Public Eye Staff Picks

BEST SIGN THAT NEWSPAPERS NEED TO BE REINVENTED: The Cincinnati Enquirer Illustration by Rebecca Sylvester

BEST SIGN THAT NEWSPAPERS NEED TO BE REINVENTED: A year after The Cincinnati Post published its last edition, the city’s other daily newspaper was struggling. Vexed by the migration of advertising to the Internet and declining stock prices, The Cincinnati Enquirer — like many other papers nationwide — found itself scrambling for a new identity that would resonate with readers. In January the Gannet Co., The Enquirer’s parent firm, announced that all nonunionized workers must take a five-day unpaid furlough from their jobs to save money. Last year, at least 30 people were laid off at the paper, while management also accepted voluntary severance packages for 60 other staffers and shrunk the space for news.

BEST EVIDENCE THE CANDIDATE DOES MATTER: Even in a banner year for Democrats, the party wasn’t able to defeat the easily mockable Jean Schmidt, the over-the-top Republican who represents Ohio’s 2nd Congressional District. That’s probably because the Dems ran a kooky candidate of their own, Dr. Victoria Wulsin. Where should we start with Wulsin? Maybe it was her eerily vacant stare, her vague answers on policy issues, her unprofessional campaign staff or her role in reviewing dubious medical experiments involving AIDS patients injected with malaria in Africa. Add all of those up, and it was a recipe for disaster.

BEST PHILOSOPHICAL FLIP-FLOP: Part of the reason for Schmidt’s victory might have to do with David Krikorian, a one-time Republican who ran as an independent in the 2nd District race. Krikorian, who held an intense dislike of Schmidt, won about 18 percent of the ballots cast in the race. Weeks after the election, he became enraged when he was kicked out of a Republican Party meeting held at Maderia City Hall. Shortly thereafter, he announced he would seek the Democratic nomination in the 2nd District in 2010, despite his conservative positions on abortion and other issues. May we recommend Valium?

BEST SELF-SERVING CHANGE OF HEART: While seeking re-election last year, Hamilton County Commissioner Todd Portune helped engineer a backroom deal that prevented the Republican Party from fielding a candidate against him in return for Democrats not running anyone in another commission race against a GOP contender. Portune said the deal allowed him to focus on his pressing duties as a commissioner, like avoiding a budget shortfall, instead of campaigning. Less than three months after winning re-election and with the budget crisis still lingering, Portune already was thinking about running for another office, as he got busy trying to convince Democratic contributors to back him in a bid for the U.S. Senate seat being vacated by Republican George Voinovich in 2010. Should Portune run, we bet he won’t find the state GOP so accommodating this time.

BEST MISUSE OF A GOLDEN OPPORTUNITY: Hoping to make up for the fact that the late Reds radio announcer Joe Nuxhall missed out on being inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame, some fans appealed to team owner Bob Castellini for help. They wanted Castellini to reconsider his decision to have Hamilton County Commissioner Todd Portune throw out the first pitch on Opening Day last March in favor of Nuxhall’s son, Kim. Many fans say the younger Nuxhall would have been a more appropriate choice than a politician. But Castellini — who was appointed to an advisory group overseeing riverfront redevelopment by Portune — disagreed. We’re certain Portune’s selection had nothing to do with his running for re-election at the time, but the choice left many onlookers in the stands wondering, “Who’s the dude with the moustache?”

BEST SHAMELESS PANDERING: Never one to let facts stand in the way of making a point, Hamilton County Prosecutor Joe Deters wrote a guest column last year for Cincinnati Gentleman magazine that left people scratching their heads. Reeling from a proposed sales tax defeat a few months earlier that would have built a new jail if approved by voters, the wily prosecutor went on the offensive. Deters said Cincinnati City Council should use money allocated for a proposed streetcar system for crime-fighting instead. For good measure, he added that council should “stay out of the way” and let Police Chief Tom Streicher “do his job.” In reality, council has consistently increased the police budget for years despite fiscal problems at City Hall.

