Don't want to be an American.
Welcome to We got lots going on this morning in scottslone show on seven hundred W WELW.
I don't have to tell you.
The government's reopened and we've got Epstein files to talk about. In just so much more, a little closer to home, Cincinnati proposing a stricter nine to five curfew for miners under eighteen on short Fine. We're talking about this yesterday with other council members, so short Finding, you see, and it's gonna be a think between Daniel Street and Corey and it moved out of committee and now Consul's a
whole vote for this thing. And so the idea is we have crime that since they've been cracking down on Fountain Square in downtown and OTR that we're seeing juveniles in particular move towards short Vine. And of course we had a fifteen year old charge with murder in April. Remember the shooting outside of the liquor store Halloween weekend. There was gunfly fire and a bunch of tons of UC students out there in costume enjoying the fun of
Halloween weekend that was upset by gunfire. Fortunately, no one was struck there and so we're going to try another curfew here of many curfews. She is counselmer reelect Meka Owhen's joining the show this morning on seven hundred WW Mika, welcome back and congratulations.
By the way, thank you, Scott.
I am very happy to do that your listeners and the voters of this city and trusting me to get back to work in the city Hall. There's so much for us to do. Safety is at the top of the list, uh, you know, and no one moves to a city where they don't feel safe until it's important that we make sure that every single neighborhood feels that way. So building more housing, transportations, so many things for us to accomplish.
Were you surprised do you finish third? Overall?
You know, I never take anything for granted. You know, you run a race, and you run at this it's your first time running, and so I am just grateful that again, folks, you know, decided that the work that I've been doing is valuable to moving this city forward. And at the end of the day, you know, it's like the placement is great, but for voters to say yes, I want you to represent me, represents the city at large.
That is a huge responsibility, and so it's really about getting back and doing their work.
Good, good, good.
I want to name recognition obviously, but finishing third and ahead of another bunch of other prominent Democrats is pretty big final point on the election because this is obviously concerning as well. We know that the Charter Rights three is a Democratic sweep on council. Democrats had a great night like yourself on Tuesday election night, but relative to the Charter Rights who made a lot of noise, and I think they made some really strong arguments about getting
serious about public safety. And even though they didn't place and it was a sweep, do you still listen to that and go, well, you know what, there's a lot of animosity here and we've handled things poorly relative to crime here in Cincinnati. Do you get a message from the voters on that, you know?
I would say the voters have entrusted and have looked to the city's budget to understand that we are investing in public safety and it's a continual investment, and so I think voters see that we are taking that seriously and crime. Getting a handle on crime takes a lot of components, one of which your CPD you know, environment improves, improved communities, investments in communities, young people having opportunities. These
are all factors. But certainly the way that we respond and give the resources to CPD uh and the laws and policies that we would create around that are also very very important.
Yeah, and then that's the outlart too, is we have to wait for all these police recruits and classes to come to fruition before we see the fruits of that. So it's going to be a while before all this happens, and we're still going to have, sadly some crime going on.
I mentioned what's going in and around you.
Ce Mika Owens, one of the people who were interviewed out there, said, hey, listen, now we put a curfew up here, the crowd comes up, Well, they'll just move somewhere else. Are we just playing like whack a mole with this problem?
You know, I don't think we're playing black them all. I think we're being very responsive. And certainly, again, you know, you apply the resources where you see there might be problems, and at the end of the day, and it's so important that our young people feel safe. Those that are you know, going to uce to to further their education. No one should live in an environment where gunshots become the norm, and so it's it's all hands on deck.
You know, we're knowing that that folks are stilling done out of vehicles, and so it's important that people keep their firearms stored properly in the city of Cincinnati, including in your home and in the car. So it's you know, it's something that we're not taking our foot off to deat.
Well, not only that, I mean, let's talk about this from a consumer spurtsvactive here. We know the trouble that colleges are going through. The bubble feels like it is deflating and sometimes rapidly the value of a college degree for what you pay for worse as you get that's a can But as we have fewer students and schools, some schools going out of business, let's put it that way. We're seeing that across the country, if not in Ohio.
Now we all of a sudden, you know, we have schools that are vying going to be vying shortly for kids to come there. If crime is a huge factor in and around universitys, Cincinnati does that hurt enrollment. Is that a concern of the administration you see be the city.
Well, I'm not talked directly to see it administration, but certainly if you know any time that again, people perception of safety is not one that is positive. And certainly people will make decisions on where they go, where they invest their money, where they send their young people to school, and so absolutely from not only a community perspective, but
from a talent perspective as well. And so when we as not only a state but a city, are competing with other places, it's important that you know, young people feel like they can come to Cincinnati, get an education, and ultimately stay here as well.
Yeah, Mika Owens.
