Soapbox

American Airlines announced a daily non-stop service flight between New York and Cincinnati as well as Indianapolis and Norfolk. This addition allows more access to three key business cities for New York residents and also more access to international flights from JFK for Cincinnati residents.

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On a hot summer morning Larry McGlasson is out picking fresh apples from trees at his family's Lakeview Farm off bustling North Bend Road near Interstate 275 in Hebron.

It doesn't seem like a scene you'd find often in growing Boone County. Yet, McGlasson carries on. He said these days this farming business is "tough. ... It's more expensive to farm. Equipment's more expensive."
Boone County was once a lot more rural than it is today. However, there are still people like the McGlassons farming.

The public will learn more about the county's agricultural industry when a study is released by the Boone County Farm Initiative during an open house at 5 p.m. Sept. 1 at the Boone County Public Library's Main Library, 1786 Burlington Pike, Burlington.

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More than $12 million is coming to Northern Kentucky to help pay for six different highway and transit projects.

The Ohio-Kentucky-Indiana Regional Council of Governments says the projects will address traffic problems to limit congestion and improve safety.

The Boone County projects include nearly $5 million for a reconstruction project on KY 237 from Conner Drive to Medical Arts Drive. Also in Boone County, $3 million will help pay for a new connector road between Burlington Pike and Turfway Road.

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8. Covington, Ky.

Cost of Living Index: 87.4
Metro Population (including Cincinnati): 2,138,528
Median Household Income: $51,926
Average Home Price: $238,675

Although Covington is just across the Ohio River from Cincinnati, the cost of living in this Northern Kentucky city is lower than in its big-city neighbor. Low housing, utility and transportation costs make Covington more affordable.

The Lindner Family Tennis Center announced a major expansion plan Saturday that will bring six more courts and allow men's and women's matches to take place simultaneously at next year's Western & Southern Financial Group Masters and Women's Open.

The expansion will add 5.4 acres to the facility in Mason, as well as a new ticket office and entry plaza. Work is expected to start immediately after the men's finals match on Sunday, with design handled by Browning, Day, Mullins and Dierdorf of Indianapolis and construction by Vector Construction of Northern Kentucky, according to a press release.

The Western & Southern Masters and Women's Open is the largest summer tennis tournament in the nation outside of the U.S. Open. Officials said attendance so far this year is up 4 percent over 2009.

"Cincinnati has had this tournament for 111 years, and this year has been the best. Next year will be even better, I can't wait," said John Barrett, CEO of sponsor company Western & Southern Financial Group.

Duke Energy selected six Greater Cincinnati locations for its Site Readiness Pilot Program, which seeks to identify potential development sites and draw new companies or corporate expansions to the counties the utility serves.

The sites are:

• Interstate 75 Richwood Interchange SE (Boone and Kenton counties) Total of about 700 acres.

• 2251 Wayne Madison Road in Butler County. About 244 acres.

• Franklin Business/Shaker Industrial Park at I-75 and Ohio 123 in Warren County. About 343 acres.

• Marydale: Southwest quadrant of Houston Road and Donaldson Highway in Boone County. About 230 acres.

• Clough Point, near McMann Road in Clermont County. About 79 acres.

• Harrison Commerce Center; off I-74 at the Dry Fork exit. About 135 acres with 80 more available.

The stained glass for many churches and homes in the region have passed through Cliff Kennedy's Covington shop in MainStrasse the past three decades.

As the stained glass artist prepares to celebrate the 30th anniversary next year of his business, Kaleidoscope Stained Glass, Kennedy soon will start renovating two historically significant windows.
One window is one of only three stained glass likenesses of Abraham Lincoln made during the 16th president's lifetime, Kennedy said.

The other is a 100-year-old, 15-foot-wide, 7-foot-tall Tiffany stained glass window for a church in Ohio, he said.

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It's hard to walk along Race Street north of Sixth these days and not become mesmerized by the windows full of mannequins in gowns of gold, seaglass or copper pennies.

Beside them are carefully hand-drawn portraits of women in lavish dresses, hats and furs circa 1930s-1970s. And embedded within the displays are images of Procter & Gamble products like Tide, Old Spice and Pantene.

The windows line the offices of Landor Associates, a branding and design firm that helps companies like P&G market their iconic brands. It's also the ground floor of the old Shillito's department store building, once housing several floors of clothing, accessories, shoes and home goods.

Through July, these brightly colored and lit displays will catch the eyes of passersby. Along with a public exhibit inside the lobby of the firm, the displays pay tribute to the work of Covington fashion illustrator Anne Wainscott.

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There is good news for Florence residents who would like farm fresh vegetables and food, but can't always make it down to the Farmers Market in Burlington.

From July through September, farmers will be setting up a mini farmers market in Florence by the Boone County Public Library at U.S. 42.

"We had gotten requests for a market in Florence for a while now, because some people don't have transportation to Burlington where we have our large farmers market," said Coy Wilson, agricultural technologist and market manager at the Boone County Extension Office.

"So first of all we approached the farmers about whether there was an interest in setting up in Florence. Many of our farmers have other jobs, and not all of them can set up on Fridays," Wilson said.

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Jeanne Schroer has a tall task ahead as the executive director of a high-profile group charged with re-energizing Northern Kentucky's urban cities.

