Cover Story
The Pride Issue: How Transgender Kids Navigate Ohio’s Hostile Politics, While Still Remaining Kids
This story is featured in CityBeat’s May 29 print edition. Kate dropped off her daughter at a swimming pool for a friend’s birthday party when she was 7 years old, but she didn’t leave. “I watched you swimming for a while,” Kate says to her daughter, Mikey, now 8. “You did?” Mikey asks, her narrowed…
Sample from Over 10 Hard Seltzer Flavors at March First Brewing’s Annual Seltzer Smash
A celebration of hard seltzer is brewing in Cincinnati this summer with the return of March First Brewing’s Seltzer Smash. Back for its fifth year, Seltzer Smash will be taking place Saturday, July 19 from 11:30 a.m. to midnight at both the brewery’s taprooms in Blue Ash and at Fountain Square in downtown Cincinnati, as…
The Freedom Center to Host Juneteenth Jubilee Festival This Week
The National Underground Railroad Freedom Center is once again bringing the community together to celebrate freedom for a special Juneteenth festival this year. Juneteenth, held each year on June 19, is a celebration in African American communities of the end of slavery in the United States. It’s also a celebration of Black culture, Black resilience…
Hydraulic Bar Opens Inside Spooky Nook Sports Champion Mill in Hamilton
Similar to other Midwestern Rust Belt towns, the city of Hamilton has seen an influx of new developments and businesses as it begins to rebrand its image. What originally started as a concerted effort to build up Main and High streets in Hamilton has slowly morphed into a citywide renaissance. One such example of the…
Great Parks Recommends Its Favorite Cincinnati Parks for Every Sort of Outdoor Adventure
After months of being cooped up at home, Cincinnatians are finally emerging from their cold-season cocoon to explore the beautiful natural landscapes in and around the Queen City. From walks along stunning prairie trails to fun-filled water sports on the lake, Great Parks, Hamilton County’s parks system, has something to offer every sort of outdoor…
Coral Reefer Band to Keep the Jimmy Buffett Party at Riverbend Going This Summer
King of the Parrotheads Jimmy Buffett may no longer be here to host the event of the summer at Riverbend Music Center, but his touring and recording band will keep the party going in his memory this August. The Coral Reefer Band will bring their “Keep the Party Going: A Tribute to Jimmy Buffett” tour…
Trump Says He’ll Work ‘Side by Side’ with Group that Wants Abortion ‘Eradicated’
Former President Donald Trump said Monday that if reelected he plans to work “side by side” with a newly formed religious organization that says abortion is the “greatest atrocity facing” the United States and should be “eradicated entirely.” During two-minute recorded remarks played at The Danbury Institute’s inaugural Life & Liberty Forum in Indianapolis, Trump…
New LGBTQ+-Friendly Bourbon Week to Launch in Kentucky This Fall
A new event aimed at showcasing Kentucky’s bourbon and hospitality culture to LGBTQ+ visitors will launch this fall. Bourbon & Belonging, from LGBTQ+-run nonprofit Queer Kentucky, is happening Oct. 2-6. The inclusive, week-long event, inspired by Gay Wine Weekend in Sonoma and QueerBeer Fest in Washington D.C., features a variety of activities, tastings and gatherings…
Ohio Nurses, Doctors Call for Legislation to Prevent Violence in Health Care Settings
Nurses around Ohio complain their profession is in crisis as hospitals struggle to fill vacant positions and the increased workload pushes more people to leave the field. Those staffing challenges are compounded, they argue, by a spike in violent encounters between health providers and patients. Nurses’ biggest ask is legally mandated staffing ratios, a change…
Ault Park Fourth of July Celebration Back on After Fundraising Efforts
A beloved Cincinnati Fourth of July tradition that was facing cancelation will return this year after all thanks to community fundraising efforts. In March, the city shared that the annual Ault Park Fireworks, which had always been volunteer- and community-organized, would no longer happen as organizers pulled out due to the event becoming increasingly difficult…
Data Centers are Choosing Indiana. Is the State’s Electricity Supply Ready?
