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News

Stop talking…start doing!

I don’t know how many times I hear from the nay-sayers who continually claim that there is nothing to do in Cincinnati…or that it is a boring place for young people. You also hear, from these same people, about how Downtown and OTR are dead and have no chance. All of these statements couldn’t be further from the truth, but they are said nonetheless.

What I realized in Atlanta was that the bars and clubs weren’t that much better than Cincinnati…but what made Atlanta better for young people was all the damn young people. They were everywhere, and they were active. I saw a lot more young entrepreneurs and movers/shakers in Atlanta as compared to Cincinnati.

My point is that if you want OTR to be cool…or you want Cincinnati to have new fun/exciting things to do. Then DO it already!!! This city has long talked about what we can do, but only in select occasions do we actually act upon those words. I say it’s about time we start putting up, or shutting up. If you say that OTR sucks and are doing nothing about it and have no connection to it…then shut it and move on. If you like to bitch about the poor leadership on city council, and live out in the ‘burbs…then shut the hell up. You can move to the city and then have a voice, until then all you are doing is taking a crap on somebody else’s lawn.

Let’s step it up Cincinnati and start being the great city we are…instead of talking about the great city we could be.

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News

Ensemble Theatre Cincinnati: Review

The girlfriend and I took in a show at the Ensemble Theatre on Friday. Now I’ve been to a couple of theatres in NYC (both Broadway and off-Broadway)…I’ve also been to multiple shows at the Aronoff and other various venues (ie CCM). With that said I must say that this was one of my favorite venues.

The ETC offers a fantastic view from every seat(about 200 or so by my estimations), and also has surprisingly good acoustics for that space. What makes the venue even better is the building itself…it is a gem and has all sorts of architectural details for you to enjoy (if you’re in to that sort of thing).

As for the show we saw ‘Rabbit Hole’ which is the winner of the 2007 Pulitzer Prize for Best New Play and a Tony Award-winning drama. The show was great and the seats were full…at the end the audience gave a standing ovation for the great performance. The ETC is a great theatre that has a strong history and is nationally known.

I highly recommend a visit to the ETC. It is a good alternative to the movies and the show lets out with plenty of time to go out drinking afterwards. The ETC offers student discounts, as well as, senior discounts. You can now also buy tickets online…and if you want to see ‘Rabbit Hole’ then you better hurry because its time runs up this Sunday.

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Arts & Entertainment News

Clear your calendar on 10/17…at least after 7pm

Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper will be speaking at the Cincinnati Mercantile Library on Wednesday, October 17th. Mayor Hickenlooper is widely considered one of the main people responsible for the wildly successful LoDo District in Denver. Denver has also experienced a light rail boom over recent years and is seeing a fantastic urban renaissance that any city would be proud to boast.

Stacked, Mercantile Library’s own blog, is offering a free admission to this event if you simply mention the blog’s name. If you miss out on that offer and still want to attend it will set you back $5. It is an informal event and will start at 7pm and last an hour or so. Mayor Hickenlooper will give a little speech and then it will be opened up for Q/A. You can also read more about the event over at Stacked.

If you’re interested simply contact the library at (513) 621-0717 or mercantileinfo@mercantilelibrary.com and be sure to mention Stacked.

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News

NIMBY Tip of the Month (9.07)

Have you ever heard the complaint about how a bike trail, walking trail or stairway is going to bring crime and problems to someones property. The same can even be said for when people complain that crime and the inevitable fall of the neighborhood is near because of the addition of a potential bus stop (or other public transit stop).

Maybe my ‘crimedar’ (and yes I do have a trademark on the ‘crimedar’ slogan) is off, but I don’t understand the philosophy behind this train of thought. Is it that criminals are going to ride their bicycles or take a jog to your house to clean you out? Or is it the fear that criminals will use these trails as loitering points to case out your home? Like I said…I must be missing something.

Don’t be fooled; these people (fronting as bicyclists) are really pushing drugs!

While we’re on the point of crime I’ll bring up this other point…do criminals have a code of conduct to solely commit their deviant acts only within Cincinnati city limits (or any city for that matter). I often hear how “dangerous” cities are…but at the same time people in places like Delhi Twp, Cheviot, Madeira, Green Twp, etc make these very same claims. Do criminals really walk down the street…stop and realize they are about to cross into *trumpets sound* Delhi Township and think “I need to head back…I’m getting to far from home base?”

This may be less of a tip and more of a question for those NIMBYs and suburbanites of the world who feel they’re superior to everyone else. So please sound off and tell me of your tragic criminal experiences with bike trails, walking trails and the proliferation of crime that must exist right at the city limits.

Photo Credit:
http://hazon.org/photos/2002NY/44_On_the_bike_path

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News

Stay connected with the Cincy Streetcar proposal

I was at the Cincinnati Streetcar meeting tonight at the Art Academy of Cincinnati. First of all, I must say that the Art Academy has a simply gorgeous building in Over-the-Rhine and one that is a perfect fit for artists.

The meeting itself had a good turnout (from my perspective). The representatives from HDR were very helpful and were able to answer just about any question you threw their way (and trust me, I asked a lot of questions). In addition to the HDR people, City Architect Michael Moore and local transit god John Schneider were also their to answer any questions you may have.

I left the meeting feeling more optimistic, about the project, than ever (if that is possible). This was an informal meeting format and was a great opportunity to learn about the proposed system. If you would like to give it a try then you have one more chance since this meeting will happen again on September 27 at City Hall from 4-7pm.

I highly recommend that you start getting active in this process if you aren’t already. The whole thing is moving along very quickly and it sounds very likely that it could be ready for riders in 2010! You can get lots of information about the proposal here.