A Little B-Ball

I'm excited about March Madness. Three weeks ago, I would've said that UC could make the tourney and UK was out. Now the Bearcats need to be taken out back and shot while the Wildcats are playing for a higher seed. That should make me miserable.

I will say that, except the past couple weeks, I really enjoyed watching UC play. The kids were playing over their heads all year. I think it'll be realistic for UC to make the NIT next year, with an NCAA bid a long-shot. Still, after the death sentence imposed on this program [much like what IU fans will face the next couple of seasons] Mick Cronin has done an incredible job.

Must See [Local] TV

If you didn't catch it this past Sunday, those in the Cincinnati audience should set the DVR for our PBS station, WCET, on Saturday March 8 at 4pm. The show Sacred Spaces, filmed in HD, examines the history of houses of worship in our city. Watch it and learn a little about architecture and local history. It is most excellent.

A Little Reds Talk

As UC basketball's postseason hopes are all but non-existent now, I'm more focused on Spring Training and the Reds right now. So bear with me as I give a few thoughts on the ball-club about a month before Opening Day:

1. I'm already liking Dusty Baker. Not sure he was the best fit with the Cubs anyway, but looks like he'll work out great here. Unlike the past line of Reds managers [maybe dating back to Davey Johnson?] he has an amazing baseball pedigree. The young players are virtually forced to respect him. I was telling Kelly that, by the end of this season, of the six players with 600 or more home-runs, Dusty will have managed three [Bonds, Sosa, Griffey], and played with a fourth [Hank].
2. Although I like Dusty, I'm a bit disappointed that he's holding back Jay Bruce. The stud 'o' the future will most likely start the season in Louisville. Maybe I'm ticked because he's a keeper on my fantasy league, but I'd like to see him playing big league ball already.
3. That said, I'm feeling pretty good about the Corey Patterson signing. I would be shocked if Norris Hopper and Ryan Freel are both on the 25-man roster at the beginning of the season.
4. And that leads to pitching. The starting rotation is still not fantastic. They have some stellar arms, but some are a tad young. I'd like one more decent starter. Hopper, Freel, maybe even Scott Hatteberg could be some nice trade bait to teams with holes to fill.
5. I'm still holding that the Reds have a great chance to win the Central. The Cubs are overrated, the Brewers are spastic, and the Cards aren't what they used to be. If the rotation gets solid and they avoid major injuries, Cincinnati could make the postseason.
6. But even if they don't, I'm OK with that. I'm loving that Bob Castellini is investing in the ball-club. It started small [bringing in professional announcers], built itself up [adding a quality manager as well as a solid closer], and is now focused toward the future. Note this article that explains how the Reds shelled out to get the rights to a 16 year-old Dominican phenom. The effects of this move might not benefit the club for five years or so, but it speaks volumes about how they view the future.

In short, I'm excited about baseball already.

In The News Again

Sorta. Not really. But kinda. The local free mag, Cin Weekly, tried to break down Cincinnati's Westside verses Eastside conflict. Really it was one of the least impressive attempts I've read about this topic.

Anyway, they did an online poll asking for opinions and I filled it out and they used one of my responses. When asked the question what makes the Eastside better, among other things I responded:

"Columbia Parkway. This might sound ridiculous, but it's one of the best drives in the city."

It's true. Drive down Columbia Parkway some afternoon and see for yourself. River Road can't compare.

Still, after 24 years living on the westside and now eight on the eastside, I'm not convinced either is truly better. Just different.

This city, however, is amazing.

