During this weird “Are we or are we not still in a pandemic?” era, evaluating a year’s worth of news items feels a little strange. Are we still grading on a curve, or are we back to comparing current activities to 2019 and earlier? Regardless of how we classify something, a lot happened throughout Greater Cincinnati in 2022 that deserves reflection. From new people-first policies to large-scale flops to finally having a finish line in sight for Cincinnati’s worst bridge, there was plenty of news to talk about.

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L-R: provided by Amazon; City of Cincinnati; Mary LeBus
Last November, 57% of Ohio voters passed the constitutional amendment in Issue 1, which put abortion rights, along with other reproductive medical decisions, into the Ohio Constitution. Photo: Mary LeBus
A Wilmington Chase Is Impossible to Ignore There’s nothing that captures our collective attention like a good police chase, as the O.J. Simpson saga taught us in 1994. Cincinnati’s pursuit didn’t garner quite as many eyeballs as that, but it was enough to command many people’s concentration for a day. Residents in Clinton County were under lockdown on Aug. 11 as the Federal Bureau of Investigation chased an armed man who they said had tried to break into the agency’s field office in Kenwood. The suspect fled north on I-71, and a variety of law enforcement partners followed him to Wilmington. The man, later identified as Ricky W. Shiffer of Columbus, traded shots with officers multiple times, including when he stopped his vehicle on Smith Road near Wilmington before hiding behind his car and beginning a standoff. Clinton County went into lockdown for all buildings within a mile. Officers said they had attempted to negotiate with Shiffer and to end the situation with “non-lethal” tactics, but it didn’t work. “The subject shot at law enforcement officers. During the incident, law enforcement also fired their weapons. At approximately 3:45 p.m., the subject was shot and is deceased,” the FBI shared on Twitter. According to many news outlets, Shiffer was steeped in violent far-right rhetoric and seemed to be angry about federal officials retrieving classified federal documents from embattled former U.S. President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago residence. Read CityBeat’s story about the action-packed day. Photo: Google Maps
The City Gets a Fresh Start with New Leaders After winning a 2021 campaign focused on progressive ideals, Aftab Pureval cemented two important firsts: Cincinnati’s first new mayor since John Cranley took office two terms prior, and the city’s first Asian-American mayor. Pureval was sworn in on Jan. 4, along with an almost entirely new Cincinnati City Council. Since then, the administration almost immediately began working on equitable actions surrounding affordable housing, economic growth, public safety and climate change. Largely centering residents who previously had been marginalized – particularly those who are Black or LGBTQ+ – the team tackled equitably procuring and distributing distributing COVID-19 tests, vaccines and other protective measures; allocated significant funding towards additional police and fire services; championed affirmation and policy action for the city’s female and LGBTQ+ employees; added millions of dollars worth of new or updated pedestrian and bicycle safety measures; and removed more barriers to affordable housing options. Like any politicians, Pureval and the new blood haven’t been perfect, but for a first year, they marked off a hell of a lot from their big to-do list. Read CityBeat’s story about some of the accomplishments Pureval mentioned in his “State of the City” address. Photo: CitiCable
Dave Chappelle Reminds Us Who He Is Comedian Dave Chappelle is Yellow Springs’ favorite son, but he hasn’t been endearing himself to everybody this year. Since releasing his Netflix special The Closer last fall, Chappelle repeatedly has been under fire for his defense of jokes that punch down instead of up – particularly jokes against the transgender community. That has continued in 2022, with the comedian making transphobic remarks after being bum-rushed during a festival stand-up set in May. Later that month, Chappelle continued sharing transphobic and homophobic wisecracks during a surprise set with John Mulaney in Columbus. When later confronted by high school students about his comments, Chappelle defended his right to say anything as part of his “art” and dismissed the teenagers’ views and their concerns for the LGBTQ+ community. In November, Chappelle hosted Saturday Night Live, angering some of the show’s writers and the Anti Defamation League even before he launched into his monologue that advanced old offensive stereotypes about Jewish people “running” Hollywood. To cap things off, just this month, Chappelle invited none other than controversial Twitter and Tesla owner Elon Musk – who has allowed hate-based and disinformation accounts to thrive on the app once again – to the stage during a stand-up show and seemingly became confused when the crowd began to boo. It’s all good with Netflix CEO Reed Hastings, though – Hastings confirmed during a recent event that he remains unbothered by Chappelle’s controversies and that the streaming service would continue hosting and producing the comedian’s projects. Read CityBeat’s story about Chappelle’s latest antics. Image: Netflix video still