With the problems you have with this, of course, is that this is going to crack down on teenagers, those under eighteen and short vindor you see from nine to five it's gonna be nine to five curfew. Other In fact, we have all these staggered curf kind of like parking. You know, the different parking zones across the city. I can figure that with an app but in one area
I can be eighteen and it's eleven o'clock. Here it's nine o'clock here, it's that can be kind of confusing relative to enforcement, But the more important element is the fact that you're now restricting eighteen year olds around a whole bunch of other eighteen year olds are going to be there. The bulk of those go to UC or any college for that matter, and the eighteen to twenty year old range. How do you discern the people who
should be there versus the ones that should no? Or does this simply stop people from going out after nine o'clock in a college campus and generally going to school?
Myself, I remember the days, you know.
You'd stay up till three, four, five o'clock in the morning sometimes because the way your body clock works. How is that going to work with these students that are out spending money and joining their lives versus those who shouldn't be there.
Yeah, certainly, I think this is going to be something that CPD and you see are going to have to work out through our shirt MoU. But ultimately, again, it's about making this environment safe, which, by the way, I'm sure you're aware that you know, Chief Isaac, the chief of DC suggested that this was a good step forward as well, and so you know, we're taking in all of the information and data, and you know, the city
the administration is not making just decisions and silos. But you know, listening to CPD is important in this as well. But ultimately, you know this is going to take business owners. You see CPD young people communication to make sure that people are safe, but also making sure that there are
no unintended consequences. And you know, as it relates to business owners, I too, you know I went to Miami and so uptown, yes was that place that you you went on on the weekends and patronized businesses And so ultimately we want to make sure that our businesses are not suffering. And so this will again be the continued
part of the conversation. And I certainly am invested in working with the administration on these things, including our food trucks right, making sure that food trucks even looking at you know, where they might be able to be so that they can continue to gain business and people, you know, will patronize our small businesses.
Do you agree with the eleven o'clock food truck band?
Again, I think it was a response to what the administration and TGD saw with the fight that happened. You know, people congregating at three o'clock in the morning around food trucks is not the best idea, and so I think having something that is more consistent, something that also helps to create more of an economic, you know, development opportunity.
When we think about food trucks that want are certified, you have the health certification, you're doing all the right things, you have a place to do business, and the city is creating a foundation for that. I think these are all things that are part of the tools and so again I think what's important is that we're not doing these things blanketly, but also making sure that we are coming back and reviewing what are any unintended consequences and how might we create solutions around that.
I'll be honest with the MECO.
And it feels punitive to me as a business owner in that, you know, I'm out there selling a product to people I don't know their background. I had a new background checks when somebody buys a hot dog, nor should you. And then because of some few bad actors, I have to shut down eleven o'clock when I could be making pretty good money. And let's face it, I don't know what the options are. Clifton at midnight or one o'clock or two o'clock in the morning when the
bar's closed. But I know, as you went to Miami, there's a lot of windows, says, food trucks up there now, robots and everything else. And so you know, you can get food on the campus of Miami. That's a little different that you see. But the point is there's a market there for that, and someone created a business and
models satisfy that. It's kind of like going, hey, you know what, we had a problem with people stealing cars, are driving the recklessly on the street to downtown Cincinnati, which we see all the time now with the sheriff or the State Highway Patrol helicopters.
You know what we're gonna do. We're having a curfew now.
You can't drive on the streets after eleven o'clock because some people are driving too fast.
Isn't it the same thing?
Yeah, well, you know, I certainly hear that from members of the community, and so I think our best response right now is to one create an environment that build states, you know, create a baseline for even understanding the economic impacts to our small businesses, our food trucks specifically, and so by way of you know, really creating an environment where we know where people are, you know, how to
get a spot. All of those things help to really shape an environment that's probably an improvement and where we are now. But again, I am very committed to working with the administration to make sure that their solutions rather than you know, people thinking they are obstacles orthdencies. So it is something that I again I am hearing and it's something that is a priority for me to follow up on.
Council memorial Coltlock Mika Owens on the show on seven hundred WLWN talking about the curfew proposal. Downtown Law and Public Safety voted on this. It moved out of committee to Council as a whole. Now they'll vote equal, will vote on this shortly to propose as a nine to five curfew on short find. You see, because of the problems they had there, we saw some of the violent crime move from Fountain Square OTR and downtown to Clifton and that's a no go because we saw what happened
on Halloween. We saw a fatal shooting back in April, and it's not good when you have college students around and you know, mom and dad foot the bill or you're you're taking out a lot of money for college education. Public safety at this level should not be concern and yet it is because of the nature of the urban campus. And we're talking about that vote coming up here on the show on seven hundred WLW. Back to the curfew itself, because we had the curfews, downtown, city wide curfew, the
curfew of the banks. We've got this curfew you have the same time. We've been doing this since what August, So it's a fairly okay sample size, I think, and now that summer's over. But we have the curfew centers where we'll take teams and drop them off, and there's only been four teams taken the queue for curfew center downtown. Is that because do you think the terms is working or is it simply because it's under enforced.
