UC is among the “top producers” of U.S. Fulbright Scholars, according to a listing this week in The Chronicle of Higher Education. UC ranked ahead of Harvard, Columbia, Cornell and Ohio State. Read the full story here.
Quarterback Andy Dalton inadvertently added to his celebrity at Texas Christian University when he rushed water to save a dog suffering from heat prostration. Now, backed by one of the NFL's staunchest defenses, he is working to reinvigorate a Cincinnati Bengals franchise that has known more than its share of dog days. Read the full story here.
While Cincinnati did make the Daily Beasts' list of 25 worst cities for young people, it ranks ahead of cities like Honolulu, Virginia Beach, Seattle and others. The rankings are based on unemployment rates, percentage of marriages, debt and a few other categories. Read the full story here.
Two local environmental engineers are pouring their skills and passion into a new custom software program that will help city governments and public utilities better manage their water infrastructure. Their effort, CitiLogics, was founded 2009 in by Jim Uber, an environmental engineer at the University of Cincinnati and and Stu Hooper, who has more than 15 years experience in drinking water treatment optimization and distribution system water quality. Together, they have previous experience in systems analysis, and business and software development. CitiLogics is gearing up to launch Polaris, a real-time forecasting platform that uses existing water management data to help utilities better control their water distribution systems. The software will allow utilities to better pinpoint leak sources, and improve water quality in the distribution system, among other things. It will also forecast how a particular part of the infrastructure would hold up in an emergency or a heavy use period. The software then allows departments to share that information easily, Hooper says. "Right now a lot of that data just sits there. It literally goes into a database and one person may see it before it's stored. Right now between 2 and 40 percent of water is lost through leaks; through this modeling the infrastructure can be better maintained. We are convinced if (utilities) have useful information through math modeling and analysis techniques, they can save money, enhance water quality and make work more fun and interesting," Hooper says. CitiLogics is housed in the Hamilton incubation County Business Center, a nationally recognized business incubator. CitiLogics has hired one employee and plans to hire another one by the end of year ahead of a planned initial release of Polaris in the spring of 2012. The company is meeting with municipalities for potential early sales and the software is being tested through a pilot at the Northern Kentucky Water District. By Feoshia Henderson Follow Feoshia on Twitter @feoshiawrites
Two Cincinnati-based companies have created a strategic partnership designed to help attract and retain top talent in Southwest Ohio. Blackbook EMG, a CincyTech portfolio and high-tech human resources services company, has paired up with Best Upon Request, a Montgomery-based corporate concierge firm. “We see Blackbook’s employee attraction and retention products as a natural extension of our current service offering,” says Tillie Hidalgo Lima, president and CEO of Best Upon Request. “And our concierge services will bring additional value to Blackbook’s proposition.” Blackbook EMG connects recently hired employees to their new companies, communities and coworkers, allowing the employee to focus less on the adjustment and more on the quality of work produced. Best Upon Request is a concierge service companies hire to run daily errands for employees in order for them to be less distracted and more productive during the work day. Just like Blackbook, Best Upon Request provides a strong foundation for positive employee-employer relations. Since Best Upon Request already has a presence in 30 markets nationwide, Blackbook hopes to expand its services outside of Greater Cincinnati. “By leveraging the distinct strengths of Blackbook and Best Upon Request, this relationship allows us to obtain synergies among client needs and to strategically grow both companies. We look forward to working with Tillie’s team,” says Myrita Craig, president of Blackbook. Blackbook has seen strong momentum in 2011, increasing staff, tripling revenue and building key clients, including Procter & Gamble, Macy’s, KAO Brands, Ethicon Endo-Surgery, Tri-Health and more. Chris Ostoich, CEO and founder of Blackbook, said the Best Upon Request deal includes an undisclosed investment amount. Along with private investors and a $400,000 investment from CincyTech as lead investor, Blackbook will close its funding round at $700,000, allowing the company to complete technology enhancements and expand into other markets. “This has been an exciting year of growth for Blackbook, and this alliance with Best Upon Request supports that in a very strategic way,” Ostoich says. “This sets the stage for taking Blackbook to the next level.” By Sarah Blazak for CincyTech
