CityBeat | April 15, 2020

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NEWS

Veronica Mills and Richard Hartman with their newborn twins in a Florence hotel P H OTO : N I C K S WA RT S E L L

Temporary Shelter Local nonprofits are helping move Greater Cincinnatians experiencing homelessness from shelters and the streets into hotels so they can safely social distance during the COVID-19 crisis

BY N I C K S WA RT S E L L

V

eronica Mills was in labor with twins in a Cincinnati hospital — four weeks early — when she got a text from her roommate, who had just tested positive for COVID-19.

The gist of that text: Don’t come back to the apartment.

Mills’ mind reeled. In addition to the worries about her twin boys, now she would need to figure out a living situation for her young family.

Her partner Richard Hartman’s living space was very small and didn’t allow for additional residents.

But after Mills ended up spending a night in a homeless shelter while her babies stayed at the hospital, Hartman called Maslow’s Army, a scrappy nonprofit that operates in Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky recommended by a longtime friend. The group quickly put the four up in a hotel room in Florence.

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“I was like, ‘I surely can’t go back there,’ ” Mills says of her apartment as she cradles one of her now-two-weekold twins in a cheerful suite. “It kind of hit me all at once. I was trying to figure out where I’m going to go, what am I going to do. I’m just trying to take it day by day now. I’m still healing from everything.”

As COVID-19 continues to spread, Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine issued a stay at home order for the state effective March 23. Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear has issued similar orders and additional ones ordering Kentuckians not to cross state lines.

The stay at home orders don’t apply to those experiencing homelessness, but social service providers say many current shelter situations aren’t equipped to deal with a world in which people need to stay six feet apart due to a highly contagious and

APRIL 15-21, 2020

sometimes-deadly respiratory illness.

Sam Landis is the founder and director of Maslow’s Army. He says the nonprofit is renting about 60 rooms housing 130 people, including 25 children, in four hotels — at least as long as the group’s funding holds up, and if local officials allow them to continue.

Florence’s mayor has raised alarms about the practice. So has the Northern Kentucky Health Department, saying it is unclear if Maslow’s Army is practicing proper safety precautions around social distancing, screening for COVID-19 and other measures.

But Landis says the group is abiding by all rules and guidelines and has ceased bringing people from Cincinnati into the Northern Kentucky hotels.

At the Florence hotel just off I-75, a volunteer named Denise makes the rounds once a day to take and record everyone’s temperatures. Two volunteers in masks and gloves — everyone is wearing masks and gloves when they’re not in their rooms — pack up lunches.

Three meals a day, résumé help, case work and education about how to properly sanitize are all part of the deal, Landis says.

“We ask people to stay in their rooms for the most part,” he says. “If you have to get out, there are plenty of trails around to get exercise.”

The bulk of those supported by

Maslow’s Army have been here about two weeks, Landis says. They’ve faced a varied list of precarious situations familiar to homeless advocacy groups.

That list is exacerbated to one degree or another by the COVID-19 crisis, which social service providers worry could spread quickly in area shelters. The hotel rooms are meant to keep people off the streets and out of those shelters until the crisis passes.

In addition to Maslow’s Army, family and women’s shelters run by the Interfaith Hospitality Network, Shelterhouse and others in Cincinnati began moving many of their residents, especially those at high risk due to COVID-19, into hotel rooms to prepare for the pandemic a couple weeks ago.

In an effort to keep those who might have the virus from spreading it in shelters, the City of Cincinnati set up a triage center at the Over-the-Rhine Community Center. That space has 15 beds for those experiencing symptoms and awaiting test results for COVID-19 and another 15 beds for those who have a confirmed illness.

The United Way of Greater Cincinnati has given $180,000 toward the hotel rooms and triage efforts, and the Greater Cincinnati Foundation has also provided funding. Groups like the Greater Cincinnati Homeless Coalition, Strategies to End Homelessness, the Salvation Army, Bethany House and CONTINUES ON PAGE 05

FROM PAGE 04

others have applauded moves by the city, but have also been calling for more federal, state and local funding to make hotel rooms available to all people in shelters and on the streets.

“Simply put, our single adults and families with children in shelters and congregant transitional and halfway housing cannot come close to practicing social distancing,” reads a letter signed by 25 social service providers sent to the city last month by the Greater Cincinnati Homeless Coalition.

The coalition has asked for funding to supply 1,000 people experiencing homelessness and staff to support them with a hotel room until the crisis passes.

More money could come soon for putting some of those people in hotel rooms.

The Hamilton County Commission will vote on allocating $1.1 million to pay for 330 hotel rooms for 45 days to try and protect those experiencing homelessness from COVID-19, Commission President Denise Driehaus said April 6. Those hotels will be in Hamilton County.

“This will reduce the population in the shelters and allow for better distancing inside the shelter, as well as provide a safe place for high-risk individuals to ride out the stay at home order,” she said.

Half of that money will come from federal Community Development Block Grant emergency solutions funds and the other half will come from federal emergency funding in the CARES Act that Congress just passed. Those funds would go to support social service providers who are already paying for hotel space, she said.

Meanwhile, Maslow’s Army is plowing ahead with private funding.

One resident at the Florence hotel, Miranda Horsley, was caught up in 2018’s fight over tent cities in downtown Cincinnati. After moving from under an overpass on Third Street due to a city order, Horsley eventually found a house in Price Hill. But it has severe black mold, she says, and isn’t fit to live in. She was living on the streets again, waiting for the mold problem to be addressed, before moving to the hotel a couple weeks ago via Maslow’s Army.

COVID-19 has made her situation more stressful, she says, but she’s thankful for the place to stay.

“Watching how fast the virus is growing, it’s a concern,” she says. “As long as you keep your hands clean and keep your safe distancing, everything is going to be fine I hope. I think it’s gotten as bad as it has because no one was taking it seriously at first. But I think people are seeing — this is really

serious.”

Without the emergency intervention, she says she isn’t sure what she would do.

“I wouldn’t be able to afford staying in a hotel,” she says. “I’d be sleeping outside right now waiting on this black mold situation.”

Another resident, Tony Gibson, has lived in hotels in Northern Kentucky with his wife and three small children for a number of months after having to leave his rented trailer due to electrical issues.

“I was in this situation before the coronavirus,” he says. “I’ve been in these hotels for a minute, about four months now. The first time I couldn’t pay for my rent, Maslow’s Army showed up.”

