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Last month, I issued this public letter to both Bill Donabedian and Chris Bortz, asking questions about the private restaurant business that has been planted on Fountain Square, a public space.  Not surprisingly, I do not get responses to these kinds of inquiries, which does nothing to quell suspicions about nefarious dealings.  So I suspect that they will not answer my latest questions—in which case I’m wondering if anyone else can provide the answer.  Does 3CDC have rights to show films in public exhibitions when they have their movie nights on Fountain Square?

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Posted by The Dean of Cincinnati
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Despite the fact that Cincinnati Municipal Code 910-23 (the anti-marijuana ordinance) has made possession of small amounts of marijuana an offense that carries a permanent criminal record and possible jail time—and further, despite the fact that this law is being enforced unequally, with over six times as many blacks being arrested in the first year of the law as whites, several incumbent City Council candidates claim the law was effective because it took 62 guns off the streets.  However, those 62 guns represent less than 2% of the overall number of people arrested.  How does this compare to national studies examining the overall number of people in possession of illegal guns?

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The Cincinnati Beacon has obtained a copy of a letter that the Hamilton County Sheriff has sent to his employees encouraging all of them to vote for the jail tax and mentioning that layoffs are a real possibility if it does not pass.  Many things are noteworthy about this letter, perhaps the most notable is that this is a campaign solicitation that was sent from the sheriff to his personnel.

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Posted by Michael Earl Patton
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Recently, has said that because I wrote a story that used Justin Jeffre’s campaign logo, that he needs to include it as a contribution on his campaign disclosure form.  His implication is that if I decide to use a logo to go along with a story, that the logo is not a visual aid for information, but an advertisement.  Therefore, I have decided to collect links to all the Council candidate websites I could find, including logos.  Do they all need to include this in their campaign finance reports?  How much is it worth?  Will they all include it at the same amounts?  Or, is Brian Griffin just an idiot?

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Recently, critics have wondered about Nick Lachey’s politics now that he has come out in support of Justin Jeffre’s campaign for Cincinnati City Council.  In 2004, People Magazine claimed that Lachey had come out in support of George W. Bush.  According to Lachey, nothing could be further from the truth.

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Posted by The Dean of Cincinnati
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Now that Justin Jeffre has announced he is running for City Council, people keep asking for more information about his particular platform.  So, in the event that you have not found it yet, be sure to check out his new campaign web page.  More position statements and policy suggestions will be added as campaign season progresses!

Posted by The Dean of Cincinnati
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Guest article by Katie Andrews

For those that are not familiar with the Farm Bill, it doesn’t seem like it should be such an important issue to the majority of Americans.  Although farmers are important to our country’s economy and to our hard-working, rural roots, many of us don’t see the impacts of the Farm Bill day-to-day—or so we think.  Until I became involved with the ONE Campaign, I didn’t think much of it.  Now, I think about it on a daily basis along with my fellow members of the Farm Bill Working Group of Ohio which is a coalition of NGOs (Oxfam America, Sojourners, Bread for the World), local faith groups and individuals in Ohio that are working towards reform in the Farm Bill.

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Posted by The Dean of Cincinnati
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Photo courtesy of .

This Saturday, from 7-9pm at Club Bang downtown (314 W. 4th St. Cincinnati, Ohio 45202), you will all have the opportunity to meet the one and the only Dean of Cincinnati!

By the way, national celebrity Nick Lachey will be there, too.

Both of us will be supporting our friend, Justin Jeffre, who is running for Cincinnati City Council as an endorsed Green candidate.

So stop by with your $20 donation to get in, and enjoy some spirits with your humble Dean, Nick Lachey, Justin Jeffre, and others!

Posted by The Dean of Cincinnati
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I just found this item over at The Enquirer’s politics blog, and it struck me how dishonest Commissioner Todd Portune has become.  It really looks like he will say anything to get his own ideas passed, even when his new statements are a direct contradiction to what he has said in the past.  First, Portune blasted last year’s Heilmich jail tax for being “regressive” (he called a regressive tax “the worst kind of tax,” saying it burdened “children and the poor alike"), but this year he is advancing his own regressive sales tax.  Now, Portune is flip-flopping about putting people in jail for smoking marijuana.  What’s outrageous is how all these hypocrisies are documented, but the Portune apologists will still find a way to dismiss these findings.

