Apartments.com and CareerRookie.com recently released their third annual "Top 10 Best Cities for Recent College Graduates" list. This list provides a reliable source for young adults as they consider where to live based on affordable apartments, good jobs, and cultural events. Cincinnati made number eight on the list with the most affordable average rent for a one-bedroom apartment at $613. Read the full story here
The New York Times published an extensive article about a Cincinnati native band gone big in New York City on the eve of their latest release. Lead singer Matt Berninger praises Cincinnati for giving him a narrative edge saying Cincinnati represents the common American experience with social, racial, and political tensions. Read the full story here.
Following the recent oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, Procter & Gamble shipped 1,000 bottles of Dawn dishwashing liquid to help clean soiled wildlife with plans to ship 1,000 more. P&G still has ongoing partnerships to provide dawn and raise funds with the International Bird Rescue Research Center and the Marine Mammal Center. For three decades now, wildlife rescue workers have continued to use Dawn. Read the full story here.
Three University of Cincinnati law students - part of UC Law's Ohio's Innocence Project - exonerated a wrongly convicted man of rape who planned to serve a lifetime in prison in Cleveland, Ohio. The court issued DNA testing proved the man to be innocent after already serving 29 years in prison. The newly free man optimistically plans to live in Cincinnati and to continue his life's passion of painting. Read the full story here.
College students now look at a new criterion of sustainability in their college search. The University of Cincinnati was among six Ohio Universities the BG news looked at for their commitment of sustainability in education. UC offers a minor in sustainability as well as classes in environmental studies, environmental health, and environmental engineering.Read the full story here.
Northern Kentucky cities this year could get greener if Congress passes an energy bill that would expand an existing Kentucky program that offers loans for public building energy efficiency upgrades.Kentucky is the first state in the nation to create a Green Bank, a revolving loan fund offering low-interest loans for energy efficiency projects at state buildings. The $14.4 million fund uses federal stimulus money and is currently limited to publically owned state buildings.The Green Bank of Kentucky was launched last fall by Kentucky Governor Steve Beshear; dollars are awarded through a competitive application process. Loans can be used for energy efficiency upgrades like LEED certified construction projects, energy efficiency upgrades or retrofits that result in reduced energy usage. "When the governor first came into office, one of his early goals was to create a comprehensive energy proposal. Energy efficiency was going to play a major role in that. We thought before we started asking homeowners and businesses to be more efficient, we should start first," explained Kentucky Finance and Administration Cabinet Secretary Jonathan Miller. The cabinet administers the program.So far the Green Bank has announced one loan, $1.3 million to the Kentucky Department of Education which will use the funds for projects at the Kentucky School for the Blind in Louisville and other department buildings. Several other applications are under review, but none in Northern Kentucky so far.Though the current Green Bank program is limited to state buildings, local cities and counties could be included if a provision to create a national Green Bank in the current federal Clean Energy Bill passes this year, Miller said.Though some parts of the bill are very controversial including the so-called cap-and trade proposal, the idea of a national Green Bank fund has much wider support, Miller added."A national Green Bank has national support, and if it does pass we feel pretty confident (we could use federal funds) for the state Green Bank. We could loan that to city and county facilities so that folks on the local level can become more energy efficient," he said.Several other states already are looking to model Kentucky's innovative program, including Delaware and South Carolina. Officials there have been talking to Kentucky officials in an effort to launch their own Green Banks, Miller said.Writer: Feoshia HendersonSource: Jonathan Miller, Secretary of the Kentucky Finance and Administration CabinetYou can follow Feoshia on twitter here.
Months after a 7.0 earthquake devastated the poor, island nation of Haiti, hundreds of thousands of families remain homeless without the basic necessities and safety that we take for granted.But Northern Kentucky University Construction Management students are among those working to help some Haitians build a brighter, more sustainable future through an innovative housing initiative. The undergraduate students in Dr. Sean Foley's construction management class are working on a plan to provide permanent and reliable housing for nearly 500 people.The project, to be presented May 3, is one of three capstone projects for the university's construction management classes. The other projects are a proposed renovation of NKU’s baseball complex and a renovation of the Winton Hills Medical Center in Cincinnati for a new dental office.The Haiti project would provide housing for about $400 per person and was completed with input from Hearts and Hands for Haiti (or HHH), a ministry-based, non-profit that provides housing and other necessities for Haitians. Students worked with HHH board member Harry Lyness."Mr. Lyness has worked to guide us through some of the more uncertain areas in the process," Ohlhaut said. "With the help of experienced mentors like Mr. Lyness and the NKU faculty and some diligent work on the parts of our group members, we will have a proposal that provides comfortable housing, shower and bathroom facilities and a sanitary water supply for 480 of the western hemispheres most impoverished people," said student Patrick Ohlhaut.Writer: Feoshia HendersonSource: Northern Kentucky University CommunicationsYou can follow Feoshia on twitter here.
A former representative of Cincinnati's Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation looks to Cincinnati Public Schools as a positive example to improve the racial high school graduation gap in Minnesota. Cincinnati was among the first major urban districts to eliminate this type of gap using the right strategies with open-minded collaborative people, developing a Union leadership, creating focused partnerships, and rewarding progress within the school systems. Read the full story here.
Cincinnati Bell's new product known as Fioptics Fiber to the Home (FTTH) recently upgraded from local homes to the video message board of Fountain Square. Cincinnati Center City Development Corporation named Cincinnati Bell the primary provider of digital TV and Internet connection in the Fountain Square area. This product will display multiple programs such as local and national newscasts and sporting events.Read the full story here.
Cincinnati ranked number twenty on Prevention's list of America's Top 100 Cities for Walking. Prevention partnered with the American Podiatric Medicine Association to evaluate the 100 most populous U.S. cities based on the percentage of people who regularly walked for fitness reasons or as a mode of transportation. Other criteria to determine these rankings also included walking-friendly attributes such as low crime rates and the number of cultural attractions. Read the full story here.
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