Loveland Magazine

Spot Zoning Ordinance "Not Necessary" - But Full Speed Ahead

“Passage of the second ordinance is not necessary.” -Assistant City Manager, Gary Vidmar

by David Miller

 Beginning in January, there will be little standing in the way for residential property owners in Loveland from requesting and receiving commercial zoning on their individual home sites. Assistant City Manager, Gary Vidmar says, “In a community that is mostly built out, §1115.06 (a) B is extremely limiting in terms of generating new revenue sources through commercial development.” With statements like these, there now is a standing invitation and encouragement to do so.

A change now being considered by City Council, with a public hearing, and expected vote, on January 10 - will remove from the Loveland Zoning Code the prohibition against rezoning a residential lot to commercial use. If the prohibition is repealed, as recommended by the Planing and Zoning Commission (P&Z), small pockets of commercial zoning will be allowed in Loveland’s neighborhoods.

The wording in the Code the City Administration asked Council to remove reads: Section 1115.06(a)B - No residentially zoned district shall be rezoned to a non-residential district unless such proposed rezoning site is contiguous to land in the proposed zoning district classification.

A similar attempt in 2003 to tamper with this section of the code was put to a Referendum vote, after successful citizen law suits and a referendum petition drive. That, “Spot Zoning” ordinance was defeated when commercial development was proposed on St. Rt. 48 on what is commonly called the “White Pillars” development. The issue was soundly defeated at the ballot box because of not only the impact of that particular neighborhood, but also because of concerns of the implications to other neighborhoods throughout the City. There were also concerns raised about hurting existing commercial areas within the City that are lacking use and investment.

The 2004 attempt to meddle with this section of the code was overwhelmingly rejected by voters in a Referendum vote. At that time a 5-acre restriction was contemplated, meaning a person or persons asking for commercial use would have to have a site of at least 5-acres before the property could be rezoned. This time however, there are is no such acreage restriction, except that some zoning uses require at least a one-acre lot. Neighbors could however amass the required acreage and jointly ask for the spot zoning.

This latest attempt at removing the spot zoning restrictions comes at the heels and entanglement of a request by Mason Orthodontist, Dr. Gerald Johnson who wants to convert a home at 11050 Lebanon Road for a dental clinic. The property is in a residentially zoned district. It is bordered on two sides by residential properties, on one side by the Loveland Intermediate/Middle School campus and the North Star Church on the other. In order to accommodate Johnson, City Hall is set to approve amendments to the code that will affect the entire City.

In their zeal to accommodate Johnson, City Staff vowed to find suitable code change. They came up with two. One would be to simply change the code to allow “office” use within residential neighborhoods. That proposal is also now before City Council. The other change, deleting the spot zoning prohibition in its entirety, is now deemed unnecessary to accommodate Dr. Johnson, yet still moving forward - all wrapped in the rhetoric of helping Dr. Johnson.

At a recent public hearing before the P&Z, Commission members asked about the ramifications of allowing “offices” to be built in residential neighborhoods, but no member debated or asked questions about the code change that would allow all kinds of other commercial, and even industrial uses, in residential zones.

In early December, Loveland Magazine sat down with Vidmar, who has taken the lead in promoting the code change, to better understand why City staff would have the Spot Zoning provision move forward when it seemed not necessary if his only goal was to allow the orthodontist office on Lebanon Road. Vidmar said that at first they thought it necessary to remove the Spot Zoning prohibition as well as making the other changes. He was also asked if he could explain the ramifications of removing the Spot Zoning prohibition. He could provide no answers, however, he did agree to consult with City Solicitor, Frank Klaine about why both changes were still linked to the orthodontist office. He also agreed to respond back to Loveland Magazine after the conversation with the City Attorney. He did not, but when reminded of his promise on December 23 he responded via e-mail, “In a community that is mostly built out, §1115.06 (a) B is extremely limiting in terms of generating new revenue sources through commercial development.”

Vidmar also explained, “If the ordinance to add an office use as a special exception in a residential district passes, the orthodontist may submit an application to P & Z for approval as a special exception use. Passage of the second ordinance is not necessary.” (Emphasis added)

Vidmar said that after studying zoning codes in other communities he found that some did not have this specific restriction that the Loveland Code has. He said, “Staff has researched sections in the zoning code of other communities pertaining to this issue. The majority of the zoning codes investigated by staff do not prohibit a non-residential use on property adjoining land in a residential district including Mason, Worthington, Perrysburg, Oakwood and Upper Arlington. The zoning code of one of the cities examined by staff (Blue Ash) contains a “Special Use Regulation” that establishes protective restrictions on certain buildings or uses in each district. Of the zoning codes staff investigated, only Urbana and Celina have similar text in their building codes that prohibit non-residential uses in a residential district.”

If Vidmar did not at first understand the full implication of eliminating Loveland’s prohibition against allowing commercial uses in neighborhoods, he certainly now does. Does City Council? Did the Planning Commission? To date, there has been no debate or questioning the wisdom of the move. Given that P&Z and City Council have never in the end, denied a request by a property owner for a land use they were allowed to ask for, why are they contemplating removing the only section of the code that prohibited property owners from seeking a whole Pandora’s Box full of new allowable uses?

Current council, members might vote to remove this restriction, promising to never allow neighborhood bars, or light manufacturing in your neighborhood, but council majorities can change every two years. Given the unlikely event of a new zoning request ever being denied, the persistent property owner would certainly go immediately to court and argue, “Judge, how can they not allow commercial use in my neighborhood? I have property rights. And besides, in January of 2012 my city council opened this door for me, gave me encouragement, and an open invitation.”

Think the corner of Lebanon Road and West Loveland won’t be filled with convenience stores, gas stations, or dry cleaners? Might want to think again. Think your neighbor will never start full scale manufacturing on the widget he invented in his garage? Might want to think again. Think the existing empty storefronts on Loveland Madeira Road or the vacant land in the Historic District might remain that way for the foreseeable future? Might be right about that.

On the other hand, have you ever wanted to turn your home into a bed and breakfast? Ever wanted to sell retail from your home? This might be the opportunity you've been waiting for.

Want to research the Loveland Zoning Code?

Download Zoning map2008-1

For Background Stories and Video of P&Z meeting. Planning and Zoning Pass Spot Zoning Recommendation

 

Notice is hereby given that Loveland City Council will hold a public hearing on Tuesday, January 10, 2012 at 8:00 p.m.  The public hearing will be held at Loveland City Hall Council Chambers located at 120 West Loveland Avenue, Loveland, Ohio.
 
Public Hearing #1 - The purpose of the hearing is to receive public comments on a request for a Zoning Code text amendment to repeal Codified Ordinance Section 1115.06 (a) B which states: No residentially zoned district shall be rezoned to a non-residential district unless such proposed rezoning site is contiguous to land in the proposed zoning district classification.  Information about this rezoning can be found on the City’s website, www.lovelandoh.com, or can be examined at City Hall during business hours, Monday through Friday.
 
Public Hearing #2 - The purpose of the hearing is to receive public comments on a request for a Zoning Code text amendment to amend Codified Ordinance Section 1111.08 by adding an office use as a special exception in a residential district and adding restrictions for some other non-residential uses in a residential district.  Information about this rezoning can be found on the City’s website, www.lovelandoh.com, or can be examined at City Hall during business hours, Monday through Friday.
 
Interested persons may appear and be heard with respect to the proposed rezoning. Comments may also be submitted in writing to the Clerk of Council, 120 W. Loveland Avenue, Loveland, OH 45140 or emailed to mcheshire@lovelandoh.com.
 
Individuals with disabilities requiring special accommodations that are participating in or wish to attend this hearing should call 513-683-0150 at least seven (7) days in advance so arrangements can be made.

How Did We Do in 2011?

Dear Readers,

We extend our heartfelt thanks to all of our many supporters... Those who contribute stories, send news tips, proof read and correct our spelling, Guest Columnists, Photographers, Advertisers, and so many, very, generous donors.

 

In the past two months we have invested more than $4,500 in video production upgrades. We are very, very grateful to our  advertisers, but this revenue is not yet paying the bills for the capital investments we are making to keep Loveland Magazine the "Leader in Local News". Can you help pay some of our bills?

