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As part of CityBeat's continuing election coverage, we've once again sent a questionnaire to the non-incumbent Cincinnati City Council candidates to get their reactions on a broad range of issues.
Nine of the 14 non-incumbents chose to answer our questions. Others either didn't respond or couldn't meet the deadline.
During the next few weeks, we will print the responses from the non-incumbents to a different topic each time.
Today's question is, "What is your stance on the city's Environmental Justice Ordinance? Should it be retained or repealed?"
Former Cincinnati City Councilman Greg Harris has accepted a major, high-profile job in Detroit, where he will live during the week.
Harris, 39, was hired Monday as the first executive director for Excellent Schools Detroit. The new organization is comprised of various education, government, community and philanthropic leaders who have developed a 10-year, citywide education plan to improve Detroit's public school system.
We reported here yesterday that City Councilwoman Leslie Ghiz posted personal information on Facebook about two citizens who had emailed criticism about her pressuring of City Manager Milton Dohoney to remove the Occupy Cincinnati protesters. The news quickly spread on Twitter (which you can follow in our live aggregator below), and Ghiz removed the posts shortly thereafter.
The incident might not seem like the hugest deal — largely a petty socio-political discussion on a conservative's personal Facebook page among a bunch of likeminded people. But the publication of the home and email address of a citizen who opposes an elected official crosses a major ethical line.
We purposely didn't publish screen shots of the posts due to the private information involved. It would have been relevant only in demonstrating the pettiness with which Ghiz offered the critics' opinions to her collection of angry friends. "These are some of the lovely emails my campaign has been getting because I believe the law should be applied evenly and equally to everyone," the first introduction reads. How does she expect people to react to such sarcasm? "Oh dear, Leslie, I also care not for such a movement and its collection of anarchic rogues. Let me set down my tea cup and console you."
As part of CityBeat's continuing election coverage, we've once again sent a questionnaire to the non-incumbent Cincinnati City Council candidates to get their reactions on a broad range of issues.
Nine of the 14 non-incumbents chose to answer our questions. Others either didn't respond or couldn't meet the deadline.
During the next few weeks, we will print the responses from the non-incumbents to a different topic each time.
Today's question is, "City Manager Milton Dohoney Jr. has proposed a garbage collection fee which, so far, City Council has resisted. What is your stance on this fee?"
As has become the norm during the last few election cycles, Cincinnati's police union is reluctant to publicly reveal its full slate of endorsements, for some strange reason. No matter: CityBeat managed to get this year's information.
Working through multiple sources at different campaigns, we've compiled what we believe to be an all-inclusive list of endorsements made by the Fraternal Order of Police (FOP), Queen City Lodge No. 69.
Sharp-eyed readers who received an email update this week from Cincinnati City Councilman P.G. Sittenfeld got a surprise: At the bottom, it stated the missive came from the "Office of Congressman P.G. Sittenfeld."
That prompted some observers to wonder if the error was a Freudian slip and whether Sittenfeld, who was just sworn into his first council term three weeks ago, had already set his sights on higher office.
As part of CityBeat's continuing election coverage, we've once again sent a questionnaire to the non-incumbent Cincinnati City Council candidates to get their reactions on a broad range of issues.
Nine of the 14 non-incumbents chose to answer our questions. Others either didn't respond or couldn't meet the deadline.
During the next few weeks, we will print the responses from the non-incumbents to a different topic each time.
Today's question is, "There is a movement afoot to move the Drop Inn Center homeless shelter out of Over-the- Rhine. Do you support or oppose this effort, and why?"
It's the 1980s and '90s all over again in Cincinnati.
In a blatant attempt to do an end-run around the mayor, four members of Cincinnati City Council met with The Enquirer's editorial board today to unveil a budget-cutting plan that includes merging the city's Police Department with the Hamilton County Sheriff's Office.
The council faction hadn't discussed the far-reaching concept previously with Mayor Mark Mallory or City Manager Milton Dohoney Jr. but had held discussions with Sheriff Simon Leis Jr. about the idea.
Flaherty & Collins, the developer that wants to tear down a garage as part of its downtown grocery and apartment tower project, offered to pay for a tenant's move to keep the deal moving forward. The tenant, Paragon Salon, recently announced its intent to sue the city after Mayor John Cranley's refusal to pay for the salon business's move left the development project and Paragon in a limbo of uncertainty. With Flaherty & Collins' offer, the development deal should be able to advance without extra costs to the city.
But Cranley says he still wants 3CDC to review the downtown development project to set the best path forward.
Federal money will help Cincinnati keep and hire more
firefighters. The Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response
(SAFER) grant provides nearly $8.1 million — about 2 percent of the
city's $370 million operating budget — to pay the salaries and benefits
of 50 firefighters for two years. Afterward, the city will need to pick
up the costs, which could worsen an operating budget gap that currently
sits at $22 million for fiscal 2015. The move would increase the
Cincinnati Fire Department's staffing levels from 841 to 879 and help prevent brownouts, according to the firefighting agency.
The Cincinnati Board of Health defied Mayor Cranley by
unilaterally pursuing a $1.3 million grant that will provide
preventative and primary care services to underserved populations. Rocky
Merz, spokesperson for the board, says the grant application complies
with guidance from the city's top lawyer. Cranley opposes the grant because the extra services it enables could push up costs for the city down the line.
Hamilton County officials will look for outside legal help in their fight against the city's job training rules for Metropolitan Sewer District projects. CityBeat covered the rules, known as "responsible bidder," in further detail here.
Smale Riverfront Park will receive $4.5 million in federal funding from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to control erosion and prevent flooding.
Crime around Cincinnati's Horseshoe Casino never materialized, despite warnings from critics prior to casinos' legalization in Ohio.
Ohio's prison re-entry rate declined and sits well below the national average, according to a study from the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction. The study found 27.1 percent of inmates released in 2010 ended up back up in prison, down from 28.7 percent of individuals released in 2009. In comparison, the national average is 44 percent.
Hundreds of Ohio school districts plan to test out the state's new online assessments for math, language arts, social studies and science.
The cold winter is pushing up natural gas prices, according to Ohio's largest natural gas utility.
A second baby might have been cured of HIV, the sexually transmitted disease that causes AIDS. Even with the potential successes, doctors caution it's still very much unclear whether the treatment provides a definitive cure for the deadly disease.
Meanwhile, a first-of-its-kind intravaginal ring could prevent pregnancy and HIV.
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A group of Greenpeace protesters face burglary and vandalism charges after a stunt yesterday on the Procter & Gamble buildings. Protesters apparently teamed up with a helicopter to climb outside the P&G buildings to hang up a large sign criticizing the company for allegedly enabling the destruction of rainforests in Indonesia by working with an irresponsible palm oil supplier. P&G officials say they are looking into the protesters' claims, but they already committed to changing how they obtain palm oil by 2015.
Cincinnati Center City Development Corp. (3CDC) will step in to resolve the status of a downtown grocery and apartment tower project. The previous city administration pushed the project as a means to bring more residential space downtown, but Mayor John Cranley refuses to pay to move a tenant in the parking garage that needs to be torn down as part of the project. Following Cranley and Councilman Chris Seelbach's request for 3CDC's help, the development agency will recommend a path forward and outline costs to the city should it not complete the project.
Meanwhile, the tenants in the dispute announced today that they will sue the city to force action and stop the uncertainty surrounding their salon business.
Cranley insists politics were not involved in an appointment to the Cincinnati Board of Health, contrary to complaints from the board official the mayor opted to replace. Cranley will replace Joyce Kinley, whose term expired at the end of the month, with Herschel Chalk. "Herschel Chalk, who(m) I'm appointing, has been a long-time advocate against prostate cancer, who's somebody I've gotten to know," Cranley told WVXU. "I was impressed by him because of his advocacy on behalf of fighting cancer. I committed to appoint him a long time ago."
The costs for pausing the streetcar project back in December remain unknown, but city officials are already looking into what the next phase of the project would cost.
Troubled restaurant Mahogany's must fully pay for rent and fees by March 10 or face eviction.
Through his new project, one scientist intends to "make 100 years old the next 60."
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Mayor John Cranley could dismantle a deal that would produce a grocery store, 300 luxury apartments and a new parking garage downtown. Cranley says he doesn't want millions put toward the deal, even though the developer involved plans to invest another $60 million. Councilman Chris Seelbach says the deal isn't dead just because of the mayor's opposition, and City Council could act to bypass the mayor, just like the legislative body did with the streetcar project and responsible bidder. To Seelbach, the deal is necessary to bring much-needed residential space and an accessible grocery store downtown.
Cincinnati officials and startup executives will try to bring Google Fiber, which provides Internet speeds 100 times faster than normal broadband, to Cincinnati. Google plans to hold a national competition to see which cities are most deserving of its fiber services. "Over the last several years, Cincinnati's innovation ecosystem has made tremendous strides," Councilman P.G. Sittenfeld said in a statement. "We're increasingly becoming a magnet for talented entrepreneurs across the country who want to come here to bring their big ideas to life. We need to ensure that we have the modern technological infrastructure to make Cincinnati nationally competitive."
