Cincinnati Zoo Announces Weekly Twilight Hours for Evening Visits
Can’t escape that daily 9-to-5 work grind? In desperate need of a Fiona fix? Starting next week, the Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden will begin hosting “Twilight Tuesdays,” aka the zoo will stay open until 8 p.m. every Tuesday evening in July. Plus, entry after 5 p.m. is half-price. For members, the deal is sweeter:…
James Alex Fields, Greater Cincinnati native accused in death of Heather Heyer at ‘Unite the Right’ rally, faces federal hate crime charges
A federal grand jury today returned an indictment with more than 30 hate crime charges against James Alex Fields Jr., who is accused of driving his car into a group of protesters at last August's white nationalist "Unite the Right" event, killing anti-racism protester Heather Heyer. Fields, who attended high school in Northern Kentucky and…
Cincinnati, Keep Your Eyes On The Sky for Saturn and a ‘Strawberry’ Moon
Tonight, look to the sky: Saturn will be in opposition and the moon will be rose colored. On this side of the states, prime viewing time for the so-called Strawberry Moon will be 12:53 a.m., so set your alarm or guzzle some coffee to stay awake. This special full moon, named by Algonquin tribes, signified when strawberries…
Watch Cincinnati Indie/Art Pop band A Delicate Motor perform a song from its anticipated ‘Fellover My Own’ album in a former Price Hill firehouse
The members of compelling Indie/Art Pop band A Delicate Motor played the most high-profile gig of their career in late April when they were featured at the huge Homecoming music festival on Cincinnati’s riverfront. The only true hometown act in the two-day lineup, The National-curated event put ADM on a bill that featured Indie music…
The Unknown King Records-Ramones Connection
Add another voice to those in the music business who are paying tribute to Cincinnati's King Records. theRecently, touring musicians Jack White, Les Claypool and Billy Gibbons (of ZZ Top) all visited the aging Evanston buildings that once were home to the storied indie record company. (The city now owns the site.) And now, Seymour…
Supreme Court decision on union dues likely has big implications for Ohio’s public employee unions
In a narrow 5-4 decision today, the U.S. Supreme Court sided with Illinois' Republican governor Bruce Rauner, who challenged public unions' rights to collect fees from non-members to cover the costs of collective bargaining. The court's decision in Janus v. AFSCME Council 31 could incentivize some of the more than 5 million public employee union…
Bill would require teachers to report students they believe are transgender to parents; more news
Good morning, all. Here’s a quick mid-week news rundown to get your day started. Cincinnati City Council today is casting final votes on a fiscal year 2019 budget. The spending plan comes just days before the end of the current fiscal year and after some heavy-duty wrangling over details of the budget. Council will boost…
Cilantro Vietnamese to Reopen in Clifton with Original Owner
For fans of Darren Phan’s Vietnamese dishes, this news will come as heaven sent: Cilantro Vietnamese bistro has announced it is reopening in Clifton under Phan’s control, with a new executive chef, Shelbi Nation. The information was released on Facebook: “So the best news of the day… We are re-opening with our fearless leader, DARREN…
Revenge of the Synth: The resurgence of Synth Pop and Cincinnati duo Moonbeau are proving the music’s endurance
When Synth Pop broke through in the early ’80s, there was a large, vocal contingent of music fans that despised it. Like Rap and Disco, the electronic and unfamiliar sounds were deemed “not real music” by many hardliners. Heard by most when MTV started squeezing in Synth Pop clips by The Human League and Soft…
Architectural renewal of century-old Over-the-Rhine church shows its relevancy to neighborhood
Until recently, if you happened upon First Lutheran Church at 1208 Race St. in Over-the-Rhine, there’s a chance you never saw the building itself. Since September 2016, it had been hidden behind scaffolding set up to protect passersby from the falling pieces of red limestone that were breaking off from the façade. And that tower…
It’s Showtime for Desus and Mero
