Cincinnati doesn't mess around when it comes to Earth Day. Events take place at the Cincinnati Zoo, Sawyer Point, Fountain Square and more. If you're looking for a little green inspiration, there are plenty of area events to get involved in.  

This time of year casts a bright, if cold, light on the many traditions that converge in America. Our shopping sprees and hectic schedules are time trial races and affectations that keep our eyes off the meaning — if there is any such holy grail to be found — of the holidays.  

Sometimes it’s difficult for white men to really understand how hard it is to break through a glass ceiling (can’t you just smash it with a broomstick and try not to get cut when you climb up?). One organization that has proven over centuries that it won’t tolerate its womens speaking out or breaking anything is the Catholic church, which today reinforced its stained glass ceiling by banning a nun who supports the ordination of women priests.  

The success of the Woodstock Festival 40 years ago prompted dreams of hundreds of other mythic Rock festivals throughout the United States. Including Cincinnati. As luck would have it, the city's first major outdoor Rock festival was scheduled for Sept. 6, 40 years ago this Sunday. Jim Tabrell, who organized it, joins other local musicians to recall the event and the times.  

Lunch in Cincinnati, lunch in Costa Rica — is there a difference? Beyond the view, a significant difference is that you'll leave less trash behind when noshing in a rural area in the Central America country. Bethany Blevins learned that lesson last year on an Earth Expeditions program for local teachers.  

The free "Tunes & Blooms" concert series at the Cincinnati Zoo returns this Thursday with the teaming of local Pop/Rock legends psychodots and Gypsy Jazz masters The Faux Frenchmen. Plus there's news about new albums from The Ohms and Cari Clara, an animal fundraiser at Stanley's Pub and PJ Herrington's new band coming through town.  

Returning to work after Thanksgiving I had more than a dozen e-mails with "Cincinnati Zoo and Creation Museum" in the subject line. Apparently last week the zoo started marketing a promotional tie-in with the Creation Museum in Northern Kentucky, offering discounted admission at each facility. Zoo officials reportedly were barraged by local media and citizen complaints  

With a serious budget deficit looming and the option of taking away a 1996 tax credit from homeowners to reduce layoffs, Hamilton County Commissioners today said, "Um, no, we better not do that."