Local
When Channel 6 news recently called John Coneglio, president of the Columbus Education Association (CEA), he knew exactly how they were going to frame their story on the Columbus City School’s levy, or Issue 11. They asked Coneglio how to explain the Ohio Education Association’s annual grade given to Columbus City Schools. They gave the district a ‘2,’ which means the district is not up to state standards.
“Find me a failing district with rich people living in it,” Coneglio told the Channel 6 reporter, owned of course by Sinclair Broadcast Group, which everyone knows is anti-union, especially unionized teachers. “If I go to Dublin, Olentangy, or Bexley, are any of these school districts failing? Why not? This is what I asked Channel 6.”
He turned the table on Sinclair Broadcasting, which comes from a position that public school teachers aren’t worth their salary, benefits, and summer break.
Something’s Wrong
After school let out that day, Jean, Annie, and I walked home together. During the day, I kept my ears open in the lunchroom and bathroom, but I didn’t hear nothing about Smooth’s death, so I was hoping that one of them had, especially Jean our social butterfly. Annie had and started talking about it before I could figure out a way to get the ball rolling.
“Did you hear about Smooth? They found his body in the alleyway behind IGA a couple days ago.” Annie said.
“No, I ain’t heard nothing, who told you about it?’ I asked.
“No one in particular, I heard it in the lunchroom, you know how people talk.”
“Yeah, I know, but do they know what they’re talking about?” Jean cracked.
“Well, they said he was shot three times in the chest, and his body was laying there for two days before it was found.”
“Three shots! It wasn’t that many!” Jean slipped up. Big mouth!
“What Jean, what did you hear?” Annie stopped walking and asked her excitedly.
“Not much, they was talking about it in the lunch line. Didn’t hear it all, said it was more than one shot, that’s all.”
Somethings Wrong
After school let out that day, Jean, Annie, and I walked home together. During the day, I kept my ears open in the lunchroom and bathroom, but I didn’t hear nothing about Smooth’s death, so I was hoping that one of them had, especially Jean our social butterfly. Annie had and started talking about it before I could figure out a way to get the ball rolling.
“Did you hear about Smooth? They found his body in the alleyway behind IGA a couple days ago.” Annie said.
“No, I ain’t heard nothing, who told you about it?’ I asked.
“No one in particular, I heard it in the lunchroom, you know how people talk.”
“Yeah, I know, but do they know what they’re talking about?” Jean cracked.
“Well, they said he was shot three times in the chest, and his body was laying there for two days before it was found.”
“Three shots! It wasn’t that many!” Jean slipped up. Big mouth!
“What Jean, what did you hear?” Annie stopped walking and asked her excitedly.
“Not much, they was talking about it in the lunch line. Didn’t hear it all, said it was more than one shot, that’s all.”
Monday, November 6 through Sunday, December 17, 2023, 8:00 AM
World Beyond War's online courses are self-paced, using videos and texts and graphics, available on your schedule, 24-7, and discussion forums in which you can use videos and texts and graphics to discuss and gain feedback, as well as to submit optional assignments for feedback. There are also a few optional zoom calls. Those are the only parts of the course that are scheduled. Everything else is simply available on your schedule.
Course fee: $100 (Pay less if you have to, more if you can.) There will be a limit of 150 tickets sold for this course. Everyone registered for the course will receive a PDF of David Swanson's book The Monroe Doctrine at 200 and What to Replace it With, which will provide additional reading to those who want to go beyond the written, video, and graphic materials provided in the course.
Monday, November 6 through Sunday, December 17, 2023, 8:00 AM
World Beyond War's online courses are self-paced, using videos and texts and graphics, available on your schedule, 24-7, and discussion forums in which you can use videos and texts and graphics to discuss and gain feedback, as well as to submit optional assignments for feedback. There are also a few optional zoom calls. Those are the only parts of the course that are scheduled. Everything else is simply available on your schedule.
Course fee: $100 (Pay less if you have to, more if you can.) There will be a limit of 150 tickets sold for this course. Everyone registered for the course will receive a PDF of David Swanson's book The Monroe Doctrine at 200 and What to Replace it With, which will provide additional reading to those who want to go beyond the written, video, and graphic materials provided in the course.
The Free Press is honoring Alicia Jean (AJ) Vanderelli with our Activist Artist Award at a ceremony Thursday, November 9. AJ is the owner and manager of the Vanderelli Room, an art gallery that has served as a showplace and safe space for activist artists – and it is the location of the Free Press Awards dinner.
AJ was born in Los Angeles, California and was raised in Panama City, Florida. After graduating high school in 1993, she left the small beach community in search of one that provided both the comforts of a small town with the diversity of a city. In 2003, she settled in Columbus Ohio. She earned a Bachelors of Fine Arts with a concentration in oil painting in 2008 from the Columbus College of Art and Design, graduating Magna Cum Laude.
The Free Press is honoring Alicia Jean (AJ) Vanderelli with our Activist Artist Award at a ceremony Thursday, November 9. AJ is the owner and manager of the Vanderelli Room, an art gallery that has served as a showplace and safe space for activist artists – and it is the location of the Free Press Awards dinner.
AJ was born in Los Angeles, California and was raised in Panama City, Florida. After graduating high school in 1993, she left the small beach community in search of one that provided both the comforts of a small town with the diversity of a city. In 2003, she settled in Columbus Ohio. She earned a Bachelors of Fine Arts with a concentration in oil painting in 2008 from the Columbus College of Art and Design, graduating Magna Cum Laude.
The Free Press is honoring Alicia Jean (AJ) Vanderelli with our Activist Artist Award at a ceremony Thursday, November 9. AJ is the owner and manager of the Vanderelli Room, an art gallery that has served as a showplace and safe space for activist artists – and it is the location of the Free Press Awards dinner.
AJ was born in Los Angeles, California and was raised in Panama City, Florida. After graduating high school in 1993, she left the small beach community in search of one that provided both the comforts of a small town with the diversity of a city. In 2003, she settled in Columbus Ohio. She earned a Bachelors of Fine Arts with a concentration in oil painting in 2008 from the Columbus College of Art and Design, graduating Magna Cum Laude.
Far south side unhoused to be evicted from their makeshift homes; mutual aid group Heer to Serve asks community to help advocate for those affected.
The City of Columbus, along with Columbus Police and private contractors, will soon evict more than 30 unhoused individuals living in tents and other makeshift shelters on the Southside of Columbus. This is far from the first camp sweep the city has been involved in in 2023, a year that has seen the eviction and bulldozing of dozens of camps.
Mutual aid group Heer to Serve has been providing necessary and emergency items to and conducting outreach and programming with people who are unsheltered on the Southside for the past three years. The group is asking fellow community members to help advocate for their neighbors whose homes the city plans to bulldoze. “Housing is a human right,” said Heer to Serve founder Emily Myers. “People should not be dying on our streets due to exposure to the elements and yet it happens every year, with both extreme heat and cold.
Friday, November 3, 5:30-6pm
WGRN 91.9FM community radio, wgrn.org
Nationally renowned peace activist David Swanson is interviewed by Free Press Board member Mark Stansbery in the program discussing our world's current ways and how to move to a world beyond war.
David is a regular guest at the Free Press Zoom salons and his weekly articles can be found on freepress.org. His podcast also plays on the local community radio station WGRN 91.9FM. David was one of the first to point out the lack of weapons of mass destruction in Iraq prior to the war and the hypocrisy of the United States lies about them.