It’s a sorry fact that political party leaders in Hamilton County like to undermine voters when it suits their own interests, but now some Cincinnati City Council members are jumping on that bandwagon. People who follow local politics remember the odious deal struck last year between the local Democratic and Republican parties regarding the two separate Hamilton County Commission races.  

The 25th Sundance Film Festival came to a close on Jan. 24, and for the first time in 15 years a CityBeat staffer wasn’t there to witness it. As was the case for many publications (as well as general film freaks and industry people), the shitty state of our economy forced us to skip Sundance’s unique mix of adventurous, independent moviemaking and hype-driven industry wheeling and dealing.   

As we enter a new year, my biggest wish for Cincinnati’s visual-arts scene in 2009 is a simple one — that we can hold onto what already is here. Lots of people in the local arts are struggling, along with the greater economy, and that puts what they’re doing at risk.  

Football for Cincinnati fans made a rare intrusion on January, which turned out not to be such a glorious moment. But well take it and hope for more next year, understanding that the interim poses numerous challenging scenarios.  

Though the year in sports produced its fair share of memories, no sporting memory will obscure the hard reality of economic gloom coursing through the world in a tense 2008.  

Wrapping up my first full year of writing a weekly opinion and analysis column, I’ve come to appreciate the absurdity of politics in a way I couldn’t fully fathom as a news reporter. Oh, sure, I’ve always realized that politics — both locally and nationally — really represents the human drama in microcosm, with all of the assorted hopes, fears, foibles and quirks that go along with it  

The phrase “Worst to First” told the tale of the 1991 baseball season, when the Atlanta Braves and Minnesota Twins each rose from last place in their divisions to face each other in the World Series.  

With the MidPoint Music Festival a glorious memory, we turn our attention to the next big local music event - the Cincinnati Entertainment Awards. The nominees have been announced; go to citybeat.com to see the full list. Vote now before you start worrying about that other little voting thing coming up in November.  

Though the situation at the top is every bit as fluid as last year, college football is returning to normal. Look at the top three teams: Texas, Alabama and Penn State. It's 1970 again. By mid-December, it's always 1970, even if the mix includes a slightly different group like Ohio State, Southern California, Louisiana State and Oklahoma.  

With so many entries in his day planner, it's hard to believe that Pollard has any time left to merely talk about them. But he found a couple of moments to take a breather and discuss his current activities (and his hopes for the Bengals this season)..