 

We hope you agree that Loveland Magazine has "Re-Invented Local News Coverage" for the Loveland Area - and in the tri-state region.

 

If you appreciate what we bring you...

 

Please Make a Donation by using our on-line TIP JAR

 

or...

 

by sending a check to:

 

Loveland Magazine

251 Wall Street

Loveland, Ohio 45140

 

Sincerely,

 

David Miller, Editor and Publisher

 

If you would like to advertise in Loveland Magazine send an email for details.

How are We Doing?

Dear Readers,

This is perhaps the most comprehensive Holiday Happenings Guide EVER published in the Greater Loveland Area. Be sure to visit our Community Calendar often during the next month to see what is happening in the community. If you know of an event that should be included - please let us know.

 

In the past two months we have invested more than $4,500 in video production upgrades. We are very, very grateful to our  advertisers, but this revenue is not yet paying the bills for the capital investments we are making to keep Loveland Magazine the "Leader in Local News". Can you help pay some of our bills?

 

Loveland Magazine has not only "Re-Invented Local News Coverage" - we have been the only news source actually attending Loveland Council and Commission meetings to do our reporting.

 

Other news outlets have been watching meetings on TV at home on the couch for the last years - to do their reporting.

 

We have doggedly pursued public records and meeting agendas from City Hall. No other media has yet reported that Historic Downtown Loveland has been re-zoned to bring historic change to our community. No other media has yet reported that "Spot Zoning" is returning to Loveland Neighborhoods.

 

Loveland Magazine put complete and accuurate election results in your e-mail box before you woke up the next morning.

 

If you appreciate what we bring you...

 

Please Make a Donation by using our on-line TIP JAR

 

or...

 

by sending a check to:

 

Loveland Magazine

251 Wall Street

Loveland, Ohio 45140

 

Sincerely,

 

David Miller, Editor and Publisher

 

If you would like to advertise in Loveland Magazine send an email for details.

“Anybody - hop a’board" the Over-the Rhine Freedom Train

 

“There’s nothing like a friendship forged through struggle.”

 

by David Miller

This LOVELAND MAGAZINE HD VIDEO is of Bonnie Neumeier speaking to a crowd of nearly 200 people, gathered at the Drop Inn Center on the fifteenth anniversary of the shooting death of Buddy Gray on November 15.

Gray, a founder of the Drop Inn Center on 12th Street in Cincinnati, was shot in 1996 with a hand gun in his office at the center by a mentally ill man that Buddy had taken off the streets and found an apartment for. The shooting death came after an intense hate campaign targeting Gray, with signs being posted on telephone poles that said, “Stop Buddy Gray”. The “official” excuse for shooting Buddy was that the man believed Buddy was pumping poisonous gas into the the man’s apartment. Gray was 46-years old.

Neumeier said that she walked and worked side-by-side with Buddy for twenty-three years. She said, “There’s nothing like a friendship forged through struggle.”

She describes Gray as a very intense man with great passion and soul who loved the people in Cincinnati’s Over-the-Rhine neighborhood. “Over-the Rhine was in his soul, and Buddy’s soul is in this land, in this place, on this corner, in this city, and across this United States and the world.”

Neumeier also said that, “Buddy was a simple man who loved simple things. He saved his shoes so he could remember places where he had been.”

Gray once told me that he also loved Loveland, Ohio where he came to visit at Grailville and to fish on the Little Miami River near Nisbet Park.

Pointing to a long time-line stretching along the wall of the Drop Inn Center, Neumeier said that her and Buddy described the “Over-the Rhine People’s Movement” as a freedom train, and they would say to each other, “Anybody - hop a’board.” She concludes her remarks by reading a letter that Buddy had written to her about hope.

I sobbed uncontrollably the afternoon I got home from work and learned that my friend had been assassinated. My explanation for the shooting was that the shooter had lost sight of reality and was simply answering the call - the man was doing what he felt was a favor for the neighborhood - “Stop Buddy Gray”.

I knew Buddy as the man who saved countless lives, including his assassin's. His Center, was from my experience working there off-and-on for several years, a hospital of last resort. It was where hopeless, destitute, men and women ended when all the other agencies and the area’s finest families, hospitals and police departments failed. Early in the 1970's, Gray began to invite homeless people into his own home to prevent them from dying on the streets. In 1973, he began operating evening shelters in various storefronts, moving to the 12th Street location in 1978.

The Drop Inn Center works becauuse they take people from where they are - and, shelter, feed, and clothe them first. Then whenever possible, provide recovery programing, such as transitional housing, case management, medical care for physical and mental needs, and job assistance. Their doors never close.

The hospital that goes by the name, Drop Inn Center is still on 12th Street, still going strong, even stronger than ever. But, more than ever it still needs your help. Not because it’s the Christmas season, but because of the unemployment and housing crisis of the “Great Recession” and the coming of winter.

After watching this video, please visit their Web Site and learn more about the work they do. Then volunteer and send money, and place yourself into the Over-the Rhine People’s Movement time line and “Hop a’board” the Freedom Train.

 

Thanks for the Crap Sandwich

 

In a Nutshell                 

by Alana Johnson

Last night I dreamt I was cooking our Thanksgiving dinner. I went to the cupboard for some green beans.  Found a can of “Cream of Congress.”  Label read, “100% pure crap, all fat, no added guts, whatsoever.”

That’s what I get for watching Lawrence O’Donnell’s MSNBC show before I went to bed. He said, “The good news is that the Super Committee failed.” He stated that if the Super Committee would have succeeded, that Congress would operate that way from now on. 

So, it would work like this: Rob Portman’s Super Committee would pass a budget that would cut Social Security and Medicare benefits. Democrats could howl and rightfully say that they would NEVER vote for such Draconian measures.

Sherrod Brown’s Super Committee would vote to raise taxes and save Social Security and Medicare. Republicans could moan and rightfully say that they would NEVER raise taxes.  Then no one would be responsible for any unpopular vote, ever.

WIN/WIN!!!!

O’Donnell further lamented that Congress would never have to do anything. Lawrence, the Congress does very little now but congratulate themselves on how hard they work and name a few post offices.

The whole system is failing. Congress doesn’t work. Our government is broken.  The people who understand this are Occupying Wall Street in various locations around the country.

I give thanks for them.  November 22, 2011

 

In a Nutshell: Why Didn't Joe Paterno Immediately Step Down?

 

In a Nutshell                 

by Alana Johnson

Expressing shock and horror at the Penn State/Joe Paterno scandal is a natural and human reaction.  The details of the crime of Jerry Sandusky are being described in graphic detail in newspapers and on TV.  It is being opined that the grisly details need to be out in the open so all may understand the horror of this crime.  I guess that we, after the Catholic Church scandal, are used to news stories about children being molested. So the word “molested” has become common place.  Are we really that jaded?

But the thing that has me scratching my head is why; Joe Paterno didn’t immediately step down.  And then, why didn’t he stop the show of support by the students.  Why didn’t he say,   “I was wrong.  I should be fired.  Students, go back to your books and please don’t cheer for me.  I failed in my role as a leader and as a father and as a man.  I made a terrible mistake and I am going to start making amends by telling you not to support me.  I bear some of the responsibility   for these heinous acts and the University is right to fire me.”  But he didn’t.  He smiled and waved to the crowd.

Maybe he thought he was too big to fail, like Lehman Brothers, Mubarak, Goldman Sachs, Gaddafi, and the Catholic Church.

Maybe it really doesn’t matter how you play the game, as long as you win.

 

Climate Skeptics Take Another Hit

Mother Jones —By Kevin Drum

| Fri Oct. 21, 2011 3:00 AM PDT

Physicists are notorious for believing that other scientists are mathematically incompetent. And University of California-Berkeley physicist Richard Muller is notorious for believing that conventional wisdom is often wrong. For example, the conventional wisdom about climate change. Muller has criticized Al Gore in the past as an "exaggerator," has spoken warmly of climate skeptic Anthony Watts, and has said that Steve McIntyre's famous takedown of the "hockey stick" climate graph made him "uncomfortable" with the paper the hockey stick was originally based on.

