Never one to pass up an opportunity to make headlines, Hamilton County’s prosecutor inserted himself into the outrage over the 10-second fight that broke out among players during the Crosstown Shootout.
  

A national coalition of community groups, including two Cincinnati organizations, are urging President Obama to push big Wall Street banks into writing down all “underwater mortgages” to market value. The groups said the action would pump up to $1.6 billion into Ohio's economy and create more than 24,000 jobs statewide.  

The Gay and Lesbian Community Center of Greater Cincinnati recently held its annual membership meeting and elected leaders for 2012.

Rusty Lockett and John Maddux were elected to another term as board president and vice president, respectively. Lockett formerly served as the center’s clerk before first being elected president in early 2010. Also, he has served as event chairman for Pride Night at Kings Island in September and is convener of the local LGBT Episcopal worship group, called Integrity.  

A group that supports preserving the historic Gamble House in Westwood is angry that Cincinnati building inspectors aren't enforcing the law at the property, which is allowing heavy rainfall to damage it while a court battle drags on about whether to save the mansion from demolition.

Bob Prokop, of Save the Historic Gamble Estate Now, said the city's inaction about securing the house contradicts what a building inspector told him would be done at the property in an email from last spring.  

Even as the local Republican Party searches for a competent person willing to take on Hamilton County Commissioner Todd Portune in next year's election, the GOP chairman insists the party won't be cutting another deal to let Portune run unopposed.

With the Dec. 7 filing deadline now past, the Hamilton County Republican Party has listed one of its staffers, Finance Director Maggie Nafziger Wuellner, as a placeholder to reserve a spot on the ballot against Portune, a longtime Democratic incumbent.  

It will be headed to the riverfront, after all.

U.S. Transportation Ray LaHood will hold a conference call Thursday afternoon with media to announce that Cincinnati's planned streetcar system is getting a $10.92 million grant. The announcement is set for 12:15 p.m.  

It’s amazing how quickly some politicians will change their tune when it suits them. For years, local developer Chris Bortz would complain whenever I referred to him in columns and news articles as a “registered Republican” while he was a member of Cincinnati City Council.  

Social Venture Partners announced Dec. 8 that it would award nearly $160,000 in cash and in-kind services to four nonprofit groups to help them create sustainable organizational effectiveness. SVP will give $4,000 to the Civic Garden Club and $12,000 each to German Heritage Farm, Imago for the Earth and Whole Again International.  

The state of Ohio has approved funds to help a Cincinnati brewery expand its operations, as well as assisting two other local companies with projects.

The state will spend $663,000 to assist the Samuel Adams Brewery Co. in expanding operations on Poplar Street in the West End. The money will go toward buying the property needed for the expansion, which is located next to the existing brewery.  

The Denver Post reported Thursday that Metromix, a series of entertainment websites owned by Enquirer parent Gannett Co., is closing its localized websites in seven cities.

Metromix is closing its website operations in Denver, Atlanta, Cleveland, Minneapolis, St. Louis, Tampa and Washington, D.C. Each of the markets is where Gannett owns a television station but not a newspaper.