Happy October Everyone!
This month I was invited to visit the annual Rose Hill block party. It was quite impressive! Good food, kids games, live music, and neighbors catching up. It’s exactly the kind of social connection we need these days. I’m excited to explore what NANA can do to support and encourage similar block parties across the neighborhood.
In this newsletter, you’ll find a list of volunteer opportunities (and one that is paid!). Volunteering is a great way to get plugged into everything that’s going on in the neighborhood. All of us have inherited so many wonderful things in North Avondale because of decades of volunteers who came before us. These neighbors worked hard to make our community better for the next generation: us!
For me, volunteering has been a great way to “pay it forward,” learn an incredible amount, and help shape the community we all enjoy.
I hope you’ve joined our Facebook page, as there have been many interesting events posted there lately.
One of them that I attended was the Courthouse Open Doors event. I learned a lot about our justice system and had the opportunity to speak with a couple of our judges. It helped me better understand what that position is like and get answers to some of the questions I had about bail, bond, and recidivism.
I also popped into the State of Metro celebration and enjoyed a great impromptu conversation with Briona Akins, the Metro bus driver who stopped her bus in East Price Hill to get out and give CPR to a teenage boy in the street who had been shot back in August.
Everyday heroes truly are everywhere!
(She also would love to find a place to rent in our neighborhood if anyone has a good opportunity to pass along! 😉 )
The City has also started public engagement on what the zoning guidelines should be for proposed data centers in Cincinnati. I attended one of the sessions and learned a lot about our water and sewer infrastructure. My takeaway from the discussion was that our water-processing capacity and water supply appear not to be a big concern, but the potential effects of large data centers on electricity demand and costs may be a more complicated issue.
If you’re interested, you can sign up through the Department of City Planning and Engagement to attend an engagement session yourself and provide feedback.
Speaking of power, I’ve been contacted by the Office of the Ohio Consumers’ Counsel and was made aware of proposed rate increases from Duke. They suggest several ways to “make your voice heard” on the issue.
Looking forward to seeing everyone at the General Meeting, and be sure to bring the kids to NAM’s Trunk or Treat on October 24 (we hope to be there too!). And looking forward to seeing everyone’s costumes out in the streets during trick-or-treating! I’m hoping for another terrifying AV experience from Frequency City Sound on Redway again! (It’s almost a rite of passage for each of my kids to make it all the way to the porch.)
Take care of each other,
-Reg