To the Needy, Not the Greedy

News hit this last weekend that the Kroger in Walnut Hills could be closing by the end of the year. This could be devastating to much of the community as it is the only major grocery store between Clifton and Hyde Park. There are many in our community who do not have cars and would have to hop on a bus in order to get groceries. After chewing on this for a few days, I have some observations to share. Observation 1: I've only been shopping at that Kroger a few times, and never for more that a couple items [we do our regular grocery shopping at the Biggs in Hyde Park]. We have chosen not to shop at our local Kroger. In my opinion, the Walnut Hills location is their worst store in the tri-state area. The food is never as fresh and the prices are higher than other stores. While all around the city [including Price Hill and Over-the-Rhine] they've attempted to fix up their stores, this location remains virtually untouched for twenty years. It is my understanding is that the Kroger Co. had no desire for a Walnut Hills location but was "guilted" into it in the early 1980's.

Observation 2: Kroger complains that the Walnut Hills location struggles to turn a profit. One of the reasons they cite is current sales. I find this interesting in light of the influx of people moving into the area. I'm convinced that there are more people living in the community than there were even five years ago, and people with higher incomes. You have to wonder, with more people moving in, why Kroger would now decide to close that store. It seems they could be poised to make even more profits. Which brings me to . . .

Observation 3: Another reason for shutting down the store is that Kroger does not own the Walnut Hills building. The Enquirer article linked above quotes one Kroger executive saying, "Because we lease the building and also pay rent on the land, our monthly rent in Walnut Hills is significantly higher than in similar-size stores in comparable locations." This is the aspect that is stressed the most in the article, with Kroger saying a lease renegotiation is critical to them staying in the neighborhood.

All this leads me to my conclusions:

Conclusion 1: Kroger understands how important this store is to the community. In a few weeks the community council will meet again and I'm sure this issue will be at the top of the agenda. I've already heard that some local churches might get involved to advocate Kroger staying. Voices will be raised, public officials will be contacted, and the company will answer back: talk to our landlord about lowering rent and we'll consider it.

Conclusion 2: That landlord, the suburban Cincinnati-based Shawnee Investments [about whom I could find nothing online] has no huge stake in the neighborhood and doesn't need Kroger as a tenant. If they left, there would probably be someone else who would want that space/land. I would think someone would be interested in buying a good chunk of Peebles' Corner to develop it. Basically, the land is probably worth more than the rent they get from Kroger anyway. So even if it closed, Shawnee Investments would be fine. So I finally arrive at . . .

Ultimate Conclusion: Kroger is actually making a power play for the city to step up and give them funds for them to maintain the Walnut Hills location. Whether it means a remodeling or just a dirt cheap lease, they're going to work the system for all it's worth. They'll watch local community leaders work their butts off to try to get Kroger a better deal and they'll reap the rewards. And they'll do their best to avoid negative PR by saying they couldn't afford it.*

Now I'm not saying this is anti-American. Kroger is a business and they have an obligation to shareholders to be profitable. But I am saying that it's rather sleazy trying to use a community in this way. The Greater Cincinnati area helped make Kroger what it is. Barney Kroger recognized this and invested his earned wealth back into this city. But now the corporation is no longer a family/local company and will do whatever it takes to get whatever they want [five years ago they threatened to leave the city if they didn't finance their downtown parking garage]. And if they get what they want here, it will be tax-payers who pay for it.

And using a bunch of people who really can't afford to shop anywhere else as bargaining chips is B.S.

So we'll monitor the situation and see what we can do to get involved. We'll even contemplate if it would be appropriate for Echo to get involved. I say "contemplate" because it's not a given; it's an ethical minefield, really. Do you promote/encourage corporate greed to help your community? Even though this is a serious situation, Walnut Hills will survive. But it would severely alter the community's make-up, perhaps driving even more lower-class folk away.

And that, by the way, is yet another reason I shop at Biggs.

*Kroger stock today is going for about $26 a share. That's almost double of what it was five years ago, the results of steady improvement. So the company is still definitely making money.

