A new Census Bureau report reveals that from 2005 to 2009, a segment of Over-the-Rhine had the highest income inequality of more than 61,000 communities nationwide.The segment — known as Census Tract No. 17 — is the northeast quadrant of Over-the-Rhine. The findings were featured in an article Tuesday by McClatchy Newspapers, which attributes the disparity in the tract partially to gentrification and the influx of young professionals into the predominantly low-income neighborhood.  

This isn’t something I say or write often, so please pay attention: Hamilton County Commissioner Greg Hartmann is right. Hartmann, a Republican who currently is president of the county commission, wants to temporarily keep the existing reduction in the amount of a property tax rollback to avoid deficits in the county’s stadium account.  

Led by City Councilwoman Laure Quinlivan, Cincinnati officials recently expanded the mobile food vending program by creating new zones near Fountain Square. So far at least two vendors — Tim Hurst of Vinnie’s Gourmet Pretzels and Tom Acito of Café de Wheels — have said they will use the zones, and more are sure to follow.  

The Freestore Foodbank today began its annual distribution of Thanksgiving meals to needy families. The delivery of meals will continue through Wednesday afternoon.

Workers at the Freestore will deliver boxes to about 23,000 families throughout the Tristate region.  

Fueled by the wave of Democratic, pro-union voters energized by state Issue 2, a whopping four City Council incumbents were defeated in their bids to keep their seats. The biggest surprise losers were Leslie Ghiz and Chris Bortz, and it’s not just because the pool of voters widened with more Democrats showing up this year. It’s clear that past supporters of Ghiz and Bortz made a conscious decision to rebuff them this time.  

As it turns out, the Occupy Cincinnati protesters who were arrested for camping overnight in downtown’s Piatt Park for nearly two weeks might not have violated any law. That’s the opinion of Municipal Court Judge David Stockdale, who sent a letter last week to city prosecutors and his fellow judges.  

Voters sent a resounding message in Tuesday night's election, giving Cincinnati City Council's conservative majority its walking papers and returning control to Democrats after a tumultuous two-year term. In the process, two longtime incumbents known for their fiery tempers were defeated.   

For the second time in two years, Cincinnati voters have rejected a ballot measure that sought to block the city's long-planned streetcar project. After a hard-fought campaign filled with heated rhetoric and election complaints, Issue 48 was defeated Tuesday night. A total of 35,655 votes were cast against the measure (51.54 percent), compared to 33,530 in favor (48.46 percent).  

While the broadcast TV networks were busy covering Andy Rooney’s death, Kim Kardashian’s divorce and the Royal Couple’s visit to America, they barely mentioned a disturbing study that found 30 of the most profitable U.S. corporations had a “negative tax rate” during the recent three-year period it covered. Those same firms had combined pre-tax profits of $160 billion during that time.  

Berding resigned from Cincinnati City Council in March, after he butted heads with his fellow Democrats in council chambers and berated them on WLW (700 AM). After Jeff lost support from the police and firefighter unions for his flip-flop on layoffs, his last bastion of support evaporated. Berding retired to the comfort of his office at Paul Brown Stadium.