Gibson works third shift at Kroger deep cleaning because of the virus. His daughter Lacey says Volunteers sort lunches at a Florence hotel currently home to people experiencing housing insecurity she misses school and wants the P H OTO : N I C K S WA RT S E L L pandemic to be over, though she’s kept in contact with friends online. they’re serving and where they come consultant.

“It’s not fun, I’ll tell you that,” she from.”

“It’s about $15,000 to $20,000 a week,” says. “When my dad goes out, I really Finn says that he wants to focus on he says of the cost of the hotel rooms. like going with him. But I can’t right long-term solutions, too, however. The “It’s growing because we don’t have now, and that makes me mad.” same federal money that could pay as many people leaving as we have Though the residents staying in the for hotel rooms now could also go coming in. We may have one or two hotel try to keep at a safe distance from toward getting families into permanent who get asked to leave because they’ve each other, a sense of camaraderie has apartments down the road. done something wrong, but we have developed, some say.

Meanwhile, Landis says Maslow’s more coming.”

Grace Maute brings Mills, Hartman Army isn’t sitting still to see where Landis says the group is running and their new twins lunch every day. funding will come from. Recently, out of funds and would welcome “Everyone here is family,” she says. the Greater Cincinnati Foundation government funding.

“We stay six feet apart, but we look out provided a private grant to keep That’s something that Strategies to for each other. I don’t want her bringing families at the hotels in place for now.

End Homelessness Executive Director the babies out.”

“We can’t wait,” he says. “We see a Kevin Finn spoke about at a Hamilton Maute, who is here with her need and we try to fill it as quickly as County Commission briefing April 6. preteen daughter Rylee, is out of work we can.”

STEH administers roughly $25 indefinitely after the roofing company That’s proven vital for Mills and million annually in federal grants to she worked for didn’t bring her back Hartman, they say. combat homelessness locally. Some this construction season due to Some days, Hartman leaves early in organizations that have already been COVID-19. the morning to go to work for a heating shifting to hotel rooms — namely, On top of that, an inspection and air conditioning company, earning Cincinnati-based Shelterhouse — have discovered lead in the water of their some income for the family. But that, received funding from STEH in the past, Florence rental house, making it unsafe too, could dry up soon, he worries. making funding hotel rooms easier, for her daughter.

“We’re trying to do more contracts, Finn says.

“I didn’t know where we were going to but it’s hard,” he says. “No one wants to Maslow’s Army operates in both go,” she says. “It was really scary.” have anything done. When you don’t Kentucky and Ohio — two different Maute’s daughter gets services know when your next day of work is recipients of federal funding — and through a Covington-based counseling going to be, they can’t afford to have takes clients from both. Landis organization called Mebs Counseling, that work done. So it’s dying down for estimates the hotel in Florence is split which connected the family to us now, too.” roughly evenly between Northern Maslow’s Army. The nonprofit quickly Landis hopes the family can stay in Kentucky and Cincinnati residents. secured the family a room at the hotel. the hotel until at least May 3 — perhaps “We’re using existing structures to Mebs has been providing some longer depending on the course the get these dollars out quickly,” Finn mental health services and connections virus takes. But that will depend on the said April 6 about possible funding to resources for residents of the hotels financial situation Maslow’s Army is in. to Maslow’s Army. “We do allocate as needed, Landis says.

The uncertainty has been punishing, and distribute those dollars for the So far, Maslow’s Army says it Mills says, but the hotel room has county. Shelterhouse in particular hasn’t gotten any help in the form of become a lifeline. does receive those dollars from the government money, relying instead on “I freak out literally every day now, annual allocation. Maslow’s Army is in private donations to fund the estimated trying to figure out how I’m going to a slightly different position given that $90,000 cost of putting people up in do things,” she says. “But I definitely they operate on both sides of the river hotel rooms thus far. feel like we have a fighting chance that and that they don’t usually receive Nelson Giordano is Maslow’s we’re going to get through this virus these dollars. We’ve done a lot of work volunteer accountant. Giordano, who now.” making sure they’re documenting who is a licensed CPA, usually works as a tax

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ARTS & CULTURE

McMillion$ directors James Lee Hernandez (left) and Brian Lazarte P H O T O : S H E L L I R YA N / C O U R T E S Y O F H B O

Friends in Fry Places McMillion$ director and CCM grad Brian Lazarte on the hit HBO docuseries with co-director James Lee Hernandez

BY J U D E N O E L

F

ast food ephemera, big money and the Mob, all wrapped up in an easily bingeable package: HBO’s McMillion$ captures Americana at its seediest in the form of a quirky six-episode true crime docuseries.

Centering around McDonald’s recurring Monopoly promotion — the one in which customers can trade game pieces peeled from Big Mac boxes for prizes — the show chronicles an FBI investigation into a conspiracy that rigged the contest’s results from 1989 to 2001, scamming the burger chain out of $24 million.

Unlike most true-crime series, McMillion$ isn’t much of a whodunit mystery. After providing a brief history of the Monopoly promotion and introducing the unexpectedly charismatic team of agents tackling the case, the documentary wastes no time in identifying its key culprits by the end of its second episode. Instead of leaving audiences in the dark, McMillion$ chooses to explore the complex and bizarre network of characters whose

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lives intersected with the scam: folks who were both wittingly and unwittingly implicated as fraudulent prizewinners, McDonald’s employees enlisted as FBI collaborators and even members of the Mafia.

In producing the series, University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music graduate and director Brian Lazarte and his co-director James Lee Hernandez made a conscious effort to highlight the real, human impact of the conspiracy.

“There were victims here. We’d hear often, ‘Oh this is a victimless crime, and it didn’t hurt anybody,’” Lazarte says. “You know, it’s McDonald’s, a billion-dollar company. But when you really break it down, hopefully people will walk away realizing that there were real consequences that affected the victims’ friendships, their families and their job prospects.”

Telling that story wouldn’t be a simple task, however. Before McMillion$ went into production, there had yet to be a detailed account

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of the investigation published in any medium, largely due to the trial, which started one day before the September 11 attacks.

Though both Lazarte and Hernandez have fond memories of the McDonald’s Monopoly game itself, neither had heard of the scandal until 2012, when Hernandez happened upon a post on the TodayILearned subreddit about the fraudulent contest results.

“I was obsessed with that game as a kid,” Hernandez says. “I couldn’t believe what I was seeing. Then, at the same time, this was referencing a blurb in a small Jacksonville newspaper.

There had to be some big exposé on the whole thing. For the next year, I’d just randomly look into it and would just constantly hit this wall of articles using the same regurgitated information.”

Dissatisfied with what the internet had to offer, Hernandez filed a Freedom of Information request with the U.S. Government. Three years later, he was given access to the case files and the agents involved, many of whom regarded the McDonald’s scam as their favorite investigation.

