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State Reps. Dontavius L. Jarrells (D-Columbus) and Ismail Mohamed (D-Columbus) today urged fellow lawmakers to sign onto their legislation that would increase Ohio’s minimum wage to $15 an hour by 2028.

In their co-sponsor request memos, the Democratic lawmakers said that raising wages for working Ohioans will bring more economic security and stability to millions of Ohioans living paycheck to paycheck and boost the long-term health of the state’s economy.

“While I am grateful that voters in Ohio passed the Ohio Minimum Wage Increase Initiative, here’s the unfortunate truth—$10.10 does not go far enough to support our working families. At its current level, our minimum wage does not offset the pain inflicted by inflation,” said Rep. Jarrells. “Our legislation cuts workers in on the deal and puts money back into our local economies. Simply put, raising the minimum wage ensures that no family has to work two to three jobs just to make ends meet. That’s an Ohio that works for all of us.”

After being rejected by Ohio Attorney General (AG) Dave Yost on its first attempt to win approval of its amendment’s summary, the Ohio Coalition to End Qualified Immunity (OCEQI) will resubmit signatures on February 23. Having the AG’s office approve an amendment’s summary is the first significant hurdle needed to amend the Ohio Constitution, and for this case, to end qualified immunity in the state.

Back in December, the OCEQI submitted the 2,000 signatures needed to approve the summary of the proposed amendment – “The Ohio Civil Liberties Restoration Act.” But AG Yost rejected the amendment’s summary, stating, “the summary does not properly advise a potential signer of the proposed amended statute’s character and limitations.” AG Yost also stated the title of the summary is “misleading”.

OCEQI’s Cynthia Brown of Columbus – who lost a nephew to Columbus police – believes the only way to change the behavior of the police is to change policy.

Former Columbus City Council candidate and longtime community advocate Joe Motil is submitting petition signatures this Wednesday to run for Mayor of Columbus in the May 2, 2023 primary election.

Motil states, “(Yesterday’s) Columbus Dispatch story, “One year on, Ethics Commission probe into Little Turtle contract appears ongoing” further puts into question the unethical actions of Public Service Director Jennifer Gallagher. Mayor Ginther should have demanded her resignation over a year ago.”

Let us free our minds from the noise of media and politics and turn our attention to discussing the biggest decision a high school senior will make: Where to go to college.

May of you have children and grandchildren who are in their final semester of high school, ready to take the next step.

 I offer you tips from the perspective of the grandfather of a high school senior, the holder of three college degrees including a doctorate, a retired college professor with more than three decades in that catbird seat, and a careful observer of the what and what not of higher education.

First and foremost is cost. One must total up the cost of classes and books, room and board and incidentals per year and subtract any scholarships and grants. Assume that it will go up 5 percent a year while the student aid stays the same, thus the cost increases annually. Will the university provide an on-campus job to help the student earn her keep?

VICTORY!  Congratulations and thanks to everyone who helped oppose this bill.

HB 434 passed the Ohio House 75-18 on March 3, 2022, but was not voted out of the Senate Energy and Public Utilities Committee at the end of December.

Under the Radar Bill:  Ohio House Bill 434 would have created a secretive new Ohio Authority that could dip into the public treasury for unspecified amounts of money to support research and development of what the bill termed an “advanced” nuclear reactor. But the entities behind the bill were promoting old and failed nuclear power technology. All this when the cost of new nuclear power to consumers is 4 to 5 times higher than wind or solar. 

The Ohio Nuclear Free Network led the charge against this bill, with help from the Ohio Green Party, the Cuyahoga County Green Party, Our Revolution Ohio, the Nuclear Information and Resource Service, Grassroot Ohio, WGRN-LP FM Columbus, the Columbus Free Press, Midwest Energy News, other groups whose members worked on this issue, and individuals.

Cannabis columnist has written 100 articles for the Columbus Free Press

100. Five score. Ten tens. One Hundred. Centuple. Centenarian. Let’s face it 100 is a vast number and a big deal. It represents a milestone that that spans over 20 years, from the dark ages when cannabis was contraband to the enlightenment when the plant emerged as a legal $1 billion Ohio maket.

Mary Jane Borden, who writes the “Mary Jane’s Guide” column for the Columbus Free Press, has been on a mission to legalize medical marijuana in the State of Ohio. These 100 articles, both in print and online, document the process and its progress. Her a goal is to, “To ensure that Ohioans are the smartest, best informed and most effective advocates for the cannabis plant.”

Joe Motil, former Columbus City Council candidate and longtime community advocate who is circulating petitions to run for mayor in the 2023 May primary election states, “Our current mayor and other city officials long lag behind current trends when addressing – if at all – Columbus’s homeless population. The city hands out millions of dollars to local non-profits who are never held accountable for spending our tax dollars. The then city washes its hands from the problem, claiming they have done their part by providing funding.”     

The Ohio History Connection (OHC) is being called out from across the planet after it banned internationally best-selling author and journalist Graham Hancock from filming his docuseries Ancient Apocalypse at Serpent Mound in Peebles, Ohio.

Denying Hancock from one of the world’s most mysterious prehistoric effigy mounds occurred in the spring of 2021, but recently came to light after Hancock – author of the bestselling 2019 book “America Before: The Key to Earth’s Lost Civilization” – posted OHC’s email telling him and his film crew they did not have permission to access the high plateau where the 1,348-foot Serpent rests. 

In the summer of 2021, City Attorney Zach Klein published a column in the Dispatch touting six reform measures meant to improve Columbus policing. After reading it twice – first in disbelief that Mr. Klein would write a piece that so clearly insulted the people of Columbus’ intelligence, then in a rage realizing that at least half of the Dispatch’s readers would, in fact, take his comments at face value – I wrote a counterpoint that called out most of the reforms he mentioned as window-dressing.

Columbus’ Civilian Review Board (CRB) chairperson, Ms. Janet Jackson – a former Columbus City Attorney – took particular umbrage to the phrase “window-dressing” and wrote another column, robustly defending the new board and its role in holding the Columbus Division of Police (CPD) accountable.

She closed her column with these words: “. . . I know that the board comprises a diverse, thoughtful and passionate group of individuals who will do their level best to fulfill the vitally important charge that has been bestowed upon us. Our work is just beginning.”

Last week I wrote a column for this publication in which I mentioned that I’m a member of the International Association of Theatrical Stage Employees (IATSE) Local Number 12. In it I exposed the association one of our members also had with the Proud Boys (PB) and that he’d been caught passing out PB propaganda at a worksite. He was removed from the worksite that weekend and, during an executive committee meeting a few days later, was justly and thankfully removed from our union altogether. 

In the column, I called him “Andy.” His name isn’t “Andy.” 

I also seemed to leave the impression in that column that those who choose to work as laborers at the Convention Center are somehow rougher than the theater crews.

Neither of those things are true. In the first place, the one Andy that’s in our local, can (and has) walked intellectual circles around the “Andy” I mentioned in the last column; in the second, many of those who primarily work the Convention Center are higher up on the food chain than anyone who prefers the theater.