Curly tales of the city

It All Adds Up
Emulating their hero, President Bush, Enquirer editorial page staffers offered some fuzzy math in the final “Great Cities” report May 13. After an exhaustive two-month study comparing Cincinnati to neighboring cities Cleveland, Indianapolis, Columbus and Louisville, our hometown came out on top. We’re No. 1!

But the numbers didn’t add up on the chart detailing the paper’s rating categories. By adding the points garnered each week (on a 1-10 scale), Cincinnati actually finished fourth with 54. Cleveland, Indianapolis and Columbus all had 56 points, with poor Louisville trailing badly at 41.

How then did Cincinnati prevail? A footnote was the only explanation given: “This series comparing cities is a mix of hard data and subjective, unscientific judgments. The grades are Enquirer opinion, but based on many sources.”

In other words, if the numbers don’t go your way, declare victory and go home happy.

Somehow the headline “We’re Next to Last” wouldn’t have seemed sufficiently boosterish in these troubled times.

A second assistant coroner now says he thought photographer Thomas Condon had official permission to shoot corpses at the Hamilton County Morgue (see “Vile Images,” issue of March 22-28).

Dr. Gary Utz, staff pathologist at the coroner’s office, has given an affidavit in support of Dr. Jonathan Tobias, indicted with Condon for abuse of a corpse.

“During the course of my employment, it became my understanding that Thomas Condon had been granted authorization of the coroner to enter the morgue and to take photographs of autopsies and corpses,” the affidavit says. “I personally observed Mr. Condon taking photographs of corpses and autopsies at the morgue and believed that his presence and activities had been properly authorized. I did not attempt to question or curtail his activities for that reason.”

Dr. Robert Pfalzgraf, chief deputy coroner, has also said he believed Condon had permission.

That’s Entertainment
Speaking of our inferior neighbors, the stellar lineup for the annual Indy Jazz Fest was announced last week. In light of the recent cancellation of Pepsi Jammin’ on Main, the Indianapolis event is worth noting for its Cincinnati connections: headliners include native sons The Isley Brothers, James Brown of King Records fame and ’70s funksters Ohio Players, plus Kroger is the overall sponsor.

The rest of the lineup isn’t shabby either: the Count Basie Orchestra, Los Lobos, the Neville Brothers, Lucinda Williams, Kenny Garrett Quartet, the Jayhawks and Chuck Mangione, plus a number of local and regional Indiana bands. They’re playing on four stages in downtown Indianapolis July 14-15, with one-day advance tickets at $14 and two-day passes at $24 (Jammin’, on three downtown stages, was priced at $10 and $15, respectively).

The lineup’s diversity and quality is astounding, especially considering this is only the event’s third year. Jammin’ has been successful over the years, but it’s never featured the Isleys or James Brown. By the way, the Indy bands are booked by SFX, which books Jammin’ as well.

Think a few Cincinnatians will be spending their dollars in Indianapolis that weekend? Very definitely.

The full-length version of I’m a Candidate, the MTV film documenting City Councilman John Cranley’s run for Congress, had its premiere last week at the Museum of Television and Radio in New York. The final product is twice the length of the version aired on MTV. No word on whether CityBeat Editor John Fox’s cameo made the final cut.

This Old House
Cincinnati City Council didn’t let an Over-the-Rhine housing preservation law expire May 15, but is pressuring a community-led planning group to finish its work. The law, which prevents all but emergency demolitions in the neighborhood, will stay intact until Oct. 1, thanks to a May 9 vote by council. The fragile coalition that formed the city-led Over-the-Rhine Steering Committee in November has been wary of council micro-managing or rejecting their effort, which they hope to finish in the fall by proposing a comprehensive package of reforms.

This article appears in May 16-22, 2001.