So in 2010 he started up the Berkeley Earth Surface Temperature project (BEST) to show the world how to do climate analysis right. Who better, after all? "Muller's views on climate have made him a darling of skeptics," said Scientific American, "and newly elected Republicans in the House of Representatives, who invited him to testify to the Committee on Science, Space and Technology about his preliminary results." The Koch Foundation, founded by the billionaire oil brothers who have been major funders of the climate-denial machine, gave BEST a $150,000 grant.

But Muller's congressional testimony last March didn't go according to plan. He told them a preliminary analysis suggested that the three main climate models in use today—each of which uses a different estimating technique, and each of which has potential flaws—are all pretty accurate: Global temperatures have gone up considerably over the past century, and the increase has accelerated over the past few decades.

Read on at Mother Jones...

The state of Georgia Shamefully Executed Troy Davis

 

The state of Georgia shamefully executed Troy Davis on September 21, 2011 despite serious doubts about his guilt.

But Not In My Name.

While a majority of the world – more than 65% of all countries – has abolished the death penalty in law or practice, the United States remains one of the top countries responsible for executing people.

Not In My Name.

Officials continue to allow this deeply-flawed, extremely arbitrary and severely-biased (both economically and racially) system to run rampant without checks, balances or concern for moral decency.

Not In My Name.

Guilty or innocent every person is a human being with human rights. Executions are always wrong.

I won't stand for it.

THE DEATH PENALTY MUST BE ABOLISHED. I take this pledge because human rights and human lives are on the line.

Go to the Amnesty International Web Site to take the pledge...

Historical Reconfiguration of Historic Downtown Loveland

Pure Deception - Or Just the Obvious Fact: Church is Gone

Here’s What We Know - For the Rest: Still Pulling Teeth at City Hall

Changes With Enormous Implications Coming to Downtown


by David Miller

Loveland, Ohio - Loveland Magazine was founded one late night in 2004 when I was trying to find out when the Loveland Homecoming Parade was. Like I said, it was late at night, too late to be making phone calls to the school or even friends that might know. There was nothing in the local newspapers. I googled and googled and could find nothing abut it. No date, no time, nothing. I said to myself that night, “Well dang it... whether you want to go to it, or avoid it because of the traffic gridlock - there needs to be someplace to find out when it is.” Since that late night, we are guided by the principlel that as our first priority we will respect our readers as our bosses, and serve them the basic who, why, what, and whens of living in and around the Greater Loveland Area. Some days are easy because of the great help we receive from our loyal readers themselves and other good institutions that provide great news releases. Other days Loveland Magazine might as well be a dental clinic, because it feels like trying to get just basic information to you - turns into pulling teeth.

With that said, here is a bit of news that every Loveland resident, taxpayer, or business owner needs to have - because what happens at City Hall in the coming weeks, might well change the very character of our community, when hundreds of apartments are built.

 

Are you for it? Or against it?

There are many different perspectives to the proposed change. If you are a property owner in Historic Downtown Loveland, you may be able to increase your rent. If you currently rent, your rent may increase. If you are a business owner who rents, will you be able to pay the increase because you will have more customers? All Loveland taxpayers will be subsidizing “high end, luxury boutique apartments.” Is that OK with you? Are you excited that you will be able to afford a luxury apartment in Historic Downtown, right on the Loveland Bike Trail, a block from a State and National Scenic River?

You have an established business, but competition moves in with a rent subsidy next door. Is that OK with you? Are you passionate about historic preservation, or just lukewarm? Do you see the old church as an eyesore and be glad when its gone?

If you own a business and perceive parking to be an already existing problem, maybe you have your own concerns when you learn the new parking lot in downtown is for the apartment renters. Maybe you will be concerned that other parking in downtown will also be used for renters because the change only requires one parking space for each apartment bedroom.

Do you own and live in a single family home in Historic Downtown? Are you excited that your home value will increase as speculators pounce - and you can finally sell and buy that dream home in the country? Are you fearful that your property taxes will increase to the extent that you will lose your home?

You may have been excited about he prospect of new sexy places to eat and shop, but doubt this zone change will accomplish that. You may be excited about bringing hundreds of wealthy income tax payers to town. You like having a circus and farmers market in downtown, but will be sad when they are gone?

There will be a public hearing at City Hall next Monday night, August 1, at 7:30 PM at the Planning and Zoning Commission meeting about changing the zoning code to allow multifamily apartments in Historic Downtown Loveland. The new zoning if approved by City Council in the coming weeks will allow hundreds of apartments to be built in the Historic District. If approved, the code change may pave the way for very expensive three acres of taxpayer property to be given to a developer for some of the proposed apartments. If this happens, the current plan is for the developer to lease back to the taxpayers the first floor of two of the buildings, and for the next 50 years, taxpayers will become lease agents looking for clients. The zoning code change is called, Case No. 11-13: Historic District Special Planning District (SPD).

 

Pulling Front Teeth and Basic Information From City Hall

Two weeks ago on July 14, there was a neighborhood meeting held at the Veterans’ Memorial organized by City Hall. Questions arose about the re-development of Historic Downtown Loveland. Residents were particularly concerned about the demolition of the historic Church of God on Third Street. One resident said from the audience, “I’m against it.”

In response to the particular question about the church, and other general questions, City Manager Thomas Carroll said he would post the SPD plan on the City’s web site, “Tomorrow.” He did not post the plan, he only posted four images ( Download SPD_Concept_Plan-1) of which, three are not even part of the SPD plan.

Three images are sketches, or what in the trade would be called elevation renderings, of the three-story apartment buildings the Greiwe Development Group hopes to build within three-acres of the twelve-acre SPD plan. Rick Greiwe and his partners have been given exclusive development rights for those three acres within the SPD. Griewe has named, his project, “Loveland Station.” That’s it, just sketches - no accompanying text or legend to explain what the building actually represent.

The other image is a grainy aerial photo with the entire 12 acres highlighted, with some areas blocked off and marked as, A, B, C, and D. However, there is no legend or accompanying text to explain what A, B, C, and D are. The specific areas where Griewe proposes more apartment buildings is whited out, but only a person already familiar with the proposed SPD would know that. Actually, Griewe proposes even more apartment buildings than are shown on the aerial map. The Eads Hardware and Fence site on East Broadway has been proposed for one, as well as the steep hillside between East Broadway and O’Bannon Avenue. The Old McCoy Carryout building, now owned by the City, has been mentioned.

The parcel where the church is located on Third Street is in a blocked out portion of the aerial map, but nothing about the plan itself, and none of the narrative of what the City and Greiwe has proposed for Historic Downtown’s future. In that regard, I guess Carroll did answer the specific question about the historic church, because in the picture he posted, it is whited out.

So, off to pulling teeth I went. I searched the rest of the City web site looking for the plan. It is not there. I looked under the Planning Commission documents, etc., and found nothing. I searched other obvious places like the “Calendar” - thinking that may lead to the document. Nothing there. Not even that there was a Planning Commission meeting next Monday, let alone a Public Hearing for the SPD. I finally found the first draft of the SPD plan within what are called Council Meeting Packets. These are very lengthy PDF files that contain every document that a council-member would need for each meeting. In my version of Adobe Reader there is no way to sort the information in these documents, or search for their content, they are long documents and one must simply scroll down until you find what you are looking for. I read through six of these council packets before I found the SPD plan near the end of one 92-page document.

Since I wanted to publish the SPD Plan here on Loveland Magazine, and didn’t want to follow that lengthly search with trying to figure out how to extract only the SPD documents from the 92-page council packet, I sent an e-mail yesterday asking Michelle Knowland, the City’s Management Analyst: “Can you e-mail me the current Loveland Station SPD submission, and any related documents (staff reports, etc.) that will be before the P&Z at their public hearing?”

Knowland responded, “Hi Dave, Happy to help,” and proceeds to tell me that if I wanted them I could go on the City Web Site, find the council packets and look for the June 28 meeting. Well duh... I already found that out last night after an hour of searching. And, that’s not what I asked her. I asked her if she would send it to me. Wasn't I clear?

She continued, “There is one Planning & Zoning staff report for the July 13th meeting that is slightly different from the memo found in the City Council June 28th packet. This document is two pages if you would like a copy.” I already told her that’s exactly what I wanted. Why do I have to ask twice?

