WESTERN HILLS PRESS Your Community Press newspaper serving Western Hills, Cheviot, Green Township and other West Cincinnati neighborhoods
WEDNESDAY, MARCH 13, 2019 ❚ BECAUSE COMMUNITY MATTERS ❚ PART OF THE USA TODAY NETWORK
Texting case judge does things his way Dan Horn Cincinnati Enquirer USA TODAY NETWORK
NORTH BEND – Anyone surprised by the way Judge Robert Ruehlman is handling the City Council texting case probably doesn’t know him very well. Ruehlman, a North Bend resident and one of the longest-serving judges on Hamilton County’s Common Pleas Court, built a reputation in his three decades on the bench for speaking his mind and doing things his way. In the text case, he stunned the fi ve council members involved when he ordered the release of thousands of text messages associated with the case, even those that did not, technically, violate Ohio open meetings law. He may have stunned them further
with his words Thursday, as he scolded the council members: “You essentially lied to the people of the city,” he said in court. “... The trust is gone. It’s going to take a long time to get that trust back. ... I really believe the fi ve city council members should resign and should pay this back. And no city voter should ever, ever vote for them again.” Democratic Party Chairwoman Gwen McFarlin denounced Ruehlman in a statement, calling him a “rubber stamp for Republican extremists.” “He has made a mockery of the court,” she said. For Ruehlman, surprises are business as usual. The Republican is especially known for giving defendants a piece of his mind before dismissing them from his courtroom or sending
them off to jail. His most famous tongue-lashing came early in his career in 1989, when he chastised former Home State Savings Bank owner Marvin Warner for failing to pay $12 million in restitution to customers who lost their money in the bank’s collapse. Ruehlman said Warner should have plenty of money because he was the owner of a horse farm. “When I get through with you,” he told Warner, “the only horse you will be riding is one of those horses out in front of the Kmart on a little merry-go-round.” The Ohio Supreme Court later removed Ruehlman from the case to avoid “the appearance of any bias or prejuSee JUDGE, Page 2A
Judge Robert Ruehlman has a reputation of speaking his mind. ENQUIRER FILE
Livability: Cincinnati has ‘top-notch infrastructure.’ Sarah Brookbank Cincinnati Enquirer USA TODAY NETWORK
In a new study by Livability, Cincinnati ranked No. 25 out of 100, and while we can’t argue that Cincinnati is a great place to live, there are some questions about the infrastructure score. Livability said Cincinnati has “topnotch infrastructure” in their Top 100 Best Place to Live in 2019 rankings. Come again? “In fact, Cincinnati scored the highest for infrastructure among all of Livability’s Top 100 cities for 2019. Why? It’s super easy to get around here, with options ranging from the Cincinnati Bell Connector streetcar system to the popular Metro bus service, which brings 20 percent of the downtown workforce into the city each day.” — Livability.com Hey, Livability, take a look at this New York Times story about the Brent Spence Bridge, our beloved and feared 57-yearold bridge, that needs to be replaced. According to The Enquirer’s Scott Wartman, the federal government won’t pay for more than one-third of the $2.5 billion Brent Spence Bridge project. That means Ohio and Kentucky will have to come up with at least two-thirds of the money, maybe more. But neither governor has committed to a plan yet. (Remember in 2017, when the U.S. Department of Treasury released a report ranking the replacement of the Brent Spence Bridge as one of America’s top transportation infrastructure megaprojects, but nothing got done?) Nor did Livability likely read The Enquirer’s coverage of issues with the Cincinnati Bell Connector, like that time the streetcar collided with a Metro bus. The streetcar turned 2 last year, and there are a few big takeaways from the second year around the tracks, according to transportation reporter Hannah Sparling. Ridership numbers are down from early projections, down from revised projections and down compared to year one. Blockages are up. In fact, the
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An overhead look at Interstate 75 in Downtown, leading to and from the Brent Spence Bridge, located on the far right. THE ENQUIRER/LIZ DUFOUR
Cincinnati Metro is responsible for 39 percent of the blockages from January through August 2018. (That problem has since been fi xed). Not to mention the Columbia Parkway landslides, truck bottlenecks on I-71/I-75 and public pushes for a bus levy to improve services. And, of course, the Western Hills Viaduct literally had a piece of concrete fall off and smash into a truck. Livability did get a few things right, Cincinnati’s climate in six words or less, “Wildly variable – hot, cold, rainy, snowy” and our love of Graeter’s and Skyline Chili.
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Columbia Parkway closed between Kemper Lane and Torrence Parkway due to a landslide in January.
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The streetcar suffered a derailment at Liberty and Elm streets.
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