Hey hey, all. I hope yesterday’s Martin Luther King Jr. holiday was both uplifting and motivating for you and that you got out to some of the commemorative and educational events that were going on all over town. Now, let’s talk news real quick.
An influential multi-faith organization that has been inactive for years is reforming following recent outbreaks of Islamaphobia around Greater Cincinnati and beyond. The Interreligious Trialogue was first brought together by Chip Harrod, then head of civil rights organization Bridges for a Just Community, following heated anti-Muslim rhetoric that surfaced after Sept. 11. Now, following a number of complaints of harassment from Muslims in Greater Cincinnati as well as national tension caused by anti-Muslim comments from figures like GOP presidential primary contender Donald Trump, the Trialogue is coming back .The group will hold community service events, roundtable discussions and other activities designed to further conversation among people with various religious beliefs and to combat Islamaphobia.
• Members of Samuel DuBose’s family spoke yesterday after a settlement with the University of Cincinnati was announced in the Avondale resident’s police shooting death. The DuBose family says the nearly $5 million settlement isn’t about the money, but about making sure others are safe from such incidents in the future. DuBose’s daughter Reagan Brooks is managing his estate. She and other family members say that among the most important parts of the settlement is the opportunity to sit on UC’s Community Advisory Council, which will hammer out reforms to the university’s police system to ensure that future shootings like the one that took DuBose’s life don’t happen again. The civil settlement should not affect UC officer Ray Tensing’s trial, attorneys on both sides of the criminal case say. Tensing, the officer who shot DuBose during a traffic stop in Mount Auburn, was indicted on murder and manslaughter charges last summer. Tensing’s attorney had little comment on the civil settlement, saying only “wow” when asked about it.
• Well, Charlie Hustle might not be getting into Cooperstown any time soon, but the hit king will soon have another Hall of Fame membership to boast about. Former Cincinnati Reds player and manager Pete Rose will be inducted into the Reds’ Hall of Fame in late June, the ball club announced today. Rose has been banned from baseball for 27 years for gambling on the game. There was some hubbub that Rose might be reinstated late last year, but new MLB commissioner Rob Manfred has indicated he will not lift his ban. That doesn’t mean Rose won’t enter the MLB Hall of Fame — Manfred begged off that question — but it also doesn’t look likely anytime soon. Rose, now in his 70s, has the most hits of anyone in the history of professional baseball. He’ll be the sole inductee this spring in the Reds’ Hall of Fame.
• A long-time effort to redevelop a set of historic buildings in Walnut Hills is nearing completion. The Trevarren Flats is a $10 million, 30 unit apartment project with 7,000 square feet of commercial space in three century-old buildings on McMillan Street in the neighborhood. Those apartments will be market rate, with studios starting at $500 a month and two bedroom units running up to $1,850 a month. Leaders with the Walnut Hills Redevelopment Foundation, which worked with developers Model Group to complete the project, say it will be a catalyst for other development in the historically low-income community.
• I grew up in Hamilton just blocks from the hulking Champion Paper factory, and it’s kind of astounding to me that the enormous building is slated to become a sports and entertainment complex. The planned facility will have spaces that can be used for myriad sports, including soccer, football, baseball, ice hockey, softball, lacrosse and more. Much of the facility will be indoors, but outdoor baseball fields will also be offered. Other developments, including housing, could come later at the huge, 42-acre site. Right now, developers are halfway through lining up funding for the project and say it could be open by spring 2018.
• Ohio Gov. John Kasich got more good news out of New Hampshire over the past few days. Kasich has identified the state’s Feb. 9 primary as a make-or-break one for his campaign and has ramped up efforts with more staff and resources there. The efforts seem to be paying off: Kasich jumped from bottom-feeding in the state’s primary polls to tying U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz for second behind Donald Trump. Now, Kasich has also netted endorsements from the Nashua Telegraph, Foster’s Daily Democrat and the Portsmouth Herald, which all threw support behind Kasich in the GOP primary contest in their most recent Sunday editions. The papers cited Kasich’s experience in Congress and his pragmatism in their endorsements.
• Finally, a couple cool and completely random science facts floating around the internet for you. First, and most topically, we’re all minding the wind chill measurements in weather reports lately, right? At least I am, because I assumed those readings kept me from getting frost bite on my face when I walk to work. But alas, that number you see in weather reports means almost nothing, according to real weather scientist people. Who knew?
Second, you’ll be able to see five planets from Earth (where I assume you’re reading this from) for the first time in a decade starting Jan. 20. That’s pretty rad. Be sure to get out one of these cold, cold nights to check out Jupiter, Mars, Venus, Saturn and Mercury. Or, you know, maybe just follow someone on Instagram who has a telescope.