They’re cryptocurrency miners and social media businesses. They’re software providers and cloud computing companies. And they’re increasingly setting up shop in Indiana, via data centers: windowless stretches of buildings that house computing equipment, network infrastructure and digital storage. In the five years since lawmakers approved generous financial incentives specific to data centers, eight have located…
Easing Federal Marijuana Rules: There’s Still a Long Way to Go
Nearly three weeks after the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration proposed loosening a federal prohibition on marijuana, the next phases of policy fights over the drug’s status are starting to take shape. Public comments, which the DEA is accepting on the proposal until mid-July, will likely include an analysis of the economic impact of more lenient…
Mermaids Return to Newport Aquarium This June
Mermaids will return to the Newport Aquarium this June with flipping fins and magical bubble kisses, as well as an important message about saving our oceans. Saturday, June 8 is World Ocean Day, and to celebrate, the aquarium’s mermaid friends will be helping educate visitors about ocean conservation and the dangers of single-use plastics. According…
Cincinnati Protesters Head to D.C. to Join National Demonstration for Rafah
Protesters from across Southwestern Ohio are heading to Washington, D.C. to demonstrate outside the White House in support of Rafah. According to an Instagram post from organizers, the Ohio demonstrators will join thousands of other protesters from across the country in D.C. on June 8 who are voicing their opposition to President Joe Biden’s continued…
Cincinnati’s Brewing Heritage Trail is Rolling Out a Free App
An Over-the-Rhine attraction is rolling out a new app to help make its mission to preserve and share Cincinnati’s brewing history even easier. The nonprofit Brewery District Community Urban Redevelopment Corporation created and developed the app as an extension of the Brewing Heritage Trail, which features markers throughout OTR that allow people to discover historic…
LaRose Could Purge Over 150,000 Ohio Inactive Voters Before Election
More than 150,000 Ohio voters could potentially not be eligible to vote in the upcoming Presidential election. Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose recently published a list of 158,857 inactive voter registrations who are eligible to be removed from the Statewide Voter Registration Database — meaning they would be purged from voter rolls. “These registrations…
Ohio’s Proposed Drag Ban Could Become a Vehicle for Anti-Trans Harassment
Let me first preface this by stating that I am a transgender individual, who is seeking to provide education to all regarding the LGBTQ+ community. When I first became aware of Ohio House Bill 245, I became extremely upset and worried that we once again will be doomed to repeat the mistakes of our past.…
Dierks Bentley Shares What Fans Can Expect at His Cincinnati Concert
On Saturday, June 15, country star Dierks Bentley will be kicking up gravel and bringing fans gold as he hits the stage at Cincinnati’s Riverbend Music Center as part of the extended leg of his “Gravel & Gold” tour. The “Gravel & Gold” tour kicked off last summer in support of the “Drunk on a…
‘On Freedom’s Doorstep’ at Heritage Village Museum Celebrates Black Cincinnati History
The Heritage Village Museum is hosting a celebration of Black history this weekend, offering visitors a look at the lives and contributions of Black Cincinnatians from the city’s chartering through the end of World War I. The museum, located in Sharon Woods in Sharonville, and The Voice of Black Cincinnati, a media company that aims…
Indiana Republican Congressman Calls a Foul on Treatment of Caitlin Clark
Indiana 3rd District Congressman Jim Banks wants answers from the Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA) on how it will protect Indiana Fever rookie Caitlin Clark from “excessive physical targeting.” In a Tuesday letter to WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert, Banks said Clark has experienced “resentment and repeated attacks from fellow players” during her first season with…
13 Shocking Quotes From the Latest Hearing to Ban Public Drag Performances in Ohio
This story was originally published by the Buckeye Flame and republished here with permission. The Ohio House held a second hearing on Wednesday for HB 245, which would ban drag performances in locations other than “adult cabaret.” The bill specifically calls out drag performers by referencing “performers or entertainers who exhibit a gender identity that…
Viral Video of Cincinnati Police Department Arrest Sparks Investigation, Backlash
