Sarah, the Cincinnati Zoo's 11-year-old cheetah, set a new world speed record. She first earned the title of world’s fastest of all land mammals in 2009 when she covered 100 meters in 6.13 seconds, breaking the previous mark of 6.19 seconds set by a male South African cheetah named Nyana in 2001. Read the full story here.
A UC grad recounts the story of her days after college and her time spent learning about her art and herself. Read the full story here.
Chatfield College’s 2012 graduation ceremony didn’t look like typical graduations. Graduates included a father and son who walked together, students who once considered themselves homeless and single parents. At Chatfield College, based in St. Martin and Over the Rhine, non-traditional is the norm. With a mission to serve the underserved population in the Southwest Ohio region, Chatfield’s Over the Rhine branch at Findlay Market currently serves 335 students; the St. Martin branch serves 230. John Tafaro, president of Chatfield, wants people who inhabit the underserved realms in the world of higher education to find people who will help them succeed academically, regardless of their life circumstances. “College education is within reach,” says Tafaro. “There are often obstacles but we will help students overcome them. We will help them get there and stay there.” Chatfield staff does just that. Tafaro says that Chatfield differs from other two-year colleges because of the individualized attention that students receive. Each class has an average of seven to 10 students; and the staff of 36 and faculty of 85 work together to make sure their students graduate. In addition to individualized attention in the classroom, students are provided with resources like financial counseling and free tutoring. ?“A lot of students come with no experience in banking,” says Tafaro. “We encourage them to establish a relationship with their banks and to set up a debit card. We provide them with a free debit card and checking account.” The staff also encourages students to create relationships with members in their communities. Many of them are involved with community outreach and campus ministry programs. This summer, staff and students at Chatfield’s Findlay Market branch, in partnership with Findlay Market, organized a freedom concert during the summer 2012 World Choir games. And because many who attend Chatfield are single mothers, the college provides childcare services. Tafaro says that some of the most inspiring students are the single mothers because of their determination to succeed in the face of challenges. “They’ve overcome so much by making the decision to come to school,” he says. “It sets a great example for their kids and for other single mothers.” Do Good: • Connect with Chatfield on Facebook. • Make a gift. Donating to Chatfield's annual fund helps make up the difference between actual costs and the tuition that students pay. • Catch up on the blog. Read and share the stories of Chatfield and its students. By Jen Saltsman
Delta's Cincinnati hub will survive the demise of the its Cincinnati-based Comair regional subsidiary, airline officials say. In announcing its shutdown of Comair, Delta pledged that "no reductions in the number of Delta flights are planned at Cincinnati as a result of this decision." Read the full story here.
Cincinnati is conducting a feasibility study on establishing a bike share program in the city. Melissa McVey with the Transportation and Engineering Department says the program would allow people to rent bicycles for short periods of time. Read the full story here.
Six businesses that started in Findlay Market last year have already expanded to second locations outside of the historic space. Findlay's resource development director Karen Kahle explains the beauty of Market economics and its nurturing culture. Video courtesy Epi-Venture's Courtney Tsitouris.
From Cincinnati's own Ilene Ross: Recently we were visiting one of our favorite chefs, Jose Salazar, at The Palace at The Cincinnatian Hotel to shoot him (with a camera of course) for our story on herbs. We were about to wrap, when Chef Salazar received a phone call and asked us if we could hang out for a bit; his morel purveyor was on his way in with a stellar haul. Read the full story here.
