Best News for Sensitive Noses

The Callery pear tree has beautiful white flowers, but it also harbors compounds that are derivatives of ammonia, which produces the familiar scent of, well, semen. And if your block has dozens of these things, you know that the air smells like a never-ending orgy. Aside from causing the post-coital aroma that blankets the city every spring, the non-native species creates other problems, like crowding out useful trees and damaging local ecosystems. There’s good news, though: In January, Ohio began outlawing the buying, selling and planting of these awful things, becoming the first state to do so.

City Life

Here are the 2023 Best Of Cincinnati® Reader and Staff Pick winners for City Life.

Best Remodeling Company: Arlinghaus Builders

1. Arlinghaus Builders
2. 3D Renovations
3. Make Her Mark

Best Scenic Overlook: Eden Park and Devou Park (TIE)

1. Eden Park TIE
2. Devou Park TIE
3. Ault Park
4. Mt. Echo Park
5. Smale Riverfront Park
6. Bellevue Park
7. Mt. Storm Park
8. Alms Park
9. Shawnee Lookout
10. Fairview Park
11. Mt. Adams

Best Suburban Neighborhood: Mariemont

1. Mariemont
2. Wyoming
3. Liberty Township

Best Troublemaker: The Hub OTR

1. The Hub OTR
2. Cincinnati City Council
3. 3CDC

Best TV Anchor: Sheree Paolello (WLWT)

1. Sheree Paolello (WLWT)
2. Megan Mitchell (formerly WLWT)
3. Jessica Schmidt (FOX19)

Best TV Newscast: WLWT (Channel 5)

1. WLWT (Channel 5)
2. WXIX (FOX19)
3. WCPO (Channel 9)

Best TV Weathercaster: Steve Horstmeyer (FOX19)

1. Steve Horstmeyer (FOX19)
2. Randi Rico (WLWT)
3. Kevin Robinson (WLWT)

Best TV Sportscaster: Dan Hoard (Bengals, Bearcats)

1. Dan Hoard (Bengals, Bearcats)
2. Joe Danneman (FOX19)
3. George Vogel (WLWT)

Best Religious Leader: Chuck Mingo (Crossroads)

1. Chuck Mingo (Crossroads)
2. Fr. Al Bischoff (Xavier University)
3. Archbishop Dennis M. Schnurr (Archdiocese of Cincinnati)

Best Public School: Walnut Hills High School

1. Walnut Hills High School
2. School for Creative and Performing Arts
3. Wyoming High School

Best Radio Show: “Jeff & Jenn” (Q102)

1. “Jeff & Jenn” (Q102)
2. “All Things Considered” (WVXU)
3. “Cincinnati Edition” (WVXU)
4. “Married with Microphones” (WGRR)
5. Bill Cunningham show (700WLW)
6. “Eddie & Rocky” (700WLW)
7. “The Big Dave Show” (B105) TIE
8. “JonJon & Friends” (KISS1071) TIE
9. “Around Cincinnati” (WVXU)
10. Kidd Chris with Allie Martin (WEBN)
11. “The Mo Egger Radio Show” (ESPN 1530)

Best Radio Station: 91.7 WVXU

1. 91.7 WVXU
2. 101.9 WKRQ (Q102)
3. 700WLW

Best Radio Talk Show Host: Jeff and Jenn (Q102)

1. Jeff and Jenn (Q102)
2. Maryanne Zeleznik (WVXU)
3. Lucy May (WVXU)

Best Building: Union Terminal

1. Union Terminal
2. Music Hall
3. Cincinnati Art Museum

Best Local Activist: Mike Moroski

1. Mike Moroski
2. Triiibe
3. Al Gerhardstein
4. Mass Action for Black Liberation TIE
5. Cam Hardy TIE
6. Michelle Dillingham
7. Brian Garry
8. Missy Spears
9. Billie Mays
10. Josh Spring

Best Local Cause: Planned Parenthood Southwest Ohio

1. Planned Parenthood Southwest Ohio
2. Freestore Foodbank
3. The Friends of the Public Library
4. Matthew 25: Ministries
5. Cincinnati Public Radio
6. SPCA Cincinnati
7. ArtWorks
8. Cincinnati Animal CARE
9. Maslow's Army
9. ArtsWave

Best Northern Kentuckian: George Clooney

1. George Clooney
2. Jean-Robert de Cavel (Posthumous)
3. Nick Clooney

Best Philanthropist: Bootsy Collins

1. Bootsy Collins
2. Anthony Muñoz
3. Jeff Ruby

Best Place to Take a Visitor: Findlay Market

1. Findlay Market
2. Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden
3. Jungle Jim's International Market
4. Over-the-Rhine
5. Smale Riverfront Park
6. The Banks
7. Cincinnati Reds game TIE
8. Cincinnati Museum Center TIE
9. Cincinnati Art Museum
10. Newport on the Levee
11. Friends of the Public Library Book Store at the Warehouse