Morning Drive

On Friday, March 16 and Saturday, March 17 a benefit concert to aid tornado disaster relief efforts will take place at Sherman Baptist Church in Dry Ridge, Kentucky. Leigh Ann Wilcher tells WNKU's Steve Hirschberg how she and her husband came up with the idea for the benefit concert.

GE Aviation is presenting today a special program for local elementary school students.  It's entitled "Bringing Them Home Safely...Discovering Our Aviation Purpose in the Legacy of the Tuskegee Airmen". The company's African-American Forum is hosting the program. WNKU's  Steve Hirschberg talked with Randall Stokes, the President of the forum's Cincinnati chapter.

The March edition of Cincinnati Magazine features an annual rating of the city's top 10 restaurants.  Food and Dining Editor Donna Covrett tells WNKU's Steve Hirschberg that she starts her preparations for the list in August.

Next Sunday night is Academy Awards night; and in Cincinnati that means it's time for the annual Oscar Night America gala. It's one of only 49 parties that the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences officially sanctions around the country. The event is a fundraiser for the non-profit group People Working Cooperatively. WNKU's Steve Hirschberg asked PWC spokeswoman Kim Sullivan how the group got to host an Oscar Night gala.

Tomorrow, the Victoria  Theatre in Dayton, Ohio is presenting the world premiere of a play called "Tenderly...the Rosemary Clooney Musical". WNKU's Steve Hirschberg talked about the production with Janet Yates Vogt, who co-authored the work with Mark Friedman.

The state of the county is strong.  That is what Greg Hartmann, President of the Hamilton County Board of Commissioners, said yesterday during his state of the county address. WNKU's Steve Hirschberg asked Hartmann why he is so upbeat about the county's strength.

The Art Academy of Cincinnati has a new president.  He is John Sullivan, who comes to Cincinnati from the Watkins College of Art, Design and Film in Nashville.  Sullivan notes that the art academy was a pioneer in moving several years ago to the city's Over-the-Rhine neighborhood from its long-time home next to the Cincinnati Art Museum in Eden Park.  He tells WNKU's Steve Hirschberg that after such a bold move, as he calls it, the academy now  has plenty of company in its new neighborhood.

In 1862, during the Civil War, Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky faced the likelihood of an invasion by Confederate troops.  But the area was able to avoid a military confrontation, thanks to volunteers who came forward to defend the city and to  help bolster its fortifications.  Among those volunteers was a group of local African-Americans that came to be known as The Black Brigade.  As part of the commemoration of Black History Month, WNKU's Steve Hirschberg talked about this historical episode with Richard Cooper, Interpretive Services Manager at Cincinnati's National Underground Railroad