http://www.wvxu.org/ Connecting you to a world of ideas. en-US Thu, 17 May 2012 00:02:00 EST http://www.wvxu.org/news/wvxunews_article.asp?ID=10053 Cincinnati City Hall wants city taxpayers to go online and give them some direction as to how the city budgets its money. The city's annual budget process - dubbed Priorotiy-Driven Budgeting by the city administration - includes a series of in-person and online conversations with residents and businesses about what their priorities for city spending should be. Those conversations resulted in several strategic priorities for city government, including "inclusive, thriving and livable community," planned and developed infrastructure, neighborhood safety, "sustainable built and natural environment," and job creation. The online survey - at http://svy.mk/cincybudget - asks residents to tell the city administration how much money, out of $100, they would give to each of the strategic priorities. The ETC Institute, a market research firm, is also making phone calls and sending mailings to gather information from city residents on budget priorities. Wed, 16 May 2012 16:29:34 GMT http://www.wvxu.org/news/wvxunews_article.asp?ID=10052 A maker of so-called ''toning footwear'' has agreed to pay back customers in Ohio and more than 40 other states for athletic shoes that may not have been all they were promised to be. According to Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine, these claims by Skechers were, well, sketchy. The ad states, "Now you can get in shape without setting foot in a gym. Work out while you walk. New from Skechers - it's Shape Ups, the newest in exercise equipment.'' Ohio and Tennessee led a group of states in investigating Skechers' statements that wearing its Shape Ups, Tone Ups and Resistance Runner shoes would lead to weight loss, higher calorie burns, firmer muscles, less cellulite and improved circulation. The AGs found there wasn't much evidence to back up those claims. The Federal Trade Commission now says the shoe maker will pay $40 million to customers who file for refunds, and up to $5 million to the 42 states and the District of Columbia. Ohio will get a little over $156,000 of that. Wed, 16 May 2012 14:30:26 GMT http://www.wvxu.org/news/wvxunews_article.asp?ID=10051 ]]> One of the Cincinnati riverfront's top summer attractions, Party in the Park, returns tonight to Yeatman's Cove. The Naked Karate Girls will entertain at tonight's season kick-off, which runs from 5 p.m. until 10 p.m. Regional cover bands will be on hand to entertain the crowds every Wednesday between now and July 25. A variety of Anheuser-Busch beers will be available. This year, wine and cocktails are also available. The Pizza Bomba food truck will also be there. More information can be found at www.party-in-the-park.com and the mobilesite, m.party-in-the-park.com. Live updates will be shared at facebook.com/PartyinthePark and on Twitter by following @CincinnatiParty and the #ParkParty hashtag. Wed, 16 May 2012 11:57:46 GMT http://www.wvxu.org/news/wvxunews_article.asp?ID=10049 ]]> Cincinnati Police Chief James Craig is this year's University of Phoenix commencement speaker. Craig has a master's degree from the online university. The ceremony is Saturday at 4pm at Xavier's Cintas Center. The chief appears in two University of Phoenix commercials. In the most recent he's seen wearing his Cincinnati police uniform. Wed, 16 May 2012 11:04:04 GMT http://www.wvxu.org/news/wvxunews_article.asp?ID=10048 ]]> Final preparations are underway for the 2012 World Choir Games which begin in Cincinnati on July 4th. The event is described as the Olympics of choral music. Local organizers updated a city council committee on planning efforts. Nick Vehr said ticket sales are at about half of the amount budgeted for ticket revenues. ''We hope to sell significantly more than 100 percent of budgeted because we budgeted conservatively,'' Vehr said. ''The ticket experts say that being 50 days out, being in that position before the big strong push for ticket sales, that they believe we are in a very strong position. And they are encouraged and we are encouraged.'' Tickets are available for the opening and closing ceremonies, competitions, awards ceremonies and nightly concerts. Dan Lincoln discussed the number of participating choirs. ''We're sitting at about 367 choirs and that's been holding pretty much for the last few weeks, so we think that's right about the number we are going to max out at,'' Lincoln said. ''About 60 plus countries and we have about 17,000 participants right now that are signed up.'' So far 4,000 people have volunteered to assist with the games, but you can still sign up through May 25th. The event runs July 4th through the 10th. Opening and closing ceremonies will be at U.S. Bank Arena. Competitions will take place at venues like the Aronoff Center, Music Hall and Christ Church Cathedral. Tue, 15 May 2012 12:59:55 GMT http://www.wvxu.org/news/wvxunews_article.asp?ID=10047 Transportation officials say four oversize loads are expected to have an impact on traffic in southwest Ohio this week and next. Each load, consisting of a cold box 146 to 175 feet long, 18 feet wide and 19 feet tall, will take two days to move between the Anderson Ferry in Hamilton County and Middletown in Butler County. The move will be occurring between 9 and 4:30 each day. It starts Wednesday and runs through Saturday this week. Next week, it'll be Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday. The