Entrepreneur Laura Chenault talked with Soapbox about her new and innovative venture, Pallet23, scheduled to open this fall in Northside. How did you start your business? I am in the process of launching. The space is being “white boxed” and should be ready for me to start the kitchen build-out by September. How did you come up the idea for your business? I have been the organizer and chair of the Celebrity Chef & Wine pairing event during Second Sunday on Main for the past five seasons; I’ve been talking with my chef friends for years about opening a dedicated space for food demonstrations, dinner parties and food events for years. It wasn’t until I found the perfect space in Northside that that vision expanded into what it is now. What resources here did you take advantage of and how did they help? A good friend, Barbara Hauser, who works for Procter & Gamble, turned me on to the Springboard program last summer and I signed up right away. Springboard and Sarah Corlett have been instrumental in clarifying my idea by showing me the path and steps I need to tackle to launch. Several Springboard graduates are Pallet23 collaborators in making the space come to life, including Once Blind Studios, Lucius Limited, Such + Such, E13 and Dulcet Designs, to name a few. Also, I am so grateful for the generosity of knowledge and advice from successful businesspeople, such as Todd Meyerrose, Bill Cunningham and Tom Hodges, for example. It has been inspiring. Finally, Carriage House Farm will be creating an edible walkway and landscape, and is donating beautiful wood from their farm for the kitchen build-out and tables. Building Value has generously partnered to fill any supplemental cabinet and countertop needs. What will a typical day in your business look like? In the first phase of the launch, I anticipate the space being rented Friday and Saturday evenings for private parties, art openings, reunions, etc. Sunday days will feature cooking events, while Sunday nights will be set aside for private “supper club” chef dinners. I will still need to keep my day job as a freelance producer! Hopefully, I will start filling the weekdays with meetings, luncheons, video/still shoots, classes etc. and grow the cooking, food component on the weekends. Interview by Robin Donovan
It's July 30, and the Reds are tied for the best record in baseball. How does this happen? Joey Votto's been out two weeks and might miss two more. Opening Day third baseman Scott Rolen's been terrible and/or injured. The starting rotation has Johnny Cueto and a bunch of mid-to-back-rotation types. Ryan Madson, the pricey offseason closer signing, never threw a single pitch in Cincinnati. Read the full story here.
Tucked amid concrete streets within the Westside neighborhood of Covington, KY just east of Interstate 71-75 lies an oasis of tranquility, and arguably the only viable green space in the city’s urban core. The historic Linden Grove Cemetery and Arboretum was consecrated in 1843 and is the final resting place for more than 22,000 burials across a span of 22 acres. Linden Grove Cemetery and Arboretum is at once environmentally and civically significant. The cemetery provides important green space, and comes with a built-in history lesson as the burial site of many important civic and community leaders, congressmen and important historical figures. Soldiers from as far back as the war of 1812 and the Civil War are buried there, along with soldiers from every other American war since. Dr. Louise Southgate, early female physician and women’s rights activist in Covington, Thomas Kennedy, one of Covington’s original founders and land owners, William Wright Southgate and Brigadier General John W. Finnell, Kentucky’s Adjutant General during the Civil War are among the important historical figures interred at Linden Grove. Over the cemetery’s 169-year history, the site has fallen into various stages of disrepair and neglect only to be brought back to life with the help of caring citizens and the local courts. Although the site is now more like a 22-acre park, Pete Nerone, Chairman of the Board for Linden Grove, says that the grounds lost its pond in the early 1960s when it was filled in during the construction of Interstate 71-75. The pond once supplied a local brewery and provided a self-sustaining water source to the grounds. Thanks to the work of people like Nerone and former board member John Dietz, the pond is about to make a comeback. As a former Peace Corps volunteer serving in West Africa, Nerone was instrumental in securing a $30,000 environmental stewardship grant from the Greater Cincinnati Foundation for the reconstruction and development of the pond. Why does the pond matter so much? Nerone says that according to studies, the City of Covington is actually 20 percent deficient in green space, permeable surfaces and adequate tree canopy. A healthy tree canopy provides a filter for noise and air pollution resulting from the neighboring interstate highway. It also provides homes for various birds, wildlife and aquatic species. Water from the pond can be used to improve the tree canopy as well as provide much needed hydration for landscaping and ornamental gardens. “Linden Grove is very important real estate from an ecological point of view,” says Nerone. “It sits in an old neighborhood in the urban core of Covington. The existence of a pond on the grounds is key to the site’s longevity.” The new pond will be controlled with a safety shelf and controlled overflow. With the grant award and the restoration of Linden Grove’s pond, Nerone says, “We can enhance and protect our beautiful green space, making it more available as a place of recreation for the community.” By Deidra Wiley Necco
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