The plan to expand and enhance Metro bus service, called “Metro Moves,” is going back to the community for more input.

        Southwest Ohio Regional Transit Authority officials collected data from the community on how to improve bus service, then huddled with transit planners to come up with the Metro Moves plan, unveiled in March.

        Now those officials are going back to the community to ask a few more questions.

        A series of community open houses are scheduled in the coming weeks. All are from 4-8 p.m., unless otherwise noted:

        • Thursday at Symmes Township Library, 11850 Enyart Road.

        • May 1 at Anderson Library, 7450 State Road.

        • May 3 at Urban League of Greater Cincinnati, 3458 Reading Road, 5-8 p.m.

        • May 9 at College Hill Library, 1400 W. North Bend Road.

        • May 10 at Norwood Branch Library, 4325 Montgomery Road.

        • May 14 at Sharonville Library, 10980 Thornville Drive.
       

Man charged with attack on black driver

               A Westwood man was charged Monday with a racially-motivated attack on a black motorist during rioting in Cincinnati.

        Craig Carr, 20, faces up to two years in prison if he is convicted of ethnic intimidation and two misdemeanor charges stemming from the incident.

        Prosecutors say Mr. Carr, who is white, was a passenger in a car on Queen City Avenue in South Fairmount on April 12 when he yelled a racial slur at an African-American motorist. Prosecutors say Mr. Carr then threw a brick through the victim's front car window.

        Mr. Carr continued to make racial slurs about the victim after he was arrested, prosecutors say.

        Mr. Carr was indicted by the same Hamilton County grand jury that indicted 63 people last week on felony charges related to street violence during the rioting this month.
       

Man surrenders to face child-slaying charge

               MIDDLETOWN - E.Y. Lawson, 22, is scheduled to appear in Municipal Court today on a charge that he murdered his girlfriend's 2-year-old son, Christopher Long, last week.

        Mr. Lawson, wanted since Friday on a warrant, surrendered to police Monday afternoon, accompanied by his attorney, Jerry M. Bryant.

        The boy, who turned 2 on Jan. 28, was pronounced dead April 17 at Children's Hospital Medical Center after a daylong hospitalization. Police say Mr. Lawson was baby-sitting for the child's mother when the boy was hurt.
       

Child-endangering trial postponed

               HAMILTON - The trial of a Hamilton firefighter/paramedic accused of hurting his son has been postponed until July 16.

        Jon Cook, 27, was scheduled to stand trial Monday on two counts of felony child endangering involving his infant son, Jon Aaron Cook. Authorities have alleged he shook the child violently, causing brain damage and other injuries in February 2000.

        In a letter dated Sunday, an expert witness who had been slated to testify for the defense, Marvin Miller of the Children's Medical Center in Dayton, Ohio, said an official at his hospital asked him not to participate in such cases “so as not to compromise relationships of our (hospital) with those in our immediate region including Cincinnati.”
       

UC picks head for new genome institute

               The University of Cincinnati has named a director for its new Genome Research Institute to be located in recently acquired laboratory buildings in Reading.

        Dr. David Millhorn, chairman of UC's Department of Molecular and Cellular Physiology, will serve as director of a research lab that hopes to include more than 40 researchers and about 250 support staff. The genome research institute will be the first major tenant of the former Aventis Pharmaceuticals site, on 23 acres near Ronald Reagan Highway and Galbraith Road.

        “For the first five years, our mission is to start with a core of investigators already at UC and then add to that by recruiting world-class researchers to the UC institute,” Dr. Millhorn said. “By the end of the first five years, we hope to have a group of 40-50 principal investigators and their staffs at the institute. That translates into about 250 individuals involved in research programs.”

        UC acquired the Aventis site in late February as part of a donation to the university valued at more than $100 million. The site is part of a larger effort to double medical research at UC in the next several years.
       

Children's Hospital to receive $110,000

               The Miller Valentine Group was expected to present a $110,000 check today to Children's Hospital Medical Center and the Children's Theatre.

        Children's Hospital and the theater each will receive $55,000.

        The money was raised from a gala event Feb. 10 at Union Terminal. Other major sponsors of the event included Lazarus, Cinergy, Sweeney Automotive, Lithko Construction and Firstar.
       

Can't get on I-71 from Second Street

               The Second Street ramp to northbound Interstate 71 downtown will be closed today through Friday.

        Closures are from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., while workers paint structures overhead. During these times, motorists can enter I-71 north from the Fifth Street ramp.

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