Leadership

New jobs coming inside city limits of Cincinnati

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August 7, 2012

The City of Cincinnati Economic Development Center, led by newly appointed director Odis Jones, is trying to bring more jobs to Cincinnati. As a result, two long-time Cincinnati companies, Rough Brothers Greenhouses and Meyer Tool Inc., are moving some of their business inside the city limits. Rough Brothers, a greenhouse design and manufacturing firm, has been in the Cincinnati area since 1932, but is now relocating its worldwide headquarters to Cincinnati's Bond Hill. Rough Brothers has agreed to purchase 20.5 acres of vacant land at the southwest corner of Paddock Road and Regina Graeter Way from the city for $1.3 million. With the construction of the new headquarters, Rough Brothers is expected to create 120 jobs inside the city within three years, creating $1.2 million in new net tax revenue. The company has committed to remaining in Cincinnati for 10 years. The company's new headquarters will include a 150,000-square-foot office and manufacturing facility that will be built to LEED standards. Construction of the new facility is estimated to cost $4 million, while the project as a whole will cost $13.3 million. "The Rough Brothers relocation is a perfect example of Cincinnati’s GO Cincinnati initiative being put to work," says City of Cincinnati Economic Development Director Odis Jones. "The site the company chose is located in an area that we have been working to grow." Another company is bringing more jobs and development to another targeted area of Cincinnati that Jones and his team are working to develop. Meyer Tool, Inc. is a high-tech manufacturing company that has been in the area since 1951 and is now building a 30,000-square-foot manufacturing facility in Camp Washington. Meyer Tool will also expand its Colerain facility, adding 50 news jobs. "This project represents new investment in the Camp Washington community. The property tax incentive will help the company create new jobs," Jones says. By Evan Wallis

Latest in Leadership

On a roll: Euro Cargo bikes mix art, sustainability

By Jack Ellenberger

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General

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August 7, 2012

What happens when a European designer lands in Cincinnati to create a new breed of Cargo Bike? Farmers, and artists, take note.

A UC grad’s journey after college

By Newsroom

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Arts + Culture

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August 7, 2012

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.

Keep Cincinnati Beautiful wins national kudos for green initiatives

By Newsroom

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Education + Learning

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August 7, 2012

Some might say that the City of Cincinnati gets more beautiful every day, what with the continued development of its urban core and riverfront, an ever-expanding “green” construction movement and a treasure trove of amazing parks and public spaces. Keep Cincinnati Beautiful (KCB) works to ensure that the surrounding environment keeps pace by creating innovative and award-winning programs that encourage recycling and conservation practices among schoolchildren, and make it easier for folks to save the old VCR in the basement from a landfill. KCB earned notable recognition in July when Keep America Beautiful recognized the organization’s Sustainability in Action and One Stop Drop programs at its annual assembly of Ohio affiliates in Columbus. While many public schools strive to set environmentally friendly “green” goals, KCB noticed that schools struggle to meet them. “There is a misperception out there that ‘green’ programs create more work for school staff and faculty,” says Brooke Romaniw, KCB public awareness and volunteer coordinator. “We wanted to find a way to reverse this perception and help Cincinnati Public Schools educate both students and adults.” As a result, Sustainability in Action (SIA) was born. Funded by partners including P&G, Hamilton County Recycling and Solid Waste District and the City of Cincinnati Office of Environmental Quality, SIA is a three-year program that engages students in hands-on activities that work to forge “green” habits. Launched in January 2012, the SIA program focused first on waste reduction in school lunchrooms. Each day at lunch, students were taught to sort the waste on their trays, identifying items that could be recycled or composted. Students at Dater High School, Rees E. Price Academy, Roselawn Condon, Rockdale Academy and Silverton Paideia were part of the pilot year. “The students saved tons of waste from landfills during the pilot and benefitted from hands-on experience,” says Romaniw. Some students took it a step further by creating their own compost bins and gardens. As the recipient of Keep America Beautiful’s Civic/Nonprofit Award, SIA is set to begin its second phase, focusing on energy conservation during the upcoming school year. The idea is that by year three, participating schools should be ready to take over the programs themselves. “We’ve found that schools really see the value in this program,” says Romaniw. “It is exciting to see children building sustainable habits that have the potential to change the future for the better.” KCB won more national recognition for its One Stop Drop event, which launched in November 2011. It won the America Recycles Day Award from Keep America Beautiful. Romaniw spearheaded the development of One Stop Drop to make recycling unusual items convenient. While curbside recycling saves many items from the landfill, it does not accept things like electronics and number 5 plastics. During the One Stop Drop, you can drop off these types of items, drive-thru style, with free refreshments available. By partnering with 2TRG, the Cincinnati Zoo, Hamilton County, the City of Cincinnati and Whole Foods, the One Stop Drop program reached hundreds of people in just a few hours. Items like old cell phones, batteries, dried-out pens and markers, plastic bags and number 5 plastics were collected. “We are pioneering the way for schools and our community, and are proud to lead the pack,” says Romaniw. What are you doing to keep Cincinnati beautiful? Do Good: • Help students learn to sort recycling in the Sustainability in Action program. Email Brooke Romaniw. • Mark your calendar for the 2012 One Stop Drop coming in November. • Find out what Keep Cincinnati Beautiful has in the works; like the group on Facebook. By Deidra Wiley Necco

