Cincinnati City Council

Cincinnati Council passed pay-to-stay last year, which is supposed to force a landlord to stop a nonpayment eviction if the tenant can pay all past due rent and fees. But Hamilton County magistrates announced their decision not to enforce it on the day it went into effect in December, saying they think the local ordinance conflicts with state law.

Council voted unanimously Wednesday to repeal a 2001 ordinance that prohibited that coverage. But a resolution denouncing the overturning of Roe v. Wade passed without the support of council’s only Republican: Liz Keating.

Cincinnati Mayor Aftab Pureval says he’s also asked the administration to prepare a report within 30 days outlining opportunities for the city to decriminalize abortion.

Former Cincinnati City Councilman P.G. Sittenfeld may be the one on trial for public corruption, but the most dramatic testimony in U.S. District Court on Friday came from an FBI agent who talked about the behavior of his political cohorts.

From the witness stand, FBI case agent Nathan Holbrook answered some of the biggest questions that have hung over City Hall since three council members were arrested on separate public corruption charges in 2020. How did this case start, and who started it?

Cincinnati Council unanimously approved the next city budget Thursday. The city faced a huge deficit without millions of dollars from the American Rescue Plan stimulus.

Cincinnati will soon have two more DORAs: one in Hyde Park and one in College Hill. Council approved the proposals Thursday for the “designated outdoor refreshment areas,” which allow people to take alcoholic beverages out of bars and restaurants within a certain area.

After listening to nearly three hours of opening statements in the public corruption trial of P.G. Sittenfeld, at least one juror appeared to be nodding off in the jury box as attorneys described the inner workings of Cincinnati City Hall, campaign fundraising and development deals.

If council implements changes recommended in the report, it could lead to a settlement in an ongoing lawsuit filed by dozens of Black residents who allege the city’s policies are racially discriminatory.

Attorneys took nearly six hours Tuesday to choose a jury in the public corruption trial of former Cincinnati City Councilman P.G. Sittenfeld, weeding out many who had personal hardships, political biases, ties to possible witnesses, or those who had watched extensive media coverage of the high-profile case or already decided his guilt or innocence.