The Media’s Self-Lacerating Role in Trump’s Climb
Finally, the gods might allow us respite from dispiriting news of presidential campaigning. Don’t count on it. More likely, we’ll embrace the ancient invocation of insanity, “Whom the gods would punish, they first make mad.” Whatever interlude will follow yesterday’s election of Donald J. Trump, the undead will rise from their political graves and lurch toward…
2016 Election Rundown
We woke up to a new era in American politics this morning. Last night, Republican Donald Trump won the presidential election, and Republicans maintained control of the U.S. House and Senate. That puts Trump in a very strong position to influence policy as well as appoint U.S. Supreme Court justices and roughly 4,000 other federal…
Ohio State troopers and local activists are both on the frontlines of a historic showdown over indigenous rights
On Oct. 29, 37 Ohio State Highway Patrolmen left the Buckeye State for a stretch of south-central North Dakota known as Cannonball. As they did, they traced a 1,200-mile path similar to the one traveled by local indigenous activists, environmentalists and others resisting the continued construction of the Dakota Access Pipeline there. Calling themselves Water…
Minimum Gauge: Beyoncé angers white people
HOT: Beyoncé Angers White People Pop superstar Beyoncé recently creating a whirlwind of rage within two different fan bases. First, some Country music fans were outraged by her performance with The Dixie Chicks at the CMA Awards, which drew complaints that ranged from purists not wanting “Pop” in their pageantry (though Justin Timberlake’s appearance last…
Morning News: Huge lines, long waits for early voting here; Tensing wore Confederate flag shirt under uniform; Trump vows Brent Spence replacement
Good morning all. We’re just one day away from the election of a lifetime (let’s hope, at least, that this election is some kind of once-in-a-lifetime aberration and not the new norm). Have you voted early? You have until 2 p.m. today to do so. Otherwise, get out there and vote tomorrow. It’s your last…
Tracy Winkler’s hire of two Deters relatives adds new dimension to his probe of her office
By offering a legal opinion on the filling of a newly created $70,000-a-year position in the Hamilton County Clerk of Courts Office, the office of county prosecutor Joe Deters will be examining employment protocol in an agency that recently hired his own daughter as well as at least another, more distant relative. Last month, Donald…
Dramas Onstage in New York — Uncertainty, Angst, Manners and Chauvinism
In late October, I spent three days in New York City with the American Theatre Critics Association. My trip enabled me to attend four plays, two on Broadway and two off-Broadway. Despite its title, Simon Stephens’ Heisenberg is not about the German physicist who defined the uncertainty principle. But it is about unexpected outcomes. Stephens’…
As trial intensifies, advocates rebuild DuBose memorial
They came with hammers to pry rusted nails from the leaning telephone pole on the corner of Rice and Valencia streets. They came with candles to supplement the dim yellow streetlight at the intersection in the often-unvisited, low-income and predominantly black neighborhood that sits at the foot of Christ Hospital. They came with photos, flowers,…
Stage Door: Dial Up Some Murder, the Right Clothes or Some Dancing Shoes
There are some excellent productions on local stages this weekend — especially the Cincinnati Playhouse’s thoughtful, engaging staging of August Wilson’s Jitney (through Nov. 12) and the final performances of Cincinnati Shakespeare Company’s production of Bernard Pomerance’s The Elephant Man, featuring a breathtaking turn by Giles Davies as the tortured, sensitive and deformed title character.…
Your Weekend To Do List (Nov. 4-6)
FRIDAY 04 EVENT: CINCINNATI PIZZA WEEK Pizza lovers (read: everyone) rejoice: CityBeat is bringing you a full week of $8 ’zas from some of Cincinnati’s most popular eateries. With more than 30 participants including 15 North, Taglio’s, Martino’s on Vine, Goodfellas and Pomodori’s, hungry diners can fill up on a nearly endless variety of pies,…
Iggy Pop’s New Movie
Iggy Pop is in many ways the quintessential Rock & Roll frontman. Jim Jarmusch is a pre-eminent American independent filmmaker of the last 30 years. Yet the pairing of the two on Gimme Danger, Jarmusch’s documentary on the rise and troubled history of The Stooges, is surprisingly straightforward for such iconoclasts. Jarmusch mixes vintage photographs and…
Noon News: Video analysis shows DuBose car not in motion split-second before he was shot; Portune calls for Clerk of Courts hiring inquiry; prez candidates coming again
