​Warren County cities, Mason at #24 and Springboro at #42, were ranked among the top 100 Best Places to Live by CNN Money.  

Mason is popular because of the Mason schools that placed fifth out of 613 Ohio school districts in 2010.  It is also cited for access to Cincinnati, proximity to interstates, plus the Beach and Kings Island. The median income is $101,034 and median home price is $173,000.

Springboro is known for its Main Street where 33 structures are on the Historic Register, many former stops on the Underground Railroad.  It's small town character is notable. The median family income is $105,681 and median home price is $191,145.

Lonely Planet, the travel experts,  ranked Cincinnati #3 in their list of places for travel in 2012.  We're in great company!

They rated the US Virgin Islands #1 and the Hudson River Valley, New York # 2. Following us in the ranking are the Four Corners Region in southwest USA; Culebra, Puerto Rico; California gold Country; Boulder, Colorado; Hawaii's,  Big Island; Chicago; and Yellowstone National Park.

Cincinnati was recognized for more than just its river city attributes.  They praised it as a worthy venue for a weekend away. Particularly recognized were Mt. Adams, the Cincinnati Art Museum, Over the Rhine's Italianate architecture and  Findlay Market.  They claimed the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center was one of the primary reasons for our ranking.  It's certainly exciting when you add the 2012 World Choir Games to this list!

Inside you'll find classic Cincinnati recipes and great homemade soups.  Some of the featured recipes come from the Ruth Lyons Show, the Bob Braun Shows, the Paul Dixon Show, Bonnie Lou, Colleen Sharp, Shillito's, Pogues, the Terrace Garden, Grammers, the Wigwam, and the Hotel Sinton.  That's a blast from the past, if you ask me!  There's everything you'll need to celebrate cooking, Cincinnati style, tonight. Reservations are required for the event.

Cornhole on the Levee - January 21                           

Are you going to be the Cornhole Game Winner?  Newport on the Levee and the American Cornhole Organization are sponsoring the first-ever Cornhole on the Levee Winter Classic on January 21st.

​Family Theatre is performed at the Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park each Saturday at 10:30am and 1pm.  It's fun for all ages, but specifically meant for those over age 4.

​January 14 - Crossroads with Antonio Rocha.  Using self-made sound effects and facial movement, this Brazilian performer tells fantasy animal tales.  His characters face life-changing experiences.

​January 21 - Family Bash featuring Bash the Trash. This group creates a musical event by mixing science and the arts.  They transform recycled objects into instruments and use them to thrill an audience!

​January 28 - The Tricky Caterpillar and Other Trickster Tales with LuAnn Adams.  She's back...for her 20th appearance...with new tales of animals from Africa, Russia, Jamaica and under the sea.  Explore the adventures of tricksters, truth seekers and dreamers.

Are You Ready For Winter?                                          

Winter is one of our favorite times of the year! It's often easy to overlook your home's needs with so much going on. Here is a simple checklist of items that can save you money through the winter:

Consider changing from standard light bulbs to energy saving bulbs. Winter uses a lot of your electricity so even saving a little here and there will help.  Whether you live in a warm or cold climate, take this opportunity to inspect your home systems. You'll be money ahead in the long run!

Looking at the dirt-cheap rental properties and the cost of living, Cincinnati certainly belongs on this list drawn up by Kiplinger.  They described us as "an alternative to living in a big city like Chicago, while still staying in the Midwest." 

Some of our claims to fame mentioned include the large number of Fortune 500 companies here.  Additionally, projections call for adding 90,000 jobs by 2016.  Mentioned were riverboat cruises, pro and college sports, the nation's largest Oktoberfest and Skyline.  They called our top selling point, the big city sports with small town prices.

The biggest drawback they identified was that we were "more carb than culture."  Seems to me that I would have to take exception to that statement...while we certainly have our share of high carb eateries (Skyline, Izzy's, etc), our cultural institutions are considered notable throughout the country. 

EXISTING HOME SALES REPORT

Cincinnati Nature Center Again in the News!                 

Earlier this fall the Cincinnati Nature Center was touted for following up on its leadership in the "No Child Left Inside" movement by opening its new play area for young children.  Now the Krippendorf Estate has been listed in the National Register of Historic Places.

They were recognized for both its unique landscape and for the Krippendorf Lodge.  Carl Krippendorf is nationally recognized for his knowledge as a horiculturalist.  He also was very actively involved in the architectural design of the building.  It is representative of the shingle style, popular in the late 1800's.

If you have hiked the woods at the Nature Center, you know how beautiful the terrain is there.  Over the years, thousands of daffodils were planted so the hillsides and meadows simply glow on a sunny spring day.

