Mental Health Care and Personal Freedom
State Sen. Scott Oelslager (R-Plain Township) introduced legislation in May that could resolve the complex, intertwined conflicts between the rights of people with mental illness and the need to protect both them and the public from harmful acts caused by their sickness. Like many physical ailments, mental illness often does not constantly afflict those who…
Why __________ (Fill in the Blank) Is Cooler Than Cincinnati
One of my favorite summertime getaways are trips to Toronto. It's a quick and easy flight. There are plenty of affordable places to stay and no limit to interesting things to do. Canada is enough of a foreign country to make a visit feel exotic. Imagine: In Toronto, I can watch HBO's Sex and the…
Ancient Harmony
Ancient Harmony With a sound that mixes improvisational trippiness with Southern and Roots Rock tendencies, the Albany, Ga.-based quartet Ancient Harmony should please fans of "jam"-minded acts Widespread Panic and grandaddies the Grateful Dead. The group formed in the mid-'90s and since then they've progressively built a following in Georgia and regionally. The group…
The Scarlet ‘L’
Dwight Patton, splintering ad hoc/half-activist member of Cincinnati Black United Front (BUF), spitted and sputtered his venomous way through outing me on 1480 Talk with Courtis Fuller on Aug. 5. I was shocked but not surprised. Though winded from the punch in the gut, I was prepared. Don't he know I've been blind-sided all my…
Cover Story: Smallville
What's up with all the deer? As my equally half-witted assistant, Jessica, and I make our approach into Johnstown, Ohio, more and more deer populate the sides of the streets. Not red-blooded Bambis, but ceramic fawn. The citizens of Johnstown sure love their lawn ornaments, we think. And they love pushing their right brains to…
1 Le Roy Court, Mount Auburn
Doug Trapp Address: 1 Le Roy Court, Mount Auburn Owner: Mellissa Mallin Value: $138,600 Year Built: 1875 Comments: A few years ago this building and the five others that make up the Glencoe Apartments were a hot spot for drugs — so much so that Cincinnati City Council considered putting a street camera in…
Festival Seating Return Is Past Due
An old saying goes that those who ignore history are doomed to repeat it. A modern-day saying in Cincinnati goes that if you ignore a problem there is no problem. There's a fine difference between the two phrases but a significant distinction, particularly when it comes to the crisis du jour here — the festival…
Cover Story: Dream Factory
Mike Breen Mike takes in a Triple A game later at Slugger Field Being a baseball fan in Cincinnati can be frustrating. The giant two-headed hydra of steroids and a possible player's strike is just the latest monster to leap from the ocean and ravage the downtown of our national pastime. Add to that…
News: Hunting for Help
Jymi Bolden Debris from an Aug. 12 fire litters a lot atHuntington Meadows in Bond Hill. Residents of Huntington Meadows could be the victims of mold, asbestos, foreclosure or good, old-fashioned lust for developable land, depending on whom you ask. Ola Jones and her husband are among the hundreds of residents ordered to move…
Diner: Missing the Mark
The empty dining room at Razzberry's on two different visits (a Sunday evening first time out, followed by a Saturday night) made me ponder the many variables that can affect a restaurant's success: location, menu, management, staff, ambience, value, consistency, marketing and public relations — even the economy and the weather. Sundays are often slower…
Cover Story: Day Trippin’
David Wasinger The CityBeat staff has been toying with the idea of a summer road trip story for more than a year — something about day-tripping from Cincinnati. We'd all hop in our cars and see what was out there. First, though, we'd procrastinate. That is, until about six weeks ago, when the astute…
News: Accidental Experts
Jymi Bolden Lt. Col. Ron Twitty (left) appeared, but didn't talk, at a rally of supporters. Fairness was the reason Cincinnati Police Chief Thomas Streicher gave for asking the Hamilton County Sheriff's Office to investigate damage to Assistant Police Chief Ronald Twitty's city-owned car. But avoiding the appearance of favoritism by sending the case…
Film: On Troma’s Road
David Wasinger A mohawked Warped Tour patron makes a purchase at the Tromaville merchandise table. "Toma's back! I thought that you guys were dead," an overly tattooed Warped Tour crewmember barks through his Radio Shack bullhorn. Preparing for a morning concert setup, he speaks through a bullhorn, even though his audience is just yards…
More Herbs for Life
A few weeks ago I began a series highlighting some common herbs and how they can assist in healing or keeping the body in balance. This week I'll focus on several choices available at local grocers, herbs that can be taken with food as part of your regular diet. (If you're under a medical doctor's…
Cover Story: The Need for Speed
I don't remember the first time I saw a TV ad for Tom Raper RV ("Exit 149-A in Richmond, Ind."), but I know it was a long time ago, maybe even the late 1970s, when I traveled mostly by bike. It was easy to ignore the ad because it never changed. There was always the…
Continuing Films
ABOUT A BOY — (Grade: A) In Will, a smarmy British bachelor who joins a single-parents' club as a way to meet women, actor Hugh Grant finds a screen character perfectly matched to his own unique blend of cultured arrogance and foppish personality traits. Grant's natural performance enhances the film's frequent, comic moments. He also…
News: Young and the Rest
If City Manager Valerie Lemmie and Mayor Charlie Luken are away, responsibility for running the city of Cincinnati could easily fall to a 26-year-old who until recently worked in Dayton. It happened last month. When Police Chief Tom Streicher held a press conference in mid-July announcing the suspension of Assistant Chief Ron Twitty for allegedly…
Cover Story: Two Sides of Yellow Springs
Greg Flannery (left) and Larry Gross enjoy a meal at The Winds Greg: Yellow Springs, Ohio, is 70 miles and a generation away. The miles go north and east. The generational trek is a matter of to-ing and fro-ing. In Greene County, not far from Dayton, Yellow Springs is on a psychic plane somewhere…
Whirlygig: 39
Yellow Ball Tennis anyone? With the ATP gang in town, it was hard to ignore the call to the courts last week. It was a perfect weather week for almost anything, and the only thing better than sweating it out on the courts myself was watching hunks do it instead. I don't like watching tennis…
Cover Story: The Ohio River on the Cheap
The creepiest doll ever, resides at the roadside grave of Diana Whitney. I now know this: It doesn't take $100 to go 100 miles east of Cincinnati along the Ohio River and back. First of all, prices are circa 1955. Slushes at the Dairy Creme in Portsmouth come in the usual small, medium and…
