Downtown

Downtown Cincinnati is the place to live, work, and play populated by restaurants, cafes, bars, arts and culture venues around every corner, plus a long-awaited and busy Kroger's that anchors recently-renovated Court Street Plaza. The downtown urban core is alive with programming, including music during the summer and ice skating in the winter, and features the largest living room 'television' in the region overlooking The Genius of Water at Fountain Square. Downtown has experienced dramatic expansion and population growth with residential developments, including condos and apartments in all price ranges, many of which boast scenic views of the hillsides and the river and offer unparalleled access to nightlife and recreation.

Pets in Need offers help for pets, owners

By Newsroom

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For Good

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February 5, 2013

Pets need homes, and according to Cathy Madewell, program director of Pets in Need, it’s not feasible to say that people who can’t afford them shouldn’t take on the responsibility of owning them. “There are just way too many cats and dogs that don’t have homes, and you have too many people with a compassionate heart for them that take them in,” Madewell says. Pets in Need of Greater Cincinnati is set to open in early to mid-March with a facility of its own in Lockland, though the nonprofit is currently running a weekly clinic on Tuesday mornings at Valley Interfaith Food and Clothing Center. PIN provides basic care, including checkups, vaccines and antibiotics, to pets whose owners can’t afford preventive care. Madewell says that when those involved with PIN first started their work, they witnessed too many pets who had contracted severe diseases and had to be euthanized, either because they had never received a dewormer, or because they had flea infestations that had gotten so bad, they were no longer treatable. “Simple things that could have been avoided,” Madewell says. “We’re now able to provide that and help people keep their pets healthy so that they avoid any major situations, and [so we] don’t end up finding them on a vet’s doorstep.” When PIN opens its new clinic, it will serve members of the community who income-qualify for just $10 a visit—a fee that will cover the visit itself, in addition to any needed vaccines or medicines—so long as the condition is treatable and is within the realm of possibility for what the organization can feasibly take on. PIN currently has two vets—both have other jobs as well. “So they definitely have to have a passion for what they’re doing,” Madewell says. One of the two vets is Jennifer Wells, director of the veterinary technology program at the University of Cincinnati's Blue Ash College. Wells uses PIN to not only assist pets and their owners, but to also provide real-world experience to her students, who use their involvement at PIN as a clinical experience. Madewell says their experience with clients is invaluable, as their other clinical experiences involve animals from the SPCA, for example, so there are no pet owners involved. Prior to being treated at PIN, pets must be spayed or neutered. “We will pay for that for our clients,” Madewell says. “It’s a $10 copay for a cat or a $20 copay for a dog, and we then give them a voucher to use that for spay or neuter.” Clinic hours are currently 9 a.m. to noon every Tuesday, though pet owners can begin submitting applications now if a cat or dog needs to be seen prior to PIN’s official opening. Do Good: • Donate to support the work of Pets in Need. • Volunteer to help keep the PIN program running. • Register your Kroger Plus Card so that each time you use it, the PIN program benefits as well. By Brittany York Brittany York is a professor of English composition at the University of Cincinnati and a teacher at the Regional Institute of Torah and Secular Studies. She also edits the For Good section of SoapboxMedia.

Playing to Win: A Night with A.G. Lafley, Feb. 7

By Soapbox Media

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Architecture + Design

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February 5, 2013

Join Soapbox and Joseph-Beth Booksellers as we welcome former Procter & Gamble Chairman and CEO, A.G. Lafley, to launch his new book, "Playing to Win: How Strategy Really Works," on Thursday, Feb. 7.

My Soapbox: Jodi Schmidtgoesling, Possible

By Soapbox Media

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General

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January 29, 2013

Cincinnati native Jodi Schmidtgoesling takes on the world's top companies in her new role as branding giant Possible's chief client officer. The 35-year-old business leader also works to develop the culture of Possible as a fun, innovative and creative place to work. She talks with Soapbox about Cincinnati as a brand hub and finding inspiration in Disney characters.