The Cincinnati Police Department is conducting an internal investigation after video of an officer tasing a man sitting at a bus stop, and another officer pointing a gun at the man recording, sparked backlash online. The video, lasting three minutes and forty-five seconds, of the June 1 arrest posted on Facebook and X (formerly Twitter)…
Over 1,000 Black Market Ozempic Injections Seized by Federal Agents in Cincinnati
Since becoming a sought-after drug for weight loss, the type 2 diabetes medication Ozempic has skyrocketed in popularity. As demand for the medication increases, so do illegal shipments of Ozempic. According to a June 5 news release from U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), Cincinnati CBP officers have seized around 1,000 doses of Ozempic across…
Art Supply Thrift Store Indigo Hippo Launches Fundraiser as Future of Shop in Question
An art supply thrift store in Over-the-Rhine is asking the community for help to stay afloat. Indigo Hippo, a creative reuse center and gallery on Main Street, launched an online fundraiser this week so it can continue its mission to make creative materials easily accessible for all. It says its fundraising goal is $40,000. “Hippo…
Cincinnati Anime Film Festival Releases Inaugural Screening Lineup
The inaugural Cincinnati Anime Film Festival is coming this summer with a lineup of screenings for all ages that spans two months. Organizers released the lineup for the festival this week. College Hill comic book shop Manga Manga is hosting the festival, which will be held at the Hollywood Drive-in Theatre, just behind Manga Manga,…
American Sign Museum to Host Grand Re-Opening to Unveil Main Street Expansion
Cincinnati’s premier destination for classic Americana and basking in a neon glow is gearing up to unveil its new expansion this summer. The American Sign Museum (ASM) says it’s hosting a grand re-opening celebration on Saturday, July 13 to show off the 20,000-square-foot expansion of its “Main Street” that will add more signage, as well…
Guest Commentary: Ohio’s JD Vance Leads the Chorus to Cheer on Convicted Felon Donald Trump’s Utter Lawlessness
If convicted felon Donald Trump had been acquitted by a jury of his peers he’d be doing a perpetual victory lap and singing the praises of the judicial process that exonerated him. His backup choir of pathetic sycophants, led by Ohio’s always craven junior senator J.D. Vance and the state’s least productive but always performative…
White Nationalist, Anti-LGBTQ Activity on the Rise, Annual Hate Report Shows
Emboldened by the mainstreaming of hard-right politics ahead of a presidential election cycle, white nationalist and anti-LGBTQ+ groups increased to record levels in the United States last year, according to the Southern Poverty Law Center’s latest annual report on hate and extremism released Tuesday. The Southern Poverty Law Center, which has published the annual report since…
CityBeat Sits Down with Nan Whaley, New CEO of Planned Parenthood Southwest Ohio
Former Dayton mayor and Democratic candidate for Ohio Governor Nan Whaley has been named the next CEO for Planned Parenthood Southwest Ohio Region, the organization announced on May 30. Whaley served as mayor of Dayton from 2014-2022, including during the 2019 mass shooting in Dayton’s Oregon District that left 10 people dead. After the shooting,…
Republican Pastor-Influencer Running for Indiana Lieutenant Governor Nomination
This month, about 1,800 Republican party insiders will choose who’s on the ballot for Indiana’s second-highest office, in the party’s first competitive lieutenant governor contest in decades. They’ll pick between pastor-influencer Micah Beckwith — who’s been on the campaign trail for a year since launching an unusually public bid — and Republican gubernatorial nominee Mike…
Factory 52 Launches New Beer Festival
The beer will be flowing at Factory 52’s newest event this summer. The mixed-use development in Norwood announced it’s launching 52 Taps, a new beer festival happening Saturday-Sunday, July 20-21. 52 Taps will showcase Cincinnati’s craft beer scene with a selection of 52 unique beers from both local and regional breweries. Beers offered at 52…
‘Status of Girls’ Study: Ohio’s Girls Ahead in Education, Still Behind in Wages and Mental Health
A new study of 160 indicators of health for Ohio girls showed strides in education, but pervasive struggles in mental health and food security. The Center for Community Solutions used official sources from all 88 counties in Ohio and other state and federal data to dissect the economic status, societal shifts and health standards of…
Heading to Hocking Hills This Summer? This Ohio Trail was Voted Best for Hiking in the U.S.
