West End / Brighton

This expansive neighborhood borders Over-the-Rhine in the shape of a sliver. Mostly residential, it has a rich history and diverse inhabitants, a beauty discovered by only the most discerning eye. The Dayton Street Historical District, a cluster of houses built mostly in the late 1800s, is on the National Register of Historic Places. City West, a mixed-income housing development just north of downtown in the neighborhood's southern-most point, is the biggest housing development in Cincinnati since World War II. The quiet streets have come alive with additions like the Mockbee across Central Parkway and a church renovation that will yield a climbing gym.

Pick your brain at WVXU fundraiser

By Newsroom

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Arts + Culture

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October 11, 2011

Can you tell the difference between a Harry Potter character and a skin disease? This month, WVXU is hosting an unusual fundraiser which raises just such questions as a way to raise money for the station and entertain listeners. Pairing with Mental Floss Magazine, the station hosts a trivia night to inform and engage participants at Go Bananas in Montgmery. WVXU, known for both its national and local music and news coverage in Cincinnati, operates as a non-profit, and has always counted on listeners for donations. After using some of Mental Floss’s games as gifts during a fund-drive, WVXU and Mental Floss struck up a partnership. “I think they realized that the public radio audience was a really good match to their magazine and website,” says Kevin Reynolds, community relations manager at WVXU. “They really want to learn different and new things.” Reynolds believes that both Mental Floss and WVXU provide listeners and readers with similar information. Instead of just providing the answer to simple trivia questions or the headline of a story, both media give their audiences the back-story. Visit the fundraiser and by the time you leave, you will know whether Marvolo Gaunt is a skin disease or character in Harry Potter. Do Good: • Attend: The Mental Floss Trivia Show at Go Banana’s on Nov. 1. • Donate to WVXU. Help the station continue to do its work. • Become a member. You'll receive a thank-you gift. By Evan Wallis

Super friends of arts Return to the Hall of Justice

By Deidra Wiley Necco

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Arts + Culture

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October 4, 2011

When they aren’t fighting crime or protecting the universe from evil of unknown and potentially catastrophic proportions, the superheroes of Greater Cincinnati are – supporting the arts. Thanks to Enjoy the Arts, Cincinnatians will have the opportunity to channel their inner superhero at the organization’s annual fundraiser and Halloween Bash at Cincinnati Museum Center’s Union Terminal. This year’s theme, Return to the Hall of Justice, is a throwback to the local legend of the terminal’s role as inspiration for the grand headquarters of DC Comics’ Super Friends. As the program in residence at Cincinnati Museum Center, Enjoy the Arts connects audiences, particularly young professionals, to the arts community and encourages lifelong patronage. “The goal is to make the arts more accessible by making people aware of the many opportunities to experience them in our area,” says Laura Partridge of Cincinnati Museum Center. For more than three decades, Enjoy the Arts has been doing just that. Members enjoy free and discounted tickets, upgrades and other benefits from partner organizations such as the Cincinnati Ballet, the Cincinnati Art Museum, the Contemporary Art Center, the Taft Museum and many others. Membership is $50, or $35 for full-time students. For individuals 35 or younger, the Orange Membership provides opportunities for free and/or deeply discounted tickets and one-time use vouchers. For those older than 35, the Noir Membership provides discounts, upgrades and other benefits meant to enhance arts experiences. Samantha Robinson, program coordinator says, “Enjoy the Arts encourages young professionals to become more involved in the arts community.” While the benefits of each membership type are similar, Orange members receive offers that introduce them to arts events that might not otherwise be accessible. There are several ways to connect with Enjoy the Arts. Hip Tips, the organization’s email news, functions as a central listing of events happening around the city. Enjoy the Arts also partners with community arts centers in the area through month-long promotions aimed at reaching out into neighboring communities. In October, Enjoy the Arts partners with the Baker-Hunt Art and Cultural Center in Covington, KY. The Clifton Cultural Arts Center serves as partner through the month of November and the Kennedy Heights Arts Center in December. On Oct. 28, Enjoy the Arts will host its annual Halloween bash and signature fundraiser. Return to the Hall of Justice will feature a DJ, Superman cocktails and a raffle including superhero themed packages. “We encourage the community to come out and support Enjoy the Arts – you won’t want to miss this,” says Partridge. Do Good: • Purchase a ticket to Return to the Hall of Justice Halloween bash. • Become a member of Enjoy the Arts. • Like Enjoy the Arts on Facebook and become part of their social media community. By Deidra Wiley Necco

