Good morning all. I was out for a couple days to go see the eclipse (it was nuts), but I’m back now. Here’s some news for you.
Former Cincinnati mayor Mark Mallory yesterday endorsed Cincinnati City Councilwoman Yvette Simpson in her bid for mayor. Mallory served two terms as mayor before current Mayor John Cranley won election in 2013. He also served as a state lawmaker prior to his eight years in City Hall. Mallory credited Simpson, who was elected to Council in 2011, for playing a big role in the progress the city made under his administration. Cranley’s campaign emphasized the mayor’s own endorsements in a response statement yesterday.
• If you’re squeamish for some reason about giving money to folks on the street, now there’s a way you can help people without having to actually interact with people. Five re-purposed parking meters downtown will now be used to accept donations for local social service organizations. Strategies to End Homelessness will allocate donations given via the “Donation Stations” to nonprofits working to address drug addiction, homelessness and poverty. The stations at Fountain Square, The Banks, 12th and Vine, Washington Park and near the Contemporary Arts Center are a collaboration between the city, 3CDC and Downtown Cincinnati, Inc.
• This is crazy, but I promise it’s real and I’m not stark-raving mad after staring at the moon blocking out the sun. Soon, you’ll be able to fly to Europe from Cincinnati for prices as low as $99. That price will get you to Iceland via discount international airline WOW Air starting in May next year. For another $50, you could travel to places in continental Europe. I have my passport ready and I may not come back.
• The Southwest Ohio Regional Transit Authority is holding a public meeting tonight from 4-8 p.m. to discuss cuts to some less popular routes. That meeting will be at the Duke Energy Convention Center. More details here.
• Local retail giant Macy’s has a new president, and he’s making tons of cash. Hal Lawton, formerly of eBay, will get more than $22 million in cash and stock options as he joins Macy’s. That’s on top of his annual $1 million base salary and $1.25 million expected yearly bonus. He could also make up to $4 million a year in stock awards. That’ll buy a lot of like, Ryan Seacrest brand ties and whatever else they sell over at Macy’s these days.
• Butler County Sheriff Richard Jones believes controversial Arizona Sheriff Joe Arpaio should receive a presidential pardon after he was convicted last month of violating a federal judge’s order regarding racial profiling. Arpaio faces up to six months in prison for that violation and is set to be sentenced in October.
• Ohio’s state Senate overrode six vetoes by Gov. John Kasich yesterday related to healthcare provisions in the state’s budget. You can read more about those measures here. Lawmakers haven’t overridden a governor’s veto on a budget bill in four decades. A fix restoring transit and county funding filtered through the state lost due to a change in federal taxation rules wasn’t among the measures the Senate restored, and a controversial bill that would end new enrollments into the state’s Medicaid expansion wasn’t on the table either.
• Expect tons of security cameras at marijuana growing facilities across the state. The state’s 130 medicinal marijuana facilities, which were recently given the green light by changes in state law, will be heavily monitored in real time when they open next year via more than 1,000 security cameras operated by the Ohio Department of Commerce, according to a request for proposals issued by the department last week.
This article appears in Aug 16-23, 2017.