That's So Cincinnati

Nearly six years ago the historic Supreme Court decision in Obergefell v. Hodges – the Obergefell being Cincinnati's own Jim Obergefell – made marriage equality the law in all 50 states.

Obergefell and Cincinnati Civil Rights Attorney Al Gerhardstein, who represented Obergefell, are featured in an episode of the new Netflix documentary, Amend: The Fight for America.

Hosted by actor Will Smith, the series focuses on the 14th Amendment being the hallmark of democracy. On it, Obergefell and Gerhardstein tell the story of how Cincinnati went from being one of the most gay-hostile cities in America to one of the most inclusive. They also tell Obergefell's love story. 

They told The Enquirer's That's So Cincinnati podcast this week, the fight for equality continues.

Melanie Bates isn't backing off her crusade to try to get Cincinnati Public Schools fully reopened this spring, despite criticism from the teachers' union and some parents. 

In fact, the veteran school member is speaking out even more about the need for students to return to the classroom five days a week after the district recently received proficiency test results. 

In an interview with The Enquirer's That's So Cincinnati podcast, Bates said students' proficiency results dropped 17% year over year. In fall 2019, 38% of students were at or above state proficiency, Bates said. But last fall those results dropped to 21%, and Bates attributes the drop off to schools being closed or mostly closed since the outset of the pandemic in March 2020.

"I have two grandchildren in Cincinnati Public Schools," said Bates, the longest-tenured member on the board. "I have a daughter who's a first-grade teacher in another public school district. In conversations, the difference between what that district is providing five days a week to their students and what we are, is just devastating."

"Our children, in many, many cases, are a year behind," Bates added. 

Cincinnati City Councilman Wendell Young has been in politics and public service his whole life, starting by walking his Avondale neighborhood with his dad, who was a Democratic Party precinct executive, when he was a child.

On this week's That's So Cincinnati podcast Young talked about his childhood, his time on Cincinnati City Council, his rocky relationship with Mayor John Cranley and what he thinks about what's been called the a "culture of corruption" at City Hall.

And, to the question, What's going on with the Gang of 5 investigation, Young said he knows only what everyone else does, just that "the investigating is ongoing."

First Amendment attorney Jack Greiner, who represents Cincinnati.com and The Enquirer, joins as special guest. 

You may know Tricia Macke as the dean of Cincinnati evening news anchors. 

But Fox 19's lead anchor leads a busy life off the air. Macke has five children, runs a youth basketball organization and has a strict exercise regimen. And she somehow finds time to share about all of it on social media.

Macke, in her 22nd year as Fox 19's lead anchor, joined The Enquirer's That's So Cincinnati podcast to talk about being with the station since Day 1 of its newscast in 1993; her coaching experiences and sharing her life on social media.

Sports broadcaster Thom Brennaman calculates that he's spoken nearly 190 million words on live television while calling football and basketball games during a 33-year career.

And it was one derogatory and insensitive three-letter word that derailed his promising career and changed his life forever. The latter, the former Reds broadcaster says, has been for the better. 

Six months after using a homophobic slur on air during a Reds broadcast, Brennaman shares what he's learned and how he's grown in an in-depth chat with The Enquirer's That's So Cincinnati podcast. 

Miss Ohio Caroline Grace Williams joins That's So Cincinnati podcast to talk about how she got interested in pageants while at Miami University; talking with Gov. Mike DeWine about improving 911 communications; teaching people how to use their smartphones in emergencies; and life in small-town Ohio. 

Also on this week's That's So Cincinnati episode, co-hosts Sharon Coolidge and Jason Williams discuss the 2022 race to succeed Greater Cincinnati Republican Rob Portman in the U.S. Senate.

New Hamilton County Sheriff Charmaine McGuffey really missed the department during her nearly four years out of uniform. 

The 33-year law enforcement veteran missed many of her old coworkers. She missed putting on the black-and-gold uniform each day. And she missed the jail inmates. 

Wait. What?

Any doubt there's a new sheriff in town? Certainly the county's previous two sheriffs – Jim Neil and Si Leis – would've never said that.

