Explore Cincinnati

“Explore Cincinnati” (the show) is on break this week and next, so here’s a quick rundown of some of the stories we’d normally be covering.

• On Wednesday afternoon, City Manager Milton Dohoney announced the city has selected the consortium of companies that will build the Cincinnati Streetcar.  Interestingly, one of these companies is Jostin Concrete, whose president (Albert Smitherman) is the brother of Cincinnati NAACP President Chris Smitherman.  How will this play out with Smitherman’s effort to stop the Streetcar from being built?  On Tuesday, Building Cincinnati reported that the NAACP and COAST are 2/3 of the way to the 6,150 signatures needed to place their proposed charter amendment on the November ballot.  Opposing their petition is the group Cincinnatians for Progress, who is holding an event called “Rally for Progress” this Thursday at the Verdin Bell Center on Reading Road.
• The Public Library of Cincinnati and Hamilton County is asking voters to approve 5-year, 1 mill levy this November.  The library faces a $10 million deficit in 2010, partially due to reduced state funding.  The Public Library warns that as many as 15-20 branches of the 40 it currently operates will be forced to close if the levy does not pass.  The library receives no funding from the city or Hamilton County.
• Cincinnati Public Schools auctioned off nine of their vacant buildings on Tuesday, but bids came in well below expectations.  The historic Fairview German Language School building had a high bid of just $430,000, despite being appraised at over $1.5 million.  In fact, all nine buildings in total were sold for just under $1.5 million.
• It’s been revealed that the state of Georgia offered NCR Corporation nearly $100 million of incentives to move its headquarters from Dayton, Ohio to Atlanta, Georgia.  Sources say the state of Georgia began offering incentives in late 2007, when NCR stopped communicating with Dayton-area officials.  Ohio politicians said they did everything in their power to retain the company, and blame NCR’s CEO Bill Nuti for making the decision to leave.