Pepper gets boost from firefighters

The crowd at David Pepper's party at the Havana Martini Club downtown started trickling in about 8 p.m. to snack on mini-cupcakes, chips and cookies. Among the early arrivals: Former federal judge Nathaniel Jones, for whom Pepper was a clerk, and Joe Diebold, president of the Cincinnati Fire Fighters union Local 48. On Diebold's bright red shirt: "Safety 1st. Firefighters for Pepper.'' Firefighters also stood outside polls today for Pepper, whom they endorsed, and worked a phone bank from their union office downtown. "We did what we could to see that David was victorious,'' Diebold said.

-- J.P.