Beginning in April the Hamilton County Sheriff’s Office will end free patrol service in some townships. Sheriff Simon Leis Jr. has said requiring townships to pay for the patrols is how he is handling a $4 million budget cut ordered by county commissioners. The cuts for mean that Leis will pull 22 of the 150 deputies currently assigned to patrol duties throughout Hamilton County.   

The hillside neighborhood that overlooks downtown to the west is making a rebound after years of suffering due to bad policy decisions by bureaucrats. Crime reported in the East, West and Lower Price Hill areas took a steep 20.2 percent drop in the first six months of 2011 compared to the same period a year ago, according to statistics compiled by Cincinnati Police.  

In an unusual move, Kasich listened to the advice of the Ohio Parole Board and granted clemency to convicted killer Shawn Hawkins of North College Hill. Hawkins, 42, was scheduled to be executed just a few days later when the governor made his decision June 8. Sister Alice Gerdeman of the Intercommunity Justice and Peace Center in Over-the-Rhine, an ardent death penalty foe, lobbied for clemency.  

When four people were injured as the result of a gay bashing on Aug. 14 at a gasoline station in Covington, police and city officials there took the situation seriously. The City Commission held a news conference reaffirming its commitment to the local human rights ordinance, while police increased patrols near the six gay-oriented businesses in and near the MainStrasse district.