CityBeat - Commentary http://www.citybeat.com/cincinnati/articles.sec-251-1-commentary.html <![CDATA[Good News Reveals Budget Deception - ]]>

City officials were either disastrously wrong or misleading the public when they insisted the parking plan was required to avoid massive public safety layoffs.

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<![CDATA[Republicans Continue Voter Suppression Tactics - ]]>

If you can’t beat them, make it so they can’t play to begin with. That’s been the mentality of the Ohio Republican Party time and time again, and the latest budget bill from the Republican-controlled Ohio House continues the trend. 

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<![CDATA[The Many Merits of Cycling Infrastructure - ]]>

To cyclists, it’s a given that Cincinnati desperately needs more bike lanes. But recent research shows bike lanes don’t just pose advantages for cyclists; they can also help local economies and public health.

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<![CDATA[Streetcar’s No. 1 Problem: Obstructionism - ]]>

Step one: Create problems for Cincinnati’s streetcar project. Step two: Blame the problems on the streetcar project. Step three: Political profit.

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<![CDATA[Bad Budget Ideas Confound Public Discourse - ]]>

In the past few weeks, Cincinnati’s political scene has been engulfed by debate over the budget, often prompting testy exchanges between city officials.

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<![CDATA[Religious Birth Control Exemptions Are a Double Standard - ]]>

Attorney General Mike DeWine says Obamacare infringes on religious liberty, but Republicans just want special economic rules for religious institutions.

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<![CDATA[Poor Messaging Holds Back Parking Plan - ]]>

When Cincinnati found out about the city manager’s parking plan, it was not through a press conference or a widely dispersed announcement from the city; it was through a silently released memo that media outlets stumbled upon almost by accident. 

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<![CDATA[Western & Southern’s Shame Knows No Bounds - ]]>

In its ongoing fight against the Anna Louise Inn, Western & Southern has sunk to a new low: It is now accusing ALI of discriminating against men.

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<![CDATA[The Inevitable Progress of Gay Rights - ]]>

LGBT-supporting Cincinnatians had a bipolar March 15, with Sen. Rob Portman coming out in support of same-sex marriage and the Gay, Lesbian, Straight Education Network (GLSEN) being publicly barred from the St. Patrick’s Day Parade on the same day.

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<![CDATA[Bad Budgets Show Bad Leaders - ]]>

Budgets are supposed to give elected officials at all levels of government a chance to show off their strengths and agendas, but recent issues have mostly raised questions about whether these people are actually capable of leading to begin with.

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<![CDATA[Sequester Looms as Republicans Refuse Negotiations - ]]>

Washington, D.C., is once again on the verge of another manufactured crisis. On March 1, the sequester, a series of mandated spending cuts, is set to kick in, threatening the country with another round of austerity measures that will cut jobs and bring down an already-fragile economy.

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<![CDATA[ Planning Problems Distract From Streetcar’s Value - ]]>

I’ve been a longtime supporter of the streetcar project, but I have to admit I’m a bit worried after finding out the streetcar might be delayed once again because construction bids for the project were way over budget.

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<![CDATA[Two-Sided Story Syndrome - ]]>

Here’s an unfortunate fact for journalism teachers and angry website commenters all around the world: Reality sometimes has a bias. 

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<![CDATA[Governor’s Budget Ignores Troubled Past - ]]>

Gov. John Kasich released a more moderate budget proposal for the 2014 and 2015 fiscal years, but it fails to make up for the governor’s history of massive spending cuts and the state’s faulty social welfare programs.

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<![CDATA[State School Board Leader Sinks Public Discourse - ]]>

State Board of Education President Debe Terhar drew criticism recently for posting a politically motivated picture on Facebook comparing Adolf Hitler to President Barack Obama.

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<![CDATA[Looking Ahead to a Busy Year in Local and State Politics - ]]>

With 2012 in the past, it’s time to start preparing for a brand new year of politics and policy. From what’s been hinted at so far, progressives could have another big year in 2013, but only if they work for it.

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<![CDATA[Make This Time Different - ]]>

On Dec. 14, the United States was hit by another mass shooting. This time, a gunman forced himself into an elementary school and killed 20 children and six adults.

 

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<![CDATA[Jobs, Jobs, Jobs? - ]]>

If someone turned on the news during the past few weeks, it would be hard to blame him if he thought the most pressing issues in the world right now are budgets and abortions.

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<![CDATA[Kasich’s Severance Tax Facing Bipartisan Resistance - ]]>

The Ohio Farm Bureau (OFB) has officially come out against Gov. John Kasich’s plan to tax oil and gas production. The move from the Republican-leaning agricultural group is yet another blow to Kasich’s tax plan, which raises the severance tax on the oil-and-gas industry to pay for a cut to Ohio’s income tax. 

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<![CDATA[Local Budgets Show Bad Requirements - ]]> It’s been a big week for government budgets. The Hamilton County Board of Commissioners approved the county’s 2013 budget, and City Manager Milton Dohoney Jr. unveiled his budget proposal, which now the mayor and City Council must approve.

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