Ohio Justice & Policy Center champions policy, prison reform

By Newsroom

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Diversity

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January 29, 2013

During his college years, David Singleton returned to New York City to visit his birthplace. Singleton grew up in South Carolina but was born in the South Bronx, and when he returned, he says he had a “transformative experience.” He witnessed a devastated community where young black males—like himself—were dealing drugs and living the lifestyle of poverty and crime that Singleton says he was fortunate to have never been a part of. “It made me realize and appreciate like I never had before, just how much it matters who your parents are and how hard they fight for you and where it is you grow up,” Singleton says. “I don’t think it’s right that an act of birth can make all the difference in terms of what kind of life you have.” It was at that moment that Singleton knew he wanted to go to law school to serve and try to make a difference for those whom he says “didn’t have the same breaks” as he had. Singleton worked as a public defender for years in both NYC and Washington, DC. During the summer of 2001, he moved to Cincinnati and worked a 10-month stint at a large law firm before he began his work with the Ohio Justice & Policy Center as the nonprofit’s executive director. The OJPC strives to transform the criminal justice system at both the micro and macro levels. By providing free legal help to prisoners treated inhumanely, in addition to offering assistance to reformed individuals who have been released from prison and are struggling to get back on their feet, the OJPC works to make sure the justice system operates as fairly as possible. To best use its limited resources, Singleton says the OJPC builds on its work through individual client victories to engage in policy efforts that will impact many. For example, this past summer, the OJPC worked with Gov. John Kasich and state legislators to pass a bill that would enable released prisoners to apply for certificates of qualified employment, which will make it easier for people to get jobs in the industry in which they want to apply, Singleton says. “Under state law, you can’t own your own construction company if you’ve got a felony," says Singleton. "That’s silly. It makes no sense. That’s one thing you might learn while in prison—how to do construction. So now, if you get one of those certificates, you’ll no longer automatically be barred from working in that industry.” There are some laws that are well-intentioned, Singleton says, but when they prevent people from getting jobs, they need to be reformed. So Singleton and the attorneys at OJPC invest their time and dedication to break down barriers that imprison individuals for years after they’ve been released. “What I do is a calling for me,” Singleton says. “It’s never been about the money. It’s what I feel I’m here on this earth to do, and I love it, I love every minute of it.” Do Good: • Make a donation to help the OJPC continue its efforts to reform the criminal justice system. • Contact the OJPC to join its mailing list and help put pressure on elected officials to initiate policy changes. • Reach out to the organization by liking and sharing its Facebook page. By Brittany York Brittany York is a professor of English composition at the University of Cincinnati and a teacher at the Regional Institute of Torah and Secular Studies. She also edits the For Good section of SoapboxMedia.

OTR Community Housing works to build inclusive neighborhood

By Newsroom

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Architecture + Design

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January 29, 2013

While Over-the-Rhine makes weekly headlines with its redevelopment renaissance, the neighborhood remains the home base for thousands of residents, many of whom can’t afford to be patrons of new restaurants and businesses. Over-the-Rhine Community Housing seeks to sustain an inclusive and diverse neighborhood, where longtime residents feel comfortable and confident that they will always have a home in OTR, even if their community continues to draw more and more people to the area. Since 1960, the population of OTR has steadily decreased, falling from 30,000 to just shy of 5,000 residents. However, between the years of 2007 and 2010, the population increased by about 40 percent. That shift does more than fill apartments and condos. With a rising population comes higher property values and higher real estate taxes, all of which makes it more difficult to provide affordable housing to those who can’t afford market prices, says Mary Burke, executive director of OTRCH. “Do we charge higher rent, or how do we close that even larger gap?” Burke asks. “So we want others—decision makers, power brokers—to work with us to figure that out. How do we maintain affordability in this neighborhood so that it can remain diverse going forward? It really will take some creative thinking and creative strategies.” OTRCH currently provides safe, affordable housing to residents—half of whom earn less than $10,000 per year. “Shelter is a basic human thing that people need, and being able to help an organization create more affordable places to live and be a part of is why it’s important,” says Brittany Skelton, OTRCH volunteer coordinator. “In Cincinnati, we have 300,000 people in our city limits, and about 100,000 live in poverty, and there isn’t enough affordable housing to go around.” If there isn’t enough affordable housing to go around, the question remains: where will residents go if they can’t afford a place to live? “People have low wages," Burke says. "Where are they going to rent that’s safe and decent and where they can build a community? If we close the door of OTR to affordable housing, where are people going to go? There’s an opportunity here to demonstrate that low-income, middle-income, high-income [individuals] can live together—not that they all have to be best friends and that there won’t be some disagreement now and then—but that it can work. Property values increase, people get along. There’s an opportunity.” Moving forward, OTRCH will need community support, but Burke is confident that OTR can be a welcoming and inclusive community for all individuals. She’s already seen that happen as a result of the Washington Park renovations. “The programming has made it feel like everyone’s welcome, and it’s not for some kind of separate culture or community,” she says. Burke’s hope is that the urban redevelopments of OTR do not have to lead to the displacement of the community’s long-time residents. They shouldn’t feel pushed out, she says. “It would be like any of us who have roots somewhere," says Burke. "You just love it and want to stay there. I’d like the new folks moving in to appreciate that. There’s just a value in living with difference and extending your world to include diversity.” Do Good: • Get involved with OTRCH by volunteering to renovate houses or research grant information. • Donate money or items to help OTRCH continue to promote and fulfill its mission. • Like the organization on Facebook, and share its page with your friends. By Brittany York Brittany York is a professor of English composition at the University of Cincinnati and a teacher at the Regional Institute of Torah and Secular Studies. She also edits the For Good section of SoapboxMedia.

