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The Cincinnati Recreation Commission is hosting its Trunk or Treat noon-3pm on Sat 30 Oct 2021 at the Bush Recreation Center at 2640 Kemper Ln. in Walnut Hills!

Trunkers will be assigned to a parking space and can arrive as early as 11am to set up and decorate their car and trunk.

Trunkers must also have enough treats for all children! Join CRC for this safe family fun where water and snacks will be provided!

Sanitizing stations will be set up. Limited parking spaces.

Please contact the Bush Recreation Center at 513-281-1286 for more info.

CANDIDATES FOR MAYOR
(1 to be elected to a 4-year term;  listed alphabetically)

• David Mann
• Aftab Pureval

CANDIDATES FOR CITY COUNCIL
(9 to be elected at large to a 2-year term;  listed alphabetically)

• Jalen Alford
• Thomas Brinkman, Jr.
• Jaime M. Castle
• LaKeisha Cook
• Jeff Cramerding
• Michelle Dillingham
• Kevin Flynn
• Jackie Frondorf
• Bill Frost
• Brian Garry
• Steven Goodin
• Galen G. Gordon
• Kurt Grossman
• Reggie Harris
• Rob Harris
• K.A. Heard Jr.
• Evan Holt
• Nick Jabin
• Mark Jeffreys
• Scotty Johnson
• Jan-Michele Lemon Kearney
• Liz Keating
• Andrew Kennedy
• Greg Landsman
• John Maher
• Peterson W. Mingo
• Phillip O’Neal
• Meeka Owens
• Victoria Parks
• Te’Airea Powell
• Logan Simmering
• Stacey Smith
• Betsy Sundermann
• Jim Tarbell
• John J. Williams

CINCINNATI BOARD OF EDUCATION
(4 to be elected to a 4-year term; listed alphabetically)

• Pamela F. Bowers
• Brandon Craig
• Gary Favors
• Kareem T. Moffett
• Mike Moroski
• Mary Wineberg

HAMILTON COUNTY MUNICIPAL COURT
(Judge District 2; 1 to be elected to unexpired term ending 1/2/2024; listed alphabetically)

• Bertha Garcia Helmick
• Donte Johnson
• Elizabeth A. Tye

THREE ISSUES ON THE BALLOT
(majority affirmative vote to pass)

Hamilton County Proposed Tax Levy (Renewal and Increase) if approved:

• A renewal and increase of the millage rate for a tax.
• To supplement the general fund to provide support for children services and the care and placement of children.
• To last for five years, beginning in 2021 and first due in calendar year 2022.

Tax Levy for Great Parks of Hamilton County (Issue 29):

Issue 29 is a proposed additional tax levy of .95 mill for a period of 10 years for Great Parks of Hamilton County (GPHC). Collection will begin in 2022. The levy would provide for:

• the acquisition and conservation of natural resources and park land;
• operation and administration of park facilities and programs;
• improvements to park infrastructure, facilities, and natural resources;
• development, maintenance, and provision of outdoor recreation and nature education facilities, trails, programs, and services in current and future parks and nature preserves;
• and for such other parks and recreational purposes as permitted by law.

The Hamilton County auditor estimates that the levy will generate $21.1 million per year on top of the $19.1 million generated by the 1 mill levy currently in place.

Proposed City of Cincinnati Charter Amendment if approved would:

• Make Cincinnati City Council members’ salaries equal to the median household income for the city. That would mean a pay cut from $65,000 a year to about $46,000.
• Require Cincinnati City Council approval of all lawsuits filed by the city.
• Eliminate the designee replacement system, which has been used to fill Cincinnati City Council vacancies since the 1920s, under which a council member picks one or more fellow council members to choose his or her replacement.
• If a Cincinnati City Council member resigns or otherwise leaves Cincinnati City Council, his or her spot would go to the highest vote getter after the top nine finishers in the last city council campaign.
• Eliminate the Mayor’s “pocket veto,” where the Mayor can choose never to place an item on the Cincinnati City Council agenda or assign it to a committee.
• Require one-year residency in Cincinnati to serve as Mayor or Cincinnati City Council member.
• Permit individual liability of the Mayor or City Council members for some violations of open meetings and public records law violations.
• Allow for the recall of the Mayor.

