The College Hill Business Association cordially invites you to their annual business dinner meeting on Tuesday, April 18. Call Karen Hartman at 513-681- 5648 ASAP to reserve your dinner.

We have the honor of having two guest speakers this year: Steve Love, President of the African American Chamber of Commerce, and Roland Randolph, the founder and owner of Simone’s Restaurant. Each will share what he has learned and experienced in operating a business in today’s market.

The meeting is at the Twin Towers Gulden Center. Greetings & Appetizers at 6:00 pm; Dinner at 6:30 pm (cost is $20 which can be deducted from the cost of a new membership); Program at 7:00 pm. If you cannot come for dinner, join us for the program at no cost to you.

Spring means it’s time for the annual College Hill Clean-Up, sponsored by the College Hill Forum and Keep Cincinnati Beautiful.

Lend the community a helping hand. Join us in cleaning and beautifying our neighborhood streets and green spaces. Bring a neighbor or a friend; bring a rake, broom or shovel, or just bring yourself--we’ll supply the trash bags and gloves.. The City of Cincinnati will dispose of all the litter we collect. If litter removal isn't your thing, we have plenty of opportunities to beautify the traffic islands and streetscape planters with the College Hill Gardeners.

Even if you plan to tackle your own street clean-up or beautification, please stop by the meeting location to be counted as part of the clean-up and enjoy a treat!

Volunteers will enjoy free breakfast before and pizza after the event. T-shirts and prizes too!

That's Saturday, April 22, from 9:00 am to noon, meeting at the corner of Hamilton & Llanfair near the community sign. Questions? Contact Kathryn Kien (513-542-4892, kien@fuse.net).

The College Hill Community Urban Redevelopment Corporation (CHCURC) is on a roll with many projects underway and more being added. Some of these you probably recall; others are brand new. Most of the projects benefit the business district, which will also serve to upgrade residential property values in the neighborhood.

• In the first phase of the Linden Park development at Hamilton & North Bend, Developer Al Neyer, Inc. has scheduled demolition of the old Shuller's restaurant to begin this summer and ground breaking for a mixed use housing and retail development on that site to begin this fall.
• Our new streetscape in the business district has been in place for over a year and it’s already time to re-plant the planters.
• The camera project continues to monitor activity in the business district and has helped solve several crimes.
• Businesses are taking advantage of the Façade Improvement Program, which provides 50/50 matching funds for upgrades to the fronts of their buildings (it is not too late to apply; contact Marty Weldishofer at 513-681-4205).
• The preliminary designs for the Gateway Project at the North and South boundaries of the business district were shared with College Hill Community Leaders and stakeholders for feedback on April 6.
• The City has allocated funds toward creating an outdoor “Commons” tentatively planned for the corner of Llanfair & Hamilton Ave. CHCURC needs your ideas by May 10 for the uses you can imagine it having. (See here.)
• CHCURC continues fundraising efforts for College Hill development by hosting events, selling books about the history of College Hill, grant writing and much more. CHCURC also benefits from funds raised for development by our other community organizations such as the Forum, the Gardeners and the Business Association.
• The latest initiative on CHCURC’s table is a proposal to include the recently developed College Hill Housing Committee under its umbrella. The wheels formally began turning on this idea at CHCURC’s April Board meeting.

As you can see this is a really long list and there’s more to come. Whatever your talents, CHCURC needs your participation, your energy and your ideas to continue upgrading College Hill--and our property values.

If you are not already a member, you may use the online membership form here. For further information contact Judy Moyer (jmoyer@cinci.rr.com, 513-542-7686).

Board meetings are open and are held the first Wednesday of each month at 7:00 pm at Llanfair’s Campus Center.

Let's keep our teens working by hiring them to service your lawn for the summer. Clean Cut offers fair pricing, quality work and excellent customer service. Each teen is trained by professionals in proper lawn care, equipment safety and business management.

The College Hill Clean Cut Initiative provides summer employment for teens ages 14 to 18. Last year we had more teens wanting to work than lawns to cut. Community support is vital to the success of this program. You can support this initiative by contacting Christ's Community in College Hill (513- 541-0303, ccch@cinci.rr.com).

Kevin Ward, CCCH Pastor-Administrator

School will be out for the summer soon. Have you made plans for your kids this summer? If not, please consider Character Camp. This is not camp as usual but a new camp that promises education, character development and fun. Camp runs from June 19 to August 11. We welcome grades 1 through 8.

Camp fees are $400 with flexible payment plans. Enrollment is limited so don’t delay in getting registered. To register please call Christ’s Community in College Hill (513-541-0303, ccch@cinci.rr.com).

Bonus: If you register before May 1st, your child could receive a free trip to Kings Island. Please contact us for details.

Kevin Ward, CCCH Pastor-Administrator

You are invited to a relaxed evening of great conversation amongst wonderful company in the Tavern at Clovernook Country Club on Tuesday, April 25, from 6:00 pm to 9:00 pm.

College Hill "celebrities" Dave & Sandy Schwartz and Tom & Beth McLean will serve up your drinks and accept your tips. All gratuities and donations--large and small--will benefit community redevelopment projects underway in College Hill.

Complimentary Hors d'oeuvres will be provided by Clovernook Country Club. While you're there, you'll see the latest architectural renderings of Linden Park; give input on Llanfair Commons; learn about business district improvements and revitalization and meet the man in charge of managing all the details, Marty Weldishofer. You'll also be able to participate in a drawing for a week at Dave and Sandy Schwartz' 2000 sq. ft. condo on Anna Maria Island in Tampa Bay. Dinner will be available to order from the menu.