I think it's working, and so which is a good thing. We certainly don't want to see a curf youth center filled with young people, and so I think people are being compliant and that is what that is what's important here. And so you know again and the curfew center being a place that if one has to go there there are services and support systems that that will help to not only get people to young people to back home,
but also additional resources that maybe needed. So I think we're turning in a good direction right now, and again I think that's because of the partners that have helped to communicate her few boundaries and expectations, and so I think we'll have to continue to do that and continue to again and monitor what is the success and products that we're making here.
I'll point out, Mika that if you go back to one of the two big events, the shooting and the gun play over Halloween weekend, but the one in April or the fifteen year old charged with murdering I think the man name is Kyle Merrick, and a horrific crime at that. If you witness the street crime, it's absolutely depraved that at the time of day that happened that wouldn't have been prevented by a curfew. So is this a time of day issue or is this more of
a youth violence issue? And if so, that's greater than a curfew.
I think it's both. It's important to know that young people, if they're supposed to be in school, that they are in school. For one, it's important and that takes you know, the village. This is that that helps support young people, the environment, but there is also a need that within the conversation of safe to young people, we've got to provide more hope and options and opportunity for young people. And so again, if young people one, they should be
in school, it's a s full age. And also what kind of skills and training and opportunities and resources and outlets do we have for young people, which is why you know, coming back into city Hall, this is such a priority for me. Uh. You know, one, there are lots of games on the streets where young people have access to and so that becomes an issue as well.
But it's one that the city has to be in partnership with the state, has to be in partnership with the federal government to really get a handle on this. Of course, supporting the constitution absolutely, but young people have access to fire arms and is not good for our community. It's not good for policing. And this is also part of you know, what makes officers safe to do this job. So when we think about recruiting people, you know, this
is a part of that. And so we have to make sure that this job that people feel safe doing this job. We have to make sure that young people are in the right places, and so it's going to take Again. This is just you know, a continued conversation, and these are actually things that I am looking at as well, in from good timers.
Gay gotcha.
Finally, I live in Warren County and we had the other day an incident there where an individual was driving was rush hour traffic. He passed somebody. They took offense to it. The guy comes after him, chases him, he takes off anyway, long story, shirt dude pulls out a gun and puts I think a round in the back, which car fires around at him. And the end result was this individual shot was stopped by the State Highway Patrol because somebody called it a nine to one one
where he went to Warren County jail. He's being held on a five hundred thousand dollars bound half a million dollar bond for that. I don't know what his history is, but I look at that in Warren County people a weren't County aren't going to say for that nonsense. I look at Hamlin County though. These are youthful offenders with guns and they're released sometimes in their own recognizance extremely little bond, and I think that just encourages more of
the same behavior. What message can you get to judges to start going, hey, you know what, Warren Butler, Claremont County, they don't mess around when somebody is involved with a gun crime. And if you have a gun at your disability, god help you. We should be throwing the book at you. From a federal perspective, that's a strong message to these individuals. But yet it feels like they're being treated with kid gloves. Why and what role do you have as a counsel person to make that change if needed?
Yeah, no, you're pointing out that there is you know, this is a three sixty issue and so that means the courts have to respond as well. And I absolutely agree that someone who is a violent offender been convicted of the selonies and should not own a firearm. You know, those are reasons tonot have someone back on the street. So I think it's important that that that we won are are sentencing in the in the right way bonds And I'm not an attorney, but whatever the maximum should be,
then that's what it should be. But also let's make sure we're creating as it relates to juveniles, we're creating more of the upstroom opportunity to say one, not only okay, you shouldn't be with a you know, a llegal firearm on the street, but also let's make sure we are moving people into more of a productive place in their lives. And so certainly this takes the court system to be a part of that.
All right, how are you going to vote on that?
You know today is we'll see what happens this afternoon. But I am certainly someone who is supporting public safety initiatives. We're listening to CPD on these things as well. Uh. And so I want to make sure that we as a city are responding in all of the appropriate ways that to keep our community safe, make game people feel safe, all of us showing that we can walk down M Street in the city of Cincinnati and not be alarmed by gunshots or violent crime. Uh. And so this is us,
you know, again, showing up. But also it doesn't stop there. It is uh, you know, what might we need to do to improve going forward? And say those are the questions that remains.
Okay, so well, if those questions are answered, you say yes on us.
Yeah, okay, got it.
I don't see reasons to not support this.
Council Member Mika Owens appreciate the time, as always, answered, Hip and I congratulations again on the big win.
Thank you so much. I'm looking forward to getting back to work for sure.
All right, let's go, let's go, all right, Thanks, take care.
We got to get a news update in and more to follow on this, and of course we'll dive into the Epstein file dump just ahead here on the Scott's Loan Show, seven hundred w