THE RIVER CITY NEWS MORE COVINGTON NEWS THAN ANY OTHER SOURCE
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by Michael Monks
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COVINGTON SHOWS BEST SIDES FOR WORLD CHOIR GAMES
Cincinnati's landing of the 2012 World Choir Games has been beneficial to Covington, too. The city hosted four friendship concerts associated with the games over the weekend, each one in a setting perfect to introduce Covington to an international audience. Devou Park, Mainstrasse Village, and Mother of God Church are certainly highlights for any visitor, with beauty to match the quality of the international choirs visiting the region. The Cathedral Basilica of the Assumption also hosted a paid concert last week as the Games were first starting. It doesn't get any better than singing there.
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PHOTOS from Friendship Concert in Mainstrasse Village:
This concert featured choirs from Colombia (Crescendo Arte Children's Choir), Germany (Sangerkreis Hildburghausen), and the US (Kolping Sangerchor).
PHOTOS from concert at Mother of God Church:
This concert was so crowded that people were turned away -- including Covington Mayor Chuck Scheper, City Commissioner Steve Casper, and several parents of the performers. The show featured four choirs representing Australia (Bendigo Youth Choir), Czech Republic (Zvonky Prhaha), USA (Kings Korale), and Venezuela (Coro Polifonico Rafel Suarez).
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CHECK OUT PHOTOS FROM THE CONCERTS IN DEVOU PARK: Click Here
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Here's a great video of the first week of the World Choir Games:
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COVINGTON STATE REP SEEKS TO REPEAL BAN OF ELECTION DAY LIQUOR
Kentucky and South Carolina are the only states in the Union that still ban the sales of alcohol on election days until after the polls close. State Rep. Arnold Simpson, a Democrat from Covington's Old Seminary Square neighborhood, wants that to change:
Simpson plans on introducing the bill in the 2013 session. It will include a local option for counties and cities to outlaw local liquor sales if they choose. Otherwise, the bill would repeal the election day alcohol ban in all wet counties. Simpson will speak before the Interim Joint Committee on Licensing and Occupations at 10 a.m. Friday in the state Capitol. The bill has died in committee each of the previous four sessions. Simpson said he thinks the state shouldn’t ignore the issue. “The statute does not serve a legitimate state interest,” Simpson said. “It is not the most important thing in Frankfort by any means, but it is something we can do to remove hurdles for businesses to prosper, particularly in Northern Kentucky.”More comments from Simpson, and the owner of Chez Nora, at the link.
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PLAYGROUND FIRE TO BE DISCUSSED IN AUSTINBURG NEIGHBORHOOD
The fire that destroyed a playground at Sixth District Elementary School will be discussed Monday evening during the Austinburg Neighborhood Association. Catch the meeting at the Oakland Avenue Baptist Church at 6:30PM.
Click here for more photos of the playground after the fire.
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STUDY: PLANNERS MISCALCULATE BENEFITS OF NEW ROADS
The in-progress expansion of Taylor Mill Road (KY-16) may fall into this trap. A study out of Denmark shows that traffic congestion often actually increases when a road is expanded because drivers that had previously avoided the road because of congestion will now flock to it:
According to the study, completed by researchers at the Institute of Transport Economics and a Danish university, this leads to skewed cost-benefit analyses that call for new highways and road widenings of dubious benefit to the public. Researchers reported that perceived time savings make up the largest portion — sometimes 85 percent — of the economic benefits assigned to prospective highway projects. But an unanticipated boost in traffic volume can turn many projects that would theoretically pass analytical muster into economic losers. Unless transportation agencies are carefully accounting for these effects, however, many of these projects get built anyway.
Read the full study here
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COVINGTON POLICE HOST BLOOD DRIVE MONDAY
From the Police:
Covington Police Department, in cooperation with Hoxworth Blood Center, is sponsoring their annual summer blood drive on Monday, July 9, 2012. The Donor Bus will be at Police Headquarters from 11:30 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. on 7/9/2012. During the summer months, there tends to be a shortage of blood donations and a higher amount of usage. Covington Police is once again partnering with Hoxworth in the hope of helping them achieve their goal of increasing the amount of blood donated during the summer months. Hoxworth’s blood donations are given to local area hospitals to save lives. And this year, as a special thank you to our donors: Every person who donates will receive a Hoxworth summer t-shirt! To schedule an appointment to donate, please contact Michelle Robinson-Wilson at 859-292-2241. Requirements to donate:1. Bring a photo ID.2. Eat a good meal and drink plenty of fluids before and after donating.3. You must be 17 years of age (16 with signed parental consent).4. You must weigh at least 110 pounds.5. To check additional eligibility guidelines (medical, RX, travel, piercing/tattoo restrictions), please call Hoxworth at 513-558-1304.