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I have long wondered why I should care if some rich people have a condo on the river, and further why I should be compelled to believe my tax dollars should fund such real estate development.  (In fact, it seems to me that the banks are literally the only institutions set to profit off The Banks!) And now CityBeat is asking for input, about whether or not this real estate development project really matters to regular citizens.  Is a groundswell against this project mounting?

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(Hat-tip to funnelcake!)

It looks like Kroger is up to some mischief in Georgia, where they were found to be illegally charging tax on items bought with food-stamps when coupons were used (at least according to the article quoted below).  While the cost per customer may have only been a quarter here and there, multiply that by the number of people in Georgia living on assistance, and we’re talking some serious money!  Below are some excerpts from a story at The Consumerist, which you can find here.

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Posted by The Dean of Cincinnati
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I just got an email about this website, and figured I’d just pass it right along:

I thought you might be interested in the Ohio Health Policy Review, a new website from the Health Policy Institute of Ohio. The Review takes a nonpartisan, independent look at Ohio health policy news and information and also features original analysis and data from our Institute.

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Guest article by Scott A Morgan

Tensions are again acute in the Horn of Africa. Charges of supporting terrorism have once again been leveled at Eritrea by both the Ethiopian Government and by the US State Department. The complexities of this crisis are as widespread as much as they are unknown generally to the American Public.

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Posted by The Dean of Cincinnati
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Guest article by Greg Harris, candidate for Cincinnati City Council.

In case you haven’t heard, Cincinnati has a crime problem. Unfortunately, when it comes to fighting crime, City Council has too often allowed easy politics to trump good policy.

Case in point: In 2005, the Cincinnati Business Committee and other business groups commissioned nationally renowned police expert John Linder (http://www.linderandassociates.net) to examine the culture and effectiveness of the Cincinnati Police Department (CPD). The study has since been buried. Because the funding was private (apparently a condition of CPD cooperation), it did not qualify as a public document subject to Ohio open records laws.

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Posted by The Dean of Cincinnati
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The Beacon’s very own Justin Jeffre and Michael Earl Patton are on the ballot for Cincinnati City Council, and now both of them have endorsements from Cincinnati’s growing third parties.  Jeffre has been endorsed by the Southwest Ohio Green Party, and yesterday Patton announced his endorsement by the Cincinnati Libertarians.  Both the local Green and Libertarian parties came together under the leadership of the NAACP in opposing the imposition of a jail tax without a vote.

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Guest article by Christopher Smitherman.

The African American community continues to identify two different justice systems in Hamilton County: one African -American and one White. County Commissioners David Pepper and Todd Portune communicated that they would release 300 inmates in jail to free up jail space. As the President of the Cincinnati Branch of the NAACP I would like to recommend their first release. Her name is Levonn Smith.

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Posted by The Dean of Cincinnati
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A few months ago, I interviewed Cecil Thomas on video about his anti-marijuana law.  During the discussion, Thomas revealed that he thinks the anti-marijuana law is effective because it took 62 guns off the street in its first year.  However, those 62 guns came from less than 2% of people arrested.  Under Thomas’ new law, the other 98% (most of whom are disproportionately black) have permanent marks on their criminal records.  So I asked him a question:  why not make baggy pants illegal?  Maybe 2% of people in baggy pants might have guns, too!  Now it turns out that other cities really are making such a law!

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Posted by The Dean of Cincinnati
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For the second time in two election cycles, Jim Tarbell failed to get enough signatures to achieve ballot status.  Back in 2005, he decided at the last minute to run for mayor, and failed to get enough signatures.  And now this past week, he couldn’t manage to get himself on the ticket for School Board—which many view as an “entry level” political position.  But perhaps more shocking than Tarbell’s failure is the unspoken endorsement given to Tarbell by The Cincinnati Enquirer with their Friday morning headline, pictured to your right.

