That's So Cincinnati - TopPodcast.com

Latest Episodes:

S2 Ep70: That's So Cincinnati: Why Miss Ohio taught Gov. DeWine to use the health app on his smartphone Jan 28, 2021

Show notes

Miss Ohio Caroline Grace Williams joins That's So Cincinnati podcast to talk about how she got interested in pageants while at Miami University; talking with Gov. Mike DeWine about improving 911 communications; teaching people how to use their smartphones in emergencies; and life in small-town Ohio.
Also on this week's That's So Cincinnati episode, co-hosts Sharon Coolidge and Jason Williams discuss the 2022 race to succeed Greater Cincinnati Republican Rob Portman in the U.S. Senate.

S2 Ep69: That's So Cincinnati: What does it mean to treat prisoners with 'dignity'? New county sheriff explains Jan 22, 2021

Show notes

New Hamilton County Sheriff Charmaine McGuffey really missed the department during her nearly four years out of uniform.
The 33-year law enforcement veteran missed many of her old coworkers. She missed putting on the black-and-gold uniform each day. And she missed the jail inmates.
Wait. What?
Any doubt there's a new sheriff in town? Certainly the county's previous two sheriffs – Jim Neil and Si Leis – would've never said that.
But McGuffey, who spent several years overseeing the county jail, has brought a fresh approach to the office – and that includes treating inmates with a balance of tough love and dignity.
McGuffey – one of the first openly LGBTQ sheriff's in the U.S. and the first woman elected to the position in Hamilton County – explained her approach to the job during an in-depth discussion this week with The Enquirer's That's So Cincinnati podcast.
"The bulk of my experience has been inside this jail," McGuffey said. "I walked in here in my early 20s. Unfortunately, some of the prisoners that I knew back then, I still know now. They're still coming back. The thing that worries me is: why?"
McGuffey continued: "There are boundaries that you set as an officer. You are the authority. But in general, you get to know people. You get to know their circumstances, and you can certainly understand why they're where they are. And the other piece of this is: appreciate them. I appreciate their senses of humor. I appreciate their life experiences. So yeah, I missed the prisoners."
McGuffey talked about criminal justice reform on the campaign last year, and the 62-year-old West Side native has wasted no time following through on that promise during her first month on the job. Case in point: She's investing in inmate care.
And unlike some of her predecessors, McGuffey isn't going to complain constantly about jail overcrowding. Nor will she push for a new county jail.
Here's what McGuffey said about improving inmates' lives in the jail:

This county does not need a new jail. We can fix the one we have. We just need to get in there and do it. There's hard things to do. We need to find alternatives in the way of community corrections for low-level offenders. We're working on things like improving the food. Just today we created an addition to the policy for prisoners who are in medical and mental health units that they get good linens. I mean sheets and a blanket that's very clean (and) in good shape.
Those are small things. But those are things that improve people's lives, and when they walk out the door, they're a lot less likely to re-offend when we get them healthy and whole again. It's treating people with dignity so that when they walk out of there they feel confident enough to seek help.

To anyone who may criticize her approach as too soft, McGuffey said:

I'm not pie-in-the-sky. I am very law and order. I'm very rooted in reality, I promise you that. The years in the jail, they make you know that reality is real. But I believe we can do so much better.
I would say to those people, "Please remember, those inmates are getting out of jail. At some point in time, they will walk back into your neighborhood. And would you rather have them be more enlightened; perhaps have a different frame of mind; perhaps feel enfranchised enough to join the community and say, 'Hey I want to do well?' "
The way to do that is build them that way. Not create a situation where all you're doing is punishing them day to day to day. You just can't do that with people and build up self-esteem. That's part of reform. Let's change the mindset.

