Local
In a landmark decision on Tuesday evening, August 19, Whitehall City Council unamimously passed an ordinance that simultaneously bans conversion therapy for minors and legalizes LGBTQ+ inclusive non-discrimination protections. This makes Whitehall the 37th location in Ohio to pass an LGBTQ+ inclusive non-discrimination protections and the 14th location to ban conversation for minors.
This critical step ensures legal protection from discrimination in the City of Whitehall for all residents, including those who are LGBTQ+, and it ensures that LGBTQ+ youth in Whitehall will no longer be subjected to the harmful and discredited practice, which has been widely condemned by medical and mental health professionals.
This article first appeard on Rachel Coyle's Substack
Late last week, The Ohio State University announced its newest policy to prevent students from voicing their political opinions on campus:
Wednesday, August 20, 6-8pm
Seventh Son Brewing Co., 1101 N. Fourth St.
Mark your calendars for August 20 from 6pm to 8pm for “August Green Drinks” at Seventh Son Brewing Co. At this “Green Drinks,” speakers from SWACO and Circular Thrift will discuss their new textile recycling pilot program. Attendees are encouraged to bring end-of-life clothing to this event to recycle. Please use this link to check what clothing items qualify as end of life. Hope to see you all there.
Hosted by Green Columbus.
This article first appeared on Simply Living.
At 91, Ellen Baumgartner speaks with a quiet grace and a deep well of wisdom that comes from a lifetime of caring for people, for community, and for the Earth. As one of Simply Living’s early founding members, Ellen helped shape the organization’s spirit of grassroots action and connection.
Roots of Compassion
Ellen grew up in Montclair, New Jersey, where her father served as a Congregational minister. Diversity was a natural part of her childhood — a third of her graduating class in 1952 was black, and prejudice was never part of her family’s values.
On Sunbury Road, where the city begins to thin and green again, the Agler Freedom House sits modestly behind a line of trees. Its windows are plain, the white clapboard siding unadorned. The casual passerby might miss it entirely. But the ground beneath it carries a memory older than the city of Columbus itself.
In the mid-19th century, this house stood on a quiet stretch of road that was far from quiet in its purpose. Runaway slaves – men, women, and children – moved through here at night, guided by whispered directions and the promise of safety. The Agler family, white abolitionists in a hostile state, took them in. Basements became bunkers, kitchens became waystations.
The people who stopped here weren’t simply “runaways” – they were fugitives under federal law, risking life and limb for the radical act of freedom. They were also freedom seekers, part of a network of the defiant and the determined that would come to be called the Underground Railroad.
More than 150 years later, another kind of traveler found his way to the same door.
Tuesday, August 19, 2025, 7:00 PM
On January 17, 2025, Anduril Industries in partnership with the state of Ohio announced their Arsenal-1 AI/drone warfare complex, set to be built outside the Rickenbacker Air base in Pickaway County, Ohio.
Please join us for a discussion on the negative impact this drone warfare plant will have on Ohioans and how we can fight to prevent the plant from ever being built. Although this plant promises Ohioans thousands of new jobs those jobs come at a cost: expanding the drone warfare program for the US military and around the world (these drones have been used in Gaza and the West Bank), a drain on Ohio's natural resources, farmland stolen from local farmers, a strain on worker health, and an expanded surveillance state.
Register here.
End Starvation. Divest Now
Residents of Ohio will hold a rally and press conference on Friday, August 22 at 11:30 AM outside the Ohio Statehouse to demand an end to the forced starvation in Gaza and Ohio’s investments in Israel Bonds and private affiliates.
● Gaza is facing mass starvation, and aid is being intentionally restricted
● Israel Bonds have dropped below investment grade—yet Ohio counties still buy
in
● Pending legislation (SB 87, HB 188) threatens to silence divestment campaigns
● Ohioans are saying
Friday, August 22, 2025 |
Rally begins 11:00 - 11:30 AM
Press Conference: 11:30 AM - 12:30 PM
Ohio Statehouse – 1 Capital Sq, Columbus
Speakers—including Gazans and those directly affected, veterans, lawyers, faith leaders, students, and healthcare workers—will call for divestment from entities
complicit in Gaza’s starvation and Israel’s war crimes.
The event follows rising public pressure on counties like Franklin for financially and ethically questionable investments in Israel.
Monday, August 18, 6pm, Upper Arlington Public Library [Meeting Rm. B], 2800 Tremont Rd.
Come on Monday, August 18 from 6pm to 7pm to Meeting Room B of the Upper Arlington Public Library, 2800 Tremont Rd., to learn all about Ranked Choice Voting.
Lifelong Ohio resident and “Rank the Vote Ohio” speaker, Chris Anderson will discuss the benefits of ranked choice voting and how it can improve Ohio’s elections if implemented. Learn about how ranked choice voting can empower voters, expand voter choice, promote greater diversity of political candidates, and hold politicians accountable by ensuring that majority-backed candidates are elected to office.
Hosted by Upper Arlington Progressive Action.
An emergency "pop up" protest brought nearly 200 people to the Ohio Statehouse this afternoon to condemn Governor Mike DeWine's announcement that he's sending 150 of the state's National Guard to Washington DC. Since August 13, National Guard troops in D.C. have taken over the police department because Trump claims there's a crime increase, although data shows crime is down in the nation's capital. Ohio now has the dubious distinctionf of joining West Virginia and South Carolina as states supporting the action.
The impromptu rally today mirrored the large ongoing Washington DC protests against the unprecedented National Guard mobilization. Speakers at the event chastised DeWine for capitulating to Trump's power grab, pointing out that the troops will target immigrants, the homeless and people of color.
People in cars passing by honked and waved to the protestors. An impressive number of demonstrators showed up and spoke out, with signage ready to denouce DeWine's decision. One memorable sign stated, "Trump said he couldn't call the National Guard on Jan. 6."
Sunday, August 17, 2025, 2:00 – 4:00 PM
Columbus Metropolitan Library: Hilliard Branch, 4500 Hickory Chase Way, Hilliard, OH 43026.