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Kroger expands its number of store brand items by making a push into beauty products. This expansion helps buyers trim spending during the recession and increases profit for the company. New products are expected out this fall.Read the full story here.
Macy's recently launched an affordable 'Glee' clothing line with graphic tees to hoodies, based off the new hit TV show. Many stores will also host special events and themed window designs associated with the show. If the line proves to be a success, more items will soon hit the shelves.Read the full story here.
The YMCA of Greater Cincinnati is one of six Ys across the nation that will implement a new Mentoring Program that will replicate the successful Building Futures program at the San Francisco Y.The San Francisco Program is geared toward at-risk kids aged 6-18. It's an intensive, hands-on program that pairs mentees and mentors one-to-one for an average of two hours a week for one year. The program helps children cope with issues like low self-esteem, peer and family conflict, academic problems and decision-making skills. Mentees are referred from schools and other YMCA programs."We are thrilled to be bringing such a strong life changing program to Hamilton County. Lasting personal and social change can only come about when we all work together to invest in our youth and our neighbors. This is a great opportunity for caring adults to give back by inspiring young people to grow and thrive," said Jennifer Pugh, YMCA of Greater Cincinnati regional mentoring director.Mentors will undergo 15 hours of training over four weeks in understanding cultural/social development, youth culture and risk factors. Mentors will also have ongoing support by a YMCA mentoring coordinator and the YMCA Mentoring Resource Center and have access to other support through optional monthly mentor support meetings. YMCA mentors will meet with their mentees weekly for a year either at their local YMCA branch (they will have free use of the branches during their visits) or at the student’s school.Students who will be involved in the YMCA Mentoring Program attend a CincyAfterSchool site managed by the YMCA (for Westwood Elementary, Mt. Airy Elementary, Riverview East or the Skyline Community Center) or participate in the YMCA Black & Latino Achievers college readiness program at Hughes High School, Academy of Multilingual Immersion Studies or Withrow International.The backbone of the program consists of helping students complete a 'goal plan' including career exploration and participating alongside them in service learning projects.YMCA Mentoring is funded by a federal grant from the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention. Oakland, Phoenix, Nashville and Baltimore are among other cities implementing the program.If you're interested in being a mentor, call 513-246-3230.Writer: Feoshia HendersonSource: Lisa Desatnik, YMCA of Greater CincinnatiYou can follow Feoshia on twitter @feoshiawrites
"Home Sweet Home" is now within the grasp of every house-hunting Cincinnatian thanks to an innovative mobile search tool designed to place dream dwellings right in the palm of your hand. Recently released by Comey & Shepherd Realtors, and the first of its kind locally, the residence search tool was created to ease the time consuming and often frustrating pursuit of a new home, particularly for house hunters on-the-go.Scott Nelson, CEO of Mariemont-headquartered Comey & Shepherd, believes that the convenience of the tool will make it a popular option for property seekers. "Today's mobile client is accustomed to advanced technology, and we wanted to meet their expectations with a search tool that was easy to use and free."Designed to work on any mobile device, the search tool is not an application and does not require a download, attributes which make it universally accessible, explained Nolan. By simply typing comey.com into the browser of their mobile device, on-the-go property seekers are now able to retrieve information about available homes while driving through neighborhoods in which they are interested. Users are taken directly to an optimized site - essentially a smaller version of Comey & Shepherd's full website - where they can customize specific search criteria to match their price and location needs. Equipped with GPS attributes and the ability to track Cincinnati Multiple Listing Service (MLS) data with real time stats, comey.com then does a fast and thorough search for houses which fit the prospective home-buyer's needs. Comey.com users are also able to view video clips and take virtual tours of homes before arranging an in-person walk-through with their realtor. Recognizing the fact that the search for a dream home typically takes more than one outing, search criteria is also conveniently stored for subsequent house-hunting expeditions.With Comey.com at the side of on-the-go house hunters, the pursuit of property will no longer mean driving around in circles, dealing with the predictably-empty flyer box, or missing out on the domicile of your dreams. In fact, if comey.com has anything to say about it, there's a good chance that dream home is just around the corner. Writer: Alyce VilinesSource: Scott Nelson, CEO- Comey & Shepherd Realtors
