Mark Heyne

Thousands of firefighters are converging on Cincinnati for the 52nd biennial convention of the International Association of Firefighters, which starts Monday.  During a press conference Friday to welcome them, Convention and Visitors Bureau Chair Delores Hargrove-Young said the IAFF will  have an economic impact of more than $2 million for the region, and is part of a  busy month for the city's convention business:

The banks of the Ohio River are hosting a musical extravaganza this weekend as the Bunbury Music Festival returns to Sawyer Point and Yeatman's Cove in Cincinnati . The event Friday, Saturday and Sunday features 80 live performances on six stages.

"You really can't beat being on the river down there," said Bunbury marketing manager Brian Kitzmiller.  "The river stage alone, which is down on the Serpentine Wall, has the river backdrop; the bridge is behind there; and then the main stage has the arena in the background.  It's fantastic."

A grand jury has indicted three Hamilton County residents for illegal voting in the  November 2012 general election. 

A statement from county prosecutor Joe Deters says Carmen Lockhart, 64, Bernus Charmont, 46, and  Jean Gobeil, 61, are in this country legally, but they are non-citizens and, therefore, not eligible to vote.  They're each facing one count of illegal voting and, if convicted, face the possibility of 18 months in prison. 

  Last week marked the anniversary of David Armstrong’'s first year as president of Thomas More College. One of his primary missions is to position the liberal arts college to take the most advantage of changes coming to higher education. In his first year, several initiatives have already been put in place, including a new athletic training major; a requirement for all students to complete an internship or co-op before graduation; adding online programs; and even the formation of a marching band.

  Of the 15 companies that have been helped by UpTech, the Northern Kentucky business accelerator, over the last two years, 13 are still in operation. That is a great track record when you consider that half of all new-business startups fail. UpTech, which focuses on informatics and new ways to process, store, retrieve and use data, recently named the semi-finalists in its third class of entrepreneurs.