THE 132-YEAR-OLD AWARD-WINNING INDEPENDENT STUDENT-RUN NEWSPAPER OF THE UNIVERSITY OF CINCINNATI
VOL. CXXXIII ISSUE LVVVVV
Safety committee meets
The News Record THURSDAY | NOVEMBER 29 | 2012
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President Ono, law enforcement officials meet to discuss safety issues in Clifton RYAN HOFFMAN NEWS EDITOR Law enforcement officials met with student and faculty leaders at the University of Cincinnati, as well as members from the Clifton community Monday to construct a plan for improving safety in the area. The group referred to as the “safety committee” proposed a number of ideas to be vetted and included in a plan moving forward. “One of the most exciting things coming out of that was the level of collaboration between CPD, UCPD and the entire community,” said Lane Hart, student body president. “At the end of the day we are all sharing the same community and we want to make sure its safe together.” President Ono is expected to release an action plan in the next several days. “They want to finalize and tweak before we release outside the safety committee,” said Paul Neudigate, District 5 Captain. Specific details of the action steps couldn’t be shared, but educating students — especially those new to campus — is one of the committee’s biggest goals. “We want to do everything we can to make sure we’re educating all of our students as well as faculty, staff and everybody in the community about the issues and solutions,” Hart said. Police Chief James Craig suggested combining the two districts constituting the campus and surrounding area into one district. “I think that would improve communications,” Craig said. While the committee’s goal is to increase safety, members also want to raise awareness — especially with potential students and their families — of the recent improvements CPD and UCPD have made. In order to accomplish that, the university and community as a whole need to change the perception of Clifton as a dangerous area. “We’re looking at a perception issue right now because crime is actually down in both my communities, but people still have the perception that it’s unsafe,” Neudigate said. “So we’re trying to get a positive message out that there’s still work to be done, but we are making strides.” The safety committee plans to continue meeting to change Clifton’s negative perception. “It’s not one-and-done, its an ongoing process,” Neudigate said. The News Record will publish information from President Ono’s report as soon as it is published. Check out newsrecord.org for the latest information on joint efforts between the Cincinnati and University of Cincinnati Police Departments.
KARA DRISCOLL | NEWS EDITOR
A COAST IN RUINS In Long Branch, N.J., Mazza Construction Company gathers all of the debris in the city and places it into one central dumping station. The hurricane ripped through the East Coast, damaging coastal cities and leaving more than 100 people dead.
Professor aids Sandy victims Edward Otten helps combat storm’s medical fallout KARA DRISCOLL NEWS EDITOR Nearly a month after Hurricane Sandy ravaged the East Coast, officials are still assessing the cost of insurmountable damage as residents navigate through a maze of destruction. With billions of dollars in damage and reportedly more than 100 people dead, the aftermath of a storm some are calling worse than Hurricane Katrina has left cities across the coast limping back to normalcy. Terry Del Casale walked along a sandy street in the coastal city of Avon-by-the-Sea, N.J. and peered at a small beach structure uprooted from its foundation. Del Casale, a citizen of Lawrenceville, N.J., frequents several coastal cities in New Jersey and drove to Avon to view the damage the hurricane caused. “We’re just going down here to assess the situation and kind of see what’s going on for the upcoming season,” Del Casale said. “We were going to help out. We have a lot of friends down here.” Approximately 24 people so far have died in New Jersey from drowning, electrocution and other storm-related traumas. Avon was hit hard, but its damage couldn’t compare to other towns in New Jersey. Weeks later, remnants of sand still lined the surrounding streets of the town — marking the spot where a surge of water flooded the area with more than a foot of water, causing damage to the homes of many residents. Del Casale went without power for approximately one week and said living without basic necessities proved difficult when he and his wife went back to work everyday. When Sandy hit in late October, officials urged citizens to prepare for the worst. The National Guard quarantined several cities across the coast and Marshall law has been enacted in those areas. Blockaded off by Humvees, only citizens with proof of