Cincinnati's operating budget gap for fiscal 2015 now stands at $22 million, up from an earlier forecast of $18.5 million, largely because of extra spending on police pushed by Cranley and a majority of City Council. The city must balance its operating budget each year, which means the large gap will likely lead to layoffs and service cuts.
Commentary: "Budget Promises Spur Fears of Cuts."
Cranley won't re-appoint the chair of Cincinnati's Board of Health. When asked why, Chairwoman Joyce Kinley told City Council's Budget and Finance Committee that Cranley told her "he had to fulfill a campaign promise." Some city officials say they worry Cranley is putting politics over the city's needs.
Troubled restaurant Mahogany's needs to pay back rent or move out, The Banks' landlord declared Monday. The deciding moment for Mahogany's comes after months of struggles, which restaurant owner Liz Rogers blames on the slow development of the riverfront.
Kathy Wilson: "Mahogany's: Turn Out the Lights."
Cincinnati's Horseshoe Casino supports 1,700 workers, making it the largest of Ohio's four voter-approved casinos.
At least one airline, Allegiant Air, plans to add flights from Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport.
Headline: "Man wakes up in body bag at funeral home."
"A 30,000-year-old giant virus has been revived from the frozen Siberian tundra," the Los Angeles Times reports.
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City Council yesterday expressed support for a barebones parking plan that would upgrade all meters to accept credit card payments and increase enforcement around the city, which should boost annual revenues. The plan does not increase rates or hours at meters, as Mayor John Cranley originally called for. It also doesn't allow people to pay for parking meters through smartphones. The plan ultimately means death for the parking privatization plan, which faced widespread criticism after the previous city administration and council passed it as a means to jumpstart new investments and help fix the city's operating budget and pension system.
Councilman Christopher Smitherman plans to pursue changes to the city's political structure to give more power to the mayor and less to the city manager. Smitherman says the current system is broken because it doesn't clearly define the role of the mayor. Under Smitherman's system, the mayor would run the city and hire department heads; the city manager, who currently runs the city and handles hiring, would primarily preside over budget issues; and City Council would pass legislation and act as a check to the mayor. Smitherman aims to put the plan to voters this November.
Commentary: "WCPO's Sloppy Streetcar Reporting Misses Real Concerns."
The Cincinnati Art Museum maintains five political cartoons from the famed Dr. Seuss (Theodore Seuss Geisel), but none are currently on public display. The cartoons call back to the history before World War II, when most of the world played ignorant to the horrors of the Holocaust and Americans had yet to enter the war. Dr. Seuss loathed the villains on the world stage, and his cartoons promoted a message of interventionism that would eventually lead him to join the Army to help in the fight against the Axis powers. When he returned home, he would write the famous stories and books he's now so well known for.
Mayor Cranley and some council members appear reluctant to accept a routine grant application that would allow the Cincinnati Health Department to open two more clinics because of the potential effect the clinics could have on the city's budget. Cranley and other council members also seem concerned that the Health Department played a role in the recent closing of Neighborhood Health Care, which shut down four clinics and three school-based programs after it lost federal funding.
Ohio legislators approved a bill that forces absentee voters to submit more information and reduces the amount of time provisional voters have to confirm their identities from 10 days to one week. For Democrats, the bill adds to previous concerns that Republicans are attempting to suppress voters. The bill now goes to Gov. John Kasich, a Republican who's expected to sign the measure into law.
The Ohio legislature continues wrangling over how to give schools more snow days.
More than 175,000 claims have been filed over winter damage, potentially making this winter one of the costliest in decades.
Robot suits could make mixed martial arts blood-free.
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The mayor and a supermajority of City Council backs efforts to establish a domestic partner registry for same-sex couples in Cincinnati, Councilman Chris Seelbach's office announced Tuesday.
If adopted by the city, the registry will allow same-sex couples to gain legal recognition through the city. That would let same-sex couples apply for domestic partner benefits at smaller businesses, which typically don't have the resources to verify legally unrecognized relationships, according to Seelbach's office.
Specifically, the City Council motion asks the city administration to reach out to other cities that have adopted domestic partner registries, including Columbus and eight other Ohio cities, and establish specific guidelines.
Seelbach's office preemptively outlined a few requirements to sign up: Same-sex couples will need to pay a $45 fee and prove strong financial interdependency by showing joint property ownership, power of attorney, a will and other unspecified requirements.
"As a result of a $45 fee to join the registry, we believe this will be entirely budget neutral, meaning it won't cost the city or the taxpayers a single dollar," Seelbach said in a statement.
If the plan is adopted this year, Cincinnati should gain a perfect score in the next "Municipal Equality Index" from the Human Rights Campaign, an advocacy group that, among other tasks, evaluates LGBT inclusion efforts from city to city. Cincinnati scored a 90 out of 100 in the 2013 rankings, with domestic partner registries valued at 12 points.
Seelbach expects the administration to report back with a full proposal that City Council can vote on in the coming months.
Following county commissioner's Feb. 12 meeting, the dispute between Cincinnati and Hamilton County over contracting rules for Metropolitan Sewer District (MSD) projects appears to be heading to court.
The court battle comes after the county dismissed multiple concessions from the city and put MSD's revamp of the local sewer system on hold in protest of the city's rules. With a federal mandate looming, both sides agree a resolution is needed soon to avoid costly fines from the federal government.
For many across the city and county, the conflict is understandably confusing. The debate has often been mired down by biased media reports and political talking points that obfuscate the issue. Jargon referencing "responsible bidder," "local hire," "local preference," unions, apprenticeship programs, a pre-apprenticeship fund and contractors make it even more difficult to grasp what is going on.
Cutting through the politics, here is what the responsible bidder rules actually do and why the city and county seem incapable of compromise.
What is responsible bidder?
It's a city ordinance that essentially forces MSD contractors to adopt job training measures known as apprenticeship programs and pay for a pre-apprenticeship fund. By requiring the training options, the city hopes workers will be able to improve their skills and successfully transition to other jobs once their MSD work is finished.
Apprenticeship programs take workers through extensive on-the-job and classroom-based training in which they can hone their skills in a specific craft, such as electrical or plumbing work. Because workers get paid for their work while participating in an apprenticeship, the programs are typically characterized as an "earn-while-you-learn" model.
The pre-apprenticeship fund will put money toward programs that will teach newcomers basic skills, such as math and reading, so they can eventually move up to an apprenticeship program.
The rules don't apply to every MSD contractor. Contracts worth less than $400,000, which make up roughly half of MSD's sewer revamp, are exempted.
What about local hire and local preference?
Those are ordinances separate from responsible bidder that give preference to Cincinnati-based businesses. They try to keep MSD contracts within local companies.
What's the conflict about?
The conflict is between Cincinnati and Hamilton County, which jointly run MSD. The Democrat-controlled city supports the rules, while the Republican-controlled county opposes them.
The city and county also dispute which governing body can set policy for MSD. Under a 1968 agreement, the county owns and funds MSD, and the city operates and maintains it. City Council argues the agreement allows the city to set policy for MSD, but the county disagrees. Both sides acknowledge the set-up is far from ideal.
So, did the city's rules halt MSD projects?
No. Nothing in the city's ordinances forces MSD projects to stop. County commissioners singlehandedly halted MSD projects in protest of the city's rules. If it were up to the city, work would continue today.
Why are these projects so important?
By federal decree, the city needs to revamp the sewer system to bring it up to environmentally safe standards. The project will cost $3.2 billion over 15-20 years, making it one of the most expensive in the city's history.
If the city and county don't carry on with the revamp soon, the federal government will begin issuing fines. By some guesses, the fines could begin rolling in by the end of the year.
Why does a majority of City Council support responsible bidder?
Councilman Chris Seelbach, the Democrat who championed the rules, says they will boost local employment and create more job training options for the city's struggling workforce.
Other Democrats on council agree, although some, like Councilman P.G. Sittenfeld, believe the ordinance is "imperfect."
Does responsible bidder benefit workers?
Some research suggests it would.
The left-leaning Center for American Progress (CAP) in a December report argued apprenticeship programs provide an opportunity to revitalize the U.S. workforce.
"By 2020, America is projected to experience a shortage of 3 million workers with associate's degrees or higher and 5 million workers with technical certificates and credentials," the report claimed. "Compounding our inadequate workforce development system, research shows that employers are now spending less on training than they have in the past. At the same time, industry surveys show that a lack of qualified workers is a top concern for many employers."
Citing a 2012 study from Mathematica Policy Research, CAP estimated apprenticeship programs alone can boost a worker's lifetime earnings and benefits by more than $300,000. Over 36 years of employment, that's an average gain of nearly $8,400 a year.
Why do county commissioners oppose the rules?
In terms of policy, county commissioners say the responsible bidder rules favor unions and burden businesses.
