Cincinnati's Metro's routing and scheduling are pretty exclusively geared towards the notion of getting dayshift workers from the neighborhoods to the central business district.
This routing scheme is getting kinda shaky as businesses & homes shift here and there but Metro seems to be slowly adapting.
Where their model really fails and they seem to be doing nothing about it - is scheduling.
While fine for standard dayshifters, the frequency of trips in the 11 PM to 1 AM time slot makes it hard for second and third shift workers to use the system. The problem gets even worse if the rider has to transfer. This can mean 30 - 40 minute waits at midnight at Government Square in January. Frequently these buses are very off schedule, too.
This plan does not address the needs of a society that is increasingly becoming a 24 hr society.
Even as a traditional dayshift society, a common activity is the worker going out on weekend evenings.
Metro's schedules are exactly the same on Friday nights as Monday through Thursday. Saturday is even worse with less frequent trips and some routes not being served at all. I doubt all routes would need the increase in trips on Friday and Saturday evenings, but investigating, locating and targeting centers of entertainment for more active service seems to be a good place to start.
Metro tries to work with different areas - primarily in the outer regions (King's Island) but neighborhood business organizations might do well to petition Metro (or Metro petitioning communities) about adding these late night runs.
As the city embarks on a streetcar system, I wonder if they will continue this antiquated and provincial scheduling scheme. It makes little sense in the downtown area that is a hub of entertainment and conventions to not have frequent late night service.

This May 3rd and 4th, Cincinnati celebrates Cannabis Liberation Day along with hundreds of cities around the World.

On Saturday, May 3rd
START THE CELEBRATION AT HEMPROCK'S MUSIC HEMPFEST
Riverfront West Sportspark Pavilion
7958 Harrison Ave.
in Miamitown, Ohio
Doors open 7:30pm

Music Guests include:
EAZY
The Frankl Project
Open Mind Productions
VEDGE &
The One Man Electrical Band

Also featuring BURNDEM GLASS REEFERGIRLS
RAFFLES, VENDING, FOOD & BEER CONCESSIONS.

Ticket price is $5.00 a Head plus party all night with a primitive campsite for only $5.00 for each tent.

On Sunday, May 4th
Head Downtown for the Rally & March!
Fountain Square 3:00-6:00pm

At the GMM Downtown Rally, we'll have Speakers, Hemp organizations, Hemp & Drug war info, plus lots of fun, including!!!...

Music Guests VEDGE & EAZY

Prizes for Best Political Signs & Best Rally Outfits & Costumes!

A DRUM CIRCLE at 5:15!!! LED BY RICH SPIRIT DRUMS
Please bring your drums & other musical toys & join in!

MARCH STARTS AT FOUNTAIN SQUARE AT 5:45, LED BY REEFERROACH & THE DRUMMERS!
ENDS AT THE FEDERAL BUILDING AT 6:00pm!!!

Guest Speakers & Organizations include:
Gatewood Galbraith, Craig Lee, HempRock, North Ohio NORML, Women’s Organization for National Prohibition Reform (WONPR), Students for Sensible Drug Policy (SSDP), Ohio Patient Network, MMJActionNetwork, Kentucky Marijuana Party, Conservatives For Cannabis, Cincy Attorney Timothy Smith, Paul Green, Blunt Politics, Cincy Bud Kid.

Guest MC's Doc Diablo & Senor Bull, Colonel Cannabis!

For more details on both events email or call the
HempRock Hempline
513-68-4-HEMP
www.hemprock.com


SPONSORS...

HUSTLER CINCINNATI
411 Elm St.
Cincinnati, Ohio 513-421-3769
1038 Lebanon St.
Monroe, Ohio 513-539-6969

HEMPTATIONS CINCINNATI
2034 Madison Rd.
Cincy, Ohio 513-871-HEMP

RANDY'S WIRED PAPERS
1-888-34-RANDYS

Shortly after moving to Cincinnati I found the super cool hillside stairway system that gives peds an easy shortcut between neighborhoods.
This pedestrian path/stairway is really wicked cool, tho.

Note all the criminals congregating.....

Civil injustice strikes Ohio

Cleveland Plain Dealer
Bob Ewing

For 40 years, Meredith and Luther Ricks did everything the right way. They worked hard, saved carefully and raised a family in their modest Lima home. They were poised to enjoy their retirement years in peace.
Despite their four decades of hard work, however, an absurdly unjust law has turned their hope for the American Dream into an outrageous nightmare at the hands of the Cleveland FBI.
Both of the Ricks spent their careers at the Ohio Steel Foundry, eschewing lavish spending to save for a comfortable retirement. Not trusting banks, Meredith and Luther kept their life savings in a safe inside the house.

