News and Events from the Loveland, Ohio Area
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Loveland, Ohio – Here are three maps of the 15.76 acres of land on US-48 near Founders Drive the Loveland City School District voted to purchase from the Cardinal Land Conservancy on March 19. The purchase price is approximately $1.5 million. The property will be purchased using “financing” leveraging the fund balance in the District’s Permanent Improvement.
Todd Kelly (Loveland Magazine file photo)
Loveland, Ohio – Loveland High School Head Women’s Soccer coach Todd Kelly is stepping down.
The Soccer program announced on X, “We say goodbye to a legend and could not be more thankful for the impact Coach Kelly has made on this program and the Loveland soccer community. Retiring after 29 years, he set the standard and gave us so many moments to celebrate. You will be missed, but forever a Tiger!”
Pending Board of Education Approval, Craig Chimiel will lead the Women’s Soccer Program.
Kelly has numerous District championships and Eastern Cincinnati Conference titles under his belt.
In 2017, Coach Kelly led the Tigers to a State Div I Championship and were runners-up in 2015.
Follow the link below to the Loveland Magazine story with still photos and video.
Frankie Montas (Major League Photo Day)
by Chris Ball
The Reds Are on a Roll To Start The Season
The Reds had deck stacked against them to begin this year. Injuries to several key players and the suspension of Noelvi Marte threatened to derail the 2024 campaign before it even got going. But so far, the Reds have put those distractions and excuses aside and shown the league that it will take more than a few setbacks to keep this team down.
After series wins over the Nationals and Phillies the Reds sit at 4-2 on the year. And while it’s far too early to draw any sweeping conclusions about what that means, there are still several very promising elements to their start that could be key predictors to how successful they could be as the season continues.
The Reds Starting Rotation Has Shown Out
Injuries ravaged the Reds rotation last year, and the high number of innings Andrew Abbott was asked to throw at all levels of competition took their toll as well as he struggled mightily in the latter parts of the season. Even now the team is without Nick Lodolo as he works to get healthy again, but the rotation has its is currently constructed has more than answered the call.
Through 5 games the Reds’ starters had a combined ERA of just 3.0:
And that number doesn’t even account for Frankie Montas’ start in the finale against the Phillies where he only allowed just one earned run in just under six innings. Montas is on fire to start the season. In his two starts, he has allowed just one run in 11 2/3 innings and has a 0.77 ERA.
There are still concerns about just how far guys line Abbott and Greene can pitch into games given their youth and workload. But the first time through the Reds rotation has been a very pleasant experience that has to give fans hope that these kinds of performances will become the norm going forward.
Lodolo also looked very strong in his recent minor league start striking out eight batters in just five innings. He’s apparently targeting a return on April 10th, and when he returns David Bell is going to have quite the difficult decision of just who to ask to step aside to room.
Elly Keeps Hitting
The hype surrounding Elly De La Cruz is some of the most intense that Reds fans have seen since Ken Griffey Jr. came to Cincinnati all those years ago. It’s a tough burden to bear and the weight of it is ever present as the entire city analyzes and criticizes every swing, hit, throw, error and strikeout that the 22 year old Dominican shortstop offers up. And it can’t be denied that some of his errors in the field make you scratch your head and his approach at the plate has lead to plenty of strikeouts this year.
But the fact of the matter is that he is riding an 11-game hitting streak and isn’t going to give up any time soon. He is a polarizing figure without a doubt but it can’t be denied that this team is at its best when he is in the lineup, as unpolished as he still may be. Patience is key when evaluating Elly this year regardless of the ecxpectations and he’s shown exactly why he deserves to be on this roster in 2024.
Spencer Steer Is Knocking The Cover Off The Ball
Spencer Steer seems to so often be overlooked in the discussions about the Reds’ young stud players. While CES, Elly, McLain, and Marte may get more press, Steer just flat out produces. From his grand slam against the Phillies to his ridiculous statistics (.435 average, 10 hits, 8 RBIs in just 6 games) the man has shown that he deserves just as much praise as any of the Reds best players.