Collaboration aims to ‘Grow the IT economy in Cincinnati USA’

By Newsroom

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Entrepreneurship

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January 29, 2013

Major regional job-creating organizations have come together to focus efforts on competing for one of the nation's fastest-growing job segments: information technology. This collaboration includes the Cincinnati CIO Roundtable, a forum of IT leaders who are focused on improving the region’s overall IT ecosystem, along with the Cincinnati USA Partnership and the Partners for a Competitive Workforce. The CIO Roundtable is led by co-chairs Piyush Singh, SVP & CIO of Great American Insurance, and Geoff Smith, former IT leader at P&G. "Business leaders in the region are coming together with the common goal of talking about the importance of IT, and its role in the growth of their companies," says Tammy Riddle, IT economic development director for Cincinnati USA Partnership. Just last week, the organizations came together for a half-day, invitation-only event —“Grow the IT economy in Cincinnati USA.” The event featured presentations from a variety of stakeholders, including the organizers, JobsOhio and CincyTech. The group is working to meet a wide range of challenges, including creating high-paying jobs through public and private partnerships, creating a strategic plan to grow IT jobs in the region, attracting and training talent, and determining the role of startups. "One of the key things we're going to focus on are trends that companies are seeing across the board, and how we can match those with Cincinnati strengths and build the street cred of the IT sector in Cincinnati," Riddle says. Regional universities also play a role in talent creation. Northern Kentucky University's College of Informatics is a leader, as is the University of Cincinnati with its top-rated analytics graduate program, and the University of Miami's innovative digital media program. Cincinnati has an emerging IT industry. There are about 30,000 Cincinnati residents who are employed in the IT sector, which has an estimated $2.5 billion impact on the country’s GDP. According to the 2020 jobs outlook, it’s also one of the four fastest-growing and best-paying employment sectors in Cincinnati, with an anticipated 10-year growth rate of 26.5 percent. "We want to take a more proactive approach to growing jobs in this sector," Riddle says. "We want to make sure that our region has what we need to fill that demand, to be able to accomplish growth." Next, participants will start working on what it takes to grow the IT sector, including conducting a comprehensive assessment of the current IT economy and developing strategies for talent attraction, greater awareness investment and startup activity. By Feoshia H. Davis Follow Feoshia on Twitter

Cincinnati Startup ChoreMonster Makes Chores Fun And They Even Made A Beastie For Us

By Newsroom

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Architecture + Design

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January 29, 2013

ChoreMonster launched an update to their app a few days ago that includes a parents section, a redesign of the kids section, a new Monster Carnival and yes, even a new character named TeeCee exclusively for TechCrunch readers. Read teh full story here.

