Good morning y’all. Here’s the news today.
First off, you should check out this week’s CityBeat news feature about how the feds are working with a Cincinnati neighborhood to help preserve diversity and affordability there. I think you’ll find it fascinating. As more and more folks discover how cool it is to live in the urban parts of Cincinnati, demand has increased for housing and services in some of the city’s coolest neighborhoods. Northside is no stranger to that dynamic, and with new apartment buildings and businesses going in there, the community risks some of the downsides of all that development — a loss of diversity and waning affordability for low- and moderate-income residents. But the Northside Community Council is taking steps to combat those problems with some consulting help from the EPA, of all agencies. Why the EPA? Read more here.
• Cincinnati-based consumer products giant Procter & Gamble yesterday announced plans to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 30 percent over the next half decade. The company will do so, according to P&G Vice President of Global Sustainability Len Sauers, by focusing more on renewable energy and taking innovative steps like generating steam with nutshells and sawdust. The new target is an increase over the company’s previous goal of cutting emissions by 20 percent. The company has cited concern for the environment as one driver for the goal, but, of course, it will also be good for business, they say, cutting costs and making production more efficient. Seems like business stuff can only really be green one way if it’s green the other, if you catch my drift.
• A group pushing to recall Cincinnati Mayor John Cranley will meet later this month in Clifton. The group, started sometime around Sept. 10, currently has about 230 followers on Facebook and about 40 people confirmed to attend its Sept. 29 event at the Clifton branch of the Cincinnati and Hamilton County Public Library. “With the most recent firing of Cincinnati Police Chief Blackwell citizens have had enough of a mayor who has put major corporations above citizen interests,” the group’s Facebook page reads. “Since John Cranley has taken office he has disregarded the public and forced his agenda on the public with no regard for the Democratic process.”
It’s unclear if a mayoral recall is even possible under municipal law. State laws allow for recall elections, but Cranley’s office claims that Ohio Supreme Court decision means that recalls can only happen if city laws expressly make them possible. But the city’s charter is mum on recalls and the matter would probably have to be decided in court. If a court decided that recalls are not permitted under the charter, supporters of a recall effort would have to pass a ballot initiative allowing them first.
• Marijuana legalization group ResponsibleOhio won a legal battle yesterday after the Ohio Supreme Court ruled that ballot language about the group’s proposed amendment to the state’s constitution was misleading. That language was submitted by Ohio Secretary of State Jon Husted, an opponent of marijuana legalization in the state. The court says sections describing how marijuana can be sold, how much marijuana a person can grow privately and the possibility for additional commercial grow sites must be amended to be more accurate. However, the win wasn’t total. ResponsibleOhio supporters were also challenging the title of the ballot initiative put forward by Husted, which contained the word “monopoly.” The court ruled that word can stay. ResponsibleOhio’s proposal has been controversial. It would allow anyone over 21 to purchase marijuana from a licensed distributor, but would limit commercial growth of the crop to 10 grow sites around the state owned by the group’s investors.
• While Ohio’s job market is edging back toward its pre-recession levels, wages have remained stagnant, a new report by think tank Policy Matters Ohio says. The state has 0.7 percent fewer jobs than it did in 2007 in contrast to the nation’s 2.5-percent increase in jobs during that time. But the real worry is that the state’s median wage adjusted for inflation, $16.05 an hour, is at one of the lowest levels it’s been in more than three decades. That’s 5 percent less than the national rate. The study highlights a number of continuing problems for Ohio’s economy and says the state’s sluggish economic growth is impacting low-wage earners most heavily.
• Finally, perhaps you watched the reality TV event of the season last night and have some thoughts. Or maybe you skipped the second GOP primary debate in order to preserve your sanity and faith in our fine country. Either way, I’ma tell you about it. A brief rundown: Donald Trump trumped it up and looks to stay in the lead among GOP hopefuls. Former corporate exec Carly Fiorina took the Donald to the mat a few times over Trump’s comments about her face, though, and that was kind of awesome. Dr. Ben Carson continued talking very quietly, entrancing primary voters who like a quiet conservative who says little of substance. Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush continued to illustrate why he’s a mystifyingly stubborn presence near the top of the polls, saying his brother GW kept America safe somehow.
And where were our local guys? U.S. Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky did manage to stop bickering with the Donald long enough to offer up some substantive thoughts about foreign policy and the U.S. war on drugs, probably scoring some points with the nation’s not-insubstantial libertarian base. Ohio Gov. John Kasich stayed the slow and steady course he’s charted, presenting himself as the pragmatic moderate in a room full of loony ideologues. That might come in handy later, but it makes for boring reality TV at the moment. Anyway, here are some links to articles fact-checking candidates’ statements (that’s cute… as if their statements were in some way designed to be factual at all) and some pundits who said some things about the debate that probably don’t matter at all because the debates are farce and pundits like Dave Weigel’s thoughts on the debates are a farce about a farce. But it’s all a fun game to watch, right? Right.
I’m out! Later. Catch me on Twitter or send me emails about how awesomely surreal our political system is, and your reactions to this horrifying fashion development.
This article appears in Sep 16-22, 2015.
