Michael Monks

Hollywood’s most important trophy will be handed out on Sunday at the 91st annual Academy Awards. So, which movies, performers and other talent should take home Oscars?

It used to be a rare occurrence that a major Hollywood picture would choose to shoot in the Cincinnati area but in recent years the Queen City has become a Tinsel Town in its own right. Gone are the days of squealing about Tom Cruise and Dustin Hoffman driving across the Roebling Suspension Bridge.

Our country has become so divided over issues, policies and politicians that many no longer see someone who disagrees with them as merely having a difference of opinion or being uninformed. Now, those who disagree often view each other as not just wrong, but stupid, insane or even evil. And what's the point of trying to talk with, or listen to, someone you believe to be evil?

The National Underground Railroad Freedom Center is presenting a year-long program series, "Freedom 55," to commemorates the 55th anniversary of Freedom Summer, a 1964 voter registration drive, also known as the Mississippi Summer Project.

Molly Wellmann is well-known locally as a successful businesswoman, master mixologist, speaker, author and bar owner. Now, Wellmann, owner of Japp's Since 1879, and former owner of the recently closed Myrtle's Punch House in East Walnut Hills, has received national recognition. Last month, Nightclub & Bar Media Group unanimously named her Bartender-Owner of the Year. 

Ohio has been referred to as the "Mother of Presidents." Seven U.S. presidents were born in Ohio: Ulysses Grant, Rutherford Hayes, James Garfield, Benjamin Harrison, William McKinley, William Howard Taft and Warren G. Harding. And an eighth, William Henry Harrison, was born in Virginia but lived most of his adult life in Ohio.

Negotiations over a new soccer stadium for FC Cincinnati continue. The club reached an agreement with local arts associations over noise issues at Music Hall but has not yet struck a deal with the Cincinnati Ballet over a parking lot. And Cincinnati City Council approved a land swap deal with the team this week but put off a vote on a development plan and zoning change. That delay is holding up stadium construction.

It has been one year since the February 14 shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High in Parkland, Florida. Seventeen students and staff members were killed, 17 others were injured. The tragedy sparked student demonstrations nationwide and launched the March for Our Lives movement protesting gun violence.

Valentine’s Day can bring about a variety of emotions. Some people are eager to celebrate their love, and others pine for a love of their own.

Community organizing has become a valuable way for individual residents who see a problem to find their voice and work towards finding a viable solution to that problem.

The recently renamed Nancy & David Wolf Holocaust & Humanity Center (HHC) held its grand opening at Union Terminal last month.

New cases of HIV infection have been on the rise in recent years in our region. In 2017, there were 184 newly-diagnosed cases, up 34 percent from 2016. And for the first time in Kentucky's history, the most common risk factor for the transmission was I-V drug use.

In 2016, African Americans accounted for 44% of HIV diagnoses, despite making up just 12% of the U.S. population. There is still a major stigma around the HIV epidemic and this can be even more pronounced in the African American community. In an effort to raise awareness and end that stigma, February 7th, 2019 was designated National Black HIV/AIDS Awareness Day, a time for education, community engagement and testing.

Though FC Cincinnati held a ceremonial ground breaking in December for its new soccer stadium, several issues involved in the project are still left unresolved.

Republican Senator Mitch McConnell of Kentucky may be the most powerful politician in America. McConnell began his first term in the Senate in 1985, and has served as majority whip and minority leader.

Last November, Sherrod Brown of Ohio was elected to his third term in the U.S. Senate. The Democrat served as the U.S. Representative for Ohio's 13th congressional district from 1993 to 2007. Brown started his political career as an Ohio state representative in 1974.

Ohio now has five medical marijuana dispensaries open and more on the way. The Botanist, operated by Greenleaf Apothecaries LLC, just opened its second store in Wickliffe near Cleveland. At four other dispensaries that opened in January, sales have topped $500,000 in the first two-and-a-half weeks.

In 2014, after 25 years as a restaurateur and caterer, Suzy DeYoung started La Soupe with the mission of rescuing food that would otherwise go to waste and using it to create and provide delicious, nutritious meals to those in need.

The age of self-driving cars hasn't arrived quite yet, but autonomous vehicles are no longer the science-fiction fantasies of just a decade ago. And many new cars, SUVs and trucks today are already equipped with cameras, proximity sensors, auto-braking systems and other sophisticated monitoring and safety features that help counter the main cause of of traffic accidents – human error.

According to a report released last year by ADP and Moody's Analytics, the greatest challenge U.S. businesses will face in the coming years is finding qualified workers. Industries from healthcare to information technology to transportation are already feeling the effects of a workforce shortage.

The relationship between Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky is one of friendship, collaboration and sometimes, complicated rivalry. Soon, that rivalry could include dueling Ferris wheel attractions on both sides of the Ohio River.