Local

“No on HJR 1 Day of Action: Join Us at the Statehouse,” hosted by Common Cause Ohio and eight other organizations

Wednesday, May 3, 12:30pm, Trinity Episcopal Church on Capitol Square, 125 E. Broad St.

The Day of Action to stop HJR 1 has been changed to Wednesday, May 3!

The Ohio House session during which we believe that the vote on HJR 1 will take place has been moved to Wednesday, May 3; please join us then. We will gather at Trinity Episopal Church, 125 E. Broad St., across the street from the Ohio Statehouse; we will then march over to the House Chamber at the Ohio Statehouse.

Together, we plan to make it clear that we won’t put up with this attack on our rights and the Ohio Constitution!

The Libertarian Party of Ohio (LPO) announced today that it will be joining over 200 other organizations in the multi-partisan alliance against HJR1 and SJR2, the resolutions being advanced by Republicans in the Statehouse that could potentially usurp Ohioans’ right to amend the state constitution via a simple majority vote at the ballot box.

In 2013, when the LPO was gaining electoral traction with conservatives, independents and moderates alike, the Ohio Republican Party passed new ballot access laws to derail minor political parties' access to the ballot. The law –– called SB 193, but also known as “The John Kasich Re-Election Protection Act” –– was signed by then-Governor Kasich almost immediately.

A few days before Christmas, having quit his job in Germany, Matthias (Marin Grigore) returns to his multi-ethnic Transylvanian village. He wishes to involve himself more in the education of his son, Rudi (Mark Edward Blenyesi), left for too long in the care of his mother, Ana (Macrina Barladeanu), and to rid the boy of the unresolved fears that have taken hold of him. He’s preoccupied with his old father, Otto (Andrei Finti), and also eager to see his ex-lover, Csilla Szabo (Judith State). When a few new workers are hired at the small factory that Csilla manages, the peace of the community is disturbed, underlying fears grip the adults, and frustrations, conflicts and passions erupt through the thin veneer of apparent understanding and calm.

When the relatively unheard of IQAir released its annual “World Air Quality” report earlier this year, it found the “most polluted major U.S. city was Columbus, Ohio.”

Equally alarming and unbecoming is how IQAir said Columbus has a high concentration of PM 2.5, described as some of the worst inhalable particles, which can cause depressed lung function and premature death.

PM 2.5 (particle matter) is mostly created by burning fossil fuels. Some claim automobile-centric Columbus “smells bad” around 9am, just after rush hour. But worse air quality than Los Angeles?

“Usually, Los Angeles is up there. But Columbus beat Los Angeles,” said IQAir’s CEO of North America Glory Dolphin Hammes to WOSU back in March.

Both the Mid-Ohio Regional Planning Commission and the Ohio EPA told WOSU the methodology IQAir followed is providing inaccurate data because some of their air sensors are not up to federal EPA standards. 

I live in a 110-year-old house on a corner lot in the historic but public- and private-destroyed University District (UD) of Columbus. The area is unsafe, filthy, in disrepair, and unpoliced by the City of Columbus, Ohio State University (OSU) that depends on it for housing a majority of its students since its founding in 1870, large corporate property owners whose very existence is technically illegal, and many but not all student tenants.

The UD is a mix of incompatible ingredients simmering at high temperatures on a front burner with no one near the controls. It sometimes burns; lives are lost. Among historic university adjacent areas across the US, it is an extreme example of active and passive neglect.

Consider a telling incident from overnight March 27-28. Our OSU senior tenant neighbors laboriously dragged seven rental electronic scooters and one rental electronic bicycle nto our private property and left them in a jumbled pile blocking our double garage. These students, I note, are 21-22 years of age, university students, allowed to own guns, and vote. But they refuse to follow the law, breaking it more often and violently when asked to respect it.

Register for the  webinar on May 3rd at 7pm CT/8pmET

The right to expose the truth and express political dissent is under attack by the U.S. government, as exemplified by the continued persecution of Julian Assange for exposing war crimes, and the recent indictment of members of the Uhuru Movement for "sowing social discord" and furthering so-called "Russian propaganda."

AssangeDefense-Chicago, in association with Chicago Area Peace Action and CodePink, has brought together a panel of speakers uniquely qualified to discuss these critically important issues affecting the future of democracy in the U.S..

We are especially excited about the opportunity to hear from Len Goodman, the criminal defense lawyer representing Penny Hess (chairperson of the African People's Solidarity Committee) who is due to be arraigned on May 2nd.

The Panel 

Recent weeks have seen several stories of states seeking to silence legislators going against the powers that be. The expulsion of two lawmakers from the Tennessee legislature advocating for gun control efforts was followed by a session-long ban placed on Montana Rep. Zooey Zephyr for protesting the state’s proposed ban on gender-affirming care. In this race to the bottom to silence dissent and subvert the democratic process, however, Ohio’s recent effort stands out. The Ohio legislature's recent effort seeks not just to silence individual minority legislators, but to potentially ignore the will of a majority of Ohioans.           

Sunday, April 30, 2pm, beginning and ending at Goodale Park, 120 W. Goodale St.

May 1, known as May Day, is also International Labor Day. This date was chosen to commemorate the Haymarket Affair, the aftermath of a bombing that took place at a labor demonstration on May 4, 1886, in Chicago’s Haymarket Square. What better way to celebrate than learning about your own local labor history? Join Columbus DSA [Democratic Socialists of America] for a labor history bike tour of Columbus this year on April 30th!

Freelance workers in Central Ohio will soon have access to basic wage protections under a new ordinance in the city of Columbus. Columbus City Council is expected to vote in favor of the changes to wage protection laws within the Columbus city municipal code on May Day, Monday May 1.

Members of the Freelance Solidarity Project, which helped draft the ordinance changes, and other labor organizations will gather at the Columbus City Council meeting from 5-6pm on Monday May 1 at City Hall, 90 West Broad St. Members of the public are encouraged to attend to show support for freelance workers in the city.

The new law covers any individual freelance worker hired to provide goods or services by a business based within the city of Columbus. Under the revised code, the hiring party is now required to:

Saturday, April 29, 11am-3pm, Land-Grant Brewing Company, 424 W. Town St.

Kaleidoscope Youth Center [KYC] and Land-Grant Brewing Company are back for the Second Annual Land-Grant Drag Brunch on Saturday, April 29, benefiting KYC and LGBTQIA+ youth in our community!

Hosted by Anisa Love and Virginia West, this is a free-admission event with registration strongly encouraged. This year, we are also introducing very limited VIP seating where 100% of proceeds to support KYC.

More details:

Time: Doors open at 11am; show starts at 12noon.

Food: RayRay’s Hog Pit and Mikey’s Late Night Slice

Drinks: Proceeds from your drink purchases during the event will be donated to KYC! Please drink responsibly!

Performances: Anisa Love, Virginia West, and more to be announced!

Ticket Info: We have three ticket tiers through kycbrunch.eventbrite.com.

• First Row VIP: four tables available: $200 per table. Each table seats six. Price includes seating plus a KYC pint glass and swag.