Urban Greens in East End gives the community a place to garden locally grown produce

By Newsroom

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Development News

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January 29, 2013

Grocery stores and farmers markets aren’t the only places in Cincinnati to buy locally grown produce. Urban Greens LLC is a garden that gives its customers the opportunity to grow their own food in a community-owned plot. Urban Greens was founded in 2010 by 15 families who wanted to grow their own produce, but didn’t necessarily have the space in their own backyards. Ryan Doan, founder of Urban Greens, was introduced to community gardening by a Mt. Washington resident who grew 90 percent of his family’s food on a plot in his backyard. Doan also took classes at the Civic Garden Center; he then found the plots in the East End by the Ohio River. The plots are owned by FEMA and can’t be bought or sold for development projects because they have been designated for agriculture purposes or parks. Customers have fresh produce about 26 weeks out of the year, and during the winter, their shelves and freezers are stocked with homemade goodies from the gardens. In order to keep up with the plots, Urban Greens sells Community Supported Agriculture shares. Customers pay an upfront fee of $600 per year for three to 10 pounds of produce per week. There is also a work share program, where customers pay $450 and work 20 hours in the garden. The shares not only pay for seeds, fencing, cages and water, but for the garden manager’s and a few part-time employees’ salaries. The community garden will have three plots in Cincinnati this year—two in the East End and one that’s new for 2013, plus one in Hamilton—for a total of two and a half acres of fresh produce. The Hamilton plot is on the grounds of one of the local high schools and is tended by a student. Urban Greens will offer 35 CSA accounts in the East End, 20-25 in Hamilton and about 15 at the new garden. CSA customers pick up their pre-packaged produce once a week from the garden plots. Besides selling produce to its CSA customers, Urban Greens is the sole provider of produce for a local company. They sell to the businesses’ employees on Tuesdays, and pick for CSA customers on Thursdays. During the summer, weekends are reserved for selling produce at local farmers markets. “We set aside a certain amount of produce to sell to the general public at farmers markets,” Doan says. The rest of the produce is divided evenly among Urban Greens’ customers, so that nothing goes to waste. This year, Urban Greens is also offering 30 Flexible Market Accounts to those who want to choose their own produce. Customers load $100 at a time onto a card, come down once a week and pick out the produce they need. FMA is like a grocery store that offers local produce, plus local cheeses, granola and handmade soap, says Doan. “FMA allows people to get the tomatoes they need to make spaghetti sauce or salsa, rather than the bunches of kale they might grow themselves,” he says. FMA also makes Urban Greens accessible to more people, as the CSA can be too expensive for some. “I don’t want Urban Greens to be for rich people buying organic vegetables, but for everyone,” says Doan. Doan is also looking to develop a gardening program with a few local schools. He wants to have gardens on school grounds, and when school is in session, the produce will be incorporated into the students’ lunches. Urban Greens would also teach students how to harvest and seed the gardens, and they would be the ones farming the land, not school personnel. “I’d like to continue the gardens at the schools during the summer and sell the produce at farmers markets,” Doan says. “But once school is back in session, the produce would be for the cafeteria.” To reserve a CSA share or more for more information about FMA, email Urban Greens at urbangreensllc@gmail.com. By Caitlin Koenig Follow Caitlin on Twitter

Happy Chicks’ at-home bakers offer vegan goods

By Newsroom

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Development News

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January 29, 2013

The idea for Happy Chicks Bakery began in Jessica Bechtel’s kitchen. She and Jana Douglass, 31, have been friends and colleagues for about 10 years, and over those years, they’ve made many batches of cookies together. Since they love to bake and are both vegans, the pair figured they could make it into a business. Douglass and Bechtel started Happy Chicks, a vegan bakery, in April of last year. Happy Chicks doesn’t have a storefront, but they sell their products wholesale to Park+Vine and the Family Enrichment Center in Northside. In the summer, Happy Chicks has a booth at the Northside and Madeira farmers markets. Bechtel and Douglass also do custom orders and cater special events. “Our goal is to have a storefront in the next few years,” says Bechtel, 33. “We’re trying to do the business without taking out loans. When the time comes, we’ll probably look for a space downtown.” Happy Chicks is also in the process of looking for other wholesale opportunities to help expand their business. Happy Chicks makes cakes, cupcakes, cookies, macaroons, pies, scones, muffins, a vegan croissant, breakfast roll and coffee cake; the breakfast items are popular at both Park+Vine and the Family Enrichment Center, Bechtel says. The black raspberry chocolate chip cookie is a top-seller, as are the tiramisu and caramel chocolate stout cakes. They also offer seasonal-flavored treats, such as the Snowball, which is a coconut cupcake topped with coconut frosting and filled with a cranberry sauce. All of the bakery’s goodies are dairy and egg-free, and most of the recipes are also soy-free. Many can be made gluten and nut-free, too. Need to satisfy your sweet tooth before Valentine’s Day? Visit Happy Chicks at Sweet Victory, a wedding dessert tasting and cake-decorating contest, Feb. 6 at Cooper Creek Event Center. Or get tickets to Cupcakes & Cocktails, a ladies-only event that benefits the Eve Center, Feb. 8. By Caitlin Koenig Follow Caitlin on Twitter