She continued, “As far as new material that will be before P&Z at their  public hearing, it has not been completed yet. That information will be available Friday at noon if you would like to stop by City Hall to pick up copies of the documents. Please just let me know and I can have the materials ready for you.”

Search for it? Ready for me? Hard copies? Go to City Hall on Friday? What are those early close summer hours? Didn't I ask her to e-mail the stuff?

Pulling Wisdom Teeth

Assistant City Manager Gary Vidmar was asked by Loveland Magazine on July 20, “What is the total number of apartments planned for the downtown SPD?” The reason City Hall and Griewe are proposing the SPD for the entire 12-acres, is that the zoning needs to be changed so the multifamily apartment buildings can be built anywhere in the total 12-acres. The only real difference between the proposed SPD and the current zoning - is that if passed by Council, multi-family apartments would then be allowed in all of what residents and visitors know as Historic Downtown Loveland.

Vidmar responded, “There are tentatively 84 units planned for Loveland Station and 42 planned for the 3rd St. site,” but Vidmar offered no accounting or math for other “tentative” parcels that he knows have been discussed at City Hall for the total SPD. Greiwe is acquiring “first right to buy” agreements for other parcels in Historic Downtown, and Vidmar knows this and has probably been helping him find properties. That is his job.

Vidmar also has not responded to a request of accounting for what taxpayers have already invested in the 3-acre Loveland Station property. All current indicators lead to City Hall giving Greiwe the three-acre site. Vidmar said the parking lot will be Greiwe’s to use. If City Hall wants any retail or commercial there, Greiwe will then lease the bottom floors of his apartments to the taxpayers, add 12% profit, and taxpayers will have to find tenants to fill the space. If the taxpayers’ tenants need any improvements to their space, Greiwe will do that, adding another 12% profit.

Griewe is negotiating the terms of a 50-year lease with Vidmar, Knowland and Carroll that he wants the City to sign. He says he will not risk his own money on building commercial or retail space in Historic Downtown.

Taxpayers will also help Greiwe pay for future improvements to his buildings for the next 50-years. (Read Paul Brown Stadium/Hamilton County lease into this if you care.)
 
On June 28, Rick Greiwe gave City Hall the 50-year lease as an ultimatum. What if he walks away, after we have changed the zoning for him? Does it pave the way for any developer to begin building apartments all over Historic Downtown? We may trust Greiwe’s commitment to quality apartment complexes and be willing to subsidize them - but what happens when the flood gates open. What if Greiwe wants a complete return on his investment sooner than 50 years? What happens if he decides to sell in five?

(Read background and view video of Greiwe’s statements: Rick Greiwe: "We don’t want to take the chance on commercial in Downtown Loveland.")

City Hall placed a small “Legal Notice” in the Cincinnati Enquirer about the August 1 Public Hearing. It says all interested parties are urged to attend, but gives no description what-so-ever about what “Case No. 11-13 Historic District Special Planning District” is, and does not even a mention that this is a zoning code change. It was not published in the Loveland Herald. There is no mention on the City’s web site about the meeting, and the meeting is not on the City’s web site Calendar. However, the agenda for the meeting is now posted on the back door at City Hall - so perhaps until now, maybe only ten ordinary citizens and business owners were in the know about this historical reconfiguration of Historic Downtown Loveland.

 

Extracting: The information

City Hall: “Let us make an informed decision.” It’s not that we don’t normally trust you - but why are the facts, documents, and meeting dates being kept from us now about Historic Downtown?

Loveland Magazine has gone through the extraction procedure and present these documents - they are not complete, and not up to date, but it is what we have so far. I wanted to publish the current Zoning Code for Historic Downtown here so readers could really understand the changes, but that is a even far more complicated extraction process than imaginable.

 

Gold Fillings: The 911

Here is the SPD plan that Carroll promised, but did not produce. (Extracted from the council packet.) Download Spd

City Manager Memo about the SPD: Extracted from council packet: Download Memo 66 Proposed Special Planing District

Legal Notice: Download Lovelandsmtp@safety-center.org_20110727_135742

Stephen Colbert - It Gets Better

Stephen Colbert steps out of character to illustrate how magical some words really can be.

162nd Annual Clermont County Fair

162nd Annual Clermont County Fair runs from Sunday July 24 through Saturday July 30. The fairgrounds open each day at 8a.m. and will close at 12p.m.(midnight).

Read the full schedule here...

Note to Planned Parenthood Foes:

 

They Also Help Women Have Healthy Babies

Remember how Congressional Republicans tried to defund Planned Parenthood at the federal level, making a big deal about how they didn't want tax-payer dollars subsidizing abortions and whatnot? And how Indiana passed a bill cutting all funds for the organization, before the feds stepped in to block them, saying that the measure was discriminatory and illegal. Anyway, with all the Planned Parenthood bashing going on, it's worth noting that the organization also does a lot of work to help women have babies.   Read on at Mother Jones...

Got Two "FREE" Minutes to Help Improve Air Quality?

 

by David Miller

About two months ago, I heard about this program of Duke Energy, where they will send you fifteen, "FREE" compact fluorescent light (CFL) bulbs. I googled "duke cin" that late night and you know about how fast that took - well I just repeated the search and it took all of 0.20 sec. from this nine year-old laptop.

Right on the Duke/Ohio front page is the offer. Clicking, the "Order CFL's" button gave me a pop up that asked me for my phone number and the last four digits of my SSN. I knew those two things. I could have also typed in our account number, but shoot - why look for that. About a little longer than the google, and Duke had the shipment underway. Honest, I swear - about two days later - I received the box of bulbs shown in the photo above.

I have been using CFL's throughout our home and my office, indoors and out, for about seven years, and frankly through the first five - was frustrated by how long they didn't last. The bulb life has however improved - drastically. Also, the old cost of the bulbs made me cringe every time one burned out, but the cost has fallen nicely over the years.

The CFL's are great, you can now even go to the hardware store and choose many different color temperature bulbs. The CFL flood lights I have outside are even lasting a long, long time now, and work just fine on the coldest winter nights. About two years ago I saw CFL's on sale that were the equivalent of a conventional 150 watt bulb. I put them in the two outside lantern style light fixtures at the end of our sidewalk near the street, and honestly replaced them a few days later with lower wattage CFL's, because they were just too bright for the oncoming traffic, and really lit up the neighbors house across the street way too much.

As of tonight, with the exception of the energy efficient fluorescent tube, strip lights I use in my office, a circular fluorescent fixture above our kitchen sink, and the fluorescent fixture lighting fixture that uses 4' tubes lighting the rest of our kitchen - every fixture in our house, inside and out, uses CFL's. I made the remaining changeover tonight, finally putting some of the Duke bulbs into a couple of fixtures that rarely ever get used. Up until tonight, I had been using up our old incandescent bulbs in these places, planning to replace these with CFL's when they finally blew.

Currently, we have two sorta antique table lamps that the CFL's will not fit into, but these lights are almost never turned on anyway. All of the other floor or table lamps now have CFL's, including another antique lamp that I converted with a new harp and shade so the CFL's now fit. This is my reading lamp, it could be brighter in the winter, however. I even tried to install one of the Duke bulbs in the fridge tonight - wouldn't screw in far enough. I briefly thought about the oven - "Nope".

Last Sunday I went to Home Depot to find a new light fixture for the new fan I had installed on our porch. I wanted one of those "School Light" fixtures, but my priority was one that would take a CFL. The one I found was $15, a reasonable price I thought - to my surprise a new CFL was included in the box. I'd never heard of that before.

 Such a Warm Feeling this July 7, When it  has Already Turned Mid August Outside - And the Summer's First Smog Day Tomorrow

Yep, the CFL's burn much cooler, so besides the direct amount of electric they don't use - our air conditioner uses less electric too. Gives me a warm feeling knowing both our lighting and cooling bills are lower. Yep, they don't heat the house as much in the winter, but it's much more energy efficient to use the gas furnance here to warm the house! Duke says I can save nearly $180 over the lifetime of the bulbs.

A warm feeling too, knowing that tomorrow when air pollution in Loveland will reach levels considered dangerous to children, my bulbs will produce less coal burning pollution, a major source of that dirty air.

Duke says the fifteen bulbs are "FREE" however you do end up paying for the bulbs  - YOU are who Duke gets their money from. No matter, this is a great offer - your budget benefits, and your children breathe cleaner air.

