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Daily Beat

Open wide and say 'Reds': It's Opening Day, a semi-official holiday in Greater Cincinnati and the semi-official beginning of Spring in these parts. The Findlay Market Opening Day Parade kicks off at 11 a.m. and follows Race Street from the market down to Fifth, then cuts across in front of Fountain Square. Look for the CityBeat float featuring live music from Buckra in the prime #157 spot in the lineup. At least it'll be warm. Or you can stay in and watch it live on Channel 5.

You can't go undefeated if you don't win the first one: The Reds take on the Arizona Diamondbacks at 2:10 p.m., and the game features two of the best pitchers in the National League: the Reds' Aaron Harang and the D-backs' Brandon Webb. Some people think the Reds are going to have a winning season. Here is ESPN's overall season preview.

Matt Maupin remains found: The bad news everyone was expecting was made official yesterday when the U.S. Army informed the Maupin family of Batavia that remains of their son Matt were found and identified in Iraq. He'd been missing since 2004. The Maupin family says they'll keep their plans to participate in today's Opening Day Parade.

Xavier bows out: They ran out of gas against UCLA Saturday night. The Final Four has all four #1 seeds for the first time ever. Should be amazing games this coming weekend.

 

— John Fox

Bortz Defends Deal; Planners Must Weigh In

Cincinnati City Councilman Chris Bortz is defending a controversial proposal to sell a piece of city-owned property downtown at what critics allege is a sharply discounted price, stating it’s in the city's best interests and will avoid costly litigation.

Also, although Towne Properties — a development firm owned by Bortz's family — has a decades-old partnership with the company that would buy the downtown property, their partnership is limited to another property and Towne has no other business ties with the firm.

Daily Beat

Big win for Xavier: I have to say I thought XU had lost several times in last night's NCAA tournament game, especially when they fell behind by four points in overtime. But they pulled out the win over West Virginia and Bob Huggins and now face powerful UCLA on Saturday. Western Kentucky made UCLA look vulnerable a few times in the late game last night, so don't think the mighty Bruins aren't beatable.

This week in the Democratic presidential race: Sen. Barack Obama seemed to grab back the momentum, Sen. Hillary Clinton vows to push on and former V.P. Al Gore might be the key to breaking the stalemate.

Are we facing the next Great Depression?: The Nation has an excellent cover story on the current Wall Street problems and their potential to drag down the entire U.S. economy.

Human trafficking: Salon has an interview with author Benjamin Skinner about his new book, A Crime So Monstrous, which details the scope of human trafficking worldwide.  "There are more slaves today than at any point in human history," Skinner says. Margo Pierce covered the horrendous topic in a recent CityBeat cover story, "Of Human Bondage," via a local appearance by another expert, Kevin Bales, author of Disposable People: New Slavery in the Global Economy.

Don't sleep tonight: There's a lot going on. Rick Pender recommends two plays, A Sleeping Country at Playhouse in the Park and Breaking the Code at NKU. There are six recommended music shows, including The Weakerthans at the Mad Hatter (see preview here), The Chocolate Horse at Northside Tavern (see a profile story here), Lonely the Seabird in a farewell show at the Southgate House (see more here) and a live music TV taping at The Greenwich (see more here, last item). The Cincinnati Wine Festival continues (see more here), Cincinnati Ballet opens A Thousand and One Nights at the Aronoff Center (see preview here) and the sculpture competition Canstruction gets judged tonight at the Weston Gallery (see more here).

— John Fox

LULAC Legal Fund to Host Mixers on Hispanic Issues

Yes, Hispanics are people, too. We realize this might be news to some people given the concerted efforts of many to prove they're worthless fruit-pickers stealing jobs from hard-working American fruit-pickers who are lining up for those low-paying jobs with no medical benefits and degrading working conditions. Otherwise promoted as "brown people" to be deported regardless of their immigration status.

The fact that all people in this country have rights — including those who speak Spanish — has not been lost on League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC) leaders who have gotten it into their heads that legal representation ought to be available to protect and defend the rights of those of a non-German persuasion. They’ve created the LULAC Legal Fund of Greater Cincinnati and, over the course of the next several months, they’ll be hosting three socials/mixers to “educate the community, recruit potential Legal Fund board members and raise funds.”

Daily Beat

Join the best: CityBeat hosts our Best of Cincinnati Party tonight at 7 p.m. at BlackFinn, the new downtown bar/restaurant in the old McFadden's space on Seventh Street. We'll be celebrating the 12th annual Best of Cincinnati issue and all that's great about Cincinnati locavores (see the issue for what that means).

Spotlight on Xavier: The Musketeers take on Bob Huggins and West Virginia tonight in the Sweet 16. The game starts at 7:10 p.m. on Channel 12. Watch it at the Best of Cincinnati party!

Opening night: Playhouse in the Park opens its latest Shelterhouse production, A Sleeping Country, tonight. It's actually a world premiere by Melanie Marnich, who worked in Cincinnati as an advertising copywriter before becoming a playwright.

Time for wine: The Cincinnati Wine Festival opens tonight and runs through Saturday all over the city. A great time for beginners and experienced wine lovers alike.

