Local
The operator of the nation’s largest electrical grid has asked the federal government for emergency authority to bypass environmental regulations and run massive backup generators to avoid rolling blackouts during a dangerous heatwave expected this week.
In a letter sent Saturday, June 27, 2026, to U.S. Secretary of Energy Chris Wright, PJM Interconnection requested immediate intervention under Section 202(c) of the Federal Power Act. The grid operator wants the power to order major industrial operations—including data centers and tech facilities—to disconnect from the public grid and run on their own backup power sources if the system faces a supply crisis.
PJM manages the power supply for more than 67 million people across all or parts of 13 states and the District of Columbia.
Record Demand and Extreme Heat
The emergency request comes as weather forecasts predict temperatures climbing into the 90s and topping 100 degrees Fahrenheit between June 29 and July 3, 2026, with the heat index rising to over 105 degrees in Ohio.
Density, density, and more housing density, is what Columbus needs, and if against it, you are an awful NIMBY (Not In My Backyard).
So says Mayor Ginther, City Council and the group Neighbors For More Neighbors because they claim Central Ohio is in the throes of a housing supply crisis and building more density will result in greater affordability.
Housing density could be described as building taller but also building smaller living spaces (so to maximize profits). And a simple eye-test proves Columbus has been building this type of density in certain neighborhoods. But just ask any Ohio State campus kid, off-campus housing has never been more expensive, and this goes for all Central Ohio.
“No, it isn’t happening and personally I doubt it ever will,” says former mayoral candidate and affordable housing advocate Joe Motil. “Name one of the top 15 most populated cities in the U.S. that is covered with high density apartments where there is affordable housing in any desirable neighborhood? You won’t find one.”
Tuesday, June 30th at 5:45 pm
Columbus Public Library's Whetstone Branch, 3909 North High Street, Columbus, Ohio 43214
Simply Living will present the award-winning documentary film PLANEAT: Nothing Changes the Planet as Much as the Way We Eat.
PLANEAT features the ground-breaking work of Dr T Colin Campbell in China exploring the link between diet and disease, Dr Caldwell Esselstyn's use of diet to treat heart disease patients, and Professor Gidon Eshel's investigations into how our food choices contribute to global warming, wasteful land use, and ocean dead zones.
Informative and encouraging, PLANEAT is the story of the search for a diet that is good for our health, good for the environment, and good for the future of the planet. With an additional cast of pioneering chefs and some of the best cooking you have ever seen, the film presents a convincing case for the adoption of a plant-based diet, to benefit both human health and the health of the planet.
Monday, June 29, 2026, 7:00 PM
Zoom
Mass Surveillance, Data Use and Dissent in Ohio and the US. Join Common Cause Ohio, ACLU of Ohio, ABLE, 614 Ice Watch and other organizations to learn about Flock cameras, the struggle to shut down the dangerous misuse and overreach of this surveillance technology, and how you can take action.
We have just learned that the Oil and Gas Land Management Commission will meet on Monday, June 29, to decide on a long list of nominations and bids to frack Ohio public land.
We’re not going to lie … they are likely to approve most if not all the nominations and award most if not all the bids.
Sunday, June 28, 3-5pm during Community Festival
Goodale Park, Peace and Healing Pavilion
The Free Press and WGRN radio bring together local activists to bring us up to date on local issues.
Pat Marida - Ohio Nuclear Free Network
Darren Broering - No Ohio Anduril Plant
Catherine Turcer - Local elections
Ginny Vogts - RESULTS coalition
Tamie Wilson
The Free Press
WGRN community radio
and more!
If you want to help Haitian-Ohioans and the groups serving them, check out these two links in the image above from Ohio Immigrant Alliance and the OhioIsHome.org resource site.
Tony Brown of the famed Tony Brown’s Journal died today, Friday, June 26, 2026. Until today Brown was one of the few remaining old school Black male warrior journalists that Black audiences could count on to learn about timely topics, be exposed to accurate news accounts and to hear from some of the most interesting and/or controversial Black figures on the political scene. No talk show played host to the kind of sports, entertainment and political figures that appeared on Tony Brown’s Journal. The talk show which started on commercial television in syndication in the late 1970s, then shifted to PBS in 1982, was the successor to the series Black Journal. Tony Brown’s Journal was cutting edge in a lot of ways.
Friday, Saturday, Sunday - June 26-28
Fri - noon-11pm
Sat - noon-11pm
Sun - noon-6pm
Goodale Park, Columbus
A free, non-corporate, music and arts annual festival. The festival bills itself as "The Party with a Purpose". To accomplish this goal, the festival relies on community members to work together in the planning and operation of the festival serving on committees and work teams including clean-up and recycling, safety and first aid, entertainment, street fair, etc.
As a volunteer-run organization, we’re always welcome to anyone who wants to join in our purpose and mission. There are lots of ways you can get involved in both the festival and its planning and production. To help you find your ideal volunteering position, it helps to know a bit about how ComFest works.
WHO: Local leaders including members of G92 and Springfield Neighbors United.
WHAT: A vigil in support of Haitians who fled violence in their home country and became important members of our community
WHEN: Thursday, June 25 at 6 p.m.
WHERE: Springfield City Hall, 76 E High St, Springfield, OH 45502