Signing Jonathan India Was Key
Just a few months ago Jonathan India seemed like a beloved Red without a path to playing time. He was an unquestioned leader and a true Red, but many wondered if he truly had the ability or to play significant games and contribute given the plethora of young talent in the Cincinnati infield. Nothing has demonstrated just how clutch of a player India has been than his performance stepping up to play every day in a depleted Reds infield. With McLain out, India has played solid with several extra base hits and solid defense. His leadership and presence will be sorely needed in the coming months.
Christopher Ball is a longtime Loveland resident and an attorney. He graduated from Loveland High School in 2003 and was a member of the football team before going on to become a coach’s assistant at DePauw University in Greencastle, Indiana. He has been following and rooting for the Reds and Bengals since the early 1990s and has been through the many ups and downs that fandom has wrought over the years.
File photo of Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine and advisor Laurel Dawson at a press conference. (Photo from WEWS.)
As Gov. Mike DeWine in 2019 nominated Sam Randazzo to be Ohio’s top utility regulator, Randazzo went to great lengths to hide a decade-long relationship with FirstEnergy that had paid him more than $10 million. Those payments included $4.3 million just as DeWine was picking Randazzo, according to court documents filed last week.
Yet DeWine Press Secretary Dan Tierney in February said it “was well known that Randazzo was a paid consultant for FirstEnergy.” On Tuesday, Tierney modified that statement to say “it was well known to our staff that Mr. Randazzo was an energy consultant, and it was well-known to them and many people that Mr. Randazzo was a consultant employed by First Energy.”
DeWine’s appointee to chair the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio, Randazzo went on to help write and lobby for a $1.3 billion bailout that Akron-based FirstEnergy paid more than $60 million in bribes to pass, according to a federal jury and the indictments of Randazzo and two former FirstEnergy executives.
The scandal broke into the open in July 2020, when the FBI arrested former House Speaker Larry Householder, R-Glenford, and four others. Householder and former Ohio GOP Chairman Matt Borges were convicted, two others pleaded guilty, and lobbyist Neil Clark died by suicide.
DeWine, who signed the bailout law, and his staff haven’t been accused of illegal activity in the case. But with the administration’s many connections to FirstEnergy, questions continue to linger about exactly what DeWine and his team knew about the conspiracy and what they did with that knowledge.
A big question relates to the period when the governor was picking Randazzo to be the state’s top utility regulator. Did DeWine or top members of his staff know that Randazzo had a long, lucrative relationship with FirstEnergy, one of the biggest utilities he’d be regulating?
A state indictment of Randazzo said that he had a shady relationship with FirstEnergy stretching back to 2010. It included hiding his work for FirstEnergy from industrial energy users Randazzo served as general counsel as he secretly skimmed from settlement payments FirstEnergy made to the industrial users, the indictment said.
On Dec. 18, 2018, Gov.-elect DeWine and Lt. Gov.-elect Jon Husted had dinner at the Columbus Athletic Club with FirstEnergy CEO Chuck Jones and Vice President Michael Dowling.
The executives would be indicted along with Randazzo in February 2024. At the dinner, the men discussed with DeWine and Husted whether to make Randazzo the chief regulator of the executives’ company, the indictment said.
The executives drove from the dinner to Randazzo’s German Village condo for another discussion. The same evening, Randazzo texted Dowling a column of figures ending with “Total 4,333,333.”
The indictment said that within weeks, the executives paid Randazzo that amount without an invoice and over a company lawyer’s objections. DeWine nominated him to chair the PUCO a few weeks after that.
Over the next 18 months, Randazzo labored to draft, pass, and protect the company’s massive bailout and did a number of additional, highly lucrative favors besides, the indictment said. It all ended with his resignation after the FBI searched his condo four months after Householder and the others were arrested.
But what DeWine and his staff knew about Randazzo’s relationship with FirstEnergy as they were considering whether to make him its regulator appears to be a matter of dispute.
“In January 2019, FirstEnergy agreed to pay out in full Randazzo’s consulting services contract just before he was nominated to run the PUCO,” a bill of particulars that was filed last week to accompany the indictment says. “It was not a gift: Randazzo would work hard for FirstEnergy from inside the government. He did not disclose his relationship, going so far as to lie about it in testimony to the General Assembly and failing to disclose to the Ohio Ethics Commission the massive sums of money he’d received from the company he would soon regulate.”