George Clooney Takes Aim at Jim Jordan and OSU Ohio and Kentucky both love claiming actor/producer George Clooney – and for good reason. He’s well-liked, he’s a humanitarian, he’s generally unproblematic, and he seems to hate Ohio congressman Jim Jordan almost as much as CityBeat does. Clooney, who was born in Lexington and had attended Mason schools, is working on a documentary documentary about the Ohio State University sexual abuse scandal that ran rampant from 1978 to 1998. Richard Strauss, who was Ohio State’s team physician at the time, allegedly abused members of the wrestling team, for which Jordan had been an assistant coach. Strauss also allegedly abused or raped students in other sports as well as non-athletes (the physician died by suicide in 2005). Clooney’s feature hasn’t been released as of press time, but The Hollywood Reporter said in June that HBO had grabbed the screening rights. Meanwhile, Clooney was just recognized during the 45th Kennedy Center Honors, joining soul legend Gladys Knight, Christian pop singer-songwriter Amy Grant, composer Tania León and the members of the legendary Irish rock band U2. Read CityBeat’s story about Clooney’s upcoming documentary. Photos (l-r): Paul Bird, Wikimedia Commons; Congressional photo
The council will start its new session on Sept. 3, starting with the Budget and Finance Committee. Their first regular council meeting will take place on Sept. 5. Photo: Nick Swartsell
It’s the Year of the Union In the wake of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic – in which medical professionals, educators, retailers and restaurant staff were first hailed as heroes before quickly losing the empathy of both their employers and the public – more and more employees are figuring out what they’re worth and are speaking out for better working conditions. That’s especially true this holiday season at the Amazon Air Hub near the Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport in Hebron. Workers at the mega-corporation’s biggest airborne shipping operation are attempting to unionize to demand wages of $30 per hour, more paid time off and holiday “peak pay.” In November, Amazon’s upper management announced that there would be no “peak pay” for the 2022 holiday rush, despite last year’s incentive being an extra $2 per hour. Workers told CityBeat that shifts are longer and more strenuous than last year, too, with many full-time employees working six days a week with little advance notice now. And Amazon employees aren’t the only ones who aren’t happy – local workers at Starbucks and other big-name businesses also have unionized. Read CityBeat’s latest story about the Amazon workers’ efforts to unionize. Photo: Provided by Amazon
Greater Cincinnati Becomes Tornado Alley For about 20 minutes on July 6, it seemed like parts of Greater Cincinnati would be heading to Oz. Three tornadoes touched down in separate spots in Goshen, Loveland and Lake Lorelei, causing extensive damage along with several days of electrical outages. The NWS classified the Goshen tornado as an EF2, with winds of 111-135 MPH damaging or demolishing about 200 buildings and injuring three people. It measured 750 yards wide and had winds of 130 MPH at its peak. The Loveland tornado was an EF1 with winds of 86-110 MPH and caused roof, fence and tree damage. The tornado in Lake Lorelei also was an EF1, reaching 250 yards wide and traveling 3.4 miles. Lake Lorelei and Brown County in general saw significant tree damage, plus the tornado there lifted porches from homes, officials said. For days, as many as 100,000 residents were without power after the twisters, leading to volunteer recovery efforts and Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine declaring a state of emergency. Read CityBeat’s story about the harrowing tornadoes. Photo: Nikolas Noonan, Unsplash
BLINK Co-founders Say ‘See Ya’ One of Cincinnati’s favorite traditions returned this year, but not without some controversy. The BLINK festival was back for its third installment in October – the first time since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. For four nights, the streets and structures of downtown Cincinnati, Over-the-Rhine and Covington were fizzing with illuminations, immersive activations and more than two million people. The 30-block sensory-tapping event welcomed back its parade, a bevy of international artists and entertainment options galore, with many local businesses joining the fun in their own ways. Cincinnati’s signature event was resuscitated – but not fully. Just one day after BLINK announced plans to expand into Northern Kentucky and 92 days before the actual event, founding partner Brave Berlin announced that it was pulling out. In a Facebook post, Brave Berlin cited “creative direction” and “open hostility” as reasons for the split. “Our presence at the leadership table was feeling to us more and more like an honorary courtesy than an active and collaborative partnership,” the company posted. Read CityBeat’s story about the BLINK battle. Photo: Catie Viox
The transgender pride flag is raised at Cincinnati City Hall on March 31, 2022. Photo: video still, facebook.com/cityofcincy
