Bye, Elliot!

They've been friends since their days at St. Xavier High School. But for seven years, Elliot Ruther has worked for John Cranley in one capacity or another - at City Hall, on campaigns, as kind of a lobbyist for and explainer of the local music scene.

But Ruther's got a new job, in development at Cincinnati State Technical and Community College. He'll be helping raise money again, just for something different than a political campaign.

Cranley announced the departure - Friday's Ruther's last day - and said, "It's with a deep and sad heart that I let him go."

He credited Ruther with being a key person on a lot of things related to music in Cincinnati, including the MidPoint Music Festival.

Ruther'd been looking around for a new challenge since after Cranley's run against Steve Chabot last fall. He's still planning to work on some way to memorialize Cincinnati's music history.