Two seasons in, Desus & Mero (11 p.m. weeknights, VICELAND) has proven to be a standout in the overpopulated pool of late night talk shows. Hosts Desus Nice and The Kid Mero (government names Daniel Baker and Joel Martinez) were among the first comics to parlay Twitter fame into showbiz careers, starting with the Complex…
Contemporary Arts Center Announces its 2018-19 Exhibits and Performances
A show that might include live animals is one of the highlights of the Contemporary Arts Center’s 2018-19 season. Also among the offerings are a new lineup of programs for the Black Box performance and events series and plans for an inaugural contemporary performance festival in April 2019. Creatures: When Species Meet, scheduled for April…
Congrats Cincy, We Made No. 2 Most Fast Food Restaurants Per Capita
This city is known for many things, be it our rich German heritage, our unwavering love for our hometown sports teams, our Cincinnati-style chili or our beloved Fiona the Hippo — the list goes on. However, if you live in, were born in or have paid a visit to our Cincinnati 'burbs, you may have…
Dynamic and soulful Cincinnati Rock group Heavy Hinges hits peak form on new ‘Lonely’ EP
Cincinnati rockers Heavy Hinges are back with their latest EP, Lonely, which will get the release-party treatment Saturday at MOTR Pub in Over-the-Rhine. The free show begins at 10 p.m. with an opening set from Joe Hedges, the former Cincinnati-area singer/songwriter and onetime frontperson with the popular Middletown, Ohio band July for Kings who currently…
Remembering Cincinnati’s Towering Modernist Architect Woodie Garber
Within Cincinnati’s lively, growing community of Modernist architecture devotees, news of a new book about the brilliant Woodward “Woodie” Garber has been met with enthusiasm. Garber, who died in 1994, has a reputation among Modernists as a controversial visionary whose advocacy of an uncluttered openness in design — in line with a more optimistic, democratic…
Van Gogh’s “Undergrowth with Two Figures” returns to Cincinnati Art Museum after a triumphant world tour
Hail the conquering hero with a beer. The Cincinnati Art Museum today announced that its Vincent van Gogh 1890 painting "Undergrowth with Two Figures" — which was the catalyst for a major 2016 exhibition here that looked at how undergrowth and greenery were treated by the great Post-Impressionist painter and his influences and contemporaries —…
Fretboard Brewing in Blue Ash hosts Music and Strawberry Festival
On June 30, Fretboard Brewing Co. in Blue Ash hosts Strawberry JAM! It’s part music fest and part celebration of strawberries. The brewery will be pouring several variants of their Reba Strawberry Blonde Ale — named after redhead Reba McEntire — including Reba Strawberry Kiwi and Reba Strawberries & Cream. Local jammery Made By Mavis will…
Flying Axes Covington Hosts Grand Opening Party with Beer and Axes
What could be more fun than throwing an axe at a non-human target? Covington’s new Flying Axes venue wants you to find out when they open on July 7 with free admission and Braxton beer. Flying Axes, a Louisville-based axe throwing company, is expanding operations into Covington and they're celebrating with an opening party. Located in…
This Week in Questionable Decisions: June 20-26
This Week in Questionable Decisions… 1. On her Fox News show, Laura Ingraham described the border detention centers as “essentially summer camps.” 2. One of the Bachelorette contestants is a convicted sex offender and flat-earther who reportedly poops on toilet paper-lined floors instead of the toilet. 3. A 2016 song called “American Pharaoh” by NYC…
What a Week!: June 20-26
Dog Days of Summer For years, the Philadelphia Phillies have combined some of the best parts of watching baseball — highly processed snack foods, launching prizes into crowds, Muppety mascots and the excitement of making a big catch in the stands — by shooting hot dogs from the field to hungry fans in the stands.…
Cincinnati Brewery Anniversaries and Big Summer Bashes
Summery beers, beer festivals and upcoming brewery anniversaries are here to enhance the sweltering heat. Rhinegeist just turned 5 with a big bash last week, and Nine Giant in Pleasant Ridge turned 2 with a full week of events. West Side Brewing will celebrate its 1-year anniversary with a weekend-long shindig starting June 29. And…