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FAST & FURIOUS CASE IN DC GETS LOCAL FLAVOR FROM RICK ROBINSON
Local author Rick Robinson (have you bought his new book yet? Do it! It's awesome with lots of scenes in Covington/NKY. Click Here) writes a regular column for the conservative blog The Daily Caller. This time he focuses on the "Fast & Furious" case being discussed in Congress and involving the Attorney General, but before delving into that shares an interesting story about a local artist:
In the winter of 1972-73, Larry Womack hated his job as an insurance salesman so badly that he spent most of his evenings teaching himself sculpture. Womack, then a 29-year-old honorably discharged veteran, was very politically aware. He knew that President Richard Nixon, who had just won a second term in office, was facing the potential of a Senate investigation into his administration’s involvement in a second-rate break-in at the Democratic Party’s Watergate headquarters in Washington, D.C. As a teaching tool for his art, Womack began sculpting a chess set of caricatures that pitted the Nixon White House against the Senate Select Committee on Presidential Campaign Activities (a.k.a. the Watergate Committee). The likenesses were brilliant. On the White House side of the board, a defiant king, Richard Nixon, was joined by Attorney General John Mitchell, Chief of Staff H.R. Haldeman (complete with buzz cut and his ever-present briefcase) and John Ehrlichman. As the Watergate hearings progressed, Womack sculpted John Dean as the rook because the piece could move from side to side as well as forward and backward. The pawns for the White House were reel-to-reel tape recorders. Senator and frumpy country-lawyer Sam Ervin (D-NC) was the king of the Senate pieces, and copies of the United States Constitution were the pawns. Committee members and fellow senators Howard Baker (R-TN), Daniel Inouye (D-HI), Herman Talmadge (D-GA) and Lowell Weicker Jr. (R-CT) joined Senator Erwin’s team.
Womack's work is often on display at the new Village Wine Gallery.
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DON'T MISS COVINGTON'S BEST WEEK IN REVIEW
A comprehensive review of the previous week in Covington and a look ahead to the next one. It's all inside The Sunday Edition -- at the link!The RC News: The Sunday Edition 
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QUICKIES
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Drought endangers food crops, could raise food prices WFPL
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Kentucky, Ohio among states fighting "tourists" trafficking drugs Herald-Leader
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State pension system fights exits of mental health boards Herald-Leader
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Sen. McConnell: No regrets on Chief Justice confirmation The Hill
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Hamilton County could be key to Obama victory WVXU
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Historic building burns in McCreary County WKYT
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West Liberty doughboy statue in repairs after tornado damage Herald-Leader
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Cincinnati's decades-long population loss may be stabilizing Urban Cincy
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Kentucky town vies for best small town in America Herald-Leader
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Kentucky sees payback from Hatfields & McCoys miniseries Herald-Leader
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Anthony Davis in legal battle to trademark his uni-brow WXIX
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INDEPENDENCE FIREWORKS PHOTOS
Some great photos from the Independence Fourt of July celebration, including this one that appears to show a happy couple agreeing to marry:
More photos at the link from the City of Independence.
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WHERE PEOPLE "TWEET" ABOUT BEER MORE THAN CHURCH
Some new data indicates that folks in Kenton and Campbell Counties spend more time on Twitter talking about beer than they do talking about church. Much more. Boone County and Cincinnati's Hamilton County tweet more about church. Check it out:
You can either click on that image to enlarge it, or fine on at this link that appears to be the largest available: Click Here
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Full story: The Guardian
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CREATION MUSEUM'S ARK ENCOUNTER A BIG FRAUD?
One columnist in Louisville thinks so:
Yahoo! News visited the Creation “Museum” this summer to behold the glory of a 600-year-old man riding vegan dragons onto a giant boat a few thousand years ago. In their report — besides the obvious gawking at the freak show — they give us the latest update on the “groundbreaking” for Ark Encounter, Gov. Steve Beshear’s answer to unemployment and dignity in Grant County. As we began suspecting last year — due to horrid fundraising, groundbreakings pushed back over and over again, and the lack of a refund policy on their website — “Ark Encounter” might never actually be built, or at least nothing resembling their original $175 million plan, while Ken Ham & Co. take what they’ve raised and invest it in their Creation Museum.
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FORMER STATE TREASURER WINS BIG AT POKER TOURNAMENT
Jonathan Miller, who was once the Treasurer of this great Commonwealth, went to Vegas and scored, finishing eighth overall in the World Series of Poker:
"The idea I would ever be at the final table was preposterous," Miller said Sunday. Playing in the World Series of Poker was a goal he said he deferred while in public office. "When you're a politician in Kentucky, it is not a real good public relations move going to a gambling tournament in Las Vegas," Miller said. Miller was guaranteed at least $53,846 in winnings by making it into the final nine. He said that he planned to give part of his prize money to his temple and that a good portion of the rest probably would go into his daughters' college funds.
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FANCY HOT DOGS COME TO COVINGTON -- AT TWO LOCATIONS!
Somebody must have sent out the memo that Covington was in dire need of adding fancy hot dogs to its expansive list of culinary choices, because now we have two!
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Kelly's Pub (at the Radisson Riverfront)
Check out Kelly's new hot dog menu:
DJ's Sandwich Shop opens Tuesday, features hot dogs
But only Wednesdays, which will be known as "Weiner Wednesdays". Check out the menu here.