With its waterfalls, rugged landscapes, verdant forests and endless miles of trails, Hocking Hills State Park draws millions of visitors from Cincinnati and beyond each year. And with the summer approaching and travel plans in play, many might already be planning to visit this rural and wild patch of paradise in southern Ohio soon. But…
Chef Jose Salazar Announces Major Changes for His Restaurants Salazar and Goose & Elder
Following the opening of his Moroccan-inspired wine bar, Safi, over the weekend, Cincinnati chef Jose Salazar is making some more major moves when it comes to his restaurants, and the city’s dining scene as a whole. In November, Salazar announced he would be temporarily closing his self-named, flagship restaurant in Over-the-Rhine, Salazar. Citing that the…
Multiplying Trauma: Kentucky Set to Add More Kids to its Troubled Juvenile Jails
A state law taking effect next month will require more kids charged with violent offenses to be held in Kentucky’s troubled juvenile jails — at a time when all eight of the youth detention centers are under federal investigation for possible abuses. That worries Devine Carama, who directs the One Lexington program to tackle gun violence in…
Ohio Libraries Bracing for Tough Choices as State Funding Revenue Continues to Dip
Ohio public libraries act as community hubs not just for reading, but also internet access and job and school resources. But they are being forced to have difficult discussions as state funding revenue continues to dip, threatening operations and programs. For Victoria Schrock, who’s worked at three different library systems in the state, the library…
Ohio House Sends Foreign Influence, Biden Ballot Fix Legislation to Senate
The Ohio House approved measures Thursday to change the presidential nomination deadline, even though Democrats announced a virtual convention to comply with state deadlines, and to bar foreign contributions in statewide issue campaigns. Democratic members argue the latter bill is more likely to stamp out statewide ballot initiatives than foreign influence. The approvals come a…
Ohio Abortion Rights Advocates Embrace Destigmatization of ‘Abortion’ With Name Change
Even before the fall of Roe v. Wade in 2022, abortion rights advocates were tired of dancing around the subject. Around that time, the group Women Have Options celebrated their 30th anniversary and, with partners in the LGBTQIA+ community and specific aims in mind, a new name was born: Abortion Fund of Ohio. As a…
Cincinnati City Council Passes Keffiyeh Resolution With Controversial Amendment
Cincinnati City Council passed a resolution on May 30 recognizing World Keffiyeh Day in Cincinnati, but a single word’s amendment sparked arguments among members of council and the gallery. Councilmember Scotty Johnson submitted the resolution with the help of Mike Madanat, a local advocate for Palestinians and member of the Cincinnati Palestine Solidarity Coalition. The…
Chef Jose Salazar’s Moroccan-Inspired Wine Bar Safi to Open This Weekend
Cincinnati chef Jose Salazar has set an opening date for his highly-anticipated Moroccan-inspired wine bar, Safi. Salazar’s newest concept will open at noon on Saturday, June 1. Salazar operated his self-named restaurant at 1401 Republic St. in Over-the-Rhine for 10 years before announcing at the end of last year that he and his wife, Ann,…
Schmidt’s Sausage Haus to Launch Permanent Food Truck in Cincinnati
A popular Ohio German restaurant is bringing its famous sausages to Cincinnati permanently. George Schmidt opened Schmidt’s Sausage Haus in Columbus’ German Village in 1967, just around the corner from his grandfather’s popular meat-packing business. Since then, the restaurant has become a landmark eatery, thanks to meat recipes from the family’ meat-packing days and desserts…
Testimony Begins in Case Against Indiana’s Strict Abortion Ban
Attorneys in a lawsuit against Indiana’s near-total abortion ban jumped right into testimony Wednesday, beginning a trial in which plaintiffs are seeking to widen medical exemptions and strike down a requirement that stripped abortion clinics of their licenses to perform the procedure. The lawsuit comes almost a year after the state Supreme Court upheld the…
Election Officials Weigh in on Candidate Deadnaming Bills Prompted by Transgender Candidates
