Tag: Cincinnati

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News Politics Transportation

Metro debuts new hybrid buses

Metro will debut the first 6 of their 15 new hybrid buses on Tuesday, April 21st. The ceremony (10:30am) will take place at the Twin Lakes Overlook in Eden Park where Mayor Mallory, ODOT and others will dedicate the new buses that will then be paraded (11:00am) through Eden Park, past Mirror Lake and into downtown via 5th Street to Fountain Square.

The new hybrid buses will have a “unique go*GREEN hybrid design” that will reduce soot and hydrocarbon emissions by at least 90% and use about 30% less fuel that the typical Metro bus. Additional hybrid buses will be purchased next year with some of the $17.5 million that Metro received from stimulus funds in March.

The 6 new hybrid buses will go into service the next day and will be featured in a lunchtime Earth Day event on Fountain Square before officially being launched into service at 1pm. At the Earth Day event, there will be a fashion show of “environmentally-conscience and bike beautiful” fashions. The models will arrive on the new hybrid buses and will use the Flower Carpet, on Fountain Square, as their runway. Visitors will also be able to check out the new hybrid buses and get more information on Metro during the event.

To learn more about Metro’s new hybrid buses check out this interactive diagram.

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News

Mainstay Rock Bar opens downtown

5chw4r7z has reported that Mainstay Rock Bar is now open at the SW corner of 5th & Plum in downtown Cincinnati.

Mainstay Rock Bar (GoogleMap) has introduced a fresh look and feel to the former Poison Room space. The building is now more open to the street and boasts an interesting decor and features that should keep all of our rock-lovers out there happy.

From the owners:

“MAINSTAY takes a plush sexy lounge with brown leather seating and gives it a strong, edgy rock & roll vibe. You’re not gonna hear hip hop, mash-ups, drum & amp; bass, downtempo, or trancey house music at MAINSTAY. Think more along the lines of classic and modern rock with a twist. Framed photos of rock stars line the walls, and the bar mixes up a tasty list of specialty cocktails. MAINSTAY is a new venue with a tribute to all things rock & roll. Dual DJ booths and a stage fit for a rock star, or a band of them, allows for multiple live entertainment options.”

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Arts & Entertainment Business News

Lavomatic turns 1 and opens rooftop terrace

Lavomatic will celebrate its 1 Year Anniversary and the reopening of their rooftop terrace tomorrow night (4/17) with a pig roast, drinks and a live DJ. The urban food and wine bar will offer the pig roast for $20 and everyone’s favorite OTR Ale for just $2. The fun will start at 8pm in the heart of the Gateway Quarter in Cincinnati’s historic Over-the-Rhine.

Lavomatic Cafe is located in a former laundromat in a single story building wedged in between multi-story structures on both sides. The rooftop terrace has a great view of the Art Academy and surrounding OTR buildings. The neat thing about it is that the terrace is surrounded by renovated buildings that now boast condos just feet away.

If you haven’t yet been to the Gateway Quarter this may be a great chance for you to get acquainted. Come down a little early and go check out the businesses nearby that are all within a short walk and make for great browsing/window shopping.

Lavomatic on Urbanspoon

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News

‘Green Washing’ in Cincinnati

Everywhere you turn you hear about this or that being “green.” So what does it really mean to be “green?” Are these products, services and projects really “green” or are they using the term unjustly to help promote their particular item?

‘Green Washing‘ is the unjustified appropriation of environmental virtue by a company, an industry, a government, a politician or even a non-government organization to create a pro-environmental image, sell a product or a policy, or to try and rehabilitate their standing with the public and decision makers after being embroiled in controversy.

Hybrid vehicles, LEED certified buildings and recycling seem to top the list of popular “green” friendly activities. But what are these initiatives really accomplishing? William McDonough and Michael Braungart, authors of Cradle to Cradle, might argue that these are simply initiatives aimed at making these things less bad instead of actually making our community more good.

At the same time, the most ridiculed initiatives seem to be the ones that McDonough and Braungart might appreciate a bit more. Eating less meat, living in walkable communities and rethinking the way in which we design our everyday products would all be examples of making our community “more good.” So why aren’t these the initiatives our community is grabbing on to?

Maybe it is evidence that this new “green” movement is really just a reflection of economic opportunists looking to capitalize off of the mass appeal of being “green.” I’m not quite that cynical as I do believe we are becoming more environmentally conscience. I’m just a bit weary that the majority of being are being educated by pop culture, instead of being educated by the environmentalists out there.

I guess I’ll take a LEED Certified office building out in Blue Ash over one that is not LEED Certified, but wouldn’t renovating an existing building that currently stands vacant in our center city be the most “green” thing we could do? Or how about ditching that commute in your hybrid vehicle for a daily walk or bike ride to work?

So what do you think…are we doing enough, is the label of “green” being diluted and how can we improve the current situation to remove the confusion and get back to the core issue of being environmentally responsible?

Also check out The Sin of Greenwashing on the thoughtscreen
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Arts & Entertainment Business Development News

All-Star showing for Cincy in 2013?

The Cincinnati Enquirer’s John Fay is reporting that the Reds are “actively pursuing” for an All-Star Game to come to Cincinnati in 2013.

It seems like a relatively long time away, but in All-Star Game terms it’s not. St. Louis will host the game this year, Los Angeles (Anaheim) has 2010 and Arizona will have 2011. Boston is rumored to be the favorite for 2012, but Kansas City is also in the mix for 2012 or 2014.

The game alternates between AL and NL locations, so that leaves 2013, 2015 and 2017 as the next options for Cincinnati to get its fifth All-Star Game and first at Great American Ballpark that opened for the 2003 season.

First generation rendering of Great American Ballpark and its then future surroundings – from Hamilton County

The timeline works fine with me as the first phase of The Banks and the Central Riverfront Park will be complete. The Great American Tower (Queen City Square) will also be finished; and if we’re really lucky, so will the first phase of the proposed streetcar system. Talk about making a good impression.

At the same time work will be underway for future phases of The Banks, Central Riverfront Park and (once again if we’re lucky) the proposed streetcar system. I’m glad we didn’t get an All-Star Game immediately after the opening of Great American Ballpark. I’d much rather have the out-of-towners come in and experience the revitalized Cincinnati and see that we have a lot more to offer than the nostalgia of WKRP.