S2 Ep68: That's So Cincinnati: Liz Keating on making a career change, her famous grandfather, the news business Jan 12, 2021

Show notes

Liz Keating grew up sitting at her grandparents' kitchen table listening to her Cincinnati-famous grandfather tell stories about his honorable career law, politics and journalism.
She loved both fields, but saw her career someday going a different route.
Nearly a year ago, however, Liz Keating had a change of heart and started thinking that she'd like to do a job the late Bill Keating once did – serve on Cincinnati City Council.
Liz Keating didn't realize it'd happen this soon, but the 37-year-old Hyde Park Republican now finds herself as the newest member of council. She recently was appointed to fill another open seat after a rash of corruption-related arrests have reshaped the city's governing body over the past 10 months.
"I can sit around and complain about everything going on," Keating told The Enquirer's That's So Cincinnati podcast. "Or I can go be part of that change. And I decided ... I can't sit around and wait any longer."
In a wide-ranging podcast interview, Keating talked about her evolution from wanting to do a behind-the-scenes job in government and politics to being a politician.
And she told stories about her late grandfather and the impact he had on her life – from his legacy as a top competitive swimmer to his time in politics in the 1960s and 1970s as a congressman, councilman and local judge to a career as Enquirer publisher and Gannett newspaper executive in the 1980s and early 1990s.
Keating's full podcast interview can be heard for free by clicking the link at the top of the article. That's So Cincinnati is also available for free on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, iHeart Radio and other major listening platforms. Keating's interview begins at the 13:40 mark in the episode.
Interest in City Council

I was a political science major. I always wanted to go work behind the scenes (in politics and government). I am a policy nerd. It's a way you can impact change in the community. I am more of a quiet, shy person, so being out in the spotlight is not always my strength. I'm going to have to learn that now being a politician. My dream was always to go out in the business world, get real-world experience and then later on move behind the scenes.
I've been watching, and there really haven't been a lot of candidates who have inspired me and my values match theirs to want to go work for. In the past year, as things have changed and opportunities have come up, I've started to look at myself in a different light and think, 'You know, maybe I should try to be that person to go put myself out there and run for office and try to make a change.'

Focus on basic government services

Keating says budget issues and basic services such as public safety and garbage collection will be her priorities. Her brother is a Cincinnati police officer, so Keating is familiar with the largest department in the city.

Lets get back to the basics of what council is meant to do and serving the people. Stop getting distracted with all these silly fights, because it's not moving the needle on anything that actually has meaning to everybody else in the city.

Passion for her hometown

Keating went to UCLA, where she was co-captain of the swim team. It was never in question where she was going to live after college – Cincinnati. Some 25 of Bill Keating's 28 grand children live in Greater Cincinnati.

When I left for college, I had to promise my dad that I'd move back home. So I fulfilled that promise. That's a very Cincinnati thing. The moment I stepped outside that 275 loop, I was all Cincinnati, all the way. Every person I ever met out in California knew that I was from Cincinnati and Cincinnati is the greatest city on earth. And still to this day, I have college teammates and friends, they don't call me Liz. They call me "Cincinnati."

Talking journalism with grandpa

Keating lived with her grandparents after moving home from Los Angeles. Her grandfather, who retired from his newspaper career in 1992, still read a half-dozen print newspaper each morning.

Every morning, we'd sit there and read them and discuss. ... What was most important to him was the lead story and how that impacted the community and what was gong on in the minds of people around him.
He always talked about how critical it was to have (journalists) follow politicians and have them follow the stories, especially the local news stories. What you guys do was so important to him. That really keeps a pulse on what's happening in the community.
It also holds the politicians and the leaders accountable. He always thought that was so important.

S2 Ep67: That's So Cincinnati: Steve Raleigh opens up about his daughter's death, launching Madi's House and life as TV weatherman Jan 08, 2021

Show notes

Long-time Cincinnati weatherman Steve Raleigh can quickly recall the exact dates of the two biggest storms he's encountered in life.
• March 2, 2012, when a rash of tornadoes killed more than 20 people across Southwest Ohio, Northern Kentucky and Southeast Indiana.
• Jan. 17, 2019, when Raleigh's 24-year-old daughter, Madison, committed suicide after battling addiction and mental illness.
As Raleigh still track's storms weekdays for WCPO-TV, he's also taken on another job – launching a nonprofit organization to help men and women struggling with addiction and mental illness.
It's called Madi's House, located 5081 Glenncrossing Way. And Raleigh told The Enquirer's That's So Cincinnati podcast that there's big things coming as soon as the organization is working on expanding to reach more people in need.
Raleigh, Channel 9's chief meteorologist since 2005, opened up about his daughter's struggles and the hope Madi's House is offering to those in need. Here's part of his interview on this week's That's So Cincinnati episode:

Almost two years ago, my wife and I lost our daughter. She fought the battle of addiction and some mental health issues. It had been going on for quite a number of years, 10 to 12 years. Took her own life. At that point, my wife came out with a statement at the memorial service: "We are going to war against these two factions." As a family, we decided to set up something that would help.
What I like to call a moment of clarity from my daughter was something that she said to us: "I just wish I had somewhere to hang out." There were times when she was ready to go forward, and she had nowhere to go. Quite frankly, she couldn't fall back to the people she had been with. She really couldn't find any new friends. There was a certain stigma associated with the problem she was having. And she was basically hanging out with my wife and I. That's no fun for a 24-year-old.
Madi's House is really a recovery and mental health community center. There are some games, like video games. There's some art family. There's music. There's fitness. We also have AA and NA meetings.
(Madi's House has been open) Friday, Saturday and Sunday since Thanksgiving. We feel very good about this going forward. We're hopefully going to be the model for other communities that can take this and move it into their city. We really are a place to create community, and that's what's not (been) happening.
I'm not at liberty to say where we're going next, but I do believe shortly we're going to have an announcement to expand Madi's House in a really significant way. We'd like to make it more accessible for everybody.

To learn more about Madi's House, go to madishousecincy.org.

S2 Ep66: That’s So Cincinnati: The hope of 2021 Dec 31, 2020

Show notes

Forget 2020. What lies ahead for Greater Cincinnati in the New Year?
Regional political, business, legal and media leaders share their hopes for 2021 in That’s So Cincinnati’s annual New Year’s resolutions episode.

S2 Ep65: That's So Cincinnati: Veteran local TV journalist talks asking tough questions, City Hall corruption and Dec 23, 2020

Show notes

It's not easy answering tough questions. It's also not easy asking them.
But veteran Cincinnati TV journalist Angenette Levy has made a name for herself by asking tough questions of Greater Cincinnati's public officials on the air over the past decade.
Levy, who left Local 12 in September, joined That's So Cincinnati podcast this week to discuss:
• Her approach to the journalism and how the Anderson Township native got into the news business
• Reporting on a story that eventually became the subject of a popular Netflix true crime documentary
• And what might be the next step in her career

S2 Ep64: That's So Cincinnati: John Cranley talks City Hall corruption, texting scandal, police contract and running for Ohio governor Dec 15, 2020

Show notes

Mayor John Cranley joins That's So Cincinnati podcast this week.

S2 Ep63: That's So Cincinnati: Councilman Greg Landsman answers tough questions about his role and the state of City Hall Dec 09, 2020

Show notes

Cincinnati City Councilman Greg Landsman answers tough questions about his role in the Gang of Five texting scandal, embattled Councilman P.G. Sittenfeld and the state of affairs at City Hall. You won't want to miss this episode.

S2 Ep62: That's So Cincinnati: From journalist to politician, get to know new City Councilman Steve Goodin Dec 01, 2020