From there, he reached out to his friend Lazarte to bring some experience in documentary filmmaking onboard. After graduating from CCM in 2004, Lazarte worked as an editor on reality series like Kitchen Nightmares and Shaq Fu, but recent credits included documentaries The

Last Animals, a conservationist film about species at risk of extinction, and Under The Gun, which examined the NRA’s response to the Sandy Hook massacre.

In turn, Lazarte made it a point to bring local talent onto the production, offering a CCM student an internship.

Ask either McMillion$ co-director who their favorite interview subject was, and you’ll get an immediate answer: FBI agent Doug Mathews, an audience favorite and the series’ breakout star.

Brimming with confidence and bereft of patience, the twangy agent serves as a de facto protagonist, spearheading the McDonald’s fraud investigation simply because he’s “bored to death.” Mathews’ on-screen presence is as much of a hook as the McMillion$ story itself. For each plot twist or new character introduced into the conspiracy, he serves up another can’t-miss anecdote about attending a board meeting in his “golden fry suit” or persuading his higher-ups to let him incorporate undercover work into the investigation.

“How he is on the show is exactly how he is in real life, every hour of the day,” Lazarte says. “There’s never really a dull moment, but he talks about a thousand miles a minute. The only problem with him is keeping up, if, for example, he might skim over CONTINUES ON PAGE 07

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an important talking point.”

According to Hernandez, the FBI agents interviewed were able to give a surprising amount of detail on the investigation, considering that it was in the “sweet spot” of being closed for years and containing little sensitive information.

“The agents themselves were really FBI Special Agent Doug Mathews P H OTO : C O U RT E SY O F H B O excited to talk about it because there are so “Ultimately, they did something we few things that they do that they can don’t really expect a major corporation actually talk about,” he says. to do,” he says. “You start out thinking The pair was even more surprised ‘evil corporation,’ but then you realize to be able to bring two McDonald’s they took the ethical approach to employees into the production as actually trying to do the right thing.” subjects — then-current head of global And, Lazarte and Hernandez may security Rob Holm and director of very well have (unintentionally) paid global family marketing Amy Murray, McDonald’s back for their cooperation who assisted Mathews in founding in sales. a decoy production company for his “It always started on the road doing undercover work. interviews,” Hernandez says. “We’d Hernandez says that earning the meet up with a person or crew member trust of McDonald’s executives took and say, ‘Oh, McDonald’s is right next time, but that their reaction to the to this person’s house,’ sort of as a joke. finished product has been extremely And that joke turns into getting fries.” positive.

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TV

How Being a TV Critic Prepared Me for Isolation

BY JAC K E R N

In the past few weeks, many of us have gotten acquainted with the terms “self-isolation,” “social distancing” and “quarantine,” rapidly moving from learning their definitions to implementing them in our daily lives. With folks being encouraged to work remotely if possible, avoid groups of people and venture out only A scene from Girls — a current representation of critic Jac for essential trips, cabin P H OTO : J O J O W H I L D E N / C O U RT E SY H B O fever quickly set in for many. But not me!

I’ve been covering TV for CityBeat McMillion$, which exposes the for eight years and watching since McDonald’s Monopoly fraud. birth — screen-time limits weren’t a thing in the ’80s. That’s a whole lot of Get Inspired hours logged on the old boob tube. As Check out cooking and DIY shows for a rare 20-something with a decent TV off-screen inspo: Chopped can elicit and cable, I used to have friends over to ideas for cobbling together a meal out catch our favorite shows, but Sundays of leftovers and back-of-the-pantry fodwere a big deal. From True Blood to The der. Clean out your closet with the help Walking Dead and Game of Thrones, of Marie Kondo. Fantasize about your we’d gather for themed watch parties ideal quarantine HQ by watching House complete with snacks, drinks and the Hunters. occasional costume. It lasted a few years, but as we all grew up, got marCatch Up ried, lost our hangover tolerance and Never seen Mad Men, Breaking Bad or began requiring more sleep, our loyal The Sopranos but refuse to talk about TV club gradually dissolved, leaving me it to avoid an annoyingly shocked and my husband to watch everything — response? Now is your chance! Find just the two of us. that series you’ve always wanted to And yet I find myself consuming watch and treat yourself. As for me, more content than ever. Even if I won’t maybe I’ll finally finish The Wire. have time to review something, I still want to take in as much as I can, feeling Binge Wisely pressured to have the perfect suggesIt’s easy to get sucked into a story if you tion any time anyone asks in passing, have few distractions. That’s not always “So, what are you watching right now?” a good thing. If you’re feeling anxThis is all to say I am uniquely suited ious, steer clear of tense dramas and for this new, isolated lifestyle. There apocalypse-related entertainment. Take is an endless bounty of entertainment a break, go on a walk, read a book. awaiting on cable, Netflix, Hulu, Amazon, Disney+, Apple TV and beyond.

Share Your Log-Ins And while I definitely don’t take the Even though many of us can’t physicoronavirus or social distancing lightly, cally be with friends and family, we there’s no reason we can’t make the can share the love — and that includes most of being indefinitely cooped up. streaming accounts! There’s a flurry of Here are some tips from a self-pronew movies coming to streaming and claimed homebody and TV junkie. on demand, too. Just like many studios are delaying theater releases, some are making films available early: Frozen 2, Balance Is Key Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, Harley I’m a big believer in a well-balanced Quinn: Birds of Prey and more. diet when it comes to what you watch: And you don’t even have to be in the high-brow and junk, comedies and same place to watch together: There’s a dramas. Need to decompress after Chrome extension called Netflix Party a heavy prestige series, like Hulu’s that allows users to stream remotely excellent tech thriller DEVS? Flip on with friends, synchronizing video Bravo. Feel like Tiger King is melting playback and adding a group chat for your brain? Expand your mind with long-distance binge sessions. a stimulating docuseries, like HBO’s

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FOOD & DRINK

Mitch Arens (left) and Stephen Williams P H O T O : P R O V I D E D BY Y ’A L L H O S P I TA L I T Y

Local Chefs Team Up to Launch Y’all Hospitality The new restaurant group from Mitch Arens and Stephen Williams crafts Southern-inspired cuisine in an unexpected location: Covington’s RiverCenter Towers

BY E R I N C O U C H

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or Northern Kentucky restaurateurs Mitch Arens and Stephen Williams, the region that lies just across the mile-wide Ohio River from Cincinnati is a geographic anomaly — it doesn’t quite warrant a label designating it as the Midwest or the South.

