Right?

        Not exactly.

        Council members worry that we might forget about them if their names aren't in the paper, so the Enquirer's fax machine continues to buzz through mid-August with news releases from City Hall:

        Councilman John Cranley wants us to know that he opposes a proposed cellular phone tower in Pleasant Ridge.

        Councilman Pat DeWine thinks parents ought to be responsible for their children, and wants the Police Department to enforce the law that holds parents accountable for teen curfew violators.

        Councilman Chris Monzel still opposes a liquor license for Uncle Milt's.

        Vice Mayor Alicia Reece called a news conference to propose changes to the city's purchasing system that would help city contractors get paid faster.

        But not everyone is eager for the media spotlight.

        A casually dressed Mayor Charlie Luken Tuesday asked when the City Hall press corps goes on vacation so he can get some work done.

        Who's in charge? If anything happens to the city manager, and the deputy is disabled or absent, you'd think the job of running the city would fall to the No. 3 man at City Hall, Rashad Young.

        But it doesn't.

        Under the city's administrative code, the line of succession jumps to the city's 16 department heads — usually starting with the city solicitor.

        Ms. Lemmie has asked City Council to change the administrative code to put the 26-year-old assistant city manager in the line of succession.

        The change wouldn't have applied last month, when Ms. Lemmie flew off to a conference in Switzerland last month and left Mr. Young in charge.

        As long as she's alive and healthy, the city manager can designate any “city officer” to perform her duties when the deputy city manager is absent, as Tim Riordan was last month.

        News from Elsewhere: As Cincinnati continues to make national headlines for its race relations issues, a reading of newspapers from around the country shows we're not alone.

        From the Chicago Tribune, June 18: “A grass-roots group of activists and ministers Monday urged black Chicagoans to boycott the coming Taste of Chicago and other city-sponsored festivals to protest police brutality and "economic apartheid' toward African-Americans here.”

        From the Indianapolis Star, Aug. 10: “The controversy over ticketing and alleged police rudeness at this year's Indiana Black Expo took an ugly turn Friday as two elected officials accused the mayor and a congresswoman of pandering to extremists who are "gorillas and thugs.”'

        From the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Aug. 19: “A community group that protests police violence is threatening a St. Louis boycott beginning Oct. 22 if the city does not establish a citizen review panel over the Police Department.”

        As Jeff Hirsh of WKRC-TV (Channel 12) noted in a recent report, the problems in St. Louis are particularly interesting given that the Progressive National Baptist Convention met there after boycotting Cincinnati.

        City Hall reporter Gregory Korte can be reached at 768-8391 or e-mail gkorte@enquirer.com.

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