jobs were on hold due to the recession," she says. "Hiring managers are now more confident. We saw that start in California, spread to New York and then we started to see the recovery happening in technology segments in smaller cities." The Northeast Ohio Software Association (NEOSA) notes in its 2010 IT report that both 2008 and 2009 were difficult for tech firms in the region because of the economy. That turned around last year, when nearly 60 percent of firms surveyed said they planned to increase staff. And NEOSA's report for the second quarter of 2011 found that 66 percent of IT firms surveyed plan to hire in the next 12 months. "The fact that we're seeing growth in IT jobs is really not surprising at all because there's this pent-up demand for the new equipment, new software," says Bill LaFayette, a former economic analyst for the Columbus Chamber who recently launched his own economic consultancy, Regionomics, LLC. "But in terms of why Ohio, the important thing to understand is that IT jobs are not simply in IT companies, they are pervasive. " By Gene Monteith

When art attacks, Queen City style

By Becky Johnson

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Arts + Culture

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September 27, 2011

Starting this fall, Pones In(c) Public, a series of events sponsored by Pones Inc. and ArtsWave, will bring spontaneous dance, art and movement to eight different Cincinnati neighborhoods. Not quite a flash mob, but the dancing will be created by random people right on the spot where it starts, be that a public square or a city street. Dance for social change is the mission of Pones Inc., a four year old non-profit arts organization. Professional dancers Lindsey Jones and Kim Popa founded the group after taking a class about theater for the oppressed, art that encouraged social justice. If theater can do this, why not dance, thought the two Northern Kentucky University grads. “Dance can give people another way to express their viewpoint outside the political spectrum,” Popa believes. “It became our mission to fuse dance and theater,” involving other artists like poets and musicians so as “to use as many people’s artistic talents as we can.” So far, Pones Inc. has performed at The Know, the Aronoff and The New Edgecliff theaters and dozens of public spaces around Cincinnati. They’ve danced on Metro buses, up and down store escalators, on public squares, and in grocery store aisles. Everywhere they perform, Pones Inc and its dancers invite the public to join in their free artistic expressions. Margy Waller, special advisor at ArtsWave, sees Pones Inc as a unique organization, different from the flash mob dancing that is choreographed and organized before the event. “What Pones is great at is engaging the audience in dancing.” Popa doesn’t think it’s that difficult to do. ”Everyone enjoys dancing but not everyone may want to volunteer to get up and dance. If you ask people to do it, they will.” With Pones In(c) Public, Waller says ArtsWave hopes to keep the public surprised and excited about the arts in Cincinnati. “This kind of spontaneous dance can show people how really magical the arts can be.” Do Good Attend: Pones In(c) Public, starting in October on the second Saturday of every month for eight months, between 5 – 8 pm. Watch: Pones Inc. perform live. Donate or Volunteer: Contact ArtsWave to see how you can help support the arts in Cincinnati. By Becky Johnson

