Michael Monks

Last week the Cincinnati Cyclones earned the 2018-19 Brabham Cup as ECHL Regular Season Champions. It's the second Brabham Cup for the Cyclones, and this season's win guarantees the Cyclones home ice advantage during the 2019 Kelley Cup Playoffs, which begin this Friday, April 12. The Cyclones have earned two Kelly Cup Championships.

This week, the University of Dayton Human Rights Center will unveil "America the Borderland," an exhibit by the center's Moral Courage Project designed to shine a light on human rights defenders at the U.S.-Mexico border.

The Ohio River Valley Water Sanitation Commission (ORSANCO) is considering a new plan on water quality for the Ohio River. A previous plan, issued last year, would have reduced ORSANCO's oversight and allowed states to regulate discharges into the river.

A 23-year-old man shows up in Newport and claims he's Timmothy Pitzen, who disappeared at the age of six in May, 2011 from the Chicago area. DNA test results reveal the hoax. 

According to the National Stepping Up Initiative, in the U.S. approximately 2 million times each year, people who have serious mental illnesses are admitted to jails. These individuals often don't receive appropriate, or any, treatment, and, upon release, are at a higher risk of re-incarceration than those without mental illnesses.

The impact of historic preservation is often discussed in a region like ours, with an aging housing stock and a resurgence in urban revitalization. From the rebirth of century-old buildings in Over-the-Rhine, Covington and Newport, to more high-profile restorations of landmark spaces like Music Hall and Union Terminal, preservationists work to make their case that historic properties are worth saving.

Cincinnati’s rise in the film industry is well documented, but the latest movie to premiere after being shot here is unique: it’s actually set here, too. The Public, directed by Emilio Estevez and starring Alec Baldwin, Michael K. Williams, Christian Slater and other Hollywood stars, tells the story of a takeover of the downtown library by homeless men and women amid a brutal Midwestern cold front that puts local emergency shelters at full capacity. The sit-in leads to a long standoff involving a crisis negotiator, a district attorney and two librarians caught up in the middle of it all.

Cincinnati City Council Member David Mann is revising his proposal to regulate short-term rentals. These sites, which include Airbnbs, are growing in number and popularity in neighborhoods including Over-the-Rhine. Neighbors have raised concerns about the lack of available housing as more homes are converted to Airbnb rentals and about the noise these units bring to the neighborhood. Advocates say they are great for the economy and neighborhood vitality.

Last year Hamilton County’s hotline to report suspected cases of child abuse and neglect, 241-KIDS (5437), received over 67,000 phone calls. Over 9,000 were direct reports of disclosures or concerns around abuse or neglect.

More than 500 Reform rabbis from around the country are in Cincinnati this week for the Central Conference of American Rabbis’ (CCAR) annual convention. The organization, which had its beginnings in Cincinnati, is celebrating its 130th year, as well as the 200th anniversary of the birth of its founder, Rabbi Isaac Mayer Wise.

A developer could build dozens of new homes on one 4.6-acre site on Linwood Avenue. That has neighbors worried about the impact on the hillside. Redstone MTC, LLC has submitted a draft application to the Cincinnati planning department to tear down six homes and replace them with cluster housing. According to the application, 18 attached homes and 12 detached homes could be built.

When the Archdiocese of Cincinnati presented a new employment contract for educators, it included a morality clause forbidding public support of the "homosexual lifestyle." The move sparked online petitions and protests from teachers and students. Amid the controversy, the Archdiocese updated the language of the contract, changing "public support" to "advocacy," but Archdiocese officials maintain that the changes were not in response to the backlash.

The Kentucky General Assembly wraps-up its session this week. Governor Matt Bevin has already signed dozens of bills into law and issued two vetoes this legislative session.

Dr. Ashish Vaidya will be sworn in as Northern Kentucky University’s sixth president on Friday, March 29. He began his tenure as NKU's president on July 1, 2018, and selected a spring 2019 Investiture Ceremony to allow himself time to understand the campus culture and the region.

It's officially spring, flowers are in bloom, lawns are just starting to turn a deeper shade of green and the weeds are beginning their mission to take over our yards. But there is still a chance we could experience hard frosts before the warm weather finally settles in.

A chickenpox outbreak has swept a Northern Kentucky school. There are 32 cases of illness at Our Lady of the Sacred Heart and Assumption Academy in Walton. The Northern Kentucky Health Department now says unvaccinated students must stay home until 21 days after the onset of rash for the last ill student. In rare cases chickenpox can be deadly, especially for infants and pregnant women.

The Louder Than a Bomb poetry slam, started in Chicago in 2001, was created to give young people a forum to speak out and to be heard. The poetry contest was brought to Cincinnati in 2015, enabling young people in our region to hear one another’s stories and share experiences through spoken word performances.

As the Cincinnati Reds mark 150 years this season, the Findlay Market Parade celebrates its 100th anniversary. The parade starts this Thursday at noon, followed by the Reds opener against the Pittsburgh Pirates at Great American Ballpark. Game time is 4:10.

Cincinnati Reds radio broadcaster Marty Brennaman is starting his 46th, and last, year with the club. His voice has been the sound of summer for Cincinnati baseball fans since 1974.

Rumors of a sex trafficking ring operating in Portsmouth, Ohio, have been widespread for decades. After a year-long investigation, The Cincinnati Enquirer releases a report on drug use and prostitution in the town of 20,000 on the Ohio River, about 100 miles east of Cincinnati.