residency can enter cities like Seaside, N.J. The wreckage to Seaside left a pier roller coaster wading in deep waters of the Atlantic Ocean, and thousands without power and destructed homes. “The mayor of Seaside wants to leave the entire roller coaster there,” Del Casale said. “Many people are saying, ‘Are you crazy? Are you nuts?’” In Long Branch, N.J., construction workers from Mazza Company worked to gather all of the debris into one central dumping station. Three mountains of tree branches, pieces of buildings and furniture towered as high as the neighboring hotels. Sabas Marmolejo, a Mazza construction worker, said the company started working three days after Sandy struck the area. They’ve been diligently collecting and piling the town’s ruins since then. The damage resulting from Hurricane Sandy is estimated to cost the state of New Jersey approximately $29.4 billion, according to a preliminary damage assessment released by state officials. Nearby Rutgers University, tree damage
electricity knockout in the area was prominent, said Edward Otten, a professor of emergency medicine and pediatrics at UC. But the destruction extends beyond monetary value, affecting the safety and health of millions of people and knocking down structures across several states. “The real damage in these hurricanes usually is the tidal surge from the water,” Otten said. “That’s what floods out the buildings and people drown, get electrocuted and burned. We didn’t see a lot of injuries, but mostly medical problems.” Hundreds of residents sought refuge from the storm at Rutgers University — sleeping on cots in its gymnasium. Otten went to the coast to aid victims suffering from medical problems. “From a medical point of view, there were probably less medical problems associated with this disaster compared to [Hurricanes Katrina and Andrew],” Otten said. “All disasters are different in their own ways.” SEE PAGE 4
Cincinnati Mayor reassures citizens Mayor Mark Mallory defends city planner’s budget proposal, blames governor for multi-million dollar deficit BENJAMIN GOLDSCHMIDT CHIEF REPORTER Cincinnati Mayor Mark Mallory publicly assured citizens the 2013 budget proposal released by City Manager Milton Dohoney will allow the city to maintain high-quality services. A chief concern with Dohoney’s proposal is the $34 million deficit officials have been unable to find a solution for. Mallory blamed a large portion of Cincinnati’s deficit — one of the largest in its history — on Ohio Gov. John Kasich’s actions, but said despite those actions Cincinnati is thriving. “The governor took $22.2 million from Cincinnati when he reduced the local government support fund and eliminated
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the estate tax,” Mallory said. “[That money] could have been used to keep police officers working, to keep firefighters working … but the governor took that money.” The 2013 budget proposal does not include police or firefighter layoffs, but continues the city’s policy of not replacing retiring officers. Mallory said Ohio is sitting on a $500-million surplus because it took money from cities across the state, and accused Kasich of “passing the buck.” In response to Mallory’s criticism, Rob Nichols, Gov. Kasich’s press secretary, said tight budgets are never easy, and while Ohio offered tools for local governments to combine services to save money, Cincinnati opted not to utilize them. “Though Cincinnati has chosen not to
take up these cost-savings tools, the local governments that have report saving their taxpayers more than $170 million,” Nichols said. ”Hopefully Mayor Mallory will change his mind and join the forward-thinking communities that are embracing lower costs through shared services and give the city’s taxpayers the savings they need and deserve.” Mallory publicly agreed to match Hamilton County’s contribution of $100,000 to combine services in October 2011, but has not yet done so, according to a letter sent by Hamilton County Commission President Greg Hartmann to Mallory and city council members dated Sept. 18. In Mallory’s press conference Tuesday, he said the Hamilton County Planning Department is merging with the city in
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order to share the services. Dohoney’s budget proposal includes $11.3 million of cuts in order to close the deficit as required by law. Mallory wants to put approximately $1 million of those cuts back into the budget. Mallory also wants to add $600,000 for human services, $50,000 for arts and $250,000 for a program to reduce infant mortality, among others. Although Mallory said he has not come up with the funds to close the deficit, he vowed to work with City Council and Dohoney to ensure the deficit is closed and the city maintains its history of avoiding layoffs due to deficit problems.