That's So Cincinnati

When Sheree Paolello signed a contract to be a reporter at WLWT-TV News 5 she saw Cincinnati as a stepping stone to a bigger market like Chicago or New York.

But that contract became two contracts. Then an offer to anchor came along.

So she stayed.

This month marks her 20th anniversary at WLWT. Paolello told The Enquirer's "That's So Cincinnati" podcast there's no other place she'd rather report the news.

Paolello grew up in St. Leon, in Dearborn County. She graduated from Northern Kentucky University and went on to be a crime reporter in South Bend, Indiana, Dayton and Charlotte before coming to Cincinnati.

A mother of three, Paolello found the love of her life, Mike Dardis, in the anchor chair right next to where she sits. They celebrated their third wedding anniversary a few weeks ago.

Looking back, Paolello said the big stories that resonate with viewers are, of course, the stories she remembers too. She reported live from Fountain Square in 2018 when a gunman killed three and wounded two others in the lobby of Fifth Third's headquarters. 

She covered the 2006 saga of Marcus Fiesel, a 3-year-old child who was falsely reported missing, but whose foster parents killed him.

Paolello knows her job can look glamorous, but the truth, she says, is that it usually isn't.

"When you're a young reporter," Paolello said, "I don't think you realize the gravity of the job. ... And then you meet people on the worst day of their life. And what I always say to rookie reporters and to journalism school interns, I'll say to them, 'The day you lose your compassion is the day you need to get out of this business because it a day story for us is most of the time a life-changing moment for other people."

To deal with the toughest stories she relied on Dardis' strength as her partner and the advice a priest gave her many years ago.

He told her to be compassionate and do her job the best she can, in the most compassionate way possible.

Then Dardis suggested that every night, on the way home, Paolello say a prayer for the people she's reported on.

"And that is kind of how I've gotten through it," Paolello said. "I have been doing this job for over 25 years, 20 here in Cincinnati. And that's what I do. I say a prayer for the parents whose kids were killed in a car crash or the father who lost their wife to cold blood or whatever it is.

"I try to just make it be part of my routine."

Western & Southern Financial Group top executive John Barrett joins "That's So Cincinnati" and discusses his big, bold idea to potentially build a new Downtown arena.

FC Cincinnati co-CEO Jeff Berding joins to discuss the crunch-time decision to sign the agreement with FIFA in order for Cincinnati to move forward with its 2026 World Cup bid.

Khisha Asubuhi came to Cincinnati to coach basketball in 2003 and soon noticed Southwest Ohio's strong pride in its private, Catholic high schools.

Where's the love for the city, suburban and rural public schools, she wondered?

It was a thought that eventually led to the best-selling T-shirt at Originalitees, an apparel shop that Asubuhi opened in 2009.

She told the story behind the "Product of Public Schools" apparel as this week's guest on The Enquirer's "That's So Cincinnati" podcast.

Asubuhi, a Columbus native, played basketball at Cincinnati State and Indiana University. She returned to Cincinnati in 2003 to be an assistant coach at Cincinnati State.

After nearly 17 years working at the post office, Asubuhi opened Originalitees as an online-only shop. In 2020, Originalitees opened a storefront at 2809 Woodburn Ave., East Walnut Hills.

Originalitees is among a handful of T-shirt shops selling local- and state-themed apparel that have opened and been successful over the past decade or so.

The store has partnerships with the Reds and FC Cincinnati. Originalitees has designed an exclusive T-shirt that's part of the ticket package for Friday's African American Community Night game at Great American Ball Park. Originalitees also saw strong sales of its Bengals-themed T-shirts and sweatshirts amid the Super Bowl run this year.

Asubuhi explained why there's been a boom in such shops, not only in Cincinnati but nationwide.

Jean-Robert de Cavel is never far from a kitchen – whether it's at his restaurant Le Bar a Boeuf or at home with his wife and daughter.

And at 60, he told The Enquirer's "That's So Cincinnati" podcast, not even cancer will stop him. Jean-Robert said he remains in chemotherapy after first being diagnosed in 2018 with leiomyosarcoma, a soft tissue cancer.

“I will never be cured," Jean-Robert said. "I just have to be strong. I keep very positive. My medical team says, ‘Keep doing what you’re doing because it’s working.’ Never, ever give up.”

The Cincinnati USA Regional Chamber named Jean-Robert as a Great Living Cincinnatian in the 2021 class. In addition to Le Bar a Boeuf in East Walnut Hills, Jean-Robert owns French Crust Café and Bistro, in Over-the-Rhine by Findlay Market.

Jean-Robert came to Cincinnati in 1993 when he was 32 to work at The Maisonette, the city's only Mobil 5-star-rated restaurant. In the interview, he talked about starting his own fine dining restaurant – Jean-Robert at Pigall's and his subsequent restaurants, which he always started when he was looking for a new challenge.

Asked to pick a favorite, Jean-Robert talked wistfully about Table, which was located at Seventh and Vine streets. Table closed in December 2020 because the owner sold the building.

"You could come on a Monday night and have a casual dinner and come back and dress up on Saturday night and celebrate," Jean-Robert said. "Table is definitely a love affair, and it is sad what happened."

Jean-Robert has said he wants to find a new space for Table, but the COVID-19 pandemic slowed the process. 

He told "That's So Cincinnati" that he looked at sites to potentially open a new restaurant eight months ago. But he decided not to continue to pursue it partly because of the financial challenges that the pandemic has had on the restaurant industry.