Choose Wisely

Ohioans who complained that their presidential primary votes would be unnecessary were sorely mistaken.* Ohio could very well determine the Democratic nominee this year, so I'd say things will certainly get more interesting around here in the next couple of weeks. Hillary Clinton stopped by the Skyline Chili in Oakley this morning** and Barak Obama's wife is currently giving a speech over at Music Hall.*** A couple of notes concerning the forthcoming March 4th Ohio primary:

1. Ohio has an open primary, meaning that you don't have to be registered to any one party in order to vote for their candidates. That means Republicans accepting that John McCain is already their party's candidate could try to chose his opponent. I'm not sure it will be a huge factor, but I do think this will be one time some Republicans vote the Democratic ticket.
2. Cincinnati mayor Mark Mallory, a super delegate, is stuck between a rock and a hard place. In the next week or so he's going to have to endorse Hillary or Obama and there's more at stake then he realizes. With the city's high percentage of African American voters, it would probably help him locally to back the Senator from Illinois. But I have this feeling that, as many major city mayors have already done, he's going to come out for Hillary. With both Cleveland and Columbus likely to help out Obama in Ohio, Cincinnati will be a big battleground. Mallory's endorsement could have some significance on the outcome, not only of this election, but his desired re-election in next year's mayoral race.

Regardless, I think both candidates will swing through Cincinnati again. If so, I might try to see them. I haven't seen a President [or a potential President] since Ronald Reagan's visit to Cincinnati in the early 1980's.

*I found it humorous that people in Ohio wanted their vote to "mean something," like they have been forgotten or have been marginalized. Ohio has been front and center during the past two Presidential elections and will, most likely, be right back there again this fall. 

**This Skyline is significant as it is one of the few in Cincinnati that serves Coke products, therefore making it one of my favorites. 

***Some comments from this Enquirer blog post accuse Hillary of bad taste for stopping by a chili parlor in a Catholic town on a Friday during Lent. I'm not a Hillary backer, but that's a pretty weak accusation.

See Dead People

When a local news issue has ethical and religious undertones, I feel obligated to chime in. There's a new exhibit at the Cincinnati Museum Center called Bodies. It's a display of human cadavers and organs from unclaimed bodies in China. It opens today and will make a seven month run here.

It's created a little stir here locally, as the Archbishop forbade Catholic schools to use it for field trips and a few people even protested the exhibit's arrival. For Archbishop Pilarczyk, it's an issue of human dignity, although he didn't demand that Catholics avoid it altogether. For others, it's about human rights, as exhibitors aren't sure whether or not the bodies were Chinese political prisoners, as the nation is notorious for violating human rights issues.

So how do people of faith deal with this exhibit?

First, we need to recognize that this isn't a Biblical issue; there is nothing explicitly "un-Christian" going on here. So now we have to approach it as a purely ethical decision that needs to be explored.

I will respectfully disagree with the Archbishop that this is an issue of human dignity. We live in the most sophisticated societies in world history. I know people my age and older who have never actually seen a dead body. I'm not sure that would have been possible in societies until the last century. And if we are truly concerned about issues of human dignity, I'd suggest that atrocities taking place in third world countries around the world are much more disturbing than this science exhibit. So I'm not buying this as a reason.

I would be more bothered with the possible Chinese human rights violations. I wonder if the Chinese government was able to significantly profit as a result of this exhibit. I'm not sure I want to take their word that these people just "happened to die." But that being said, why couldn't a similar bodies exhibit be created out of American cadavers? I would suspect that a lot of people would volunteer to let their innards tour the country after they die. I do think there's something to knowing the legitimacy of the bodies in the exhibit.

That said, I can't argue that there's an ethical issue present here. So if you want to, go see it. I here that it's fascinating. Not quite sure I'll go, however, because I'm a cheap skate and can see similar stuff on the Discovery Channel.

Question: Do We Rock The Vote?

I need your honest opinion. Something's running in my head and I'm wondering if I should run with it. I read all the local Cincinnati publications including City Beat, an independent weekly paper. Every year they name their "Best of Cincinnati" list, their most popular issue of the year. Among the lists of best restaurants and local stores they name a best church. For the past few years that church has been Crossroads in Oakley.