On a legal basis, the county argues the city's responsible bidder rules conflict with state law and the local hire and preference rules enforce unconstitutional geographic preferences.
Does responsible bidder actually favor unions?
Since unions tend to offer better and more apprenticeship programs, yes.
But the rules don't exclude non-union businesses from participating. For example, Ohio Valley Associated Builders and Contractors maintains some non-union apprenticeship programs that would qualify under the law.
Still, most of the union favoritism debate centered around a regulation the city actually offered to give up. Specifically, under current rules employers are only eligible to contract with MSD if they have apprenticeship programs that have graduated at least one person a year for the past five years. In October, Seelbach offered to strip the mandate and replace it with an incentive program. The county seemed unmoved by the proposal.
What about businesses? Does responsible bidder burden them?
By requiring businesses to adopt apprenticeship programs and put 10 cents for each hour of labor into a pre-apprenticeship fund, the law certainly places more regulations on businesses. Whether the requirements are a burden is subjective.
John Morris, president of the Ohio Valley Associated Builders and Contractors and an opponent of the law, told CityBeat the pre-apprenticeship fund's requirement will increase business costs by $2-3 million over 15-20 years.
Citing MSD estimates for the cost of labor, Rob Richardson, regional manager of the Laborers' International Union of North America, said the fund will cost businesses $1.5 million.
Even if someone accepts Morris' estimate, the requirement adds up to at most 0.1 percent of the $3.2 billion project.
More broadly, some supporters of the city's rules question whether placing a burden on businesses is innately a bad thing. The basic point of government regulations is to make the economy and businesses work better for the public. In that sense, regulations are always going to burden businesses to some extent.
For example, financial regulations burden big banks and financial institutions. But many Americans agree the regulations are necessary to avoid another financial crisis like the one that plunged the country into the Great Recession.
Still, critics argue the extra regulations would increase the cost of business, and the impact could ultimately be felt by MSD ratepayers.
Why don't the city and county just compromise?
They kind of tried, but it seems the philosophical split between Hamilton County Republicans and Cincinnati Democrats is too strong to reach a substantial agreement.
The city, for example, has offered multiple concessions to the county. In May, City Council modified the law to ease some requirements and add an exemption for contracts worth less than $400,000, which covers half of the contracts involved in MSD's sewer revamp. In October, Seelbach offered to replace a strict mandate with a looser incentive program. Seelbach also told CityBeat on Feb. 6 that he would consider raising the contract exemption from $400,000 to $750,000.
In return, the county rejected the concessions and instead offered to establish aspirational inclusion goals and some funding for local job training programs — as long as the city repealed its rules altogether.
Which side would win the court battle?
It's hard to say. Both sides — and their lawyers — seem pretty confident about their legal standing.
So what's next?
At the current rate, it looks like the city and county are heading to court. Whether the process involves a full-on legal battle or mediation between the city and county's lawyers remains uncertain, but it's clear something will eventually have to give.
This blog post will be regularly updated as the situation develops.
Mayor John Cranley on Feb. 12 officially unveiled his plan for Cincinnati's parking meters, lots and garages, providing the first clear option for the city's parking system since the Greater Cincinnati Port Authority agreed to halt the previous plan.
The proposal seeks to effectively replace the previous administration's parking privatization plan, which outsourced the city's parking assets to the Port Authority and several private companies, and maintain local control of the city's parking assets.
Here's a breakdown of the plan and all its finer details.
What is Cranley's parking plan?
It's a plan for Cincinnati's parking meters, lots and garages. More specifically, Cranley calls his proposal a "framework" that focuses on upgrading the city's parking meters and keeps City Council's control of parking rates and hours.
Cranley's plan, based on a Feb. 7 memo from Walker Parking Consultants, achieves his goals in a few ways:
• The city would issue bonds, backed by future parking revenues, to upgrade all parking meters to accept credit card payments.
• The amount of enforcement officers under the city's payroll would increase to 15, up from five, to provide greater coverage of the city's parking meters. (Currently, a few areas, including major hubs like the University of Cincinnati and Over-the-Rhine, are effectively unenforced for two to five hours a day, according to Walker.)
• Neighborhood meter rates would go up by 25 cents to 75 cents an hour. Downtown rates would remain at $2 an hour.
• Sundays and holidays remain free.
Cranley says the underlying idea is to maintain a few key principles, particularly local control over rates and hours. He cautions Walker's proposal, including expanded enforcement hours, could change with public input and as City Council puts together the final plan.
Does the plan let people use smartphones to pay for parking meters?
No. Cranley says the upgraded meters will support the technology, but it will be up to council to decide whether it's enabled in the future.
Smartphone capability is a double-edged sword: It introduces its own set of costs, including shorter battery life for meters. It also allows customers to avoid under- and overpaying at parking meters, which decreases citation and meter revenues. But smartphone access also increases ease of use, which could lead to higher revenues by making it easier to pay.
The parking privatization plan promised to provide smartphone access at all parking meters. The previous administration and Port Authority championed the feature as key to increasing convenience and revenue.
OK, that explains the parking meters. What about the parking garages?
Cranley's plan makes two changes to garages:
• The Port Authority would take over Fountain Square South Garage. The Port would be required to cover expenses for the garage, but any net revenue could be used on projects within the city.
• The city would issue bonds, backed by future parking revenues, to build a garage at 7th and Broadway streets.
Otherwise, things remain the same as today.
In other words, the city would be on the hook for parking garage repairs and upgrades, which Walker estimates would cost roughly $8 million in capital expenses over the next five years.
But the city would also continue directly receiving around $2 million per year in net revenue from parking garages, according to Walker.
Still, the city isn't allowed under state law to use the revenue from parking garages for anything outside the parking system.
The parking privatization plan tried to do away with the restriction by putting the Port Authority in charge of garages. State law allows agencies like the Port to tap into garage revenues for other uses, such as development projects.
But without the previous administration's plan, Cranley claims the Port Authority declined to take over more facilities beyond Fountain Square South
Garage. Given the rejection, Cranley says it's up to council to figure out another way to leverage garage
revenues beyond putting them back in the parking system.
What does Cranley's plan do about the thousands of parking tickets already owed to the city?
Nothing. By Cranley's own admission, the city needs to do a better job collecting what it's owed. But he says that's something City Council will have to deal with in the future.
So why did Cranley oppose the parking privatization plan?
Cranley vehemently opposed giving up local control of the city's parking assets. He warned that outsourcing meters to the Port Authority and private companies would create a for-profit incentive to ratchet up parking rates and enforcement.
The previous administration disputed Cranley's warnings. They pointed out an advisory board, chaired by four Port Authority appointees and one city appointee, would need to unanimously agree on rate and hour changes, and the changes could be vetoed by the city manager.
Without any changes from the advisory board, the 30-year privatization plan hiked downtown parking meter rates by 25 cents every three years and neighborhood rates by 25 cents every six years. The plan also expanded enforcement hours to 8 a.m.-9 p.m. in Over-the-Rhine and parts of downtown.
Still, City Council would lose its control of rates and hours under the privatization plan. Cranley and other opponents argued the outsourcing scheme could insulate the parking system from public — and voter — input.
Cranley also opposed the privatization plan's financial
Under the old deal, the city would receive a lump sum of $85 million and annual installments of $3 million, as long as required expenses, such as costly garage upgrades or repairs, were met.
In comparison, the city currently gets roughly $3 million in net revenue from parking meters and another $2 million in net revenue from parking garages. (As noted earlier, the parking garage revenue can only be used for parking expenses.)
Cranley characterizes the lump sum as "borrowing from the future" because it uses upfront money that could instead be taken in by the city as annual revenue.
Related: Compare Cranley's plan with the parking privatization plan.
Why does Cranley think his proposal is necessary?
It solidifies the death of the parking privatization plan. That's important to begin the process of legally dismantling the previous plan.
The plan also increases net parking meter revenues from roughly $3 million to $6 million in the next budget year and more than $7 million per year within five years, according to Walker's original estimates. (The estimates are likely too high because they assumed evening hours would expand around the University of Cincinnati, Short Vine in Corryville, Over-the-Rhine and downtown. But Cranley shelved the expansion of hours, with no estimates for how the changes will affect revenues.)
Since parking meter revenue, unlike garage revenue, can be used for non-parking expenses, the extra revenue could help plug the $20 million gap in the $370 million operating budget.
Why do some people oppose Cranley's plan?
Some people supported the parking privatization plan. They saw the lump sum as a great opportunity to invest in development projects around the city. Without the lump sum, critics claim Cranley's plan accepts all the pain of the previous plan — increased enforcement, rates and hours — for very little gain, even though the city would get more annual revenue and upgraded parking meters and garages.
Politics are also involved. After the contentious streetcar debate, there's not much Cranley can do without some critics speaking out.
When will Cranley's plan go into effect?
City Council first has to approve Cranley's plan for it to
become law. Council will likely take up and debate the plan at the
Neighborhood Committee on Feb. 24 and set a more concrete timeline
after that.