Jackson Kinney officially got started as the Director of Covington's newly created Community Development Department. With academic roots in Ohio, and professional experience from the Midwest and West Coast, Kinney was seen as a particularly ideal candidate for the job overseeing 12 to 15 full- and part-time staffers."Mr. Kinney has a strong and diverse background in community development working for large municipalities. The knowledge, experience, and planning background that he brings to this position will propel Covington's economic and housing development efforts to new heights." stated Larry Klein, Covington City Manager.Kinney has a Journalism degree from Ohio University, and a Masters of Urban Planning from the University of Akron. He served as the Director of Community Development in Oshkosh, WI for close to 26 years, and during that time oversaw planning, economic development, housing, and downtown revitalization efforts for the city's nearly 63,000 residents. He has also served in a number of planning positions throughout several communities in the Midwest and California prior to his service in Oshkosh, WI.Kinney started his new role in Covington on Monday, July 19th and has been reviewing what has already been accomplished in terms of comprehensive and economic development planning. He hopes to use that knowledge to work with stakeholders and develop a comprehensive program that wraps all of the existing work into one clear approach."There is lots of energy and we just need to pull it together to create a unifying plan and strategy for the downtown area," said Kinney. "The goal is to create a vibrant area that has more jobs and more housing opportunities."Kinney hopes to strengthen public-private partnerships that can enhance six key areas including community planning, land use regulations, economic development, housing, historic preservation, and public infrastructure programming."The real secret to success is creating strong framework to support public-private partnerships," Kinney stated. "I really love this opportunity in Covington because of all this potential that just needs to be tapped. There is a great riverfront to work with, historic architecture, and very distinctive neighborhoods."Writer: Randy A. SimesPhotography by Scott BeselerStay connected by following Randy on Twitter @UrbanCincy
When Thomas J. Emery died in 1906, his widow, Mary Emery, undertook to erect a new town intended to serve as a national exemplar for suburban American and a permanent monument to her husband's memory. Thus, as one of the first planned communities in the United States, Mariemont is well-known for its charming historic architecture, lush foliage, award-winning schools and friendly, community-minded residents.Read the full story here.
KLH Engineers in Fort Thomas, Ky., has won an Autodesk BIM Experience award for its early adoption of Building Information Modeling for more than 35 new construction and renovation projects representing a total construction value of nearly $400 million. The Autodesk Award goes to companies and educators internationally that are using innovative design techniques through the company's building information modeling (BIM). BIM is a software-based sustainable design technique that seeks to streamline building processes by more easily linking architects, engineers, construction professionals, facility managers, and owners. The process allows them all to explore the physical and functional characteristics of a building project digitally.KLH Engineers began using the innovative design program in 2006. "This is really the future of engineering and design, everything is going this way," said KLH Marketing Manager Cynthia Jackson. "This is 3D designing, and it helps eliminate the errors in the designing process ahead of time, as projects are being designed. It eliminates change orders and speeds up the work process."KLH, founded in 1955, is a consulting engineering firm offering mechanical, electrical, communication and information technology, lighting design services, commissioning, and energy solutions. The company employs 95, and also has offices in Columbus and Dayton.KLH works in the healthcare, civic, institutional, retail, education and commercial markets and has completed more than 10,000 projects throughout the Tri-State and nationally. Among its projects were the IT design and renovation of the Otto M. Budig Theater at NKU, the mechanical, electrical and lighting systems for the 500,000 sq. ft. Fifth Third Bank call center in Madisonville, and the mechanical and electrical systems for Newport-on-the-Levee.One of KLH's current projects using BIM is NKU's College of Informatics.The company also has recently been noted for its innovative approach to design by Building Design + Construction Magazine, which named KLH to their 2009 Giants 300 list and named them as one of the Top 75 Retail Design Firms in the U.S. The Northern Kentucky Chamber of Commerce named KLH Engineers as one of its Emerging 30 firms in 2009.Writer: Feoshia HendersonSource: KLH Engineers Marketing Manager Cynthia JacksonYou can follow Feoshia on twitter @feoshiasoapbox