Amid the stock market swings, an ailing housing market and lingering recession, Schroer has been on a mission to raise $10 million from private investors to kick off the initial development fund of Catalytic Development Funding Corp.

Launched by Corporex Cos. CEO and chair William Butler in 2007 with a contribution of $1 million, the corporation was created to jump-start redevelopment in Bellevue, Covington, Dayton and Newport. Loans from the fund will be used to help bridge the financing gap that developers often face when taking on riskier and costlier urban residential and retail projects. It's taken nearly two years for Schroer to define the revitalization strategy, align early allies and raise the initial funding support. Now, Schroer says, she's getting close to a major milestone. She spoke with Business reporter Lisa Bernard-Kuhn last week.

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The Ultimate Indoor Football League (UIFL) announced today the creation of a third league team for the 2011 season, to be housed at The Bank of Kentucky Center on the campus of Northern Kentucky University in Highland Heights, KY.

 

The team will play seven regular season home games during the 2011 season, which will run from mid-March through June. Football capacity for The Bank of Kentucky Center will be about 6,000.

 

"We're excited to bring professional indoor football to northern Kentucky," said Molly Pascucci, GM of The Bank of Kentucky Center. "The Greater Cincinnati region has a rich tradition of high school and collegiate football excellence, and we are thrilled to be building upon that strong foundation. We believe this team will bring a fast-paced professional football product that is both entertaining and affordable."

 

The UIFL was formed to serve as a training ground to develop professional players, coaches and personnel on and off the field. The league emphasizes fundamental development, career development, community involvement and education to everyone involved with the league and its franchises.

 

The league has already announced teams in Johnstown, PA., and Huntington, WV. The UIFL will announce additional teams in the coming weeks, with an ultimate goal of fielding six or eight teams for the 2011 season.

 

"It has been a pleasure working with the university, SMG and Molly Pascucci the arena manager," said UIFL Co-Founder Michael Taylor. "The Bank of Kentucky Center is a perfect facility for our product, and we are excited to be bringing a team to Northern Kentucky. The UIFL business model was designed to help keep costs down for team owners so that they can achieve long-term sustainability and success. We strive to be the most fan-friendly professional sports league in the country."

 

"When we opened The Bank of Kentucky Center, we emphasized over and over again that it was more than just a facility for NKU athletics," said NKU President James C. Votruba. "We have brought national artists and events that have enhanced the cultural vitality of our region and entertained thousands. Bringing a professional indoor football team to this facility will further expand its impact on our region."

 

The UIFL will conduct a local press conference this summer to formally announce the team, a logo, an ownership group, ticket pricing and other details, including information about how and when a roster will be developed. The league is also conducting a name-the-team contest.

 

For additional information on the UIFL, or to submit a name for the contest, visit http://www.theuifl.com or call (877) 500-UIFL.

 

For details on the Bank of Kentucky Center, visit http://www.thebankofkentuckycenter.com.

Five years after the creation of its arts district, the city of Covington will consider expanding the types of businesses that can locate in it.

This is one of the first steps, city officials have said, in trying to attract more to the arts district, which extends along Pike Street between Interstate 75 and Washington Street.

The city will hold public meetings later this year with people in the community to help develop a plan for the arts district, said Larisa Sims, assistant city manager.

"We recognize there are issues we need to address to make the incentives more attractive and holistic," Sims said. "We will have more focus groups to take a look at the history of the district, what is working and what isn't working, and come up with a plan."

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A new company formed by a group of Tri-State investors could bring $100 million in foreign investment capital to Cincinnati over the next five years.

Kentucky Regional Center LLC, started in March and led by investor Andrew Moffe, is a government-sanctioned investment zone that gives foreign investors a faster path to U.S. citizenship in exchange for their help in financing American business ventures. The regional center is organized under employment-based visa rules and is commonly known as the EB-5 immigrant investor program.

The EB-5 program gives investors a green card in exchange for their capital infusion of up to $1 million in a U.S. company and the creation of 10 new jobs. The program has generated hundreds of millions in foreign investments in recent years and the issuance of investor visas has increased tenfold since 2005.

Incoming students in the Northern Kentucky University Master of Science in Executive Leadership and Organizational Change (ELOC) program this fall will be the first cohort group (and NKU students) to receive Apple iPads for use in the classroom.

The move is part of NKU’s continued efforts to provide emerging mobile technologies that accommodate student expectations related to an anytime, anyplace teaching-learning process.

"Forward-thinking schools are focusing on e-learning," said Dr. Kenneth Rhee, director of the ELOC program within NKU’s Department of Management. "We want to be at the front edge. There is a lot of potential for what this can do."

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The Transit Authority of Northern Kentucky continues to go high-tech.

In its latest technological advancement, TANK has turned its myTANK electronic notification service into an app for "i" devices such as iPads, iPhones and iPod Touches. The app, now available on iTunes, will allow riders to have on-demand, location-aware information including bus routes, times and trip-planning tools in Northern Kentucky.

The app was developed as a research partnership with Northern Kentucky University's College of Informatics. Students in the college contributed much of the research and development to create the application.

TANK, along with College of Informatics, unveiled the myTANK program in January to allow riders to get route information sent directly to their e-mail and mobile phone alerts. The new app takes that a step further and provides information on demand. The app uses mobile technologies, such as maps, GPS location and alert notifications.

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