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.
A Core Change
Initiative Update: Presented By Dr. Victor Garcia
In January, Dr. Victor Garcia, Founding
Director of Children’s Hospital Medical Center’s Trauma Services,
outlined for Forum attendees Core Change, an initiative to
improve the quality and safety of Cincinnati’s neighborhoods. Since
that Forum, the initiative has moved forward. At the next Community
Issues Forum, Dr. Garcia returns to provide an update on the
progress of Core Change. This luncheon forum takes place at 12:00
noon, Wednesday May 23rd, Christ Church Cathedral Undercroft, 318
East Fourth Street. (NOTE THE FACT THAT THIS FORUM IS ON
WEDNESDAY!!)
Past Forums
Cincinnati’s Interfaith Coalitions Advocate On Community Issues:
Updates From MARCC, Amos, And FCAC.
What are the community and public issues
receiving attention from three of Cincinnati’s interfaith
coalitions? At the next Community Issues Forum,
Pat Coyle,,
President of MARCC (Metropolitan Area Religious Coalition of
Cincinnati), Rev. Rev. Nelson Pierce,, Lead Organizer for Project AMOS,
and Charles Wallner, Vice President, of the Faith Community Alliance
of Cincinnati, will answer this question.This luncheon forum
takes place at 12:00 noon, Thursday May 10th, Christ Church
Cathedral Undercroft, 318 East Fourth Street.
Superintendent Mary
Ronan Provides A Report Card On The Progress Of The Cincinnati
Public Schools How are the Cincinnati Public Schools faring? At the next
Community Issues Forum, Superintendent of Schools Mary Ronan
will provide a report card on the progress of Cincinnati Public.
This luncheon forum takes place at 12:00 noon, Thursday April
19th, Christ Church Cathedral Undercroft, 318 East Fourth Street.
Plan Cincinnati: City
Planning Director Charles Graves: Reviews The Draft Of A New
Comprehensive Plan The City Planning Department is in the process of completing
“Plan Cincinnati,” a new comprehensive plan. At the next Community
Issues Forum, Charles Graves, Director of the City’s Planning
Department, will review the draft of this plan. This luncheon
forum takes place at 12:00 noon, Thursday April 5th, Christ
Church Cathedral Undercroft, 318 East Fourth Street.
Voters First Ohio:
The Campaign For A Fair, Open Redistricting Process
Ohio
just survived a political redistricting process that may have
resulted in the worst cases of gerrymandering in the state’s
history. This experience prompted good government groups such as the
League of Women Voters, Common Cause/Ohio and Ohio Citizen Action to
draft a proposed Amendment to Ohio’s Constitution that would put in
place a fair, non-partisan system for establishing state and
Congressional district lines. At the next Community Issues Forum, Sam Gresham, Vice Chair of Common Cause/Ohio, and
Ann Henkener, the League of Women Voters of Ohio (invited),
will discuss the need for redistricting reform and the specific
content of the proposed Amendment. This luncheon forum takes place
at 12:00 noon, Thursday March 22nd, Christ Church Cathedral
Undercroft, 318 East Fourth Street.
The Affordable Housing
Gap In Hamilton County: A Newly Released Report By Affordable
Housing Advocates
The availability of affordable housing continues to decline for
a large number of families and individuals living in Cincinnati and
Hamilton County. At the Next Community Issues Forum,Elizabeth
Brown, Executive Director of Housing Opportunities Made Equal, and
John Schrider, Senior Attorney, Legal Aid Society of Greater
Cincinnati, reviewed the findings of a just released
HOUSING REPORT completed by Affordable Housing Advocates. This luncheon
forum takes place at 12:00 noon, Thursday March 8th, Christ
Church Cathedral Undercroft, 318 East Fourth Street.
How are homeless families faring in Greater Cincinnati? At the Next
Community Issues Forum, a just released study, Family
Homelessness: Housing Stability Study and Recommendations, will
be reviewed. Alice Skirtz, Chair of the Family Homelessness and
Housing Stability Task Force ( the group responsible for the content
of the study), and Josh Spring,
Executive Director of the Greater
Cincinnati Coalition for the Homeless, will present the
findings. This luncheon forum takes place at 12:00 noon, Thursday
February 23rd, Christ Church Cathedral Undercroft, 318 East Fourth
Street.
Privatization As Public Policy: The Pros And Cons Of Outsourcing
Public Services
Since the 1980s,
privatization or the outsourcing of public services to the private
sector has been touted as a way to make government more efficient
and less costly. As budget crises continually plague local
governments today, privatization once again receives attention as a
way to continue services without raising taxes. At the Next
Community Issues Forum, Pete Mclinden, Regional Director of
AFSCME Council 8, and Christian Sigman, Hamilton County
Administrator, will discuss the pros and cons of contracting out
services to private firms. Co-sponsored by the League of Women
Voters of the Cincinnati Area, this luncheon forum takes place
at 12:00 noon, Thursday February 9th,
Christ Church Cathedral Undercroft, 318 East Fourth Street.
