With friends like these...

The city of Cincinnati has handed out loans, tax abatements, TIFs etc., hand over fist to private enterprises for years. They are reviewing those policies now & that's good.
HOWEVER
Denying a group of citizens a loan as they are trying to organize themselves for the betterment of their community and to create jobs in the community is just rude.
Cincinnati city manager Harry Black decided to deny a loan request from Clifton Market.
The Clifton Market fills a grocery void, a food desert, it fills a void as the anchor store for the Clifton business district, it fills a jobs void, and it will fill a tax revenue void for the city.
How do the representatives of Clfton respond?
"Get in your car and go to Kroger!"
yay

Garish Summit IGA
Episode MMCXVIII
The latest step in the ongoing Clifton IGA saga has Goessling's Markets employing Cassidy Turley Commercial Real Estate Services to find an operator for the store.

Another Boring Ass Weekend in Soul Sucking Cincinnatiugh - this burg is DEAD!
well…..

Friday
Sister Cycles
6:30 PM
MoBo Bicycle CoOp

Mountain Music Squeeze with Anna & Elizabeth
The Hoffner Lodge (old Art Damage Lodge)
4130 Hamilton Ave

Clifton on Ludlow
6 - 9 PM
Clifton
on Ludlow

Hopnosis
The Comet
Grotesque Brooms & John Wesley Coleman

The Northside Tavern
Bethesda, The Mitchells, Josh Eagle & Harvest City

Saturday
Northside Second Saturday
6 - 10 PM
Hamilton Avenue & various side streets

Make a Milk & Cookie Plate for Santa
10 AM - 5 PM
Happen Inc.

Cincinnati Holiday Art Show
10 AM - 4 PM
North Presbyterian Church
4222 Hamilton

Art Openings @ NVISION & Fabricate
both from 6 - 10 PM

The Northside Tavern
The Cliftones

Ohio Lesbian Archives Open House
1 - 4 PM
Clifton United Methodist Church
Clifton @ Senator Pl.

Hopnosis
The Comet
Playfully Yours & Action Camp

Karaike @ Junker's Tavern

Sunday
Compassionate Friends Candle Lighting Ceremony
Soggy Spring Grove Cememery
4389 Spring Grove Ave.

Brunch @ Honey
The Comet
Brunch & The Comet Bluegrass All Stars

The Northside Tavern
Faces Without Places Chili Cookoff

Brunch at Melt

Brunch @ Take the Cake

Brunch @ Sidewinder

Bear Boy!
2 PM
Clifton Cultural Arts Center

Like a story out of Tremont City, the Clifton grocery store saga moves along while glaciers whiz by. The time has given the interns at the Fishwarp time to come up with more creative headlines, the latest being Is this man deluded ... or brilliant?.
Goessling's IGA which will now be the Clifton Gaslight Market may or may not be an IGA. It's been 17 months since the owners first bought the store and plans to open the place now are for "early 2013". In the meantime they will host cook outs at the Clifton Streetscapes Festival the weekend of September 28-30 (the 30th coinciding with the Northside House Tour).

Several businesses within about a mile of one another were all slated to be open by February 2012. Actually Goessling IGA in Clifton was supposed to be open earlier. The other 2 were in Northside. Django Western Taco is still off in the future sometime but The Listing Loon wine & craft beer shop will be opening Saturday the 14th @ 6PM in the old Art Damage Lodge, 4124 Hamilton Avenue as a part of Northside Second Saturday April edition.

Listing Loon on PhaseBuch

Goessling IGA Still in Limbo

Missing in the article is the plight of the people hired to work there who haven't been able to work months after they thought they would have started due to the anti-business delays.
THX to local Fox 19 for keeping up the coverage on this. (altho, I'd say Clifton is central - not west)

Clifton IGA Still A Ways Off

Apparently everybody's hired but the old building has caused some remodeling delays. Owners hope to know the opening date sometime in February.

WXIX story here

Is This the Best DAAP Can Do ?
When I heard UC art students, Steve Hilton,Joshua Smith and Jake Ogelsby, had been busted for graffiti, I thought, hey, maybe they did some good work? nope - just the typical brain dead tagging you'd expect from some dumbass kid.
sheesh....

