Ronald Reagan once supposedly said the unwritten 11th commandment, at least as far as politics was concerned, was "Thou shalt not speak ill of another Republican." That must have been the thought going through Judge John D. Martin's mind when he wrote the recent decision in a case before him involving the Hamilton County commissioners, Prosecutor Joe Deters and the Coalition Opposed to Additional Spending and Taxes (COAST).  

There are good reasons for sports fans to hate certain professional baseball teams, but a new algorithm that analyzes how people feel about things has determined that the Cincinnati Reds are actually the third most hated team in baseball, trailing only the Cleveland Indians and Boston Red Sox.  

The honeymoon might be over between Tea Party followers and Ohio Republicans. Although the Cincinnati Tea Party has long said it’s a non-partisan group, its largest rallies and protests have featured a predominantly GOP slant. But for all of the Tea Party’s deference to Republican officials, the effort hasn’t been reciprocated.  

It's difficult to resist the urge to tell Hamilton County Commissioner Todd Portune, "I told ya so." Portune made a big deal a few weeks ago of his teaming up with his colleague, County Commissioner Greg Hartmann, to devise a solution for the looming deficits in the county's stadium account. Much like President Obama at the national level, Portune was enamored of his bipartisan approach to the problem.  

It's only the first week in January, but already political campaigns are gearing up for what likely will be the most high-profile local race this year. Cincinnati City Council colleagues Leslie Ghiz and Chris Monzel are running in the GOP primary for the Hamilton County commission, setting up a fight for the local Republican Party's soul between moderates and hardcore conservatives.   

Here's yet another example of why one-party rule of any institution is usually a supremely terrible idea. The local Republican Party has long dominated the little-scrutinized Hamilton County Courthouse, making it a bastion of patronage for friends and campaign workers, along with serving as a launching pad for up-and-coming politicians. That would be bad enough, but an incident last month has troubling implications for how justice is meted out in the county.  

With the first phase of construction on The Banks winding down in June, Cincinnati and Hamilton County leaders are happy with the way the $800 million project is finally starting to take shape along downtown’s riverfront. One local watchdog group, though, is decidedly unhappy about how The Banks is shaping the local workforce.  

If your favorite part of a cheese coney isn't the cheese and the chili, then you're not a real Cincinnatian. Similarly, if you don't think Pete Rose is the ultimate symbol of hard work, dedication and fortitude, then you're kind of a dick.  

Ever since David Pepper finally confirmed last week what CityBeat first reported online in mid-March — that the prominent local Democrat will run for Ohio Auditor next year — speculation has run rampant about who will campaign for the seat he's vacating on the Hamilton County Commission.   

As local officials bicker about who bears responsibility for monitoring defendants while they're out of jail awaiting trial, a related battle over a $2.6 million federal crime-fighting grant has been waged privately. The city of Cincinnati's initial plan for using the grant called for keeping the entire amount and giving none to Hamilton County.