This blog post will be regularly updated as more information becomes available. Latest update: Feb. 19.
Mayor John Cranley yesterday announced a plan to add another recruit class to the Cincinnati Fire Department and effectively eliminate brownouts, but it remains unclear how the class will be paid for in the long-term. The Fire Department applied for a federal grant that would cover the costs for two years, but the city would need to pay for the new firefighters' salaries after that. To some City Council members, the proposal, along with other plans to add more police recruits and fund a jobs program for the long-term unemployed, raises questions about what will get cut in the budget to pay for the new costs.
Gov. John Kasich's administration has led an aggressive effort to shut down abortion clinics around the state, and a clinic in Sharonville, Ohio, could be the next to close after the administration denied a request that would have allowed the clinic to stay open without an emergency patient transfer agreement. The process has apparently involved high-ranking officials in the Ohio Department of Health, which one regulator says is unusual. The threat to the Sharonville clinic follows the passage of several new anti-abortion regulations through the latest state budget, but state officials say the new regulations were unnecessary to deny the Sharonville clinic's request to stay open.
Unions broadly support Democratic gubernatorial candidate Ed FitzGerald's campaign, but at least one union-funded group, Affiliated Construction Trades (ACT) Ohio, seems to be throwing its weight behind Kasich, a Republican. The surprising revelation shows not every union group has kept a grudge against Kasich and other Republicans after they tried to limit public employees' collective bargaining rights through Senate Bill 5 in 2011. ACT Ohio says its support for Kasich is related to jobs, particularly Kasich's support for infrastructure projects. The jobs market actually stagnated after Kasich took office, which some political scientists say could cost Kasich his re-election bid even though economists say the governor isn't to blame.
Talk of tolls continues threatening the $2.65 billion Brent Spence Bridge project as opposition from Northern Kentuckians remains strong. Ohio and Kentucky officials insist tolls are necessary to replace the supposedly dangerous bridge because the federal government doesn't seem willing to pick up the tab.
Ohio gas prices keep rising.
A Dayton University student froze to death after falling asleep outside, with alcohol a possible factor.
Airplane pilots often head to the wrong airport, according to new reports.
Watch people tightrope walk between hot air balloons.
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Cincinnati officials and Cincinnati Public Schools (CPS) leaders on Thursday promised to work in greater collaboration through the Alliance for Community and Educational Success (ACES), a new joint operation that will attempt to align the city and school district's shared policy goals.
ACES plans to focus on five areas: population growth, workforce development, safe and livable neighborhoods, wellness and access to technology.
As a few examples, the city could help CPS establish better Internet access at low-income schools, align marketing to attract more residents, sustain school resource officers that help keep schools safe and set up internships within the city's workforce.
"While the city and school system are separate entities, we all know that our schools are the most powerful tool for growth that we've got," said Councilman P.G. Sittenfeld.
City and school leaders cautioned that the collaborative alone shouldn't affect their budgets, although future initiatives could require new funding.
To enforce the collaborative, City Council's Education and Entrepreneurship Committee and the Cincinnati Board of Education members will meet on a monthly basis. Sittenfeld said he will regularly call on city department directors to make sure city services are being delivered in cooperation with the local school system.
The collaborative will also try to bring in outside education groups, such as the Strive Partnership as it works on providing a universal preschool program in Cincinnati.
School officials praised the announcement.
"Without good schools, we don't have good cities. Without good cities, we don't have good schools," said Alecia Smith, principal of Rothenberg Academy, where city and school leaders gathered for the announcement.
Cincinnati Board of Education President Eve Bolton argued the announcement should make voters more confident when supporting property tax levies for the schools, which voters might be asked to do again in 2015.
"I think it will increase the confidence by the voters and by the taxpayers that what resources exist are being best leveraged together," she said. "There's no infighting or turf wars being waged and wasting their dollars."
City and school leaders previously worked together for CPS' $1 billion school facilities master plan, which officials credit with effectively rebuilding major aspects of the school district.
ACES could also help bring in another major player — the city — into community learning centers, a CPS-led initiative that brings in various outside resources, including health clinics and college preparation programs, to turn schools into service hubs.
Community learning centers have been recognized around the country for their success in lifting low-income schools. New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio plans to adopt the model in the city that just elected him last November.
Riding the streetcar will cost $1.75 for two hours and $3.50 for 24 hours, according to a model unveiled Wednesday by Paul Grether, Metro's rail manager.
The model also set streetcar operating hours at Sunday-Thursday 6 a.m.-10 p.m. and Friday-Saturday 6 a.m.-midnight.
Under the model, the streetcar should sustain 3,000 daily boardings, Grether said. But that estimate is very conservative and excludes special events, such as Reds and Bengals games, he cautioned.
Grether presented the projections during a presentation at City Council's Major Transportation and Regional Cooperation Committee.
Streetcar Project Executive John Deatrick also released numbers that show the project remains on budget and time.
But Deatrick warned council members of one potential hurdle: The originally contracted steel supplier took another job after City Council delayed the streetcar project for three weeks, which could force the city to delay construction of a maintenance facility for two months or hire a steel supplier outside the region.
City officials also said they are looking at potential funding avenues for the next phase of the streetcar project, which would establish a rail line from Findlay Market up the Vine Street hill. The goal, they said, is to clear up any misconceptions about what the next phase of the project would cost.
The latest federal budget allocated $600 million in TIGER grants and $2 billion in Federal Transit Administration New/Small Starts grants that could go to a future phase of the streetcar project.
City Council would need to approve the next phase of the streetcar project before it could move forward.


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FedEx St,Jude Classic. English Excels.
Harris English excelled his expectations with a win at the FedEx St. Jude Classic at TPC Southwind, in Memphis Tennessee.
Harris English / Badz / Getty Images
Harris had a final round of -1 under par 71 to win the FedEx St.Jude Classic, with a tournament total of -12 under par. A handful of old high school buddies had a calming influence from the gallery as Harris attained his first PGA Tour victory, with a two shot win at TPC Southwind in Memphis. He praised the support of friends and the influence of caddy Brian Smith;
"I had probably 10 high school friends out there today, and I know that if I make a birdie or a bogey, they're probably going to be the same and they're rooting me on. I was just really relaxed out there today. Bogeyed eight and nine, which was tough. But I knew if I kept it together on the back nine, I could make a run at the thing. I really didn't think I'd be in this seat right here coming off nine. I thought I kind of made some really dumb bogeys on eight, nine and kind of shot myself out of the tournament. But Smitty was saying, Hey let's go beat this back nine. Let's get back under par for the tournament for the day, and let's get after it. So it was almost pedal to the metal. It's quite an unbelievable feeling."
Tied in second place at -10 under par were Scott Stallings and Phil Mickelson. Phil had a final round of -3 under par, 67 and was encouraged by the way he played going into the Major next week;
"I'm really encouraged with the way I hit my irons. Got to get the 3-wood in play a little bit more, although next week at Merion distance won't be as critical as TPC Southwind. I'll be able to hit higher and softer shots."
Scott was looking good for a win, and was at -12 under par at the turn, with four birdies on the front side. But he sadly finished with a double bogey, a birdie and a bogey in his final four holes. He hopes to have learned something from the experience;
"You have to learn from the experiences that you have like this today and hopefully I'll get a little bit better break next time. Harris has played great coming down the stretch."
Ryan Palmer was alone in fourth spot, he also had a final round of -3 under par for his tournament total of -9 under par, three shots off the pace.


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American Airlines' Kansas City Overhaul Base to Lose 500 Jobs
After the layoffs, American will have about 900 employees at the base, down from 4,500 as recently as 1990. Record fuel prices and fierce airfare competition are hurting the airline.
American Airlines, facing continuing deterioration of its financial condition, will cut more than 500 employees at its Kansas City maintenance base in June.
The company notified workers of the job cuts on Wednesday. It said the possibility of the cutback had been known since American eliminated more than 400 jobs at the base in December through layoffs and early retirements.
The cuts in June will affect roughly one-third of the remaining workers at the base.
Gordon Clark, president of Transport Workers Union Local 530, said 513 mechanics and related employees were expected to be furloughed.
"Basically, it's what was talked about last year in that if the industry picture didn't change, we would be affected again in June," Clark said. "We are going to see a reduction in head count effective June 10."
Despite substantial cost-cutting in the past two years, American continues to lose money in the face of record fuel prices and fierce air-fare competition. The Air Transport Association has estimated that carriers lost $10 billion last year.
American officials, the union and the city have been trying to attract third-party maintenance work for the overhaul base, but with little success.
After the June layoffs, American will have about 900 salaried and hourly employees at the base, down from 4,500 as recently as 1990. A lease agreement with Kansas City signed in February requires that American employ at least 700 workers at the base to keep its economic development incentives.
American said that 500 to 600 employees would be laid off from the base, which is next to Kansas City International Airport. David Campbell, American's vice president of maintenance, sent a letter to employees Wednesday explaining the decision.