Dr. Victor Garcia Depicts An Initiative For Transforming
Cincinnati's Inner City Neighborhoods 01/26/2012
At the Next Community Issues Forum,
Dr. Victor Garcia, Founding Director of Children's Hospital Medical
Center's Trauma Services, will lead a discussion of Core Change, a
new initiative to improve the safety and quality of life of
Cincinnati's inner city neighborhoods. Dr. Garcia, a pediatric
surgeon, emerged as a passionate advocate for transforming these
neighborhoods after working with many young people who come to his
Center with gun shot and other assault wounds. Co-sponsored by Elementz,
a youth center with an emphasis on hip hop, this luncheon forum took place at 12:00 noon, Thursday January 26th, Christ
Church Cathedral Undercroft, 318 East Fourth Street.s Trauma
Services, will lead a discussion of Core Change, a new initiative to
improve the safety and quality of life of Cincinnati's inner city
neighborhoods. Dr. Garcia, a pediatric surgeon, emerged as a
passionate advocate for transforming these neighborhoods after
working with many young people who come to his Center with gun shot
and other assault wounds. Co-sponsored by Elementz, a youth center
with an emphasis on hip hop, this luncheon forum takes place at
12:00 noon, Thursday January 26th, Christ Church Cathedral
Undercroft, 318 East Fourth Street.
WHAT’S AT STAKE IF HAMILTON COUNTY FAILS TO SIGN AN
AGREEMENT WITH THE METROPOLITAN HOUSING AUTHORITY 12/01/2011
On November 14th, the Hamilton County Commissioners
took no action on a proposed agreement with the Cincinnati
Metropolitan Housing Authorityauthorizing CMHA to develop new Public
Housing units in Hamilton County. At the next Community Issues
Forum, Elizabeth Brown, Executive Director of Housing
Opportunities Made Equal (HOME),
Kelly Kramer, Senior Communications
Coordinator for the Cincinnati Metropolitan Housing Authority, and
Jim Cunningham, Field Office Director, Department of Housing and
Urban Development (HUD), will discuss the issues at stake if the
County Commission continues to hold to its current position. This
luncheon forum takes place at 12:00 noon, Thursday December 1st,
Christ Church Cathedral Undercroft, 318 East Fourth Street.
“Occupy Wall Street” was launched in New York City in September,
and this movement has spread to Cincinnati and other cities across
the country. Many questions arise about the Occupiers and their
purpose. At the next Community Issues Forum, a panel of Occupy
Cincinnati participants will discuss how their movement came about
and their message to the residents of Greater Cincinnati.
Campaign 2011: The Incumbent Cincinnati Council
Candidates Make Their Case For Reelection -October 20 Beyond dealing with another budget deficit, what are the
critical long and short term issues that Cincinnati City Council
must address in the next two years? At the next Community Issues
Forum, the incumbent members of Council will make their case for
reelection by responding to this question. Incumbent Council members
will include Wayne Lippert,
Amy Murray,
Roxanne Qualls,Laure Quinlivan,
Cecil
Thomas, and Wendell Young (Democrats). This luncheon forum took
place at 12:00 noon, Thursday October 20th, Christ Church
Cathedral Undercroft, 318 East Fourth Street.
The City
Manager’s Forum: Milton Dohoney, Jr. Reflects On Issues
Facing The City 06/26/2012
The City of Cincinnati currently confronts a
number of difficult issues. At the next Community Issues Forum,
City Manager Milton Dohoney, Jr., will reflect on Cincinnati’s
problems and prospects. This luncheon forum takes place at 12:00
noon, Thursday May 26th, Christ Church Cathedral Undercroft, 318
East Fourth Street.
One challenge that persists for City
Management is how to provide effective services with less public
revenue. The budget crisis continues for the City, and the prospect
of losing a major percentage of the state’s local government fund
adds a new dimension to this problem. On the bright side, the city
attracts new downtown residents, and the Bank’s development is
moving forward. Meanwhile, a major question mark exists concerning
the Streetcar Project. At the May 26th Forum, City
Manager Dohoney will reflect on these topics and more. As usual time
will be set aside for questions and comments from the audience.
Politicians Are Getting Ready To Pick Their Voters: Shining
Some Light On Ohio’s Redistricting Process 06/12/2012
Gerrymandering has been around since Gov.
Elbridge Gerry and the Massachusetts Legislature established
districts in 1812 that favored his party. In most states today, the
redistricting process that takes place after every Census is
weighted toward the political party that holds a majority. At the
next Community Issues Forum, a panel will review Ohio’s highly
partisan system, while it describes some changes that would reform
the way the state draws up its Congressional and state districts.
Panelists include Pat Clifford,
Common Cause/Ohio, Alice
Schneider, the League of Women Voters of the Cincinnati Area,
and
Catherine Turcer, Ohio Citizen Action. This luncheon forum took
place at 12:00 noon, Thursday May 12th, Christ Church Cathedral
Undercroft, 318 East Fourth Street.
geon, emerged as a passionate advocate for transforming these
neighborhoods after working with many young people who come to his
Center with gun shot and other assault wounds. Co-sponsored by Elementz,
a youth center with an emphasis on hip hop, this luncheon forum took place at 12:00 noon, Thursday January 26th, Christ
Church Cathedral Undercroft, 318 East Fourth Street.s Trauma
Services, will lead a discussion of Core Change, a new initiative to
improve the safety and quality of life of Cincinnati's inner city
neighborhoods. Dr. Garcia, a pediatric surgeon, emerged as a
passionate advocate for transforming these neighborhoods after
working with many young people who come to his Center with gun shot
and other assault wounds. Co-sponsored by Elementz, a youth center
with an emphasis on hip hop, this luncheon forum takes place at
12:00 noon, Thursday January 26th, Christ Church Cathedral
Undercroft, 318 East Fourth Street.