Fresh back from two weeks' vacation, I came across some pretty good news. Did you know Cincinnati police have towed 831 junk cars from city streets?

        Well, it may not be good news for the car owners. The process is coordinated with Keep Cincinnati Beautiful.

        “The important part about this process is that a neighbor does not have to continue to look at a junk car on the street,” said Heather Harlow, community manager for KCB. “Anyone can report a junk car.”

        To report a junk car, call the police district where the car is abandoned.

        For District 1, which includes downtown, Over-the-Rhine, West End, Queensgate and part of Mount Adams, call 352-3505.

        District 2: 979-4400; California, Columbia-Tusculum, East End, Evanston, Hyde Park, Kennedy Heights, Linwood, Mount Lookout, Mount Washington, Madisonville, Oakley, Pleasant Ridge.

        District 3: 352-3574; English Woods, Fay Apartments, North and South Fairmount, Price Hill, Riverside, Sayler Park, Sedamsville, Westwood.

        District 4: 352-3576; Avondale, Bond Hill, Carthage, Corryville, Hartwell, Mount Auburn, Paddock Hills, Walnut Hills, Roselawn, part of the area around the University of Cincinnati (but UC has its own police), part of University Heights.

        District 5: 352-3578; Camp Washington, Clifton, College Hill, Fairview, Mount Airy, Northside, South Cumminsville, part of the area around UC, part of University Heights, Winton Hills, Winton Place and along Interstate 75.

        Once a junk vehicle is reported, police investigate, mark the car with a bright orange sticker and notify the owner.

        “If the vehicle is left more than 48 hours, and is inoperable, with a fair market value of $1,500 or less, it can be cited and removed under state law,” Ms. Harlow said.

        • • •

        Local environmental specialists have been awarded the Federal Executive Board's Project Team Award for developing a process that removes chemical pollutants from ground water.

        The team of six was led by Leland Vane of Wyoming. Others receiving the award: Franklin Alvarez, Mount Healthy; Ballard Mullins, West Chester; Johnny Springer, Westwood; Jerry Waterman, Milford, and Leslie Wilsong, downtown Cincinnati.

        The team is employed at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's Office of Research and Developmental in Corryville.

        Mr. Vane said the team developed a membrane-based separation technology that removes the chemicals and also removes water from industrial solvents so they can be reused.

        The Federal Executive Board represents more than 15,000 employees who work in Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky.

       Allen Howard's “Some Good News” column runs Sunday-Friday. If you have suggestions about outstanding achievements, or people who are uplifting to the Tristate, let him know at 768-8362, at ahoward@enquirer.com or by fax at 768-8340.

Thousands celebrate Freedom Center groundbreaking
First lady wants students to hear tales of freedom
Historian: Other sites may suffer
Lifted voices of choir put song in hearts
Symbol of flame brings home
Wanted: Any Underground Railroad items
5 more tell lawyer ex-Elder principal had sexual contact
Legal tiff over stadium pricey
Avondale teen gets deal in dad's death
Challengers regroup in two Ohio court cases
Cinemas not out of picture
City drops property tax break
City, town may be able to get along
Drownings leave behind questions
Grand Glendower open for the summer
Little Miami schools face deep cuts
Panel backs all-day kindergarten option
Schools' levy is lowered 1 mill
Taft, Blackwell seek disclosure of campaign funding
W. Chester to look at Ind. library
Tristate A.M. Report
Ex-senator toasted at UK
Firehouses in N.Ky. going dry
GOP candidate tours district
Judge keeps mining permit ban
Kentucky State's president told he's out by month's end
Schools learning to combat gangs
Slow budget may hurt tracks
State jobs safe, Ky. official says
Study faults KSU standards
Kentucky A.M. Report
HOWARD: Some Good News
PULFER: Cheap, nasty