Campbell said the company and Kansas City officials had been working to secure additional maintenance work. American recently completed a job for Reno Air and has a contract with Capital Cargo, he said.
"While some progress has been made, it unfortunately is not enough to offset the negative industry conditions we discussed," Campbell said in the letter. "Therefore, regrettably this week we are moving forward with the previously announced June reduction in force by a notification to the affected people."
American initially planned to return 28 MD-80s to its fleet by the end of the year, which would have created more work for the Kansas City base, Campbell said. Those plans were canceled because of deteriorating industry conditions.
As in the previous layoff, American will offer an early retirement package before making involuntary cuts, Clark said.
"We have quite a few people who will be eligible for that," Clark said, although he didn't have specific numbers. "We're also trying to enhance the package, but that's still being discussed with the company."
Workers at the base earn an average of about $55,000 a year.
Clark said many of the affected workers would have the option of transferring to other American stations around the country.
Several hundred workers at the base received a six-month reprieve in December. American initially was expected to lay off 800 to 900 workers in Kansas City at that time, but union officials persuaded the airline to do additional work at the base. That involved maintenance checks of aircraft being retired as well as reducing the number of seats on some of American's planes.
Union officials had hoped that third-party maintenance work could reduce the job losses in June, but not enough work has been obtained.
More airlines are turning to outside contractors for maintenance. These contractors generally are nonunion and have a lower cost structure.
"It can be said that the competition in the maintenance, repair and overhaul segment of the industry is very similar to our airline competing with low-cost carriers," Campbell said in his letter.
Clark agreed.
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American Airlines' Kansas City Overhaul Base to Lose 500 Jobs
Record fuel prices and fierce airfare competition are hurting the airline.
Job Cuts at American Airline's Overhaul Base Take Effect This Week
This will be the final week of work for nearly 500 employees at the American Airlines overhaul base, the second massive layoff at the facility in six months.
American Airlines Bonus Doesn't Fly
The three American labor groups, the Transport Workers Union, the Allied Pilots Association and the Association of Professional Flight Attendants, expressed concern over an executive bonus plan last...
American Airlines Overhaul Base Goal: $150 Million
The Transport Workers Union, which represents about 800 employees at the base, hopes the initiative will lead to more jobs at the facility.


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Why we shoot deer in the wild (A letter from someone who wants to remain anonymous, who farms, writes well and actually tried this)
I had this idea that I could rope a deer, put it in a stall, feed it up on corn for a couple of weeks, then kill it and eat it. The first step in this adventure was getting a deer. I figured that, since they congregate at my cattle feeder and do not seem to have much fear of me when we are there (a bold one will sometimes come right up and sniff at the bags of feed while I am in the back of the truck not 4 feet away), it should not be difficult to rope one, get up to it and toss a bag over its head (to calm it down) then hog tie it and transport it home.
I filled the cattle feeder then hid down at the end with my rope. The cattle, having seen the roping thing before, stayed well back. They were not having any of it. After about 20 mi nutes, my deer showed up - 3 of them. I picked out a likely looking one, stepped out from the end of the feeder, and threw my rope. The deer just stood there and stared at me. I wrapped the rope around my waist and twisted the end so I would have a good hold.
The deer still just stood and stared at me, but you could tell it was mildly concerned about the whole rope situation. I took a step towards it, it took a step away. I put a little tension on the rope .., and then received an education. The first thing that I learned is that, while a deer may just stand there looking at you funny while you rope it, they are spurred to action when you start pulling on that rope.
That deer EXPLODED. The second thing I learned is that pound for pound, a deer is a LOT stronger than a cow or a colt. A cow or a colt in that weight range I could fight down with a rope and with some dignity. A deer-- no Chance. That thing ran and bucked and twisted and pulled. There was no controll ing it and certainly no getting close to it. As it jerked me off my feet and started dragging me across the ground, it occurred to me that having a deer on a rope was not nearly as good an idea as I had originally imagined. The only upside is that they do not have as much stamina as many other animals.
A brief 10 minutes later, it was tired and not nearly as quick to jerk me off my feet and drag me when I managed to get up. It took me a few minutes to realize this, since I was mostly blinded by the blood flowing out of the big gash in my head. At that point, I had lost my taste for corn-fed venison. I just wanted to get that devil creature off the end of that rope.
I figured if I just let it go with the rope hanging around its neck, it would likely die slow and painfully somewhere. At the time, there was no love at all between me and that deer. At that moment, I hated the thing, and I would venture a guess that the feeling was mutual. Despite the gash in my head and the several large knots where I had cleverly arrested the deer's momentum by bracing my head against various large rocks as it dragged me across the ground, I could still think clearly enough to recognize that there was a small chance that I shared some tiny amount of responsibility for the situation we were in. I didn't want the deer to have to suffer a slow death, so I managed to get it lined back up in between my truck and the feeder - a little trap I had set before hand...kind of like a squeeze chute. I got it to back in there and I started moving up so I could get my rope back.
Did you know that deer bite?
They do! I never in a million years would have thought that a deer would bite somebody, so I was very surprised when...... I reached up there to grab that rope and the deer grabbed hold of my wrist. Now, when a deer bites you, it is not like being bit by a horse where they just bite you and slide off to then let go. A deer bites you and shakes its he ad--almost like a pit bull. They bite HARD and it hurts.
The proper thing to do when a deer bites you is probably to freeze and draw back slowly. I tried screaming and shaking instead. My method was ineffective.
It seems like the deer was biting and shaking for several minutes, but it was likely only several seconds. I, being smarter than a deer (though you may be questioning that claim by now), tricked it. While I kept it busy tearing the tendons out of my right arm, I reached up with my left hand and pulled that rope loose.
That was when I got my final lesson in deer behavior for the day.
Deer will strike at you with their front feet. They rear right up on their back feet and strike right about head and shoulder level, and their hooves are surprisingly sharp ... I learned a long time ago that, when an animal -like a horse - strikes at you with their hooves and you can't get away easily, the best thing to do is try to make a loud noise and make an aggressive move towards the animal. This will usually cause them to back down a bit so you can escape.
This was not a horse. This was a deer, so obviously, such trickery would not work. In the course of a millisecond, I devised a different strategy. I screamed like a woman and tried to turn and run. The reason I had always been told NOT to try to turn and run from a horse that paws at you is that there is a good chance that it will hit you in the back of the head. Deer may not be so different from horses after all, besides being twice as strong and 3 times as evil, because the second I turned to run, it hit me right in the back of the head and knocked me down.
Now, when a deer paws at you and knocks you down, it does not immediately leave. I suspect it does not recognize that the danger has passed. What they do instead is paw your back and jump up and down on you while you are laying there crying like a little girl and covering your head.
I finally manag ed to crawl under the truck and the deer went away. So now I know why when people go deer hunting they bring a rifle with a scope......to sort of even the odds!!
All these events are true so help me God... An Educated Farmer.
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That makes me laugh evertime I read it.
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Now that was funny and yes I could believe that to be true.
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I hit one a little doe with my truck and broke it's back, so being the manly man and not having a gun or anything to put the poor thing down I decided to grab my handy dandy extra sharp skinning knife and put a end to it's suffering.
I jump on it's back grabbed it under it's chin and was going to bled it out. For a deer that just got run over by a truck it sure had a lot of spunk left in it. Long story short I ended up with a finger cut to the bone and the deer died from the shock of a 220 pound guy jumping on it's broken back.
I skinned it out and never saw one knife mark in that deer, all that blood belonged to me.
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Cascade Garage Doors
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"replace tirsion garage door springs could not come out the same day ,however,did come the following day between noon..."
20825 State Route 410 East, Suite 330, Sumner, WA 98390 License: CASCAGD981PT
Cascade Garage Doors provides quality sales, service and installation of residential garage doors and openers in the greater Thurston, Pierce and South King counties. Robert Woolard, the company owner and operator, has more than 20 years of experience in the residential garage door industry. He take...


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The Ponsonby Belgian Beer Cafe transports you to the Grand Place in Brussels and offers a truly authentic European brasserie experience. With a great range of Belgian beers and delicious food to match, The Ponsonby is perfect for every occasion. Built in 1912 as a post office, this unique and ornate building has been transformed into a 1930s Belgian beer cafe and has become a magestic peice of the Auckland skyline. The Ponsonby is a little piece of Europe in the heart of Auckland.
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Richmond >Food & Dining > Mamma Zu
501 S Pine St, Richmond, VA | Directions 2322037.538922 -77.450266
Neighborhoods: Fan - Oregon Hill - Carver, Oregon Hill
poorly managed local Italian rest – RUDE , Door greeter ! No customer service here. Waited 1 hr to be told we could only order 1 pizza. Ordered mushroom pizza and got plain cheese because mushrooms were needed to other customers entree's. I would have walked but friends wanted that pizza. They need to try Azzurros. No nasty people. Pathitic to be his age with NO manners. My last visit and I am starting a BOYCOT Momma Zus facebook. They SUCK !!!
food is OK but head waiter is a rude pr_ck. – Have been many times over the last 7 years. I'm married to an awesome Italian chef so my expectations are high.