Randazzo’s indictment says Randazzo did, however, “tell the Governor-elect through his incoming Chief of Staff that he had received $4.3 million from FirstEnergy, which he claimed was final payment of a ‘consulting agreement.’” It added that Randazzo didn’t disclose the other millions he made as a FirstEnergy consultant or his work lobbying for the electricity giant.
Tierney, DeWine’s press secretary, on Tuesday said that Randazzo’s consulting work for FirstEnergy was well known — at least inside the administration.
“I note our office is not a party to the prosecution, so we cannot vouch for any claims made by the prosecution or defense in these cases,” he said in an email. “Speaking for the staff of the Governor’s office, it was well known to our staff that Mr. Randazzo was an energy consultant, and it was well-known to them and many people that Mr. Randazzo was a consultant employed by FirstEnergy.”
However, FirstEnergy’s top brass feared public knowledge of their relationship could scuttle his nomination. On Jan. 30, 2019, Dowling, the FirstEnergy vice president, sent a panicked text to CEO Jones. It said Randazzo was going to pull out of the PUCO nomination process because the press found the name of one of his shell companies on a bankruptcy filing by a subsidiary FirstEnergy was seeking to bail out.
When Randazzo’s nomination got back on track, the executives expressed relief.
“A bullet grazed the temple,” Dowling told Jones, according to one of the texts filed as part of a civil suit over the scandal.
“Forced DeWine/Husted to perform battlefield triage,” Jones responded, referring to Lt. Gov. Jon Husted. “It’s a rough game.”
So while administration insiders might have known about the Randazzo-FirstEnergy relationship, it clearly wasn’t common knowledge to the public who would have to pay the utility’s inflated bills. Tierney didn’t answer why, if DeWine knew that Randazzo was a FirstEnergy consultant, he didn’t disclose that to the public the PUCO is supposed to protect from monopoly utilities.
While Tierney said he couldn’t vouch for the information in the indictments or other court filings, he said it would have been extraordinary to ask Randazzo whether he had been paid money by Ohio utilities as the administration was vetting him for the position as their chief regulator.
“…it would have been unusual to review past employment compensation with the Governor as part of cabinet director vetting,” Tierney said.
As for the chief of staff who did the vetting — Laurel Dawson — she had a FirstEnergy connection of her own. Her husband, Mike Dawson, was a FirstEnergy lobbyist whom the indictment said had received a $10,000 loan from Randazzo a few years earlier.
It’s unclear whether the loan was repaid or whether Laurel Dawson reported it to DeWine. The DeWine aide isn’t speaking publicly.
It’s also unclear whether Laurel Dawson told the governor that her husband participated in an early 2020 text conversation with Randazzo and Dowling. The conversation was included in the bill of particulars filed last week.
The three jokingly discussed rate cases and decoupling — two matters for which prosecutors say Randazzo had by then received multi-million-dollar bribes from FirstEnergy in exchange for doing even more valuable favors for the company.
State prosecutors say that for Randazzo, engaging in the exchange amounted to an improper ex parte conversation. It might have been of interest to DeWine to know that his chief of staff’s lobbyist husband was having such talks with the governor’s PUCO chairman.
According to a witness list reported on Tuesday by the Toledo Blade, prosecutors plan to call both Dawsons to testify at the trial of Randazzo, Dowling and Jones.
Despite the questions surrounding what Laurel Dawson knew about Randazzo and FirstEnergy — and about what she told her boss — she remains on his staff as an advisor, making $182,000 last year.
“The Governor has previously stated on the record at media briefings he has full faith in Ms. Dawson,” Tierney said.
But what did he know?
The indictment of DeWine’s PUCO chairman and the energy executives has an image of notes that Dowling made in late 2018 as FirstEnergy lobbyist Josh Rubin coached him up on how to talk to Gov.-elect DeWine. They warn the FirstEnergy executives not to tell him that they planned to go meet Randazzo just after discussing his appointment at dinner with DeWine and Husted.
