The city signed an agreement today to lease its parking meters, lots and garages to the Greater Cincinnati Port Authority, but the mayor and City Council may make changes to the plan before it’s implemented.

The city tweeted the news of the signing to several reporters today with a caveat: “Changes to hours etc. can still be made.”

The caveat comes after a majority of City Council asked City Manager Milton Dohoney to give council more time to make changes to the parking plan. Council approved the parking plan in March, but that was in the middle of a tenuous budget process that has since finished with the passing of a balanced budget.

Now, a majority of City Council is pushing to rework the deal. Democrats Chris Seelbach, P.G. Sittenfeld, Pam Thomas and Laure Quinlivan, Republican Charlie Winburn and Independent Chris Smitherman support reworking or repealing the parking plan.

In particular, Seelbach and Quinlivan have suggested reducing or eliminating the expansion of parking meter operation hours. The original plan expands hours to 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. downtown and 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. in neighborhoods, but private operators wouldn’t have the ability to further expand hours.

How much City Council will be able to do remains uncertain. City Solicitor John Curp previously told City Council that a supermajority is not enough for a repeal because Mayor Mark Mallory, who supports the parking plan, can hold any ordinances until Nov. 30, which marks the end of the current City Council session.

Jason Barron, Mallory’s spokesperson, told CityBeat the mayor would reject a repeal, but he’s open to changes.

“There will be financial repercussions to that,” he said, alluding to possibly smaller payments from the Port Authority. “But there’s a ton of flexibility in this plan.”

Still, Barron says the city won’t spend any funds until there is legal certainty, meaning until potential appeals are exhausted.

At the center of the legal battles: Whether an emergency clause allows the parking plan to avoid a referendum.

Opponents gathered more than 12,000 signatures earlier in the year for a referendum effort, but the referendum may never come to pass in the aftermath of recent court rulings.

The latest ruling from the Hamilton County Court of Appeals decided the city can use emergency clauses to avert referendum efforts on passed legislation, on top of bypassing a 30-day waiting period on implementing laws.

In other words, since the parking plan had an emergency clause attached to it, the plan is not subject to referendum.

The appeals court later refused to delay enforcement of its ruling, which allowed the city manager to sign the lease within days.

Opponents are attempting to appeal the ruling to the Ohio Supreme Court.

For Cincinnati, the parking plan will provide $92 million in an upfront payment, followed by at least $3 million in estimated annual payments that the city says will eventually grow to $7 million and beyond.

The city plans to use the lump sum to rescind budget cuts, help balance future budgets and fund economic development projects, including the I-71/MLK Interchange.

Opponents of the plan argue it cedes too much control of the city’s parking assets to private operators and could hurt neighborhoods and downtown by expanding parking meter operation hours and increasing meter rates.

The free, every-Friday MidPoint Indie Summer (MPIS) series concerts at Downtown’s Fountain Square have featured some eclectic music over the past few years, everything from Bounce and Electro to Roots Rock, World music and Pop. But this Friday, the series goes where it has yet to go, presenting the very first all-Punk MPIS concert.
Though Punk is known for its quick bursts of songs, it’s a mere coincidence that this Friday’s free show features four acts (as opposed to the usual three per show). The quartet of bands playing offers a nice cross-section of Greater Cincinnati’s Punk scene.

The Pop/Punk crew BoyMeetsWorld opens the concert at 8 p.m. After coming out of the gates fast (in just its first year as a band, the group won first place at the popular “battle of the bands” competition presented by Forest Park’s The Underground), the hooks-heavy BMW released its debut EP, Do What’s Best for You, this past April. (The band is performing acoustically at the Microsoft store at Kenwood Mall this Saturday at 4 p.m.)

At 8:45 p.m. The Lockland Brakes take over the MPIS stage. The punchy, melodic band just played its first show and released a three-song EP last month. But they’re far from “green,” with a lineup that includes past/present members of Situation Red, Newport Secret Six and DAAP Girls.

The excellent, raucous trio The Dopamines, which spent a chunk of its spring touring Europe, perform at 9:15 p.m. The hard-touring band has put out several excellent releases, including last year’s stellar Vices, which caused JadedPunk.com to declare, “For a bunch of goddamned drunks, The Dopamines sure can write some catchy hooks.”

Headlining the night at 10 p.m. is Loudmouth, a high-energy local five-piece that mixes power and melody in the vein of Screeching Weasel, NOFX and No Use for a Name. Loudmouth digitally released its latest effort, the eight-track Future Boredom EP, in late March.

For more on the MidPoint Indie Summer concerts — and all of the PNC Summer Music Series concerts — visit myfountainsquare.com.

The Hamilton County Court of Appeals refused to delay enforcement of its earlier ruling on the city’s plan to lease its parking meters, lots and garages to the Greater Cincinnati Port Authority, which will allow the city administration to sign the lease as soon as a lower court rescinds its original injunction on the plan. Six out of nine City Council members say they want to repeal or rework the deal, but City Solicitor John Curp says Mayor Mark Mallory, who supports the plan, has the power to hold any repeal attempts until Nov. 30, which means he can effectively stop any repeal attempts until the end of his final term as mayor.