The Krippendorf Lodge currently houses the offices of the Nature Center on the second floor and serves as a reception and meeting center on the first.  Take time to visit there and imagine what life must have been like for the Krippendorfs in the early 1900's, before there was electricity or cars.  What a great gift this was to our city!

Explore Toy Train Layouts Throughout the Area       

As many of you know, I love trains. Everywhere you go this season, you will find a train added to the decorations. So find an activity to visit and plan to add some time to just gaze at the trains and their elaborate set ups.

• Union Terminal - more than 2000 square feet of train track set up on four levels...a sight to see! PLUS, now the Duke Energy trains have been added to the tracks.  This is one of the largest displays in the area.  You'll enjoy Holiday Junction. 1301 Western
• Behringer Crawford Museum in Covington - Housed in the historic Devou home, you can see theFaragherg-gauge railroad set up with hand painted village to recreate the local scene. Thomas the Train is there, too. This is now a permanent exhibit at the museum, but there have been an additional 250 feet of track added for the occasion.. 1600 Montague Rd, Covington
• Lebanon Mason Monroe Railroad - this time is is a real train that you can ride to holiday village with Mr. and Mrs. Santa Claus. 127 S. Mechanic, Lebanon
• Christmas Journey at EnterTrainment Junction - There are three displays to walk through including one originally exhibited at the Children's Museum in Indianapolis and one designed by the Cincinnati Garden Railway Society.  Mr and Mrs Claus are also here. - 7379 Squire Court, West Chester

Washington Park's renovation continues at a rapid pace...exciting things are happening there. First of all, a much needed garage is being built that will be under part of the Park.  Not only will this house cars for Music Hall and Memorial Hall, it will provide much needed parking for residents of homes and lofts all around the Square.

Fun changes you will see when it reopens this summer include a flag installation, a dog park and a fabulous children's playground. The brainchild of Joan Kaup and Angela Morrow, there will be 80-100 small flags and as many as 25 large flags.  Large flags will be sponsored by companies and organizations, which will then get artists to paint the flags for them.  There are even scholarships to allow community members, who can't afford to sponsor and paint their own flags, to join in the fun.

Additionally the Humana Corporation has donated money for the children's playground. The 18,000 square foot playground will feature a castle, climbing wall and a canal boat. Sounds like we will soon be hearing dogs barking, children laughing, and people breaking into song.

If you want to follow the progress, check out the Washington Park website.

According to research done by the Promise Alliance and the investment firm, ING, Cincinnati and Norwood have achieved national recognition as two of the 100 Best Communities for Young People.  The award is part of a 10-year, collaborative effort, initiative to end the high school drop-out crisis, thus creating a healthy, 21st century workforce.

Promise Alliance bases its work on fulfilling the five Promises...that all children should be entitled to caring adults, safe places, a healthy start, effective education and opportunity to help others. Children who experience 4 out of 5 of these, tend to succeed academically, socially and civically.

Efforts that they have sponsored locally include the Safe Routes to School Initiative.  The Cincinnati Police, Schools, Department of Transportation and local residents worked collaboratively on that project.  Other organizations involved include Bethany House, Dress for Success, Jobs for Cincinnati Graduates, ArtWorks, ArtsWave, Cincinnati Youth Collaborative, and Bridging the Gap.

Cincinnati's Strive Partnership has become a national model for aligning resources throughout the community to focus on efforts to raise graduation rates.  Congrats to both communities.

Mortgage backer Freddie Mac reported that mortgage interest rates fell to a record low in September. The average commitment rate for a 30-year, conventional, fixed-rate loan dropped to 4.11 percent in September, down from 4.27 percent in August.  September's rate was almost a quarter point below 2010 interest levels when similar mortgage loans were offered at 4.35 percent.

Despite the low interest rates, contract failures remain double of what they were just last year. Contract failures - caused by issues with credit, loan underwriting, or appraisal - reached 18 percent in August and September. NAR President Ron Phipps would like to see more access to credit.  "All year we’ve been discussing the fact that many credit worthy home buyers are being denied mortgages,” he said. "We need to remove the roadblocks to a housing recovery."

Investors accounted for 19 percent of September transactions down slight from 22 percent in August.  First-time buyers represented 32 percent of existing-home purchasers, while repeat buyers made up the balance. 

UC is expecting as many as 43,000 students, up 3.4 percent from last year’s record-breaking enrollment,  with an academically prepared Uptown freshman class that meets UC standards to build retention and graduation rates.