WKRC story here

Another Saturday Night ?
Not in alluring Northside !
Starting Friday night in swank Clifton, Holidays in Clifton will be celebrated from 6-9PM with carriage rides, Santa & stuff around the Ludlow Avenue business district.
But I was talking about Saturday in Northside……
Did I mention the Northside Map of Awesomeness ?
Create crafts for kids & families all day long at Happen Inc. They will be working on fixing grub for Santa (my dad always told me Santa preferred beer & chips over cookies & milk).
Starting at 10AM at North Presbo, the Cincinnati Holiday Art Show features locally made arts & crafts til 4PM
Northside Second Saturday runs from 6-10PM with specials from any number of Northside businesses:
Fabricate hosts the opening reception of Natural Logic
There will be new works by Emily Moorhead 6-10PM
NVISION slashes prices 20% on handmade items
Take the Cake will serve dinner til 9PM
The Painted Fish is open late - 3:30 AM
The Vocal Arts Ensemble at St. Boniface present Christmas carols 7:30PM
Revenge Pinata, ShadowRaptr, Majestic Man, Mr. Brown’s Mysterious Sounds will play at Northside Tavern
2 Headed Dog, The Pariahs perform at The Comet
Boozing My Religion at Mayday
There will be music on the 2nd floor of the Hoffner Lodge from 6:30 PM featuring April 8, Laura Linville , Lisak and Rowe & The Hypnotic Jerks
Then, on Sunday, back up to Clifton with Second Sunday Family Showtime at CCAC with a performance of The Gift of the Magi
yup it's all happening on Metro Route 17!

Scenic Clifton Mill for the Holidays

Clifton Mill in Clifton, OH (just east of Yellow Springs) is one of the oldest operating mills in Ohio and has for some decades now celebrated the holidays with their Annual light Display. Unfortunately, on 12/6 the flooding Little Miami River, that drives the mills wheel, rushed over it's banks & creamed some of this year's display. Operators canceled events for Tuesday night & hope to be back up & running ASAP. The owners are on the prowl for every strand of lights they can get their mitts on. Dunno if you should stand guard in your front yard or not…



Besides the 3,500,000 lights decorating the mill & old covered bridge, the mill also offers a Santa Claus museum & workshop, a miniature village & hot dogs, soup, cornbread, hot chocolate, cookies, pie & popcorn.

Noose Son story here

What do these guys have in common?
Ace Hardware, Clifton
Ace Hardware, Northside
Adrian Durbin Florist
Algin Office Equipment
Ambar India
American Apparel
American Heritage Flooring
Amol India
Antonelli Institute of Art
Apna India
Aquarius Star
Aronoff Center
Arby's
Arlin's
Baba Budan's
Bacall's
Bagel Brothers
Below Zero Lounge
Biagio's Bistro
The Blue Jay
Bruegger's Bagels
Cadillac Ranch
Campus Cyclery
Chameleon
Check Smart
Chicago Gyro
China Kitchen
Chipotle
Cincinnati Main Library
Clifton library
Clifton Natural Foods
Clifton Post office
Clifton Wines
College Hill Coffee
The Comet
Contemporary Arts Center
CVS
Darou Salam
Donato's Pizza
Ellanet
Esquire Theatre
Extreme Fashions
Good Samaritan Hospital
Goodie's Barbecue
Graeter's
Grammer's
Greg's Antiques
The Grove
Habaneros
Hamilton County Court House
Happen
Harry's Bar & Pizza
Hazel Glas
Honey
Javier's ~ or whatever it's called now
Jeff Ruby's Steakhouse
Jerusalem Restaurant
KFC/Taco Hell
Kilamanjaro
KoSho
La Rosa's
Lenhardt's
Mac's Pizza
Main Event
Mediterranean Foods
Melt
Mishiella's
Mixx
MOTR Pub
Murphy's Pub
Nada
Naru
National City Bank
Nicholson's
Northside Bar
North Side Bank & Trust
Northside library
Northside Tavern
NorthSlice
NVision
NYPD
Ohio Book Store
Ohio Check Cashers
Olive's
Park & Vine
Park Chili
Penn Station
Picnic & Pantry
PNC Bank
Proud Rooster
Richter & Phillips
Rohs Street Cafe
Schaeper's Pharmacy
Schwartz's Point
Shadeau Breads
Shake It Records
Shell Gas
Sidewinder Coffee
Sitwell's Coffee House
Skyline
Some Clothing Store in Clifton
Some Jewelry Store in Clifton
Starbucks's
Subway
Sophia's
Take the Cake
The Tax Place
Taylor Jameson
Thai Cafe
Thai Express
Tink's
Toko Baru
U.C.
White Castle

Yep, if you want a burrito, a coffee, listen to jazz, rock, bluegrass or maybe just get a master's degree - it's all available on Metro's RT 17.
~ and, yeah, I know the list isn't complete….