She likes the place, especially the eggplant parm, but I refuse to spend any more $$ there while that arrogant head waiter/ maitre d' still works there.
Simply a rude, self important jerk. That said, I have always been treated well by the other wait staff. Too bad they have to work with that pasta nazi....
Authentic delicious food, not good service – I guess it's a strange thing, but I like to treat others and be treated with courtesy and respect. I'm not European, or Italian, etc. So when I try an eclectic restaurant for the first time because I do love real, delicious food, and do not enjoy chains, it helps to be treated politely and helped to know simple things about the place. Simply put I was not, and based on reviews it seems I am not the only one. I think it would be superb to proudly pair authentic, quality, delicious Italian food with some authentic, quality, and simple good hospitality. Help new comers understand how the place works. Smile some. Greet people some way, somehow. Just little things. I believe there is a happy medium between no hospitality apart from taking an order and delivering it, and "gushing waiters who hold your hand, perform like monkeys for tips, and waste your time with ridiculous chit chat, a la TGI Fridays." I think there's something tasteful in between that would give me a better opinion. I will try this place again and see.
BEST ITALIAN HAVE HAD IN YEARS!! – Who are these crazy people wasting time dissing the best Italian restaurant my wife and I have eaten at in many years? Who cares about the ma
man-DIVA at the door, consider yourself lucky – NEVER AGAIN!!!
I've eaten at Mamma Zu's for a while and accept that parking is a challenge, waiting to get a table, and receiving the minimal amount of service during my meal. But that's always been fine because the food won me over.
Until my last visit on 5/5 that is...
Attempting to enjoy dinner with my wife for an early Mother's Day celeberation, she went in before me to get our name on the wait list while I parked the car. Once inside I found my wife was upset and the majority of the patrons were looking at me.
My wife told me she wanted to leave, which I agreed and left with her by my side. within 5 steps out the door another patron rushed out to tell us the man-diva (big bird yellow shirt, glasses, terrible hair cut) "...had no right to talk to her that way..."
Turns out she heard the man-diva yelling at my wife after she explained to him that she was in line before another group. As simple as that... Was causing a scene really necessary???
I also understand why everyone was looking at me when I walked in, and why my wife wanted to leave before telling me...
Thanks for ruining my wife's Mother's Day celebration...
Staff that make you want to kill – Always looking for someplace new so decided to try last Friday evening. I expected a long wait since it was Friday night so when told an hour thought okay. The wait turned to an hour and a half because the host could not be heard when he said our name because of the crowd and noise. When asked the host snapped that he said our name and clearly got an attitude about it. When the waitress arrived it was as if it was an insult to ask a question about the food choices. Their menu is on a chalkboard behind the counter so if your not familiar with a dish don't ask its beneath them to tell you about it. My first choice was the lasagna but soldout while waiting as was the rockfish. Decided on the Sirlion steak, was very flavorful but not worth the $30. My wife had the meatballs which she said were pretty good. For dessert we had the tiramasu and cannoli which I could have bought in the freezer dept at krogers and been happier with then what was served. To top it all off when going to pay the bill I am informed they do not accept Visa. Nowhere is there any prior notification as such. It is as if they like it that way just to piss you off one more time before leaving. After running up the street to an ATM I left vowing never to return again.
Very strange experience – First, we are not special. We had to wait approximately one hour. We expected this. The restaurant was so packed that people were literally shoving one another. I thought I'd make the best of it and ordered a glass of wine. I tried to give the bartender a debit card to start a tab, but he said they would just start a tab using my name. I thought that was nice. Yet, the wine came in what appeared to be a juice glass that was so small, wine spilled out and dripped all over two people in front of me. When we were finally seated, the waitress asked if we had an questions about the menu. Bewildered, I explained that we didn't have a menu. She appeared disgusted and pointed to a chalkboard, then walked away. We went up to the chalkboard, but could only read about half of it. There were no prices listed. I asked the waitress if we could just tell her what we wanted and have her tell us what the closest thing was; she begrudgingly agreed. She then proceeded to call our selections "kinda boring". They apparently also do not have "normal" drinks at this restaurant - only numerous kinds of Pellegrino, regular coke in a bottle, tea, and water. However, expect to have the glass slammed down on the table half full if you dare ask for a refill. When we were done eating, my friend and I just laughed, saying "now we know". Then, when the bill came and I pulled out my debit card, the waitress said they only accepted American Express, cash, or personal check. I wrote A $49 CHECK for our dinner and quickly left. The only thing that could have made it worse would have been if we had gotten mugged in the seriously ghetto area in which the restaurant is located. (However, when I got the check, I felt as though I had been robbed.) I will never go back there again.
Amazing – No offense to Mama Cucina, but their food cannot touch Mama Zu! Yes often hey are not warm and fuzzy, but I could care less. This is the best Italian food outside of Italy I have had. It is in a getto tinged area with shitty parking but I don't care at all...I would honetsly risk it all to eat there :-)))))
DON'T GO this holiday season – I'm never going back to this place again. Ever. I am so freaking upset right now I had to ask my husband to take me home. I waited in the car for 20 minutes while he was inside desperately trying to get a gift card for my father for Christmas. My husband and I had kind of enjoyed the food once before and thought, although the place is a dump and the parking is terrible, that my dad might enjoy something on the menu. My dad is difficult to please and only eats Italian food, and if I hadn't gotten him dozens of Mama Cucina's (delicious place btw) gift cards before, I wouldn't have even tried for something different. The hostess told my husband upon his arrival that a gift card "would be awhile" and haughtily walked away without another word. He waited. And waited. Then he left to tell me it didn't look like it was going to happen. I kindly asked him to go back, and try again, as this was the LAST stop on my xmas shopping list and I was eager to get it over with. He went back and a manager told him Amex wasn't accepted for gift cards. "Cash only - if you've eaten here before you would have known that." What a d*ck. My husband walked out, but I swear I would have punched the guy in the face because I don't have the patience for rude service staff like my spouse. Sorry, it's 2010 and I don't have $100 in cash on me in the city of Richmond waiting to be stolen off my person. BOYCOTT MAMMA ZU. Let's make the owner lose out on some business this winter - it's not acceptable to have people like that on the floor. Time to pack it up and get the heck out of Richmond. Go to Mama Cucina's in Innsbrook instead. The food is better too. Seriously. I'm not just saying that in my fit of anger :)
Please! – If you want to get your ego stroked and be asked every 3 minutes "are you guys doing OK?" save yourself some time and go to Fridays. This place is all about incredible, authentic Italian cuisine. Period. If you want your hand held and gushing server please go elsewhere, the rest of us could use the quicker waiting time.
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'Sloane Street Girls' Editorial
24 December 2012, 14.27 | Posted in Magazines, Models, editorial | No comments »
In an editorial titled "Sloane Street Girls," Rough magazine makes its own statement on the generally pejorative descriptive assigned to certain types of women who shop Sloane Square in London. Photographed by Diago Mariotta Mendez, the shoot features all women of color models, styled in mid-priced brands like Benetton and French Connection with various high-end shops serving as a backdrop. This particular image is shot in black and white but the rest of the editorial is in color. See it here.


text: [ Boy on Tricycle Goes for Dangerous Spin on Busy Highway [VIDEO] By Drew Weisholtz September 23, 2013 It's important to share the road with others. Read More Category: Kids, Weird News Tags: Danger, Highways, Tricycles Send to a friend! Print this page Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Pin it! Reddit This! Share on Tumblr!


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UCLA School of Law offers engaging classroom instruction across a wide spectrum of courses that appeal to students with disparate interests. Beyond the intellectually rich core program lie additional valuable opportunities to enhance student learning and preparation for professional pursuits.
Our curriculum includes intensive, supervised educational experiences in the school's groundbreaking clinical program, coordinated courses of study in specific areas of specialization, joint degree programs, and special programs.
Areas of specialization allow students to earn an advanced degree in a specialty area. Currently, UCLA School of Law offers areas of specialization in Business Law, Critical Race Studies, Entertainment and Media, Law and Philosophy, and Public Interest.
Joint Degree Programs allow students to pursue formal training in another field of study concurrently with their legal training.
UCLA School of Law also boasts a variety of Special Programs, areas in which we have deep faculty knowledge, broad curricular offerings, dedicated support staff, formal linkages with other UCLA departments, or ongoing research programs.
385 Charles E. Young Drive East, 1242 Law Building, Los Angeles, CA 90095
© 2013 UCLA School of Law. All Rights Reserved.


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Delivery and returns
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- Place your order by 6pm (Mon to Fri) for delivery tomorrow.
- Or order by 5pm on Saturdays for delivery on Monday.
- We'll deliver between 7am - 7pm on your chosen date.