Please click the button at the bottom of this message - not many things in our busy lives are as simple and fast as this. Heck, I'm even saving you that 0.20 sec. by providing you the direct link.

Your friend and family might thank you for forwarding this story to them. It's like sending them a check for $180. Sending this story to twenty friends is like writing a check tonight for $3,600 - using one of Duke's checks.

Send them this link: http://www.lovelandmagazine.com/2011/06/got-two-minutes-to-help-improve-air-quality.html

 

 

CFLs are a bright idea,
especially when they are free.

Saving energy and money can be as easy as changing a light bulb. Especially when you can get free CFLs from Duke Energy. Replace your home's six most frequently used bulbs with CFLs and you can save nearly $180 over the lifetime of the bulbs. Sign up today to receive your CFLs so we can help you be as efficient as you want to be with your energy.

Para nuestros clientes del habla hispana: Para ordenar sus CFLs (bombillas compactas fluorescentes), favor de llamar al 1-800-943-7585, y oprimir '5' para español.

Woodruff: Calculating the Cost of an Attempt to Silence the Press

Senior correspondent Judy Woodruff writes about this week's hacking attacks on PBS websites and overcoming efforts to silence a free press.

BY JUDY WOODRUFF

The last time I felt something like my reaction now was when burglars broke into our home. My husband and I had been married only a few months, and had left the house locked while we went out to dinner. When we returned, we immediately saw the broken window in the dining room, drawers pulled open and clutter on the first floor and the bedrooms upstairs. We called the police, but the items that were missing were never found.

This week, several websites in the PBS family were breached. A bogus story appeared on a NewsHour blog saying the late rapper Tupac Shakur had been found alive in New Zealand. A group, saying they were angered by a documentary on WikiLeaks produced by our fellow PBS program Frontline, claimed responsibility. Our technology and online teams worked madly from the moment they discovered the intrusion to restore the site, spread the word through social media that the story was fake and patch up security. On Monday afternoon, hackers struck PBS sites again, forcing the NewsHour to sidestep silencing efforts and publish elsewhere on the Web instead of our own site. A considerable amount of damage was done by these attacks; fixing it wasn't quick or easy to do.

My first instinct, besides selfishly worrying about any release of personal information, was to brush the whole thing off as "just the way the Web works." Compared to attacks on the Pentagon and huge international corporations, our breach is pretty small potatoes. I told colleagues this is something we all have to get used to, "it's the new world we live in." But the more I have thought about it, the more I've realized if that's the case, it's a pretty unsettling world. The fact that someone, or a group of people, can, by a few clicks on a keyboard, destroy the work of a national news organization, create headaches, if not havoc, in trying to get things up and running again, is a disturbing development.

If we were a newspaper and someone threw a small bomb through the window, crippling our printing press and shutting down operations until we could get a replacement, we'd call the police. But what's the equivalent of 911 when a cyber attack happens? Who will reimburse us for lost man and woman hours and reports that didn't get published when actual news was breaking? And will it undermine the trust our viewers and readers place in us? How to place a value on that? This breach wasn't done to steal national secrets or money from us, but to express anger over the work of the free press. That work will go on. At Frontline and at the NewsHour, everyone is focused on getting on with their jobs covering the news, the most important developments in the nation and in the world. But we do so feeling violated by a stranger. I guess that makes us wiser, determined to work harder to protect the work we do. And I hope it doesn't make us, or any other news organization, more cautious.

For Wednesday's NewsHour broadcast, we're working on a segment about the growing number of successful hacking attempts, and I plan to put some of these questions to our guests.

Toss 4 Emmy II Saturday May 28 at Grand Sands

Charity Cornhole Tournament for Emmalyn Kae Latchford

LOVELAND, OHIO - Last year, Toss 4 Emmy raised $2,600 and saw 35 teams sign up.  Organizer, Blake Castetter said, “This year my goal is drastically larger as I’m hoping to have 100 teams play.” He said that businesses throughout Greater Cincinnati are making great in-kind donations to help with the raffles and the silent auction. 

“Grand Sands Volleyball, the indoor/outdoor sand volleyball facility in Loveland has graciously donated the entire venue for the day.” In addition to the raffles, there will be contests for the kids as well as a DJ.

Grand Sands is located at 10750 Loveland-Madeira Road.

Emmalyn Kae Latchford is a 22 month-old toddler, being raised with a disease that is rare, but becoming more and more prevalent every day. Optic Nerve Hypoplasia is the name of the disease and is basically an underdevelopment of her optic nerve, leaving her practically blind. There is a treatment for this disease with a 98% success rate.  However, the treatment for this disease is only available in China and has required Emmy’s family and friends to raise $35,000. 

Castetter said, “The first time I met Emmy she took my heart. She is simply adorable.” He instantly wanted to help, but being a young professional didn’t have the funds available to make the type of donation he wanted to make. “So the next best thing I could offer was my time and ability to get people to come together for a good cause.”

“We have been fund raising for the last 18 months, and have raised close to $31,500 so we are down to the last $3,500 that we need,” said Emmy's mom, Kristen Latchford. “We have the treatment booked and as long as everything works out, we will leave June 19.” She said she is getting very excited.

All proceeds to benefit the Emmy’s Prayer For Sight organization

(Don't do Cornhole -Make a Donation)

Where: Grand Sands Volleyball in Loveland
When: Saturday May 28th, 1030a-6pm
The Who: Emmy’s Prayer For Sight
Why: To raise money for Emmy’s Prayer For Sight

2 Divisions: Competitive and Social
( 5 GAME MINIMUM )
$ 30 per TEAM
Bags fly at 11:00am
( check-in closes at 10:30am )

REGISTER HERE at Way North Sports

Brent Zuch: We Request the Honour of your Presence

Comments...

     RSVP: BRENT ZUCH  The xxxxx Family would love to attend. I only hope that Seal Team 6 will be there.  You should post the video of him speaking and the crowd getting ready to turn on him.  That was brutal. - jm

     Funny image. I'm sure Mr. and Mr. Zuch, when they return from their honeymoon, will love it. - bw

Tax Day 2011: Shared Sacrifice?

Sen. Sanders' 10 worst corporate income tax avoiders

1)      Exxon Mobil made $19 billion in profits in 2009.  Exxon not only paid no federal income taxes, it actually received a $156 million rebate from the IRS, according to its SEC filings.  (Source: Exxon Mobil's 2009 shareholder report filed with the SEC here.)

2)      Bank of America received a $1.9 billion tax refund from the IRS last year, although it made $4.4 billion in profits and received a bailout from the Federal Reserve and the Treasury Department of nearly $1 trillion. (Source: Forbes.com here, ProPublica here and Treasury here.)

3)      Over the past five years, while General Electric made $26 billion in profits in the United States, it received a $4.1 billion refund from the IRS. (Source: Citizens for Tax Justice here and The New York Times here.  Note: despite rumors to the contrary, the Times has stood by its story.)

4)      Chevron received a $19 million refund from the IRS last year after it made $10 billion in profits in 2009.  (Source: See 2009 Chevron annual report here.  Note 15 on page FS-46 of this report shows a U.S. federal income tax liability of $128 million, but that it was able to defer $147 million for a U.S. federal income tax liability of $-19 million)

5)      Boeing, which received a $30 billion contract from the Pentagon to build 179 airborne tankers, got a $124 million refund from the IRS last year. .  (Source: Paul Buchheit, professor, DePaul University, here and Citizens for Tax Justice here.)

6)      Valero Energy, the 25th largest company in America with $68 billion in sales last year received a $157 million tax refund check from the IRS and, over the past three years, it received a $134 million tax break from the oil and gas manufacturing tax deduction. (Source: the company's 2009 annual report, pg. 112, here.)

7)      Goldman Sachs in 2008 only paid 1.1 percent of its income in taxes even though it earned a profit of $2.3 billion and received an almost $800 billion from the Federal Reserve and U.S. Treasury Department.  (Source: Bloomberg News here, ProPublica here, Treasury Department here.)

8)      Citigroup last year made more than $4 billion in profits but paid no federal income taxes. It received a $2.5 trillion bailout from the Federal Reserve and U.S. Treasury. (Source: Paul Buchheit, professor, DePaul University, here, ProPublica here, Treasury Department here.)