Jean-Robert currently has no immediate plans to open a new restaurant, but said: “Opening a new restaurant is always on my mind.”

Pete Rose, who sees himself as an ambassador for the Cincinnati Reds, is defending team owner Bob Castellini amid the club getting off to one of the worst starts in Major League Baseball history. 

But baseball's all-time hits leader says he's doesn't blame Reds fans for being upset and wearing bags over their heads calling on Castellini to sell the team.

"If I'm managing the Reds and I get off to a 3-22 start, I'm going to wear a bag over my head because I'm embarrassed," Rose told The Enquirer's "That's So Cincinnati" podcast.

"I'm a Cincinnati fan," said Rose, the former Reds player and manager. "I do not want to hear the word 'develop.' You can't tell your season-ticket holders you have a three- or four-year plan. Because you know what they'll say? 'OK, I'll see you in three or four years. Let me know when you're ready to entertain me, and I'll come back to the ballpark.' " 

Rose was asked what he thought of the comments that Reds executive Phil Castellini made on Opening Day. The owner's son brushed off some fans' demands that the team be sold by saying: "Where you gonna go?"

"Baseball will never – never – leave Cincinnati, Ohio," Rose said. "So anybody out there worried about (the team moving) because of the ownership, go back to sleep and wake up on the other side of the bed. That's not going to happen."

Phil Castellini has apologized for the comments, but fan backlash continues as the Reds have gotten off to one of the worst starts in Major League Baseball history. 

Rose, 81, permanently banned from baseball for gambling, has had a good relationship with Bob Castellini since he bought the team in 2006. The Reds have received permission multiple times from Major League Baseball to include Rose in reunion events.

Rose called Castellini, 80, a "great guy" and "great Cincinnatian." 

Asked whether he thinks Castellini should sell the team, Rose said: "I'm just speaking for myself. I'm not speaking about anything I've heard. I don't think Mr. Castellini is making big-time decisions with the Cincinnati Reds. He is the owner. He wants the team to do well. He's a rich man. He's done wonders for Cincinnati with the produce company over the years. I don't think he wants to sell the team. And I know if he sold the team, he'd probably make a stipulation that you can't move the team. 

Rose later added: "The bottom line in sports is the players have to produce. It's not (Manager) David Bell's fault. ... A manager is only as good as his player." 

Rose, who lives in Las Vegas, is scheduled to be in Cincinnati for a celebrity roast at Hard Rock Casino on June 11. The 81-year-old Cincinnati native continues to travel the nation for autograph-signing events and speaking engagements. He not only keeps close tabs on the Reds, but also the Bengals and UC Bearcats. 

Rose loves Joe Burrow, and believes the Bengals' Super Bowl loss will help the team improve.

Said Rose: "I was happy that they lost. Let me explain that. I wasn't happy for the city. But sometimes, when you're that good that young and you win, it ruins you for the future. You get complacent. Now they probably can't wait to get back there."

Cincinnati is the epicenter of football with the Bengals coming off the Super Bowl appearance and the Bearcats playing in the College Football Playoff. But Rose doesn't want people to forget about the Reds' history as the oldest franchise in baseball.

"Cincinnati will always be a baseball town," Rose said.

It's been a busy few months for the MadTree Brewing. 

One of Cincinnati's most successful craft beer breweries has taken on challenges like never before – opening its first full-service restaurant and jumping into the hard seltzer game.

MadTree marketing manager Trevor Self joined The Enquirer's "That's So Cincinnati" podcast to offer a behind-the-scenes look at why the Oakley-based company decided to open Alcove restaurant in Over-the-Rhine and launch a line of vodka soda called "Sway."

MadTree, founded in 2013, held off on branching out beyond beer making, even as competitors started making seltzers and hard lemonades. Find out how MadTree expects "Sway" to expand its popular brand.

Ohio lawmaker Jean Schmidt talks in-depth about why she's leading the way on House Bill 616. The Clermont County Republican also talks about her return to politics, changing her stance on the death penalty, mentoring women struggling with substance abuse and marathon running.

Former Ohio Gov. Bob Taft, a member of one of the great political dynasties in American history, questioned whether he could even get elected in today's hyperpartisan political climate.

In a rare interview these days, the 80-year-old Republican told The Enquirer's "That's So Cincinnati" podcast that he'd be known as a "RINO" – Republican in Name Only – if he were still in politics.

"I'm not sure there's much of a center-right ... on the Republican side," Taft said. "It could be a big challenge for someone like me to get elected as a Republican. There's no middle lane out there."

Addressing the partisan extremes on both sides, Taft said: "It's like (the parties) don't want to allow the other side to have any victories that would help the other side get reelected. It's not healthy for democracy. It's not good for the country."

Teresa Theetge comes from a big West Side police family.

Her father was a Cincinnati Police captain. Two of Theetge's uncles were high-ranking officers in the department. Four of her seven siblings became officers at various local departments. Her son is a Boone County Sheriff's Office deputy.

Even her 10-year-old grandson – one of eight grandchildren – told her if a career in Major League Baseball doesn't work out, he wants to be an officer, too.

So when Cincinnati interim City Manager John Curp appointed Theetge as the city's interim police chief on Feb. 16, Theetge had plenty of advisors at the ready.

"As soon as it was public knowledge that I was interim, two of my mentors who are now retired, told me, 'Take the interim off, because you're the chief. You own it. You know, the buck stops with you,' " Theetge told The Enquirer's "That's So Cincinnati" podcast.