Rubin added that DeWine could be cagey.
“Sometimes he knows what you’re talking about,” Dowling wrote in his notes. “Sometimes he doesn’t. Sometimes he does and pretends he doesn’t.”
Tierney was asked if DeWine now is feigning ignorance of the dealings between his administration, his nominee to head the PUCO and FirstEnergy. Tierney replied by saying that some of the players in the scandal have shown a tendency to make questionable statements.
“Throughout the (utility scandal) prosecutions, third parties have made claims which have been self-serving and ultimately not true,” he said. “I will note, however, the state prosecution alleges the defendants deliberately withheld relevant information from the Governor, Lt. Governor, and other government officials.”
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LOVELAND, OHIO – This LOVELAND MAGAZINE TV video features David Miller with Loveland Magazine and Linda Bergholz the Executive Director of the LIFE Food Pantry. It was recorded on April 4, 2024 in the new space the LIFE Food pantry has acquired in Shoppers Haven Shopping Center for a significant expansion. Linda spoke about the need for more space and how it will allow the Pantry to better serve our neighbors in a more dignified way.
The Pantry is currently located in Shoppers Haven at 541 Loveland-Madeira Road, and the new space is next door to Ace Hardware. Clients currently wait extended times outside to be served. The new space will have a waiting room where they can wait their turn with dignity and not wait outside in inclement weather.
If you are interested in volunteering or helping as the expansion moves forward, please reach out – 513.583.8222 or lifefoodpantry@yahoo.com.
Loveland, Ohio – This is how the First Missionary Baptist Church on Main Street was decorated on Easter morning.
Loveland, Ohio – The Breast Cancer Risk Assessment Tool (BCRAT), also known as The Gail Model, that allows health professionals and individuals to estimate a woman’s risk of developing invasive breast cancer over the next five years and up to age 90 (lifetime risk).
The tool uses a woman’s personal medical and reproductive history and the history of breast cancer among her first-degree relatives (mother, sisters, daughters) to estimate absolute breast cancer risk-her chance or probability of developing invasive breast cancer in a defined age interval.
This ONLINE calculator takes about five minutes to complete.
The tool has been validated for White women, Black/African American women, Hispanic women, and for Asian and Pacific Islander women in the United States.
The tool may underestimate risk in Black women with previous biopsies and Hispanic women born outside the United States. Because data on American Indian/Alaska Native women are limited, their risk estimates are partly based on data for White women and may be inaccurate. Further studies are needed to refine and validate these models.
This tool cannot accurately estimate breast cancer risk for:
Although a woman’s risk may be accurately estimated, these predictions do not allow one to say precisely which woman will develop breast cancer. In fact, some women who do not develop breast cancer have higher risk estimates than some women who do develop breast cancer.
This tool cannot accurately estimate breast cancer risk for:
Loveland, Ohio – On June 17, 2021, the Juneteenth National Independence Day Act was signed, officially declaring a federal holiday.
To celebrate Juneteenth this year, Cassie Mattia would like to host local Black owned business leaders at her Table of Discussions.
Please contact Cassie if you might be interested in telling the greater Loveland Area about your business.
Loveland, Ohio – After several unanimous votes, the Loveland City School District Board of Education made decisions to acquire 15.76 acres of land on US-48 near Founders Drive from the Cardinal Land Conservancy. The purchase price is approximately $1.5 million. This is land the Conservancy recently purchased from the Grail. ([EXCLUSIVE FIRST RELEASE] Grailville land acquisition grant awarded to Cardinal Land Conservancy)
In a news release issued by the District, Board President Jonathan Eilert said, “This property is a strategic investment in the future of the Loveland City School District. We feel the property will continue to grow in value, support the development of the Conservancy for the entire Loveland community, and provide unique opportunities for outdoor education for our students.”
In the same release, Andy Dickerson, Executive Director of Cardinal Land Conservancy is quoted as saying, “The sale of this property will provide the revenue needed for the Cardinal Land Conservancy to restore several buildings on the site for public and private use and open the property as a public nature preserve. We envision walking paths, learning gardens, and future partnerships with mental health service providers that will be great resources for local families and nature lovers. We have a proven track record of partnering with school districts on environmental education programs, and we believe this sale will be a win-win for the Conservancy, the school district, and the community.”