I'm wondering if this is the year we should stuff the ballot box and try to get Echo to win the title of "Cincinnati's Best Church."

Now don't get me wrong: it's not that I don't think Crossroads is a great church; I have quite a few friends on staff their and truly appreciate their ministry in the city. But they've had a good run of it and it is a little better known than Echo so they don't necessarily need that title for anything. For us, the free publicity could . . . well, at least get our name out there.

And I am very proud of our church. We're clearly not the best at any one thing, but I love our church and think it's one of the best this city has to offer.

And that's why I'm looking for your opinions. Is this a little too gimmicky for us? Is it lame? Would we be trying to hard to get some free pub?

Honestly, I could go either way. I'm not that hard up for affirmation but if enough people were interested, I think we could get this thing going. Likewise, if enough of you faithful readers thought it was a dumb idea, I would accept.

So leave a comment below and let me know.

Understanding the Interwebs

A few months ago a caught wind of a video made by some guys at my alma mater entitled Price Hill Girlz. Take a look at it now if you haven't seen it yet. Pretty good work. I have no tolerance when it comes inappropriate  [read: racist] humor and this didn't even make the radar. I realized that the viral nature of the video was picking up as two people with absolutely no connection to Cincinnati Christian University emailed me the video this last week. Apparently it hit the media this week as both a local television station and radio station commented on the video. Media vultures: if there's even a hint that you can lambaste Christians for something that could be deemed "unspiritual," they're all over it.

It is my understanding that the emergence of this video left the school's administration scrambling as the inevitable "I'm offended" calls started to come in. I'm not quite sure how they've handled it. The video was originally pulled from YouTube earlier this week but someone else put it right back up. Hopefully the students who made it don't face any repercussion, especially since I did much worse than making a stupid video like that when I was in school.

If you take a look at some of the local buzz surrounding it [even from a liberal mag], many in the community seem to get it: it's a joke. It shows that CCU students are somewhat relevant and have a good sense of humor. In fact, this viral video has done as a good a job marketing the school than renting out billboards and bus ads.

Speaking as a former president of the university's alumni association, as well as a former employee who worked in the field of student recruiting, I'd take a different angle with these guys: I'd get them to make more videos. This kind of stuff resonates with seventeen and eighteen year-old kids. Plus, despite people who get ticked-off at anything and will voice their opposition, I think it gives the community a new perspective of the school, showing the creativity of its students.

The internet, and the way this emerging generation uses it, is forcing high school and college administrators to grapple with how they interact with the students. In many cases, faculty and staff are uncertain of what students are doing out on the world wide web and their natural response by officials is fear. But you can't keep kids away from the internet; it's now a part of their life and their education. Instead, they need to make concerted efforts to understand their online habits so, when something like a video going viral makes waves, they react responsibly.

All in all, not a big deal.

These Hills

Dan, whose blog is a must read for those interested in learning about the history/architecture of Cincinnati, wrote a nice brief post on the origins of Walnut Hills. While I was familiar with Rev. James Kemper building the first settler dwelling in Cincinnati outside the lower bowl, I thought I read/heard somewhere that the first road up a hill was put in by he and his sons at Mount Adams [then Mount Ida].

This is a great place to live if you love history.

The Battle For Our City

Here's today's edition of Why People Think Cincinnati Sucks But, In Reality, It's Our Screwed Up City-County System Of Government. Two examples for you: First, the Freedom Center is asking the city and county to pay $1million for land in order to start the riverfront Banks project. This is laughable not just because it's a horrible museum, but because said land was originally given to the museum for free. Additionally, the Center has taken advantage of taxpayer money to keep from closing its doors. So the way they say, "thanks" for the way the local community has bailed them out is to try to rob them blind. I guess freedom truly isn't free. This could bring the riverfront development to yet another standstill.

Second example is of the county prosecutor, ever the politician and still bitter he didn't a get a new jail, who recently came out bashing Cincinnati as a crime-ridden cesspool. Joe Deters channels the spirit of frighten suburbanites everywhere declaring he wouldn't let his son be caught dead [pun intended] in Over-The-Rhine. He spews ignorant rhetoric like "no one goes downtown anymore" which, to anyone truly familiar with the situation, knows is the exact opposite. I'd expect to hear him back-peddle in the next couple of days. This is going to blow up in his face.

More and more I'm getting sick of hearing suburbanites comment on what's wrong with the city when they only make their way down here once a year. Yeah, this place ain't perfect, but neither are the 'burbs. Let's all just settle down and try to get along.

Emphasizing Urban Living

One of the goals we set for Echo this year is to press our people into "owning" their city. Cincinnati is an amazing place and, the more we realize it, the more we'll make a difference here. Tonight I attended the Walnut Hills Area Council for the first time [it's been on my "to-do list" but I didn't check it off until now]. Our neighborhood has made the news in the past month because of a bar shooting and a major drug bust. The Cincinnati Police were present at the meeting to reassure the council that they were doing their best to make it a safe community. It should be noted that they've accomplished this: all areas of crime are significantly lower this year than the last five years.

After the meeting quite a few people came up to introduce themselves to me, encouraged that we had started a church in the area. One couple, who have lived in the area more than twenty years, made the following statement, "if only people knew all the good that happens in this community, they'd have a different impression of Walnut Hills." And it's the truth. But good news doesn't make the news. So I guess it's our job to spread that gospel.

This has been on my mind this evening because I've had a great week talking to people about our city. There are many people out there who, like Kelly and me, are passionate about its future and our investing themselves here; they're not buying into gloom and doom that people spread about our inner city but are enthusiastic about what lies ahead.

I've said it before and I'll say it again: you should be here. You're missing out on a lot of good stuff.

*Related note: Check out this article from the New York Times about the misery connected to suburban flight.

A Friend of Ours

In today's Enquirer you can find a story on Christ's Community Church in Price Hill. It's a unique organization of house churches that meets on the westside. We at Echo have quite a few connections with them: worked/went to Israel with Ken and they helped us with our Adopt-A-Family last year. They're a great group of people. For those readers who aren't familiar with the un-institutionalized church, this is an informative read.

From the Paper

Today's Enquirer had an article about the local group on NBC's Clash of the Choirs. Here's the best paragraph:

"If the local choir wins, $250,000 will be given to Children's Hospital Medical Center's newborn intensive care unit. [Nick] Lachey chose the hospital because his stepbrother Isaac was born premature 16 years."

Sometimes I think I was born 16 years too early too.

Ciudad Loco

I love our fair city, but dumb things happen here. I don't like to pile on, pointing things out, but I'm a realist. I still think Cincinnati is the best city in the world in which to live, but utopia, it ain't. Why we're crazy:

Example 1: Apparently our local officials think it wise to install traffic light cameras in order to fill the coffers protect the general public. Just another reason for scared suburbanites to avoid visiting downtown.

Example 2: The same town that arrested Larry Flynt and shut down a p0rn0 art exhibit decided to name a sex toy company as one of their businesses of the year.

At least there's never a dull moment in the 'Nati . . .

Mitchell Report

Talkin' baseball in December. The steroid verdict is out and here's what it looks like. Took a quick glance at the PDF of the Mitchell Report. Beyond Barry Bonds [did anyone doubt he'd be there?] there were Roger Clemens, Andy Pettitte, and Miguel Tejada. I find the Tejada inclusion so interesting because he was just dealt in a blockbuster trade yesterday to the Astros. And keeping it in Cincinnati's division, the Brewers new acquisition of Eric Gagne seems to lack luster now that he's on the user list.

Looking for Reds, the most disappointing is former Red Hal Morris. He always struggled to hit for power at his first place position, so it's not too surprising. Former pitcher Ron Villone was on the list, but I'm wondering if he did so after he left Cincy.

