Over-the-Rhine

As more visitors discover — and regional residents rediscover — the charms of Over-the-Rhine (aka OTR), most are delighted to find a neighborhood rich in art, history, and community plus plenty of food and drink establishments and independent retailers. Architectural treasures like Music Hall and Memorial Hall sit side by side with the School for Performing Arts and Washington Park in this neighborhood that's been heralded as a national leader in urban transformation. Vine Street, Main Street, Race Street, and Pendleton are the area's hot spots for an eclectic array of restaurants and shops near the Ensemble, Woodward, Cincinnati Shakespeare, and Know theaters. Findlay Market, between Race and Elm Streets north of Liberty Street, is Ohio's oldest continuously-operated public market where you will find locally sourced food, cafes and restaurants as well as the Rhinegeist Brewery taproom. The community's remarkable 19th-century buildings feature one of the country's largest collection of Italianate architecture and provide a dramatic background to the diverse residents that call OTR home.

CASS provides meals, enables seniors to stay at home

By Newsroom

●

For Good

●

August 13, 2013

When senior citizens are able to stay in their homes, they’re better off, says Claudia Harrod, Cincinnati Area Senior Services’ development manager. “They can be more active, and they’re less depressed,” she says. “And it’s also more economical for seniors to be able to stay at home than be in a facility.” In order for seniors to stay at home, they need to be able to maintain their independence while having various needs of daily living met. Since 1967, CASS has worked to meet some of those needs, and has helped seniors with everything from nutrition and transportation to financial assistance and guardianship. “When you think about seniors, sometimes even opening a jar can be difficult,” Harrod says. Each week, CASS delivers about 2,000 meals to homebound individuals in Hamilton County, which helps provide healthy options to those who are unable to cook or visit the grocery store regularly, if even at all. “Nutrition is very important for everyone, but particularly for seniors, and these meals are balanced and meet one third of the daily recommended requirements for seniors,” Harrod says. “A lot of them have no way to get to the grocery store, and even if they could, they have to go up stairs and can’t carry the groceries, and some aren’t able to stand at the stove and cook, so this way, they always have one meal that’s easy for them to fix.” A few years ago, CASS started its Savory Selects program, a food delivery program that provides enough meals for the week, plus bread and milk. Area seniors choose from 31 different catered entrees and side items, and instead of receiving a frozen meal once a day, they receive all of their meals at the beginning of each week. “It’s nice for them because they can eat what they want that day and when they want it,” Harrod says. “Usually they would wait for the meal to arrive each day, and then it would have to be heated up, so it gives the seniors some dignity in being able to select what they eat.” Do Good: • Keep an eye out for CASS' new website, and look for ways you can get involved and help out. • Call CASS at 513-721-4330 if you are a senior or know of a senior in need of assistance. Needs are not based on one's financial capabilities, so do not hesitate to seek help. • Call CASS to make a donation. By Brittany York Brittany York is a professor of English composition at the University of Cincinnati. She also edits the For Good section of SoapboxMedia.

Tender Mercies supports residents, fosters independence

By Newsroom

●

Diversity

●

August 6, 2013

Since 1985, Tender Mercies has provided security and promoted self-worth and a sense of community for its residents. And for homeless adults who are dealing with mental illness, the services Tender Mercies provides are critical when it comes to addressing the root causes of their situations, all while getting them the help they need to begin making progress in life. “Our belief is that housing is a basic human right, so we get someone in off the streets, get them a roof over their head, get some food in them, and we surround them with a caring community and start addressing what might have led to homelessness,” says Russell Winters, CEO at Tender Mercies. That process is instrumental in the lives of individuals who may enter the organization with feelings of hopelessness and despair. Winters says he remembers a woman who came to Tender Mercies after having been referred to transitional housing by the PATH Team. “That’s our street outreach team—we partner with Greater Cincinnati Behavioral Health Services—and they go out under the bridges to the tent camps where people live on the Ohio River Banks, and they engage people, develop a relationship with them and try to figure out why they’re living on the street,” Winters says. “Sometimes it’s because they don’t know of the resources that exist. Maybe they had a bad experience, or sometimes they’re too paranoid to come in to a shelter because of their mental illness.” The woman the PATH Team reached out to was so depressed when she came in, that according to Winters, “she was almost catatonic.” After working with a case manager, however, and engaging with members of the Tender Mercies community and receiving treatment for depression, she now works part-time at a floral shop and lives on her own in an apartment near Oakley Square. “Just the difference after her two years in our transitional program from when she came in to when she left was astounding,” Winters says. “She went from someone who would not socially interact with anyone, who—once she left—was able to care for herself and her room and is probably one of our greatest ambassadors and is very social.” Do Good: • Support Tender Mercies by attending the first annual Taste of Over-the-Rhine. • Donate to Tender Mercies. • Volunteer with the organization. By Brittany York Brittany York is a professor of English composition at the University of Cincinnati. She also edits the For Good section of SoapboxMedia.