Mad Frog Croaks for the Last Time Clifton’s Mad Frog is no more. The decades-old, green-hued music venue and bar at 1 E. McMillan St. was demolished in October after closing in July. At the time, owner Aydin Kol — who purchased the property in 1996 and ran it for 26 years — wrote on Facebook that the closure was due to the impact of the pandemic, thanking patrons and employees for their support over the years. “”We have been a haven for nearly every musical genre during our 26 years, as well as for many live performance acts. Patrons from any walk of life could be sure to find something to match their interests, and no matter the turnout, could always be sure to have a great time,” the post read. In January, Kol sold the bar to Uptown Properties. But instead of hosting live music, the space where Mad Frog once stood will become home to a 270-unit residential development from Uptown Properties, a redeveloper and rental management company that oversees housing near the University of Cincinnati (a one-bedroom apartment in one of its East McMillan Street buildings goes for about $1,000 per month). Read CityBeat’s story about Mad Frog’s last day. Photo: Madeline Fening
CPS Says Ohio’s Gun Love Is a Misfire Gun violence isn’t a new problem, but it’s an increasingly scary one. Data shows that violent deaths by firearms have been rising in recent years. In 2002, there were three active-shooter, multiple-victim incidents in the United States; in 2020, there were 40. Research by the New York Times shows that a number of mass shootings could have been prevented or could have caused fewer deaths and injuries if better laws and background checks had been in place at both the state and federal levels. Even Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow called for better gun laws, saying, “You know, with everything that’s going on, if you’re not going to outlaw everything, you’ve got to at least make it harder to get those crazy guns that everybody’s using.” But that hasn’t stopped states like Ohio from loosening gun permit and carry requirements, and Republican officials haven’t been interested in raising the age at which someone can buy a firearm (why would they, with the NRA filling their campaign coffers?). That’s affecting schools, which routinely practice active-shooter drills because of the steadily increasing number of people (mostly teen boys and men) who have decided that shooting up kids is the cool thing to do. In June, Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine signed HB 99 into law, granting boards of education the authority to permit teachers and other school workers to carry guns and requiring an educator to take just 24 hours of training (previously, teachers were required to complete 700 hours of peace officer training before being armed on campus). The Cincinnati Public Schools district didn’t want any part of that, though. Just hours after DeWine signed the bill, the CPS Board of Education passed a resolution slamming the measure and prohibiting educators from carrying firearms in the district. The CPS resolution specifically called out legislators for passing the law in spite of opposition from teacher organizations like the Ohio Federation of Teachers and the Ohio Education Association. Read CityBeat’s story about the ongoing battle over guns in schools. Photo: Jay Rembert, Unsplash
Midterms Are Doozies The midterm elections of 2022 mostly were predictable (and red), but there still were a few surprises. Republican Mike DeWine held onto the Ohio governor job, defeating challenger Nan Whaley, the former Dayton mayor who had championed reproductive rights, gun safety and LGBTQ+ protections. Middletown native, venture capitalist, questionable author and Donald Trump apologist J.D. Vance squeaked by Rep. Tim Ryan for Ohio’s U.S. Senate seat. Up in Ohio’s 89th District, near Lake Erie, incumbent Republican House Rep. D.J. Swearingen defeated Jim Obergefell, the University of Cincinnati alum who may be best known as the lead plaintiff in the 2015 U.S. Supreme Court case Obergefell v. Hodges, which legalized same-sex marriage nationwide. But despite Republicans’ goofy new redistricting maps that the Ohio Supreme Court declared were unconstitutional multiple times, former Cincinnati City Council member Greg Landsman flipped the script, besting incumbent Republican and anti-abortion backer Steve Chabot to become the new House rep for the 1st District. Catch up on CityBeat’s election coverage. Photo: Sora Shimazaki, Pexels
There’s Hope That the Brent Spence Bridge Soon Won’t Suck After years of daily traffic snarls, extended safety and maintenance projects, and efficiency failures, the Brent Spence Bridge finally is getting a glow-up. In February, Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear and Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine outlined plans to jointly apply for about $2 billion in federal funds to revamp Greater Cincinnati’s longtime traffic nuisance that carries 160,000 vehicles per day, with a plan for the Brent Spence Bridge to be repaired while a toll-free, double-decker companion bridge is erected nearby to help alleviate traffic. The overall plans and final cost estimates have changed throughout the year – including a revised plan to slim down the project’s footprint and free up more usable space to develop or improve nearby green spaces plus add bike and pedestrian amenities – but it’s all finally happening. The project that will improve the nation’s No. 2 bottleneck for freight trucks could break ground as early as 2023. Read CityBeat’s latest story about bridge developments. Photo: Formula One, Wikimedia Commons

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