Wednesday Fun in Central Cincinnati

On Wednesdays, the Clifton Cultural Arts Center presents Wednesdays on the Green – two months of free outdoor evening performances, every Wednesday in June and July at 7 p.m. Pack a picnic from the Northside Farmer’s Market (4 - 7:30) or get some grub from the Habanero Burrito Truck, Café de Wheels and Dojo Gelato & enjoy:
June 8 - The Faux Frenchmen
June 15 - Tracy Walker and Friends
June 22 - Firelytes Steel Drum Band
June 29 - The Honeycombs
July 6 - Acapulco Salsa
July 13 - Art Gore and the Jazz Knights
July 20 - Jake Speed and the Freddies
July 27 - Rebecca Pronsky
There are free hands-on art activities for kids. CCAC is located at 3711 Clifton Ave. – shows will be on the front lawn, unless it rains - then the third floor auditorium. Northside Farmers Market is at Hoffner Park on Hamilton @ Blue Rock.
The 17 will connect Northside & Clifton on a pretty regular frequency.

Keller's to Reopen

Keller's IGA, in Clifton, will reopen by fall under new ownership & possibly with a new name. Being Cincinnati, the name Keller's will probably still be used for years to come. The new owner, Steve Goessling intends to remodel the store & shift focus a bit. The last owner wanted to do pretty much the same but lacked funds. Goessling, with other IGAs under his belt, appears to be on sounder financial footing.
This store can't open soon enough.
Fishwrap story here.

A Better Plan For IGA?

The recent closing of Keller's IGA in Clifton has sent shockwaves through the community. While the owners thought they would be re-opened in short order, that has not happened. Owners claim they had agreements with state tax & AG offices. Those posts changed on January 10th, however. Who knows where IGA stands now?
Being an anchor store for that business district, the closing will likely have a detrimental effect on nearby businesses. As Ohio needs every tax dollar they can get, this action is about like cutting off one's nose to spite one's face. If the other stores' sales decline, the state will get less & less revenue.
Perhaps a better plan would be for the state to keep the store open, maybe force it to go for bankruptcy & continue to collect taxes & maintain the quality of life in the neighborhood.

City Bleat article here.

NOTE - When I went looking for an IGA logo to post at the top, I had no idea I would find so many pictures of naked ladies named Iga.
sheesh

Neighborhood Festivals
Cincinnati has festivals out the wazoo. There are large festivals downtown & smaller festivals in the neighborhoods throughout the year. It's amazing Cincinnatians aren't the fattest, drunkest people on the face of the planet. The thing is, the neighborhood festivals that bring in people from outside the city are few and far between. This is a shame because people that just see the downtown don't get to see what a great place this is to live. Driving everybody to the central business district is not likely going to procure any new residents.
One of the festivals that did bring people from the region into the neighborhoods was the Gay Pride Celebration. It was kind of unique in that it was held in two neighboring neighborhoods, Northside and Clifton and tied them together with a parade over the Ludlow Viaduct (that always seemed like it would be fun). It will be moving downtown this summer as well as moving from June to July 4. This has some Northsidians upset but I doubt the Pride crowd accounted for much of the Rock-n-Roll Carnival & 4th of July Parade crowds. It still sucks in promoting the neighborhood, tho.
I doubt the Harvest Home parade brings in many out-of-towners except for ex-residents. Hyde Park used to host a huge flower show that moved out to Coney Island & has now moved out to the middle of nowhere. Hyde Park is definitely a neighborhood the city should be promoting.
The Pagan Pride celebrations that brought people in from throughout the region used to be in Covington's Goebel Park but had to move for fire and late hours. They operate out of friggin' Batavia, now. That demographic isn't too strong on home buying, tho.
While it's great to bring people to the CBD, it's been discussed ad nauseum about how the sports facilities bring people in but they tend to just shoot right out again after the event. They might spend some money at a bar or restaurant or maybe even stay at a hotel, but I doubt they do much to lure new residents. Showing off our neighborhoods is important to growing the city in a way downtown events just can't.

I Have No Life and I Must Go Out
yeah, I know it's dumb. Thought of it on the stairway. Ellison can sue me...

