States’ Rights and DUI
President Clinton recently signed a bill requiring the government to swipe federal highway dollars from states that fail to set a blood-alcohol concentration (BAC) of 0.08 percent as the legal standard for drunk driving. Nineteen states and the District of Columbia already comply, but Ohio and most other states label drivers intoxicated at 0.1 percent.…
Shut up, Already
He looked more like he belonged on the block slinging rocks — 'do rag wrapped tightly around his head, red, white and blue Tommy Hilfiger warm-up suit and spankin' new white Nikes. He was a big brotha with a quick smile. I paused in the driveway, rolled down the window of my friend's late-model Saab,…
News: The More Things Change…
Lobbying for the ballot: Republicans shove, Democrats push. Todd Portune's close victory over Commissioner Bob Bedinghaus might cause a small crack in the Republican Party's dominance over Hamilton County politics, but don't expect the wall to come tumbling down. The GOP still swept the eight other county offices up for grabs on Nov. 7,…
Diner: The Moon Also Rises
Our options in choosing Asian food have increased exponentially since 10 years ago. With a few exceptions, the restaurant choices then seemed to highlight the paper parasols and MSG. Today we can pamper our palates with a vast range of cuisines, readily available in the Tristate: Vietnamese, Thai, Korean and, of course, Chinese and Japanese.…
Cover Story: Ani, Get Your Gun
Throughout a trailblazing career that now spans 13 albums, Ani DiFranco has written her share of topical material, with women's rights, the death penalty, sexuality and patriotism being just a few of the issues she's confronted. So it's no surprise that her latest CD, To The Teeth, has gotten much attention for a pair of…
Making the World Safe for Corporations
Is free trade truly free? Who will pay the cost of globalization and its promise of open markets? The rush to open the world to free trade is slowly degrading and suppressing environmental, labor and consumer laws and threatening the country's home rule, according to consumer advocate Ralph Nader. Taking a break from his presidential…
News: It’s Political, Not Science
Jon Hughes/photopresse.com The first Democrat elected to the Hamilton County Commission since 1964, Cincinnati City Councilman Todd Portune celebrates with his wife, Angie Weird night on Nov. 7. Local Democrats whoop it up. The guy who built the new stadium lies low.. Small fry take over the Hamilton County Board of Elections office. John…
News: Portune Wins, Bedinghaus Hides
County Commissioner John Dowlin It's close, but for the first time in 36 years Hamilton County voters put a Democrat on the board of county commissioners. Moments after it becomes clear Cincinnati City Councilman Todd Portune has taken Republican Bob Bedinghaus' commission seat, supporters at the Crowne Plaza Hotel cheer louder than they have…
Choose Confidence
gay/lesbian issues Have you ever hit a time in your life when you find one of the missing pieces of your puzzle, and suddenly you feel you really get it? It all started about this time last month. I had just finished my column and, as has become my habit, I was determined to immediately…
How to Fill Space
I usually restrict my bookstore browsing to Fiction (looking to indulge my taste for deep, complex novels) and Romance (looking to indulge my taste for shallow, easy women). So it was strictly dumb luck that took me to the How-To/Instructional section the other night (I'd been rousted from the store's men's room by security; the…
Critics Picks: Horse of a Different Color
Woodrow J. Hinton Swine Artist Lynn Judd didn't just delicately saddle up for The Big Pig Gig: She mounted it full on and galloped away. Not only did she offer to do the very first pig, but Judd, a specialist in painting and drawing horses, created nine swine over the months since last spring,…
No Show
All across the L.A. basin, pilots for new TV shows are in the planning stages. Hoping to get a shot during the second half of the current TV season, or perhaps a shot at next fall's lineup, producers, writers and actors concoct what they hope will be a winning formula. At the heart of the…
Community Calendar
Clermont CountyFood pantries will benefit from a collection of nonperishable items during Children's Book Week at the Clermont County Library. The food drive, Nov. 13-18, is part of the American Girls Collection's National Kit Can-Do Challenge. Donations will go to Clermont County food pantries. For more information, call Peggy Unkel, 513-732-9138 or visit one of…
Runs for God’s Game
As surely as America is God's chosen country, football is God's chosen game. Tennis players don't fall to one knee and point to the heavens after winning a set. There are no public prayer huddles preceding water-polo matches. Crowds are not led in recitations of the Lord's Prayer at high-school baseball, basketball, volleyball, soccer, hockey,…
