Bill Rinehart

Communities along the Ohio River are taking part in a nearly annual tradition: preparing for flooding. As of Thursday afternoon, the National Weather Service's Advanced Hydrologic Prediction Service expected the Ohio River at Cincinnati to crest at 54.6 feet. Flood stage is 52 feet.

The number of hospitalizations due to influenza rose by more than a third in Ohio last week. More than 800 people were hospitalized in the fifth week of the year, compared with 611 in the fourth week, and 332 a year ago.

Metro is about to get more use out of the Riverfront Transit Center. The underground bus staging area will be opened for parking and some bus service starting March 1.

A public health expert says concerns about coronavirus are valid, but people should take steps toward controlling the seasonal flu first. Dr. Odell Owens, president of Interact for Health, says data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention prove influenza is the bigger deal.

The United Way of Greater Cincinnati has a new CEO: the current head of Hamilton County Job and Family Services. Moira Weir succeeds Ross Meyer, who has led the organization as interim CEO since 2018.

A Bond Hill church hosts the viewings for Judge Nathaniel Jones this week. Jones died over the weekend of congestive heart failure. He was 93.

Hiring is underway for this year's census and local leaders say the work could lead to more jobs and additional federal spending down the road. Cincinnati's mayor and the Hamilton County commission president are touting the 2020 Census, hoping to get 100% participation.

Covington, Elsmere, Erlanger and Independence are planning on working together more often, and they're starting with a celebration of Martin Luther King, Jr. The event features video testimony from local residents, live music and networking.

The acting Cincinnati Parks director now has the job full-time. Park Board Commissioners named Kara Kish as the permanent director at a meeting Thursday morning. Kish has been interim director since October, when Wade Walcutt announced his resignation. Kish will oversee 125 employees who maintain 5,000 acres of public park space.

Renters in Cincinnati may soon have alternatives to providing a full-month's rent before moving into a new home. Council may require landlords to give renters options such as an insurance policy, a monthly down payment or a deposit. Councilman P.G. Sittenfeld says if someone wants to pay the full damage deposit, they still could.

The Public Library of Cincinnati and Hamilton County is making changes. The Walnut Hills and Norwood branches will be expanded, the Mount Healthy branch will move, and the Main Library could get a parking garage. These plans and possibilities are included in the next two parts of the facility master plan, released this week. Voters in 2018 approved a library levy that was expected to generate about $19 million a year for repairs and rehabilitation of library facilities.

The Transit Authority of Northern Kentucky is looking to make some service corrections. TANK General Manager Andrew Aiello says six local routes and five express routes could be consolidated or eliminated before the end of the year.  Aiello says before anything happens, TANK wants feedback.

Twenty years ago on Dec. 31, the world at large waited with anticipation. When the clock struck midnight and the calendar changed from 1999 to 2000, would planes still fly? Would the banking system collapse? Would there be riots? Dogs and cats living together? Mass hysteria? Would our computers still work?

Spoiler alert: They did.

Updated: 9:01 p.m.

Hamilton County Commissioner Todd Portune has made a recommendation for his temporary successor. Victoria Parks has been Portune's chief of staff since 2016. She tells WVXU the honor is "bittersweet."

A Miami University professor admits holiday cards and envelopes may not have a huge impact on landfills and recycling streams, but Steve Keller says there are things to watch for to keep the stream clean. He says most holiday cards are simply made of paper, which can be recycled. If there's glitter on the paper, throw it out.

In February, Kentucky created a registry for emergency contacts. Residents with a driver's licence, learner's permit, or legal ID card can add the name and contact information for one person in case of emergency.

First responders, dispatchers, correction officers and their families in the Tri-State are getting new tools to take care of themselves and their coworkers. The Hamilton County Fire Chief's Association is launching a program to encourage the creation of peer support teams.

The United States Coast Guard says a crewman was asleep at the wheel when a towboat hit the Ludlow-Bromley Yacht Club in October.

The music venue to be built at The Banks will be named for a local musician and music teacher. The Andrew J. Brady ICON Music Center will have stages both indoors and outdoors and is scheduled to open in fall 2020.