Friday Dec. 11
Holidays on Ludlow
6-9PM
Clifton Gaslight District
Telford Street and Ludlow Avenue
Carolers, giveaways, refreshments, Fairview Clifton German School Choir, free carriage rides and Santa Claus

Etchings and Screenprints by Chelsey Hughes
6-10PM
NVISION
4577 Hamilton Avenue
medical anomalies, human oddities and a fascination with the strange

Raymond Holiday
6-9PM
Thunder-Sky, Inc.
4573 Hamilton Avenue
Unique holiday gifts - limited-edition prints, original artwork, holiday cards, bumper stickers & T-shirts

Saturday December 12
Patterns, Patterns, Patterns Wrapping Paper
10AM-5PM
Happen inc.
4201 Hamilton Avenue
Learn about repetition, and make your own holiday wrapping paper

Northside Arts Holiday Art Sale
11AM - 5PM
Off the Avenue Studios
1546 Knowlton
Local artists selling paintings, pottery, photographs, ceramics, glass, jewelry

Brass Choir Concert
1PM
Robert J. Werner Recital Hall - UC

Made in Cincinnati
7-11PM
Fabricate
4012 Hamilton Avenue
Collaboration between Fabricate and UC DAAP Fashion Design Student Association

Christmas with the Cincinnati Boychoir
7:30-8:30PM
First United Church of Christ
5808 Glenview Avenue

Sunday December 13th
Chili Taste-Off
noon-4PM
Northside Tavern
4163 Hamilton Avenue
15 chilis, voting, happy hour pricing, Bengals vs. Vikings on big screen, games and giveaways and music by Brad Lark. Benefits Faces Without Places

Christmas at Vocal Arts Ensemble
5PM
St Boniface Church
1750 Chase Avenue

Things To Do


Ain't Nothin' To Do
Way up north outside of Dayton, World War I aviation show at the Wright Pat Air Force Museum -er- the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force on Friday, Sep 25 7:30AM - 5PM

Abstract Trances: Color, Vision, Sensation at Visionaries & Voices, 3841 Spring Grove Avenue, Sep 25 from 8:30AM - 4PM

StreetScapes Street Painting Festival Saturday Sep 26/27 from 10A - 6P, Telford at Ludlow
Due to rain, the Street Painting Festival is merging with the CCAC Art Sale

Out of the Attic Art Sale on Saturday & Sunday, Sep 26/27 at the Clifton Cultural Arts Center, 3711 Clifton Avenue
Info - 961-6762

Early Settlers and Freedom Fighters Tours at Wesleyan Cemetery, 4003 Colerain Avenue Sep 26 @ 1 & 3PM
info - 513-542-2909
In the event of heavy rain, the tours will be moved back to Sunday

Northside Cumminsville Walking Tour sponsored by the Cincinnati Preservation Association. Tours meet at Sidewinder Coffee & Teas so you can get all cranked up & run the tour so the CPA guide can get home. Tour starts Sep 27 at 11AM

Weekend Walkabout at Spring Grove Cemetery, 4521 Spring Grove Cemetery Sep 27 @ 1PM.

And as usual, Downtown is completely dead, so sad.....

Clifton House Tour
Sunday May 10, 2009, 1-5pm
Every third year on Mother’s Day, a group of Clifton homeowners open their doors to greater Cincinnati and say, “Come on in and have a look around!” This year there will be homes from the 1800s to the 1950s highlighting several different styles, including Victorian, American Foursquare, Tudor, and a Frank Lloyd Wright. The event has drawn people from all over Cincinnati, and has been a great way to spend part of Mother’s Day.
Throughout the tour’s history, the gracious owners of 62 Clifton homes have shared this special Sunday with their neighbors.
Tour tickets will be available in advance at:

• Columbia Savings Bank
• Esquire Theatre
• Ludlow Wines
• Olive's
• Skyline Chili
• U.S. Bank
• Keller’s IGA

Tickets can also be purchased the day of the tour at CCAC, Annunciation, and the shuttle stop outside Graeter’s. Parking will be available at the Clifton Business Lot, Annunciation, and Fairview-Clifton Elementary School on Clifton Avenue. Ticket prices are $15 in advance and $20 on the day of the tour.
A shuttle will be available from each parking location to shorten your walking time and improve your chances of a leisurely viewing of all the homes.
For more information about the tour, call 513-861-2000.

And after the tour, head on down the hill for some excellent vittles & hooch in the Happy Valley of Northside.

On Monday February 23, 2009 at 7:30 PM Clifton Town Meeting will be getting together with architects from KZF at the Clifton Recreation Center on McAlpin Avenue to discuss designs for the Clifton Plaza (the vacant lot) at 333 Ludlow Avenue.
I'm thinking a gothic garden would be cool. All the Cliftonian goth kids could hang out and act morose and make cynical remarks about passers by.
naw, not really. There's about a dozen restaurants in that immediate area and nary a place to eat outside. I recommend bagging the architects and planting a tree or two and putting in a few picnic tables. There is probably a fear that picnic tables will attract undesirables and produce litter, but I say "functionality over fear".
yeah, I'm not gonna get elected to anything.....