UC is welcoming 45 incoming freshman National Merit finalists, tying the record number entering as freshmen last fall. UC will have a record overall number of 157 National Merit finalists enrolled this fall as the university continues to strive toward a target goal of enrolling 200 National Merit finalists as part of the UC2019 Strategic Plan.

Enrollment of undergraduate and graduate international students is up more than 9 percent from last fall, and UC’s graduate student enrollment is expected to be 8.8 percent higher than 2010.

The Cincinnati Zoo and Botanical Garden brings back its popular PNC Festival of Lights again this year.  Opening for members only on November 23rd, Nick Lachey and Ciara Bravo will help Santa light the tree to kick off the event. Over 2 million LED lights will be all over the zoo's grounds nightly from 5-9 pm.

The Madcap Puppet Theater will be presenting shows three times nightly.  Children will love Lollipop Lane, Gingerbread Village, Candy Cane Forest, and Twinkle Trail.  They will enjoy searching for the five hidden fairies in Fairyland.  You may all want to relax for a minute and take it all in as you tour the Zoo on the Train Ride.  Throughout, you'll find costumed and rappin' elves.  Best of all, come face-to-face with real reindeer.

Plan to have snacks or dinner while you are there.  Skyline Chili and LaRosa's will be set up in addition to the Zoo's own restaurants.  Sample funnel cake (my favorite), I.B.Back Fudge, as well as beer, hot chocolate and signature coffees.  The craft shop will be open nightly.

Drop off a new, unwrapped toy for the Boys and Girls Club of Greater Cincinnati during the first weekend as the toys benefit underprivileged children of our area.

   the world's top 10 "most inspiring campuses." Sharing the honors with Cincinnati are such campuses as the Thomas Jefferson-designed University of Virginia, Beijing's Tsinghua University sitting among the former Qing dynasty gardens, Pepperdine University in Malibu, Calif., and the University of Cape Town in South Africa.

The widely read travel, lifestyle and business magazine based its selection on stunning physical settings and overall design or architecture. UC made the list largely thanks to its collection of masterful buildings by some of the world's best designers and architects. Sky joins Forbes magazine in placing UC on a short list of the world's most beautiful universities.

Mt. Airy Forest, and much of the Cincinnati Park System as a whole, has been documented to be historically significant. The recent placement of  Mt. Airy Forest on the National Register of Historic Places by the National Park Service is a way of recognizing this importance...a fitting way to celebrate its 100th Annniversary!

The National Register is a prestigious list of the country’s most significant historic sites. Mt. Airy Forest is now officially recognized as nationally significant. Historic documentation of the entire Cincinnati Park system provided part of the context for the listing of Mt. Airy Forest, recognizing the historic significance of the Cincinnati Park system as a whole, setting the stage for future nominations of either individual sites within the park system, or multiple sites.

The documentation of Mt. Airy Forest found that the period of significance was 1911-1959, and that it is significant for numerous reasons, including that the park:

•  Is the first, or one of the first, municipal reforestation projects in the nation
•  Is known for its depression-era development under federal WPA and CWA programs
• Is significant for its employment of African-American Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) labor that provided the manpower to build much of the park (and who were stationed in the park)
•  Has landscape architecture significance through its association with noted early 20th Century designer, George Kessler and State Forester, Edmund Secrest
•  Has architecture of the "rustic" design mode
• Features remarkable quality craftsmanship of its buildings and its association with R. Carl Freund, the Cincinnati Park Board's most prolific architect and designer of 37 park buildings between 1930 and 1959.

Cincinnati and Hamilton County Public Library Honors Our Veterans - November 11

The immeasurable debt we owe to our veterans is remembered yearly on November 11. To mark the occasion, Korean War veteran Howard Osterkamp will present the keynote remarks for the 57th Annual Veteran's Day Commemoration at 10:45 am on Friday, November 11 at the Main Library Atrium.

Howard Osterkamp spent nine straight months on the front lines near the 38th parallel in the Heartbreak Ridge and Punchbowl areas. Not only was his 5th Regimental Combat Team under constant attack, but it was also contending with temperatures reaching more than 100 degrees in the summer and as low as 40 degrees below zero in winter. He was wounded in the leg by shrapnel in September 1952. Although his leg was broken in two places, doctors misdiagnosed the injury as a bruise and sent him back to the front lines the same day, where he spent the next four months.

The program will also feature patriotic music performed by the Walnut Hills High School Choir, a color guard, presentation of memorial wreaths by veterans' groups, lighting the Flame of Remembrance, and Taps. All are invited to attend this free program honoring our nation’s veterans.