Tag: uptown

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Films That Matter, Cincinnati Bike/PAC

Cincinnati is playing host to two important events this evening that seemingly play upon different themes, but are wholly interrelated. Both events unfortunately begin at 7 P.M.

Rohs Street Café, at 245 W. McMillan Street (GoogleMap), is hosting Films That Matter 2008-2009 tonight from 7:00 P.M. to 8:00 P.M., sponsored by Imago and Cincinnati Earth Institute. Films That Matter offers a series of documentaries about planet Earth, about the challenges and opportunities of our times, and about innovative ideas and inspiring people that are making a difference. Films That Matter showcases independent films and provides a space for people to gather, learn and discuss what matters.

For tonight, the Café is presenting “Al Gore: New Thinking on the Climate Crisis“, where Gore uses a slide show to present evidence that the pace of climate change may be worse than what scientists recently predicted. Acting upon that, Gore challenges citizens to act on this information by becoming engaged in debates and organizations. This film is a follow-up to Gore’s award winning film, “An Inconvenient Truth“, and is 30-minutes long which will be followed up by a discussion.

Elsewhere, Arnold’s at 216 East 8th Street (GoogleMap) is hosting the monthly Cincinnati Bike/PAC meeting at 7 P.M. on the second floor. This meeting is held for those wishing to find out more about the city’s bike initiatives and what they can do about it. Traditionally, Bike/PAC has not attracted a lot of interest from younger cyclists, and as was quite apparent from last month’s Transportation Subcommittee meeting, affordable, green transportation appeals most to those who have yet bought into the prevailing automobile culture of this region.

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Cincinnati Hill Climb Series

The Cincinnati Hill Climb Series is mid-way through its 33rd annual series, and you can be part of the last two climbs if you’re up for the challenge. Described as “the most grueling sub-mile runs on the planet,” the Hill Climb Series features short sprints up some of Cincinnati’s steepest inclines.

The third climb takes place this Sunday, November 16th at 9am and will feature Hill Street in Mt. Adams. The climbs are sponsored by Hudy Delight and always provide plenty of liquids following the race. The Hill Street climb will end at neighborhood favorite Crowley’s for an awards ceremony.

The climbs require a $10 registration fee, or a $20 fee if you wish to receive a fashionable Hill Climb Series t-shirt. All proceeds, of the climbs, go to the Cincinnati Soap Box Derby. You can either register online, or find registration materials at Cincinnati area running stores.

The final climb of the year will be on Straight Street near the University of Cincinnati on November 23rd. So get registered soon so that you don’t miss out on this great tradition of climbing Cincinnati’s best hills and raising money for another great local cause.

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The great turnaround

Unlike many Cincinnatians I grew up a Bearcat fan. I remember going to football games and what occupied most of the south endzone was impromptu games up catch by kids my age, the north endzone had some bleachers set up for opposing teams bands, but were rarely filled. A smokestack cast its shadow over those bleachers and parking lots surrounded the stadium making for plenty of tailgating opportunities for the handful of people that actually showed up – most of whom were forced into buying season tickets so that they could get basketball season tickets.

A lot has changed since then. The Bearcats are now a BCS school, the stadium has been expanded slightly and cleaned up, that north endzone is now occupied by a student section at capacity, and the south endzone has a filled fan section with a eatery and massive new scoreboard atop the large rec center.

We play teams like Oklahoma, South Florida, West Virginia, Pittsburgh and other top-notch BCS schools regularly…and we’re competitive. We also have the oldest stadiums in college football with one of the most unique settings anywhere. UC Athletic Director, Mike Thomas, aptly described Nippert Stadium as the Wrigley Field of college football, but it is also one of the smallest stadiums for a BCS school.
So with all this positive change, big time opponents, and a winning team you would expect a region of over 2 million people to be able to fill a 35,000 seat stadium for 6 home games a year. This past Saturday was Homecoming. It was a beautiful Saturday with not much else going on in the region and the announced crowd was something like 32,000 and change. It was announced, on the scoreboard, as “the sixth largest crowd in Nippert history.” Embarrassing.

It was a perfect day, Homecoming, Big East conference opener, the Buckeyes didn’t play until after the Bearcats finished, and the Bengals were scheduled for a road game on Sunday (and they suck). At the same time CBS is predicting that the Bearcats will win the Big East and head to Miami to play Virginia Tech in the Orange Bowl.

The team is 5-1 overall and 1-0 in the conference. Let’s start supporting them before it’s too late. Cincinnati has been waiting for a winner for many years now. Well we have one, and there are good tickets still available. Single game tickets can be purchased for as little as $35, and the Bearcats will be playing host to South Florida, Pittsburgh and Syracuse to finish out their home schedule.

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News

Taking out the trash

Today I was driving north along Jefferson, around 1:40pm, when I looked to my right and saw an overflowing city trash can at the NE corner of Charlton and Jefferson (GoogleMap). There was trash flowing over the edges of the can and spilled all around the ground next to it. At that time I remembered that just a couple weeks ago I saved the phone number for reporting such cases into my cell phone.

I called the number – 513.591.6000 – and reported the situation to a very friendly person on the other end. She asked the location and said she would enter it into the system and have a crew get to it as soon as possible. I later drove back by that trash can about 4 hours later and the problem was solved.

Not only was the trash can cleaned, but so was the previously trashed ground around the can. As a result I would like to thank/commend the City for such great service. It was prompt and thorough and is a service that everyone should take advantage of. City workers only have so many eyes, so a simple phone call to tip them off goes a long way.

Something I have seen and read about before are these solar powered trash cans that automatically compact trash, hold larger amounts and automatically alert workers when cans need to emptied. The Cincinnati Park Board already uses these cans in some of the City’s parks, but it is something that should be examined for high traffic areas around the city. It’s one of those situations where the upfront costs are higher, but is well worth it in the long run. They are attractive, hold more trash, automatically compact the trash (using solar power) and alert City workers when they are approaching a full state effectively preventing any messy situations from happening in the first place.

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Arts & Entertainment News

Music festivals plentiful as thousands of UC students start classes

Tomorrow tens of thousands of students will return to classes at the University of Cincinnati.  Some of those students have been on a three-month school hiatus possibly traveling, working, or even doing absolutely nothing at all.  Others might have been busy filing their transfer paperwork or readying their applications and social skills for their first introduction to college life.

Each year this week comes along and each year it seems to bring with it the endless possibilities of the academic year to come.  The frisbees come out, political demonstrations and engagement activities begin, and the first groans over the cost of textbooks are heard.  This year is no different, but in addition to this, the first week of classes is also well known for its host of social activities.

Tomorrow UC students will be greeted with the Launch Music Festival presented by Bearcast Radio and 51three (new Cincinnati urban lifestyle magazine).  The day-long Indie festival will feature a diverse collection of local and regional independent artists.  There will be different artists hourly from noon – 7pm, and will also have several artists that will also be performing at this week’s MidPoint Music Festival.

On Friday there will be the 7th annual Bearcat Live! concert.  This free concert starts at 7pm on UC’s Sigma Sigma Commons will feature We the Living, July for Kings and headliner Blessid Union of Souls.  Both Launch Music Festival and Bearcat Live! are free events to the UC community.

Also starting on Thursday and running through Saturday is the highly anticipated MPMF that will feature three days of Indie music at a number of Downtown venues.  So while everyone is getting serious about their studies be sure to take advantage of the many music opportunities for you this week.