Betts House Showcases Cincinnati’s built environment

By Newsroom

●

Architecture + Design

●

August 6, 2013

You’ll want to add the Betts House to your list of must-see historical places—it's the oldest brick building in Cincinnati. The Betts House, which was built in 1804, has withstood the test of time. It still stands today as a center that recognizes and celebrates the history of Cincinnati’s built environment. “It has a unique place in our history and in the state of Ohio,” says Dayle Deardurff, interim executive director at the Betts House. “It’s an example of some of the earliest architecture in Ohio and early manufacturing of bricks—the bricks were made by the man who built it, and earthquakes, tornados, storms, and 200 years of people moving in and out of this place stayed. So it’s a wonderful example of architectural stability and preservation.” To commemorate the shifts in our city’s history over the past 200 years, the Betts House showcases a timeline to remind current residents and visitors of the movement beyond the home that has occurred and continues to evolve. But recognizing the art of brickmaking and the effort that is needed to construct a lasting structure is also important, so each summer, the Betts House offers a summer youth program called Bond at the Betts House, which teaches children and young people about the skills and tools needed to perform jobs as architects, bricklayers and construction workers. “I’m one of those parents who takes her kids to historical places all around the country, so my family and I have done Williamsburg, Gettysburg—we stop and visit these kinds of places—and I think it’s a great opportunity to help showcase a site in Cincinnati that a lot of people probably don’t know about,” Deardurff says. “If I can do something to help make it more visible and people can come here and we can partner with other organizations to put on exhibits and children’s activities—bringing in a lot of families who otherwise wouldn’t have known this place existed—I think that is fun and personally rewarding.” Do Good: • Support the Betts House by joining or donating. • Visit the Betts House to see upcoming exhibits architeXploration and Bricks, Barrel Vaults & Beer: The Architectural Legacy of Cincinnati Breweries. • Like the Betts House on Facebook. By Brittany York Brittany York is a professor of English composition at the University of Cincinnati. She also edits the For Good section of SoapboxMedia.

World Piano Competition strives for world-class status

By Newsroom

●

Arts + Culture

●

August 6, 2013

Though the World Piano Competition has been in Cincinnati for the past 57 years, Mark Ernster, WPC executive director, says this past season represented a shift in thinking about how to promote and celebrate the art of classical piano music in a way that does the competition justice. The primary way the organization has done that, Ernster says, is by developing a partnership with the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra and the University of Cincinnati’s College Conservatory of Music. “Cincinnati, as a city, has a wonderful arts heritage, and they’ve got a wonderful orchestra, and they have a wonderful conservatory—CCM and the CSO are pretty highly regarded around the world,” Ernster says. “If you add into that an element of a piano competition, you create the possibility to draw more worldwide attention to the city through this additional art form because it builds on strengths at the conservatory and builds on strengths with the orchestra.” Ernster says he remembers his first experience with the WPC back in 2009 when he attended the finals of the Artist Competition, and about a year later, he knew he wanted to get involved and help the WPC further its mission and reach more people. “The artist finalists were wonderful musicians, and I was surprised by the fact there was nobody there—I got perfect seats like two hours before the event," Ernster says. "That’s usually a bad sign, right? Except the quality of the music was very high.” So in 2010, Ernster joined the board, and this past October, he began his work as executive director and was able to start conversations about integral community partnerships. “Without their help, I don’t think we would have gotten as far as we’ve gotten this year,” Ernster says of the WPC, which was able to offer competitors a world-class jury, thanks to its partnership with CCM, in addition to a performance opportunity with the CSO. “A piano competition is really wonderful when you really draw the top aspiring artists, and the way you get the top aspiring artists is you have a great jury and you have a good performance opportunity,” Ernster says. “There are a number of piano competitions around, but very few of them are partnered with a major symphony orchestra, like the CSO. And almost none have the combination of a major orchestra and a major conservatory.” Do Good: • Learn about the Dinner Concert Series and attend an event. • Like the WPC on Facebook. • Contact the WPC if you'd like to get involved or volunteer. By Brittany York Brittany York is a professor of English composition at the University of Cincinnati. She also edits the For Good section of SoapboxMedia.