“I went to Louisville (and people asked), ‘Where are you from?’ Do you say Cincinnati, Northern Kentucky, Covington, Hebron — do people know those?” Arens says. “I think we’re in the unique position where we get to use both.”

And it’s that uncertainty of Northern Kentucky’s reputation of bridging the gap between the Midwest and the South that Arens and Williams are harnessing with their new hospitality

group, Y’all Hospitality.

Arens and Williams, both Kentucky natives who have a history of navigating the Cincinnati culinary landscape as chefs themselves, joined forces last year to start the restaurant group, honing in on Covington as their battleground.

Williams already owned Bouquet Restaurant, a farm-to-table bistro and wine bar in the MainStrasse district, which they tacked onto Y’all Hospitality.

Arens was executive chef at Hotel Covington’s Coppin’s.

But the guys weren’t planning on setting up shop in conventional storefronts. Instead, they set their sights on a peculiar location: Covington’s RiverCenter Towers, a 19-floor office complex located just a stone’s throw from the Roebling Bridge.

Arens and Williams began talks to take over an existing concept in RiverCenter called Butler’s Pantry, a grab-and-go café with options ranging from hot sandwiches to quick pickme-up snacks.

Last fall, they did a top-to-bottom overhaul of Butler’s Pantry, focusing on bringing local, fresh ingredients to the dishes. They say the place originally had a freezer-to-fryer-to-plate model, and they literally had to teach the staff how to cook from scratch.

Now, the café boasts a full espresso bar, a bakery, made-to-order entrees and other fast bites geared toward office workers on a quick lunch break.

“We’re kind of reinventing the office cafeteria,” Williams says.

But they didn’t stop there. In January, just across the hall, they opened up a fast-casual diner concept designed to complement Butler’s Pantry they named The Kitchen.

The Kitchen is where they got to get creative with menu items that spotlight Northern Kentucky as the gateway to the South, Arens says.

“We’re right on the line between the North and the South. A lot of the stuff moving north, you don’t see a lot of the Southern-inspired dishes in Ohio,” Arens says. “That’s where this menu in particular came.”

They say the menu sticks to simple preparation to accommodate the fastcasual service they strive for, given their

clientele is largely office workers trying to grab a quick bite. Choices represent authentic cuisine from both Cincinnati and Kentucky. Goetta balls served with white cheese, chow chow and sloppy sauce are reportedly popular. Kentucky chicken is also on the menu, including a fried chicken thigh sandwich aptly named the Colonel. Brunch is also offered on weekends.

Additionally, some menu items come directly from businesses in the community. The Queen City’s staple German heritage is honored with an unconventional reuben. Instead of using brined corned beef, the sandwich comes with smoked corn beef supplied

by Findlay Market’s Eckerlin Meats.

Williams says several members of the staff — which includes Bhumin Desai, formerly of Maplewood Kitchen and Bar, at the helm as head chef — helped craft the menu. He says that teamwork coupled with unorthodox touches on regional favorites are just part of what makes The Kitchen’s menu unique.

“We want it to be a team effort, almost looking at it like a plateau, where all of us are on the same level and everybody’s bringing ideas to the table, and that gives the entire team ownership in the ideas,” Williams says.

“And that’s where people are the whole key to this.”

Next, they plan on rolling out daily lunch specials with a $9.43 price tag.

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With tax, that brings the bill to $10 even.

They also hope to keep The Kitchen open for dinner.

But like every other business owner in the country, Y’all Hospitality’s plans are being put on hold due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Arens says they effectively shut down all their restaurants except for Butler’s Pantry.

Goetta balls with white sauce and chow chow In addition to the carry- P H O T O : P R O V I D E D BY Y ’A L L H O S P I TA L I T Y out eats, they also six weeks, whenever this is all calmed began selling essentials down and over with, we’ve still got our like fresh produce, dairy, eggs — and team and we’re ready to open and get even toilet paper. However, he says they into beautiful weather and business as have since decided to close that as well usual.” due to health concerns.

Whiskey Thief was slated to open The hospitality group also has plans by early May. Follow facebook.com/ to open a third concept in RiverCenter, ButlersPantryRC for updates. a more upscale eatery and bourbon bar called Whiskey Thief. Arens says they are still full steam ahead on that concept.

The Kitchen by Butler’s Pantry “We’re just trying to stay positive and and Butler’s Pantry, 50 E trying to keep the staff positive,” he Rivercenter Blvd., Covington, says. “Hopefully, in two, three, four, butlerspantrymarket.com.

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ART IN THE AGE OF SOCIAL DISTANCING Spaces that serve to share art thrive through the act of togetherness — so how do they survive essentially and economically when we have to be apart?

BY MACKENZIE MANLEY

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useums are closed. Performances and art openings are canceled or postponed, sometimes indefinitely. eason announcements have been pushed back. tudents are finishing their semesters remotely. t is a surreal but temporary truth; spaces that serve to share art — galleries, theaters, museums, studios, stages — are now virtually empty in the age of social distancing. Much of this work thrives through the act of togetherness. These are necessary precautions, but the collective grief is real nonetheless.

In normal times, we stroll through galleries; we watch performances unfold live, experiencing stories and movements and emotion as a group we fill theaters, concert venues and museum halls; we gather to create, learn from each other and ultimately better our community. For such organi ations these changes mean a significant loss of revenue. For many artists and workers — this has meant layoffs lost income and disappearing gigs. dding to the uncertainty there is no definite answer as to when life might return to normalcy.

But here is how leadership at local art organi ations say Cincinnatians can best uplift the city s artists and creatives.

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THE IMPACT According to statistics from Americans for the Arts, 60 percent of earned income for nonprofit arts organi ations comes directly from ticket sales, sponsorships and fundraising events. nd they say the nonprofit arts alone have a $166 billion economic impact in the nited tates and support . million obs. any small artists rely on sales from gallery shows fairs and fests to sustain and may not have a viable financial fallback. As is the case with other sectors many live paycheck to paycheck, gig to gig.

Like other economic sectors, arts organi ations have called for federal aid as they grapple with their own set of crises. According to The New York Times, the $2.2 trillion federal coronavirus relief bill or C ct includes million for the National ndowment for the rts and another million for the National ndowment for the Humanities, both of which would dole the money out to institutions across America that need it. dditionally million was set aside for the Institute of useum and ibrary ervices million for the ennedy Center and . million for the mithsonian Institution. (The bill also includes a one-time payment of up to $1,200 to be sent to the maority of mericans alongside

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loans, grants and tax breaks to large and small businesses alike, as well as supplemental funding to local and state governments to aid in emergency and basic services.)

