Applied
Information Resources
Public Policy and Community
Information Research
Applied
Information Resources, established in 1981, is a 501(c)(3) non-profit, public policy
research and community information organization dedicated to citizen education
on public issues.
An
Update On The Cincinnati Public Schools: Eileen Cooper Reed,
President, The Cincinnati School Board
The Cincinnati Public Schools continue to
confront numerous long and short term challenges and opportunities.
At the next Community Issues Forum, Eileen Cooper Reed, President
of the Cincinnati School Board, will provide an update on the
work of the Board in dealing with the many issues related to those
challenges and opportunities. This luncheon forum takes place at
12:00 noon, Thursday February 11th, Christ Church Cathedral
Undercroft, 318 East Fourth Street.
Hard Times For The
County: A Report On Budget Decisions By President David Pepper,
Hamiton County Commissioner
See Video
Hamilton County Government faces difficult
fiscal times. Forced to implement major cuts in order to balance the
budget, the Commissioners approved the smallest County budget in a
decade at their October 28th meeting. At the Community Issues Forum
on December 10, David Pepper, President of the Hamilton County
Board of Commissioners, presented a “State of the County
Report.”
Since the passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990,
significant progress has occurred in terms of creating a more
inclusive society for people with disabilities. Much, however, still
needs to be done. At the next Community Issues Forum, Robert
Harris, the Family Life Skills Coordinator for the Center for
Independent Living Options, and Tom Eamoe, Executive Director of the
ARC, will lead a panel conversation focused on building an
agenda for full inclusion. This luncheon forum takes place on
Thursday November 12th, Christ Church Cathedral Undercroft, 318 East
Fourth Street.
Driehaus Defends Healthcare Vote
Steve Driehaus voted
for a health-care reform bill in the House
of Representatives on Saturday night for political opponents to use
the vote against him in what’s expected to be a tough November 2010
re-election bid.
Driehaus said he stood firm against covering abortions under the
plan and that he’ll run on the vote that helped seal a 220-215
victory for the Democratic plan.“I will certainly be talking about
health care on the campaign trail,” he said Monday after supporters
praised his vote in an appearance at Good Samaritan Hospital.
Read More
Should Cincinnati Build A New Streetcar Line? The Pros
And Cons Of The Proposed Streetcar
Should the City of Cincinnati build a new
streetcar line?
Since the initial airing of the proposal for a
streetcar, local citizens and groups have lined up for and against
this initiative. In fact, signatures are currently being collected
for a ballot initiative that would prevent the City from going
forward with this project. Michael Moore, Director of the City’s Department of Transportation
presents the case for building streetcars.
Powerpoint Presentation
HOW
WILL “STIMULUS” DOLLARS IMPACT OHIO AND CINCINNATI?
How
will “Stimulus” dollars impact Cincinnati and Ohio? Many local
governments, school boards, universities, social service other institutions are applying for grants from the large
allocation of Stimulus funds that will flow to this state. How will
funding decisions be made and how will these Stimulus projects be
tracked in order to measure their effectiveness? At the next
Community Issues Forum, Brewster Rhoads, Governor Strickland’s
Regional Director for Southwest Ohio, and Scott Stiles,
Assistant
City Manager (Cincinnati), will discuss how the Stimulus process
will work in Cincinnati and elsewhere in Ohio agencies.
Setting A
Citizen Agenda
A
group of diverse citizens met at the Peaslee
Neighborhood Center on recently to share information
about recent events and policies and to begin a
discussion about developing “a citizen agenda.” Known as
“the Citizens’ Voice,” these informal sessions have
taken place in recent months to explore ways that civic
activists representing different issues can share common
ground while reinforcing each other’s work.
Previous
interest by the group in the proposed Environmental
Justice Ordinance led to an update from David Altman,
the co-chair of the citizen task force that sponsored
the proposal. Altman reported that a redraft of the
ordinance had just been completed, and he had not yet
had a chance to read it. He confided some concern that
such a redraft may weaken environmental protection for
neighborhoods, and he promised to provide a written
evaluation once he reads the new version.
Georgine
Getty and Josh Spring of the Greater Cincinnati Homeless
Coalition then briefed the group on the City’s proposed
zoning amendments (see specific article). After the
large public hearing and a second meeting by the
Planning Commission, the 32 zoning text amendments were
sent back to the Planning Department for further work.
People will have to be ready for a second round of
hearings, warned Getty and Spring, once the Department
finishes its revisions and sends them back to the
Commission.
For more
information see www.queencityforum.com
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