NKY Thrives Archives – Page 352 of 352

First urban mountain bike trails coming to Devou on March 28

By Newsroom

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March 17, 2009

Work will begin on Greater Cincinnati's first urban mountain bike trails on March 28 when 150 high school volunteers start cutting their way through Devou Park in Covington.Blazing Trails, a program sponsored by Give Back Cincinnati subsidiary Give Back High, is recruiting high school students from throughout the region to help build eight to 10 miles of trails of varying levels of difficulty."We do have several large school groups registered to participate and there is a general excitement in the air related to the project and its impact," says Teresa Murphy of Give Back High. "It’s a fantastic way to enjoy nature and simultaneously create a permanent venue for others to enjoy an unfinished area of the park."These trails would be the only beginner- and intermediate-level trails within 15 miles of downtown Cincinnati."I went to the trails the weekend before last for some training and was able to get a sense of the large-scale project’s vision and detail," Murphy says. "It’s strange – after spending some time working at the site, you see the impact and are able to picture the final product."Murphy says that work on the trails will continue into the foreseeable future, and there will be many more opportunities to volunteer."The goal is to have the first 4-5 mile loop done by the fall of this year," she says. "In years to come, more mileage and loops will be added – on average, about 4 miles can be added per year."As an incentive, two student volunteers will be selected to win Superlight Mountain Bikes, donated by Santa Cruz Bicycles and retailing at $1,800 each.The Kentucky Mountain Bike Association and Cincinnati Off-Road Alliance pushed hard to have trails included in the park's master plan, which was approved last summer.In advocating for the trails, both groups pointed out that more than one in five Americans over the age of 16 own a mountain bike, and that studies have shown that states with more miles of mountain bike trails have more physically fit residents.Writer: Kevin LeMasterSource: Teresa Murphy, Give Back High Photography provided by Kentucky Mountain Bike Association

UC professors produce first known introductory text on LGBT Studies

By Newsroom

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Arts + Culture

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March 10, 2009

Finding a lack of textbooks that could adequately introduce the topic of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) studies to their students, a pair of University of Cincinnati professors decided to create one.Department of Women's, Gender, and Sexuality Studies professors Deborah Meem and Michelle Gibson worked with former UC colleague Jonathan Alexander to produce "Finding Out: An Introduction to LGBT Studies", considered by the authors to be the first real introductory LGBT textbook published in the field.The book, which covers such topics as gay and lesbian history, queer theory, intersectionality, and concepts of moral panic, was field tested by Meem's students and by students in a similar course at Northern Kentucky University.While designed as a textbook, the authors hope it will attract a broader readership of people who want to learn more about the topic.Read the full article here.

Riverfront Commons would bring $1.5B in investment, 4,000 jobs to NKY

By Newsroom

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Development News

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March 10, 2009

Hundreds of Northern Kentucky business leaders and lawmakers heard the most recent plans for the Riverfront Commons project, but were warned that hard work would be needed to secure its funding.Billed as "a nationally-recognized amenity and destination", Riverfront Commons would consist of a multi-use trail linking Northern Kentucky's river cities and offering connections to Cincinnati via the Purple People Bridge, to the proposed Licking River Greenway, and to the Boone County park system."We believe that if Northern Kentucky can creatively link all of our riverfront cities and riverfront assets, the entry points into our cities and regional parks, and the connecting points to Cincinnati's riverfront, that we can create the most exciting riverfront experience in the Midwest," says Bill Scheyer, president of Southbank Partners, which is leading the initiative.Roger Peterman, chair of Southbank's Riverfront Commons Committee, says that the project represents $60 million in shovel-ready infrastructure that will stimulate $1.5 billion in private investment and create 4,000 permanent jobs.With Riverfront Commons in the works since 2005, the committee was intrigued when the $787 billion federal economic stimulus package was announced."We determined that this project was the definition of economic stimulus, and this might be a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to transform Northern Kentucky through a project like this," Peterman says."Competition from all over this nation is already fierce," says Southbank member Jay Buchert. "A full-time commitment will be required to secure the funding necessary for us to achieve success. We are going to have to work very hard – and very smart."To fight for funding, Southbank has enlisted the services of 20/20 Strategies, a new partnership of "fresh off the bench" talent that is intimately familiar with the appropriations process and has developed deep and meaningful contacts in Washington.The cost to hire lobbyists, legal and consulting services, and preliminary engineering for the first year is estimated at $335,000, Buchert says.Peterman believes that the project is near the top of the list when compared to the thousands of other projects seeking funding."We have a Corps of Engineers study that shows the economic impact that will occur as a result of this development," he says. "This is a Corps of Engineers project, which opens up a whole new avenue of funding that's unique for our region."Writer: Kevin LeMaster