City Gospel project builds facilty, new chances

By Becky Johnson

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General

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September 20, 2011

Before construction begins on a new, expanded City Gospel Mission downtown, a partnership with Building Value shares construction benefits far beyond an updated facility. Founded in 1924 by James Gamble, the agency has a long history of improving the lives of disadvantaged and struggling Cincinnatians. But the agency outgrew its landlocked, 1940’s building in Over-the-Rhine, which led to plans for an $8 million project to relocate to Dalton Avenue. To redevelop the site, City Gospel Mission will renovate the former Trane facility on Dalton and build additions that create a campus feel. That requires tearing down the old Beech Acres facility next door on York Street -- and deconstruction is something Building Value does very well. This subsidiary of Easter Seals Work Resource Center salvages reusable building materials through deconstruction and resells them to the public. Far more than a recycling center, Building Value provides resume-building jobs in construction and retail to those who have been denied past employment through lack of education, experience or luck. With his sporadic work experience, Akeem Hill couldn’t break into the construction field. Building Value cracked open that door. After months working on a deconstruction team, taking certification classes and getting help writing a resume, Hill landed an internship with Messer Construction. He'll be working on the City Gospel project. “I’ll have the awesome chance to shadow different people,” Hill says. “I’m interested in heating and cooling and have been told that I’ll have the opportunity for schooling if things go well.” The goals of both Building Value and City Gospel Mission have dovetailed with this project. "Building Value is employing people who are focused on getting their lives on track.That’s our mission, too,” says Jason Williams, public relations director for City Gospel Mission. “Those people on the front end of this project will be helping those people on the back end -- the folks who share similar pasts with the guys who are working on the site and improving their lives now.” By Becky Johnson

Cincinnati Bell Congratulates Taft on Second Consecutive ‘Excellent’ Rating

By Newsroom

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Cincy In The News

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August 30, 2011

For the second year in a row, Cincinnati's Taft Information Technology High School has earned a rating of "Excellent" on its Ohio Report Card from the Ohio Department of Education. Taft is one of three high schools in the Cincinnati Public Schools district to receive the "Excellent" rating for the 2010-2011 school year. This year's performance continues the school's dramatic 10-year transformation to one of the city's top-performing high schools. Read the full story here.

Social Innovation Fund charts course from cradle to career

By Soapbox

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General

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August 23, 2011

As grade-schoolers play in the "Energy Zone" filled with bright-colored balls at the Duke Energy Children's Musuem, they learn about simple machines the fun way. Training teachers to guide students through field-trip science activities expands the reach, and impact, of every lesson. At Cincinnati's Social Innovation Fund, which supports a wide range of educational programs including teacher training, creating lasting learning makes for measurable successes.

Nitty turns gritty to hope in West End

By Newsroom

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Arts + Culture

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August 23, 2011

Nitty Morris knows the power of rap. Until the 24-year-old Over the Rhine native joined Elementz, his music mimicked the work of artists focused on the byproducts of commercial success. "I was closed-minded," Morris says. "All I could do was talk about everything that was glorified in the streets. After I came here, I was able to develop themes, like my political views, community problems, things that actually matter. I am no longer just a rapper, I'm an artist." Morris joined the West End non-profit arts organization in the summer of 2006 and helped on the latest Fountain Square performance. After it helped him develop as a person and an artist, he decided to become a teacher. "I never wanted to be a deliberate leader," Morris says. "I just wanted to lead by example." As studio manager and audio engineer instructor, Morris helps students with everything from songwriting to stage performance. After a couple kids at Elementz told Morris they look up to him, he saw that he could do a lot more than just teach them music. "I remember as a teen I was pride-driven," he says. "If someone would dare me to throw a rock through someone's window, I would do it because I didn't want to be called out in front of my boys." He understood the challenge of making positive music in a world filled with negatives. So he asks his students what they like about their community. And then he asks them what they'd like to change. "All these kids know at least one person who has been shot due to uncalled for violence," Morris says. "They all talk about needing to stop that." From his posts in the classroom and behind the mic, Morris does his part to help. "So many artists get big in Cincinnati, then move away," Morris says. "Then I hear them talking about how Cincinnati hasn't changed. It's frustrating because they are the ones that can make the changes." Morris plans on staying in Cincinnati, working with students at Elementz and with an upcoming album, furthering his music career as he uses his life's passion to support change in the neighborhood he knows so well. Do Good: Donate: Contact Elementz and ask how you can help its programs' creative efforts. Attend the show: Elementz artists are performing at the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center, Sept. 8. Tweet about it: Follow Elementz on Twitter, @elementzhiphop By Evan Wallis

Mural, mural, on the wall

By Scott Beseler and Elissa Yancey

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Arts + Culture

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August 16, 2011

From an homage to Frank Duveneck to an original C.F. Payne to the spoils of a TED prize, MuralWorks by ArtWorks brightens more than city walls.This week, we tour of a few of the finest with Soapbox photographer Scott Beseler.