Last summer, two violent intruders broke into the Rickses' house. Luther and his son fought with the burglars. After his son was stabbed, Luther broke free, got his gun and saved the family by shooting one of the intruders and scaring the other off.
When Lima police arrived, the Ricks' nightmare should have been over - but it was just beginning.
The police entered the house and discovered the family safe. Because a small amount of marijuana was inside the home - used by Luther to ease his painful arthritis, hip replacement and shingles - the officers decided to confiscate Meredith and Luther's entire life savings, more than $400,000.
Shortly afterward, the FBI got involved - not to help the stricken family, but to claim the money for the federal government.
Such is the result of civil forfeiture laws, which represent one of the most profound assaults on our rights today.
Civil forfeiture can apply to virtually any property: cars, houses, boats and, as the Rickses' case demonstrates, even money. The property can be seized merely on suspicion that it was used in connection with a crime or resulted from criminal activity.
The police did not charge Luther for the shooting - he acted in self-defense - or for the small quantity of marijuana he used as medicine. Under civil forfeiture, the government can confiscate money or property without proving that a person is guilty of criminal misconduct.

While criminal forfeiture requires that a property owner be found guilty of a crime beyond a reasonable doubt, civil forfeiture does not require that the owner even be accused of a crime, much less convicted. The government proceeds directly against the property it wants to take, which means owners are not entitled to any of the protections they would receive if they were accused of a crime.
This bizarre practice was not widespread in the United States until alcohol prohibition and has been used extensively since drug prohibition stiffened in the 1970s and 1980s.
The FBI's adoption of the Lima police's forfeiture is not unusual - the federal government regularly seizes property that was originally confiscated by local authorities and then splits the resulting profits. In Missouri, for example, authorities were recently caught turning forfeitures over to the federal government in order to avoid a legal requirement that proceeds go to schools.

The abuses don't stop there. In the 1990s, police in Louisiana were stealing innocent people's property by fabricating drug crimes. They used the proceeds for ski trips to Aspen.
Civil forfeiture is now a nationwide epidemic with proceeds from federal civil forfeiture alone reaching hundreds of millions of dollars each year. This is part of a larger trend over the past several decades of weakened property rights protection.
In 2005, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in the landmark Kelo case that government officials can use eminent domain to buy your home, business, church or farm and then hand your property over to another private entity so long as the new owner promises to generate more tax revenue with your land.
Importantly, a nationwide backlash is under way. Ohio leads the country with a historic unanimous ruling in 2006 by the state's Supreme Court that reined in the awesome power of land confiscation. Forty-two states have now reformed their laws on land grabs, making it harder for governments to take your property to boost their tax revenues.
We desperately need a similar backlash against the abuses of civil forfeiture. Thankfully, Meredith and Luther Ricks are fighting back. With free legal help, this week they filed a notice with the Cleveland office of the FBI, demanding the return of their life savings.
Governments should protect, not plunder, our property. Common sense and justice demand that the rampant abuse of civil forfeiture must end.
Ewing is the assistant director of communications for the Institute for Justice, the nation's leading legal advocate for property rights.

Story here.

Another reason to fear downtown Cincinnati
Wild Horses

Horse takes off with carriage
BY CARRIE WHITAKER
What started out as a calm carriage ride downtown for four adults turned ugly Saturday night when the horse pulling the carriage tossed its driver and took off.
Cincinnati Police found the driver of the carriage near Vine and 6th streets and believe the horse galloped about a block-and-a-half south on a Vine Street sidewalk before passengers jumped or were dumped out of the carriage.
One passenger, a woman in her 20s, suffered a head injury. Cincinnati Sgt. Matt Vogeler said her injury was not life-threatening. The driver was transported to the hospital, with what looked like a back injury, Vogeler said.
After losing the passengers, the horse pulled the carriage, then on its side, another half block, dropping horse treats and horse droppings along the way before police were able to stop the horse.
A police unit chaperoned the horse back to its Covington-based business. The name of the carriage company was not immediately available Saturday night.
Vogeler said there was minor damage to the Macy's building and damage to the carriage, but no other damage was reported.

Story here.

