Good morning all. Here’s a quick rundown of the news happening in Cincy and beyond today.
First, let’s flip the script and talk about some big statewide news: Ohio Secretary of State Jon Husted yesterday approved pot legalization group ResponsibleOhio’s petition drive, meaning the group’s proposed constitutional amendment will appear on November’s ballot for voters to approve or deny. The group has pulled off a sort of dramatic, buzzer-beating feat by landing the initiative on the ballot. Earlier this summer, it fell almost 30,000 signatures short on its first try, but got a short extension. ResponsibleOhio’s plan takes a page from Ohio’s casino playbook, calling for legalizing marijuana for anyone over 21, but restricting commercial growth of the crop to 10 grow sites owned by the group’s investors.
• The University of Cincinnati is shelling out for high-level salaries in order to reform its police department. The university’s reform team includes four positions related to implementing changes in UC’s law enforcement force after university police officer Ray Tensing shot unarmed motorist Samuel DuBose to death last month. New hires include new Public Safety Director James Whalen, who will make $165,000 a year, Director of Police and Community Relations Greg Baker, who formerly served as head of the Cincinnati Initiative to Reduce Violence (CIRV), who will make $119,000, and Vice President of Safety and Reform Robin Engel, a former UC criminal justice professor. Engel’s current salary is $216,000 a year, and that’s expected to rise with her new position. Also on the team implementing reforms is current UC Police Chief Jason Goodrich, who makes $140,000 a year. The university will also spend thousands of dollars on consultants, investigators and public relations firms. UC officials have admitted that its police force needs change and that mistakes were made in DuBose’s traffic stop.
• Mayor John Cranley is holding community meetings this week to discuss ways to limit violence in Cincinnati neighborhoods. The sessions will allow community leaders in Over-the-Rhine, Winton Hills, Evanston and East Price Hill to speak out about possible solutions to increasing gun violence in their neighborhoods. Cranley held the first meeting yesterday in OTR. Another takes place today at 11 a.m. at the Winton Hills Rec Center. More meetings will happen Wednesday at 1 p.m. in Evanston and Thursday at 4 p.m. in Price Hill. The Cincinnati Human Relations Commission is facilitating the meetings.
• The highest court has ruled, but in some places, including nearby, the battle isn’t over. Despite a Supreme Court ruling compelling states to recognize and perform same-sex marriages, and despite a further federal court injunction ordering Rowan County Kentucky officials to abide by that ruling, the county clerk’s office there is still turning away marriage license applicants, one same-sex couple says. David Moore and David Ermold, partners for 17 years, say they’re still not able to obtain a license from the clerk’s office, or from a county judge they’ve also reached out to. That’s a violation of court orders. The American Civil Liberties Union is fighting a legal battle on the couples’ behalf.
• Finally, in international news, Swedish prosecutors have dropped their investigations into Wikileaks whistleblower Julian Assange. Assange had been charged with some real creepy stuff involving sexual assault, but Sweden’s statute of limitations on the investigation into those accusations expired today. Two women have come forward and accused Assange of rape. But his supporters claim the charges were retribution for the huge cache of confidential government information Assange has leaked over the years, information that has put the U.S. and other governments in very awkward positions. Assange has been holed up in the Ecuadorian embassy in London for three years to avoid being extradited to Sweden or the United States. He founded Wikileaks in 2006 and has released thousands of classified documents from the U.S. and European governments since that time.
That’s it for me. Be sure to check out our news feature this week about displacement in Over-the-Rhine. In the meantime, tweet or email with your thoughts, hate mail, love letters, what have you.
