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Editor’s Note: As described in the last Mary Jane’s Guide article, the Governor and General Assembly indicated that they want to make substantial changes to Issue 2, which passed on November 7th with the approval of over two million Ohio voters. These controversial changes are occurring at the last minute with the introduction of two bills, H.B. 326 and H.B. 341, intended to modify certain sections of the Ohio Revised Code that already contain the Issue 2 ballot language. This is a tight timeline if these modifications are to be made before December 7th, Issue 2’s effective date.
Here is Mary Jane’s planned testimony, should lawmakers hold hearings.
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December 4, 2023
Students from Glenville High School, Laurel High School, Solon High School, and Cleveland School of the Arts will travel to Columbus on December 6 to support legislation promoting community solar.
State legislators are currently considering a bill that could bring the benefits of solar energy to those who can’t, or prefer not to, install panels on their own home. If passed, House Bill 197, sponsored by Rep. James Hoops (R-Napolean) and Rep. Sharon Ray (R-Wadsworth) will create Ohio’s first Community Solar Pilot Program. For the first time, solar power would be available for renters, condos, townhomes, and most small- to medium-sized businesses who cannot install rooftop solar. This comes at a time when the nationwide Solar for All program is poised to help low-income Americans gain access to solar energy at an unprecedented scale.
Franklin County Treasurer Cheryl Brooks Sullivan announced the purchase of $2.5 million in Israel Bonds effective October 16 despite S&P lowering its credit rating for the state of Israel in the aftermath of the October 7 attacks. This is after $4 million purchase of Israel Bonds was announced in February. Franklin County’s total holdings of Israel Bonds is now $25 million – the largest of any of the 15 Ohio counties that purchase Israel Bonds.
“This is a solid show of support for the State of Israel,” Jay Schottenstein, chairman of Israel Bonds Central Ohio Advisory Council and CEO of American Eagle, said in a press release.
Missed Opportunities
Jimmy sat at his desk in his office. The desk was cluttered with paper, logbooks, receipt books, pens and pencils, so much so that you couldn’t see the desktop. On the walls were posters of Jim Brown, the Cleveland Browns fullback football player, The Harlem Globetrotters world famous basketball team, Pam Grier, a popular Black B-Movie actress, Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcom X. The room had a strong male musty smell, combined with pepperoni pizza and stale cigarettes. Jimmy hung up the telephone, shook his head and let out a loud sigh.
“Sissy!” he yelled.
His office door was flung open and in rushed Sissy with a cup of coffee in her right hand. Sissy Hanson had worked for Jimmy for over ten years. When she first started, she was returning to the workforce due to her husband of twenty-five years leaving her for a younger woman. Everyone tried to tell her that the other woman really wasn’t a “younger woman” because she was only three years younger than Sissy, who was forty-four at the time, but, in Sissy’s closed mind, she was younger than she was so therefore she was a younger woman. Case closed.
Monday, December 4, 2023, 1:00 PM
Please join the Marijuana Policy Project for a LIVE virtual discussion about what's next after voters passed Issue 2 at the ballot to make Ohio the 24th legalization state. Karen O'Keefe, MPP's Director of State Policies, will be joined by Ohio State Rep. Juanita Brent and Tom Haren, Spokesperson of the Coalition to Regulate Marijuana like Alcohol (CRMLA) to speak about the details of Ohio's legalization law — and the challenges it will face in implementation. \
Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine and his allies in the state legislature opposed the legalization measure that passed with a strong majority on November 7, and now prohibitionist lawmakers are seeking revisions and burdensome regulations that would undermine the will of voters and severely weaken legalization in the Buckeye State.
News: Youngstown State University follows Ohio State University in appointing a retired military man as president. Radically gerrymandered Ohio US Representative Bill Johnson—best known as a roaring Trumpist and loud election denier—served in the US Air Force for 26 years.
Unlike “Top Gun” Ted Carter who retired as a vice admiral in the Navy and led 1200 student vocational US Naval Academy and briefly the University of Nebraska System but never a large academic campus, Johnson retired as lieutenant colonel. Condemned by all YSU parties including faculty, students, and alumni, much like his OSU football coach predecessor Jim Tressell, Johnson has no relevant preparation or experience. Tressell at least knew the locker room.
That no longer matters in Ohio, much as State Senator Jerry Cirino wishes.
Thru Sun Dec 10
During the Cimate Consciousness Summit 2023, the movie ‘UNCHARITABLE’ will be screened for free. Everything you know about change is about to change! Meet the director, Stephen Gyllenhaal, live on Fri, Dec 8
Register here - https://summit.pocketproject.org/#start-registration
About “UnCharitable”
After three of the most dynamic and successful U.S. charities were shut down by conservative charity watchdogs, destroying lives and cutting off precious resources, many of the top influencers in the field knew something had to be done to overhaul the nonprofit sector.
Led by Dan Pallotta, whose record-breaking TED Talk on the subject has inspired leading philanthropists and changemakers, this feature-length documentary directed by Stephen Gyllenhaal exposes the dark side of philanthropy and introduces a radical new way of giving. In a powerful call to action, Uncharitable demands that charities be freed from the traditional constraints, so that they can truly change the world.
Saturday, December 2, 3-5pm, Whitehall Branch Library, 4445 E. Broad St
Bring the family out to celebrate the release of Step by Step! How the Lincoln School Marchers Blazed a Trail to Justice, by Debbie Riguad and Carlotta Pen.
This event is for all ages — it’s about sharing the important history of the Lincoln School Marchers and supporting literary arts in our community. We will have jewelry and book making, cookies, music, photos, and a reading.
Hosted by Daydreamers Press.
SPAN Ohio and Health Care for All Ohioans are very excited as the winter sets in to start our planning for the future. We have a great year to look back on with wins in August and November helping to protect the healthcare rights of Ohioans. We want to thank everyone for all that you do and ask you to be as involved as you are able.
We have meetings of our State Council, SPAN's governing body, every other month to plan the ongoing work of our organization. Everyone is invited to join us, though to participate in voting you must be a member of the State Council. Our next meeting is this Saturday, December 2nd, at 9am via zoom. The zoom invite is below. We would love to see you there.
Children and farmworker communities will yet again be in harm’s way, as a harmful pesticide is allowed to return to the market. For nearly half of a century, U.S. staple foods such as apples, cherries, peaches, and citrus were sprayed with chlorpyrifos (pronounced: klawr-pir-uh-fos), a dangerous pesticide that poisons farmworkers and in even smaller doses harms the developing brains of children. In 2021, thanks to a court win for farmworkers, civil rights, disability, and public health advocates in partnership with Earthjustice, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) banned all food uses of chlorpyrifos.