SCAR project visits, initiates dialogues

By Newsroom

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Diversity

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September 27, 2011

The walls of a downtown Cincinnati gallery will be filled with portraits of young women and their scars. The large-scale portraits, all of women ages 18 to 35, are of breast cancer survivors photographed by New York fashion photographer David Jay for The SCAR project, which aims to raise awareness of an often overlooked group of women who are diagnosed with the disease. The international exhibit will stop in Cincinnati for four days – Sept. 29 through Oct. 2. The exhibit is a reminder that, this year, more than 10,000 women younger than 40 will be diagnosed with cancer, according to the exhibit’s website. The Pulitzer-nominated project’s mission? It’s three-fold: raise public consciousness of early-onset breast cancer, fundraise for research and outreach programs, and help young survivors “see their scars, faces, figures and experiences through a new, honest and ultimately empowering lens.” “We feel these pictures need to be seen,” exhibit organizers write. “Primarily an awareness-raising campaign, The SCAR Project puts a raw, unflinching face on early onset breast cancer while paying tribute to the courage and spirit of so many brave young women.” One of the women featured in the exhibit – who also helped to plan the local showing – is Cincinnati’s own Vanessa Teimeier. Teimeier, who now lives in Delhi, was 25 when she was diagnosed with breast cancer. To date, she writes on the blog, the cancer has spread to her bones, lungs and lymph nodes. In the post, dated Sept. 13, she writes that, during a recent visit to her doctor, they discovered cancer in the lining of her brain. “I feel like this aligns with the mission and the object of The SCAR project,” she writes. “The exhibition proves that so many women, young women, live with breast cancer everyday and that their struggle never goes away. … Life’s not easy, but I am challenging everyone out there to live, really live. If for no one else, do it for me.” The SCAR project will be hosted by Art Design Consultants, 310 Culvert St. Tickets for the opening night gala are $200. General admission tickets are $15, and walking tour tickets are $35. Dates and times are available on the website. Do Good: • Follow the luminaries: On opening night, luminaries to guide the way into the gallery will be lit in honor of those who lost their battle with breast cancer and for those still fighting the disease. Submit a donation to be part of the event. • Volunteer: Cincinnati’s planning committee is made up of four women and volunteers are needed. To volunteer, sign up here. • Donate: Donating to the cause helps fund research and outreach programs and allows more women to participate in the empowering project. By Taylor Dungjen

Review: Booker T. delivers at MidPoint

By Chris Varias

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Arts + Culture

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September 27, 2011

The MPMF is dominated, numbers-wise, by up-and-coming bands and musicians in their 20s, it was a nice change to see the spotlight fall upon a 66-year-old. Read the whole story here.

Women’s Fund takes wrench out of car problems

By Becky Johnson

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Diversity

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September 20, 2011

In Cincinnati, one working car may mean the difference between privation and stability for a woman struggling with poverty. Affordable housing will always be a flashpoint of concern for poverty activists. But affordable transportation inflicts its own damage to a family. Women, in particular, are vulnerable to the poverty that accompanies a lack of transportation. Even without local studies to measure the numbers, organizations like the Women’s Fund of the Greater Cincinnati Foundation know that inadequate transportation is a solid barrier in a woman’s fight to become economically self-sufficient. “Take a couple,” explains Vanessa Freytag, executive director of the Women’s Fund. “If they have one car, the husband usually gets the car. In a single mother's situation, she often doesn’t know how to take care of it. She’s also trying to get her kids to day care. Men don’t [usually] have to do that.” Many low-wage hotel and restaurant jobs are often far from the inner city homes of single mothers, creating more transportation issues. Meghan Cummings, development officer at the Women’s Fund, sees a perfect storm of challenges for women in Cincinnati. “The jobs are outside the beltway, child care is harder and harder to find, and there’s not affordable child care near the jobs," she says. "Women don’t have a personal vehicle, and we don’t have a transportation system with enough spokes and layers that will help get women to where they need to go.” With few local resources available to ease women’s transportation needs, 1000 Women Strong, a project of the Women’s Fund, found the perfect “vehicle” to combat this problem. “Strut Your Stuff,” scheduled for Sept. 24 in Pleasant Ridge, is an interactive car care clinic that teaches women the basics of maintenance and offers tips for visiting the mechanic. Expert mechanics like Dale Donovan, host of the The Car Show on 55KRC, will answer questions and encourage women to take care of their cars with confidence. Best of all, a portion of the ticket cost will fund the Samaritan Car Care Clinic, a local outreach program that provides free car maintenance and repair for women living in poverty. Impoverished or not, “feeling more confident and safe about your vehicle is important for every woman,” Freytag says. Do Good: Donate: The Greater Cincinnati Foundation always accepts donations. Get Involved: Contact Vanessa Freytag to find out how you can help. Attend: Visit the Strut your Stuff event and support the Samaritan Car Care Outreach. By Becky Johnson