After 10 years of working in corporate America, Toyia Montgomery decided to follow her dream of being an entrepreneur and open up her own coffee shop. Montgomery’s café, located at 261 W. McMillan in Clifton, Cliqq and Sip, was not only created to serve coffee and pastries. It also serves as a place where the community can come together. With free Wi-Fi, laptop rentals and meeting space, C&S was designed so that people of all backgrounds to have a place to meet, create and learn. “The idea was to put people’s talents and strengths on a pedestal,” Montgomery says. “So many of us get caught up in doing something we don’t like or want to do just to pay the bills.” Montgomery sees her shop as a place where people who don’t have Internet access can go to access the world as well as a community-oriented resource. For example, she hosted meet-and-greets with new Cincinnati police chief, James Craig, judges and City Council members. C&S also hosts a group, called Connext, which meets each week to discuss how to start and run non-profits. Group members hold each other accountable for the goals they set and push each other to pursue their ideas. Montgomery’s civic-mindedness caught the attention of the YWCA. As a woman-owned coffee shop, Cliqq and Sip seemed an ideal location for a reception for a YWCA’s event October 27,which highlights the U.S. Department of Labor’s new organization, Women in Apprenticeships and NonTraditional Occupations (WANTO). WANTO aims to recruit, train and retain women in nontraditional careers, such as electricians, plumbers and carpenters. The goal is to get 100 women in Cincinnati entered into registered apprenticeship programs. By Evan Wallis
As the first phase of a 2009 plan to make the city more bike-friendly is coming to an end of its first phase this year, innovative and much-needed changes to city roads and intersections are heading in the right direction. City cyclists know the pain of sitting at a lengthy light with no way to trigger the sensors. Some resort to pressing the pedestrian crossing buttons. Five intersections, MLK Jr. Avenue and Woodside, Pullan at Hamilton, Madison at Woodburn, Millsbrae and Woodland at Madison, now have markings painted on the roads to notify bikers where to put their bikes to trip sensors that change lights. A sixth, Knowlton at Hamilton, is being installed after construction at the intersection finishes. Melissa McVay, a planner at the city’s department of transportation and engineering, worked with Queen City Bikes and Mobo Bicycle Co-op to choose sensor locations. The sensors were reworked to detect the weight of most bikes, though bikes made out of carbon or aluminum may not be heavy enough. Mcvay will continue to research to accommodate all cyclists and decide other intersections at which to add the markings. “Queen City Bikes and the Mobo were critical in our plan to implement these markings,” McVay says. Other safety measures include signs that notify drivers that they must pass bikers by changing lanes, which will be located mostly in lengthy corridors of “shared lanes,” which include Spring Grove Avenue and Central Parkway. These signs also help police officers enforce laws that protect cyclists, by giving drivers fair warning of the rules of driving on shared roads. Louisville is the only other city in the region McVay knows of that is installing these kinds of signs “We’ve seen some other cities doing this, but there isn’t much like this being done in the Midwest,” McVay says. Beechmont Avenue along the Mt. Washington Business District will boast the first buffered bike lane, or a wider bike line for protection on the busy street. Also, new “Sharrows,” which are pavement markings to notify drivers of bikers, are being painted on Jefferson and Ludlow avenues in Clifton, since there is not room to create separate bike lanes. New phases of the plan continue through 2025 By Evan Wallis Follow Evan Wallis on Twitter
An international arts festival that calls Barcelona home makes its first tour stop in Cincinnati this week. OFFF Cincinnati takes place at the Contemporary Arts Center this weekend. It brings together some of the most innovative and groundbreaking artists from around the world to illustrate the bond between art, creative thought and digital technology. Artists who work in film, motion design, illustration and other media will engage the local audience as they explore ideas about future of art and the creative process. It took a year of planning, but even before OFFF was officially announced, local design firms jumped at the chance to offer support. HyperQuake created the website, branding and a mobile app for the event. The app is the first presentation at OFFF. In the weeks leading up to the event, app users were given tasks, including taking photographs representative of Blue, Look Up, Horizontal Lines and Your Shoes. Combined, the images will form larger art installations created by HyperQuake and Lightborne. Any user who completes all the tasks before the event will receive a screen-printed poster. The app also connects its users via Twitter and encourages the sharing of pictures and conversation leading up to the event. The goal is ambitious: to not only bring together the best and most innovative artists in the world, but also to bring together all those who love art and wish to be inspired by it. While the event is sold out at around 300 attendees, Soapbox’s Evan Wallis will be attending and bringing readers a feature on the festival, including why Cincinnati was chosen and a look in to the founder, Hector Ayuso’s vision. By Evan Wallis