9)      ConocoPhillips, the fifth largest oil company in the United States, made $16 billion in profits from 2006 through 2009, but received $451 million in tax breaks through the oil and gas manufacturing deduction.  (Sources: Profits can be found here.  The deduction can be found on the company's 2010 SEC 10-K report to shareholders on 2009 finances, pg. 127, here)

10)  Over the past five years, Carnival Cruise Lines made more than $11 billion in profits, but its federal income tax rate during those years was just 1.1 percent.  (Source: The New York Times here)

 

Proposed State Budget Once Again Reduces Library Funding

A news release from the Public Library Cincinnati and of Hamilton County

Governor Kasich introduced the Executive Budget March 15 and as expected it includes a proposal to further reduce State funding to public libraries. The reductions total 5% resulting in a loss of an additional $1.9 million dollars in annual State funding for our Library.

I’m sure everyone reading this message is aware of the extent of cuts public libraries have already sustained. State funding over the last decade has dropped by 30%. Over the same decade, Library use has increased by 23%. To continue operating with severely reduced funding, the Library has implemented cost savings measures including the $1 million a year realized with the reorganization of the Main Library. We have reduced staffing and hours, doubled overdue fines, and postponed or cancelled capital projects. To further stretch our dollars, the Library has sought out additional partnerships and collaborations with government agencies, nonprofits, media outlets, and area businesses. Even with these measures we would not have been able to keep all 40 of our branch libraries open without the new tax levy funding Hamilton County residents so generously supported.

At the same time funding was rapidly declining, more and more people have been using the Library, checking out books, accessing computers, using our job support resources, and attending programs. Demand for Library services over the past 10 years has grown more than 23%.

We understand the difficult financial position of the State and appreciate the efforts to keep public library funding cuts to a minimum. While we are relieved that the proposed cut to State Library funding is not greater, we cannot absorb this additional funding loss without further reductions in Library services. If the legislature adopts a budget that incorporates these public library funding reductions, we may be forced to merge branch libraries, reduce hours or make other cuts that impact our community. We simply cannot spend money we do not have.

The introduction of the Executive Budget is only the first step in the process. Both the House and the Senate will debate and ultimately pass budget bills. As of this writing the House has not yet drafted its budget bill. We are anxiously awaiting this bill to see what is proposed for public libraries. After passage in the House, the budget bill moves to the Senate. Once both chambers have passed a budget bill, any differences between the two will be decided by a conference committee. We expect the budget to be in place by July 1 and possibly earlier.

We will be present at budget hearings making sure our legislators know how crucial State funding is to the operation of our libraries. We may call upon you to write or call to express your support for public libraries and we hope you will.

Should our State funding be further reduced, be assured that we will do everything possible to keep our services accessible, affordable and available to all Hamilton County residents. We are committed to offering the very best in Library service and will do everything possible to prevent further reductions to public library funding.

Oh, BTW: U.S. Went to War Again

Statement by Congressman Boehner on Libya

Washington- Congressman John Boehner (R-West Chester) issued the following statement on the situation in Libya:

“The United States has a moral obligation to stand with those who seek freedom from oppression and self-government for their people.  It’s unacceptable and outrageous for Qadhafi to attack his own people, and the violence must stop.  

“The President is the commander-in-chief, but the Administration has a responsibility to define for the American people, the Congress, and our troops what the mission in Libya is, better explain what America’s role is in achieving that mission, and make clear how it will be accomplished.  Before any further military commitments are made, the Administration must do a better job of communicating to the American people and to Congress about our mission in Libya and how it will be achieved.”


War in Libya: Barack Obama Gets in Touch With His Inner Neocon

by Doug Bandow Senior Fellow at the Cato Institute

Candidate Barack Obama ran for president on a platform of change. Many policies deserved reform, none more than President George W. Bush's propensity to initiate unnecessary wars of choice. Iraq was a debacle from the start; the shift from counter-terrorism to counter-insurgency in Afghanistan turned that conflict into a second disaster.

Since taking office President Obama has left U.S. troops in Iraq and expanded the war in Afghanistan. Now he has taken America into its third war in a Muslim nation within a decade -- to promote "global peace and security," he claimed, the usual justification used by presidents to enter conflicts which serve neither. President Obama obviously has found his inner Neocon and joined Washington's RepubliCrat Party.

The president received much criticism for taking so long to decide to enter the Libyan civil war. But war is a momentous decision which deserves more consideration than the length of time it takes for one of Washington's many think tank warriors to dash off a pro-war op-ed. As expected, the potential whiff of gunpowder in the air brought out the famed Sofa Samurai who pushed America into the two other wars in which the U.S. is still entangled. President Obama was right to take longer to decide.

Now he deserves criticism -- for deciding wrongly.  Continue Reading at Huffington Post...

The Dragonfly Foundation

The Dragonfly Foundation, a 501(c)(3) established in August 2010, is determined to bring moments of comfort and joy to children who are being treated for cancer and other blood disorders.

The Foundation is working in partnership with the Cancer & Blood Diseases Institute of Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center to provide distractions that will help ease the pain and fear these children and their families experience on a daily basis.

In addition, the Dragonfly Foundation proactively solicits celebrity visits and coordinates events in support of the work done by the Hospital's Child Life Services Department. Smiles and laughter are in short supply in Hematology, Oncology, Bone Marrow Transplant and Intensive Care Units, but are necessary components of courage, strength and happiness.

 

Proposed State Budget Once Again Reduces Library Funding

Proposed Reductions Total 5% Resulting in aLoss of an Additional $1.9

This is from the Public Library of Cincinnati and Hamilton County

Governor Kasich introduced the Executive Budget March 15 and as expected it includes a proposal to further reduce State funding to public libraries. The reductions total 5% resulting in a loss of an additional $1.9 million dollars in annual State funding for our Library.

I’m sure everyone reading this message is aware of the extent of cuts public libraries have already sustained. State funding over the last decade has dropped by 30%. Over the same decade, Library use has increased by 23%. To continue operating with severely reduced funding, the Library has implemented cost savings measures including the $1 million a year realized with the reorganization of the Main Library. We have reduced staffing and hours, doubled overdue fines, and postponed or cancelled capital projects. To further stretch our dollars, the Library has sought out additional partnerships and collaborations with government agencies, nonprofits, media outlets, and area businesses. Even with these measures we would not have been able to keep all 40 of our branch libraries open without the new tax levy funding Hamilton County residents so generously supported.

At the same time funding was rapidly declining, more and more people have been using the Library, checking out books, accessing computers, using our job support resources, and attending programs. Demand for Library services over the past 10 years has grown more than 23%.

We understand the difficult financial position of the State and appreciate the efforts to keep public library funding cuts to a minimum. While we are relieved that the proposed cut to State Library funding is not greater, we cannot absorb this additional funding loss without further reductions in Library services. If the legislature adopts a budget that incorporates these public library funding reductions, we may be forced to merge branch libraries, reduce hours or make other cuts that impact our community. We simply cannot spend money we do not have.

The introduction of the Executive Budget is only the first step in the process. Both the House and the Senate will debate and ultimately pass budget bills. As of this writing the House has not yet drafted its budget bill. We are anxiously awaiting this bill to see what is proposed for public libraries. After passage in the House, the budget bill moves to the Senate. Once both chambers have passed a budget bill, any differences between the two will be decided by a conference committee. We expect the budget to be in place by July 1 and possibly earlier.

We will be present at budget hearings making sure our legislators know how crucial State funding is to the operation of our libraries. We may call upon you to write or call to express your support for public libraries and we hope you will.

Should our State funding be further reduced, be assured that we will do everything possible to keep our services accessible, affordable and available to all Hamilton County residents. We are committed to offering the very best in Library service and will do everything possible to prevent further reductions to public library funding.

Colbert Takes Shot at Kasich’s Almost All White Cabinet

Governor John Kasich stirs the passions of the Ohio black community and Steven Colbert, by appointing an almost all-white cabinet.

Kasich honors the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., but oops, King wasn't born on St. Paddy's Day.

 

The Colbert Report	Mon - Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30c
Affirmative Reaction
www.colbertnation.com
Colbert Report Full Episodes Political Humor & Satire Blog</a> Video Archive

The Organic Elite Surrenders to Monsanto: What Now?