The best news in Reds land is that Mike Stanton is on the list. He's a reliever that has drawn the ire of many fans and perhaps this will give the Reds the chance to get rid of him.

Overall, I'm not sure this investigation was as big as people were anticipating. Except for a few instances, I think it will be all forgotten come this spring.

Head To Head

With Kelly on the DL, it's been difficult for me to get back to writing. Today makes it a little easier. Tonight is the Crosstown Shootout, the rivalry game between the University of Cincinnati and Xavier University. I'm not sure that they are bitter rivals [they have been playing since 1928], but this match-up divides the city like nothing else. Whether it's the "Xavier Girls Are Ugly" shirts, or the "Convicts verses Catholics" reply, you're supposed to chose a side and stick with it. I've always been a Cincinnati fan [perhaps because I'm not Catholic?] but have rooted for Xavier from the sidelines . . . except of course, during the Crosstown Shootout.

It was never a big deal to me until last spring when I enrolled in grad school at Xavier. I finally bought some Xavier gear and have been seen wearing it around town. I've become more familiar with the school, the campus, and even talked to Coach Sean Miller as he was walking across campus one day. One might suspect that this would cause me to back Xavier tonight, especially since we're now writing checks to Xavier.

But it's not happening.

More than ever, I'm following what Xavier is doing [enhanced by the fact that my neighbor is their beat writer and knows everything about the team]. In a midwestern city like ours, I think you can pay attention to both programs and hope that they perform at a high level. It's not like hating the Pittsburgh Steelers or the University of Michigan. Tomorrow morning we'll wake up and both Xavier and UC will be located in the city of Cincinnati. That's why I attest that it's not truly a bitter rivalry. Sure, they'll be some hatred tonight, but by the weekend, no one will care.

I will admit that I wore my Xavier sweatshirt this morning as I went out earlier to play basketball, but after coming home and showering I'm wearing a UC shirt the rest of the day. Fortunately I don't have class tonight, as I would've had to wear it there. First and foremost, UC is my team, no matter where I'm going to school.

This would be the year, however, if I was going to switch sides to do so. I've never witnessed UC fans being so low key about a match-up, obviously realizing that the Bearcats are going to be out-gunned. But before you empty the bank account and drop it all on X to win tonight, I'd encourage you to sit this one out.

The only consistent thing about this rivalry records can be thrown out the window. Last year Xavier was the favorite and lost. Twice during the 1990's UC was ranked #1 in the nation and lost this game. The players on both these teams usually play in the summer league together, so there's a familiarity between them; they know the other's tendencies and aren't intimidated. So even though this year looks like it sets up for a Musketeer romp, watch for the Bearcats to keep it close.

Regardless, it's a good time. And I'm looking forward to it.

Where I Live

From the biography of Harriet Beecher Stowe [pg 72], taken from a letter to a friend.

"How I wish you could see Walnut Hills. It is about two miles from the city, and the road to it is as picturesque as you can imagine a road to be without 'springs that run among the hills.' Every possible variety of hill and vale of beautiful slope, and undulations of land set off by velvet richness of turf and broken up by groves and forests of every outline of foliage, make the scene Arcadian. You might ride over the same road a dozen times a day untired, for the constant variation of view caused by ascending and descending hills relieves you from all tedium."

It's A Major Award

So I won something tonight. Kelly suggested that I enter some of my pictures in the Capture Cincinnati contest. It was a amateur photo book project and one of my photos made the book. Additionally, I also won a prize because people voted for the pic. Here's the online announcement. I got a gift card to Joseph Beth Bookstore which is pretty cool. You can purchase a copy at Joseph Beth or here. The line was long and Kaelyn was tired so we left without getting the book.

In case you're curious, the picture was one I took of Kaelyn up in Mount Adams. She's a cutie.

So thanks for voting, and thanks Martha Hill for watching Kaelyn for a few minutes tonight.

Reds Land Mourns

At the passing of announcer Joe Nuxhall. The Old Lefthander is truly rounding third and heading for home.