Wrecking Springfield
Taking the lead of Building Cincinnati, I give you a one shot of Wrecking Springfield. A few interior pictures of the soon to be demolished Springfield North High school and some shots on and around Plum Street of homes slated for demolition to make way for the big new hospital.
North High


Plum Street

Sneak Peek at new Springfield High School

Residents interested in getting a sneak peek at the new Springfield High School can do so on Saturday, April 5, from 1 to 4 p.m.
District officials and board members will be on hand to showcase the construction progress of the combined high school set to open to students on Sept. 8.
Tours will be offered, while students and staff answer questions about the high school, located at 701 E. Home Road.
Organizers from the Springfield Alumni Foundation will also be on hand to answer questions or take donations for an auditorium in the new high school.
The $60 million project is just a few months away from completion. North High is set to be demolished shortly after the last day of school on May 20 to make way for parking lots and green space.
If you can't make Saturday's event, there will be another on Wednesday from 4 to 7 p.m.
Students must be in eighth grade or older to take the tour. All participants must wear long pants and close-toed shoes.
The open house is handicap accessible, but the tour is not. For more information call (937) 505-2800.

Story here.

UPDATE
-PICS-
here
here
here
here

Installing Windows Vista Business SP1 on a MacBook Pro
First dilemma - how the hell do you open the Windows Vista box ?
It looks like a book and has a curved front along the left side of the box. But it doesn't open along the left side.
After breaking the box into pieces & still not being able to access the disk, I look online for Windows support and find out the box opens along the Z axis from down on the lower right.
This is going to go well.
I begin to partition my HD with Boot Camp Assistant. A few minutes into this and the computer crashes. oboy.
Fortunately, the partial partitioning somehow ate up a bunch of diskspace that I do not know how to clear, but now I do not have enough room to install Vista or do much else on the Mac side, either, for that matter. So it's time to wipe & reinstall Mac & lose my purloined Acrobat & InDesign.
No rest for the wicked.....
Re-installed Mac
Ran updates
Everything looks ok
Start up Bootcamp, partition works ok - start Windows installation.....
yeesh
This thing starts and stops so many times I don't know what the hell is going on.
Looked like everything was done, so I inserted the Mac installer disk to load Apple specific drivers & tried to run the installer but I kept getting a message saying I could not install because I had a "pending restart".
Sorta weird as I never saw a dialogue box saying I needed to restart and that I could do it now or later. So I restarted, and then I was able to install the drivers & Bootcamp control panel. It is just like the typical Mac startup disk control panel for anybody who remembers or still boots into OS9.
So, 4.5 hrs after I started I was booting back & forth between OSs.
Now I just have to install plug ins, applications on the Mac side, set up email and Airport....
ugh
Do that tomorrow.

Well, according to this article in the Fishwrap, CityLink will be putting a stop to West End redevelopment and will probably throw a wet blanket on OTR and The Brewery District's plans to improve their neighborhoods as the suburban non-denominational "churches" will suck the poor and their problems from the surrounding tri-state area and concentrate them in barracks in an old factory in the West End.
Congratulations. A delicate area that offered some hope is probably now doomed to be crowded with wandering, derelict drug addicts looking to score and to support their habits by preying on anybody who will still live in the area.
Triumph of the Ignoroids.

Streetcar arguments that make me laugh.

Criminals will wait at stops to make their getaway from crime scenes on a streetcar (that will probably have internal cameras) along a fixed route at 25mph (tops) while making frequent stops.(Criminals are more likely run down a maze of alleyways and backyards or use an old junk car (likely stolen) that is easily discarded.)

Dope dealers and hookers will hang out on streetcars and sell their goods and services. (These people need some privacy to do their work which is why they use fairly deserted neighborhoods to ply their trade.)

People will be shot at like targets in a shooting gallery while riding streetcars because that is what inner city people do. (Disgruntled suburbanites are more likely to fire from wooded hillsides at passing motorists on the highway. People engaged in the black market (that our vice laws provide them) are more concerned with enforcing their illegal deals than in murdering prospective customers.)

Streetcars will be subsidized. (As opposed to a subsidized road/highway system, trash pickup, police service, fire departments, public schools.....)

People don't use a goofy looking bus that is supposed to look like a 19th century trolley car, so nobody will use a modern streetcar (Which has much better entry and exit and actually goes places people want to go all day instead of for a few hours on Fridays.)

It doesn't go anywhere. (As opposed to a system of cul-de-sacs? Points of interest along the proposed streetcar route include Great American Ballpark, Paul Brown Stadium, Music Hall, The Aronoff, Findlay Market, The Contemporary Art Center... no, no Applebee's along the way.)

It only serves a small segment of the population. (As opposed to YOUR neighborhood?)

It's too expensive. (The estimated ROI is greater than 2:1 and de-blighting a central neighborhood and subsequently reducing the blight of the surrounding neighborhoods is priceless. It is an investment to provide opportunities for current and new residents.)