BEST POLITICAL UPSET: Steve Driehaus Photo By Cameron Knight

BEST POLITICAL UPSET: Some people thought Steve Chabot would be in Congress forever, or at least until he finally decided to retire. The list of Democrats who have tried to unseat Chabot is memorable, including then-Mayor Roxanne Qualls, John Cranley and Greg Harris. But even Chabot couldn’t escape the taint of George W. Bush in 2008, losing after 14 years in office to Democrat Steve Driehaus, a state lawmaker with deep West Side roots. Less than three months after the defeat, Chabot announced he would try for a rematch in 2010. Whatever happened to Chabot’s old endorsement from the GOP’s “Contract with America” that called for term limits?

BEST REFUSAL TO BE INTIMIDATED: After Franki Butler-Kidd formed the group Citizens Against Joe Deters to protest what she alleges is disparity in the application of justice by the county prosecutor’s office, she got some interesting e-mails and telephone calls. They were from a detective on Deters’ staff who told Kidd she had better stop her criticism or face a defamation lawsuit. For good measure, he also made an implied threat against Kidd’s children. Not willing to be intimidated, Kidd made the exchange public and exposed yet another disgraceful chapter in Deters’ checkered political career. Speaking of which…

BEST HACKERY BY A POLITICAL HACK: Deters was all over TV and newspapers in October, alleging widespread fraud by groups that were registering new Democratic voters in Hamilton County. Deters, a Republican, cited unspecified “numerous credible complaints of voter irregularity” to justify issuing subpoenas to get the complete registration records for about 40 percent of more than 600 voters who registered and cast a ballot on the same day. Numerous groups accused Deters — who was Southwest Ohio campaign chairman for GOP presidential hopeful John McCain — of using his office for partisan trickery and trying to suppress turnout. Public pressure forced Deters to recuse himself from the case and appoint a special prosecutor. That person ended up finding only two instances of ballots that were improperly cast.

BEST ADVOCATES FOR THE DISENFRANCHISED: Shocked by rampant violence and other deficiencies in Ohio’s neglected network of juvenile jails, local civil rights advocates helped push for improvements. The group — including attorneys Al Gerhardstein and Jennifer Kinsley, along with David Singleton and Janet Moore of the Ohio Justice and Policy Center — filed a class-action lawsuit in 2004 against the Ohio Department of Youth Services. Last April a settlement was reached that will add up to 115 juvenile corrections officers, along with improving officer training and providing better mental health services to juvenile detainees. The changes are a wise public investment in helping turn around the lives of troubled youth.

BEST CONFLICT OF INTEREST SWEPT UNDER THE RUG: The Cincinnati Enquirer ran a splashy article in January about the Cincinnati Center City Development Corp. (3CDC) and its efforts to redevelop Over-the-Rhine. It was chock full of quotes from builders and others about how the neighborhood was at a crucial crossroads and plans must quickly move ahead to be successful. Not mentioned in the long, long article is how Enquirer Publisher Margaret Buchanan sits on 3CDC’s
board and is in charge of publicity.

BEST LOCAL MEDIA DOPPELGANGER: Shawn Ley and Andrew Setters Photos courtesy of Channel 12 and 5

BEST NEWSPAPER REVAMP: As The Enquirer was busy cutting itself into oblivion, ex-CityBeat staffer Greg Flannery became editor of Streetvibes and gave that newspaper a much-needed overhaul. Flannery cleaned up the design and added more content to the paper, which is sold by homeless vendors. At just $1 per copy each week, Streetvibes is a bargain and a worthwhile voice in Cincinnati’s changing media landscape.

BEST BACK TO THE FUTURE: WNKU (89.7 FM) continues to innovate to stay relevant on the local radio scene. The station cut loose some of its NPR programming, no doubt to save a little money, but added high-quality local programming: Forrest Griffen does a daily afternoon news magazine show in place of NPR’s All Things Considered, which is already available on WVXU, and Mary Peale brought over her long-standing Jelly Pudding show when The Fox (92.5 FM) cancelled it. With Craig Kopp running morning news operations and Peale now on Saturdays, WNKU might remind you of WEBN circa ’85 — but with waaaay better music. Are WNKU fireworks on the horizon?