Two candidates will appear on Ohioans’ ballots this November under the names they use in daily life but weren’t born with. Arienne Childrey and Bobbie Arnold, both trans women, went through the process to legally change their name, but an obscure provision in Ohio law requires them to list any prior names on their candidate…
Sound Advice: Pixies, Modest Mouse and Cat Power Reunite for Upcoming Show in Cincinnati
This story is featured in CityBeat’s May 29 print edition. Pixies, Modest Mouse and Cat Power teamed up for a successful package tour last summer, drawing old-head indie-rock fans eager to bask in sounds that have unexpectedly reverberated far beyond anyone anticipated at their creation. So why not do it again? The trio is heading…
She’s On Fire 4U: Cincinnati Musician Bershy Encapsulates Queer Joy in Every Catchy Hook
This story is featured in CityBeat’s May 29 print edition. With a string of brilliant singles, and a fierce determination to bring her queer pop music into the ever-changing music industry, Bershy (AKA Brea Shay) heads into the summer with energetic confidence and optimism. Bershy began her musical journey as a folk artist, drawing influence…
Review: The Davidson’s Location and Ambiance Make the Thunderdome Restaurant a Safe Bet for Repeat Visits
This story is featured in CityBeat’s May 29 print edition. “A classic American brasserie meets French and Italian influence in the heart of the Queen City,” reads a description on The Davidson’s website. Up and running for only a few months, The Davidson joins Jeff Ruby’s Steakhouse in the Foundry development a stone’s throw from…
Social Media Influencer the Midwestern Lesbian Shares Her Favorite Greater Cincinnati Pride Events
This story is featured in CityBeat’s May 29 print edition. If you’ve ever found yourself searching for LGBTQ+ events in Greater Cincinnati, it’s highly likely that you’ve stumbled across Kelsey Ference’s LGBTQ+ resource, the Midwestern Lesbian. Since 2021, when she’s not crafting media content for a local brewery, Ference is busy promoting local LGBTQ+ events,…
Opinion: More In-Depth Reporting on LGBTQ+ Issues is Critical to Curbing Misinformation and Harmful Rhetoric
This story is featured in CityBeat’s May 29 print edition. Pride Month is here again. But along with the parties and parades, there is rhetoric and misinformation about the LGBTQ+ community in increasing volume. That means journalism — and the journalists writing this first draft of history — must evaluate systems and style when it…
Ohio Lesbian Archives Keep LGBTQ+ History Alive
If you ask the keepers of the Ohio Lesbian Archives what the most prized item is among the decades-old collection of LGBTQ ephemera, the answer is typically not going to reveal one specific thing. The Ohio Lesbian Archives (OLA) has been collecting for decades and works to preserve LGBTQ+ history locally and beyond. To satisfy…
Babushka Pierogies, Wodka Bar Founder to Open Eastern European Restaurant Downtown
A new restaurant celebrating the flavors of Eastern Europe will soon open in downtown Cincinnati. Sudova is the newest restaurant from culinary entrepreneur Sarah Dworak and her Selo Hospitality Group. Dworak, who also owns Babushka Piergois at Findlay Market and founded Wodka Bar in Over-the-Rhine, says her new restaurant will be a place where traditional…
Polling Shows Ohio Voters (Including Republicans) Want Federally Funded Child Care
New polling shows voters in Ohio and other states spotlighted in the presidential election as “battleground states” want to hear plans to improve child care as part of candidate campaigns. The child care advocacy group First Five Years Fund commissioned the polling through two research teams to survey registered voters in Ohio, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Montana,…
Ohio AG Yost Says He Won’t Explain Role in Bailout Scandal Because of Other Cases
Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost has given another reason not to explain his involvement in the biggest corruption scandal in state history: There are other cases in the matter — including two he’s prosecuting — and there could be more. Regardless of Yost’s position, last year, as they made their closing arguments in court, federal…
