That's So Cincinnati

With the addition of the Blackburn sisters – Elizabeth and Caroline – to the Bengals’ leadership team, the fourth generation of the Brown family has taken its place in the front office. Enquirer Bengals beat wrtier Kelsey Conway drops into this week’s That’s So Cincinnati podcast to chat with the Blackburns, along with co-host Beryl Love. Find out what was on Elizabeth’s to-do list when she took over as directory of strategy and engagement and what Caroline’s biggest pet peeve is when it comes to working with her sister.

If you asked Cincinnati chef Jose Salazar when he moved to Cincinnati in 2008 from New York City if he'd someday have an eponymous restaurant, two other restaurants, and be spending 90 hours a week opening his brand new Columbia Tusculum bodega, he'd have said no, that's not the plan. But here he is, 14 years later, doing all of that. Loving all of that. Salazar joined The Enquirer's That's So Cincinnati podcast to talk about his new venture, Daylily, the New York-style Bodega he opened in partnership with Deeper Roots Coffee; his sobriety journey; and all things Cincinnati.

As Frank Marzullo celebrates his 15th year as a meteorologist at Fox 19 this month, he shared with The Enquirer where he found his love of weather reporting, how weather technology has changed the profession and just how accurate he thinks the Farmer's Almanac prediction of a cold and snowy winter for Cincinnati this year will be. Marzullo, who grew up in Chagrin Falls, Ohio, said his interest in weather was sparked by a childhood trip to the grocery store with his grandparents. The sky was dark, but there was a rainbow, a funnel cloud and hail. He was curious and then made predicting what would happen his career.

Fritz, the Cincinnati Zoo's new baby hippo, has spent the days since he was born on Aug. 3 at his mom Bibi's side, nursing, swimming and getting used to his surroundings. This week he did something new: He met his world-famous big sister, Fiona. Head hippo handler Wendy Rice tells That's So Cincinnati listeners how it went and so much more about Fritz.

The effort to force  a stadium naming-rights deal between the Cincinnati Bengals and Paycor was so secret it had not one, but two code names.

Internally Paycor called the deal Project SoFi, a nod to the name of the stadium where the Bengals played in the 2022 Super Bowl. Norwood-based Paycor was already a team sponsor, so talking about the Bengals' Super Bowl appearance wouldn't seem out of the ordinary. 

Meanwhile, the Bengals' internal code name for the deal was Project Lightening, a name Elizabeth Blackburn, the team's director of strategy and engagement, came up with. It's a nod to Paycor's competitor, Paycom, which has the naming rights to the NBA's Oklahoma City Thunder Paycom Center. (Get it? Thunder and lightning.) And it references just how quickly the deal came together.

Holmes and Carly Graman, Paycor's marketing and communications manager, revealed the code names and much more about how the deal came together on The Enquirer's "That's So Cincinnati" podcast.

If it's a high-profile national trial, chances are Cincinnati-based veteran courts and crime reporter Angenette Levy is there. 

The Law & Crime network host and correspondent has been on the ground in Wisconsin for the Kyle Rittenhouse, in Virginia for Johnny Depp-Amber Heard and in Minnesota for Derek Chauvin trials in the past year. 

And a big reason why Levy's been there: Courts in those states allow cameras in the court room. 

Levy, the former Local 12 reporter and anchor, is outspoken about the need for federal courts to begin following most state courts and allow cameras in the courtroom.

"It's time," Levy told The Enquirer's "That's So Cincinnati" podcast. "With the technology, we have to evolve and give people a peek into the system."

Here in Cincinnati, the issue of cameras in the courtroom came up amid the recent federal public corruption trial of former city councilman P.G. Sittenfeld. Federal court policy prohibits cameras and all electronic devices in the courtroom for federal trials, something that has frustrated the public and journalists, particularly on high-profile cases.

Levy recalled a recent discussion she had with a federal court source.

"This person said they think it hinders justice and people start performing because they believe they're on a stage and they're playing to the cameras. And maybe a little bit of that is true," Levy said. "But I believe in transparency. Courts should be accessible to everyone. Why are we not getting a peek inside? I think it's silly. People are going to perform whether there's a camera there or not. Court is kind of a theater."

Law & Crime is a digital network that serves a similar purpose as Court TV. Law & Crime live streams high-profile cases on its website and social media platforms. Levy has been with the network since late 2020, and Law & Crime often sends her across the U.S. to provide live reports from trials.  

The network often sends Levy across the nation to provide live reports from the courtroom. Levy was in Florida this week reporting on the trial of the Parkland school shooter. 

Levy cohosts Law & Crime's "Sidebar" daily podcast. She also hosts the local radio show "Simply Medicine" at 2 p.m. on Saturday on 55KRC.

You think you were surprised at everything you heard in the P.G. Sittenfeld trial?

So was the guy who oversaw the public corruption investigation into the former Cincinnati city councilman and other Ohio politicians. And David DeVillers was part of a team of prosecutors who helped convict Saddam Hussein on war crimes and genocide. 

"The biggest thing coming into becoming the U.S. Attorney ... it wasn't the murders and the terrorism and the cartels, it was the corruption that was the biggest surprise for me," DeVillers, the former U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio, told "That's So Cincinnati" podcast.

DeVillers left the U.S. Attorney's office in February 2021 with the change in the White House. But the Columbus resident kept close tabs on the Sittenfeld trial, which ended last week with the Democrat being convicted of bribery and attempted extortion.

DeVillers declined to answer specific questions about the investigation because it overlaps with cases that have not yet come to trial – and he's no longer in office. DeVillers, who in 2020 said Cincinnati City Hall had a "culture of corruption," declined to discuss why the investigation that ultimately led to Sittenfeld's arrest happened.

But DeVillers, originally hired as an assistant federal prosecutor during President George W. Bush's administration, talked about the big picture when it comes to the federal government cracking down on corrupt politicians.

"That's one of the FBI's highest priorities," DeVillers said.

These days, DeVillers is a partner in the Columbus office of national law firm Barnes & Thornburg. He's working as a technical adviser for the producers of the popular Showtime show "Billions," a drama about power and politics. DeVillers also is an adjunct instructor at Ohio State's Moritz College of Law.

Trial attorney Steve Goodin, a former Cincinnati City Councilman, joins "That's So Cincinnati" podcast to provide legal analysis on the public corruption trial of former Councilman P.G. Sittenfeld.

Goodin, of Downtown-based Graydon Law, has been in the courtroom to watch most of the proceedings since the trial began June 21. 

Asked after the prosecution rested its case on Wednesday what he thought the outcome might be, Goodin said: 

“I have thought from the beginning that there was a pretty strong likelihood of him being convicted. I still feel that way after having heard the evidence. It isn’t just some subjective thing. When I look at some of the cases around the country that are most like this case … the (former Gov. Rod) Blagovich trial in Illinois and the (former Gov. Bob) McConnell trial of Virginia – both of which involved what we call these subtle quid pro quos – the jury found them both guilty. 
 
"Juries tend not to like this kind of behavior. There’s something about these fact patterns that to the average person really speak to everything they don’t like about politics. ... 

"I think there’s a strong likelihood he will be convicted on some of the charges, maybe not all. That’s a sad day for the city. That’s a sad day for him."Sittenfeld faces two counts each of attempted extortion, bribery and honest services wire fraud. Closing arguments could begin on Tuesday.