By Katelyn Lusher Gentrification has a certain “look.” Once you know the telltale signs, it is impossible to not notice, even if you are not from that particular city. In May, my husband and I visited my brother in Denver. I had never been to the city before, but it was clear to me that certain areas were changing rapidly. For example, older buildings with graffiti art were juxtaposed with shiny, modern looking apartment complexes with signs advertising available units. Small

By Dr. Mark Mussman Over the past year we've seen one thing - the powerful will do what they can to remain in power, regardless of who it hurts, and when it hurts. During the pandemic, 3CDC seized the opportunity to do what it had intended to do for so long - take as much public property and turn it into a profit. From park-like spaces like Imagination Alley and Findlay Playground, to public right-of-ways, like Court Street, 14th and 15th Streets, and the DORA, to the Streate

By Alex McIntosh My parents started their swimming pool service business in 1999. My mom had just gotten out of the shower when my dad burst in with a tentative grin on his face. She recognized the expression, a mix of embarrassment and self-assurance, a look she knew meant that he had quit his job. “Let’s start our own company,” he said as my mom towel-dried her hair. This decision shaped my family life and allowed my parents to build the kind of workplace they desired. Even

Bill Woods Suddenly, recent legislation has produced a policy with the potential of significantly reducing poverty in this country. Included in the major COVID-relief bill passed by Congress in March is a section that temporarily extends the child tax credit. At a special Community Issues Forum on June 25th, Senator Sherrod Brown, one of the architects of this extension, talked about how this policy will provide needed income to low-income families when it goes into effect i

By Gabriela Godinez Feregrino The emotional push and pull of science during a pandemic is an experience no one was prepared for. Just when we feel it’s about to be over, the goal post moves. With the new delta variant of COVID-19 many questions may rise and new anxieties might develop. It’s important to preface any article or conversation about COVID-19 that our mental health is a vital part of our overall health. While science advances everyday and it’s important to stay up

By Bill Woods Common Cause celebrated its 50th year in operation on June 10th. This national citizen reform organization was founded by John Gardner in 1971 during the first term of the Nixon Administration. Founded during the turbulent time of Vietnam protest, urban unrest, and the counter culture versus Main Street U.S.A, the organization sought to renew the health of democracy by empowering citizens to get involved in government and politics. Although Gardner saw the need

By Michael Burnham and Barbara Wolf When Bob Moore died from esophageal cancer at 81 on the afternoon of Thursday the 18th of March, Cincinnati and the world lost one of its most persistent, inclusive, and kindest social activists, not to mention what U. Utah Phillips, one of Bob’s favorite folk musicians, would have labeled its “best political tool”, aka “a long memory”. Educator and Over-the-Rhine activist Bonnie Neumeier recalls, “From the moment I first met him, he was a

By Katelyn Lusher A couple of weeks ago, a few friends and I were at a bar in Over-the-Rhine not far from the Homeless Coalition. It was a warm night and we were chatting on the bar’s sidewalk patio when an older man, who was presumably experiencing homelessness, approached us asking for bus fare. None of us were bothered by him at all, but the bouncer at this establishment apparently had a problem with him speaking to us and tersely told the man to stop bothering us. I told

By Bill Woods After nearly five months of a new Administration in Washington, D.C., it seems time to conduct an assessment of government and politics in this country. How have policies and priorities changed? How healthy are our public institutions and democracy in general? After surviving four years of Donald Trump in the White House, the Biden Administration provides a refreshing change in priorities and behavior. Its first legislation, the major stimulus bill, pumps funds