Morning News and Stuff

As of Friday, Cincinnati’s winter shelter

still needs $43,000

out of the $75,000 required to open from late December through February. That means hundreds of homeless people could be left out in the cold — literally — for at least a month longer than usual if the shelter doesn’t get more donations. According to Spring, the goal each night is to shelter 91 people, although the number can fluctuate depending on the circumstances. For its run between late 2012 and early 2013, the winter shelter housed roughly 600 people, or about $125 a person. Anyone can donate to the winter shelter — and Drop Inn Center — at

tinyurl.com/WinterShelterCincinnati

. To contribute specifically to the winter shelter, type in “winter shelter” in the text box below “Designation (Optional).”

Officials involved with the $133 million streetcar project are

considering around-the-clock work

for certain days to speed up delivery of rail and minimize disruptions at busy streets around Over-the-Rhine. The third shifts would reduce the time needed to deliver and install rails around Findlay Market and Liberty Street from one week to a couple days at each location, which would allow the city to avoid closing down surrounding streets beyond a weekend or Monday and Tuesday, according to project executive John Deatrick. He says the extra work is absolutely not related to recent discussions about canceling the project .

The new school funding formula approved by Republican Gov. John Kasich and the Republican-controlled General Assembly means high-minority schools

get less state aid

than schools with less diversity. Southwest Ohio’s 10 most diverse school districts will average $3,837 in state aid per student, while the 10 least diverse districts will average $4,027 per student. The finding is just the latest controversy for a school funding formula that is supposed to make state aid to schools more equitable. CityBeat covered some of the prior concerns in further detail

here

.

Despite Mayor-elect John Cranley’s insistence that the streetcar conversation “is over,” The Cincinnati Enquirer

continues getting messages in support of the project

. Supporters of the streetcar plan to launch a campaign this week to lobby council members and Cranley to back the project. The campaign will begin on Thursday with a town hall-style meeting particularly aimed at stakeholders along the streetcar route. The location and specific time should be announced later today or tomorrow.

Still, as Chris Wetterich of The Business Courier writes, it

is unlikely Cranley will break his promise on the streetcar

. That means it might be up to the three swing votes on City Council — P.G. Sittenfeld, David Mann and Kevin Flynn — or a referendum to save the project.

The Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport

spent nearly $120,000

since July on coaching and job evaluation services for its board and CEO, according to The Cincinnati Enquirer . That’s on top of the $140,000 the board spent on travel, conferences and expensive dinners since 2011. Following the disclosures, local leaders have called for leadership changes at the board.

Cincinnati-area businesses only have until Nov. 15 to

garner enough votes

to enter into a competition hosted by Chase Bank that will divide $3 million among 12 small businesses across the country.

The Greater Cincinnati Port Authority’s expansion plans

already received approval

from Hamilton, Brown, Adams, Scioto and Boone counties. The plan expands the Port Authority’s boundaries from 26 miles to 205 miles along the Ohio River, which the Port says will make the agency more attractive to businesses.

At least 41 percent of 1,600 new apartments in and near downtown are

receiving aid from the city of Cincinnati

. City officials say the aid helps continue Cincinnati’s economic momentum and urban revitalization. But critics say more aid should go to low-income housing and other Cincinnati neighborhoods.

Virtual Community School of Ohio, an online charter school,

didn’t follow rules for educating students with disabilities

. CityBeat covered online schools and the controversy surrounding them in further detail

here

.

Ohio gas prices are down 17 cents per gallon

this week.

Cranley has inspired some interesting parody accounts on Twitter

.

As if they weren’t terrifying enough, drug-resistant “superbugs”

can show up in animals

.

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