Good morning all. Here’s a brief news rundown. The trial of Ray Tensing continues today with testimony from the Cincinnati Police detective who interviewed the former University of Cincinnati officer following the shooting death of Samuel DuBose and a frame-by-frame analysis of Tensing’s body camera footage by video forensics expert Grant Fredericks. CPD Sergeant Shannon…
County attorney’s office will advise on court clerk’s handling of scolded employee
The reprimand and reassignment of a high-ranking clerk of courts official into a newly created $70,000-a-year job is triggering a legal opinion from the Hamilton County Prosecuting Attorney's office. The opinion was requested by County Commissioner Todd Portune at a commission meeting Wednesday morning. Portune expressed concern about the transfer of former Chief Deputy Bailiff…
What a Week! Oct. 26-Nov. 1
WEDNESDAY, OCT. 26 With just days until the presidential election Nov. 8 (or 28, depending on who you ask), we’re all being schooled in voting no-nos, courtesy of ballot box selfies. Justin Timberlake joined some 22 million other Americans in early voting, taking time off from promoting that terrible Trolls movie (damn creatures look nothing like…
CityBeat: Hillary Clinton for President
Let’s not mince words. CityBeat is endorsing Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton for the nation’s highest office. But the seeming inevitability of our choice belies what a long, troubling trip the 2016 election cycle has been, our continued reservations about Clinton as a candidate and our worries about whether her party is the standard-bearer for…
The evolution of ‘The Walking Dead’
Between being a lifelong TV lover and writing this column for the past five years, it’s safe to say I have a decent amount of television-watching time under my belt. But despite the number of programs in my repertoire, a number that grows each year, I can guarantee I will never forget the experience of…
‘Hacksaw Ridge’ cuts beyond the bone
We’ve seen the horrible madness of war portrayed on screen in the random way death strikes in battle — a bullet, fired with deadly intention and precision, drills through a raised head. One would think Mel Gibson, of all directors, would depict that with relish. But, instead, in Hacksaw Ridge, he shows sensitivity to the…
The modalities of the modern music memoir
For fans of a musician, a memoir can offer a thrilling peek behind the curtain. At their best, they allow the reader-listener to hear music in a new way and to satisfy the insatiable urge for access — two traits that form a frequent comorbidity of fandom. One such example is Bruce Springsteen’s recent Born…
‘Shawnee, Ohio’ brings struggling town to life
Brian Harnetty is a Columbus-based multimedia artist whose work combines, in his words, “sonic archives, performance, ecology and place.” The place in the case of his latest work is pretty obvious, given its title: Shawnee, Ohio. (The performance piece, which debuted at the Wexner Center for the Arts in Columbus, will be presented 7:30 p.m.…
Political art project needs to take a stand
Bob Dylan, the new recipient of the Nobel Prize for Literature, once wrote, in one of his most memorable song lyrics, “So let us not talk falsely now/The hour’s getting late.” That’s how I feel about much of The I-71 Project, a series of 14 different artist-designed billboards and signboards (by five artists) presented by the…
Manifest creates a community darkroom for those dissatisfied with digital photography
Jason Franz says a crowd of more than 150 supporters gasped when he revealed that Manifest Drawing Center would be adding a community-access darkroom this fall at the Madisonville location. At a time when other institutions had dismantled darkrooms in favor of digital photography and camera shops had closed, Manifest was taking a bold step…
Issue 44 will help CPS combat poverty
This column space is typically about local policy and its impact on childhood poverty. I’m going to diverge only slightly to explain in full why voting FOR Issue 44 — a tax levy on the Nov. 8 ballot — will help alleviate the strains of poverty for thousands of children in our city. Conversely, I…
Copper continues legacy of Cincinnati Pop Rock
The second album from Copper, the project of local singer/songwriter Peter Obermark that features a supporting cast of accomplished Cincinnati musicians, is set for release Thursday. The Devil You Know will be fêted with a free release show Thursday at The Redmoor (3187 Linwood Ave., Mount Lookout, theredmoor.com). Copper (Obermark plus many of the guest musicians from…
Sound Advice: Cruel Hand with Eternal Sleep, Will To Die, By Force, Crewneck and Bonehead (Nov. 3)
Nearly a decade and a half ago, the Portland, Maine Hardcore scene spawned the brutal glory of Outbreak, a band that generated a sizable fan base and a good deal of critical praise. By 2006, several members of the band were looking for other creative avenues to explore. In an effort to shake things up…
