The city manager unveiled his budget plan to solve the city’s $35 million operating budget deficit yesterday. The plan includes less layoffs than expected — particularly to cops and firefighters — but it proposes an increase to property taxes. The plan also includes a series of other cuts, including to all arts funding and subsidies that go to parades, and new fees. The release for the budget plan says many of the cuts could have been avoided if the city obtained revenue from the proposed parking plan, which is currently being held up by a referendum effort and court challenges. The operating budget is separate from the streetcar budget, which uses capital funds that can’t be used to balance the operating budget because of limits established in state law. The budget plan still has to be approved by Mayor Mark Mallory and City Council to become law, and City Council will hear the public’s opinion before a vote at three public hearings: May 16 at the Duke Convention Center, May 20 at College Hill Recreation Center and May 22 at Madisonville Recreation Center. All the hearings will begin at 6:30 p.m. Ohio House Speaker William Batchelder says he hopes the Constitutional Modernization Commission will produce a ballot initiative for redistricting reform in 2014. Politicized redistricting — also known as “gerrymandering” — has been traditionally used by politicians in power to redraw congressional district borders in a way that favors the political party in charge, but reform could change that. Gerrymandering was used by national and state Republicans to blunt losses in the 2012 election, as CityBeat detailed here. As Ohio struggles to expand Medicaid, our more conservative neighbor to the south is moving forward. CityBeat covered the Medicaid expansion in Ohio, which the Health Policy Institute of Ohio says would insure nearly half a million people and save millions of dollars by 2022, here. While some Democrats want to attach party labels to Ohio Supreme Court elections, Chief Justice Maureen O’Connor wants to do away with party primaries for judicial elections. Former University of Cincinnati President Joseph Steger, the second longest-serving president at UC, died at 76 yesterday. New York City could soon become the first major city to let non-citizens vote in local elections. The legislation would allow non-citizens to vote if they are lawfully present in the United States, have lived in New York City for six months or more on the date of a given election and meet other requirements necessary to vote in New York state. When one simple question makes a huge difference: “When Did You Choose to Be Straight?” Blood may be the key to seeing how long brain tumor patients have to live and whether their treatment is working. A new study found oil from the Deepwater Horizon spill sickened fish for at least a year. Here is a compilation of adorable animals trying to stay awake.

Former Ohio Superintendent of Public Instruction Stan Heffner, who was forced to resign amid controversy, has cashed out with $160,428.17. The money comes from saved-up vacation time, sick days and personal time. Heffner will get all this money, even though he had to resign in shame after an investigation from the Ohio inspector general found Heffner had been misusing state resources and used his political position to benefit his other employer. The Horseshoe Casino is kicking off its hiring process for a new batch of employees. In total, the casino is seeking to fill 750 new positions. New employees must be 21 and have a high school diploma or GED, among other requirements. The casino says it’s committed to keeping at least 90 percent of its workforce from the Greater Cincinnati area. It’s currently estimated to open in spring 2013.The early voting controversy has reached Hamilton County. The Democrats in City Council are pushing for extended in-person early voting hours as Democrats around the state accuse Republicans of voter suppression. The Hamilton County Board of Elections will decide on the voting hours issue tomorrow at 9 a.m.Four Greater Cincinnati companies ranked in the 2012 Inc. 500 list of the fastest-growing businesses nationwide, up from one last year. This year, NorAm International Partners, Tiger Fitness, Graybach and Integrity Express Logistics made the list.The Brent Spence Bridge passed a major regulatory hurdle Tuesday. The Federal Highway Administration declared that the bridge has no significant environmental impact, which will allow bridge operators to skip filing an environmental impact statement.Ohio Democrats are suing Gov. John Kasich over his public schedule. Democrats say Kasich is breaking the law by not being more transparent about his public schedule. They also suspect Kasich is campaigning on the behalf of presidential candidate Mitt Romney.The Ohio endangered species list has been updated. The bobcat is no longer listed as endangered, although it is still considered threatened. The list’s updates can be seen here.The Cincinnati Archdiocese debuted a plan to improve Catholic schools in the Greater Cincinnati area. The plan will also make the schools more affordable.Paul Ryan will be at Miami University today. The visit was organized by the university's campus Republicans. Doors will open at 3:30 p.m., and the event will start at 5:30 p.m. Instructions for tickets can be found on the Miami Republicans' Facebook page.Much to the dismay one of Romney’s surrogates, CNN’s Soledad O’Brien called out the Romney campaign for propagating an impossible budget and spreading lies about Obamacare. John Sununu, who was on O’Brien’s show on behalf of Romney, did not appreciate the lecture in reality, and he said O’Brien should wear an Obama bumper sticker on her forehead. Unfortunately for Sununu and the rest of the Romney team, it is true that Obamacare does not cut Medicare benefits to seniors, and it’s also true Romney’s plan is impossible without similar cuts to entitlement programs.It seems like Mother Teresa may have died an atheist. At the very least, her faith in Catholicism was greatly diminished before death.A new study has found that antibacterial soap could cause muscle function impairment.Behold, the Pizzabon.

Today’s 1 p.m. meeting at City Hall could decide whether or not Cincinnati will be powered by 100 percent renewable energy as early as this summer. According to Urban Cincy, the approval could make Cincinnati “the largest city in the United States to have its energy supply come from 100 percent renewable resources,” and could be established without much of a cost difference to taxpayers. Cincinnati City Council is meeting to decide on how to move forward with the “Natural Gas Aggregation Program” and the “Electric Aggregation Program.” These programs, if approved, would automatically apply to all Cincinnati residents. In Ohio, local communities are allowed to pool together to buy natural gas and electricity and gain “buying power” to obtain the lowest possibly costs for the utilities.

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The push to privatize services traditionally provided by government is the focus of a community forum slated for next week.Since the Reagan era, privatization — or the outsourcing of public services to the private sector — has been touted as a way to make government more efficient and less costly. Critics, however, allege it is a form of union-busting that often leads to lower wages for workers and reduced accountability to the public.

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Leslie Ghiz has angered some Occupy Cincinnati supporters by posting on her Facebook page the home and email address of one individual and the email address of another who criticized her for pressuring City Manager Milton Dohoney to kick the protesters out of the park. The two individuals wrote to Ghiz's campaign, according to Ghiz.

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A federal judge has ordered police to stop ticketing Occupy Cincinnati protesters after the group filed a lawsuit against the city for banning people from Piatt Park when it closes. The city has already ticketed protesters approximately $25,000. J. Robert Linneman, one of the attorneys who filed the suit, according to Bloomberg Businessweek: "This case is not about the whether you agree with the political views of Occupy Cincinnati or Occupy Wall Street; it's about the right of the people to assemble in a public park and to engage in protected speech."

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More than 20 Occupy Cincinnati protesters last night received citations for staying at Piatt Park after its official closing time, a process which included warnings by police and then some peaceful ticketing before police left the occupiers to their business. CityBeat has launched a page dedicated to our ongoing coverage of the protests, including a live feed of #occupycincinnati and #occupycincy hashtags.

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Occupy Cincinnati has changed the location of its first-scheduled occupation, which will take place 11 a.m. Saturday at Lytle Park rather than Sawyer Point, due to a previously scheduled event. (The Revolutionaries are respectful of other organizations' fundraising walks.) The occupation has no scheduled end time. Several unions in New York City have endorsed the protest and plan to join it today. Here's a live stream of Day 19 in NYC.

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