Baby, if you've ever wondered...

I was in the beautiful "Queen City" of Cincinnati late last week for the biennial Indiana/Ohio/Kentucky regional planning conference. I know, sounds like a thrill a minute, but it really was good. The conference sessions were hit or miss, with most geared toward smaller communities. The best was one on redevelopment activities conducted by the University of Cincinnati and its surrounding neighborhoods, five hospitals and a host of community development corps. Makes me wonder what Bloomington would look like if IU got into this kind of development. Also interesting was the keynote address by Thomas Hilton, founder of "Save Our Land, Save Our Towns, Inc." He was just the cheerleader we needed as we left the conference and headed back to work. The worst part of the conference was the fact that the city's historic Fountain Square was all torn up for construction, but that didn't stop us from exploring the city and trying some of its world famous chili.