Local
Sunday, August 10, 1-5pm
Worthington Village Green, corner of S.R. 161 and High St., Worthington, Ohio
Join us for our community’s favorite celebration of summer and save the date for Sunday, August 10 for our End of Summer Fair! This year, we’re joining forces with our friends at Worthington Interfaith Neighbors [WIN] to include their annual Festival of Faiths and Nations event!
We’ll have carnival games, two great live bands, live entertainment, delicious food specials at our local restaurants, shopping specials, treats, and more treats. It will be a great activity for the whole family — right before the kiddos head back to school!
Our DORA [Designated Outdoor Refreshment Area] is every day, which means that you can get a beverage “to go” and enjoy the shops and the neighborhood.
Hosted by The Worthington Partnership and Worthington Interfaith Neighbors [WIN].
Join us for a variety of community conversations at this in-person Free Press Second Saturday Salon
Saturday, August 9 from 6:30-9pm
at Lynn Stan's house
952 Bryden Rd.
Potluck dishes welcome!
We'll talk about upcoming elections, local festivals, immigration solidarity and more!
Co-hosted by Simply Living.
This article first appeared in the Buckeye Flame
Ohio Democrats have introduced two bills in both the state Senate and House of Representatives that would ban conversion therapy on minors, the universally discredited practice attempting to change an individual’s sexual orientation or gender identity.
Neither bill has been given a single hearing in the Republican-controlled Statehouse, and there isn’t a clear path to advance the legislation there.
Meanwhile, miles away from Columbus, LGBTQ+ activist Brandon West is working with local officials to ban conversion therapy on minors in his corner of Northeast Ohio.
West successfully pushed Lorain City Council in September 2024 to pass an ordinance that banned conversion therapy on minors. Now, he is working with Cuyahoga County officials to get a similar ordinance approved at the county level. West also has his sights set on Summit County and the city of Vermillion, he said.
What: The Farce. The Fix. The Force. The * …
You support legalizing marijuana, aka cannabis, in Ohio. In fact, you have followed this issue for years. A few citizens you knew were putting the subject on the ballot. You signed their petition, confident that you understood its contents. Sufficient signatures and plentiful petitions placed the issue on the statewide ballot in November 2023 as Issue 2. You made sure your voter registration was current so you could participate in the early vote. After election day, you woke up happily to find that over 2 million other Ohioans voted just like you. Ohio legalized adult use cannabis. The new law went into effect on December 7. And Ohioans lived happily ever after … or not. You recently learned that Ohio legislators are trying to gut the new law. Your reaction? WTF!
WHAT: THE FRAMEWORK
Earlier this year when Kaufman Development sold one of its “Gravity” apartment buildings in Franklinton, it was another canary-in-the-coal mine moment for a West Side activist. Just a month prior, the Columbus-based developer had sold the nearby Idea Foundry and Gravity Park Experience, which is best described as a playground for adults with its pickle ball courts.
“They are cheap-ass apartments from what we’ve seen at Gravity,” says Rebecca Hunley, a Franklinton homeowner and also the current chair of the Franklinton Area Neighbors Civic Association, an organization she founded. “Yet I don’t see anything telling me, or anybody from our neighborhood, we can move in. I have never paid a mortgage like what they are asking for rent. Gravity, the great flop that it is. It’s a failure.”
Sign up for the Saturday, August 9, 2025, 2:00 – 3:30 PM Hands Along High Street event
Join the final big resistance event of the summer before the beginning of the new school year!
With your participation, we will form a human chain of resistance 8 miles long on the public sidewalk along the west side of High Street from Route 161 in Worthington to downtown Columbus, delivering the message that WE STAND UNITED in defense of fundamental American values and against the corruption and tyranny of the Trump administration.
Wednesday, August 6, 2025, 6:00 PM
University Baptist Church, 50 W. Lane Ave., Columbus 43201
Featuring Rocco Di Pietro, Composer and Concert Organizer. The event is in support of the Columbus Campaign for Arms Control annual commemoration of Hiroshima/Nagasaki Bombings.
Contact Mark D. Stansbery, 614-252-9255, walk@igc.org.
Oregon Passes Landmark Microgrid Legislation
There are currently no community-owned or operated microgrids in Oregon. Two new laws recently passed are designed to make it possible for communities to plan, build, and own local microgrids and connect them to the larger utility system. This development is unique in the nation, as most microgrids are owned by utilities, governments, or private businesses.
The state budget process in Ohio this year was long, confusing, and frankly one of the cruelest examples of how far our legislature will go to score points with their political base while simultaneously screwing over people in our state. We’ll have more to share about the final version of the bill next week. But recently some news was released that stopped us in our tracks: the final version of the state budget gave the Department of Children and Youth less funding for various programs and certain goals were having to be adjusted.
One of the goals listed for adjustment was Ohio’s dismal infant mortality rate. Under the initial version of the budget proposed by Governor DeWine, their goal was to reduce the rate from 7.1 per 1,000 births to 4.4 per 1,000 births. But because of the cuts the legislature made to the Governor’s budget, that goal was instead reduce from 7.1 to 6 deaths per 1,000 births. The so-called “pro-life” party reduced program funding to the point where the department had to reduce the number of lives that could be saved. How “pro-life” of them!
People gathered for the "End the Genocide. Stop the Starvation and Seige" protest at Schiller Park on Tuesday, July 29, 2025. The message was that Israel is trying to deflect global outrage by promising more aid, but we know the truth: starvation, blockade, and mass killing are not accidents. They are weapons of genocide. Even if trucks move tomorrow, this is not a solution. It’s a PR cover for genocide and the the world must not look away. The protest stopped at US Rep. Mike Carey's house to bring the message directly to him.