Leaders of a quiet Over-the-Rhine civic garden that harvests produce like peaches, tomatoes, garlic and blackberries to sell at Findlay Market are worried they could be forced to relocate after calling the same spot home since 1998. CitiRama, a partnership between the Cincinnati Homebuilders Association and the city of Cincinnati that holds annual or biannual home shows on chosen urban plots of land, has proposed that the lot at 1718 Main St. in Over-the-Rhine, which currently houses the Eco Garden project (run by local nonprofit Permaganic), be amended to instead house the site for its next event, which would force the garden to relocate. The Livable Communities Committee yesterday was presented a memo submitted by Vice Mayor Roxanne Qualls from City Manager Milton Dohoney Jr., recommending that the Eco Garden lot, which is currently subletted to Permaganics for its Eco Garden program by the Civic Garden Association (CGA), be relocated to a larger area so the site can be procured for CitiRama. The parcel of land is actually owned by the city of Cincinnati, but the city leases a number of parcels to the CGA for their use. According to the memo, the lease between the city and the CGA expires in 2015, but grants the city the power to terminate the lease at any time if another use for the land arises. The area containing the Eco Garden has been targeted as the next CitiRama site by the city’s Department of Community Development (DCD), the main controller of the property. According to Dohoney’s memo, should the Eco Garden be forced to move elsewhere, the DCD would fund the garden's startup and relocation costs. For Angela Ebner, executive director with Permaganic, that’s not a sufficient compromise, but she’s hopeful the parties can reach an agreement by demonstrating that the Garden's OTR existence is actually of value to CitiRama, which is seeking out forward-thinking potential homeowners invested in fostering positive urban cultural experiences. “We think they’re (CitiRama) interested in working with us because we think they’re interested in working with that demographic of eco-friendly people. I’m pretty certain they’ll be accepting of the fact that we do a really good job of reflecting the needs and values of people in the community,” she says. CitiRama's events are designed to attract potential homeowners and developers to pinpointed plots of land in hopes of  reviving urban areas with new housing opportunities, but there's also a heavy focus on sustainability. The most recent CitiRama event, which opened at Virginia Place in Northside (located at the intersection of Virginia and Chase avenues), took place in Sept. 2012. The Eco Garden exists to “create experiential learning opportunities for inner-city youth to cultivate self-reliance, job skills and an entrepreneurial aptitude by cultivating a market garden to grow fresh, healthy vegetables and herbs for direct sales at Findlay Market," according to a Permaganic Facebook post. They recruit local at-risk teens for a unique job readiness program, which allows the teens to work in the garden in exchange for a stipend. Supporters of Permaganic and the Eco Garden are concerned that moving the garden would cause disrupt not just to the crops that have grown for the past several years, but also the fabric of the neighborhood, particularly the at-risk neighborhood youth who see the space as a "home away from home." Ebner and supporters are currently waiting for word from the city in hopes of moving forward on a compromise. “We want a green, peaceful, healthy world for everyone’s children,” says Ebner. “That’s the bottom line.”

Following CityBeat’s blog post yesterday, the city released the official documents for the city manager’s parking plan. So far, no one has reported anything outrageous or unexpected. If you see anything, feel free to email glopez@citybeat.com. Of the two dozen people who spoke at a public hearing for the parking plan yesterday, all but two opposed the plan. Much of the opposition came from people who said they were worried parking will be expensive, but the city manager’s office says it will take three years for parking rates to go up in Downtown and six years for rates to go up in neighborhoods after an initial hike to 75 cents. CityBeat covered the parking plan in detail here. Cincinnati officials are now saying that a freestanding restroom could cost as low as $35,000. Officials say the public restroom is needed to accommodate growing activity and population in Over-the-Rhine and Downtown. Some critics were initially worried that the facility would cost $100,000. Cincinnati’s Horseshoe Casino will partner up with the Cincinnati Police Department to keep out cheats and prevent theft. The casino will also have advanced surveillance equipment, allowing them to detect anyone around the casino before they even get into the building. It may seem like a lot, but casinos do tend to attract cheaters and other troublemakers, according to Ohio Casino Control Commission Director of Enforcement Karen Huey. The Horseshoe Casino is set to open March 4. A report from the Governors Highway Safety Association found more teen drivers died in crashes this year than the last two, and some officials fear wireless devices may be a leading cause. In Ohio, the six-month grace period for the teen wireless ban expires Friday, which will allow police officers to issue tickets instead of warnings to teenagers using any wireless devices while driving. Gov. John Kasich’s budget proposal would cut back a state-funded college internship program, which awarded $11 million to universities around the state. Ohio Democrats are asking Kasich to put his Ohio Turnpike funding promises in writing after they found out the governor’s budget proposal doesn’t actually say that 90 percent of leveraged funds will remain in northern Ohio, which Kasich originally promised. Barry Horstman, investigative reporter at The Cincinnati Enquirer, collapsed and died in the newsroom yesterday. CityBeat offers its condolences to Horstman’s co-workers, family and friends. The University of Cincinnati got a $2.3 million grant from the National Cancer Institute to train cancer researchers. “Our emphasis is on training the next generation of cancer researchers to translate basic science discoveries into improved patient care,” Susan Waltz, co-principal investigator of the grant and professor of cancer biology at the UC College of Medicine, said in a statement. A homemade jetpack can reach altitudes up to 25,000 feet, but it might have some trouble landing.