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A magnificent bloom of roses, protea and phyllica are splashed amongst delicate bundles of kol kol and staavia to create this fascinating bouquet. Finished with silvery slangbos, this thrilling arrangement makes for an inspiring gift.
Item details
- 1 x King protea
- 4 x Rosita vendela rose
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6250 Delmar Blvd, St Louis, MO | Directions 6313038.655519 -90.301583
Mon. - Sun. 11:15am - 11pm
Neighborhoods: Skinker DeBaliviere, Saint Louis
Disappointed – The food was so so, and the beans were raw in the dish. Probably the most unauthentic Thai I ever tasted.
The waiter and waitress were weird. I don't want to be mean --- although they were trying to be helpful, felt like they were so inexperienced, pushy and rude.
I will never go back there. Didn't worth ~$40 for two.
I'd Say Decent – I just moved to the city about 6 months ago and have been looking for a good Thai food place around my neighborhood (central west end). There is an -amazing- place I go to in my home town that I do not think will ever be beat in price or taste, however I don't get to go home as much as I would like! I've been trying to find a replacement for a bit now.
Anyway! I don't want to slam the business or anything, but I will say that I plan on trying several other places before I go back to this one. I ordered take-out, so I can't complain about the service. The lady who took my order was nice though.
I ordered the chicken pad thai, which is my favorite dish. I'm not sure if it's just me or what, but my food reminds me of honey BBQ. The chicken tastes like it was flavored like that and it clashes with the onions and egg. It's sweeter than I'm used to. I'm also used to wide white noodles and these are brown thin noodles.
All of that being said, I would encourage anyone trying to find good Thai food to go here and give it a shot of your own; however, like I said before, I will be checking around before returning. I guess I was just expecting more...
Decent Food, Bad Service – Looking for a good cheap Thai place in St. Louis. The food was decent however the service was poor. Ordered an app. and it was not delivered, then my girlfriend ordered a dish with no carrots and carrots were all over it. Just overall slow and not a lot of considerate thought into small things--like refilling waters, checking on meals after delivery, etc. I guess next time we will try somewhere different.
GREAT FOOD – I don't know what the reviewer before me was thinking. I LOVE this place. The food is spicy if you ask for it to be, extremely tasty, and quite authentic (I wouldn't know that about many kinds of food, but I actually spent a couple of months in Thailand, a few years ago). The menu is the longest of any restaurant I know -- there's so much to read it's a little bit daunting. I love the duck dishes, and also the wide rice noodles. It's extremely cheap, and the wait staff is very nice.
worst Thai ever – i went to this restaurant for the first time yesterday and not only is the food completely disgusting but everyone who works theres is a total moron. poor service followed by blank/tasteless/gross food, and then employees and a manager seemingly unaware of what to do when a patron is unsatisfied. they sort of all stood around blankly and then hid in a back room until we finally got up and left. don't waste your time with this place and go to the Thai Cafe just down the block in front of the Pageant.
Some of the BEST Thai food I have ever had. – I had to write a review to counter the one that said the food was bland and tasteless! This has long been one of my favorite restaurants in town. I find the food to be delicious and well balanced.
The food can be a bit on the hot side, however, there are plenty of dishes with no heat at all. They have a terrific Pad Thai that is made with an orgasmic sauce and not that sweetened ketchup sauce that many americanized Thai restaurants have. Also, a terrific roasted chicken that is marinated in Thai spices and coconut milk and served with a truely wonderful house made sweet and sour sauce that combines heat and sweet perfectly.
There is an extensive menu and a helpful wait staff to guide you.
Bland, Tasteless, and Too Americanized – When I pass Thai Gai Yang, I have to fight the urge to warn diners before they walk through the door! I have eaten here twice, and I left embarassed to have subjected my dining companions to such boring, underspiced food. Dishes ordered with medium heat (usually just beyond my comfort level, but in a good way!) were flavorless and bland. Curry, galangal, lemongrass...? Nope. Not here. Expect the quality of an average Chinese buffet. When we commented to the waited that our meals had no seasoning whatsoever, he suggested that maybe we didn't understand what Thai food should taste like. Thai iced tea is, like the food here, plain and watered-down. For the same cost, go have a fantastic meal at one of the other area Thai places. Thai Gai Yang looks nice, but the food is a disappointment so don't get your hopes up.
Great food – Thai Gai Yang has the best Thai food in the STL area! Everything on the menu is spiced just right and very flavorful.
Their hot ginger tea is really something! I would recommend this place to everyone I know and take all my friends there
Looking for some hot stuff? Here's the place. –
What you'll find
If you don't like spicy food, avoid this place. Even if you ask them to hold off on the heat, it's still searing.
Try the yum mama, which is sliced roasted chicken, egg noodles, cabbage, lemon juice, and plenty of hot peppers. Another good entree was the yum woonsen, which is shredded pork with glass noodles, hot pepper, lemon juice and fish sauce. Also opt for the som tam or green papaya salad. It's a delightful combination of flavors that includes dried shrimp, lime juice, peanuts, fish sauce and of course, papaya.
Cheap eats
With entrees priced at less than five dollars, you're going to be hard pressed to find a better deal in town.
Don't come here looking for frills, don't come here trying to impress someone, and don't come here if you want to be surrounded with lots of exotic atmosphere.--Matt Hilburn
Also in Best Thai: Zoe Pan-Asian Cafe I The King & I
In one word: Yummy! My bf made me try this restaurant. And it was wonderful! The selection maybe be small compared to the other Thai restaurants in the area, but there is literally something for everyone. For most of the dishes, you can choose your level of spiciness and choice of meat or veggie version of a plate. Crowding is usually not a problem, this is a small family run business, so there is always prompt service. We go every other week and it's always good!
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Displaying articles for: August 2011
Books, CDs, DVDs to know about now
The Good Inn
Frank Black, frontman for the Pixies, has written a transgressive historical fiction with shades of Thomas Pynchon (focused as it is on the history of explosives and cinematic pornography), all set in a hallucinatory Edwardian Europe.
Dispute Over a Very Italian Piglet
Amara Lakhous delivers a mystery novel with its finger on the hot-button issues of today's Europe. Immigration and multicultural conflicts erupt in the Italian city of Turin, as journalist Enzo Laganà looks to restore peace to his native burg.
Papers in the Wind
In this insightful novel by Eduardo Sacheri, a young girl left destitute by the death of her soccer-playing father is uplifted by the bold schemes of her uncle, his pals, and one newbie player to the professional leagues.


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This incredible 4 bedroom 6 bathroom vacation rental house on the hill awaits you with stunning ocean view suites on this immense estate in Playa Hermosa, Costa Rica.
Located just 6 minutes south of Jaco, it is the perfect private getaway, yet located close to all the amenities of town. Nestled high on a hillside overlooking the pacific with views all the way to Manuel Antonio, Playa Hermosa House is the perfect destination for those looking for the ultimate in privacy, comfort and tranquility. Step back to a quieter time and enjoy this remote exotic hideawa...y with stunning views of pristine tropical coastlines and unforgettable starlit nights. Escape to paradise for an intimate destination wedding, a romantic honeymoon, a surfing trip with the crew or just to get away!
At Playa Hermosa House, you'll enjoy Costa Rica's greatest views in a large freshwater infinity lap pool with swim up bar, where you can sooth your spirit while basking in the endless beauty of the Costa Rican horizon. This charming home with impressive views is set in beautifully landscaped gardens attracting a variety of local wildlife such as 2 & 3-toed sloth's, White-face monkeys, Howler Monkeys, Squirrel Monkeys, Toucan's, all types of Parrots, Owl's, Tree frogs, Butterflies, and almost an hourly fly-by of Scarlet Macaws. Take breaks from the tropical sun and enjoy the shade of our pool side rancho complete with BBQ and bar.
Perfect for couples, friends and families, groups, wedding parties, and surfers traveling together, Playa Hermosa House is located in a gated community with 24 hour security. Located on a 2 acre lot guests come here to enjoy a beach lover's paradise without the crowds and always wishing they could stay a little longer.
You will sleep soundly while at Playa Hermosa House in your choice of three spacious and charming Master Suites, or the jungle bunk room all equipped with spectacular views, AC, hot water, ceiling fans, fine organic bedding, and private bathrooms.
Each Master Suite overlooks the coastline with magnificent oversized windows that accentuate the stunning view below. Imagine relaxing in your suite with a sweeping view of the Pacific coastline by day and the scattered lights of local fisherman blending in with the stars on the horizon by night. Every room combines natural beauty with the fresh "Pura Vida" spirit of Costa Rica and is simply decorated with fine teak furniture and artwork by local artisans. Playa Hermosa House brings luxury and serenity to this unique and beautiful country, so you can easily unwind. These are truly rooms with a view!