Pay with cash and checks only. Dressy Casual Attire.

Questions? Call Beth McLean (513-681-8808).

Every now and then, someone asks me why we continue to live in College Hill rather than moving out to the 'burbs beyond the outer beltways.

During the past year there have been well over a half dozen occasions when we’ve invited friends or family from outside College Hill to join us for an outing and we’ve spent the entire time here in the neighborhood.

Let’s see, there was the time we went to the Dulcimer Festival all day at Town Hall’s Park and into the evening at the Twin Tower’s Gulden Center. Afterwards, we came back to our place for food and drink and discussed how amazing the music was.

There have been a couple of times that we’ve had friends join us at St. Clare’s (not our church, but we love it) fish fry and we’ve gone to the Coffee Company afterwards for dessert and entertainment, followed by beers at Bacall’s.

And what about last summer on a couple of evenings when we caught outdoor evening concerts and had wonderful food at the Six Acres B&B on Hamilton Avenue. The women in our party even took advantage of the manicures and free spa services which were offered during the afternoon.

Oh, and then there was the time we went to a McAuley reception at Laurel Court, and then attended the Performance & Times series hosted by the Contemporary Dance Theatre at Town Hall. This is local talent at its best--a bit off beat, but inspiringly original.

So, why leave College Hill, when we have so much right here? We could have walked to any of these places or events, and sometimes we do. Why leave when our friends are asking us "What’s happening next in College Hill?"

Contributed by Carolyn Royalty.

Here are a few of Kevin Bray's favorite things in College Hill.

• Grilling out and swimming at the North Hills Swim Club. The family loves it.
• The Farmers market. Fresh produce, flowers. Keep it coming.
• Goodies. What else needs to be said?

Share a few of your favorite things with eNewsletter readers. eMail them to the editor.

Forum meetings are the last Tuesday of every month except December at 7:00 pm in the College Hill Recreation Center. This month's meeting on April 25 will include the election of officers and a demonstration of the new voting machines everyone will use at the primary elections.

More than 120 people attended the March Forum meeting, requiring the Recreation Center staff to open a partition to enlarge the room. They have promised to make next month's meeting space larger from the start, so head on out.

The meetings are free, but Forum President Elizabeth Sherwood guarantees that if you pay your Forum dues ($5) and don't get $5's worth of entertainment out of a year of meetings, she'll refund your money. What have you got to lose?

On the Fridays of Lent, many of the College Hill community gathered in the undercroft of St. Clare Church to enjoy delicious fish or shrimp dinners, cheese pizza and other goodies with friends and family.

These Lenten fish fries are a long-standing tradition at St. Clare. They draw hungry folk from all over the hilltop area. Fish Fry Queen Mary Seguin and her crew work diligently and with great good humor to make all who come feel welcome.

Contributed by Pat Brennan.

The four-man group, "Those Guys," will perform at the College Hill Coffee Company on April 29 from 7:30 pm to 9:30pm. They are all graduates of Aiken High School’s first graduating classes and have remained friends and occasional musical conspirators for decades. The 2005 multi-class Aiken reunion at Union Terminal was a catalyst in getting the guys back together to perform.

They perform a variety of songs from the 50’s, 60’s and beyond in an acoustic style that encourages sing-alongs. Come and join in the fun. Kick back, reminisce and enjoy some great music with friends.

The Cincinnati Zoo is collaborating with ECO-CELL on a cell phone recycling program which will keep tons of toxic materials out of landfills, will help protect Gorilla habitat and will raise money for the Zoo's conservation fund. College Hill resident Marilyn Dapper has volunteered to take your old cell phones to the Zoo. Contact Marilyn (513-591-0107, dapperdogsitter@fuse.net) to make arrangements, or bring your old cell phones to the next Forum meeting.

There are more than 150 million cellular users in the United States alone, 40 million of which turn over their phone annually. Seventy-five percent of these out-of-use phones will be in people's drawers at home or at work. The balance is going to landfills or is recycled. The EPA estimates that this quantity of cell phones is equal to about 250,000 tons of toxic materials. In addition, an ore which is an essential component of cell phones is found in the Congo in the middle of endangered gorilla habitat. These animals are losing habitat and being killed by miners for the bushmeat trade. Reducing the demand for that element will help save these animals and their habitat. The Zoo's conservation fund will also receive up to $15 per functional phone from ECO-CELL.

If you are interested in eating organically grown fresh produce to enhance your own and/or your children's nutritional health, you may be interested in joining some other College Hill residents as members of Earth- Shares CSA (Community Supported Agriculture). If enough people in College Hill join up, we can have a drop off place in College Hill instead of having to pick up our shares at Grailville in Loveland.

Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) is a direct partnership between the farmers who grow the food and the people who eat it. Members receive a share of garden fresh produce, grown on organically certified land, each week throughout the growing season, May 15 through October 27, 2006. An enthusiastic core group of experienced Community Supported Agriculture participants is now accepting applications for membership in a 60 member CSA at Grailville for the 2006 season.

To learn more, contact Joyce Asfour (513-681-2365, jasfour@fuse.net).

The ABC Trio is having a concert at First UCC Sunday afternoon, April 23, at 3:00 pm. They will be performing Trio in e-minor, Opus 33 by Carl Goldmark. This talented group is comprised of Atarah Jablonsky, Bernice Robinson and Christine Nichols.

The concert is free and open to the public.

For more information, call the First United Church of Christ (513-541-7302 ext. 17).