Brush Factory’s smooth trip home

By Soapbox

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General

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August 9, 2011

The Brush Factory is moving back to its roots. After a year in Oakley retail space, the designers and makers of casual, eclectic sportswear and accessories are returning to Brighton, a pocket of industrial history within Cincinnati's West End neighborhood. "Our hearts belong to Brighton," admits Hayes Shanesy, co-owner of The Brush Factory. "When I first moved here, I couldn't believe a place like this still existed." Vestiges of the community's rich history – its canal traffic, streetcar line, and industrial architecture – give the past an almost tangible quality to Shanesy. "If you squint, you can still see it."Both he and his partner Rosie Kovacs draw inspiration from the neighborhood, once a center for furniture manufacturing, meat-packing and distillery operations in Cincinnati. The design shop's 120-year-old building, at one time the workshop and showroom of the Cincinnati Brush Manufacturing Company, makes a fitting home for the designers' interests, his industrial and hers fashion. In the building's garage and upstairs workshop, Hayes focuses on 3-D forms in design, handcrafting wood furniture and restoring motorcycles and old sewing machines. In addition to her tailoring business, Kovacs creates her clothing line downstairs, where design patterns and hand-woven fabrics make each item unique. "Nothing is shipped out and our hands touch every part of it," Shanesy says. The closing of the Oakley storefront will allow the designer-craftsmen time to expand their latest creative endeavor, melding their two worlds of soft and hard materials through a new line of accessories and bags. Without the demands of a retail operation, they say they can now concentrate on their wholesale business with boutiques here and across the country.Christopher Dam, The Brush Factory's director of men's and women's sales, believes that Shanesy and Kovacs' vision, inspired by the high-quality products of the past, is a response to America's growing rejection of mass-produced quantity. The Midwest lags behind fashion centers like New York and Paris in embracing this quest for quality and uniqueness, but Dam sees great potential in Cincinnati. "With wonderful neighborhoods [in the city] like Oakley and Northside, we know the customers are out there."By Becky Johnson Photos courtesy of The Brush Factory

CETConnects with local arts community

By Newsroom

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Arts + Culture

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July 19, 2011

You may not have noticed, but Cincinnati's CETConnect, the only PBS affiliate in the country to offer global arts programming 24 hours a day, has gone hyperlocal.The station supplies a strong collection of home-grown arts content to TVs and computer screens across the city. A new $75,000 grant from The Greater Cincinnati Foundation is aimed at helping CET boost its arts programming initiative by increasing local content."This is our attempt to really carve out a local service featuring local and regional artists and art," says Jack Dominic, CETConnect station manager.On July 19, CET will premiere a video piece called "Opera Goes to Church," a special concert that took place at College Hill Presbyterian Church that brought choirs from around the city together. Later this fall, CET staff will film the concert marking the 200th anniversary celebration of the Harriet Beecher Stowe House at The National Underground Railroad Freedom Center. "A public television station needs to be a new media environment. How much longer will the audience need me to watch national fare? Not much longer," Dominic says."The one thing we can bring to the table that no other local institution can is to be able to spotlight to local stuff."Do Good:• Make a donation. As a public broadcaster, CETConnect relies on donations to produce quality content. • Pick a day and volunteer. The station needs volunteers 365 days a year to do everything from stuffing envelopes to in-depth data analysis. • Share your ideas. Want to see an arts event in your community on CETConnect? Let the station know. Send tips to Dominic.By Ryan McClendonImage courtesy CETConnect

CityLink’s plans for comprehensive campus make progress

By Newsroom

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Diversity

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July 12, 2011

A new infusion of funding will provide more fuel to the plan that is CityLink Center, a non-profit focused on helping the working poor with comprehensive services. Dismayed by 2007 U.S. Census data in which Cincinnati ranked as the tenth poorest city in the country, with one of four residents living in poverty, CityLink partners decided to forge a new path to help residents break destructive cycles.Based on the successful Centers for Working Families models in place in cities like Chicago, Atlanta and Baltimore, CityLink joins social service with faith-based organizations in an effort to meet all families' needs in a single location. Services cover a wide range of topics, from finances to healthcare, from GED to ESL courses. By locating services on the on five-acre campus, slated for Bank Street in the West End, planners hope to overcome barriers like complicated work and transportation schedules and access to childcare.More than 25 partner churches include the West End's Bright Star Baptist Church, as well as Crossroads Community Church in Oakley. Do good: • Donate. As little as $10 will be able to provide an hour of childcare for clients at Citylink.• Connect on Facebook. Like CityLink on Facebook and learn about project updates online. • Watch the video. Find out the strategy behind this initiative and meet some of the partners.By Ryan McLendonImage courtesy CityLink