When The Enquirer reported Thursday that Archbishop Dennis Schnurr, head of the Cincinnati Archdiocese for the Catholic Church, would participate in an interfaith 9/11 memorial on Sunday with a Muslim group, it raised a few eyebrows and prompted some emails.  

Some progressive Democrats share a modest admiration for Ron Paul, a U.S. congressman from Texas and perennial darkhorse contender for the Republican presidential nomination.  

If you listen to today’s Republican leaders, they will tell you that it’s because of high taxes and overzealous regulations that the economy is sluggish and the unemployment rate remains high. “Right now, America’s employers are afraid to invest in an economy ... hamstrung by uncertainty,” said House Speaker John Boehner (R-West Chester) during a speech in August 2010. “The prospect of higher taxes, stricter rules and more regulations has employers sitting on their hands.”  

Maybe Bortz, the Charterite attorney who is seeking his fourth term on Cincinnati City Council, doesn’t own a calculator. That’s about the only reason we can think of that Bortz would complain to The Enquirer that he’s tired of hearing from council’s Democrats that he doesn’t have a plan to avoid a $33 million deficit next year. As proof that he does, Bortz listed cuts that would eliminate half that amount. That’s right — half.   

Here’s something that the backward-thinking Luddites who oppose Cincinnati’s planned streetcar system won’t tell you: A plan to convert a rundown part of Seattle into a district targeted to attracting the so-called “creative class” has worked better than expected — and the success partially is due to a new streetcar system.  

The state lawmaker who represents the Ohio House 31st District was appointed last week to a special committee to study Ohio’s tax structure and recommend changes. Having a person like Driehaus — a Democrat from Price Hill — on the group will help ensure a balanced approach to reform that doesn’t benefit corporations by shifting even more of the tax burden onto the middle class.  

Forget about those last-minute summertime picnics, Labor Day fireworks and Halloween hayrides. I wish November would hurry up and arrive. That’s because it’s still 76 days away from the elections for Cincinnati City Council and the level of grandstanding by incumbents already has reached irritating proportions.  

The superintendent of Cincinnati Public Schools, Mary Ronan, deserves a feather in her cap for providing the leadership that’s resulted in the district receiving an “effective” rating from the Ohio Department of Education. That once again makes CPS the highest-rated of Ohio’s eight urban school districts.  

Cincinnati voters can tell it’s an election year by the blatant demagoguery and pandering that’s going on. Instead of getting busy and crafting its own budget proposal to suggest specific cuts to avoid a $33 million deficit next year, Cincinnati City Council’s conservative majority is wasting time grandstanding about a relatively insignificant issue to garner headlines.  

The 12-year-old Mariah Reynolds, who is a drama and vocal major at the School for Creative and Performing Arts in Over-the-Rhine, recently received a major award for her volunteerism. She was one of four children nationwide selected as winners in the “Kids Who Give” contest, sponsored by Farm Rich, the Georgia-based producer of frozen foods.