City Manager Milton Dohoney told City Council yesterday that the state government will not pay for the I-71/MLK Interchange if the city doesn’t pick up some of the cost. Dohoney made the statement when explaining how he would use the $92 million upfront money from the parking plan. The interchange project has long been sought out by city and state officials to create jobs and better connect uptown businesses to the rest of the area and state.

State officials told The Cincinnati Enquirer the final budget plan may include downsized versions of the tax cut plans in the Ohio House and Senate budget bills. The House bill included a 7-percent across-the-board income tax cut, while the Senate bill included a 50-percent income tax deduction for business owners on up to $375,000 worth of income. Democrats have criticized the across-the-board income tax cut for cutting taxes for the wealthy and the business tax cut for giving a tax cut to passive investors, single-person firms and partnerships that are unlikely to add jobs. Republicans claim both tax cuts will spur the economy and create jobs.

Ohio ranked No. 46 out of the 50 states for job creation in the past year, according to an infographic from Pew Charitable Trusts. Both Ohio and Alaska increased their employment levels by 0.1 percent. The three states below Ohio and Alaska — Wisconsin, Maine and Wyoming — had a drop in employment ranging from 0.2 percent to 0.5 percent.

Ohio Secretary of State Jon Husted announced 8,229 new entities filed to do business in Ohio in May, up from 7,687 the year before.

StateImpact Ohio has an ongoing series about “value-added,” a state-sanctioned method of measuring teacher performance, here. The investigation has already raised questions about whether value-added is the “great equalizer” it was originally made out to be — or whether it largely benefits affluent school districts.

The Ohio Environmental Protection Agency awarded $5,690 to the Cincinnati Nature Center for its teacher training program Nature in the Classroom. The grant will help continue the program’s goals of training first through eighth grade teachers about local natural history, how to implement a science-based nature curriculum and how to engage students in exploring and investigating nature.

Controversial Cincinnati attorney Stan Chesley yesterday was suspended from arguing before the U.S. Supreme Court.

Kings Island and Cedar Point were among the top 15 most visited amusement parks in the nation in 2012 — after the obvious hotspots in California and Florida.

Meet NASA’s astronaut class of 2013.

Google is launching balloon-based Internet in New Zealand.

Got questions for CityBeat about anything related to Cincinnati? Submit your questions here and we’ll try to get back to you in our first Answers Issue.

CityBeat is looking to talk to convicted drug offenders from Ohio for an upcoming cover story. If you’d like to participate or know anyone willing to participate, email glopez@citybeat.com.

Veteran Cincinnati bass wizard Freekbass (of the band Freekbass, as well as Freekbot, the Kelly Richey Band and Headtronics) is the first Master Class leader to be announced for The London Bass Guitar Show 2014. The event (March 1-2 at the Olympia Conference Centre London) will draw some of the world's greatest bassists to London to "promote the art of bass playing to the general public." The show will showcase new bass products and gear, plus feature clinics and master classes throughout the event.

Past London Bass Guitar Show participants include Mark King, Gary Willis, TM Stevens, Paul Turner, Marco Mendoza, Yolanda Charles, Doug Wimbish, Neil Murray and Dave Marks, Peter Hook, Igor Saavedra, Wojtek Pilichowski, Guy Pratt, Andy Irvine, Jonas Hellborg, Grog & Die So Fluid, Malcolm Joseph, Andrew Levy, David Ellefson, Jah Wobble, Lee Rocker, Nate Watts and Phil Mulford.

Here's some footage from last year's event:


The bassist is gearing up for the next album (click here to download Freekbass' album Concentrate for free) from his eponymous band. Freekbass is working on the new album at Lexington's Shangri-La Studios with Duane Lundy, who has done work with My Morning Jacket, Ben Sollee and others. The album will reportedly feature special guests DJ Spooky, Adam Deitch (a producer/drummer who has worked with everyone from John Scofield to 50 Cent) and Steve Molitz (Particle, Headtronics).

This Wednesday, Freekbot (Freebass + DJ/beatmaster/electronicist Tobotius) will perform a recently announced show at Longworth's in Mt. Adams, 9:30 p.m.-midnight.

The Hamilton County Court of Appeals today refused to delay enforcement of its earlier ruling on the city’s plan to lease its parking meters, lots and garages to the Greater Cincinnati Port Authority, which will allow the city administration to sign the lease as soon as a lower court rescinds its original injunction on the plan.

On June 12, the court reversed a lower court’s ruling and sided with the city over critics of the parking plan, deciding that the city can use emergency clauses to avert referendum efforts on passed legislation, including the parking plan. Emergency clauses also allow the city to avoid a 30-day waiting period on implementing laws.

