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THE RIVER CITY NEWS MORE COVINGTON NEWS THAN ANY OTHER SOURCE
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by Michael Monks
LAST DAY TO VOICE SUPPORT FOR CHANGES TO THE BRENT SPENCE BRIDGE
Today is the final day that the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet is accepting public input on Covington's desired changes to the Brent Spence Bridge project. From the City of Covington:
Currently the design plan does not offer direct access to 5th Street when traveling on NB I-75 as it is today, instead the plan will require motorists to exit at 12th Street and then travel on a new, one-way, local road from 12th to the City's riverfront area at 5th through several traffic signals. The recommended modification to Alternative "I" would restore direct access to 5th Street from NB I-75.You can send an email to Stacee Hans with the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet today here: stacee.hans@ky.gov
The southbound Alternative "I" design does provide access to 5th Street and 9th Street from SB I-75. However, the decision point is located one mile north of the Ohio River near the Museum Center at Ezzard Charles Boulevard. Once past this exit, the next opportunity to exit in Kentucky from SB I-75 will occur at Kyles Lane in Fort Wright. No opportunity to exit into Covington is available once the City or bridge is visible. The Northern Kentucky community feels direct access from I-75 southbound into Covington on the Kentucky side of the bridge is necessary. The project team has looked at several options and has determined a direct ramp from I-75 SB to 9th Street is a feasible modification.
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CONGRESSMEN, SENATOR SUPPORT NEW BRENT SPENCE BRIDGE
From Congressman Geoff Davis's office:
As a House-Senate conference committee finalizes a transportation jobs bill, U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH) and U.S. Reps. Geoff Davis (R-KY) and Jean Schmidt (R-OH) expressed bipartisan, bicameral support — from both sides of the Ohio River — for critical resources that would support projects like the Brent Spence Bridge. In a letter sent this week, Brown, Davis and Schmidt urged conferees to include a provision to support large-scale transportation projects of “national and regional significance” — like the Brent Spence Bridge — in the final version of the highway bill.Read the full letter that they submitted by clicking here (PDF)
“There is strong bipartisan support — from both sides of the Ohio River — for critical resources that would support the Brent Spence Bridge,” Brown said. “Investments in road construction projects and bridge repairs put Ohioans back to work, while promoting economic growth. When companies decide where to locate, expand, and invest, transportation infrastructure is a critical factor in the decision. That’s why it’s so important that resources for large, multi-state projects like Brent Spence are included this bipartisan bill.”
"The federal government should have a mechanism to identify, prioritize and fund projects like the Brent Spence Bridge that are essential to the American economy," Davis said. "The Projects of National and Regional Significance program would provide a merit-based system to identify and help fund vital transportation projects."
“The Brent Spence Bridge is enormously important to our regional and national economies,” said Schmidt. “I’m hopeful that lawmakers in both the House and Senate recognize the need to support such projects.”
Brown, Davis and Schmidt urged conferees working to reconcile differences between the House and Senate versions of surface transportation legislation to include the Projects of National and Regional Significance (PNRS) program included in the Senate passed bill, S. 1813, Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century (MAP-21). This program particularly helps projects like the Brent Spence Bridge that are large in scale and fall under more than one jurisdiction.
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CINCINNATI CITY COUNCIL TEAM TO LEARN ABOUT COVINGTON RE-USE CENTER
CORRECTION: The meeting is at the Cincinnati Re-Use Center, not Covington, but the Covington Re-Use Center will be demonstrating its success there
A delegation of Cincinnati City Council members will learn about the Covington Re-Use Center and Street Smarts to better understand that organization's growth (Twenty new businesses creating eighty new jobs) and to see if it is a model that could be replicated in Cincinnati.
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COVINGTON KILLER TO GET HEARING ON MENTAL DISABILITY
A 1987 murder that was in the news a few weeks ago when one of the suspects was eligible for release is back in the news as the main defendant from the case has won a hearing on his claim of being mentally disabled and ineligible for the death penalty:
The Kentucky Supreme Court also granted Gregory L. Wilson, 55, a hearing on whether semen used as evidence in the case still exists and should be tested.Associated Press/Brett Barrouquere
Chief Justice John D. Minton ruled that Kentucky's procedures for determining the mental status of death row inmates does not violate Wilson's due process rights. He ordered a hearing within 180 days.