These numbers fall short of what arts and culture-related organi ations called for. n a letter the American Alliance of Museums urged the . . Congress to allow at least billion for nonprofit museums in C V - economic relief legislation to provide emergency assistance through une.” They cited that museums are losing “at least $33 million a day due to closures” as a result of the novel coronavirus “and will be in desperate need of significant federal support to maintain jobs, secure our cultural heritage, help to rebuild our nation s tourism industry and simply to survive the months to come.” n comparison ngland launched a million or million emergency relief package for creative organi ations/ artists. The deal included an allotted £20 million for individual and freelance artists. According to a press release ermany s government is putting forth billion billion in relief coverage for its creative and cultural sectors. It also specifically includes aid for self-employed individuals and small businesses. im Flora the Cincinnati rt

useum s head of design and installation and a local artist, said the support of working artists right now is not only critical to individuals, but also to the greater community. any artists currently work in the gig economy of designing sculpting, painting, art handling and often bartending and pouring coffee to make ends meet ” Flora said. “Artists are getting hit from multiple angles as art institutions and restaurants close their doors. t s important that the community embrace and support artists during this trying time so that families and individuals can share in the basic necessities important to life. It is impossible for creative work to continue without these things.” en Co the Contemporary rts Center s director of communications, stated that working artists often rely on support from individual patrons and commissions from institutions or grants. The power of choice to show support for those in our communities, then, is a vital one. t s the power we still have in the face of lack of control over our other circumstances ” Co said.

The very work our artists do is at the same time a commentary on the world we live in, a call to action, and a recognition of the connections we all have with each other. We need them now, more

GOING DIGITAL

Carly Riegger’s work from the @SocialDistanceGallery P H O T O : P R O V I D E D BY B E N C O O K

Portuguese street artist Vhils’ exhibit Haze at the CAC, up through July 6 P H O T O : K A I T LY N H A N D E L

than ever. nd we ll need them again once we ve come through this global crisis to help us bring sense to the new world we live in.” s put by Cal Cullen the e ecutive director of Wave Pool, artists connect us emotionally and bring out the best in humanity. he said that they are perhaps the most capable of finding ways for us to combat the negative societal implications of this (pandemic).” s previously noted artists make up a large sum of the gig economy — contract work, adjunct teaching, etc. making them particularly vulnerable to these blows. But the impact of C V is not only a financial one. t s devastating to see artists who have worked for months or even years to put on e hibitions performances and programs to see them suddenly canceled ” Cullen said. This is not only a monetary concern for artists but a heartbreaking one, after having

put so much time and resources into work that is now not being seen.” o how can communities support their local network of artists?

For starters buy work from artists. any sell their art directly on Instagram or other sites such as tsy. Commission pieces. ecome a member of art organi ations. uy tickets in advance. onate. hare their work on your own social media. Advocate for better funding. everal of those interviewed pointed to local nonprofit agency ArtsWave, which funds over 100 art pro ects and organi ations in reater Cincinnati. Currently in the midst of its community campaign, ArtsWave has also put together an extensive online “toolkit” that pools local, statewide and national resources for artists and organi ations in the wake of the novel coronavirus. It can be found at artswave.org.

Another trend has emerged. In the age of social distancing, entertainment has largely gone digital. f you ve scrolled through nstagram Facebook or Twitter in the past month you ve likely noticed links to live-streams of performances or videos taking viewers on tours through would-be art shows. everal cultural institutions have rolled out such initiatives. The list could go on and on, but here a few to get you started • You can still explore the Cincinnati Art Museum via online exhibitions, which include Rembrandt: Master Printmaker, Frida Kahlo: Photographic Portraits by Bernard Silberstein, The Art Academy of Cincinnati and World War 1 and Mementos of Affection, a collection of ornamental hairwork. till missing the C They also have a virtual collection of works and objects. To check any of the above out visit cincinatiartmuseum.org.

• In a similar vein, the Taft Museum of Art has rolled out cyberspace programming. Museumgoers can take an audio tour of their permanent collection. n ondays the museum has partnered with rban ketchers for a weekly creative prompt inspired by the Taft s collections and architecture.

Participants can share their art via Taft useum iscovered a recently unveiled hashtag being used to spotlight works from the museum. f you have not yet had a chance to see their current exhibition N.C. Wyeth: New Perspectives or if you ust really love it — Ann Glasscock, assistant curator, is oining lise olomon the director of learning and engagement, for a virtual table-side chat regarding the show. n Fridays test your knowledge via trivia and tune in on unday for family-friendly activities led by the Taft s learning and engagement team.

• Be led through the Contemporary Arts Center via an audio tour at tourcac.com. Created by local artist ritni icknaver it s highly descriptive, lush with intricate sound and full of historical information about the space. Close your eyes and you might ust begin to see the familiar curves of the iconic Zaha Hadid-designed building develop. Cincinnati-based artist ulia ipovsky is also at the helm of a virtual residency.” eep tabs on the center s social media for weekly creative prompts. o far viewers have oined ipovsky on making self-portraits and window posters.

• Wave Pool has created a C V eo YouTube channel where they are hosting and livestreaming all ma or gallery events

and e hibit openings. Visit their Instagram stories for studio tours and updates.

• et your dose of Know Theatre through now-to- o their online streaming programming series.

Though their mainstage show Alabaster was cut short, the company was able to bring the awardwinning, goat-narrated drama to the digital landscape. Tickets for that show are no longer for sale, but now is pulling past shows from the vault and making them available for rent at $10 apiece.

Titles include s Andy’s House of [blank] through pril and s Darkest Night at the Gnarly Stump through ay . ccording to a release now is also partnering with local playwrights to create new audio works that will be made available for purchase at knowtheatre.com. Also on deck is the brainchild of managing director Jackson hort. illed as a designed-forperformance tabletop role-playinggame experience,” Roll Models will feature the stories of local playwrights with local actors performing various characters, who will spin their tales in live-streamed installments. Audiences are encouraged to support the art through a “virtual tip jar.”

• In a similar move, Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park announced that they have commissioned local playwrights to write monologues about hope; each will be posted online so keep your eyes peeled. Ensemble Theatre Cincinnati has also been sharing audition tips on Facebook/ nstagram from roducing rtistic irector . ynn eyers. lso on the virtual deck is ecca owell TC s education associate who will give yoga tips every unday. pen another tab for Cincinnati Shakespeare Company s Virtual appy our ” held weekly on Thursdays at p.m.