But McGuffey, who spent several years overseeing the county jail, has brought a fresh approach to the office – and that includes treating inmates with a balance of tough love and dignity. 

McGuffey – one of the first openly LGBTQ sheriff's in the U.S. and the first woman elected to the position in Hamilton County – explained her approach to the job during an in-depth discussion this week with The Enquirer's That's So Cincinnati podcast. 

"The bulk of my experience has been inside this jail," McGuffey said. "I walked in here in my early 20s. Unfortunately, some of the prisoners that I knew back then, I still know now. They're still coming back. The thing that worries me is: why?"

McGuffey continued: "There are boundaries that you set as an officer. You are the authority. But in general, you get to know people. You get to know their circumstances, and you can certainly understand why they're where they are. And the other piece of this is: appreciate them. I appreciate their senses of humor. I appreciate their life experiences. So yeah, I missed the prisoners."

McGuffey talked about criminal justice reform on the campaign last year, and the 62-year-old West Side native has wasted no time following through on that promise during her first month on the job. Case in point: She's investing in inmate care. 

And unlike some of her predecessors, McGuffey isn't going to complain constantly about jail overcrowding. Nor will she push for a new county jail. 

Here's what McGuffey said about improving inmates' lives in the jail: 

This county does not need a new jail. We can fix the one we have. We just need to get in there and do it. There's hard things to do. We need to find alternatives in the way of community corrections for low-level offenders. We're working on things like improving the food. Just today we created an addition to the policy for prisoners who are in medical and mental health units that they get good linens. I mean sheets and a blanket that's very clean (and) in good shape. 

Those are small things. But those are things that improve people's lives, and when they walk out the door, they're a lot less likely to re-offend when we get them healthy and whole again. It's treating people with dignity so that when they walk out of there they feel confident enough to seek help.

To anyone who may criticize her approach as too soft, McGuffey said: 

I'm not pie-in-the-sky. I am very law and order. I'm very rooted in reality, I promise you that. The years in the jail, they make you know that reality is real. But I believe we can do so much better.

I would say to those people, "Please remember, those inmates are getting out of jail. At some point in time, they will walk back into your neighborhood. And would you rather have them be more enlightened; perhaps have a different frame of mind; perhaps feel enfranchised enough to join the community and say, 'Hey I want to do well?' " 

The way to do that is build them that way. Not create a situation where all you're doing is punishing them day to day to day. You just can't do that with people and build up self-esteem. That's part of reform. Let's change the mindset. 

Liz Keating grew up sitting at her grandparents' kitchen table listening to her Cincinnati-famous grandfather tell stories about his honorable career law, politics and journalism.

She loved both fields, but saw her career someday going a different route.

Nearly a year ago, however, Liz Keating had a change of heart and started thinking that she'd like to do a job the late Bill Keating once did – serve on Cincinnati City Council. 

Liz Keating didn't realize it'd happen this soon, but the 37-year-old Hyde Park Republican now finds herself as the newest member of council. She recently was appointed to fill another open seat after a rash of corruption-related arrests have reshaped the city's governing body over the past 10 months.

"I can sit around and complain about everything going on," Keating told The Enquirer's That's So Cincinnati podcast. "Or I can go be part of that change. And I decided ... I can't sit around and wait any longer."

In a wide-ranging podcast interview, Keating talked about her evolution from wanting to do a behind-the-scenes job in government and politics to being a politician. 

And she told stories about her late grandfather and the impact he had on her life – from his legacy as a top competitive swimmer to his time in politics in the 1960s and 1970s as a congressman, councilman and local judge to a career as Enquirer publisher and Gannett newspaper executive in the 1980s and early 1990s. 

Keating's full podcast interview can be heard for free by clicking the link at the top of the article. That's So Cincinnati is also available for free on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, iHeart Radio and other major listening platforms. Keating's interview begins at the 13:40 mark in the episode.

Interest in City Council

I was a political science major. I always wanted to go work behind the scenes (in politics and government). I am a policy nerd. It's a way you can impact change in the community. I am more of a quiet, shy person, so being out in the spotlight is not always my strength. I'm going to have to learn that now being a politician. My dream was always to go out in the business world, get real-world experience and then later on move behind the scenes. 

