Former Gov. Ted Strickland, a national co-chair of President Obama’s re-election campaign, will be in Sharonville this morning to talk about how local auto workers have benefitted from the president’s policies. Hamilton County Commissioner Todd Portune also will be there. Ted Strickland, with the Obamas It’s the second leg of the campaign’s “Made in Ohio” auto tour to highlight Obama’s “rescue of the auto industry.” The event’s at 10:30 a.m. at UAW Local 863, 10708 Reading Road. Posted in: Election 2012 Tags: Sharonville, Ted Strickland Continue reading →

RIVERSIDE — As the owner of Jim and Jack�s On The River, Eness Jim is always happy to see regular customers.But there�s one frequent patron from the past who Jim wishes had taken her business to another bar: Diana Frey.Federal documents filed last week detailing how Frey spent some of the more than $750,000 that she embezzled from her Cincinnati city employees union listed one episode in which Frey gave a $15,000 check to, as the court papers phrased it, �a male �dancer�� at Jim and Jack�s.And things have not been quite the same at Jim and Jack�s since.�We�re an oldies bar, not some kind of sleazy strip club,� Jim said Monday.�This woman has left a path of destruction that's unbelievable, and unfortunately, we're caught ... Continue reading →

If we are a city that loves its pigs, if this is region that embraces its swine history and sometimes calls itself Porkopolis, then this is a crime against all of us.A life-sized concrete pig was stolen from the front yard of the Gieseke home in Hyde Park Saturday."When if found out she was gone, I was sad," MaggieGieseke said. "It�s our pig."Somewhere between a crime against humanity and a childish prank � probably the midway point � lies the misdeed of pig theft.The Gieskes are calling this a pignapping, but that is wishful thinking. No demands have been made. The sow simply vanished.This was not a charity pig, or a fund-raising pig or an artist�s pig, or anything fancy like that. It was just ... Continue reading →

President Obama’s re-election campaign today announces the launch of Ohio Veterans and Military Families for Obama. Part of the conference call announcement will be Cincinnatian Nate Davis. With him will be former U.S. Congressman, Lt. Col. John Boccieri, an Air Force Reserve instructor pilot aboard the C-130 aircraft who’s stationed at the Youngstown Joint Air Reserve Station, 910th Airlift Wing. Lt. Col. Boccieri served for 18 years, including during Operations Iraqi Freedom and Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan. From the email announcing the launch: “Our country can’t go backwards, but that’s exactly what Mitt Romney promises America’s veterans. The Romney-Ryan budget includes deep domestic spending cuts that—if applied across the board—would cut veterans’ spending by $11 billion a year. In fact, Romney suggested privatizing veterans’ benefits ... Continue reading →

Jack Rouse has resigned as head of the Music Hall Revitalization Co. after two and a half years.On Saturday, Rouse informed the members of the Revitalization group�s board, as well as the resident companies by e-mail that he is stepping down. Reached on Sunday, he said he was �not interested in making a comment.� The reason, he said, was �no single thing.�Rouse has led the push urging the city to sell Music Hall to the Revitalization Co., thus making the project eligible for historic tax credits. The move, he said last week at an Enquirer meeting, would result in millions of philanthropic dollars.However, the Enquirer reported on Sunday that Mayor Mark Mallory has no interest in selling Music Hall to the group.The revitalization group also ... Continue reading →

Music Hall was buzzing with the rumor last night that Jack Rouse, head of the Music Hall Revitalization Co. that is spearheading a $165 million redo of the hall, resigned yesterday. Sources say that Rouse, a businessman and arts supporter, sent an e-mail letter of resignation to members of the board of the Music Hall group. In today’s Enquirer, the city reports it will not sell Music Hall. See the story, and an editorial here. Posted in: Local Music Groups, Music, Updates Tags: Cincinnati arts, Cincinnati entertainment Continue reading →

Hamilton County will be one of 20 counties in Ohio to take advantage of a new adoptive home recruiting effort by the state and the Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption. The foundation is named for the now deceased founder of Wendy’s restaurants, Dave Thomas. Thomas became a national spokesman for finding adoptive homes for children in 1990 at the request of President George H.W. Bush. The Ohio Department of Job and Family Services plans to spend $2.3 million on the specially trained recruiters and their work. Of that money, about $1.1 million will be state funding, the rest from the foundation. The foundation will train and oversee the recruiters, each of whom will be assigned to a small group of older children in foster care. ... Continue reading →