• Alongside moving to remote classes, the Art Academy of Cincinnati will be sharing recorded senior thesis talks and virtual walking tours of exhibitions.

When asked about the importance of supporting working artists amid this pandemic, Amanda arker- olery C s director of marketing and enrollment, said the college believes that culture and creativity is a motivating factor in the overall global creative economy. ne of the things that is lost in the current situation is that many e hibitions of artists are being canceled or postponed at this time which leads to a dramatic reduction of economic support surrounding the presentation of artwork,” she said. “Understanding the need to support working artists at this time is essential to

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continue the community experience of making this world a better place.”

• Miss movie theaters? Catch flicks at Cincinnati World Cinema via their current lineup of rentals: Slay the Dragon, Corpus Christi, The Whistlers and Once We Were Brothers.

• Need to keep the kids entertained? Cincinnati Museum Center has a slew of educational online resources — including videos, how-to experimental guides, activities and more — that bring the museum’s spirit straight into your home. You can also watch Casper: The Friendly Musical for free on The Children’s Theatre of Cincinnati’s YouTube.

RESOURCES FOR ARTISTS Artists are undoubtedly helping us get through this pandemic.

From TV to film to living room concerts to virtual workshops — this is the work that is helping so many cope mentally and emotionally with a new reality.

And that’s why, now more than ever, communities need to uplift and support makers. In doing so, they can have the tools necessary to be actively creating long after COVID-19 has passed.

While this list is in no way exhaustive, below are resources that may be useful to creatives.

Like the rest of us, the art world is still figuring out how best to approach these unprecedented circumstances, so websites and organizations are constantly evolving.

• On April 8, the nationwide Artist Relief was launched, which aims to provide “rapid, unrestricted $5,000 relief grants to assist artists facing dire financial emergencies due to the impact of COVID-19,” according to its release statement. The national partnership between the Academy of American Poets, Artadia, Creative Capital, Foundation for Contemporary Arts, MAP Fund, National YoungArts Foundation and United States Artists has $10 million to start. Artists can apply for grants at artistrelief.org.

• Wave Pool has developed an artists’ professional development program titled “Driving Lessons,” which comes in response to the Cincinnati Artist Report they compiled last summer. Described as a course “to assist local artists with building their résumés, brand, grant-writing skills, strategic plans and financial management,” classes are set to launch virtually in May. The gallery’s Cullen also noted that the podcast I Like Your Work is currently featuring artists who have had their

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shows canceled because of COVID-19. (Follow their Instagram @ilikeyourworkpodcast.)

• A GoFundMe started by Ian Timothy Forsgren titled the “Greater Cincinnati Artist Relief Fund” has raised more than $7,000 since March 13 toward a total goal of $20,000. “We’re a diverse group of low-income artists in Cincinnati raising money to support other artists and freelancers like us who are taking financial hits as a result of closures and lost income from COVID-19,” reads the fund’s description. “Our intention is to collectively raise funds to provide emergency and preventative resources to those at financial risk.” The funds will go directly to artists to make up for lost income, canceled gigs, etc.

• Americans for the Arts has created a list of emergency relief funds/financial assistance and is currently taking an “impact survey” to gather data and stories that “will demonstrate how the arts and culture workers triumphed and survived this crisis.”

• Sarah Crowell, an AAC alum and former adjunct professor, created a GoFundMe to help pay figure models who now find themselves suddenly out of work.

• Artiststhrive.org is a compilation of resources, tools and opportunities with the goal of staying true to its namesake: providing support to artists and those who work with artists so that they are able to thrive amid this pandemic.

• Covid19freelanceartistresource.wordpress.com is a website dedicated to freelance artists and those who want to support independent artists. They have aggregated a list of free resources, opportunities and financial relief options. Their online “COVID-19 Toolkit” has compiled both local and national resources.

• New York-based nonprofit Creative Capital is providing grants, workshops and more to support creatives during COVID-19.

• Looking ahead, Covington’s Pique recently put out a call to artists to submit work made during the COVID-19 pandemic. Aptly named the Quarantine Show, all media and styles are welcome.

Date TBD. Per the CAC’s Cox, artists are also at the forefront of tackling unique issues. She cited QuaratineChat — a project that connects isolated strangers via a phone line — as an example of a platform created by artists. (In this case, Danielle Baskin and Max Hawkins.)

As Lindsey Whittle of Covington’s Pique gallery told me: “We need art always.” n

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The Instagram Art Gallery

BY MACKENZIE MANLEY

T

o comply with “social distancing” and stay at home orders as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, universities have moved to remote learning. For art students, this presents a particular challenge: much of their education traditionally entails exhibiting their work in public spaces. That’s where Instagram’s Social Distance Gallery comes in.

Though the Art Academy of Cincinnati initially limited the number of guests each BFA student was allowed to invite to their thesis shows to 10, receptions have now been canceled in accordance with further state restrictions. (According to the AAC’s website, seniors are sharing their thesis work remotely and students that wish to hang a show will be allowed to do so at a later to-be-determined date.)

“A lot of students were understandably pretty upset. And I remembered how important my BFA and MFA show felt to me,” says Benjamin Cook, an AAC adjunct professor. “The idea that it was four years of work that people had put in (that) just kind of felt like it was all for nothing — for circumstances that they had no control over — really, really weighed on me.”

So he created an Instagram page for the “Social Distance Gallery” on March 13 on a whim to digitally exhibit student work, and it has since amassed over 18,400 followers.

Cook is suited for the task. The Covington-based artist’s own practice and research, according to his bio, is rooted in exploring the “spaces between the binary of digital and physical space” by combining “abstract mark-making with strategies of digital protocol.”

Cook says that the term the gallery uses — Social Distance — is, yes, a buzzword to discuss what many are doing right now in light of COVID-19.

But beyond that, he thinks of it as the “idea that we can be social while distant” through online platforms such as Instagram. After all, in societyat-large, art is often consumed without ever seeing it face-to-face. He says that many of his students find their favorite artists on the internet, without ever having necessarily seen their work in real life.

“Those are still really genuine, valid experiences, people feel things, they pick things from those (interactions),” Cook says. “So I think stepping back and taking a look at — how do people actually engage with art these days?

Museums and galleries and in-person experiences are one side of it, but seeing things in a digital format is another side.”

He continues on to say that engaging with art in the digital format can open up other ways to experience art forms. For starters, it makes the work accessible; photos on a phone, for example, can be revisited in more private spaces, like one’s home. This experience might elicit different emotions than seeing a piece on a traditional gallery wall. Shareability is another factor. The posts on Social Distance Gallery — with followers from across the globe — will draw eyes that would have never had the chance to see the art due to geographic boundaries.

