This is a letter to a friend of a friend who's moving here. She's concerned about what kind of racial climate they'll face, and is nervous about leaving an idyllic situation. I wrote this, and based on some feedback, decided to turn it into an essay. But here's the raw:

Dear Rock Star Friend (and her friend),

Welcome to the Cincinnati area. I hear ( Read more... )

The folks planning the Banks riverfront development want to know what the public thinks they ought to put into the $600 million project.

The Banks Working Group and master developer AIG/Carter on Tuesday launched a Web site, www.TheBanksCincinnati.net, which includes a 16-question survey for the general public. It solicits opinions on the ( Read more... )

...If you think that this constitutes community engagement, you are not smarter than a fifth grader. In fact, you are just this side of dumb. "The group’s announcement today did not specify a purpose or agenda for the meeting," the article by Jon.Newberry said.

Let me help you out a teeny bit, cuz I'm nice like that: by making an announcement in The ( Read more... )

From the Post:  Challenge in OTR is changing vision of how it can work

By Dan Hurley
Post columnist

Over-the-Rhine is the most contested piece of real estate in the region. How can we understand the forces at work in 2007?

Modern Cincinnati, defined not by governmental boundaries but by functional interactions, is a region composed of 15 counties ( Read more... )