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Last night, Michael Earl Patton gave his first political speech of this campaign season at the 21st Century Theatre in Oakley.  Here is a transcript of his speech.

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Posted by The Dean of Cincinnati
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This evening, the Cincinnati NAACP voted to oppose the proposal by Commissioners Pepper and Portune for a Comprehensive Safety Plan.  At the meeting, Pepper was given ten minutes to speak, followed by five minutes from No Jail Tax PAC’s Suhith Wickrema, and five minutes by your humble Dean.  Here is the text of the well-received speech I delivered.

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Posted by The Dean of Cincinnati
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Commissioner Pat DeWine responds to Commissioner David Pepper.

I read with interest the interview with Commissioner David Pepper regarding the Pepper/Portune/Leis jail plan. Thanks to the hard work of the citizen led referendum effort we have real opportunities like this to examine the plan and debate its merits. In addition to the doubts that many have already expressed, several important questions were raised in yesterday’s interview. I appreciate the time and effort that Commissioner Pepper put into his response, but I believe several statements deserve clarification.

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Guest article by Christopher Smitherman, President, Cincinnati NAACP

Congratulations to the Black Family Reunion coordinator/committee on another successful year.  The Black Family Reunion (BFR) was blessed with good weather and outstanding attendance. 

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Posted by The Dean of Cincinnati
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The Cincinnati Beacon decided to send questions to Commissioner Pepper about the proposal for a new jail.  We asked about the Collaborative Agreement, the actual numbers of new beds gained, the details of getting people out of jail who don’t need to be there, and so forth.  Pepper responded to each inquiry, and even included a document from the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Corrections from June, 2007, responding to Si Leis’ statements about the Queensgate facility.  Whatever your position, this is must-read for those following the Hamilton County jail issue!

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The August, 2007, Print Edition of the Cincinnati Beacon is now available online.  Click here to download an electronic format of the newspaper!

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Posted by The Dean of Cincinnati
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In today’s Enquirer, Dan Horn wrote a totally one-sided story about Ron Brown:  ”Trashed houses land man in jail.” The story includes statements from the Department of Building and Inspections and Westwood Concern, but none from the accused himself, any of his family, nor his associates.  So we interviewed Stephen Dapper, a property rights activist who has been watching this situation develop and who is familiar with the details of Ron Brown’s situation.

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The Naughty American, a new web magazine that hit the web at the beginning of this month, has The Beacon’s own Justin Jeffre in a headline story today:  ”98 Degrees Singer Turns Up Heat On Politicians.” Say what you want about Jeffre, or our humble efforts here at The Beacon—but our Cincinnati brand of media activism is now becoming a national story!

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Posted by The Dean of Cincinnati
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U.S. Congressman John Conyers, Chairman of the Judiciary Committee, will be the keynote speaker at the Cincinnati NAACP’s Freedom Fund Dinner—October 5th, 2007, at The Duke Energy Center.  Obtaining a speaker of this magnitude demonstrates the incredible success President Smitherman has enjoyed since being elected the new president of Cincinnati’s revitalized NAACP.  Despite intense criticism from naysayers, Smitherman was able to secure financial support for the NAACP convention in Cincinnati next year, and now he has secured a national figure for next month’s event.

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Posted by The Dean of Cincinnati
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To Whom It May Concern:

I am writing this letter in regards to recent stories at The Cincinnati Enquirer which seem to violate commonly accepted standards of media reporting.  As outlined by respected organizations like the World Health Organization, media outlets should be careful when handling suicide.  Specifically, front page headlines and details about specific methods used should be avoided.  The Enquirer has violated both of those commonly accepted codes.

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Posted by The Dean of Cincinnati
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According to standard media ethics, reporting on suicide should be avoided.  Even the World Health Organization has this document, outlining guidelines for media professionals.  The Cincinnati Enquirer, however, has no such standards, and once again they have decided to provide details about how someone decided to commit suicide.  (Read about their first mistake here.) This is an irresponsible lapse in ethics on behalf of The Enquirer.

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Posted by The Dean of Cincinnati
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