Families with children are one of the fastest-growing segments of the homeless population today. The Interfaith Hospitality Network (IHN) of Northern Kentucky knows that it can’t change those statistics alone. IHN already partners with over fifty churches, a thousand volunteers and several social service agencies to provide temporary housing and support for homeless families. By keeping the entire family together, IHN is unique among local services aiding the homeless; other agencies are forced to separate fathers and older boys from mothers and small children. IHN host churches open their doors weekly to house families overnight, providing homemade dinners and breakfasts, games and relaxation for all members of a family. And with 98% of IHN’s work being done by volunteers, fund-raising dollars go directly to support the guest families IHN serves. But in a downturn that just won’t let go of the economy, IHN is seeing many more children and their families in homelessness today. “The shelter is completely full,” states Warner Allen, executive director for IHN of Northern Kentucky. “And we have over 60 families on our waiting list. Of those, 145 are children.” Those waiting may be staying with relatives, but many are in their cars or on the streets and in critical need of help. So IHN has developed new programs recently that share social workers and resources between agencies, partner with local colleges for training and education, and offer job coaching and resume building at the Day Center, where families go during the day to plan for their future. Sharing resources is the only way to give each family the intense case management necessary for them to rise out of homelessness. Allen understands first-hand the fears and worries these families face.“I was homeless as a child. I know what these families are going through.” The key to success is keeping the entire family together, he believes. By supporting mom and dad in their job search and training, by mentoring youth and by offering education in life skills and financial literacy to everyone, many families can and do rise out of homelessness at IHN, never to return. Do Good: Attend: “A Taste of Homelessness,” a fundraising event for the Interfaith Hospitality Network of Northern Kentucky with wine tastings and hors d’oeuvres, Oct. 27th from 6-8pm at The Ascent at Roebling’s Bridge, Covington, www.nkihn.org Volunteer: to mentor a youth, help with financial or life skills counseling or serve a meal at one of the many churches who host IHN families around the year. Support: IHN with donations of furniture and other household items to establish a new home for families who have lost everything and are starting over. By Becky Johnson
The company that renovated Fountain Square and is in the process of recreating Washington Park, 3CDC, is about to start construction on the fifth phase of its building and renovation plan to get more people living in OTR. Spanning from 13th to 15th and Elm to Walnut streets, 112 new housing units should be ready for occupancy by this time next year, with construction beginning in December or January. Most are renovations and rehabs, except for 17 new units in Mercer Commons, which sits between Walnut and Vine in the 1300 block. One sector, on 15th and Republic, will have 14 rental units. All others will be for sale. Options range from 500-square-foot studios to a 1,900-square-foot, three bedroom flat. Prices will be set before the end of this year. All together, more than 100,000 square feet will be renovated or built in Phase Five. Around 8,500 square feet will be street-level, commercial space. Since 2004, 3CDC has completed 186 units, which now have 81 percent occupancy. Washington Park, which is not part of Phase 5, should be completed by June 2012. It adds eight acres of green space to OTR. While many historic aspects of the park will be reserved, there will also be new performance stages, a water playground and a 450-space underground parking garage. Phase Five is the last step planned so far in the large-scale renovation plan for OTR. 3CDC owns property stretching from Walnut to Central Parkway and up to Liberty Street, which still needs to be scheduled for renovation. Over $162 million has been invested into OTR since 2004. By Evan Wallis
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