You gotta hear what's happening with our community councils
So look—I was scrolling through the local happenings, sipping on my Gold Star chili coffee (don’t knock it ‘til you try it, seriously), and one headline just jumped out at me like a J. Joe Burrow touchdown pass. It wasn't about the Bengals' bye week giving us a much-needed break from some defensive struggles, which, trust me, I felt in my soul. Nope. It was about our community councils. Now, for folks not from here, you might be thinking, "What in the flying goetta is a community council?" But if you *are* from here, you know these things are the absolute backbone, the very foundation of how things get done, or *don't* get done, in our neighborhoods.
Lemme paint the picture: there was a public forum over in Avondale, right there at the First Unitarian Church, talking about whether these councils are bridging gaps or just getting in the way. And I gotta tell you, that hit me right in the heart of what makes Cincinnati, Cincinnati. From the folks in Over-the-Rhine fighting to preserve history while development explodes, to the steady folks out in the western hills trying to keep their traditions alive, these councils are where the rubber meets the road. They’re where Mrs. Henderson from Price Hill can stand up and ask about that pothole on Queen City Avenue, or where new residents in Mt. Adams try to figure out why their street got a new speed bump before the one down the hill did. It’s messy, it’s passionate, and it's quintessentially Nati. It’s what happens when a city believes in its neighborhoods, believes that everyone should have a say, even if that 'say' sometimes means a lot of yelling at a folding table in a rec center.
And you know what? That’s why I love this city. We're not afraid to put it all out there, to debate and discuss, even if it feels like we’re arguing over chili preferences (Team Gold Star, always). It’s how we grow, how we push forward, one neighborhood, one conversation at a time. This isn’t just some bureaucratic blip; it’s the heartbeat of our city trying to figure itself out.
Nati on the wire — if you know, you know.
Catch my full thoughts on why this matters to the soul of our city on the Morning Wire, please? It's live at mornings.live.