Cincinnati City Council

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.

Cincinnati Council is so far suggesting no cuts to the recommended budget for next fiscal year. Instead, council members have each proposed additional items for the budget that is up for a final vote this week.

Cincinnati Mayor Aftab Pureval says widespread single-family zoning is keeping the city from growing. Pureval spoke at a Housing Solutions Summit in Price Hill on Saturday, setting the stage for what changes are being considered at City Hall.

“The idea is to fill the space with everyone impacted by housing — folks who are homeowners, who are renters, folks who are housing cost burdened, folks who develop housing,” said Council Member Reggie Harris, who organized the event. “When we get everyone in a room together, and we have a facilitated conversation, I think that's where real learning happens.”

Cincinnatians are pushing for better pedestrian safety, but solutions may be harder to agree on. More than a hundred pedestrians have been hit by cars so far this year, according to city data published on Cincy Insights.