Tag: young professionals

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Be a part of the 2009 YPKC

In 2006 Mayor Mark Mallory launched the Mayor’s Young Professional Kitchen Cabinet (YPKC) – the first of its kind anywhere. The goal was to tap into the minds of those young people that so many cities are trying to both retain and attract.

Each year one hundred young professionals are tapped from all over the tri-state to volunteer their efforts to help make the Cincinnati region a more welcoming place for young people. The young professionals work on a variety of committees with different focuses. They work within their various committees and then push forth their ideas. If those ideas gain approval from the YPKC as a whole, then they are then directed to the Mayor’s office.

The YPKC is a great opportunity to get involved especially if you’re one of those many people who have had that brilliant idea come to you in the middle of the night and think, “boy it would be nice if I had the opportunity to talk to the Mayor about this.” Well you can.

You can apply now to be a member of the 2009 YPKC. I was fortunate enough to be a part of the 2008 YPKC as a member of the Transportation Committee. Due to travel plans, a spring graduation and other time constraints I will not be able to once again apply. I do strongly encourage everyone else who is interested to do before the December 3rd deadline (sorry for the late notice).

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News

Hawthorne Heights at Shake It

On Friday Hawthorne Heights will be in town for a very special appearance at Shake It Records in Northside. The Dayton-born band will give an acoustic show and just hang out for a little while probably signing albums and engaging in musical chit chat.

Hawthorne Heights is an emo band that has released three albums the most recent of which came out earlier this year entitled Fragile Future. Their first album, The Silence in Black and White, went platinum with over 1 million in record sales dating back to 2004. This was then followed up with a Gold album in 2006 that reached the top spot on Billboard’s Top Independent Albums list. If you’re not into emo bands, then just get on over to Shake It to check out their amazing collection of independent music.

In order to get their on-time you might have to cut out of work a little early. Shake It (GoogleMap) suggets that you should get their by 4pm, but if not feel free to come in and join the crowd whenever you’re able (regular hours M-S 10-9, Sun 12-6).

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News

Check it out – CiN Weekly article

There is a pretty good article this week in CiN Weekly that interviews UrbanCincy’s pal and founder of CincyStreetcar.com – Brad Thomas. He talks about the streetcar, what are some of the things he likes and best of all he plugs UrbanCincy. The writer added this bit about dying downtowns that you’ll notice. It made me wonder what list he was talking about. There are lists about dying cities that include Ohio cities like Cleveland and Dayton, but don’t tend to include Cincinnati. Either way, check out the article on page 44 of this week’s CiN Weekly, or check it out online.

Image Credit – “On the Tracks” by David Sorcher, CiN Weekly

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Development News Politics Transportation

Cincinnati Streetcar Update

While there hasn’t been a whole lot of big news relating to the Cincinnati Streetcar lately there have certainly been things going on. On November 5th the Request for Qualifications (RFQ) to design, build, operate and maintain the Cincinnati Streetcar project was sent out.

As of 8:30pm November 16th there have been 21 companies to download the RFQ packet. Now this does not necessarily mean that all will submit bids for this project, but the range of companies goes from local companies like Glaserworks and DNK Architects to national companies like URS and Parsons Transportation Group. These companies have until the end of the workday on December 18th to submit their bids.

I also got in touch with City Architect Michael Moore and was informed that City Manager Milton Dohoney should be reporting back on financing in early 2009. This is important because since the Streetcar motion was passed by City Council in late April this has been the number one tast for Milton Dohoney – raising the necessary private contributions. If these contributions aren’t raised then the motion that was passed is no longer good and things will go back to square one. So far I have heard positive feedback about this fundraising process, but nothing specific outside the $3.5 million that Duke Energy has pledged to the project.

In addition to all this I decided to have a little fun with that streetcar congestion graphic I posted last week. That graphic was from almost 100 years ago, so I thought it might be interesting to give it a 100-year update. I attempted to keep the look/feel as close as possible, and with the help of Brad Thomas we calculated out numbers for the modern version.

Ford Taurus dimensions were used for average auto size with an average of 1.2 passengers. Skoda ST10 dimensions were used for average streetcar size with an average of 85 passengers. What was seen is an increase in both the average space taken up by streetcar passengers and auto passengers. Auto space saw a 142% increase which dwarfed the 26% increase for streetcar passengers.


Early 20th Century Graphic vs. New 21st Century Graphic
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News

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.