It will be full of bums. (These guys save every penny for dope/booze. They would rather walk 5 miles for a fix than spend a dime on transit.)

We need to eliminate crime before we invest in anything new. (A lot of the crime in the downtown area exists elsewhere but is not out in the open. Anyway, we haven't solved crime in about 6000 years of human history, so whatchagonnado ?)

It doesn't serve enough people. (It is an investment in growth. Ridership will likely be lower in the beginning than later as more housing and business come online.)

The streetcar is a step backwards. (Right. It is, but it's an old neighborhood we are talking about. We are in a position of having a basketful of lemons & we should commence to making some goddamned lemonade NOW. The downtown area was designed prior to the automobile and, to make this old area work, we need to use the transit method that worked before. Communities need to work and compete on their unique strengths and qualities. Streetcars in downtown Cincinnati make sense - streetcars in Springdale make no sense.)

Some real helpful management tips (that might land you in the hospital)

I don't understand the media's amazement that a black guy could become governor of New York. Do they think black guys are dumb ? Do they think that the Klan and racists in NY are so prominent that they would have the ability to keep a black guy out of office ?
Paterson's dad was a successful politician in NY. As I look at elected officials across the country, I see plenty of black men and women holding office. Heck, Rapid City, SD, with maybe a 1% black population has/had a black mayor.
What I don't see out there are many handicapped politicians. Why isn't this a bigger deal than the color of this guy's skin ?
Paterson has to be a seriously smart and brave man to take on such a post with his handicap. A politician needs to be able to "get around". Even being in a wheelchair would make it hard to do one's job as an elected official. Not being able to read, to be able to take notes that can be easily found is a tremendous handicap for a person who has to assess problems and then find ways to deal with them.
Dealing with people face to face is also a problem for blind and visually impaired people as they cannot make out people's facial expressions or body language.
By all accounts, David Paterson has dealt with all these adversities admirably. I hope he succeeds for himself & for New York.
I just don't understand why the media is so fixated on race over handicap. Black people run the gamut, nowadays, from the boardroom to the homeless shelter. Black people are successful all the time, folks. This one goes to the gimps.

Robert's on Miami

I have had 2 occasion's to eat at Robert's on Miami in downtown Urbana, Ohio. Neither occasion was terribly celebratory (funerals) but the quirky atmosphere, great service and excellent food helped make for delightful events.

Seriously, my dining there has led me to recommend a friggin' restaurant in Urbana, Ohio !

Located at 116 Miami Street, just west of the square, it is easy to find & has a handy parking lot right next door.

they offer a decent wine list and a menu loaded with pasta, seafood & desserts.

Don't let the hideous website and photography fool you !

http://www.robertsonmiami.com/

(their area code is 937)

Springfield, Ohio's People's Choice Awards
Supporting local businesses isn't a priority, unfortunately.
Anyway, be sure to check this out before making your vacation plans.

Restaurant
1. Texas Roadhouse
2. Red Lobster
3. Casey's

Family restaurant
1. Joe's U.S. 40 Grille
2. Collier's
3. Bob Evans

Pizza
1. Hickory Inn
2. Donatos
3. Cassano's

Barbecue
1. Rudy's Smokehouse Bar-B-Que
2. Riddle's Ribs
3. Texas Roadhouse

Sub sandwich
1. Our Hero
2. Subway
3. Penn Station

Breakfast
1. Bob Evans
2. Perkins
3. Cracker Barrel

Burger
1. Wendy's
2. Groeber's Lounge
3. Burger King

Steakhouse
1. Texas Roadhouse
2. Lone Star
3. Casey's

Mexican restaurant
1. Los Mariachis
2. El Toro
3. Mi Jalapeno

Asian restaurant
1. Golden Bowl
2. Hung Lung
3. Golden Chopsticks

Buffet
1. Golden Corral
2. Ryan's (sorry, now out of business)
3. Golden Bowl

Best place to play darts
1. Savoy Lounge (tie)
1. Buffalo Wild Wings (tie)
2. Murphy's Irish Pub

Romantic dinner
1. Casey's
2. Mela Urban Bistro
3. Cecil & Lime Cafe

Best place to shoot pool
1. Backstreet Billiards
2. Forest Lake (tie)
2. Savoy Lounge (tie)

