Last year, WAIF was embroiled in controversy as many claimed that WAIF leadership—like UFO-believing Donald Shabazz or union member Michael Woods (who allegedly used union-busting techniques against WAIF programmers)—were accused of stacking the ballot box to protect their own interests in terms of programming and board representation.  At the time, I was actually a WAIF co-host with Derrick Blassingame.  Shabazz kicked us off the air for completely contrived reasons—and even CityBeat did a cover story on the WAIF scandal.  Anyway, this week WAIF finds itself amidst poor planning again, as the station has lost its signal.

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Posted by The Dean of Cincinnati
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Having been to many candidate forums and political events, I can tell you that it is extremely rare to see a candidate for City Council or any other elected position for public office get a standing ovation. Perhaps he had an advantage with the audience because he owns rental property in Walnut Hills.  He has had many different experiences renting to Section 8 and he has also worked with non-profits that deal with housing issues for fifteen years. 

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Posted by Justin Jeffre
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The Cincinnati Beacon has obtained a copy of the transcripts for the hearing and decision for a temporary restraining order against Sheriff Leis to prevent him from further campaigning using county funds and equipment.  As seen in the transcript for the hearing, Judge Nadel states that he is a friend of Sheriff Leis, but he said that he could decide the case in an unbiased manner.  Unsurprisingly, he ultimately decided in favor of the sheriff, comparing his campaign for the jail to a United Way campaign.

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Posted by Michael Earl Patton
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This weekend, we have begun distribution of the NAACP voter guide collaboration with The Cincinnati Beacon Print Edition.  It is available at several downtown locations, locations in OTR, as well as several streetboxes in Oakley, Hyde Park, O’Bryonville, and more.  A full location list is coming soon.  To compliment this, we are rolling out side-by-side answers to individual questions by the candidates who responded.  Today’s question:

What specific steps should the city take to improve environmental conditions in the areas with the most serious environmental problems, and citywide?

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Posted by The Dean of Cincinnati
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This is just a short mind-experiment.  Imagine that Chris Finney were a judge.  Further, imagine that he heard the case today against Si Leis, and found him guilty.  Would people think such a finding untoward?  Would they complain about Finney’s ties to the anti-jail coalition?  I’ll be interested to see if the Democrats call foul since Judge Nadel, an admitted friend to Si Leis, found in his favor today—or, if they will use this as an opportunity to act like their side is even more righteous.  Or, maybe the Democrats won’t say anything—just more of their silent endorsement of Si Leis.

Posted by The Dean of Cincinnati
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Guest article by Mike Shryock, Licensed Professional Clinical Counselor

With 38 years experience working professionally with the mentally ill, the addicted and the criminal justice system, I am very troubled by the notion of building a larger jail. It is well known that our current jail is filled mostly with poor people with nonviolent misdemeanor charges directly related to their medical conditions which we as a society have failed to address in the community.

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Posted by The Dean of Cincinnati
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Expansion of Mental Health Court A Key Step Forward

As part of an ongoing effort to reform the County’s criminal justice system, the recently formed Hamilton County Criminal Justice Commission (HCCJC) approved two important measures today aimed at addressing different areas within the overall system. 

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Posted by Media Release
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Sunday’s jail story and opinion by Peter Bronson was obviously written by someone who did not understand the issue and who was relying on only the pro-jail side for information.  Besides portraying the jail as the preferred place for many mentally ill and African-Americans, some of the “facts” reported in a sidebar are wrong.  One number, the “14,000” early releases since 2004, Sheriff Leis knows to be wildly wrong but often repeats it or a similar number in an apparent attempt to scare voters.  Another, the $33 cost per taxpayer, is fudged.  Other data are also wrong.

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Posted by Michael Earl Patton
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First, Simon Leis used taxpayer dollars to distribute threatening letters to his employees, suggesting that if they did not vote for the new jail they could lose their jobs.  Next, Leis put huge “Support the New Jail” signs all over County vehicles in the Harvest Home parade—both actions which eventually prompted a citizen lawsuit.  Now, he’s posted his message on the Sheriff’s web page!

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Posted by The Dean of Cincinnati
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Yesterday, I was informed about a story that aired on WLWT last week.  I was told that a white man driving downtown ran into and killed a Black woman, and that no charges had been filed against the guy.  I found that strange—almost unbelievable—thus I wanted to see the story for myself.  Unfortunately, I could not find it.  So, I called WLWT, and the guy at the web page desk was kind enough to forward me the link.  And since yesterday, WLWT has already changed the text of the story.  What’s going on with this white guy, and should he get into any trouble for killing an elderly Black woman with his car?

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Posted by The Dean of Cincinnati
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by Vice Mayor David Crowley

In March of this year I, along with former Vice Mayor Tarbell, cast the two lone votes against an ordinance that criminalized the possession of small amounts of marijuana.

Just to be clear, the vote in March of 2007 made the law permanent after it was instituted on a trial basis the year before—a decision I also opposed. 

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Posted by The Dean of Cincinnati
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It seems that there is no end to Sheriff Leis’s spending of taxpayer dollars to campaign for the new jail.  First, found that he had sent a letter to his personnel on county computers urging them to vote YES under the implied threat of layoff.  Then he used county vehicles as a platform for signs urging support for the new jail at the Harvest Home Parade. Now he also has a press release on the sheriff’s website endorsing the Comprehensive Safety Plan, which includes a sales tax increase for 15 years, on the official Hamilton County Sheriff’s website.

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Posted by Michael Earl Patton
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In John Eby’s platform for City Council, he talks about the importance of “fiscal responsibility.” It occurred to me that I’ve never seen anyone run on the platform of “fiscal irresponsibility,” so I thought I’d ask some questions to clarify his thoughts on the concept.  Here are his detailed replies.

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Posted by The Dean of Cincinnati
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One of the problems with the City of Cincinnati heavily subsidizing a few favored developments is that it may hinder other projects as their backers realize that they are not competing on a level playing field. An example of a development that is favored is Baldwin 300, which is getting up to $30 million to build a parking garage for a new office building and hotel. This is a heavy subsidy and may have been a factor in the cancellation of the Encenter project in Madisonville.

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Posted by Michael Earl Patton
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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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Posted by The Dean of Cincinnati
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