BEST RETURN OF A FAMILIAR TV FACE: It’s usually never good when a news personality becomes the news, but that’s what happened when WKRC (Channel 12) meteorologist Tim Hedrick revealed he was battling prostate cancer last fall. But the forecast looks good, because Hedrick beat the disease and quickly returned to the air — and not a second too soon. We especially need his seasoned outlook and calm (read: not hyperbolic) skills during the winter months of overhyped “white death.”

BEST UNEXPECTED ACT OF POLITICAL COURAGE: We didn’t have high hopes when Republican Greg Hartmann announced last year that he was running for Hamilton County commissioner. After all, he avoided serious competition by cutting a deal with Democrats to essentially run unopposed. Worse, Hartmann was county co-chair of the Bush/Cheney re-election campaign in 2004, and his father helped represent Vice President Dick Cheney in one of the many election-related lawsuits in 2000. But Hartmann showed he was an independent thinker who isn’t afraid to buck the system shortly after taking office when he challenged the profligate spending of Sheriff Simon Leis Jr., a fellow GOPer. Hartmann refused Leis’ request to tap into the county’s emergency funds to cover shortfalls in the sheriff’s budget, forcing Leis to tighten his fiscal belt just like other county departments.

BEST RIDE FOR A CAUSE: King's Island's Diamondback roller coaster Contributed Image

BEST RIDE FOR A CAUSE: Kings Island is auctioning off the very first rides on its new Diamondback rollercoaster in order to raise funds for A Kid Again, which brings fun to children with life-threatening illnesses and their families. Bids are being taken now through April 15 on the Kings Island Diamondback Web site (www.kidiamondback.com), with the top bidders assured of seats on the first trains on the park’s opening day, April 18. Diamondback is a $22 million coaster with a 74-degree first drop and a ride that’s expected to top 80 miles-per-hour. All proceeds go to supporting the local chapter of A Kid Again and helping enrich the lives of more than 550 children throughout the Tristate.

BEST TRANSPARENCY BY A PUBLIC OFFICIAL: Perhaps inspired by Barack Obama’s incredibly effective use of the Internet during his presidential campaign, Hamilton County Commissioner David Pepper launched his own blog in July, called PepTalk (www.cincypeptalk.blogspot.com). Pepper’s blogging allows him to expound on the details of decisions by county commissioners in a substantive way that space-constrained media like newspapers make difficult. More interestingly, he doesn’t shy away from criticism like a lot of elected officials on the Web; he lets everyone have their say as long as they don’t delve into personal insults.

BEST PROOF THAT KARMA EXISTS: After taking his lumps time and again for the Democratic Party by running in races against Republicans when no one else would, Greg Harris finally was awarded for his perseverance. A West Price Hill resident, Harris ran twice unsuccessfully for Steve Chabot’s congressional seat, in 2002 and 2004, and was prepared to challenge Greg Hartmann for Hamilton County Commission last year until Democratic Party leaders cut a deal with the GOP and asked Harris to step aside. When Cincinnati City Councilman John Cranley decided to leave office early in January, Dems appointed Harris as his replacement, hoping incumbency will give him an advantage in this fall’s council elections. Good things do sometimes come to those who wait.

BEST MOVE BY A TRUE GOP MAVERICK: Since 1990, voters have had nine opportunities to select members for Cincinnati City Council. During the same period, politicians and party leaders have done so 12 times. That’s because council members get to decide who fills an unexpired term when a colleague resigns. Hoping to end this tradition of insider-dealing, Councilwoman Leslie Ghiz is proposing a charter amendment that would let voters decide on filling vacancies. Not surprisingly, her colleagues oppose the proposal. Let’s hope Ghiz shames them into changing their minds.

