BY The Cincinnati Enquirer
Former Cincinnatian Tyrone Ballew won a stay of execution Wednesday. U.S. District Judge George Smith said Ballew could begin his federal appeal.
Mr. Ballew was convicted in the 1990 aggravated murder of Donald Hill of Avondale, who was dragged at gunpoint to a vacant lot in Walnut Hills, beaten with logs and bricks and shot.
Metro buses might add bike racks
Metro is studying the idea of putting bike racks on its 389-bus fleet so bicyclists can put their bikes on, take Metro and then take their bikes off and and move on.
An advisory committee of local bike advocates and Metro staff will be studying the feasibility, from special parking needs in bus garages to establishing a bike lost and found.
Metro is also buying a sample bike rack and testing it on all Metro routes. Committee members should make recommendations in the first six months of next year.
House explosion blamed on line leak
Cincinnati fire investigators have confirmed that a leaking gas line led to the explosion Oct. 28 that destroyed a Westwood woman's home.
Phyllis Evans was changing her clothes that morning when the explosion blew her from a second-floor bedroom into her front yard. She suffered burns and bruises but is out of the hospital.
The fire investigation revealed corrosive holes in a natural gas line caused the fire and explosion. The gas line was leaking next to steps leading to the front door, fire Capt. Dan Rottmueller said.
The explosion leveled the home and caused $175,000 damage.
OSU needs AIDS vaccine volunteers
Ohio State University Medical Center is seeking 150 volunteers statewide to test an experimental AIDS vaccine.
This is the only test site in Ohio for the AIDSVAX vaccine, made by VaxGen Inc. of Brisbane, Calif. The vaccine is made from the outer protein shell of the HIV virus, not the virus itself, so it cannot cause AIDS.
Volunteers should be people at high risk of contracting the disease, such as gay men, users of injected drugs, and women with HIV-positive sex partners. For information, call (614) 293-8112.
Woman cleared in Winton crash
A Winton Hills woman has been cleared of charges in an Oct. 19 accident on Winton Road.
It had appeared to rescue workers that Juralene Howard, 27, fled the scene after hitting a car that morning, but she actually suffered an epileptic seizure.
Ms. Howard was on her way to work when she had a seizure and hit a car on Dutch Colony Drive. She then struck a pole and rolled four times before coming to a stop.
"I'm not a criminal of some kind," Ms. Howard said. "I'm epileptic. I got nothing but a seat belt ticket."
'Most Wanted' list suspect arrested
Another "Tristate's Most Wanted" suspect has been arrested, bringing the total to 594 arrests out of the 976 suspects featured in The Cincinnati Enquirer.
Brian McCartt, 22, of Price Hill was arrested Monday on a felonious assault charge.
The Enquirer publishes "Tristate's Most Wanted" each Monday. Crime Stoppers will pay up to $1,000 for information that leads to an arrest. Callers to 352-3040 can remain anonymous.
Women held in ticket outlet theft
A Blue Ash woman faces a felony theft charge for allegedly taking $19,600 from her employer.
Cincinnati police arrested Carol Gordon, 47, an employee at Riverfront Choice Tickets, Tuesday night, after responding to the business in the 100 block of West Third Street, downtown.
Her boss told police he discovered money was missing from his office and thought she was the only one who could have taken it, so he asked to borrow her car. He told police he drove the car a few blocks away, opened the trunk and found an envelope containing the money, so he called police.
A Hamilton County grand jury is expected to hear the case in the next two weeks.
Retirement center proposal advances
SPRINGFIELD TOWNSHIP - Plans to convert the historic St. Francis Seminary at 10290 Mill Road to a 600-unit retirement center moved forward Monday with the official property closing.
The Franciscan Health System of the Ohio Valley acquired the 128-acre campus from the Province of St. John the Baptist of the Order of Friars Minor. Terms were not disclosed.
The seminary's three-story brick and stone building, opened in 1924, is on the National Register of Historic Places as an example of Renaissance Revival architecture.
The seminary is closed, but the property has been used for sports and as offices for civic groups.
Plans for the Franciscan at Winton Woods retirement center include renovating the main building, 600 independent and assisted-living units, and a 50,000-square-foot nursing home.
Township trustees approved rezoning the site in July, despite objections from neighbors about potential traffic and noise. Renovation work is to begin soon after a Dec. 2 open house.
The estimated cost and completion date were not disclosed.
