Local
Several major Columbus news media reported this past week that Greyhound buses are leaving their central location from downtown Columbus and are opening a new terminal at 845 North Wilson Road in the Hilltop neighborhood.
A June 27 Dispatch story stated, “Greyhound’s new terminal, in the site of a former Shell station, features indoor and outdoor seating, ADA accessible restrooms, a ticket kiosk, and round-the-clock live ticket sales. The new site doesn’t offer food but is within walking distance of a Waffle House, Wendy's and McDonald’s…The Greyhound station Downtown has moved nearly 10 miles west of the city’s center.”
The decision to move the Greyhound terminal drew harsh criticism from numerous transit advocates. One stated, “Columbus is a joke of a city. The new location is wildly inaccessible without a car. Just getting to the new station via COTA will add an hour to any trip I take.”
Wednesday, July 5, 2023, 6:30 PM
Indivisible Central Ohio and Grandview Ignite are offering a voter registration training and refresher course open to all! Learn voter registration tips and get info about the new voter ID laws in Ohio.
Register here.
There’s a special election coming up this August. The voter registration deadline is Monday, July 10th. Are you registered to vote yet?
If you’re not, it’s totally understandable: discussion of a need for an active and conscientious electorate can be quite insulting when you work more than two jobs to keep a roof over your head and food on the table; it can seem totally irrelevant. It’s also true that many of our elected officials tend to become aloof for all but the most intense portion of their re-election campaigns, so why bother?
Getting out the vote is the reason I entered into community organizing work, which brought me to Columbus over a decade ago. It was 2011, and Gov. John Kasich’s Senate Bill 5 sought to marginalize the collective bargaining powers of public workers.
Those opposed to the legislation saw it for what it was: an attempt to hoodwink the public into gutting worker protections while privatizing public sector jobs. We knew the Right would exploit their base’s resentments against unions. But we fought back and won with one of the largest mobilizations in Ohio history.
Tuesday, July 4, 1pm, beginning and ending at Goodale Park [Park St. side], 120 W. Goodale St.
The Doo Dah Parade is celebrating 40 Years so prepare to be blown away! The Good Witch of the [Short] North would look kindly on you by either watching or being in the parade. There’s no entry fee, no pre-registration, you just show up!
Celebrate Liberty and Lunacy with traditional weird costumes and customs and funny opinions in the Short North Arts District. In Goodale Park, hang in the shade near the gazebo for the live music after-glow party, 11am-8pm.
The Ruby Jubilee 40th Annual Doo Dah Parade, Tuesday, July 4, 1pm. Rain Date: July 3. No entry fee. There’s no place like Doo Dah!
If you feel it, belt out the National Anthem at 1pm. The parade then stumbles out at 1:01pm.
Line-up begins at 12noon on Park St. Political Satire at Its Worst!
There’s free live music at the gazebo near the pond from 11am to 7pm. Use this link to view the 2023 band list.
Watch or march in the craziest parade in history! No entry fee! Just show up!
"Past Lives" is a masterpiece about deep, genuine human emotion. In her directorial debut, Celine Song demonstrates a self-assured confidence and delivers immense emotional impact through a film that explores the rich, layered connections between characters and their past and present experiences.
It delves into the deep concept of 'In Yun,' a Korean term, suggesting that anyone we interact with in this life is someone we've connected with in a past life.
Twelve years after Nora (Greta Lee) and her family immigrated to North America from South Korea, she rekindles an old connection with her childhood best friend, Hae Sung (Teo Yoo). The duo picks up right where they left off, and their connection remains as strong as their childhood bond.
Despite their lives taking different paths, another 12 years pass, and a vacation reunites them, leading to introspective contemplations about love and fate. Their story, set against our modern, technology-driven world, is infused with elements of romance and melancholy, exploring the notion of past lives and multiple soulmates.
Mine 4 God Productions (M4GP) is proud and excited to announce its 11th Annual Columbus Black Theatre Festival (CBTF) held this year July 7th – 9th at the Columbus Performing Arts Center in the Van Fleet Theatre.
Our theme this year is “The Right to Choose” and the seven plays that were selected meet our theme touching on mixed marriages, gender identities, sexual lifestyles, educational choices, racial biases, abortion and “coming out” to parents. These plays, written by playwrights from across America, come to life on stage under the direction of local and New York Directors and by the performances of actors from central Ohio.
This year we also brought back our six-week summer Youth Writing and Acting Workshop. The youth will perform their original monologues at the Columbus Metropolitan Main Library on July 1st and also at the theatre festival. We thank the Greater Columbus Arts Council for their generous Project Support Grant, Wild Goose Creatives our fiscal sponsor and Lady Butterflies of Ohio for their continued support.
Breaking News: US Supreme Court breaks US Constitution and federal law, and misreads American history in striking down decades of varied approaches to affirmative action. The Court and its right-wing support are racist in their celebrations especially as they illogically label anti-racism as racism.
Update: as of June 28, the only signs on OSU’s off-campus administration in hiding building are for Smashburgers and Chicken Tenders. A security guard tells me that pizza is next. Not one word announced that OSU’s senior administration has relocated secretly to 15 E. 15th Avenue at North High St.
Late and unknowledgeable as always, Gov. DeWine and Ohio school administrators follow behind the US and the world in their sudden discovery of the much touted but little founded marketing term “the science of reading.” Lately, it promotes itself, literally, as SoR.
Saturday, July 1, 2023, 12:00 Noon
Ohio's state parks and public lands are under attack. The oil and gas industry has submitted its first nine applications to FRACK Ohio public land, including three applications to frack an incredible 281 parcels of Salt Fork State Park. Salt Fork is the largest state park in Ohio and widely considered the gem of our state park system. There is no way that surrounding this park with 16 frack pads to frack 281 parcels will leave this park unscathed.
Fracking is incompatible with hiking, camping, swimming, fishing, birdwatching, and any other activity people do in our state parks. Help us fight back!
Join the Rally to Save Salt Fork State Park at Shelter 1, near Camp Beach, at Salt Fork, 14755 Cadiz Rd, Lore City, OH 43755.
Learn how fracking affects climate, health, democracy and more, tell visitors to the park what is happening, and say NO to fracking our precious public lands.
Thursday, June 29, 6-8pm, All People’s Fresh Market, 945 Parsons Ave.
Join us for an evening of food, live music, and more! All are welcome; this event is free!
Community Development recognizes that wellness is both physical and spiritual. The opening of the Fresh Market is an effort to promote healthy living.
On Wednesday, June 28, workers at the 1085 W. 5th Ave. Starbucks store will be on an unfair labor practice strike to demand that Starbucks meet the partners at the bargaining table to negotiate a fair contract. The workers are also calling on the Company to end its attacks on LGBTQIA+ workers as part of its relentless union-busting campaign that includes threatening workers’ access to benefits and refusing to let partners put up pride decorations at dozens of stores across the country.