"We find that Wilson's school record constitutes some evidence that he is mentally retarded," Minton wrote.
Wilson is awaiting execution for the death of 36-year-old Debbie Pooley, a restaurant manager who disappeared while returning from a friend's house on May 29, 1987. Her remains were found two weeks later in a wooded area in Indiana. Wilson and 58-year-old Brenda Humphrey were convicted in the case. Humphrey is serving life in prison and, in April, lost her first bid for parole.
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COVINGTON'S NEW TOOL TO FIGHT COPPER THEFT
The new Centurion Wireless Security System purchased by the Covington Police Department will be key in catching copper thieves. Check out this video report from WXIX:
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COVINGTON PLANS FURTHER IMPROVEMENTS AT DEVOU PARK
A new message emanating from Covington City Hall is to capitalize on the fact that Devou Park's golf course is truly Greater Cincinnati's only Downtown course. Also:
City commissioners have approved a feasibility study for a building that could possibly host 250-person events and also serve as a welcome center for the park.Cincinnati EnquirerMike Rutledge
Officials envision a place that can be a clubhouse for the golf course, a welcome center, a place where bicycles can be rented to park visitors and a venue that is less expensive and smaller than the high-end Drees Pavilion, which hosts lavish wedding receptions that command spectacular views of the downtowns of Cincinnati, Covington and Newport.
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QUICKIES
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President Obama versus Uncommitted is a headache for Kentucky Democrats cn|2
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Former Secretary of State Trey Grayson talks Kentucky primary cn|2
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State to send letters to uninsured motorists Cincinnati Enquirer
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Fuel prices blamed for ending flight from CVG to Phoenix Business Courier
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Bank of Kentucky elects new chairman Business Courier
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Parts of Kentucky in a drought WKYT
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Former Kentucky Kingdom reopening may be delayed, won't have roller coasters Courier-Journal
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Louisville to host 2017 American Legion convention Business First
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Boone County church to get historic marker press release
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Cave Hill Cemetery also to get historic marker press release
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URBAN LIVING
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Cincinnati's urban growth is fueled by young entrepreneurs
Over the past five to seven years, a tremendous amount of progress and change has taken place throughout Cincinnati’s urban core. This progress, however, is not just through bricks and mortar, but also the people who populate those buildings. In fact, those people are the most significant part of the equation. Without their ideas, hard work and passion, none of this would be happening.Urban Cincy/Randy A. Simes
Thankfully, Queen City Project has been documenting some of these people and their stories. Their latest video looks at a collection of young entrepreneurs looking to bring their new ideas to Main Street – literally and figuratively.
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Here's the video:
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SEE ALSO: Similar story in Soapbox Cincinnati
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The Banks phase 1A has $91 million economic impact Business Courier
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"The City as a Start-up" Meeting in Cincinnati video Click Here
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HOW AND WHY AMERICAN CITIES ARE COMING BACK
It's a reversal of trends from the previous decades:
For the past half-century, we've gotten used to thinking of central cities as enclaves of the poor, and suburbs as the refuges of the affluent. But in the past decade, suburbs have become the entry points in which immigrants settle when they first arrive in a metro area, while the center -- in places such as Washington, Atlanta, Chicago, and Boston -- have become magnets for a largely affluent and professional class of young adults in their 20s and 30s.The Atlantic Cities
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ENTERTAINMENT DISTRICTS: BLOCKS WHERE NO ONE HAS ANY FUN
"Cities keep trying to create downtown cool with dull nightlife districts. But who wants to hang out at the mall?"
What could be wrong with a district where nightclubs and galleries are encouraged to thrive? Nothing, necessarily; done right, a city can help foster these scenes with a gentle guiding hand. Constructing an entire milieu from whole cloth, however, is where cities get into trouble. “The problem with these created-overnight districts is that you’re trying to create a culture as opposed to letting one grow,” says Nathaniel Hood, a Minneapolis-based transportation planner. “You’re getting the culture that one developer or city council member thinks the city needs, as opposed to the ground-up culture that comes from multiple players.”Salon
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Airports and the wealth of cities The Atlantic Cities
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Visualizing a full day of airplane paths:
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CITY OF COVINGTON'S MEMORIAL DAY PARADE IS MONDAY
From the City:
Covington will participate in the day with a parade at 2:00 pm beginning at Holmes High School and travelling to Linden Grove Cemetery where a Memorial Service will be held at 3:00 pm.More details at the link.