In blogland: Kevin Osborne has more on the city's proposed sale of a downtown building; Margo Pierce  has details of a Buddhism discussion Tuesday at Rohs Street Cafe;  LOL Girl is upset that Living Out Loud didn't win Best Blog in the Best of Cincinnati reader picks; and Stephen Carter-Novotni has "This Week in Wellness," featuring free white pine seedlings tomorrow at the Main Public Library downtown.

— John Fox

Staffer: Councilman Bypassed Process to Rush Deal

Cincinnati's economic development director says a city councilman deliberately bypassed the usual process to discuss proposals in an effort to push through a controversial real estate deal that the director and other administrators opposed.

The councilman, however, strongly refutes the claim.

Using public records laws, CityBeat today obtained a series of sharply worded e-mails between Economic Development Director Holly Childs and City Councilman Chris Bortz. The pair discuss a proposal by City Councilman Jeff Berding to sell a city-owned building on Fourth Street to a developer for $250,000 — far less than what the site is worth, administrators said.

Bortz, who heads council's Economic Development Committee, allowed a vote yesterday on the proposal without waiting for a report from Childs' office that would provide city council with background information on the site and explain the administration's stance against Berding's proposal. Childs' e-mail indicated Bortz earlier had given her an assurance any vote would be delayed until a report was prepared.

Transforming Self, Transforming Society

The three poisons in Zen Buddhism are greed, ill will and delusion, also known as attachment, anger and ignorance. Eliminating the three poisons from daily life and thereby reducing their negative influence in the world is an unusual approach to social change, but then no one ever accused David Loy of being "usual" (see "Engaged Buddhism," issue of Jan. 17, 2007).

A Zen teacher and visiting professor at Xavier University, Loy will lead a discussion on how the three poisons have been institutionalized and are at the root of the pervasive suffering in our world. The conversation is open to everyone at the invitation of the Cincinnati Chapter of the Buddhist Peace Fellowship.

When: 7-9 p.m. Tuesday, April 1
Where: Rohs Street Café, 245 W. McMillan St. (just west of Hughes Corner in Clifton Heights)

For more information, contact Richard Blumberg: 513-608-4652.

— Margo Pierce

Daily Beat

Best day: It's Best of Cincinnati time around CityBeat, as our 12th annual guide to the best eats, arts, night life, retail, media, people and places in Greater Cincinnati hits the streets today. It's hefty: 144 pages total. Or check it out online here. Larry Gross speaks glowingly of Best of Cincinnati and his personal "bests" that are gone.

Don't worry, guns aren't a problem: As long as we ship them all to Mexico, that is. And they're not a public health issue either. So stop complaining.

Awake at 3 a.m.: Sen. Hillary Clinton says she was "sleep-deprived" when she "misspoke" about taking on sniper fire during a visit to Bosnia in 1996, and Daily Kos wonders if she'll be any less sleep-deprived when she has to answer the Oval Office red phone at 3 a.m.

Is healthcare reform possible?: Given the problems with state healthcare plans in California ad Massachusetts, The Nation's Trudy Lieberman wonders if either Clinton or Sen. Barack Obama could enact real change in the White House.

In blogland: Rick Pender has news of the start of Ensemble Theatre's 2008-09 season: the Tony Award winning musical Grey Gardens (he previously discussed the Playhouse in the Park's new season here and season announcements by Transit Five, NKU Summer Theater and Human Race Theatre here); Kevin Osborne reports on a city council debate about downtown development; and Margo Pierce reports on the newly hired director of the Clifton Cultural Arts Center.

Watch and learn: Check out one of two excellent film screenings tonight. There's a one-time screening of Uncounted: The New Math of American Elections at 7 p.m. at the Esquire Theatre; director David Earnhardt will host a Q&A afterwards. And Cincy World Cinema holds its final screening of Nanking, the documentary of Japan's brutal occupation of China in World War II, at 7 p.m. at the Cincinnati Art Museum.

— John Fox

$250K Deal Gets Council Push

Cincinnati City Council likely will decide on a $250,000 real estate deal Wednesday — just 24 hours after it was made public.

Council's Economic Development Committee today recommended approval for a deal introduced by Councilman Jeff Berding to sell a city-owned building at 33 W. Fourth Street downtown. Under the deal, city officials would allow MMF Realty to buy the structure for $250,000.

City administrators oppose the deal, stating the site could be sold for much more money.

Directing Clifton Arts

That's what Ruth Dickey will do as the first executive director of the Clifton Cultural Arts Center (CCAC). With funds from grants made by the Greater Cincinnati Foundation and the Fine Arts Fund, Dickey will head up a year of developing and implementing the center's initial programs to be offered this fall.

"I am honored and delighted to join CCAC in realizing its inspiring vision for creating a vibrant arts center and a thriving community," Dickey says.

The first paid staff member for the CCAC is moving from Burien, Wash., just outside Seattle, and her executive director position at New Futures. The nonprofit organization partners with families “to create communities where children thrive through educational, outreach and after-school programming opportunities,” according to a CCAC press release.