Porkopolis

Beware: Mike Allen Could Rise Again

As CityBeat first reported more than two months ago, state Rep. Bill Seitz (R-Green Township) will be moving over to the Ohio Senate soon in a job swap brokered by local Republican leaders. But another possible party deal that is percolating behind the scenes could see the controversial Mike Allen attempt a return to elective office.

The Hamilton County Republican Party made it official in the past few days that they've reached a deal for State Sen. Patricia Clancy (R-Colerain Township) to step down so Seitz can take her seat. Clancy announced Friday that she will leave her Ohio Senate seat in early October to accept a job with the Hamilton County Adult Probation Department. Pending approval by the Senate’s Republican caucus, Seitz will be appointed to fill the remainder of Clancy’s term, so he can campaign as an incumbent next year for his own four-year term in the office.

Morgue Photos Case Settled

Hamilton County officials today announced a settlement of a class-action lawsuit that alleged they were negligent for allowing photographer Thomas Condon access to corpses in the coroner's office for an art project. Under the deal, the county apologizes to the 532 families who filed the suit and will pay $8 million.

The settlement calls for Hamilton County to issue a formal apology to the families in the lawsuit, "expressing sincere regret for the deeply troubling actions that unfolded under prior leadership at the coroner’s office," according to a statement. Also, every copy of photographs taken by Condon in the morgue will be transferred to the families' attorneys and destroyed.

Crowley Laughs Last

In what could be viewed as a peace offering, Cincinnati Mayor Mark Mallory appointed City Councilman David Crowley to serve as vice mayor for at least the next three months — and possibly longer, if the popular Crowley is re-elected this fall.

Crowley will replace Jim Tarbell in the vice mayor's role. Because he cannot run again due to term limits, Tarbell will resign from council Sept. 3 and appoint former Mayor Roxanne Qualls to his seat to give Qualls an advantage when seeking re-election in November.

When Mallory became mayor in late 2005, he angered Crowley, a fellow Democrat who’s served on council for six years, by not appointing him to chair any of council’s committees. Instead, Mallory opted for newcomers like Democrat Jeff Berding and Charterite Chris Bortz. Since then, the mayor has clashed with Berding and Bortz on several policy and budget matters.

Whistles not Guns

Far from being a publicity stunt, Mayor Mark Mallory's substitution of the blowing of a whistle for a starting gun to start the College Hill Rhythm Race 5k on Aug. 18 is the kind of obvious and essential message the leadership of our community needs to give.

Very often we do and say things that have subtle yet powerful messages when combined with the messages provided by the larger context of our culture and society. Not using a gun when an alternative is available makes it clear that some thoughtfulness went into that decision.

Cintas Fine Highest Ever

National workplace safety regulators are proposing an unprecedented $2.78 million fine against Cintas Corp. for violations that led to the death of a worker at a company laundry in Tulsa, Okla.

Cintas can appeal the fine recommended by the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) but, if upheld, the penalty will be the largest ever fine issued in the service sector for health and safety violations.

Bortz Rebuffed by GOP

As mentioned in this week's issue of CityBeat, Cincinnati City Councilman Chris Bortz has avoided answering questions about persistent rumors that the Charterite was seeking a cross endorsement from local Republicans.

Multiple sources within the Hamilton County Republican Party have confirmed to CityBeat that Bortz was, indeed, seeking the GOP's endorsement. But the deal fell apart after some party members became angered when Bortz agreed to appoint Roxanne Qualls, a Democrat who is mostly liberal on social issues, to replace Jim Tarbell on city council.

Banks Developer Wants More Time and Money

For those keeping track over the past several years, proclamations from area officials about Cincinnati's long-stalled Banks riverfront project has constantly shifted. The newest wrinkle calls for taxpayers to ante up more money for the project and allows the developer extra time — more than two decades — to build it.

The latest deadline for agreeing to a contract between the developer and Hamilton County expired Monday without having a document finalized. This is the second deadline that the Banks Working Group, an advisory panel negotiating the deal, has missed this year.

Nate Does the Tax Code

A certain diminutive local blogger would have readers believe that any and all advocacy on a political issue by churches is allowed under federal tax law, but advisories issued by the Internal Revenue Service state that’s not the case.

An avid Porkopolis reader, Nate Livingston, takes us to task on his blog today for a recent item here criticizing Citizens for Community Values (CCV) for planning to use church bulletins as its main forum this fall to oppose a referendum aimed at overturning CCV-backed restrictions on strip clubs.

Of course, rather than merely relying on the alleged strength and logic of his arguments, Livingston resorts to his usual tactic of name-calling in the process, calling myself and News Editor Greg Flannery "stupid," "lazy" and "anti-Christian," among other choice words. Most of those are subjective decisions, I suppose, and Livingston certainly is entitled to his own opinion.

But Nate should really bone up on federal tax law before making blanket statements that all political advocacy for or against an issue is allowed. Recent IRS proclamations on the topic aren’t so clear-cut even though, like with so many things, Nate views it in stark black and white terms.

Dangerous Playthings

Product recalls, such as the recall today of 9 million toys by Mattel, always make me hope people are paying attention to the larger issue. In the 1980s a dangerous economic idea took hold in the American psyche, and we're seeing some of the fruits of that idea now.

It was in the Reagan era that it became popular to sneer at government regulation. One of the most pernicious political aphorisms ever spoken in this country was Reagan's famous observation, "Government is the problem, not the solution." An important myth took hold: Government regulation of commerce is a bad idea. The corollary holds that the free market is the best way to address human needs — and the more unfettered, the better.

When large corporations recall spinach, pet food and children's toys — all for being produced in ways that can cause illness, injury or even death — we are seeing the result of the Reagan myth at work. Minimizing government regulation has consequences: Dangerous products end up in people's hands, air gets polluted and working conditions deteriorate.

It’s time to recall the great conservative myth.

— Gregory Flannery
(Photo: Cnn. com)

CCV Gets Taste of Its Own Medicine

Maybe it's time to give Phil Burress a copy of the U.S. Constitution and, while we're at it, throw in a copy of federal tax laws for good measure.

As Citizens for Community Values (CCV) cries foul over the tactics of opponents who are trying to overturn a recent law that placed more restrictions on strip clubs and other sexually-oriented businesses, its own tactics outlined in a fund-raising letter raise troubling questions.

Sharonville-based CCV dislikes that the adult entertainment industry has organized and launched a referendum effort to overturn the Community Defense Act. The law, pushed hard by CCV, enacted statewide regulations that limited the hours of operation for strip clubs and imposed a “no-touching” rule between workers and customers. The latter restriction, CCV says, is “aimed at specifically putting an end to the prostitution (alias ‘lap dancing’), which is the mainstay of many sex clubs.”