Video Cincinnati Timelapse by Roadtrippers

By Roadtrippers

●

Architecture + Design

●

August 6, 2013

What makes Cincinnati so great? Check out this video by Roadtrippers and see for yourself. Video courtesy of Roadtrippers

New online tool aims to keep Cincinnati residents engaged in their neighborhoods

By Newsroom

●

Development News

●

August 6, 2013

On July 24, the City of Cincinnati adopted Nextdoor, a free, private social network for you, your neighbors and your community. The goal is to improve community engagement between the City and its residents, and foster neighbor-to-neighbor communications. Each of Cincinnati’s 52 neighborhoods will have its own private Nextdoor neighborhood website, which is accessible only to residents of that neighborhood. City administrations and several city departments will also use Nextdoor to share important news, services, programs, free events and emergency notifications to residents, but they won’t be able to see who is registered to use the site or the conversations among residents. Founded in 2010 in San Francisco, Nextdoor’s mission is to bring back a sense of community to the neighborhood. The site was tested in 175 neighborhoods across the country, and results showed that neighborhoods had some of the same issues, plus a variety of different issues. “We all remember what our neighborhood experience was like as kids, when everyone knew each other, looked out for one another and stayed in the community longer," says Sarah Leary, co-founder of Nextdoor. “We want to invoke that nostalgia for neighborhoods.” To date, Nextdoor is being used by about 17,000 neighborhoods across the country. In June, Nextdoor partnered with New York City and Mayor Bloomberg to communicate with the city’s 8.3 million residents. The site plans to roll out in other major cities like Cincinnati over the course of the next several months. Nextdoor also recently released its iPhone app. “We’re really putting the lifeline of the neighborhood into the palm of the residents’ hands,” says Leary. “The common thread is an interest in using technology to make connections with neighbors. But it doesn’t stop there—once people have an easy way to communicate, they’re more likely to get together in the real world.” You can sign up for Nextdoor on its website, or download the app in the App Store. By Caitlin Koenig Follow Caitlin on Twitter

New food tradition coming to Over-the-Rhine

By Newsroom

●

Arts + Culture

●

August 6, 2013

On Aug. 10, Over-the-Rhine restaurants and businesses will be participating in the first ever Taste of Over-the-Rhine. The event will be held from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. in Washington Park. Taste of Over-the-Rhine celebrates the tastes, flavors and sounds of OTR through food, art, music, shopping and the people of the neighborhood. The event is being put on by Tender Mercies, which provides permanent housing to about 150 formerly homeless adults who have mental illnesses. Its building and residences are located at 12th, Race and Elm streets in OTR. As a member of the community, Tender Mercies wants to be a neighborhood partner for OTR residents and business owners. “The event is meant to provide another community and neighborhood element to OTR,” says Casey Gilmore, partner at Cincy Events Management. “All of the businesses that are participating are locally owned, not chains.” The food and drink vendors that are participating in the event are The Anchor-OTR, Eli’s Barbeque, Coffee Emporium, Findlay Market, The Lackman, Lavomatic, MOTR Pub, Taste 513, Venice on Vine, Moerlein, Lucy Blue Pizza, Kaze and Street Pops. Food trucks Dojo Gelato, Café de Wheels and Urban Grill will also be part of Taste of Over-the-Rhine. All OTR restaurants were asked to participate—featured restaurants said “yes” based on their staffing for the weekend. Food and drink prices will be low, around $4 or $5. There will also be a tasting element for dogs, where they can try out different dog food from Pet Wants, the Findlay Market pet store. There will be music too. The main stage will feature acts such as Joanie Whittaker, Peraza Music Workshop, Hayden Kaye, The Almighty Get Down, Cla-Zels, Golden Shoes, Magnolia Mountain and Wussy. By Caitlin Koenig Follow Caitlin on Twitter

Demand Better Cincinnati

By Elissa Yancey

●

Architecture + Design

●

August 6, 2013

This week marks the launch of a new Soapbox series: Demand Better Cincinnati. We'll explore a new issue each week and sift through what's been done, what's being done and how we can push our current and future leaders to, well, demand better.

Demand Better: Architecture’s impact on Cincinnati’s economy

By Elissa Yancey

●

General

●

August 6, 2013

As election day approaches, we'll be re-running our four-part Demand Better series in an effort to spark conversations and provoke thought about how we can demand more from our city's leaders. This week, we take a look at the topic of architecture.

Metro now offers stored-value cards to riders

By Sean M. Peters

●

Transportation

●

August 6, 2013

Many city-dwellers are continuously faced with the arduous task of budgeting their quarters between two priorities: bus fare and laundromats.