BEST TRACKING OF A MONEY TRAIL: It’s true that we often criticize the Coalition Opposed to Additional Spending and Taxes (COAST) for veering off into hateful social issues and hurling juvenile insults at its enemies. But just as a roomful of monkeys pounding away at typewriters eventually will produce Shakespeare if given long enough, COAST does do good work on occasion. The group used campaign finance reports last spring to show how a financially struggling museum appeared to be currying favor from state officials. Before the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center began seeking almost $4 million in cash from Ohio’s budget, museum executives gave $80,000 in contributions during the previous three years to the governor and key members of the Ohio House and Senate. The scrutiny began after the museum was caught holding a swanky cocktail reception for lobbyists. Forget the cocktails: If you want to save money, serve them ramen noodles and Big K Cola.

BEST SEND-OFF FOR AN OLD FRIEND: "Uncle" Al Lewis Contributed Photo

BEST SEND-OFF FOR AN OLD FRIEND: When Al Lewis died in February at age 84, it truly marked the end of an era. Lewis entertained multiple generations of Tristate children as Uncle Al, the bow tie-wearing and accordian-playing TV host. Airing from 1950 to 1985, The Uncle Al Show was one of the longest-running children’s programs in television history. Not only did his old home at WCPO do a stellar job of honoring Lewis upon his death, but other local stations put aside concerns about publicizing competitors and aired their own tributes to the man who touched so many lives. Raise a glass of Barq’s Root Beer to Uncle Al.

BEST EXAMPLE OF A VITAL FREE-MARKET ECONOMY: After Hamilton County Commissioner Phil Heimlich lost his re-election bid in 2006, he began a radio talk show called Hard Truths, featuring an ultra-conservative Christian slant on political issues. In a sign of his waning influence, the show was carried on stations in five cities — including Columbus and Cleveland — but could only be heard in his hometown of Cincinnati on the Internet. Alas, miniscule listenership caused the stations to drop Heimlich’s program one by one, with the last, WHKW in Cleveland, dumping it Dec. 31. Heimlich still holds forth on the Web. Onward, Christian soldier!

BEST JUMPING AHEAD OF THE CURVE: Several groups — including the NAACP and the COAST — have been busy recently collecting signatures to force a public vote this fall on Cincinnati’s streetcar plan. Long before that effort made headlines, however, City Councilman Chris Monzel proposed the same thing last March. Monzel questioned whether the $100 million plus system would be successful enough to warrant the expense. Alas, few people paid attention to the amiable, low-key councilman at the time.

BEST “I TOLD YOU SO” MOMENT: Cincinnati voters handily approved Issue 5 in late 2001 after the police shooting death of an unarmed black man earlier that year. The charter amendment allowed the city manager to hire and fire the chiefs and assistant chiefs in the Police and Fire departments from outside current ranks rather than only from inhouse candidates. Police Chief Thomas Streicher Jr. and the police union immediately raised a fuss, alleging it was an unfair labor practice. (Translation: It would end the West Side, old boys network that permeates CPD.) Then-Mayor Charlie Luken and City Manager Valerie Lemmie wanted to cave in and rescind the change, but then-City Councilman Pat DeWine (now a judge) convinced his colleagues to stand their ground and fight a lawsuit filed by the union. Issue 5 finally prevailed in January when the Ohio Supreme Court decided to dismiss the police union’s final appeal. Three cheers for democracy and for DeWine.

BEST (AND MOST FILLING) FUNDRAISER: The tastiest fundraiser in town by far is Seven Days for SIDS, a June event headed by Jean-Robert and Annette de Cavel that fills the bellies of attendees with scrumptious gourmet eats in support of a great cause. The Midwest Culinary Institute at Cincinnati State provides a variety of food to nosh on while money and awareness is raised about Sudden Infant Death Syndrome, the leading cause of death for U.S. children under age 1.

BEST NIGHT OUT WITHOUT ALCOHOL: As one of our writers recounted, there have been only two instances in his life that he was so swept up in a moment that he hugged complete strangers. One was watching the Reds win the 1990 World Series, the other was Election Night 2008 when NBC anchor Brian Williams declared Barack Obama the next president of the United States. Judging by the numbers of smiles and blaring car horns on downtown streets that night, it’s clear that many people agreed. It was easily the coolest and most unrestrained and emotional night in a long while.