Cincinnati leads in region for new home permits this year

Cincinnati leads in region for new home permits this year: "CINCINNATI - The burgeoning popularity of urban lifestyles is showing up in new home permits."

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ohio business machines relocates offices, 50 staffers to downtown digs

ohio business machines relocates offices, 50 staffers to downtown digs: "A Cleveland company that has its roots downtown but moved to the suburbs 12 years ago has relocated its headquarters back to the place where it all started.
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Can I live car-free in the United States? | The Travel Chica

Can I live car-free in the United States? | The Travel Chica: "I did not drive a car once during my 20 months in Latin America."

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Proposed Natural Gas Pipeline through Ohio Raises Grave Concern « EcoWatch: Uniting the Voice of the Grassroots Environmental Movement

The ruptured Kalamazoo tar sands pipeline. Photo courtesy of National Transportation Safety Board.

More than one million gallons of raw tar sands crude oil leaked into Michigan’s Kalamazoo River in July 2010. Photo courtesy Michigan Department of Environmental Quality.

Proposed Natural Gas Pipeline through Ohio Raises Grave Concern « EcoWatch: Uniting the Voice of the Grassroots Environmental Movement: "The oil spread quickly in the flooded river, coating wildlife, saturating marshlands, backyards, businesses and farmland. The raw tar sands oil disaster was caused by a break in a pipeline owned by Enbridge, which knew of safety problems with the pipeline for years before the disaster."

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Mitt Romney, Murray Energy and coal criminals « Coal Tattoo

Mitt Romney, Murray Energy and coal criminals « Coal Tattoo: "Not reported is that the two-mile slurry pipeline which caused this spillage was illegally built without a permit — the Ohio state inspector some how missed seeing its construction during his inspections — then added the already constructed pipeline as an incidental boundary revision (that was done in days) instead of as a permit amendment (which would have taken months and included public comment).

The OSM Columbus Field Office shut both eyes on this being done.

There is a lot of back story in this matter."

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Ohio miners say they were forced to attend Romney rally - latimes.com

Ohio miners say they were forced to attend Romney rally - latimes.com: "Several miners at Murray Energy’s Century coal mine in Beallsville, Ohio, contacted a nearby morning talk radio host, David Blomquist, over the last two weeks to say that they were forced to attend an Aug. 14 rally for Romney at the mine. Murray closed the mine the day of the rally, saying it was necessary for security and safety, then docked miners the day's pay. Asked by WWVA radio’s Blomquist about the allegations on Monday’s show, Murray chief operating officer Robert Moore said: “Attendance was mandatory but no one was forced to attend the event.”"

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These 12 Hellholes Are Examples Of What The Rest Of America Will Look Like Soon

These 12 Hellholes Are Examples Of What The Rest Of America Will Look Like Soon: "The reality is that most of the country has been experiencing a slow decline for a very long time and once thriving cities such as Gary, Indiana and Flint, Michigan have become absolute hellholes.  They are examples of what the rest of America will look like soon"

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Why the United States isn't the Best | Mildly Relevant News with Joe Baur

Why the United States isn't the Best | Mildly Relevant News with Joe Baur: "Now Ireland, which is roughly the same size as Ohio, simply puts our transit system to shame. Not only in Ohio, but across the United States. One can deduce this by simply exploring the transit options online. The trip overseas isn’t necessary, but only further proves the abysmally sad state of affairs of transit in the supposedly “always the best at everything, ever” mentality of the U.S."

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Cincinnati: "We want to be downtown."

Mayor names 5 step formula for a successful Cincinnati | 91.7 WVXU News: ""So we have all those companies and their employees are telling them we want to be downtown. We want to be where the restaurants are. We want to be where the action is. We want to be able to ride the streetcar when it's done. You know I could not let you get out of here without talking about the streetcar." "

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Parking mandates stymy development in Cincinnati’s urban neighborhoods — UrbanCincy

Parking mandates stymy development in Cincinnati’s urban neighborhoods — UrbanCincy: "The demolition of buildings that are mostly historic is also a concern as downtowns struggle to build parking infrastructure that is required by code. Those demolitions, oddly enough, systematically demolish the very things that distinguished them from the suburbs and made the area an appealing destination."

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Hardy transit, hardy economy | Cincinnati.com | cincinnati.com

Hardy transit, hardy economy | Cincinnati.com | cincinnati.com: "Maintain, grow public transit"

The need: Transport urban dwellers and elderly, disabled and poor to jobs, groceries, health centers and services.

The details: Public transit plays a critical role in the region’s economy: Metro provides 17 million rides every year, about half getting people to and from work. The Transit Authority of Northern Kentucky (TANK) serves 5 million passengers every year, about 75 percent to and from work. Local transit authorities say the greatest challenge is to maintain funding for services and programs and find ways to fund new ones, such as a planned $9 million bus rapid transit corridor in Uptown.

The experts: “Transportation is really important in terms of economic development, job creation and linking people to job opportunities,” says Terry Garcia Crews, CEO and general manager of Metro. “Here’s an opportunity to seize that moment .”

The cost: Maintain existing federal and local funding for public transit operations, infrastructure and the replacement of buses. Secure funding for new service and initiatives.

The prospects: Uncertain. Transit officials say the transportation plan put forth by U.S. House Republicans would jeopardize federal funding for public transit. And local funding is often tied to local governments, increasingly cash-strapped themselves.

Why Transit? | TransitColumbus

Why Transit? | TransitColumbus: "Public Transportation saves Money at Home and at the Gas Pump

The average American household spends 18 cents of every dollar on transportation – nearly all of which goes to buying, maintaining and operating a car – the largest personal expense after housing.
Families living near public transit drive an average of 4,400 fewer miles than families with no access to public transit. This equates to an individual reduction of 223 gallons of gas per year."

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$4,000 a year for gas, and you could have free #transit for 60 basis points of tax

Gas Prices and the Value of Walkable Communities | Planetizen: ""While the average American household paid $4,155 for gasoline in 2011 -- a 25% increase over 2010 -- (in our walkable community) we paid about $1,400. And it wasn’t because we made sacrifices. It was because we happened upon an immensely satisfying lifestyle that just happened to be less dependent on gasoline. At whatever price.""

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#Transit Intangibles - Life in the human lane

Transit Intangibles: "Transit evangelists can name off a long list of tangible benefits from riding transit. A smaller carbon footprint, better health, lower stress levels from driving can all be named but effects from riding that are rarely talked about are the intangible benefits of transit. This brings me back to an experience I had yesterday while waiting on my bus to return to work."

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