A new report found “renters by choice” — those who can afford to own a house but choose not to — and people returning to the market in the Great Recession’s aftermath may be driving a rush to rent in Cincinnati, reports The Cincinnati Enquirer. The report from CB Richard Ellis found the average apartment occupancy rate was 93.6 percent in 2012, underscoring the need for new apartments in Downtown and Over-the-Rhine. News of the report came just one day after City Manager Milton Dohoney Jr. announced his parking plan, which will add 300 luxury apartments to Downtown. Gov. John Kasich and Ohio legislators are getting some bad feedback on the governor’s plan to broaden the sales tax, reports Gongwer. Numbers from Policy Matters Ohio found the sales tax plan would outweigh sales and income tax cuts for the lower classes, but won’t be enough to dent tax savings for the wealthiest Ohioans. CityBeat covered Kasich’s budget in detail here. Not much new information came from a special City Council meeting last night that covered Cincinnati’s public retirement system, reports WVXU. The one piece of new information was that preliminary numbers show Cincinnati's Retirement System had an 11.9 percent return on its investments in 2012 — higher than the 7.5 percent that was originally projected. Mayor Mark Mallory is using his plan to lower Cincinnati’s infant mortality rate to try to win the Bloomberg Philanthropies’ Mayors Challenge. Mallory’s proposal would create an Infant Vitality Surveillance Network, which allows pregnant women to enroll in First Steps, a care program that maintains a secure database of new mothers and monitors pregnancies, according to a press release from the mayor’s office. The program could be especially helpful in Cincinnati, which has a higher infant mortality rate than the national average. The Bloomberg challenge pits mayors around the country against each other to win $5 million or one of four $1 million prizes for their programs aimed at solving urban problems and improving city life. With Mallory’s program, Cincinnati is one of 20 finalists in the competition. Fans can vote on their favorite program at The Huffington Post. A local nun may have committed voter fraud, reports WCPO. Rose Marie Hewitt, the nun in question, died Oct. 4, but the Hamilton County Board of Elections still received a ballot from her after she died. Hewitt apparently filed for an absentee ballot on Sept. 11 — less than one month before she died. In a letter to Board of Elections director Tim Burke, Hamilton County Prosecutor Joe Deters wrote there’s enough probable cause to believe criminal activity occurred. In 2012, 88,068 new entities filed to do business in the state — making the year the best ever for new state filings, according to Secretary of State Jon Husted. A new bill in the Ohio legislature that allows poll workers to help blind, disabled and illiterate voters file their ballots is getting widespread support, but another bill that makes it more difficult to get issues on the ballot is getting a stern look from Democrats, reports Gongwer. Think your landlord is bad? An Ohio landlord allegedly whipped a late-paying tenant, reports The Associated Press. The University of Cincinnati surpassed its $1 billion fundraising goal for the Proudly Cincinnati campaign, reports the Business Courier. President Barack Obama is coming back to Ohio to give the commencement speech at Ohio State University, reports the Business Courier. Donald Trump is threatening Macy’s protesters with a lawsuit because they want the Cincinnati-based retailer to cut ties with Trump, who is currently contracted as a spokesperson, reports the Business Courier. Popular Science has seven reasons coffee is good for you.