More bike lanes, early planning for cycle track highlight city’s Bike Plan

By Newsroom

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Development News

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January 29, 2013

Some of the city's biggest bike-related projects in the works for 2013 are still in the planning stages, but a few will continue and build on the momentum from last year. This year, the city's Bicycle Transportation Program includes plans to finish more than two miles of bike lanes along Riverside Drive, a project that was started in 2009. Plans are also in the works to extend the Spring Grove bike lanes from Hopple to Bank Street downtown; proposals have been drafted for rehabilitation projects along Dalton Street, Bank, Western Avenue and Langdon Farm Road. The City also hopes to continue its design work on the Ohio River Trail, extending bike-friendly paths from Salem Street to Sutton Road and Collins Avenue to Corbin Street. The City is also in the early stages of looking to put Ohio’s first cycle track on Central Parkway between Ludlow Avenue and Liberty Street. “Cycle tracks aren’t mainstream yet, but New York City and Washington, D.C., have quite a few,” says Melissa McVay, senior city planner in the Division of Transportation & Engineering. “They’re the most family-friendly bike facility you can build.” A cycle track is like a bike trail or shared path, but it’s in the street, for bikes only and separated from cars by a physical barrier, such as planters, trees or a curb. Cycle tracks are meant to keep cars from veering into bicyclists’ paths. “A typical bike lane is usually enough to encourage cyclists to try them, but sometimes, they don’t make everyone feel comfortable,” says McVay. “The physical barrier of a cycle track is meant to make cyclists feel safe.” One of the most exciting developments for bicyclists last year was the addition of a green bike lane on Ludlow last year. “It started the conversation among people who don’t ride bikes, and they’re beginning to see the infrastructure,” McVay says. “I feel like the bike community has grown, and there is now a growing city-wide awareness.” Approved by the City in 2009 and put into action in 2010, the Bike Plan outlines bicycle-related projects over the next 15 years. In all, the plan recommends 445 miles of on-street and off-street bike facilities, such as bike lanes, bike racks and multi-use trails. In 2009, there were about seven miles of bike lanes and sharrows in Cincinnati, says McVay. In 2010, 2.3 miles were added; in 2011, 4.5 miles; in 2012, five more miles were added, for a total of 19 miles. Since 1993, many bike-friendly projects have been implemented, including striping 12 miles of bike lanes, creating 21 miles of shared-use paths and trails and installing six miles of sharrows, or shared lane markings, throughout the city. The bulk of the Bicycle Transportation Program's focus is on developing on-street and off-street bike facilities as outlined in the Bike Plan, but it also organizes bike-related events, proposing policy and zoning changes, and working on advocacy projects with Queen City Bike and Mobo Bicycle Co-op. The public played a huge part in developing the Bike Plan by utilizing online tools to show the City where bike facilities were needed. Even though there has been an outpouring of public support for bike facilities, there are still issues when it comes to removing parking. The City proposed a project along Spring Grove Avenue this past summer that would consolidate on-street parking to one side of the street, but businesses liked having parking available on both sides of the street. “The project will be successful if the community comes together and rallies around the project, and the trade-off of on-street parking for a bike lane will ultimately benefit both business owners and bicyclists,” McVay says. The City wants to hear from you! Take the survery and grade Cincinnati on different bike-friendly aspects around town. By Caitlin Koenig Follow Caitlin on Twitter