Line up anywhere along the parade route! The parade will leave the campus at 2:00 PM, proceed north on Madison Avenue, west on 19th Street, north on Holman and conclude at the Linden Grove Cemetery where there will be a Memorial Day Program at approximately 3:00 PM at the conclusion of the parade. Marchers and viewers alike will honor those in all branches of service.
City of Covington
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PROFILE OF THE CHILDREN'S HOME OF NKY
From the Business Courier's "Nonprofit Files":
Children’s Home of Northern Kentucky provides services for abused, neglected and at-risk children and their families, including residential treatment for boys at its campuses in Covington and Burlington, and intensive in-home services for families in which children are at risk for out-of-home placement. The organization also works with the Children’s Alliance to advocate for abused, neglected and at-risk children. The Children’s Home was founded as an orphanage in 1882 by Col. Amos Shinkle. In 2011, it served more than 700 children and families in 38 Kentucky counties.Business Courier
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SEE ALSO: Youth Commission applications are now available Center for Great Neighborhoods
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DOG ADOPTION EVENT AT STRASSE DOG IN MAINSTRASSE SATURDAY
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MAIFEST CHALK ART WINNERS
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| 1st place winner |
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DESTINATION: GRADUATION PROFILE
Another soon-to-be Holmes graduate is profiled by Covington Independent Public Schools:
If you ever attend an event by the Cincinnati Circus Company, you might just see 17-year-old Blake. Blake’s heart reaches many people through his work at the circus company where he works as a professional entertainer spreading his craft through everything from birthday parties to festivals putting smiles on faces.More about Blake at the link.
Blake attended the National Circus School Summer Camp in Canada when he was in the 10th grade. This same young man scored 30 on his ACT and is No. 4 in the Holmes graduating class.
CIPS @ Facebook
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CREATION MUSEUM WINS ONLINE VOTE BUT IS EXCLUDED BY MAGAZINE
The people out at the Creation Museum who believe that man once walked alongside dinosaurs are angry at the magazine, Budget Travel, which was compiling a list of places that kids should see before they turn fifteen. The Creation Museum got the most votes after an orchestrated campaign by its operators, "Answers in Genesis", but the magazine did not include the Boone County destination on its final list:
The group said, “Curiously, despite being a clear winner in terms of votes received, the Creation Museum does not appear on the Budget Travel List.”World Net Daily
Noting the company explanation that the Creation Museum did not fit into a “universal appeal” profile, the ministry said, “We are certainly aware many evolutionists fear exposing children to the sort of critical thinking encouraged by a visit to the Creation Museum. And while we never discourage parents from taking their children to museums such as the number two choice on Budget Travel’s list – the Field Museum of Chicago, home of ‘the biggest Tyrannosaurus rex fossil ever dug up’ – we do suggest they go armed with a bucketful of discernment.”
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“The debate around the Creation Museum showed us that it was not something everyone would agree that every kid should see, and so did not fit the ‘universal appeal’ criterion for the final editorial list. However, we know how strongly folks felt about all the places they voted for, and that’s why we call out a link to the voting page results in the introduction to the article,” the spokeswoman said.
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THURSDAY'S NEWS
In case you missed...
The city's new effort to bring in new businesses: Speed Dating!; A new Twitter profile pokes a little fun at everyday life in Covington; Plus, several from the city to be recognized tonight for preservation efforts. Those stories and more at the link! |
SPORTS QUICKIES
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Kentucky fan creates breakfast cereal homage to Anthony Davis WHAS
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Calipari's plans to play on neutral courts becomes polarizing Courier-Journal
“We are certainly aware many evolutionists fear exposing children to the sort of critical thinking encouraged by a visit to the Creation Museum."
ReplyDeleteShould read: "We are certainly aware many evolutionists are repulsed by the sort of bat-shit-crazy non-thinking their children would be exposed to..."