“Follow the page and engage with it: like things, comment on it and start discussions,” he says.

The gallery is currently exhibiting work from students from just about anywhere, from New York’s Cornell University all the way to The University of Victoria in British Columbia, Canada to the Massachusetts College of Art and Design.

“I hope that other young artists are able to link up with their colleagues from around the world and develop their own networks of friends and people that they can reach out to and have conversations with,” Cook says.

“That’s a big thing that happens when students leave school for the first time — they realize it’s a lot different when they don’t have a daily group of 40 or 50 other people making work in close quarters coming over and wanting to talk about art.”

Not having that network can make it difficult to “maintain that intrinsic desire to” create, he says, adding that he hopes this gallery could, beyond addressing an immediate need to hold digital space, serve as a way to build up groups and keep that drive going so creatives can continue to do the work that is important to them.

“The number of students who have reached out to me who originally felt completely dejected and lost because of all their (shows being canceled/ postponed) are coming to me with such excitement,” Cook says, “and that alone has been giving me the energy to keep going.”

Those interested in submitting to the Social Distance Gallery should visit socialdistancegall.wixsite.com/socialdistance for guidelines and send all material to socialdistancegallery@gmail.com.

MUSIC

Eddy Kwon P H O T O : E D DY K W O N

Price Hill Will Eddy Kwon — musician, composer, educator and artistic director of the nonprofit Price Hill Will — stays resolved as COVID-19 upends their schedule

BY ST E V E N RO S E N

W

hen this story first was assigned, it was to be about the exciting year that Eddy Kwon — the Cincinnati musician, composer and Price Hill Will artistic director — was expecting 2020 to be.

And they (Kwon identifies as nonbinary) shared those plans during an interview at East Price Hill’s then-busy BLOC Coffee Company, a week or so before Ohio closed all dining/drinking gathering spots to the public as the novel coronavirus COVID-19 began taking its toll on daily life.

The coronavirus’ spread has since dashed some of those plans. But, even as Kwon maintains social distancing and is sheltering in place now, they still have some promising events planned for the future.

“While these restrictive measures can feel really difficult, it’s so clear it’s what we absolutely need to do now in order to get the spread of the virus under control,” Kwon says by phone.

Born and raised in Minneapolis to parents who emigrated from South

Korea, Kwon moved here to study at the University of Cincinnati’s CollegeConservatory of Music. They have stayed since, developing a growing reputation as one of the city’s most exciting young creative individuals.

The decision to identify as nonbinary is relatively new, Kwon says.

“It means I don’t identify as man or woman. That seems a little bit reductive and subtractive. I think of identity as more additive and expansive than that. It’s only been recently that I’ve been comfortable sharing that part of myself with people.”

The big year for Kwon, who also lives in Price Hill, was going to get underway in earnest this month. On April 26, members of nonprofit Price Hill Will’s MYCincinnati youth orchestra — modeled on Venezuela’s El Sistema network, which gave the world the Los Angeles Philharmonic’s music director, Gustavo Dudamel — were to participate in the Contemporary Arts Center’s This Time Tomorrow festival by performing with Jens Lekman, the acclaimed Swedish

singer-songwriter.

It was to be part of Lekman’s U.S. tour performing with 10 different youth orchestras, with Kwon as a collaborator, music arranger and also violinist. But the health crisis has forced Lekman to cancel, and the CAC has had to cancel its festival as well. (Lekman hopes to try his tour again in 2021, Kwon says.) And MYCincinnati, founded in 2011, has had to suspend live classes, although its instructors are making and posting music lesson videos online.

The idea for the tour started here in 2015, when the CAC put Lekman together with MYCincinnati for a concert at the Woodward Theater.

“That experience so impacted Jens he reached out to me a little while later and asked if I thought a U.S. tour might be possible,” Kwon says. “I immediately said yes, as it combines many of things I love about music and working with young people, and of course I love Jens’ music.”

Meanwhile, the coronavirus has also put a stop to an upcoming high-profile performance by the Art Ensemble of Chicago, the crucially important Jazz group for which Kwon has been the violist since 2018, when it expanded to 16 members to celebrate its 50th anniversary. Art Ensemble was to be a headliner at May’s first Long Play Festival in Brooklyn, sponsored by the new music ensemble Bang on a Can. Long Play is devoted to “mind-bending

music of the moment.”

“It is one of the most sublime honors of my life to share space, time and music with all the members of that band,” Kwon says. “The Art Ensemble has changed the way we think about music, creative music, about the legacy of Jazz and black music in this country, about the way we think about improvisation and about what it means to be part of a collective. It has been a really humbling and inspiring experience to learn to be embedded within that web of music. It’s challenging in all the right ways.”

Kwon would love to see the Art Ensemble perform in Cincinnati.

Meanwhile, there are several projects involving Kwon that are progressing. A fifth Price Hill Creative Community Festival is in the works. So, too, is Price Hill Will’s ongoing $10 million restoration, in partnership with The Model Group, of the 21,000-squarefoot Price Hill Masonic Lodge in East Price Hill. The target date for opening is fall. The building, vacant since the 1980s, will be known as ARCO and become home to many of Price Hill Will’s current activities.

But it will also have significant expanded activities, as a result of adding two performance venues and an art gallery. One venue, on the first floor with a raised stage and similar in size to Over-the-Rhine’s Woodward Theater,

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will be the Shawnee Theater. Upstairs will be the black box-like Myaamia Hall. The Greater Cincinnati Native American Coalition was consulted on the naming.

Kwon is putting together a community curatorial collective to help program the venues. “It is a group of youth and adult Price Hill residents who will be working together to engage in all aspects of the arts creation process,� they say. “They’ll be surveying residents in all Price Hill neighborhoods to learn what kind of arts experiences we want and need as a neighborhood. And they’ll be researching local, national and international artists making work that resonates with the needs of our neighborhood, then collectively program an entire season of performances. That leads to learning about the nitty-gritty of artist contracts, production, ticket sales and then growing and building audiences.�

More long-term are two projects with some similarities. Kwon is collaborating with a Colorado Springs visual artist Senga Nengudi and the two directors of Seattle’s Degenerate Art Ensemble, dancer Crow Nishimura and musician Joshua Kohl, on a work called Boy mother / faceless bloom. It’s set to debut in 2021 at Colorado College and the Contemporary Arts Center.