Damaged parking meters in Over-the-Rhine are causing problems for residents and local businesses. For months, thieves have been cutting off the top of meters to steal change. The vandals directly steal revenue from the city, ensure the damaged meters won’t collect revenue until they’re fixed and force the city to shell out more money to fix the meters. Businesses and residents are also worried the damaged meters cause confusion for drivers and make the area look unattractive. Democratic mayoral candidate John Cranley wants to debate Vice Mayor Roxanne Qualls, a Democrat who’s also running for mayor, over the city’s plan to privatize parking services. Cranley, a former council member, has pushed the city to find an alternative to the privatization plan — sometimes leading him to make claims with little backing. Qualls isn’t ecstatic about the privatization plan, but she seems to side with City Manager Milton Dohoney’s position that it’s necessary to avoid the layoff of 344 city employees. County officials around the state are peeved at Gov. John Kasich’s budget plan because it limits how much they can leverage in county sales taxes. The proposal bars counties from changing their sales tax rates for three years starting July 2013, and it also adjusts county’s rates to force a 10 percent revenue increase over the prior year beginning December 2013. The Kasich administration claims the move is necessary to prevent county governments from using the governor’s plan to subtly raise the sales tax, but county officials argue the move infringes on local rights. Kasich’s plan lowers the state sales tax rate from 5.5 percent to 5 percent, but it expands what’s affected by the tax. CityBeat analyzed Kasich’s budget proposal yesterday: CPS Still Loses Funding Under Kasich Administration: The budget does increase school funding for Cincinnati Public Schools (CPS), but it’s not enough to make up for the last state budget cuts to CPS.Kasich Tax Cut Favors Wealthy: Kasich claims he’s giving a tax cut to every Ohioan, but a new report from Policy Matters Ohio shows the poor and middle class will pay more on average under his plan. Kasich’s school funding plan is also drawing complaints from school leaders. At a press conference, Kasich made his plan sound fairly progressive, but school leaders found the actual numbers underwhelming, and 60 percent of schools won’t get any increased funding. City Council Member Chris Seelbach took to Facebook to slam Cranley for some recent comments regarding freestanding public restrooms. During an interview with Bill Cunningham, Cranley tried to politicize the issue by saying City Council wants to build a $100,000 freestanding restroom. In his Facebook post, Seelbach explained that’s not the case: “John Cranley, if you haven't heard (which I find surprising), NO ONE on City Council has ever said, in any capacity, that we should spend $100,000+ on a 24-hour public restroom facility. No one. In fact, I went on Bill Cunningham to make that clear. I'd appreciate if you'd stop trying to politicize the real issue: Finding a way to offer more public restroom choices in our urban core for our growing and thriving city. In case you didn't hear my interview with Cunningham, or my comments to almost every media source in this region, I'll post the interview again.” Seelbach’s interview with Cunningham can be found here. Clifton’s new grocery store will begin construction next week. Goessling's Market-Clifton is finally replacing Keller's IGA on Ludlow Avenue. A local high school’s prom was canceled to punish students for a massive water balloon fight at lunch. The giant fight was planned as a prank on social media, and school staff tried to prevent it by warning students of the repercussions on the day of the prank. Students did not listen. Prom was lame, anyway. PNC Bank donated $450,000 to Smale Riverfront Park. The money will be used to build the PNC Grow Up Great Adventure Playground, which will have a swinging rope bridge for kids to walk across a canyon. PNC is among a handful companies to donate to the riverfront park; most recently, Procter & Gamble donated $1 million. Cincinnati was called the most literate city in Ohio. The Montgomery County Democratic Party endorsed the Freedom to Marry Amendment, which would legalize same-sex marriage. CityBeat wrote about the amendment here. Kasich’s latest budget proposal would privatize food services in prisons to save $16.2 million. The Ohio Civil Service Employees Association, which represents prison staff, has come out against the plan. A lawsuit has been filed to take down a Jesus portrait in Jackson Middle School in southern Ohio. The lawsuit is being backed by the American Civil Liberties Union of Ohio and the Freedom from Religion Foundation. They argue the portrait is an “unconstitutional endorsement of religion and must be removed.” A new cure for color blindness: goofy glasses. There’s new evidence that a giant asteroid really sparked earth’s last great mass extinction event, which killed the dinosaurs.