By Ronnie Cummins
Organic Consumers Association

 

"The policy set for GE alfalfa will most likely guide policies for other GE crops as well. True coexistence is a must."   -  Whole Foods Market, Jan. 21, 2011

In the wake of a 12-year battle to keep Monsanto's Genetically Engineered (GE) crops from contaminating the nation's 25,000 organic farms and ranches, America's organic consumers and producers are facing betrayal. A self-appointed cabal of the Organic Elite, spearheaded by Whole Foods Market, Organic Valley, and Stonyfield Farm, has decided it's time to surrender to Monsanto. Top executives from these companies have publicly admitted that they no longer oppose the mass commercialization of GE crops, such as Monsanto's controversial Roundup Ready alfalfa, and are prepared to sit down and cut a deal for "coexistence" with Monsanto and USDA biotech cheerleader Tom Vilsack.   Read on...

Tell Ohio Governor Strickland to Cancel Rule Interfering with Hormone Labeling

The Opinion of The Ohio Campaign of the Organic
Consumers Association

Do you want to know if there are bovine growth hormones in your milk?

Most people do want to know if what they eat and drink has drugs, hormones, or other unnatural additives, and most farmers want to provide this information about their products.

So why does the State of Ohio want to make it nearly impossible for any national dairy brands to let you know if their products are free from genetically engineered bovine growth hormone (rbGH or rbST)?

Widespread concerns by consumers and medical groups that drugged milk will increase cancer risk have pushed this hormone out of Wal-Mart and Starbucks milk, Dannon and Yoplait yogurt, and most dairy products. But a rule created by Ohio Governor Ted Strickland places so many labeling restrictions on products sold in his state, national brands may stop proclaiming their products as rbGH-free.

Organic and consumer groups have appealed the rule in court, and we need to make it clear to Governor Strickland that we want him to cancel this rule.

Tell Ohio Governor Strickland: cancel your rule interfering with hormone labeling and let consumers know what they're buying. Click here to send an email directly to Gov. Strickland and his office:

http://action.freshthemovie.com/p/dia/action/public/?action_KEY=2966

A Message From the Publisher: Please consider...

Loveland Magazine publishes daily news about your community, its events, and phenomenal residents.

Over 5,000 stories about the Greater Loveland Area, have been published in Loveland Magazine since 2004.

Loveland Magazine has been awarded the prestigious, Booth Spirit Media Award, beating out all other media or stations in the tri-state. Loveland Magazine is “a premier local online news outlet.” 

Please consider:

Who's been there working hard for you lately... Day in - day out?

All of your other daily or weekly local news is brought to you by international corporations.

Loveland Magazine is locally owned... Its heart and soul is right here in the community you live and work in.

Has your organization, business, or charity benefited from this publication?

Have you personally read something in Loveland Magazine that has made a significant impact on your own life or our community?

If you can afford to donate, please do. Your contribution keeps Loveland Magazine, viable, contemporary, pertinent, and at the forefront in media production technology.

You can make an on-line DONATION

Donations can also be mailed to:
 
Loveland Magazine
251 Wall Street
Loveland, Ohio 45140

 

What's been said about Loveland Magazine?

Thank you for including pictures of the HS band in your Memorial Day parade picture gallery!  120 kids volunteered to be at the HS by 8:00 AM on a holiday - I appreciate that one local media publication gave them some recognition.

As always your pictures were of the highest quality and more than one brought tears to my eyes.  Thank you for your excellent and on-going coverage of our community.

The Herald should be considered the poor alternative to your
magazine. What a difference!!!!

I wanted to say thank you for taking a photo of my daughter and I... I am not thanking you for reasons of vanity or just because we are on the web site, but for immortalizing a moment and relationship between a mother and daughter. Thank you for the photo and tightening of our family bonds.  A picture is worth a thousand words.

Great article on the Loveland Art Show. Thank you so much, I always love reading your articles and watching your videos.

Thanks for keeping up-to-date with all that's Loveland!"

The source of information for all of us in Loveland!

Thank you so very much for the beautiful pictures of the flags on the the trees. You are so kind to always remember our students and our art. Loveland is truly blessed by your talents

Thank you so much for publishing the announcement in the magazine.  We really appreciate the introduction and publicity, to get the word out.

You are doing a great service for our community. Thanks so much for this wonderful publication.

Thank you for sharing about this inspiring event and these riders giving so much to raise awareness of such an important issue.

The Loveland Magazine is a wonderful literary resource which adds immeasurably to our community!

We love Loveland Magazine.

It's Time to End Teenage Bullying

From Ellen DeGeneres:

I am devastated by the death of 18-year-old Tyler Clementi. If you don't know, Tyler was a bright student at Rutgers University whose life was senselessly cut short. He was outed as being gay on the internet and he killed himself.

Something must be done. This month alone, there has been a shocking number of news stories about teens who have been teased and bullied and then committed suicide; like 13-year-old Seth Walsh in Tehachapi, California. Asher Brown, 13, of Cypress, Texas and 15-year-old Billy Lucas in Greensberg, Indiana. This needs to be a wake-up call to everyone: teenage bullying and teasing is an epidemic in this country, and the death rate is climbing.

One life lost in this senseless way is tragic. Four lives lost is a crisis. And these are just the stories we hear about. How many other teens have we lost? How many others are suffering in silence? Being a teenager and figuring out who you are is hard enough without someone attacking you.

My heart is breaking for their families, their friends and for a society that continues to let this happen. These kids needed us. We have an obligation to change this. There are messages everywhere that validate this kind of bullying and taunting and we have to make it stop. We can't let intolerance and ignorance take another kid's life.

I want anyone out there who feels different and alone to know that I know how you feel. There is help out there. You can find support in your community. If you need someone to talk to or if you want to get involved, here are some organizations doing great work:

The Trevor Project at 866 4U TREVOR. It's a 24-hour, national help line for gay and questioning teens. You can learn more about The Trevor Project at their website: thetrevorproject.org.

Angels and Doves is a nationwide anti-bullying non profit organization.
Their website is AngelsandDoves.com

The National Center for Bullying Prevention is helping to promote awareness
and teach effective ways to respond to bullying. You can learn more about
them at their website: Pacer.org/bullying

The Matthew Shepard Foundation runs Matthew's Place, an online community and resource center for LGBTQ youth. The website is matthewsplace.com

GLSEN is also a great organization that is working to eradicate bullying and
bias in schools. Their website is: glsen.org

STOMP Out Bullying is focused on reducing bullying and cyberbullying. Find out more on their website: stompoutbullying.org

Things will get easier, people's minds will change, and you should be alive to see it.

Watch Ellen's Video Message Below...

Resources in Cincinnati Area

Self-Esteem and Sexual Identity Stressors - from Cincinnati Children's Hospital

Peer / Social Stressors - from Cincinnati Children's Hospital

 Depression and Suicidal Behaviors - from Cincinnati Children's Hospital

Catherine Strunk a psychiatric nurse for Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center and the director of the Surviving The Teens Program  interviews a teenager named Luke Beichel. Luke talks about how his struggle with depression began in the 8th grade and reached its peak in 9th grade when he attempted suicide. He also talks about his treatment and how he is rebuilding his life. Watch Video...

CET Kids & Families raises awareness for mental health issues and suicide with the story of Joe Stima, a young man who did not survive his depression. His mother Kathy Winter explains how parents can find the words to talk to their children about this issue and obtain resources through the Surviving the Teens Program at Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center. Ms. Winter talks with Catherine Strunk, a psychiatric nurse with Children's Hospital and the director of the Surviving the Teens Program. They also describe the warning signs all parents should be aware of and stress the idea that depression and suicide can happen to anyone's child. Watch Video...

Parents, Families and Friends of Lesbians and Gays (PFLAG)

PFLAG Cincinnati Hotline, call 211 or (513) 721-7900 and ask for the PFLAG contact number.

 

The Clock is Ticking...

The clock is ticking... See how a 12-year-old girl could be the solution the world needs right now.  Learn more...

