As it awaits the outcome of a multifaceted legal battle that will likely decide its fate, Westwood’s historic James Norris Gamble House is enduring a harsh winter. The uncertain future of the Gamble House has stirred contentious debates between the property’s owners, city government and preservationists across Greater Cincinnati and beyond.  

When a group of Westwood residents decided to form Westwood Works (WW) last winter, they envisioned it as a more positive, productive counterpart to the Westwood Civic Association, which is known for its strident rhetoric. One of WW's first actions was to invite the nonprofit ArtWorks to paint a public mural in the neighborhood.  

In an unfortunately all too rare case of political courage and discipline, Cincinnati Mayor Mark Mallory and a City Council majority ignored negative headlines and stuck to their guns last week in a budget showdown with the police union. The two unions that had balked at any furloughs to save jobs (the Fraternal Order of Police and Cincinnati Organized and Dedicated Employees, representing middle managers) finally agreed to deals to save the city from having to eliminate employees, including 138 in the police department.