Bill Rinehart

Demonstrators took to the streets of Cincinnati Wednesday night to protest the grand jury decision in the death of Breonna Taylor in Louisville. One officer was charged with wanton endangerment for firing his weapon into neighboring apartments. Two other officers were not charged.

Hamilton County's COVID cases are trending downward. New cases, hospitalizations and deaths from the last week are below totals from the previous week. Commission President Denise Driehaus says it shows whatever prevention measures people have followed are working.

Local minority-owned small businesses are getting some help this week. A consortium of churches and businesses awarded 20 micro-grants. Recipient Adrienne Onley opened Touch of Heaven floral shop in Mount Healthy in February, before the pandemic hit. She says she didn't qualify for a federal payroll loan.

Cincinnati's Metropolitan Housing Authority is extending a moratorium on evictions again. The first extension took it to Sept. 1, but now lasts until the end of October. Spokeswoman Lesley Wardlow says the board of commissioners approved the extensions because of continued financial distress for some renters caused by the pandemic.

Two-way traffic, street parking, and wider sidewalks are some of the features of a remodeled Court Street east of Vine. Cincinnati, 3CDC and the Pedestrian Task Force unveiled the plan Wednesday afternoon.

Local activists are starting a project meant to end violence, racism and fascism. The Musketeer Association is introducing the Protest Pots Monday morning outside the Freedom Center. Names of homicide victims are on plaques mounted in flower pots. Those will then be placed where the person died.

A violent weekend in Cincinnati has inspired new calls for a ceasefire. Twenty people were shot, five of them killed in different neighborhoods between Friday and Sunday in what police say were unrelated incidents. People gathered at one of the scenes Tuesday evening to discuss ways to prevent more bloodshed.

The Cincinnati Zoo's newest outdoor exhibit is open. Roo Valley features two types of kangaroos and penguins in an environmentally efficient habitat.

The Hamilton County Prosecutor's office is reviewing what police say was an accidental shooting of a man Tuesday. Police Chief Eliot Isaac says District 5 officers saw 37-year-old Andre Thomas selling drugs in Mt. Airy. When they tried to take him in custody, there was a struggle.

The Citizens Complaint Authority will have a new director starting next month. Gabe Davis was a federal prosecutor and ran for the Democratic nomination for Hamilton County prosecutor last spring. He says he wants the office to help give people confidence in law enforcement.

Updated 10:12 a.m.

As many as 25,000 Duke Energy customers could face disconnected utilities starting Monday. Duke suspended shut-offs and late fees in March, when pandemic-related shutdowns threw many people out of work. Those suspensions end today.

There is a connection between lower COVID-19 cases and fewer deaths and closed schools, according to a report published in the Journal of the American Medical Association. Dr. Katherine Auger of Cincinnati Children's Hospital says states that closed schools early in the pandemic saw fewer new cases and fewer deaths than states that closed later.

Hamilton County is seeing more people sleeping in public places recently, and the president of Strategies to End Homelessness says there could be even more in 2021.

The Departments of Agriculture in at least four states - Ohio, Kentucky, Indiana and Tennessee - say people have reported receiving unsolicited packs of seeds in the mail.

Activists are hoping to get a police reform measure on November's ballot as a charter amendment. People's Safety Reimagined says they want to change Cincinnati's police department into a public safety agency. The group started collecting petition signatures Thursday evening in Cincinnati's Piatt Park.

Major League Baseball starts the COVID-shortened season this week. The Cincinnati Reds host the Detroit Tigers Friday evening. Because of the pandemic, there won't be fans in the ballpark. Reds Chief Operating Officer Phil Castellini says the team is getting ready for when they can welcome fans back.

Cincinnati Council will weigh in on whether racism is a public health crisis in August.  Three members will introduce a resolution when the council meets again.