According to the District, “The property purchase will not impact the district’s operating budget and will not impact the property tax bills of Loveland City School District residents. The property will be purchased using financing that is supported by the district’s Permanent Improvement fund, which is earmarked specifically for ongoing improvement projects. Operating funds will not be used for the purchase. There will be no impact on funding for student-focused needs like staffing or classroom programming. The district will not be asking for any additional taxpayer funds for this purchase.”
The property will be purchased using “financing” and one vote that the Board made was to seek proposals for the lowest interest rate possible.
The District also said, “This property helps secure the future of Loveland City Schools. Purchasing it will allow us to begin a long, thoughtful conversation with our community about district facilities. Any building project would require public support through a ballot initiative.”
The Permanent Improvement tax is a continuing levy and has no expiration date.
View the Board meetings where the decisions were made.
Discussion starts. (4:40 minute mark)
Two residents speak to support the purchase (2:11 minute mark)
Superintendent speaks about and endorses the property purchase. (27:30 minute mark)
Treasure discusses the Permanent Improvement Fund and debt service of the land acquisition. (1:07:42)
Board goes into Executive Session with Andy Dickerson, Executive Director of Cardinal Land Conservancy to consider the purchase of the property (1:13:40)
Board comes out of Executive Session and votes on the purchase of the Conservancy land and financing the purchase. (2:13:10)
RESOLUTION AUTHORIZING THE CONDITIONAL ACQUISITION AND PURCHASE OF REAL ESTATE PURSUANT TO A PURCHASE AGREEMENT AND AUTHORIZING OTHER MATTERS IN CONNECTION THEREWITH.
WHEREAS, this Board of Education (the “Board of Education”) of the Loveland City School District (the “District”) has identified an opportunity to purchase approximately 16-acres of real estate located on O’Bannonville Road currently owned by Cardinal Land Conservancy Inc. (the “Property”), which real estate, upon acquisition, is intended to be used for public educational purposes;
WHEREAS, this Board of Education is hereby authorized to negotiate and to execute an agreement (the “Purchase Agreement”) with the seller of the Property, which agreement shall set forth the terms and conditions of the purchase and sale of the Property subject to the fulfillment of certain conditions, including, without limitation, due diligence matters and the satisfaction of certain conditions precedent within the Purchase Agreement such as inspections, title matters, a satisfactory survey and appraisal, and obtaining financing enabling the District to purchase the Property (collectively, the “Conditions”);
WHEREAS, this Board of Education desires to proceed with the negotiation, and/or execution of the Purchase Agreement, and to undertake actions necessary to do so;
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED by the Board of Education of the Loveland City School District, Counties of Hamilton, Clermont and Warren, Ohio, that:
RESOLUTION AUTHORIZING THE SCHOOL DISTRICT TO OBTAIN FINANCING FOR THE ACQUISITION AND PURCHASE OF REAL ESTATE AND AUTHORIZING OTHER MATTERS IN CONNECTION THEREWITH.
WHEREAS, this Board of Education (the “Board of Education”) of the Loveland City School District (the “District”) has identified an opportunity to purchase approximately 16-acres of real estate located on O’Bannonville Road currently owned by Cardinal Land Conservancy Inc. (the “Property”), which real estate, upon acquisition, is intended to be used for public educational purposes;
WHEREAS, this Board of Education has entered into an agreement (the “Purchase Agreement”) with the seller of the Property, which agreement sets forth the terms and conditions of the purchase and sale of the Property subject to the fulfillment of certain conditions, including, without limitation, obtaining financing that is satisfactory to the District (the “Financing Condition”);
WHEREAS, this Board of Education desires to proceed with satisfying the Financing Condition set forth in the Purchase Agreement, and to undertake actions necessary to do so;
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED by the Board of Education of the Loveland City School District, Counties of Hamilton, Clermont and Warren, Ohio, that:
