We need to fight for the streetcars!!

As expected, there are already efforts being made by opponents to the streetcar system to block our city from getting any state funding for the project. As highlighted in THIS ARTICLE, our "wonderful" republican lawmakers are trying to stomp out this project as any good conservatively minded politician would. Its time to step up to the plate and fight for the future of our city. It is absolutely critical that we not let this project slip through the cracks and be stomped out by unjustified opposition from people who have no interest in the future of our city. If we just sit back and let them make such ignorant statments ["It has zero support at present" (Ohio Sen. Bill Seitz)] then we could lose the whole project before we even realize it.
My first suggestion is that we start by writing our Congressmen and demanding support for our system. Our city is asking for very little when you compare it to how much is spent annually on other forms of transportation such as highways. They want to make it seem like there is no support for the system. WE NEED TO SHOW THEM THAT THEY ARE WRONG! Please send emails, letters, and even make phone calls on a daily basis if you want to see this project happen. These politicians are capable of putting up a good fight, but we can easily out number them if we truly try. We have to move fast! Don't let them stomp us out before we even have a say!
Here is all the contact information you need:
Info on how to contact them: HERE and HERE
Example of how to address your letters:
The Honorable ___________
Ohio House of Representatives
77 South High Street
Columbus, Ohio 43215-6111
Rep. Michelle Schneider
Sen. Bill Seitz
The rest of your Senators
The rest of your Representatives
Please write me or respond in the comments section with any other suggestions for how we can organize and make a difference.

***Another thing I wanted to add is that I seem to notice a lot of confusion as to what exactly is meant by the term "Streetcar." It seems as if many people assume we're talking about tiny, little "trolley's" like you would see on Mr. Roger's. This is not what the streetcars will be like at all! They will essentially look like small subway trains, exactly like the ones seen in Portland, OR and throughout Europe. CLICK HERE to watch a video of what a modern day streetcar system looks like in operation. This is what Cincinnati is planning on bringing to our town!

New Blog: The Banks Blog

This looks like it will be a great way to keep up to date on whats happening with the Banks project. What a great idea! Check it out...THE BANKS BLOG

The Streetcars Have Passed!

According to people here who actually attended the finance meeting this morning, it looks like the streetcars have passed unanimously. This is great news. Now we all wait in suspense for the 2pm general council meeting that will have the final say with the "go ahead" for the project. I will update this post as I learn more.

***Update***
The streetcars have passed!
Enquirer Article

Streetcars: Email City Council Today!

Word on the street is that the streetcars go before the Finance commitee Wednesday (tomorrow) at 9am. If it passes that morning, it could also pass before the entire council that same afternoon.
Please email the council members and urge them not to delay this vote any longer! Tell them how much you want to see streetcars downtown now! Your emails can make a big difference!
Here's the proof its going to be discussed:
Notice of Meeting
Enquirer Article
Here are their addresses, including Mayor Mallory:
mark.mallory@cincinnati-oh.gov
david.crowley@cincinnati-oh.gov
laketa.cole@cincinnati-oh.gov
jeff.berding@cincinnati-oh.gov
chris.bortz@cincinnati-oh.gov
john.cranley@cincinnati-oh.gov
leslie.ghiz@cincinnati-oh.gov
chris.monzel@cincinnati-oh.gov
roxanne.qualls@cincinnati-oh.gov
cecil.thomas@cincinnati-oh.gov

Spring on Orchard Street

Spring time in Over the Rhine sure is a nice sight to see!
Here are a couple of pictures taken on Orchard St., right off Main. Our good friends Mandy and Pete are moving here and I just had to showcase how nice their new street is. If you didn't know any better you might think that this was somewhere in NYC. They're so lucky!

Streetcar Vote Today Finally...

Enquirer Article

This could be the day we finally hear some confirmative information from City Council. Keep your fingers crossed!

***Update***
Well, looks like they didn't vote on it after all! I don't know why they keep dragging their feet on this issue, but its getting pretty ridiculous. They said they only needed 2 more weeks to "come up with the language" necessary to get the streetcars in motion, but that was 4 weeks ago now! Come on City Council, lets get something done with this!
Remember to write your council members reminding them that you want to see results now. See my post below for the council members email addresses.

New Link added: PROJECTMILL

In this post I'd like to introduce everyone to a relatively new creative organization that Cincinnati is certainly lucky to have. Its called PROJECTMILL.
Here's what its all about:
"PROJECTMILL is, more or less, a creative collective of all types of
artists. It's not a club, it's not a company. But it's a network.
The point of it is to be an outlet and an opportunity for artists
(presently just in Cincinnati, but it could expand) to be able to
bring a "project" to the table and seek help, guidance, advice,
support, opinions, equipment, or whatever else from all the other
"projectors" (that's what PROJECTMILL members are called) in the
network. We want productive people encouraging productive people to
be productive so that cool stuff gets made.
PROJECTMILL promotes collective creativity. It is an umbrella under
which a whole bunch of different creative people can stand. It's an
institution, like a university, and all these people have different
majors and different interests and different friends, but everyone's
diploma says PROJECTMILL."
PROJECTMILL is currently made up of the following members: Mandy Levy, Pete Ohs, Joshua Mattie, Kevin Bayer. They've already come up with a very impressive collection of videos, mostly showcasing various bands that they came across at the SXSW music festival. There's lots of great stuff on the site already and I'm told that there will be tons more in the near future.
I highly recommend checking out their site. If you have any questions or would like to get in touch with the projectors themselves feel free to post in the comments section or go to their site for contact info.
On a side note, I'd also like to mention that Mandy and Pete are going to be moving to OTR in the next couple of weeks. So, now OTR will have two new awesome creative minds walking the streets. Additionally, I've been told there may be some videos promoting OTR and its history coming out in the near future. Keep your eyes open for that!