VOTER INFORMATION:

• Register to Vote (by October 4): https://votehamiltoncountyohio.gov/register/
• Voting early in-person): https://votehamiltoncountyohio.gov/voting-options/early-in-person/
• Voting by mail (absentee ballot): https://votehamiltoncountyohio.gov/voting-options/mail/
• Voting on election day (polls open 6:30 a.m-7:30 p.m.): https://votehamiltoncountyohio.gov/voting-options/election-day/

RESOURCES:

• League of Women Voters Ohio: https://www.vote411.org/about
• Ballotpedia: https://ballotpedia.org/Cincinnati,_Ohio
• Hamilton County Candidates and Issues List (Official; Abridged)
• Hamilton County Board of Elections: https://votehamiltoncountyohio.gov/

Last edit: 21 Sep 2021. This page will be updated as needed.

Cover photo: Carol M. Highsmith, courtesy of the Library of Congress

This historic pavilion in Owl’s Nest Park was slated for demolition in June 2021. Because of the work of the East Walnut Hills Assembly, Evanston Community Council and the O’Bryonville business group, along with other dedicated community volunteers, the Park Board cancelled the demolition and is working with neighbors to restore the building.

The park, located at 1984 Madison Rd., is a popular gathering place for the East Walnut Hills, Evanston and O’Bryonville communities, and fosters a spirit of the inter-neighborhood cooperation. It is the site of community events like National Night Out with the Cincinnati Police Department and Owl’s Nest Fest, the annual music festival. The park’s 1933 pavilion provides a covered stage for those events. This historic structure also makes an imposing visual statement from Madison Rd., and provides a focal point and backdrop for the lawn.

The structure, designed by the locally prominent firm of Elzner & Anderson, is in poor condition and has been closed for a number of years. Please follow this link for more information about history of the park and its connection to the civil rights movement, courtesy of the Cincinnati Preservation Association.

Founded in 1897, Elzner & Anderson pioneered the use of concrete for commercial buildings and was responsible for the design of some of the finest homes in Cincinnati. Their highest-profile commission may have been the Ingalls Building downtown, the first reinforced concrete high-rise office building in the world.

Born in Cincinnati in 1869, George M. (Mendenhall) Anderson studied at Columbia University, Ecole des Beaux-Arts in Paris (he was the first Cincinnatian known to receive a diploma from the esteemed school) and under Louis Comfort Tiffany in NYC. When he returned to Cincinnati, Anderson worked under Samuel Hannaford before teaming up with Elzner.

A.O. (Alfred Oscar) Elzner was born in Cincinnati in 1862 and studied at the Ohio Mechanics Institute and MIT. After graduation, he worked in the Boston office of H.H. Richardson, later supervising the 1886 construction of Richardson’s iconic Chamber of Commerce Building in downtown Cincinnati (destroyed by fire in 1911).

The partners both came from prominent families, which yielded important professional connections that supported their practice, including residential commissions for members of the Taft, Emery, Procter, and Longworth families. Many of the homes built on nearby Annwood St. are fine examples of the firm’s work.

Anderson passed away in 1916 and Elzner in 1933. The Owl’s Nest Park pavilion may have been designed by Elzner or by Joseph Nardini, his designated successor. Elzner & Anderson continued practicing under the names of its founders until around 1940.

Spring is here, and it’s and time to get out and enjoy the sunshine on our faces. East Walnut Hills is participating in the Great American Cleanup on Sat 15 May!

The EWH Events and Beautification Committees are partnering with Keep Cincinnati Beautiful on the Great American Cleanup. The cleanup can focus on picking up litter, planting flowers, painting buildings, cleaning illegal dumpsites, landscape, graffiti removal, and more. 

Take a look around the East Walnut Hills neighborhood and think about how we might be able to beautify our space. If you know of a problem site, please let us know. Your tips and suggestions are requested by 12 Apr.