Kwon also is working on a solo performance piece that draws on Korean music tradition, UMMA-YA. It means mother in Korean. Both projects explore the feelings of a boy who learns he will become a mother. In UMMAYA, Kwon plans to compose and play music for violin and viola as well as to sing and incorporate dance/movement elements. “Both UMMA-YA and Boy mother / faceless bloom draw from similar thematic and narrative source material: the formation and contradictions of gender, motherhood and parenthood in a time of climate crisis, and the spiritually violent legacies of colonialism and other institutions/ideologies of domination,� Kwon explains.

What else might Kwon do? They don’t know, but like so many people now, they’re looking for ways to help out in these very troubled, very scary times. “I think all of us, as we transition into this new normal, are going to be looking for other ways to make a positive impact within our communities,� Kwon says. “So, I’m looking forward to finding ways to do that as I start to get used to this new life here in Cincinnati.�

DISSOLVE YOUR MARRIAGE

12 Hour Turnaround.

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meaningful to us and our families. We The Homecoming Music Festival — are so very grateful.� presented by Indie Rock giants (and For more information, visit Cincinnati natives) The National and ntlhomecoming.com. in conjunction with the long-running MusicNOW fest — was slated to return to Smale Riverfront Park May 8-9, 2020. But in a statement, the band has said the event is canceled. “We made every attempt to reschedule Homecoming for 2020, however due to circumstances beyond our The National at the Homecoming Music Festival in 2018 control, the P H O T O : B R I T TA N Y T H O R N T O N festival will not take place this year as planned. Tickets Bunbury to Return in 2021 will be automatically refunded at point of purchase and purchasers will be PromoWest Productions also contacted in the coming days with announced the cancellation of the 2020 Find more information about Price more details on next steps and timing.

Bunbury Music Festival because of Hill Will at pricehillwill.org.

We look forward to bringing the event COVID-19. back in 2021. Stay tuned and stay safe.

The fest was slated to take place June Take care of yourself and each other 5-7 on Cincinnati’s riverfront at Sawyer and we’ll see you soon.�

Point and Yeatman’s Cove.

Just like the fest’s inaugural year in Headliners for this year’s Bunbury 2018, this year’s Homecoming was were going to be EDM artist scheduled to showcase some of the Marshmello, Americana faves The Avett most acclaimed and popular artists in Brothers and Twenty One Pilots. Also the Indie universe — and even a legit announced for Bunbury 2020: Country Rock & Roll legend: the iconic Patti singer Kane Brown, quirky Pop artist Smith.

Melanie Martinez, ex-blink-182 The National was supposed to guitarist Tom DeLonge’s Angels and headline both nights of Homecoming, Airwaves, Bluegrass phenom Billy performing two different sets each Strings, ’90s Alternative faves Cake and night. On one of the nights, the band Roots juggernaut Old Crow Medicine was going to perform its 2010 album Show.

High Violet in full for the record’s 10th It would have been the ninth annual anniversary.

Bunbury.

The rest of the lineup for the festival In a statement, the production included Sylvan Esso, Of Monsters and company said, “Because of the current Men, Local Natives, Japanese Breakfast, government mandates and the ever Phosphorescent, Hamilton Leithauser, changing situation in Ohio, we feel that Jay Som, Velvet Negroni and Sudan it would not be safe or sensible to host Archives (also a Cincinnati native). our annual event. The health and safety At 2018’s Homecoming, local band of our guests, staff, artists, vendors and ATTORNEY AT LAW A Delicate Motor performed. In 2020, partners is our main concern and not Homecoming was going to showcase something we take lightly.� two Cincinnati groups — acclaimed The company said they are moving

DISSOLVE YOUR rockers Wussy and Hip Hop/activist ahead and planning for Bunbury 2021.

MARRIAGE collective Triiibe.

Refunds will be automatically issued

“It’s great to invite our friends within the next 30 to 45 days and they Dissolution: An amicable end to

Dissolution: An amicable end to say they are still working through

marriage.

Easier onyour yourheart. heart. and fans to our hometown — the marriage.

Easier on place where we all began our lives refund options for those ticketholders Easier wallet.

Easieron on your your wallet. as listeners and musicians,�

The who purchased their tickets at the Starting at $500 plus court costs.

12 Hour Turnaround.

National’s Bryan Devendorf said in lineup announcement party.

$500 OH 45202 a release. “Putting on this intimate For more info, visit bunburyfestival.

810 SycamoreStarting St. 4th Fl,at Cincinnati, plus court costs. event on the banks of the Ohio River is com.

513.651.9666

Bertha G. Helmick

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SPILL IT

Homecoming, Bunbury Canceled for 2020

APRIL 15-21, 2020 810 Sycamore St. 4th Fl,

Cincinnati, OH 45202

NOTICE OF SEIZURE AND INTENT TO FORFEIT Notice is hereby given that the United States Department of the Interior is hereby commencing a forfeiture proceeding against the following items of wildlife or wildlife products, which were seized in the Western District of Kentucky on the dates indicated because they were involved in one or more violations of any of the following laws: Endangered Species Act, Title 16 U.S.C. Sec. 1538; the Marine Mammal Protection Act, 11 U.S.C. Sec. 1371-1372; the Lacey Act, 16 U.S.C. Sec. 3372; Wild Bird Conservation Act, 16 U.S.C. Sec. 4901-4916; or the African Elephant Conservation Act, 16 U.S.C. Sec. 4221-4245. These items are subject to forfeiture to the United States under Title 16, U.S.C. Sec. 1540(e); 16 U.S.C. Sec. 1377; or 16 U.S.C. Sec. 3374, and Title 50, Code of Federal Regulations, Section 12.23. Any person with an ownership or financial interest in said items who desires to claim them must file a claim with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Office of Law Enforcement, 1875 Century Blvd Ste 320, Atlanta, Georgia 30345; Telephone 404/679-7057. Such claim must be received by the above office by June 3, 2020. The claim will be transmitted to the U.S. Attorney for institution of a forfeiture action in U.S. District Court. If a proper claim is not received by the above office by such date, the items will be declared forfeited to the United States and disposed of according to law. Any person who has an interest in the items may also file with the above office a petition for remission of forfeiture in accordance with Title 50, Code of Federal Regulations, Section 12.24, which petition must be received in such office before disposition of the items.

Storage costs may also be assessed.

FILE NO. 2020400465

VALUE $10,141

SEIZURE DATE 1/28/2020

ITEMS One (1)

Ring-Tailed Lemur (Lemur catta) (Dead animal (whole animal)), Twelve (12) Ostriches (Struthionidae ) (Feathers)

APRIL 15-21, 2020

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