Doughnuts
1. Schuler's
2. Krispy Kreme
3. Tim Hortons

Ice cream
1. Young's Jersey Dairy
2. Hershey's at Smith's Market
3. Dairy Queen

Cup of coffee
1. Tim Hortons
2. Speedway
3. Un Mundo Cafe

Bar
1. Savoy Lounge
2. G.Z. Pete's
3. Blackhorse Tavern

Drive-through carryout
1. Ooh Ooh
2. Wendy's
3. Valero

Best place to skateboard
1. Mitchell Boulevard skate park
2. Enon Park (tie)
2. Yellow Springs Bike Path (tie)

Bowling alley
1. Northridge Lanes
2. Victory Lanes
3. Shamrock

Golf course
1. Reid Park
2. Snyder Park
3. Windy Knoll

Karaoke
1. Murphy's Irish Pub
2. Hero's
3. Savoy Lounge

Festival
1. South Vienna Corn Festival
2. Fair at New Boston
3. Summer Arts Festival

Local band
1. Callahan
2. Cosmos
3. Override

High school marching band
1. Kenton Ridge
2. Shawnee
3. South (tie)
3. Graham (tie)

Teen hangout
1. Upper Valley Mall
2. The After Studio
3. Applebee's

Best place to ride a bike
1. Springfield to Yellow Springs
2. Buck Creek State Park
3. Simon Kenton Bike Path

Best place to stargaze
1. Buck Creek State Park
2. Your backyard
3. George Rogers Clark Park

Best place for kids to play
1. Chuck E. Cheese's
2. Snyder Park
3. Veterans Park

Best place to avoid kids
1. Your home (no, seriously)
2. Rosy's Press Box
3. Savoy Lounge

Best place to people watch
1. Upper Valley Mall
2. Fair at New Boston
3. Dayton International Airport (tie)
3. Yellow Springs (tie)

Hair salon
1. Great Clips
2. The Styling Gallery
3. Oasis

Spa
1. Oasis
2. Reflections
3. Mallia

Best one-tank weekend getaway
1. Cincinnati
2. Hocking Hills
3. Columbus

Thrift store
1. Goodwill
2. St. Vincent De Paul
3. Animal Welfare League

Jeweler
1. David Garrett
2. Kay
3. Ridgewood

Pawn shop
1. Max's
2. Rose City
3. Rich's

Best place to get a tattoo
1. Thin Lizzy's
2. Dream Merchant
3. Gailz Tattooz

Car repair
1. Rogers' Garage
2. Sexton's Shop
3. Bill Marine Auto Center

Book shop
1. Logos Christian Bookstore
2. Barnes & Noble
3. Waldenbooks

Clothing store
1. Kohls
2. Macy's
3. J.C. Penney

Sporting goods store
1. Dick's
2. Meek's
3. Reco

I sure as hell didn't expect to see this while I was flipping past GAC.
The Velvet Underground sure made some good music 40 years ago !
Now, if Brian Paisley would cover Train Comin' Round the Bend.....

R.I.P. William Buckley Jr.

ok, when I was a kid I watched Firingline. I know I'm a geek - you don't have to tell me. When I was older I subscribed to National Review. I really enjoyed Mr Buckley's insight and enjoyed having a reason to bust out the dictionary. When the reins were passed to Willam Kristol, however, the magazine devolved into neocon vomit.

I thought he kicked Germaine Greer's ass in debate & I was appalled when he dismissed a rapper because he couldn't understand his slang (which was largely adopted from jazz slang of hte 30s and 40s).

The USA is largely founded upon liberal ideas but what passes for liberalism these days is hardly liberal. The terms liberal and conservative have been appropriated by political groups who should be required to put little copyright c's at the end of the words to distinguish their use from the proper uses of the words.

That Buckley condemned the Bush administration & it's policies in Iraq was no surprise.

Anyway, here's a few (hastily found) quotes from the guy.

“Even if one takes every reefer madness allegation of the prohibitionists at face value, marijuana prohibition has done far more harm to far more people than marijuana ever could.”

“Liberals claim to want to give a hearing to other views, but then are shocked and offended to discover that there are other views.”

“The best defense against usurpatory government is an assertive citizenry.”

"One can't doubt that the American objective in Iraq has failed - different plans have to be made. And the kernel here is the acknowledgement of defeat."

"One must bear in mind that the expansion of federal activity is a form of eating for politicians."

"Some of my instincts are reprehensible."

heh, I can really relate to the last one.....

Trying to do searches on Google for historic stuff has long been a vexing task. They now have a timeline search function/filter that lets you filter your query by date & then, further drill down into more specific dates that are rated by relevance.
To use it, enter your query, then enter a space and enter "view:timeline"
for example

cincinnati riot view:timeline

pretty sweet