The Holidays on Ludlow
12/19/08 celebrate the holidays on Ludlow Avenue in Clifton with

• Free carriage rides
• Strolling carolers
• Prizes
• The Fairview German Choir
• Crafts workshop
• Santa Claus

Parking in the merchan's lot will be free after 5 PM.
And afterwards, (you knew this was coming) head on down to Northside for even more shopping, fine food and entertainment !

Art Damage Lodge
4120 Hamilton Ave.

Banner and Ross Gallery
3841 Spring Grove Ave.
513-861-4333
hrs: 8:30 AM - 8:00 PM Mon-Thurs, 8:30 AM - 4:30 PM Fri

The Blue Jay
4154 Hamilton Ave.
513-541-0847
hrs: 8:00 AM - 3:30 PM Mon-Sat

Blue Rock Tavern
4221 Hamilton Ave.
hrs: 5:00 PM - 2:30 AM Mon-Fri, 6:00 PM - 2:30 AM Sat

Bonomi
1677 Blue Rock Ave.
513-541-7501

Boswell Alley
1686 Blue Rock Ave.
513-681-8100
hrs: 11:00 AM - 10:00 PM Mon-Thurs, 11:00 AM - 11:00 PM Fri-Sat, Bar til 2:30 AM Mon-Sat

Bug House Video
4170 Hamilton Avenue
513-541-3700
hrs: 4:00 PM - 10:00 PM Mon-Thurs, 4 - 11:00 PM Fri, noon - 11:00 PM Sat, noon - 9:00 PM Sun

Bullfishes
4023 Hamilton Ave.
513-79-4999

The C & D Cafe
1714 Hanfield Ave
513-541-9881

Club Bronz
4029 Hamilton Ave.
513-591-2100

The Comet
4579 Hamilton Ave.
513-541-8900
hrs: 4:00 PM - 2:30 AM Sun-Sat

Gajah Wong West
3937 Spring Grove Ave.
513-591-3935
hrs: 5:30 PM - 10:00 PM, bar open late

Ginger's Bar
1701 Blue Rock Ave.
hrs: til 2:30 AM

The Gypsy Hut
4231 Spring Grove Ave.
513-541-0999
hrs: 8:00 PM - 2:30 AM

The Hideaway
44163 Hamilton Ave.
513-542-2444
hrs: 5:00 PM - 9:30 PM Tues-Thurs, 5:00 - 11:00 Fri-Sat, 11:00 AM - 3:00 PM Sun

Honey
4034 Hamilton Ave.
513-541-4300
hrs: 11:30 AM - 9:00 PM Tues-Thurs, 11:30 AM - 10:PM Fri-Sat, 11:00 AM - 2:00 PM Sun

Junker's tavern
4156 Langland Ave.
513-541-5470

Marshiella's
Hamilton Ave.
11:30 AM - 2:00 PM Tues-Fri

Melt
4165 Hamilton Ave.
513-681-MELT
hrs: 11:00 AM - 9:00 PM Mon-Thurs, 11:00 AM - 10 PM Fri-Sat

NYPD Pizza
1566 Chase Ave.
513-681-NYPD
http://www.nypdpizza.com
hrs: 11:00 AM - 11:00 PM Mon-Thurs, 11:00 AM midnight Fri-Sat

Northside Bar
Hamilton Ave.

Northside Tavern
4163 Hamilton Ave.
513-541-3603
hrs: 5:00v PM - 2:30 AM Mon-Fri, 8:30 PM - 2:30 AM Sat-Sun

NVISION
4577 Hamilton Avenue
513-542-4577
hrs: 2:00 PM - 9:00 PM Wed-Sat

Park Chili
4160 Hamilton Ave.
513-541-9902
hrs: 7:00 AM - 7:00 PM mon-Fri, 7:00 AM - 2:00 PM Sat, 9:00 AM - 1:00 PM Sun

Portofino's
1609 Chase Ave.
513-542-5808
hrs: 10:00 AM - 10:00 PM Mon-Sat

The Serpent
4042 Hamilton Ave.
513-681-6969
hrs: 9:00 PM - 2:30 AM

Sidewainder Coffee & Tea
4181 Hamilton Ave.
513-542-8321
hrs: 7:00 AM - 9:00 PM Mon-Fri, 8:00 AM - 8:00 PM Sat-Sun

Slim's
4046 Hamilton Ave.
513-681-6500
hrs: 5:30 PM - til he food's gone, 11:00 AM - 3:00 PM Sun

Taco Bell/KFC
4147 Hamilton Ave.
513-541-7861

Take the Cake
4137 Hamilton Ave.
513-241-2772

White Castle
3940 Ludlow Ave.
513-542-7291
hrs: 24/7