Local

Join us for O22 2024 on Tuesday, October 22nd from noon-2pm on the lawn in front of the Ohio Statehouse (High Street side). RSVP here!

A local game creator has taken a stab at the indie card game scene—literally. Don’t Get Stabbed was developed by Jordan McLaughlin, a Columbus resident whose passion for horror movies has led to a thrilling, laugh-out-loud game perfect for parties and casual game nights

Don’t Get Stabbed brings together classic horror movie tropes with fast-paced laughs in a perfect blend of humor and horror. One player is the Killer. The rest play as Victims. Victims take turns drawing cards and trying to avoid being “stabbed” by the game's slasher, all while building alliances, plotting escapes, and trying to survive the night. The Killer tries to kill all the victims by “stabbing” them three times.

The idea for Don’t Get Stabbed first sparked during a casual game night in 2018 when McLaughlin’s cousin suggested he create his own card game. He started working on the game the very next day. McLaughlin spent weeks going to the local library after work to teach himself how to illustrate the game. “I didn’t have money to hire an artist, so I knew I had to figure this out for myself.” Said McLaughlin.

This story appeared in the Ohio Capital Journal

The United States is the only democracy in the world where a presidential candidate can get the most popular votes and still lose the election. Thanks to the Electoral College, that has happened five times in the country’s history. The most recent examples are from 2000, when Al Gore won the popular vote but George W. Bush won the Electoral College after a U.S. Supreme Court ruling, and 2016, when Hillary Clinton got more votes nationwide than Donald Trump but lost in the Electoral College.

As Ohio’s cannabis industry grows, it's time for lawmakers to take the next logical step: launching a pilot program for cannabis social lounges. By looking to the successes of other states, Ohio can create safe, legal spaces for public consumption while supporting small businesses and enhancing public safety.

Currently, cannabis use is largely confined to private residences in Ohio, leaving renters and residents in public housing, where landlords may prohibit cannabis use, with few options. This forces many to resort to consuming in less-than-ideal locations like cars, public spaces, or hotels, increasing risks and public safety concerns.

Designated social lounges would help mitigate these issues. Just as Nevada reduced public consumption problems in Las Vegas by introducing lounges, Ohio could do the same, keeping cannabis off the streets and out of parks in popular areas like the Short North and Easton.

The Columbus Free Press is proud to announce the recipient of our 2024 "Libby" award for Lifetime Achievement in Community Activism -- Abe Bonowitz. The Free Press honors community activists annually with a "Libby" Award, named for a former Free Press editor, Libby Gregory, who lost her life in 1991 in an airplane accident. 

The Awards event will happen during the Free Press Second Saturday Salon in the afternoon on December 14, 1:30-4:30pm at the First Unitarian Universalist Church at 93 W. Weisheimer Rd. It is free and open to the public with refreshments. Facebook Event.

WHAT: Save Ohio Parks Speak Out before Oil and Gas Land Management
Commission meeting

WHO: Speakers will include Ohio citizens Roxanne Groff, Jenny Morgan, Mary
Huck, Shannon Flanders, Katie Annarino, and Cory Haydocy

WHERE: On sidewalk outside of meeting venue, Ohio Department of Public
Safety - Charles D. Shipley Building, Atrium.1970 W. Broad Street, Columbus,
OH 43223

WHEN: Monday, October 21, at noon

BACKGROUND
The Oil and Gas Land Management Commission - the body tasked with deciding
on oil and gas "nominations" to frack Ohio state parks, wildlife areas, and
other public lands - will meet on Monday, October 21, at 1 p.m.

Ahead of this meeting on Monday, October 21, at 12 noon, Save Ohio Parks
will hold a Speak Out for members of the public - Ohio taxpayers who own and
use our public lands - to say what they think about the these lands- that
are supposed to be protected and used for the people of Ohio in perpetuity -
being leased to the oil and gas industry for fracking that will damage and
degrade them forever.

Repeatedly, Ohio residents - whose comments and objections the commission is

The world is producing more clothing than ever -- more than 100 billion pieces a year. As a result, textiles are entering landfills at an unprecedented rate.1

And to make it worse: A lot of clothing is being sent straight to the landfill or burned in an incinerator without ever being worn. The fast fashion model of making more clothes than we can buy wastes precious resources, creates piles and piles of textile waste, and pollutes our air and water.

Environment America is working to slow this endless cycle of overproduction and waste by calling on clothing giant Forever 21 to publicly commit to not trashing or burning its overstock. Add your name.

This week on Everybody Knows with Dr. Bob and Dan-o, Dan plays his original songs and talks about his video and event for Halloween.

Listen Fridays at 11pm on WGRN 91.9FM and streaming live at wgrn.org

Also on Mondays at 2pm on WCRS 92.7/98.3FM and streaming live at wcrsfm.org

The radio show is archived here.

Performances.  Mystic Café Variety Show and Open Mic
Friday, October 18, 2024, 6:00 PM (doors open) 7:00 – 9:00 PM
Help SoulCall Global raise money to feed and house the needy and enjoy an old-fashioned variety show with everything from great music and comedy acts to who knows what. Performers are encouraged to sign up.  A keyboard accompanist is available.  Donation $15 (or more! 100% of profits go to our charitable programs).  

Location:  Columbus Mennonite Church, 35 Oakland Park Ave., Columbus OH 43214. 

Oct. 15, 2024

For many years we, and others, have been analyzing “Unadjusted Exit Polls” (UEP) for US Elections.  These are exit polls that result from asking voters who have already voted who they supported. A state’s UEP results are shown by the journalistic organizations sponsoring the exit poll at the time the state’s polls are scheduled to close.

These UEPs are distinct from the “Adjusted Exit Polls” (AEPs) that are widely reported in the US after UEPs are adjusted to match official vote outcomes hours after the polls close. It should be noted that this universal US practice of conflating UEPs with AEPs is not generally replicated in other countries.