For Cincinnati, the plan will first produce a $92 million one-time payment. Following that, the city will get an estimated $3 million a year, which the city says will eventually increase to $7 million and continue climbing afterward.

Still, the city says it won’t spend any funds until there is legal certainty, meaning until potential appeals are exhausted.

“The City cannot commit the money in the parking plan until there is legal certainty around the funds,” City Manager Milton Dohoney said in a statement on June 12. “Once there is legal certainty, the Administration will look at the budget to determine if there are items that may need to be revisited and bring those before Members of City Council, as appropriate.”

Opponents are planning to appeal the ruling to the Ohio Supreme Court.

Opponents gathered more than 12,000 signatures supporting a referendum on the parking plan. But with the appeals court ruling, that referendum may never come to pass.

The city says the parking plan’s funds will be used to accelerate economic growth, but critics argue the parking plan will hurt downtown businesses by expanding parking meter hours and increasing meter rates.

City Council began discussing potential changes to the parking plan in a Budget and Finance Committee meeting today. The meeting largely focused on whether City Council could repeal or rework the parking plan with a simple majority or supermajority.

Following the June 12 ruling, five out of nine council members signed a motion to repeal the parking plan. But City Council would need to pass an ordinance for any changes to be legally binding.

An ordinance would likely need six votes to overrule the mayor’s veto powers.

City Solicitor John Curp told City Council the mayor also has the power through the City Charter to hold any proposed ordinances until the end of his term on Nov. 30, which means the mayor can effectively stop all repeal attempts.

Mayor Mark Mallory supports the parking plan. Jason Barron, his spokesperson, previously told CityBeat Mallory would reject a repeal.

An infographic from Pew Charitable Trusts shows Ohio ranked No. 46 out of all the states for job creation in the past year, beating only Wisconsin, Maine and Wyoming and tying with Alaska.

Between April 2012 and April this year, Ohio added 4,400 jobs — a 0.1-percent increase in the state's employment.

The three states below Ohio and Alaska — Wisconsin, Maine and Wyoming — had a drop in employment ranging from 0.2 percent to 0.5 percent.

North Dakota topped the rankings with 15,900 new jobs — a 3.7-percent increase in employment — largely driven by the state's ongoing oil and gas boom.

The statistics coincide with previous warnings from liberal and conservative think tanks about the state's economy, signifying that Ohio is not undergoing the "economic miracle" that Gov. John Kasich and other state officials often tout.

Here is the full infographic, which uses job data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics:

Update (1:57 p.m.): Clarified that Ohio tied, not beat, Alaska.

In honor of its 100th birthday and its forthcoming plans to renovate it into a music venue/"multi-use events hall," the owners of the Woodward Theater (1404 Main St., Over-the-Rhine) will show off the new space tomorrow at 7 p.m.

The Woodward was purchased by the owners of MOTR Pub, with help from the Cincinnati Development Fund, this past February. A grand opening seems a bit down the road still, but tomorrow's unveiling is a great first step and more information about the opening will be discussed.

"Funding of the planned $750,000 Woodward renovation project is presently being pursued with Hamilton County Development Company," the press release states. "Target opening date, operational details and benefit to the community will be discussed at the Woodward’s 100th birthday June 18 before TUESDAY’S TURN ON of the Woodward Theater’s 52 façade light bulbs at sunset!"

Directly after the "Turn On," the party moves across the street to MOTR, where nationally acclaimed Cincinnati singer/songwriter/producer/mult-instrumentalist Brian Olive will play a free show.

You can keep tabs on the Woodward's progress through its Facebook page here.

It was the keen eye of photographer and close friend Chuck Madden who first caught the clues on Walk The Moon's Facebook page that seemed to indicate the band would be doing something special for their fans at Bonnaroo this weekend.

On little more than a hunch Chuck insisted that we check out "Kaleidoscope Space Tribe" at 3 p.m. on the Sonic Stage. Sure enough, at five past the hour WTM bounded out on stage and proceeded to artfully bash through a 30 minute set of Talking Heads songs including "Girlfriend Is Better," "Burning Down The House," "Psycho Killer" and more. Considering the huge crowd they played to just two nights ago in the Other Tent, this performance was an ultra rare treat for the clever and faithful two or three hundred fans who figured it out.

Dwight Yoakam seemed mildly irritated at Saturday's 4 p.m. press conference. Perhaps sensing that the Bonnaroo press corps might be too young to know his story, Yoakam quickly sketched a casual crash course on his career dating back to the ’80s. Rather unexpectedly, Dwight struck up a rapport with fellow panelist, comedian Reggie Watts, as the two of them discussed their mutual love of Hee Haw.

Dwight's 7 p.m. performance in That Tent began with an eight-song medley during which the band never paused for a breath, rocking through one continuous segue that included the songs "Please Please Baby," "Little Sister," "Streets Of Bakersfield" and Buck Owens' classic, "Act Naturally."