Ohio Department of Transportation says drivers should plan ahead and use alternate routes to avoid congestion and delays. Here's the specific route: Depart Anderson Ferry to west U.S. 50; north on South Miami Avenue; crossover at Cooper Road; west to U.S. 50 in the eastbound lanes; north on State Route 128; north on U.S. 27 entering from the U.S. 27 southbound off ramp to SR 128; north on U.S. 27; east on Stahlheber Road; north on Morman Road; east on SR 130; north on SR 177; east on SR 73; south on U.S. 127; east on SR 73; north on SR 4, entering SR 4 using the southbound exit ramp to SR 73; at top of ramp, crossover the median into north SR 4 lanes; east on 14th Avenue to Yankee Road and destination. Tue, 15 May 2012 11:51:58 GMT http://www.wvxu.org/news/wvxunews_article.asp?ID=10046 ]]> A plan to build an atrium at Cincinnati City Hall is apparently on the fast-track. The city manager in a memo to the Mayor and Council Members last week said the entire $4.4 million project would be funded in this year's capital budget. The original plan allocated half the money this year and the rest in 2013. The manager said the administration made the decision due to the timing of the construction process and the efficiencies gained from doing it all at once. Council Member P.G. Sittenfeld has opposed the atrium project from the beginning and is not happy with the latest development. ''I'm going to look into the legality of this of can the administration move forward with a project that cost $4.5 million, when we didn't allocate $4.5 million this year,'' Sittenfeld said. The city manager also said the in the memo Megen Construction will be building the atrium. That company also built the Christian Moerlien Lager House at The Banks. A narrow Council majority approved the project in December. The atrium will be used as a gathering place at City Hall for events and private functions like receptions and weddings. The manager has said the space could create revenues for the cash strapped city. Mon, 14 May 2012 17:45:00 GMT http://www.wvxu.org/news/wvxunews_article.asp?ID=10045 ]]> If you travel in and out of Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport, there's a big change coming Tuesday. All the airlines will now operate out of the Main Terminal where Delta resides. Passengers on Air Canada, American, United and US Airways will no longer arrive and depart from Terminal 2. CVG spokeswoman Molly Flanagan says the move to the renovated terminal is part of the airport's plan for future growth, making the airport more efficient for current airlines and more attractive to new carriers: "Another reason for the renovation was updated facilities, including additional amenities for our travelers--more shopping, more dining options, wifi, business work stations, outlets to recharge your electronic devices as well." Ticketing, security screening and baggage claim for all airlines will now be in the Main Terminal. CVG says funding for the 31-million-dollar project is primarily from capital improvement funds from existing agreements with the airlines. Mon, 14 May 2012 17:42:14 GMT http://www.wvxu.org/news/wvxunews_article.asp?ID=10044 ]]> Cincinnati's retirement board is recommending City Council contribute $67 million in 2013 to the city's pension system. That's highly unlikely since this year Council contributed just a little less than half that. The city's recent smaller than recommended contributions and poor market performance has left the pension system in bad shape. Bill Partridge is a member of the city's retirement board. "We had a market value, we had about 61 cents of assets for every dollars of liability we have," Partridge said. "The actuarial value, we have about 67 cents on every dollar." That's like having a bill for $1 and only 67 cents to pay it. Right now the city is sending out $200 million per year in pension payments, further reducing how much the city can invest. Cincinnati will set the pension contribution when it finalizes the budget in December. Mon, 14 May 2012 17:30:57 GMT http://www.wvxu.org/news/wvxunews_article.asp?ID=10043 An 18-month legal battle over a 2010 Hamilton County Juvenile Court race should come Thursday, when the county board of elections meets to certify the results of a recount. For the past two weeks, Hamilton County election officials have been conducting a recount of the race between Democrat Tracie Hunter and Republican John Williams, who has since been appointed to another vacant juvenile court judgeship. Hunter had trailed Williams by 23 votes after the Nov. 2010 election was held, but filed suit in U.S. District Court, where, after months of legal wrangling, U.S. District Court Judge Susan Dlott ordered the board to count about 300 provisional ballots cast by voters who were in the right polling place but the wrong precinct table. After those votes were counted, Hunter led by 71 votes. Then, about two weeks ago, the recount began with the hand-counting of ballots from 35 precincts - five percent of the total precincts in the county - and those hand-counted results were compared against a computer scan of the ballots from the 35 precincts. After that was done, Hunter's lead grew to 73 votes. But the board of elections was required to scan by hand all 290,000 votes cast in the election. That process is expected to end Tuesday. On Wednesday, the precinct results will be tabulated and presented to the board of elections on Thursday for certification. Mon, 14 May 2012 15:40:46 GMT