Action Alerts
Human trafficking is the second-largest, and fastest-growing, organized crime activity internationally. The bad news is, Columbus is literally at an interstate crossroads for trafficking.
The Good-News? Here on Columbus’s Westside, the 1DivineLine2Health Drop-In Center on Sullivant Ave is working hard in the streets to change victims into survivors. But we need your help!
JOIN US, this Saturday, March 19th, from 6-8 pm, at Parkview United Methodist Church,
344 S Algonquin Ave, for a fundraising dinner and program. Parkview UMC is on Columbus’s Westside, right next to Westgate Park. And do invite your friends!
Hear the story of the struggle of 1DL2H’s Esther Flores to address the needs of those on the streets of Columbus, as well as the powerful testimony of heroic survivors of human trafficking, all while enjoying a hot meal (with Chicken or Vegan options). This event is $25, and there is an opportunity to contribute more to expand the facilities and programming eventually to all four corners of Columbus. Be a part of the solution!
Waiting on the Court
Tomorrow, the Equal Districts Coalition — a group of over 30 Ohio advocacy organizations and labor unions engaged in the redistricting process — will hold a press Q&A at the Statehouse to provide an update on the current status of Ohio’s redistricting constitutional crisis. A decision on the 3rd set of GOP-authored legislative maps is expected from the Ohio Supreme Court as early as this week, a month after candidates were required to file for districts that are still not final.
Elsewhere, the legislature will be holding hearings on new unemployment compensation reform bills, changes to Ohio's medical marijuana laws and a new two-year state capital budget.
Some of the new bills and hearings we're watching this week can be found highlighted below.
New Legislation This Week
From the Ohio Coalition Against Gun Violence
Sunday, March 13, 12noon
Nationwide Plaza One
Join us to support Ukraine and peace. Hosted by Ukranian Cultural Association of Ohio.
Saturday, March 12, 2022, 7:00 PM
Since we aren't getting together in person, we can gather for a couple hours on the second Saturday night of each month.
Topic: Peace in the World. Join Zoom meeting here: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/83906590837. Meeting ID: 839 06.
Last week, Vladimir Putin invaded Ukraine after a visceral speech laced with lies and threats of nuclear annihilation.Today, Russian nuclear forces are at a level of combat readiness unseen since some of the most dangerous moments of the Cold War. Any nuclear exchange between the United States and Russia could result in global death and the complete environmental devastation of our planet – a terrifying possibility.
So far, the Biden administration has thankfully chosen not to respond to Putin’s nuclear threats. While we are encouraged by President Biden’s decision in choosing restraint, this is a moment to draw a clearer line and publicly affirm a policy of no first use.
President Biden has the power to de-escalate and send a strong signal of leadership and restraint in this moment.
Vulnerable atomic reactors in a war zone?! Please join us this TONIGHT Thursday, March 10, at 7 pm EST (https://kinema.com/e
Wednesday, March 9, 7-8:15pm, this on-line event requires advance registration
This is week four of a four-week discussion course based on the four-part article “The Path to an Ecological Future for Humanity.” The link to the article is here. It is not necessary to read the article but it will be helpful.
Instructor: Chuck Lynd will begin with a short slide presentation and then will facilitate the discussion of each topic.
The goal of this course is to deepen our understanding of what it means to co-evolve a new culture rooted in ecological values and understand the role of Simply Living in building sustainability in central Ohio.
RSVP for this event by using this link.
Hosted by Simply Living.
Facebook Event
In honor of March 8 - International Women's Day:
Last Friday evening, the Department of Justice filed a brief in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit in the case by the states of Illinois and Nevada seeking to force U.S. Archivist David S. Ferriero to publish the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) as part of the Constitution. The brief asks the D.C. Circuit to affirm the dismissal of the case “without resolving the ERA’s legal status.”
Importantly, the brief does not embrace the district court’s conclusion that the time limit stands in the way of the ERA. Instead, it recognizes that the questions of the ERA’s validity are important, profound, and novel. The brief argues that the dismissal should be affirmed on the grounds that the plaintiffs lack standing and have fallen short of the requirement to show a “clear and undisputable” entitlement to government action.
The brief also repeats President Biden’s statement “expressing his ‘support for the ERA loudly and clearly’” and declaring that “nothing prevents Congress from taking legislative action to ‘recogniz[e] ratification of the ERA.’”