Playa Hermosa House is a brand new 4 bedroom 6 bathroom house with a fully equipped kitchen with top of the line stainless steel appliances, a large fridge, and a range with oven and dishwasher. On the second floor there is a large observation deck with endless views of the pacific ocean and the jungle, also known as Monkey Trails. There is an endless lap pool with a swim up bar, a kiddy pool, 3 lounge areas, a 50 inch flat screen satellite television, outdoor and indoor dining area, a breakfast bar, and a huge covered pool side living area with 2 bars, a big BBQ, an outdoor shower and a floating deck. Playa Hermosa House has a garage port with room for 4 cars, a laundry room with washer and dryer. Every bedroom has their own AC unit and bathroom.
It also includes: 24-hour security, maid service, free local calls, free international calls to the USA, wireless high speed internet access, and private chefs available upon request. We can accommodate any special needs.
Adventure is yours for the taking while visiting Playa Hermosa House located on the Central Pacific coast of Costa Rica. Private guided horseback trips thru hillside trails or along the beach, hikes to hidden waterfalls, and sport fishing excursions in and off shore are all available in the immediate area. Kayaks and bikes are available to rent if you want to go solo. Other activities at your fingertips are Surf Lessons, Sunset Boat Tours, Tortuga Island Catamaran Adventures, Canopy zip-line tour, Crocodile Adventure, and ATV tours. If you want to take a break and journey out for the day, there are day trips to Arenal Volcano, Poas Volcano, the cloud forest in Monteverde, or Scuba Diving on Isla del Cano or in Manuel Antonio, just to name a few.
Located just 45 minutes away from Quepos & Manuel Antonio, 40 minutes from River rafting, 20 minutes from Los Suenos Golf Course & Marina, 10 minutes from kayaking, a quick boat ride to Tortuga Island for snorkeling, 6 minutes to the hustle and bustle of Jaco where you can find fine dining, nightlife, bungee jumping, shopping and much more or just head down the hill & out to the beach for the day and enjoy the world famous Playa Hermosa surf break. All of these options make Playa Hermosa House the best possible location to see all the finest sights of Costa Rica.
Visit during the months of June thru December and you can witness sea turtles nesting at night and be a part of a hatchling release with local volunteers, an experience not soon forgotten.
|Room type:
|Entire home/apt
|Bed type:
|Real Bed
|Extra people:
|No Charge
|Minimum Stay:
|2 nights
|Weekly Price:
|$2100 /week
|Monthly Price:
|$7000 /month
|Security Deposit:
|Cleaning Fee:
|Costa Rica
|Playa Hermosa
We had an amazing time at Erica's! The house is absolutely beautiful and Erica was so helpful. She gave us excellent suggestions for both excursions and restaurants. We took her advice and were very happy with everything that we did. It was one of the best vacations we have had. Can't wait to go back!
We had a family reunion here and there were 9 of us in total. It was a gorgeous house. We arrived and it was dark and were awoken to the most beautiful sunrise and landscape. The house and all the bedrooms/mattresses were very comfortable. The pool was amazing!! We spent many days and nights chilling outside, barbequing and cooking with fresh the local ingredients. We had nature all around us every day, and as the week went on it got more and more interesting. Erica was a super host, letting us know the best restaurants, places to buy fresh seafood and helping to organize any excursions we were interested in. It was very sad to say goodbye to Costa Rica and Playa Hermosa house and I would love to come back sometime.
Had a fantastic trip at the house. Beautiful scenery and accommodations, close to everything we needed. Erica was amazingly responsive and helpful. Can't say enough good things about the stay!
Amazing would sum up the review. It's I'd no doubt a must stay! Beautiful views, great house with an amazing pool and ton of amenities! The owner was great and met us at the house. She was available for questions and followed up quickly. Just a fantastic place for a great price. No doubt a place we will stay again when back in Costa Rica!
This place is simply amazing! We really did not have to leave the house due to the pool, daily monkey visitors, Macaw birds, Tucan birds and many many more. The house is in a very very secure location with a guard at the gate to let you in and out. Erica helped set our tours and even got a us a great discount on each one and arranged for us to be picked up at the house. We did the waterfall tour and i am ranking this as the best tour i have ever taken by x2. the tour was called the "Explorer" and we climbed up 10 waterfalls, yep climbed rite through the falling water and into a pool of water then up the next waterfall and so on, then we finished with a huge pineapple. Tour guilds name was Blad and his vehicle was Pepe making this a true costa rica safari. We had one person with us with a replaced hip and had one extra person from a different party that came with, she was not in shape in any way and still was able to do the tour. Food at Graffiti in Jaco is better than most of what you will find in the states, it is high end and not fast food as they say! Food at Lemmon Zest in Jaco was super good too. This is, as of now, ranked my #1 vacation. I might spend the rest of my life trying to beat it. I suggest this to everyone and anyone, go get some sun/rain/adventure. Thanks Erica!
We stayed at Erica's house for seven wonderful days! We had a group of six and we were all able to do exactly what we wanted, from birding to surfing to ATVing to zip-lining! Everyone walked away well-rested and with a few more adventures under their belt! Erica was a great hostess; very welcoming and accommodating!
We were a group of 8 who had a great time at the house. The house is fully equipped with AC in the bedrooms, an amazing pool and a bbq area. Erica showed is how things worked the first day and the adventure started there. Strongly recommend the house for a relaxing vacation and a car is a must.
This is the final rate, including any fees from the host and Airbnb.


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Washington, D.C. - Speaker Nancy Pelosi spoke on the House Floor today about the D.C. Voting Rights Act. Below are her remarks as prepared:
'Madam Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding and his leadership in bringing this very important legislation to the floor.
'This is a happy day indeed. It is an historic day. It is a day when the people of the District of Columbia will finally have their voices heard and represented.
'This is a personal joy for me as well, because when I was born all those many years ago, my father served in the Congress, and he became the Chair of the District of Columbia Appropriations Subcommittee. As such, that was a time when there was no Mayor, no home rule, no anything; that committee practically ran the District of Columbia. My father was a strong advocate for home rule for the District, and, of course, we had hoped eventually, and still do, statehood.
'It took a long time, but at last today we will get a vote once again for Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton. She has really been a champion for the District. Even without the full vote, her impact is felt here, but it is the right thing to do for her to have the vote.
'Congressman Davis, as Chairman Davis and now as ranking member, has always been a strong advocate for this, as has Henry Waxman, the Chair of the Government Reform Committee, and you, Mr. Chairman, from the standpoint of the Judiciary Committee.
'How impressive it was to see the Iraqi vets, these young people, coming back from the Iraq war, and those serving in Afghanistan, where they were willing to make any sacrifice for our country. Their courage and patriotism is honored by all of us. They came and pled to us for the District of Columbia to have the vote. They live here, they went to war from here, they wanted to come home to the fullness of democracy for the District of Columbia.
'Today's vote affirms an enduring principle of our democracy, the right to be heard and represented. They fought for that in Iraq. They should have it here in the District.
'For more than 200 years, the people of the District of Columbia have been denied full representation. This carefully crafted, bipartisan legislation corrects a serious flaw in our democracy. America is at its best honoring the cause of freedom and justice when all voices are fully represented.
'The effort to politicize the issue of fundamental fairness disrespects the ideals of this Nation and the people of the District of Columbia. We must honor our democracy. House Democrats will not rest until full representation in the House is granted to the District of Columbia.
'This is an important day on which I congratulate Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton and the people of the District of Columbia for having this right come due.'
Washington, D.C. - Speaker Nancy Pelosi spoke on the House Floor today about the D.C. Voting Rights Act. Below are her remarks as prepared:


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His employer, the Alabama football program, scored a 25-0 win over Ole Miss, where he used to work. During the game, an ESPN camera caught him watching the game from the coaches' box with binoculars.
That caused a few rather ardent Ole Miss supporters to set the online world on fire. They're calling him a traitor and a cheater, and one fan posted on Twitter to Siskey, "I hope all the trees in your yard die." (Wow, that's, um, really bad, I guess.)
His alleged sin, which both Alabama and Ole Miss are denying? Online theorists are claiming Siskey, the Tide's associate director for player personnel, helped Alabama by seeing Ole Miss' offensive signals and translating them to the Crimson Tide's coaches.
Gasp! Horrors! How could he do such a thing! What kind of man is he! How in the world could he contribute to the university that gives him a paycheck by helping beat his former employer! Why, that's … that's … that's … wait a minute, why is this such a big deal?
ESPN cameras show him doing nothing but watching the game with binoculars. That's hardly a smoking gun. And if he really was helping Alabama by reading the Rebels' offensive signals, how does that make him a traitor? Doesn't Alabama pay him now?
Also, how are you so sure Siskey broke a rule? Did ESPN tell you that? Did you notice the network's onscreen graphic identifying Siskey had his title wrong? The World Wide Leader called him "assistant director of football operations."
And here's the biggest question for the vocal online contingent: If your coaches are so stupid that some associated director of player personnel could pick you apart that easily, why aren't you more mad at them than you are Siskey?
Contact Anniston Star Sports Editor Mark Edwards at firstname.lastname@example.com. Twitter: @MarkSportsStar.