Superb Cincinnati Veggie Burgers for Vegetarians and Meat-Eaters Alike
What makes a burger a burger? Is it the patty? The toppings? The fact that it’s a food item stuffed in a bun? This entire checklist comes into play when you’re talking about finding a good veggie burger (probably meat burgers, too, but I don’t eat those). First off, the patty. There are several types…
Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Ranks No. 2 in the Country
Cincinnati Children's Hospital was named the No. 2 Best Children's Hospital by an annual ranking released this morning from U.S. News & World Report. The criteria which goes into the ranking system is based off of 10 specialties that the hospital provides, such as pediatric cancer, pediatric neurology and neurosurgery and pediatric orthopedics. Cincinnati Children's…
Cincinnati online radio platform Inhailer launches new video music series ‘Corner Sessions’ with local duo Moonbeau
Cincinnati online indie radio platform Inhailer dropped the first installment of its newly-minted Corner Sessions series earlier this month. Local modern New Wave/Synth Pop babes Moonbeau were spotlighted in the debut sessions. The duo, made up of Christian Gough and Claire Muenchen, performed “Complicated” from their new self-titled album, which gets a local release this…
Sound Advice: Maps & Atlases with Current Events and Daniel in Stereo on Fountain Square (June 30)
It would be difficult to quantify the sonic evolution of Maps & Atlases over the course of their nearly 20-year history, simply because they have displayed so much creative diversity that they seem to evolve from track to track rather than between albums or tours. The once-quartet/now-trio has been variously described as Indie Rock, Math…
Sound Advice: gobbinjr with Knotts and Molly Sullivan at The Hub (June 29)
gobbinjr’s latest album, ocala wick, opens with this confession from Emma Witmer: “I’m going to work high/I’m sitting at work high/I’m smoking at work high/Nice to meet you.” Witmer (who records as gobbinjr solo but is joined by a band for live performances) projects these sentiments via a modest, almost childlike voice and an equally…
More Fees, More Services: Cincinnati City Council Poised to Pass Budget
After several hours yesterday, Cincinnati City Council’s Budget and Finance Committee passed its version of the city’s fiscal year 2019 city budget. The upshot of that financial plan: six new fee and tax hikes, but also more money for human services organizations and other key programs. Council voted to double a fee residents in…
For These Businesses in Cincinnati’s West End, a Coming Soccer Stadium Means Change
On a stretch of Central Avenue just west of the hip, quickly-redeveloping enclave of Over-the-Rhine, there’s a dense half-block of Cincinnati's West End surrounded by a couple of vacant fields, Cincinnati Public School's School’s Stargel Stadium and some parking lots. At the moment, it’s a microcosm of the predominantly African-American neighborhood’s past and present. It’s…
Loveland’s Blooms & Berries Butterfly Festival
Nothing says summertime more than basking in the warm July sun and frolicking through the garden while butterflies flutter past your painted face. Live music plays in the distance, ice cream is dripping down your fingers and a wandering whiff of BBQ lingers in the air. Yeah. Sounds pretty lovely. From July 7-15, Blooms &…
REVIEW: Cincinnati Opera’s ‘The Coronation of Poppea’ Features a Thrilling Young Cast
CRITIC'S PICK Political intrigue, unabated sexual passion, megalomania. This isn’t Game of Thrones; it’s Claudio Monteverdi’s 1643 Baroque opera The Coronation of Poppea, as presented by the Cincinnati Opera with a superb cast of young singers. Poppea is based on the woman who became the infamous Roman Emperor Nero’s second wife through a series of…
Sound Advice: The Neighbourhood with Health and Field Medic at Bogart’s (June 27)
It’s been an eventful seven years since The Neighbourhood formed in Newbury Park, Calif., a span that has seen the release of three full-length albums, six EPs, a mixtape and a clutch of infectious singles. The Pop/Rock quintet’s most visible entry in that last category would be 2013’s twice-platinum “Sweater Weather,” which hit No. 1…