Downtown Cincinnati library named busiest on continent

By Newsroom

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For Good

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August 7, 2012

Ask Greg Edwards what made the downtown branch of the Public Library of Cincinnati and Hamilton County the busiest in North America last year and you might think you were talking to a large retailer. He refers to library patrons as customers and books and other materials as the library’s product. He talks frequently of using library data to anticipate trends, primarily in the exploding digital world. “We haven’t cut our materials as some libraries have done to cut costs. We’ve made every effort to keep our product on our shelves,’’ says Edwards, library services director. “It makes sense to us to provide what our customers need and want. “We listen to customer demand.” The Public Library Association survey ranked the Cincinnati Library’s downtown branch, at 800 Vine St., the busiest in terms of materials borrowed in 2011. About 6 million books and other materials – or about 34 percent of the system’s 17.6 million items - were borrowed from the downtown branch alone. The total system was ranked the eighth busiest in terms of circulation in North America, Edwards says. The Cincinnati Library was compared with 1,300 public libraries that included the largest in the United States and Canada. Last year was the busiest year in terms of circulation since the library’s founding in 1853, and circulation was up 8 percent year over year, Edwards says. “This shows us that people value the library and this particular library branch,’’ Edwards says. “This demonstrates the support, trust and the need people have for their library … It makes you feel good.” Continual changes and upgrades to products and services the main branch offers also helped fuel the high circulation. Consider: • Just last week, the Library launched a new “Google-like” catalogue system that allows users to search and find exactly the materials they are seeking for. The system also lets users both leave and read reviews and recommendations. • In February, the Library launched a robust mobile app that lets smartphone owners check their account, search the catalog, download eBooks and audiobooks and use their phones to search barcodes on books to see if the Library has a copy in its collection. More than 7,000 people have downloaded the app and have run 557,749 queries, Edwards says. • The Library’s Virtual Library lets users download thousands of books, music, magazines and newspaper articles. Last year, there were 470,725 downloads of materials – a 518 percent increase from 2010. Edwards says digital downloads will likely double to more than 800,000 in 2012. • The Library’s Virtual Information Center, which is a team of librarians who answer emails, call or text messages 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. While there is no doubt technology improvements fueled circulation gains, Paula Brehm-Heeger also points to changes made in services and to the physical layout of 542,500-square-foot downtown branch. Brehm-Heeger, library services manager for the central region which includes downtown, credits a two-year project that analyzed how patrons were using the library to make changes to staffing, the layout and programs to more effectively meet patron needs while they were physically inside the main branch. The library branch has added more than 100 computers, increased the services and the space devoted to teenagers, reshaped and expanded the popular library area and created “grab-and-go” displays near the front of the libraries. The library also centralized its call center to allow librarians to interact more with customers and to help them find materials. “It is a very retail model,’’ she says. “We are very customer-focused and very forward-focused.” Do Good: • On the go, check out the Library’s mobile tools. • Got a question about the Library, chat online with a librarian, day or night. • Follow latest library news via RSS. By Chris Graves Chris Graves, assistant vice president for Social and Digital Media at the Powers Agency, uses the Library’s Mobile App at least weekly.

Gigit’s local job search targets tech-savvy creatives

By Newsroom

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Architecture + Design

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August 7, 2012

Jay Hopper originally got involved in web design through a journalism job in the newspaper business. He eventually left his career as a newsman to join a local startup, Trivantis, as a web editor. He eventually became the company’s vice president of product management. Then, he launched a social network for automotive enthusiasts before finally deciding it was time to get what he calls "a real job." After failing at the traditional avenues, like Monster, CareerBuilder and LinkedIn, and doing some networking, Hopper says, “I just found that process really frustrating. I was looking for companies that would fit my skill set, passion and personality. I just started thinking, ‘Where are all these companies – the agencies, the software companies, the tech companies?’ I wished there was one place I could go and see all that.” He set out to create a website to meet those needs. The result, Gigit Jobs, lists tech, start up, creative and design job openings in the Cincinnati, Dayton Northern Kentucky and tri-state regions. The Gigit team manually reviews jobs that are posted, and while any company will be considered, positions posted must either come from a company that fits Gigit’s criteria or be a good fit in themselves. That means a web design job at the bank could work just as well as a business development position with a creative agency. The site is aggregator-friendly, which means that jobs posted there will also show up in job-search aggregators. The site's landing pages are currently active, with a full launch planned this fall. Hopper says he hopes the site will encourage techies and creatives to stay in Cincinnati rather than flee to stereotypically tech-friendly locales on either coast. By Robin Donovan