Northside and OTR get a lot of neighborhood love, but Walnut Hills is quickly becoming yet another hot spot for local businesses, art galleries, shopping and more. Support the Hills Friday and check out the Walk on Woodburn from 6-9 p.m. Neusole Glassworks will have a mobile glass-blowing truck, there will be plenty of live music performances and caroling, Queen City Cookies will be hawking delicious edible art and pop-up shops will be joining area businesses for all your holiday shopping needs. Read Her Magazine’s feature on the women of Woodburn here. This year has been an a amazing time to live and work in Over-the-Rhine. Businesses, restaurants and bars are opening every week, Washington Park’s revitalization has been a success and the area is truly becoming a destination for locals and visitors alike. On Friday, OTR will shine — and not just figuratively —with luminaries for the third annual Light Up OTR event. Volunteers will illuminate the streets beginning at 6 p.m., followed by the lighting of the OTR tree at Kaze (new sushi spot opening next week at 1400 Vine St.) at 10 p.m. Make Covington Pop and Renaissance Covington keep the local love flowing as they present the first annual 7th Street Makers Market Friday and Saturday. This festival features area artists, bakers, farmers and business owners as they show off their handmade and homegrown goods. Purchase gifts or goodies for yourself and enjoy free gift wrapping at Artisan’s Enterprise Center (AEC). Come hungry on Friday — there will be a food truck happy hour outside AEC. The fun runs 5-8 p.m. Friday, noon-5 p.m. Saturday. Street style is rapidly gaining attention in the fashion world. No longer is fashion defined as couture on a runway model — everyday folks are showing off their personal style and flair all around cities, especially Cincinnati. Rise of the Cool Kids (#ROCK) is a celebration of individual style, art and music and it all goes down Saturday at the Bertke Electric Warehouse in Northside. Guests will get to be a part of Cincy’s first projected fashion show, filmed in advanced, featuring local designers and fashionistas. It all kicks off at 7 p.m. and is followed by an after-party at FB’s downtown (there will also be a free shuttle going to and from each location.) Get tickets here. On Saturday, Third Party Gallery presents a third installment of its monthly experimental film program, Staring Eyes. “Yule Logs and Certain Types of Nog” will feature eclectic holiday-themed screenings — no Miracle on 34th Street here. The event begins at 8 p.m. Cincinnati Ballet’s The Nutcracker opens Friday; OTRimprov’s The Naughty List continues at Arnold’s Sunday-Tuesday; Find more weekend theater info here. Check out our calendar for more events, art shows, theater productions and more to do this weekend and beyond.

They have been talking about it since they were 15 years old. Now, about 15 years later, all it took was an evening stroll through some back alleys on the way to The Famous Neons Unplugged in Over-the-Rhine to stumble across the perfect spot for their new start-up, Collective Espresso.Owners Dave Hart and Dustin Miller had always dreamed of opening a coffee shop together. Lifelong friends and Ohio natives, the two spent a few years on separate journeys living in and being inspired by different states along the West Coast and working in multiple restaurants and cafes along the way.  "We kind of just moved to Cincinnati with the plan that we would figure it out," Hart explained nonchalantly as he reached for a cup and saucer behind the bar. Cold November rain fell outside during our interview, but the coffee and conversation warmed the already cozy shop as I sat comfortably on a stool that Hart and Miller hand-made, at the rustic bar that they crafted out of an old barn door. Just like the simplicity of the shop's design, Miller explained that it's their goal to very simply, "make great coffee taste great."   "There are a lot of great natural things happening in this coffee," Miller explained, joining Hart behind the bar. "It's our job as baristas to make it look and taste awesome. We want the coffee to speak for itself."  The shop, on the brink of opening, will mainly serve Deeper Roots Coffee — which is local — and Quills Coffee from Louisville, Ky. However, since they have a multiple roaster format, they are excited that they have the freedom to serve anything that piques their interest.  I watched in awe as the duo made the perfect cup of coffee through a process known as the drip method. This procedure takes about two and a half minutes and is performed through several steps in a homemade set-up resembling a science lab experiment.  "Each cup of coffee is made-to-order," Hart explained as he smelled the complex aroma from the coffee. "We don't want to be so slow that it's frustrating to get a cup of coffee here, but we like the idea of people being able to chill out for a few minutes and have a real coffee experience."  There are many ways to get your caffeine fix at Collective Espresso including espresso, macchiatos, cortado, cappuccino, lattes and mochas. The average price for a drink is $2.50-$3.50.  Although they recognized some great coffee shops that Cincinnati already has to offer, Hart explained that they thought the Cincinnati coffeehouse scene was missing something — Collective Espresso. With seating arranged in a bar-like fashion, the shop provides a welcoming atmosphere to stop in, have a cup of coffee over the daily news (CityBeat, of course) and meet or catch up with neighbors.  "If people are as dorky about coffee as we are, we also want to be a place where people can explore different brew methods and learn about different coffees," Miller added.  Just as the perfect cup of coffee takes time, the finishing touches are being put on Collective Espresso. The shop, located at 207 Woodward St., (off Main Street) is expected to open very soon.