Good morning all. I hear there was some kind of sports match on the television last night and that a good number of you may have called off work today to sleep off your Skyline dip and chicken wing hangovers. Sounds fun. I should learn more about sports. Until I do, let’s talk about news.
President Donald Trump will be in the Greater Cincinnati area, dropping by hydraulic cylinder manufacturer Sheffer Corporation in Blue Ash around 1:30 p.m. Trump will likely talk about the GOP tax plan, which Sheffer has credited as the impetus that spurred the company to give employees $1,000 bonuses. Expect Trump to tout those bonuses as proof that the GOP’s tax reform is helping the working class. There are some counterpoints to that argument worth considering: Sheffer employees are part of the roughly two percent of American workers who received bonuses related to the tax cut, according to polls. Some companies gave similar bonuses, but then quickly also announced layoffs.
While Trump is talking up the tax plan, first lady Melania Trump will visit Children’s Hospital, reportedly to talk about the impacts the opiate epidemic is having on families and children. Her itinerary and expected remarks haven’t been released, nor have the president’s. Stay tuned.
While you’re waiting, maybe grab a Stormy Daniels, a hotdog introduced Feb. 3 by Senate Pub. Never ones to shy away from controversy, Senate named the dish after a former pornstar by the same name who alleges she had an extramarital affair with Trump. Daniels claims Trump paid her $130,000 to keep their affair secret. That would buy a lot of hotdogs.
And oh, if you’re not a fan of the Trumps, there’s an event for you, too. Local critics of the president will gather in Blue Ash at 1:00 p.m. to protest Trump and the GOP tax plan.
• Cincinnati Public School Board President Carolyn Jones has asked FC Cincinnati to present its plans for the West End to the board and the community at large in a public meeting at Taft High School. In a letter to the team, Jones cited concerns from residents and Taft students and alum about a partnership with CPS that FCC has proposed, which could involve CPS’ Stargel Stadium next to Taft. Six public high school teams play at that stadium. Jones also pressed FCC for a promise that it would make full contributions to the school district financially, even if it receives tax incentives to build a stadium. CPS plans to hold a meeting at Taft sometime in the next two weeks to hear more resident input about a potential stadium near the school. FCC has pledged to do robust community engagement around its potential plans in the West End should it win a Major League Soccer franchise up for grabs.
• Meanwhile, as I tweeted Friday (are you even following me on Twitter, bro?) Cincinnati City Councilman David Mann has introduced a motion that would require FCC to enter into a community benefit agreement if it wants infrastructure financing (the city has already agreed to pony up roughly $32 million for that), zoning changes or tax incentives for its stadium. CBAs can stipulate that a developer builds affordable housing, hires its workforce from neighborhood residents and prevailing or living wages or any number of other conditions that residents decide they’d like to see. Council will consider Mann’s motion today in Budget and Finance Committee at 1 p.m.
• One final FCC note: Here’s an interesting story from the the Cincinnati Business Courier about efforts the University of Cincinnati has made to offer up Nippert Stadium as the continued home of FC Cincinnati via a sale-leaseback agreement. Those talks have been stalled with the hubbub around building a new FCC stadium in the West End, Oakley or Newport, but they could represent a blueprint for keeping the team in its current home.
• Fifth Third Bank will change some of its policies after controversy around a high-profile paroled woman who was denied a bank account at the bank last week. Tyra Patterson left prison recently after serving more than two decades for a crime she says she didn’t commit. Her claims of innocence won international attention and supporters including David Singleton, the executive director of the Ohio Justice and Policy Center. Patterson now works for OJPC. When she went to set up a bank account at Fifth Third to receive direct deposits for her job, she was told she wouldn’t be able to do so because her state-issued ID card was less than 90 days old. Singleton vouched for Patterson to the bank, but to no avail. Now, however, Fifth Third says it has made it easier to open accounts. It has also publicly apologized to Patterson.
• A group of Ohio public school employees and retirees filed a lawsuit against the state last week over moves to freeze pension payouts. The members of the Ohio School Employees Retirement System are suing that governmental body as well as Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine over more than $850 million it has paid to outside financial consultants over the past 17 years, payouts that the lawsuit’s plaintiffs say helped erode the pension fund’s stable financial position. Officials with SERS, who voted last year to freeze cost of living increases for pensioners for three years to shore up crumbling finances, say they’ve been open and public about their financial decisions. SERS, along with other pension funds, lost large sums tied up in investments during the 2008 financial crisis. But the recession alone isn’t to blame for the pension’s problems, beneficiaries suing the state say.
“The monies spent by SERS for outside investment consultants is at best a disgrace and at its worst evidences inept public policy choices, if not outright criminal conduct, by SERS, its management and actuary,” the plaintiffs’ lawsuit says.
