Walk a mile or two with AVOC … and learn something
The saying goes that, to truly know a person, you need to walk a mile in his/her shoes. Well, you might never know what it's like to be HIV-positive or have AIDS, but you can walk miles on behalf of AIDS Volunteers of Cincinnati (AVOC), the Cincinnati organization that serves those who know all too…
Dining: Setting the Stage
We were not even two steps inside Carlo & Johnny, Jeff Ruby's newest and most extravagant restaurant, when the words flew right out of me. "Close your mouth, dear." You see, my husband had caught his first glimpse of Ruby's $3.6 million establishment, and he was in awe. Not with the elaborate décor. Not with…
The World Is a Ghetto
"Don't you know that it's true/that for me and for you/the world is a ghetto?"— War Suddenly, two guys dissing each other for the run of the asylum isn't so important. At the end of the world, near which we are perched perilously close, the big question might not be what we did with ourselves…
Looking for Hope but Simply Staring
Like everyone else, I've been glued to the TV and radio all day today. The carnage, the tragedy, the horror continues to unfold. It's Tuesday, the day CityBeat goes to press. I have to keep forcing myself to get back to work, to stare at the computer. My sister-in-law works a mile or two from…
Rockets To Mars have their act together for the launch of Underneath the Halflight
Rockets to Mars Remember when 2001 seemed like it was a looong way off? Remember when rockets to mars existed only in the films of Ed Wood, had visible strings and were wrapped in what looked like tinfoil? Well, good morning Mr. Van Winkle, it's 2001. Space is the new rich man's hideout, and…
The Pumpkin King
Forget finding a cure for AIDS, arteriosclerosis or impotence. The world of science, research and technology is addressing the world of competitive pumpkin growing, and Dave Stelts of Leetonia, Ohio, is leading the way. In his spare time, in every spare second, Stelts tends to the gigantic pumpkins that grow in his back yard. Day…
Why Is the Gringo Still Single, and in Such a Hurry?
Is it any wonder that living in the United States, especially in the Midwest, can be a culturally isolating experience? We only need to speak one language, and we don't even need to speak it very well. TV news only seems to care about other countries when there's a war or disaster. Newspapers began delivering…
Community calendar
Over-The-Rhine New World Studio presents "Visual Healing and Art Experience," a fine art exhibition featuring recent works of eight artists, from 3-9 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. For more information, call 513-651-5844. Citywide The River Front Classic football game and Ultimate Battle of the Bands, featuring Grambling State University and Florida A&M University is set for…
Legislative Maneuvers Are a Gas
The Center for Public Integrity (CPI), a government watchdog, has examined conflicts of interest between the public and private lives of state lawmakers since 1998. In their ongoing report, "50 States Watch," the group analyzes legislators' political decisions in light of their business interests and the sources of their campaign contributions. In a recently published…
News: The Curiously Absent Mayor
Jymi Bolden Charter candidate Courtis Fuller receives a congratulatory kiss from his wife, Maria, following his upset victory. When democracy was tested nationally Sept. 11 by acts of terrorism, 14 percent of Cincinnati's registered voters still managed to vote in the primary race for mayor. But the mayor himself, Charlie Luken, didn't make it…
Salvador Dolly Shot
At the end of the driveway lies a long-ago fallen, decaying sycamore, home to a billion termites, not one of them bored with eating the same old thing. A split rail fence dating back to the Civil War encircles the entire property and, as a valuable relic of the past, is itself protected from harm…
Relationships
As those final batches of federal government tax rebate checks go out, I started thinking about privacy and mail. In these days of automatic deposits and electronic money transfers, the government is doing things the old-fashioned way, that is, by mail. Indeed there are so many ways to communicate these days that the USPS has…
Cover Story: A World of Hurt
Jymi Bolden Susan Knight has been fighting globalization and racism in CIncinnati. All of a sudden certain words and concepts have taken on an ominous tone: World Trade. Global Marketplace. Olympics in Cincinnati. International Airport. What had been opportunity now sounds like hazard. By a damnable irony, the destruction of the World Trade Center…
