Local
The local public hearing in the Aqua Ohio rate cases ─ previously postponed due to severe weather ─ has been rescheduled for 5:30 p.m. on Monday, Feb. 9 at the New Albany Branch of the Columbus Metropolitan Library.
Aqua Ohio is a regulated water and sewer utility serving thousands of consumers in communities across Ohio, including residents of Franklin and Marion counties.
The utility is asking the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio (PUCO) to approve significant rate increases. Under Aqua’s proposal, some Franklin County consumers could see their monthly sewer bills increase by approximately $17 a month, or more than $200 per year – an increase of roughly 30% for certain consumers.
Additional details are available in Office of the Ohio Consumers’ Counsel (OCC) consumer alerts linked below.
As immigration enforcement activity becomes more visible, many people are feeling uncertain, anxious, or unsure where to turn. Questions come up quickly. What happens if Immigration and Customs Enforcement ("ICE") shows up at my door? What do I have to do? What are my rights?
Clarity matters in moments like these. Fear thrives in confusion. Rights exist to provide structure, limits, and protection, especially when power is being exercised.
This article is meant to explain, in plain terms, what Your Rights are if you encounter ICE, whether at home or in public, and how to protect yourself without escalating a situation.
If ICE Comes to Your Home
Your home is one of the most protected places under the Constitution.
If someone claiming to be ICE comes to your door, you do not have to open it. You may ask who they are and why they are there, and you can do so with the door closed.
This article first appeared on Substack
You might have heard that there’s a group of people collecting signatures to end (abolish) property taxes in Ohio.
Today, Governor Mike DeWine (a Republican) tried to explain how bad that would be for our state.
If we abolish property taxes, Ohio would need to find other ways to bring in revenue for water departments, sewer departments, street repair, and schools — so other taxes would shoot way up.
Watch video here
Support for Operation Destroy America is fracturing among Republicans and ICE operatives. The ICE-capades have unified masses of locally organized neighbor defenders in oppo; judges continue to thwart efforts at the ethnic cleansing of the nation. Still, the coup-meisters may succeed in destroying the UN, if not the US.
Dr. Bob Fitrakis and Dan-o Dougan know everybody wants a box of chocolates and a long-stemmed rose as they play Stupid Cupid songs.
Listen live at 11pm Fridays, February 6 and 13, and Mondays at 10am January 9 and 16, streaming at wgrn.org or on the radio at 91.9FM
and
Mondays at 2pm streaming January 9 and 16 at wcrsfm.org or on the radio at 92.7 or 98.3FM
“Ohio Is Home for All” reads a new, robin's egg blue digital billboard in Akron, featuring faces of people of all races, ages, and ethnicities. According to the Ohio Immigrant Alliance and Elizabeth Zaleski, the billboard’s sponsor, all people who choose to make Ohio their home, raise their families and build good lives here, are welcome in the Buckeye State.
“Ours is a message of welcome and inclusion,” said Lynn Tramonte, Executive Director of the Ohio Immigrant Alliance. “Immigrants are part of Ohio’s past, present, and future. The current federal government may see it differently, but most of them don’t live in Ohio. They don’t represent the opinion of millions of people here. We don’t need politicians who teach us to hate our neighbors. We need politicians who understand that every contribution matters and we are all part of one community.”
Elizabeth Zaleski is a book editor who lives in Akron. Concerned about current anti-immigrant policies, she reached out to OIA to partner on this billboard, which will be up through the month of February.
There are more activists events in the Free Press Calendar
Friday, February 6, 3pm
Liberation Center, 1004 Parsons Ave.
This article first appeared online here.
PBS has just launched Black and Jewish America, a four-week miniseries that examines the political and historical ties between African Americans and Jewish Americans.
For those who want to examine the topic further, a new documentary directed by Ilana Trachtman is a good place to start. Ain’t No Back to a Merry-Go-Round tells the fascinating story of a 1960 protest that unexpectedly created cross-cultural ties.
The protest centered on Glen Echo Amusement Park, which once served as a recreation destination for families in the Washington, D.C. area. Offering rides, snacks and a giant pool, it had everything parents needed to keep their kids entertained on hot summer days.
The only problem: You had to be White to enter. Children from local Black neighborhoods could only watch the fun from outside the gates.
The anti-ICE protestor who was arrested by Columbus police believes an obstructing official business charge was filed separately after the night of the incident.
He’s also been offered a plea deal. Prosecutors will drop the initial charges filed against him if he pleads guilty to obstructing official business, according to his public defender.
Kevin Logan, a northwest side activist and former foster kid, was arrested by Columbus police at the hotel ICE was staying at in the days leading up to Christmas.
What makes the obstruction of official business charge alarming is it could be based on how he was protesting ICE – very vociferously and enthusiastically to say the least. He utilized a bullhorn on the first two nights protesting.
Thursday, February 5, 5pm
Columbus Liberation Center, 1004 Parsons Ave.
Help build for the February 7 protests to demand ICE out of Ohio! Defend and expand protected status!