Sound Advice: Reckless Kelly with Taylor Shannon (Nov. 4)
The story of Reckless Kelly is a Country song come to vivid life and then made into a movie that would be completely implausible if it weren’t absolutely true. The Braun brothers — Willy, Cody, Gary and Micky — were drafted into their father’s Western Swing band as children and played professionally for many years…
Morning News: Park Board drama rolls on; protesters, City Council ask Kasich to remove troopers from DAPL; opening statements in Tensing trial
Good morning all. Here’s a boatload of news today. Did you think all that drama over the Cincinnati Parks Board of Commissioners was over? Well, that was wishful thinking that many of us probably engaged in. A move by city administration, recommended by an outside auditor, would shift funds spent by the board from seven…
Sound Advice: Wild Belle with JSPH (Nov. 8)
As Elliot and Natalie Bergman grew up in a suburb near Chicago, the elder brother would share music with his little sister, who was eight years younger. While the family also bonded over Jazz and Soul tunes, one specific type of music Elliot (a multi-instrumentalist who studied Jazz at the University of Michigan) turned Natalie…
Yeasayer offers a wave to the past and a prayer for the future on ‘Amen & Goodbye’
If you’ve read CityBeat’s preview coverage for the MidPoint Music Festival over the past decade and a half, you have some idea of how important comparative description is to music journalism. It’s great fun to rattle off a string of (hopefully) appropriate and helpful band references, and then perhaps tack on a postscript like “on…
The Election Issue
On a national level, 2016 has been a wild, at times terrifying ride through America's darker corners. The GOP presidential nomination went to Donald Trump, a former reality TV star who deals in xenophobia, racism and sexism. The Democratic Party's process, which chose former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, was rife with party infighting and…
CityBeat: Hamilton County Endorsements
Hamilton County Treasurer: Seth Walsh Like Hamilton County Prosecutor Joe Deters, current county treasurer Robert Goering, a Republican, is something of a weekday warrior, putting in hours at a local law firm while he’s also on the job for the county. That might not be a big deal by itself. And Goering does have a…
CityBeat: Strickland for Senate
As Trump and Clinton duke it out for the nation’s highest office, their parties are clawing for control of Congress. That makes Ohio’s Senate race a hot ticket. Despite a rather lopsided campaign, it’s an easy choice between incumbent U.S. Sen. Rob Portman, the Republican in the fight and his challenger, former Ohio Gov. Ted…
CityBeat: Congress and State House Endorsements
First Congressional District: No Endorsement In the battle between U.S. Rep. Steve Chabot and his opponent, attorney Michele Young, we’re making no endorsement. Chabot, a Republican who serves Cincinnati’s West Side and its northern suburbs in Ohio’s 1st congressional district, has been in and out of that office since 1995. During that time he’s hewn…
CityBeat: Driehaus, Portune for County Commission
This is an easy one. For the first time in years, there’s a possibility of a big shake-up on Hamilton County’s Board of Commissioners. Republicans have dominated the three-person board, which approves the county’s budget and oversees its offices, for nearly a decade. They’ve presided over ever-shrinking department budgets and crumbling infrastructure in that time,…
CityBeat: Yes on Issue 44
Even as some of Cincinnati’s urban core neighborhoods experience renewed vitality and increased prosperity on a scale they haven’t seen in decades, our city faces a profound economic crisis. About half of Cincinnati’s children under the age of 18 live below the poverty line — one of the worst rates in the country. It’s an…
Jean-Robert de Cavel’s new ‘fast-casual’ concept serves French-American food for families
Chef and restaurateur Jean-Robert de Cavel hardly needs an introduction — he is perhaps the most recognizable name in the Cincinnati dining scene, both for his supreme culinary skill as well as his infectiously friendly and mildly eccentric French persona. So it is with bated breath that diners (and local food media) wait for him…
Tucker’s Redux
After being closed for 14 months due to a decimating kitchen fire, Tucker’s, the venerable Over-the-Rhine greasy spoon, reopened to the public on Sept. 17, two days before the restaurant’s 70th anniversary. A month into the new iteration, co-owner Joe Tucker says business has been “outstanding.” Last July, Joe handed the keys over to a…