Minimum Gauge: After being caught in the middle of Spotify’s “hateful conduct” policy controversy, late rapper XXXTentacion sets post-mortem streaming record
HOT: Complicated Streaming The day after 20-year-old Hip Hop star XXXTentacion was shot and killed in Florida, his track “SAD!” broke Taylor Swift’s single-day streaming record on Spotify. The rapper’s song was reportedly streamed 10.4 million times in 24 hours. Not long before his death, XXXTentacion was one of the prime artists cited in Spotify’s…
NOLI brings Modern Italian Kitchen Design to Findlay Market
If you’re torn between vacationing in the Italian countryside and remodeling your kitchen, now you don’t have to choose. NOLI is Findlay Market’s newest vendor — and they aren't selling food. This custom design and installation company uses prestige Italian brands to turn your dream of a "Modern Italian Kitchen" into a reality. NOLI sources their products…
Soul singer Bettye LaVette covers the music of Bob Dylan on her own terms on ‘Things Have Changed’
Bettye LaVette doesn’t so much interpret the songs she covers as she psychoanalyzes them — and, in the process, herself. Seriously, that’s how much thought she puts into her artistry. Starting as a teenage Soul singer in 1962 with “My Man–He’s a Loving Man,” LaVette’s powerful approach has propelled her into a late-period reinvention that…
City of Cincinnati announces funding for affordable housing in multiple neighborhoods
City of Cincinnati officials today announced $2.5 million in funding for five projects around the city that will create a number of new affordable housing units. Those projects will receive money from various federal programs through the Notice of Funding Availability program, a competitive process in which developers submit bids for financing covering up to…
Rhinegeist Brings Roadside Attractions to Fifth Anniversary Party
Rhinegeist celebrates its fifth year in the brewing business on Saturday, June 23 with a blow-out bash themed “Are We There Yet?” It's reminiscent of a family roadtrip, full of adventure, sweeping views and tourist attractions. The decked-out taproom and event space will transform into an epic collection of roadside destinations “worthy of the Guinness…
Parole Board Recommends No Halt to Death Sentence for Raymond Tibbetts
After a special clemency hearing this month, the State of Ohio Adult Parole Authority today released its recommendation that Ohio Gov. John Kasich not halt the execution of Raymond Tibbetts, a Cincinnati man convicted in 1998 of two brutal murders. The nine-member parole board arrived at that decision 8-1. Earlier this year, Kasich called for…
Could a West End public housing complex see redevelopment?; plus more news
Hello all. Here’s a quick news rundown to take you into the weekend. Here’s a depressing thought: You just got older. Right now. This instant. And, demographically speaking, so are most areas in the United States. But despite that trend, Hamilton County isn’t. It’s not a Benjamin Button scenario, but a sign that the number…
This weekend’s Northside Music Festival offers a diverse sampler of Cincinnati’s current music scene
Not to be confused with the Northside Festival in Brooklyn or the NorthSide Festival in Denmark, Cincinnati’s Northside Music Festival is named for the neighborhood and venue hosting it. Taking place tomorrow (Saturday) at the Northside Tavern, the event (presented by the Tavern and local design house We Have Become Vikings) features some top-shelf local…
WATCH: Cincinnati music and activism collective Triiibe’s video for new single “Gossip”
Triiibe has become a positive and uplifting force in Greater Cincinnati in just a couple of years, both through music and boots-on-the-ground community activism. Those two elements of the trio are inseparable, and the trio is all in on both fronts, referring to themselves as “artivists.” The name of the project stands for “True Representation…
Cincinnati City Council members float ticket tax boost to fund human services
Would you pay an extra dollar every time you go see your favorite band or sports team so that Cincinnati could keep its winter shelter for individuals experiencing homelessness open, or help pay for addiction treatment? Or do recent tax increases have you feeling tapped out? Voters will likely get to decide on that question…