Show notes

As a trial lawyer, former assistant prosecutor and ex-journalist, Steve Goodin might be the perfect fit for a seat on Cincinnati City Council at the moment.
The Republican has a firm understanding of public accountability – something City Hall is sorely lacking in the wake of three council members being arrested this year on federal corruption charges.
Goodin, newly appointed to council this week, has a clear vision for what he wants to do immediately after City Hall reopens later this month following a pandemic-related shutdown.
"The public really needs, wants and expects at least a roadmap as to how the remaining council members are going to address systemic corruption," Goodin told The Enquirer's That's So Cincinnati podcast. "The sooner we speak to that in an intelligent and comprehensive way, the better."
Goodin on Monday was appointed as the temporary replacement for Republican Councilman Jeff Pastor, who's suspended pending the outcome of his court case stemming from federal pay-to-play charges.
In the wide-ranging interview, Goodin discusses how he believes his diverse career experiences have prepared him for the challenge of being on council. The 51-year-old father of three started his career as a news reporter for the News-Sun in Springfield, Ohio, his hometown. He's also served stints in the Peace Corps and Army.
Several members of council do not have jobs and careers outside of City Hall, and Goodin believes that's led to a loss of perspective.
On his decision to join the Peace Corps early in his career, Goodin said: "I just had a real desire to travel and do something radically different. So I went over to Africa and (was in) the Sahara Desert for a year. I worked as something called a 'sanitation engineer,' which meant I was digging outhouses. It was a fascinating experience. It expanded my horizons."
In his work for Graydon Law Firm, where he's a partner, Goodin has focused on business litigation and municipal law. The latter has made him quite familiar with City Hall, where he's been hired to help fix the city's pension fund.
It's helped him to have intimate knowledge of the city's charter, but the experience also has given Goodin insight into council's problems.
"I've been sort of alarmed by the lack of fiscal literacy," Goodin said. "There needs to be a better stewardship of these funds. There needs to be better stewardship of our infrastructure, and we need people to, frankly, be more adult about this and to manage this like you would your personal finances, like you would your personal business and like you would your safety and the safety of your children."
Goodin recalled times testifying in front of council while some of its members were interested in what was happening on their phones and laptops.
"I have always been, particularly in the last few years, distressed by just the raw political gamesmanship that you see," Goodin said. "I've got teenage girls. I spend a lot of my time yelling at them to put their phones down when they're at the dinner table. Sometimes, I'd be testifying at council and people are playing on their phones. There needs to be a different, more adult approach to this job."
Goodin doesn't have a Twitter or Facebook account, something he's not needed as a litigator. He said he plans create social media accounts to provide information to the public, but he doesn't care about the petty and uncivil Twitter fights that have distracted this council at times.
"All the social media, particularly among some of the council members, has not been helpful," Goodin said. "It leads to this posturing. It leads to these false presentations of who folks are. It leads to people playing to small groups of people and not thinking about the city as a whole. It becomes sort of a weird echo chamber. My sense is, by and large, it's the same 200 or 300 people who are on Twitter weighing in over and over and over. I don't think that reflects the folks that I'm concerned about."
So what is Goodin's concern?
"We need to really get back to addressing the basic services, the public safety issues that our neighborhoods are seeing," he said. "It makes me kind of sick that those concerns have been pushed aside for people who are shaking-down developers. It's an absolute shame. There are folks who are depending on the government to provide services, to provide safe streets and that's been lost. The fact that that's not a priority –and now of all times (amid the pandemic) – is simply a disgusting state of affairs."
Goodin plans to work on a comprehensive package of charter amendment reforms centered on more transparency around economic development deals and increased accountability for council members. He said he's not interested in small, piecemeal changes or creating bureaucratic commissions and task forces – something some of his colleagues want.

"We know what generally needs to be done," Goodin said. "If we need a special ethics officer to convince people not to take bribes, then we have a bigger problem than we could've ever dreamed of. If we need another charter review committee – when all this great work has already been done – then we're just kicking the can down the road."

S2 Ep61: That's So Cincinnati: Christopher Smitherman weighs in on City Hall corruption, questions if FBI is done investigating council Nov 25, 2020

Show notes

Cincinnati Vice Mayor Christopher Smitherman has been speaking out against some of his council colleagues' illegal and unethical behavior for years.
It's time others join him, Smitherman told The Enquirer's That's So Cincinnati podcast.
Especially since he believes federal investigators aren't done rooting out corruption at City Hall in the wake of three city council members being arrested on pay-to-play charges this year.
Smitherman recently called Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine to ask the Republican to consider overhauling state agencies that are supposed to be in charge of holding public officials accountable.
"We've had some state organizations, one being the Ohio Ethics Commission, that failed here," Smitherman said. "I think his office needs to take a real hard look at the state agencies that are charged with looking at public bodies across the state of Ohio. The ethics commission says, 'We're not a proactive body. We sit back and wait for the complaint.' "
Smitherman continued: "What proactive steps could the Ohio Ethics Commission (take) knowing about what was happening in Cincinnati? It seems to me that the Ohio Ethics Commission somewhere through this process over the last three years would've intervened, and they didn't. What could they do better?"

Our TOPPODCAST Picks

Follow Us

Stay Connected

That’s So Cincinnati

Related Podcasts

Links

Stay Connected