For C’est Cheese, MoLo, new locations spell opportunity

By Newsroom

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Development News

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July 31, 2012

Two local start-ups, the C’est Cheese grilled cheese truck, and mobile keepsake digitizer Memories of Loved Ones (MoLo) are celebrating new digs this month. C’est Cheese, whose founder, Emily Frank just completed the Bad Girls Ventures program, is putting the tires to the pavement with a new food truck that made its first appearance at the City Flea on July 14. C’est Cheese’s menu features 19 grilled cheese sandwiches – up to six available on a given day – and two soups, including the obligatory tomato, and a selection of homemade, flavored pickles. Frank says finding the truck was a matter of patience and perserverence. “It was just spending hours and hours and hours every day searching online through several different sites to find the right vehicle. I ended up finding one in Chicago where I had just moved from. It was a former chocolate burrito truck painted with this crazy spray paint. With a little TLC, she has come a long way.” Meanwhile, formerly mobile-only MoLo moved into a permanent – and stationary – office space at 6020 Harrison Ave., while keeping its RV for home visits. The keepsake digitizing services, which prepares posters, photo books and more for funerals, special events and celebrations, needed more space, says founder Katy Samuels. “Over the past two years, we’ve had more celebration orders; now, we can be a one-stop shop for everything people need,” she says. The company now offers an extended suite of services for weddings and other events, including creating logos, invitations, programs and even websites, as well as reception displays and guest books. Up next for these two companies on the move? “Getting people to know us,” Samuels says. “That’s the challenge.” By Robin Donovan

GOOD ideas: Get on the bus

By The Queen City Project

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Talent

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July 31, 2012

Change the way you work with buses in our region—that's the GOOD idea proposed by Team Possible as part of the GOOD Ideas for Cities project, an initiative launched this spring. Video courtesy The Queen City Project.

Miracle on Woodburn

By Michael Kearns

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General

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July 31, 2012

From vintage stores to high-end fashion shops and art galleries, a new day is dawning on Woodburn Avenue in Walnut Hills. Entrepreneurs who have long called the neighborhood home welcome the fresh energy and say it has already made an impact in one of Cincinnati's most iconic communities.

Young readers discover library’s riches

By Newsroom

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Education + Learning

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July 31, 2012

Jaela Terry has read either 100 books or 300 hours this summer or maybe it’s both. She’s not quite sure. But the 12-year-old sixth-grader at Midway Elementary School knows that reading over the summer is good for her. “My teacher told me that if you read a magazine – if you just read – your GPA will go up,’’ says Jaela, on a recent break from Brain Camp at the Public Library of Cincinnati and Hamilton County’s downtown branch. “She said that it will go up when you back to school, compared to those kids who don’t read.” That is, of course, exactly the point of the Cincinnati Library’s summer’s reading program, which officially ends Tuesday, July 31. Summer reading programs have been around for more than a century and are offered in more than 95 percent of public libraries, according to a 2010 article in School Library Journal. This year, more than 38,000 readers joined in Cincinnati’s “Reading Rocks” two-month program, up slightly from last year’s 37,790 participants, says Kate Lawrence, Adult Services, Programming and Exhibits coordinator at the Cincinnati Library. The library encourages all age groups to sign up in the hope that children will model their parents’ behavior and to also remind families that even in our wired world reading can be a family activity. This year, as in years’ past, kids made up the largest reading group at 17,082; there were 7,402 pre-schoolers who signed up; 7,115 adults registered and 6,378 teens registered. The program, which is the largest system-wide initiative for the library each year, offers hundreds of prizes and raffles to top readers and includes extensive branch-level programming to encourage kids and families to take a trip to their library. “We are really, really happy with the turnout this year,’’ Lawrence says. “We are so lucky to have community partners and sponsors that allow us to office this fun and free activity for kids and families to take part in the summer.” Gold Star Chili, the Cincinnati Symphony and the Pops Orchestras as well as the Cincinnati Reds were sponsors, and as such offered dozens of prizes to top readers. Raffle winners will also get to attend Reds games. In addition, summer readers and all Cincinnati Library cardholders can get half off Cincinnati Reds tickets in select seating areas to tonight’s game against the San Diego Padres by logging on to the Reds website and entering the promo code "Redcar." Jenny Circello hopes to win one of the raffles. But even without the prizes, her family would be involved in summer reading, she says. “We really have not changed our reading habits. My husband and I are both bibliophiles. But keeping track of what we read, it’s pretty cool to how much we are reading,’’ says the Maineville mom of Lucy, 4, and Jackson, 6. And even though the program is over, Circello will keep up her twice weekly routine of taking Lucy and Jackson to their neighborhood branch. “I’m hoping that my kids will be as addicted as we are to books and reading.” Do Good: • Apply for a free library card online. • Connect to the Virtual Library for free downloads. • Follow the Public Library of Cincinnati and Hamilton County on Facebook. • Get the latest news from the Library on Twitter. Chris Graves, assistant vice president of Digital and Social Media at the Powers Agency, is a proud library card holder and a summer reader since she was in kindergarten.