When you're running for Cincinnati City Council, who cares where you park the RV?

When you're running for Cincinnati City Council, you should make sure your staffers know to obey the law. What you are seeing is Wendell Young's campaign RV not only illegally parked in a bike lane, set up by the City of Cincinnati, but also illegally parked at a bus stop. Soon after I took this picture, a 43 bus came roaring by but fortunately didn't need to stop here. What does this mean about Young's position on bicycles and busses? I'll let you decide.

This picture was taken about noon today on Mitchell between Vine and Reading. I sent an email to Young's campaign email address asking for a response but have not received one at this time.

Update Nov. 9: Mr. Young did win re-election to Cincinnati City Council.

Is the Wasson Way Project going to be sacrificed by the Port Authority?

The Cincinnati Enquirer [limited access] broke this story today: "EXCLUSIVE: Port wants $27M of city's $92M parking deal." As the lede explains, "The Port of Greater Cincinnati Development Authority wants one-third of the $92 million upfront payment the city is to receive for leasing its parking system to the economic development authority to operate with private partners."

How will this affect funding for the Wasson Way Project? Well, courtesy of the City of Cincinnati, we have a breakdown of where the $92 million is to be spent:

• $20 million for the I-71 interchange at Martin Luther King, Jr. Drive,
• $4 million for the continuation of Smale Riverfront Park,
• $12 million to convert the former Tower Place Mall,
• $3 million (my estimate) to acquire the Wasson Line right of way,
• $6.3 million for the City's reserve account,
• $25.8 million to balance the City's 2014 budget and
• $20.9 million to balance the City's 2015 budget.

The total of these expenditures is $92 million. So where is the $27 million for the Port Authority going to come from? Keep in mind that the $92 million is the initial payment; there will be ongoing payments as well. Is the Wasson Way Project in jeopardy? Stay tuned, I'll let you know.

Updated Aug. 7, 2013: I checked the City of Cincinnati web site and could find no indication, other than the statement above, that funds have been allocated to Wasson Way. More to come...

Two distinctive houses for sale in Cincinnati

I did something today I rarely do: I stopped at an open house. I've been driving past this house several times a week, watching the remodeling in progress, since my mother moved to Cincinnati in February. This house is distinctive because it has five front doors. I asked the Realtor®, Doug Spitz, about this and he said that it's a decorative touch and it's not like the house had five small apartments originally. The house is located at 1615 Spring Lawn Ave., Cincinnati (Northside) 45223, which is at the corner of Spring Lawn and Hamilton Ave. At the open house, there was a lot of interest in this house; there were at least 10 groups of people at the open house in the 10 minutes that I was there. Price: $280,000.

(Note: The U.S. Postal Service, which I consider authoritative, says the street is "Spring Lawn" but Dusty Rhodes, the Hamilton County (Ohio) Auditor, says it's "Springlawn" (see screen shots). Somebody should get these two on the same page.)

While I'm on the subject of houses, I'd like to mention the church-house for sale at 4117 34th Ave., Cincinnati (Oakley) 45209. Since it's converted from a church to a house, it has a nice performance space that would be ideal for a musician or other types of artists (art gallery, theater?). My connection: one of my friends is a friend of the owner. This house has a Facebook page. Price: $284,000.

(Once again, we have a difference in street names. The USPS says it's "34th Ave." while Dusty says it's "Thirty-Fourth St." [34th St. is in Covington, Ky.])

These two houses are interesting opposites yet similar in price. The former is for someone who wants luxury living in a small space and the latter is quite a bit larger but could be a lot of fun. Both are in the City of Cincinnati and close to downtown.

Financial Disclosure: I do not have a financial interest in either of these houses and I will not receive or accept any compensation when either house is sold. It is not likely that I will purchase either house. It's my blog and I can feature houses that catch my eye if I want!