Intellect and Better Judgement Muddied by the Alcohol that Makes your Brain Think Otherwise

by David Miller

GOSHEN, OHIO - The family of Wes and Doris Robinson want people to know what a devastating crime it is to drive after drinking. They held their second annual awareness fund raiser on August 29th in the Kroger parking lot in Goshen. The 
“Summer BBQ and Safety Event” was held at the same intersection where their love ones were killed. 

Eighty-six year-old, Wesley "Robbie" Robinson and his 80 year-old wife Doris were killed by a drunk driver on August 27, 2008. George Gleckler from Lyons, Ohio was driving a dump truck when he ran a red light and hit the Robinson's vehicle at the intersection of State Route 132 and State Route 28. Gleckler had a blood alcohol level of .139 at 10:30 in the morning when he blew through a red light. The legal limit in Ohio is under 0.08.  Gleckler is serving 14 years in prison for his crime.

The elderly Robinson's still tended their 86-acre farm when they were killed.

This story is very personal to me because I knew Doris and Wes Robinson and most of their family. Some of their grandchildren are my nieces and nephews. I helped build the home these children grew up in. Their home is adjacent to the Robinson farm, the one they still tended in their 80's, until they were violently killed by a man that started his truck that morning and started drinking. By 10:30 in the morning, Gleckler was drunk and slammed into the Robinsons car as they left the Kroger store where Doris used to work.

I felt like one of the Robinson children all the many times I was on their farm. I attended a wedding held on the deck over their pond that any park district would be proud of, and threw horseshoes and suffered a severely bruised kidney that put me in bed for a week playing a rough, touch football game next to that pond. It was many quiet Saturday mornings I walked that pond's edges fishing pole in hand - hoping I'd someday hold some large mouth bass bragging rights over the Robinson clan. The most exhausting work I have ever done was at this farm. Once, pulling concrete with a rake that would become the floor to my brother's garage, and the time I tried to keep up with Wes Robinson bailing hay, stacking it into the bed behind the tractor, and heaving it into the barn loft. Both times, my heart pounding so hard I thought it would burst. At the times, I thought my heart and chest would never again hurt so bad.

When Donna and I had trouble rubbing dimes together to buy heating oil to keep our children warm, it was Wes that so selflessly allowed me to take wood from his Goshen farm to heat our home in Loveland. I rode on the back of Wes's farm tractor many times in the frigid winter, balancing on a homemade bin made to haul firewood, as Wes talked about the best wood to burn. I bought my first chain saw from Wes - a saw in reality too big for me to handle, but one that fit that big strong man very well. I wanted to be more like Mr. Robinson. I learned the value of black locust as fence-post from him, why locust popped so loud in your wood-stove, and that real hospitality was letting you cut firewood and not letting you leave the farm before you sat down to eat from Doris' table.

Although as the years passed, and I did not see Wes and Doris as often, the nausea and retching of my heart, and the sobbing of my chest as I watched my niece try to make sense of their death on the evening news, came from my vulnerability as an uncle - knowing I couldn't ever take away her pain.

The tragedy and longing for a mother and father, a grandmother and grandfather, and great-grandparents is the legacy one might leave behind - left at the party, bar or restaurant you just left. Intellect and better judgement muddied by the alcohol that makes your brain think otherwise.

After last years event, Bev Pennington, a daughter of the Robinson's said, “My family was so worried about making it through the day, it is always so hard to be there at the accident scene. But it turned out to be a good day.” She said that the family has such wonderful memories of her mother and dad. “They were a blessing to us. There were so many people that shared stories about my parents that day, that I wasn't even aware of.” Pennington arrived at the scene of the accident and watched the crushed and deformed body of her father give up its last breath. Her mother was rushed to the hospital and was expected to survive, but Bev Pennington also watched her mother die later the same day.

Last year the Robinson family was were able to donate $1,200  to the Random Acts of Kindness Club at Goshen High School. “Our request is that the money be used if possible to help educate kids about drinking and driving,” said Pennington.

I do not yet know how much money was raised last Sunday by selling hamburgers, homemade food, and those charitable games of chance and skill, but money was not the most important thing for the family. It is quite simply the message of this family that speaks from a position of great authority: drinking and driving have tragic, tragic consequences. As Goshen Police officer James Taylor told me last Saturday - the scene of the accident and your foolish act is just the center of a pond that ripples pain, and ripples grief, beyond anything you might ever imagine.

Because of their upbringing, the Robinson family immediately passed beyond their anger, and from their still raw grief has emerged a transforming message that I want to share with you.

In this LOVELAND MAGAZINE HD VIDEO you can learn more about the Wes and Doris Robinson and listen to the plea of family members at last Sunday's event as they talk about the tragedy of driving after drinking.

In this LOVELAND MAGAZINE HD VIDEO, Andrea Rehkamp, the Executive Director of Mothers Against Drunk Driving of Southwestern Ohio who attended the Robinson Family event, talks about the death of her 14-year old son when he took a ride with a drunk driver.

In this LOVELAND MAGAZINE HD VIDEO Goshen Township Police Officer James Taylor talks about why people think they can drive after using alcohol or drugs.

Pollution Alert Extended: How to Protect Your Children

by David Miller

The pollution alert that was in effect on Monday has been extended until Tuesday. The warning given by the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency is:

Active children and adults, and people with lung disease, such as asthma, should reduce prolonged or heavy exertion outdoors.

These pollutants come from a variety of sources, including:

•  Automobiles, trucks and buses
•  Large industry and combustion sources such as utilities
•  Small industry such as gasoline dispensing facilities and print shops
•  Consumer products such as paints and cleaners
•  Off-road engines such as aircraft, locomotives, construction equipment and lawn and garden equipment (Source OEPA)

Ground-level ozone affects everyone, but children and the elderly are especially at risk. Ozone makes it difficult for lungs to absorb oxygen, limiting the body's ability to breathe. It irritates the mucous lining of the throat and lungs, causing coughing and even choking. People with asthma, bronchitis and other respiratory problems experience more severe symptoms. (Source OEPA)

"Particulate matter," also known as particle pollution or PM, is a complex mixture of extremely small particles and liquid droplets. Particle pollution is made up of a number of components, including acids (such as nitrates and sulfates), organic chemicals, metals, and soil or dust particles. Individually, these particles and droplets are invisible to the naked eye, but collectively, they can appear as clouds or a fog-like haze. PM (dust, soot, ash and other solids and aerosols) can come from a variety of sources, including wood burning, diesel engines, gasoline engines, factories and power plants. (Source OEPA)

PM can penetrate into sensitive regions of the respiratory tract and even transfer into the bloodstream. Smaller particles can cause persistent coughs, phlegm, wheezing and physical discomfort. (Source OEPA)

The easiest way for individuals to help lower these pollutants is to:

• Park the car. At the very least, schedule trips with friends, or combine trips.
• Turn off your engine at drive through windows - or better yet, park the car and go inside for service.
• Do not mow the lawn or use other small engines that are profuse polluters.
• If you use a lawn service, tell the service to wait until the smog alert has been lifted.
• Fill your tank after 6 PM when the pollutants released into the air while filling, do not cook into ozone from the bright sunlight.
• Do not use propane grills on smog alert days.
• At your work place, encourage pollution lowering activities in plant processes. Encourage your workplace to enact flex-starting times on alert days. Traffic jams are great generators of smog.
• Encourage your local government, including school districts to curtail mowing and "weed eating" until the smog alert has been lifted.
• Encourage local governments to curtail activities that result in traffic slow-downs.
• Install compact fluorescent light bulbs in the home and business, and be very strict about turning off lighting when you leave a room. Electric power plants produce a great quantity of the pollutants in our air, so anything you do to lower your electric bills also - reduces the pollution your children breathe.

What Can Parents of Young Children do?

Be informed: Do not allow your children to participate in outdoor sport activities when pollution levels are harmful to their small lungs and bodies. Explain to their coaches and other parents why your child will be sitting out the practice or game. Encourage the youth sport leagues to curtail activities when pollution levels are harmful for youths.

Encourage your local school district to curtail, or take sport and band activities indoors when pollution levels are high. Encourage the Fort Ancient Valley Conference, and other athletic conferences to enact "Air Pollution Rules" with across the board enforcement; mandating indoor practice and rescheduling of games.

Enroll in the "EnviroFlash" alert so you receive e-mails when pollution levels are predicted to be harmful to your young children.