I've been watching, and there really haven't been a lot of candidates who have inspired me and my values match theirs to want to go work for. In the past year, as things have changed and opportunities have come up, I've started to look at myself in a different light and think, 'You know, maybe I should try to be that person to go put myself out there and run for office and try to make a change.' 

Focus on basic government services

Keating says budget issues and basic services such as public safety and garbage collection will be her priorities. Her brother is a Cincinnati police officer, so Keating is familiar with the largest department in the city. 

Lets get back to the basics of what council is meant to do and serving the people. Stop getting distracted with all these silly fights, because it's not moving the needle on anything that actually has meaning to everybody else in the city. 

Passion for her hometown

Keating went to UCLA, where she was co-captain of the swim team. It was never in question where she was going to live after college – Cincinnati. Some 25 of Bill Keating's 28 grand children live in Greater Cincinnati. 

When I left for college, I had to promise my dad that I'd move back home. So I fulfilled that promise. That's a very Cincinnati thing. The moment I stepped outside that 275 loop, I was all Cincinnati, all the way.  Every person I ever met out in California knew that I was from Cincinnati and Cincinnati is the greatest city on earth. And still to this day, I have college teammates and friends, they don't call me Liz. They call me "Cincinnati."

Talking journalism with grandpa

Keating lived with her grandparents after moving home from Los Angeles. Her grandfather, who retired from his newspaper career in 1992, still read a half-dozen print newspaper each morning. 

Every morning, we'd sit there and read them and discuss. ... What was most important to him was the lead story and how that impacted the community and what was gong on in the minds of people around him. 

He always talked about how critical it was to have (journalists) follow politicians and have them follow the stories, especially the local news stories. What you guys do was so important to him. That really keeps a pulse on what's happening in the community.

It also holds the politicians and the leaders accountable. He always thought that was so important. 

Long-time Cincinnati weatherman Steve Raleigh can quickly recall the exact dates of the two biggest storms he's encountered in life. 

• March 2, 2012, when a rash of tornadoes killed more than 20 people across Southwest Ohio, Northern Kentucky and Southeast Indiana.

• Jan. 17, 2019, when Raleigh's 24-year-old daughter, Madison, committed suicide after battling addiction and mental illness.

As Raleigh still track's storms weekdays for WCPO-TV, he's also taken on another job – launching a nonprofit organization to help men and women struggling with addiction and mental illness. 

It's called Madi's House, located 5081 Glenncrossing Way. And Raleigh told The Enquirer's That's So Cincinnati podcast that there's big things coming as soon as the organization is working on expanding to reach more people in need. 

Raleigh, Channel 9's chief meteorologist since 2005, opened up about his daughter's struggles and the hope Madi's House is offering to those in need. Here's part of his interview on this week's That's So Cincinnati episode: 

Almost two years ago, my wife and I lost our daughter. She fought the battle of addiction and some mental health issues. It had been going on for quite a number of years, 10 to 12 years. Took her own life. At that point, my wife came out with a statement at the memorial service: "We are going to war against these two factions." As a family, we decided to set up something that would help. 

What I like to call a moment of clarity from my daughter was something that she said to us: "I just wish I had somewhere to hang out." There were times when she was ready to go forward, and she had nowhere to go. Quite frankly, she couldn't fall back to the people she had been with. She really couldn't find any new friends. There was a certain stigma associated with the problem she was having. And she was basically hanging out with my wife and I. That's no fun for a 24-year-old. 

Madi's House is really a recovery and mental health community center. There are some games, like video games. There's some art family. There's music. There's fitness. We also have AA and NA meetings. 

(Madi's House has been open) Friday, Saturday and Sunday since Thanksgiving. We feel very good about this going forward. We're hopefully going to be the model for other communities that can take this and move it into their city. We really are a place to create community, and that's what's not (been) happening. 

I'm not at liberty to say where we're going next, but I do believe shortly we're going to have an announcement to expand Madi's House in a really significant way. We'd like to make it more accessible for everybody. 

To learn more about Madi's House, go to madishousecincy.org.