Wiedemann Brewing Co. to Reopen in Saint Bernard After 35 Year Hiatus
Greater Cincinnati is about to get another brewery, and it’s a name you may know well. Wiedemann Brewing Co. closed in 1983 after more than a century in operation in Newport. Locals Jon and Betsy Newberry bought the rights to the name in 2012 and planned on reopening again in Northern Kentucky. The financing for those…
Top Five Cincinnati Arts & Culture Events for this Weekend (June 21-25)
The major Arts & Culture event this weekend is Saturday’s Cincinnati Pride Parade and Festival — the parade begins at 11 a.m. at Seventh Street and Central Avenue in Downtown and works its way down to Sawyer Point and Yeatman’s Cove, where the festival occurs. But beyond that, there’s much else: Here are our Top…
McDonald’s Giving Away Frylus Device for National Selfie Day
Today is National Selfie Day (isn't every day?) and McDonald's is giving away a new Frylus — "a touch-capacitive, juice-resistant, uselessly-useful (and kind of genius) device that will allow customers to take the perfect selfie while enjoying a fresh beef quarter-pound burger" — with the purchase of a Quarter Pounder with Cheese, Double Quarter Pounder with…
Heavy Cincinnati rockers Electric Citizen announced as support for coast-to-coast tour with Monster Magnet
Cincinnati foursome Electric Citizen is set to embark on one of its biggest North American tours yet. This fall, the trippy, heavy rockers will hit the road as direct support on Monster Magnet’s “Mindfucker” tour (named for MM’s latest LP). The tour kicks off Sept. 28 in Toronto, taking the band coast to coast through…
Sen. Brown Introduces Bill to End Voter Purges; more news
Hello all. Here’s a quick rundown of the news in Cincy right now. Cincinnati City Councilman P.G. Sittenfeld is set to announce a proposal for a new funding source for the city’s human services — likely a boost to the city’s admissions tax — at a news conference at the Center for Addiction Treatment in the…
New Riff Announces Release Date for its Long-Awaited Bourbon
Bellevue’s New Riff Distilling has announced a release date for its first batch of bourbon: Fall 2018. The spirit, which has been patiently aging for the past four years, is bottled in bond (the product of one distillation season, by one distiller at one distillery and aged at least four years) without chill filtration and…
Cincinnati City Council members submit potential budget tweaks
With time ticking down to the June 30 end of the fiscal year, members of Cincinnati City Council today filed their requests for changes to Mayor John Cranley and acting City Manager Patrick Duhaney's Fiscal Year 2019 budgets. Among the key asks in various versions of council's proposals: reversal of cuts to human services funding,…
Holtman’s Donuts Coming to Oakley
The hanging, pink-frosted Holtman’s Donuts sign has ingrained itself in the Cincinnati psyche — a watering hole for breakfast-goers who believe that flaky, sweet goodness is the best way to start a day. And now, the storefront has made its way to Oakley, with plans to open across from MadTree Brewing 2.0 at 3450 Madison…
No Easy Fixes for SORTA’s Budget Woes
There is not likely to be an easy way out of the budget crunch faced by the Southwest Ohio Regional Transit Authority, an independent analysis says. But that probe into the transit agency’s finances by Ernst & Young stopped short of mentioning a potential sales tax levy SORTA is mulling to shore up its lagging…
Pure Romance CEO Gifts $2 million to Cincinnati Children’s Trans Health Clinic
It wasn’t until Jessica and Chris Cicchinelli’s daughter came out as transgender that they understood the reality of the struggle and the resources needed. “Our daughter opened our eyes — in more ways than one — to the fact something must be done,” said Chris, CEO of locally based Pure Romance, in a press release.…
ArtWorks’ New 2018 Murals Will Empower the Marginalized
Look through the mock-ups and descriptions for the murals that ArtWorks is producing this summer, and a theme emerges. Marginalized groups and underdogs — African-Americans, immigrants, women artists, people with disabilities, even a premature hippo — are getting their due. ArtWorks’ attention to diversity appeals to project manager and artist Harry Sanchez Jr., who’ll guide…