Procter & Gamble has teamed up with Changents.com for its new 'Clean Water Blogivation' contest asking female bloggers to offer stories on why they'd like to go to Africa on a clean water expedition with P&G Children's Safe Drinking Water Program.The contest was unveiled at the 2010 BlogHer women bloggers' conference in New York City earlier this month. Bloggers can sign up and tell their stories about why they support the cause of bringing clean water to struggling areas here. The contest runs through Aug. 27, and bloggers can rally supporters to vote for their blog as the best. For each vote cast, P&G will donate a day's worth of drinking water (2 liters) to a person in need in a developing country. As expected, the contest has a heavy social media component that makes it easy for bloggers to share their stories through Twitter, Facebook, MySpace and email to drive votes.The blogger who gets the most votes will get to take a weeklong trip to Africa in the Fall of 2010 with P&G Children's Safe Drinking Water Program and program director Dr. Greg Allgood. The prize includes round-trip coach flight from the major airport nearest the winner's home and accommodations and round-trip ground transportation."P&G is committed to touching and improving lives of people around the globe, and providing clean drinking water to as many people as possible. I'm proud that we can build on the success of P&G's Children's Safe Drinking Water program to connect real women who care about water issues with the tools and resources they need to become change agents for clean water," Dr. Allgood said. In addition to the trip, P&G will also make a $15,000 donation in the winner's name to her favorite nonprofit drinking water charity."Through the stories of our real world partners, like Alie Eleveld of the Safe Water Aids Project (SWAP) in Kenya, we hope to inspire and enable other women to share their stories and improve lives," Dr. Allgood said.There are several compelling stories posted on the site, including one from Stephanie Weaver, who at 22 started her own clean water nonprofit "A Drink for Tomorrow."Weaver writes: "After reading the article on CNN.com, I immediately started researching the issue further and learned that $30 can bring clean water for life to someone who is suffering greatly - meaning that $60 I might spend on a few drinks and a dinner could instead provide a lifetime of health and life to TWO people in great need. Upon realizing this, I became frustrated and disappointed in myself for going 22 years without realizing the scope and urgency of this issue and for using my good fortune to further benefit myself rather than those less fortunate than me. I became inspired to start using what I had to help those who had not, and to encourage others to join me."You can read other stories or tell your own HERE.Writer: Feoshia HendersonSource: Procter & GambleYou can follow Feoshia on twitter @feoshiawrites
Ford plans to bring nearly 2,000 jobs back to the United States by 2012 due to drafted competitive contrasts between Ford Motor Company and the United Auto Workers union. The factory located in Sharonville, Ohio near Cincinnati will be among four factories that will benefit from increased jobs.Read the full story here.
Family-owned Smith & Schaefer has been in Cincinnati for 60 years, and the regional healthcare and scientific furnishings dealer has just finished one of its most recent high-profile jobs in Covington.The company, along with Cleveland based Array Healthcare Facilities Solutions, has just finished a design project for St. Elizabeth Healthcare's Regional Diabetes Center.The new Center opened in July and houses the single largest number of diabetes specialists and auxiliary services under one roof. It's largest facility of its type east of the Mississippi, the hospital said.Smith & Schaefer's project head for the Diabetes Center, Leslie Gray, along with an Array designer worked together on space planning, specifications, finishes and design elements. "For this facility Smith & Schaefer and Array focused on a modern look with tones that will age well with the facility," said Gray. "We chose a color palette that catered well to the end user groups and furniture that functions well within the space and patient use. Since the space is unique in its size and offerings, we wanted to offer a cohesive design with a separation between the educational and treatment spaces."The Diabetes Center has 24 exam rooms, nine offices, a reception center, several patient waiting areas and an educational center for group classes and conferences.Smith & Schaefer is headquartered in Cincinnati, Ohio with a satellite office in Cleveland and services Ohio, Kentucky, Indiana, Western Pennsylvania, and now, West Virginia with resident sales personnel in Kentucky, Pittsburgh, Toledo and Marietta. The company was founded in 1950 as a regional dealer and manufacturer representative for many nationally known companies specializing in furnishings, equipment, and design, for laboratory research, healthcare, governmental and educational environments. The company has sold over $250 million of laboratory casework, healthcare furniture and equipment.Writer: Feoshia HendersonSource: The Eisen AgencyYou can follow Feoshia on twitter @feoshiasoapbox
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