Good morning Cincy! Here’s what’s going on around the city and other, less cool places in the world.
There’s a new proposal to help fund operating costs for Cincinnati’s streetcar. The Haile Foundation, which has pledged donations to help cover some of the project’s funding gap, has suggested that a special improvement tax district covering downtown, Over-the-Rhine and Pendleton could help cover the streetcar’s $3 million operating shortfall. Downtown already has a similar district, which raises about $2.5 million. That district would expire if property owners in all three districts approve the new plan, which is expected to raise about $5 million a year. About half that money would be used for the streetcar. It’s unclear at this point how much that would raise the cost of owning property in the districts, but Haile VP Eric Avner says the increase wouldn’t be large or burdensome. Some nonprofits in the neighborhoods have questions about how the plan would affect their operating costs but have not said they oppose the measure.
• Starting Monday, you’ll be able to borrow a bike from one of 30 bike racks around the city, ride around uptown, downtown, and Over-the-Rhine, and then drop the bike off at any other rack and be on your way. Red Bike, the nonprofit running the bike share, has announced that the cost for borrowing a bike will be $8 a day or $80 for a yearly membership. Each ride is limited to 60 minutes, but riders can check their bike in and start over with another as many times as they like. The bike share is intended to provide commuters and visitors with a quick, easy and environmentally friendly alternative to driving around the city’s core and uptown neighborhoods. Earlier this summer, Cincinnati City Council approved a proposal by Mayor John Cranley providing $1 million in start up funds for the project.
• The University of Cincinnati has more students enrolled for the fall semester than it has ever had before, the school says. Total enrollment at all UC campuses is 43,691 students. That includes a record 6,651 freshmen. The university says it has also increased the diversity of its student body. U.S. News and World Report ranks UC 129th among U.S. universities, a six-spot increase from last year.
• Testimony began today in the case against Hamilton County Juvenile Court Judge Tracie Hunter. As we’ve talked about before here at the morning news, this is a complicated and highly contentious court battle. Hunter faces nine felony charges, including forging records and improper use of a court credit card. She claims the charges are false and that she’s the victim of politics. But there are a number of subplots beyond that basic argument — the trial looks to be one for the ages and is worth following.
• Ohio’s beer industry is providing more state residents with jobs, according to a report released by the industry group the Beer Institute. The institute, which sounds like a fabulous place to work, ranks Ohio sixth in the nation for brewing jobs. Breweries employ about 83,000 people across the state, the study says, and puts about $10 billion into the state’s economy. Christian Moerlein here in Cincinnati has been a part of that great news. The company employs about 325 people in the city and says it’s looking to hire more.
“We were the original brewing city outside of Germany," said Mike Wayne, general manager of Moerlein’s brewery in OTR. "We were the best once, we can be the best again."
I’ll toast to that.
• Here’s a pretty interesting article about the always-controversial intersection of fashion and politics. It seems a number of places around the country have taken to instituting laws against wearing your pants too low on your hips, which inspired NPR to take a long historical odyssey into the roots of that trend and the ramifications of legislating fashion. Warning: This article contains the phrase “the murky genesis of saggy pants,” which is maybe the best/worst subhead I’ve ever seen in a news article.
• Thirteen years ago today, the U.S. experienced one of the most terrifying events in its history when hijackers flew airliners into the World Trade Center buildings and the Pentagon. A number of memorial services, moments of silence and other events have been taking place across the country. Meanwhile, the U.S. is still wrestling with how to navigate the post-9-11 world, as evidenced by the recent struggle to respond to newly powerful terrorist groups like ISIS.
• Finally, I would be remiss in my job of telling you what you need to know for the day if I didn’t link you to this epic high school yearbook photo a Schenectady, New York student is fighting to use as his senior picture. It’s incredible.
