Local

Friday, March 24, 8pm, Chef Hīrō, 1297 Parsons Ave.

Come sing your hearts out with us at Queer Karaoke Night hosted by BQIC on Friday, March 24, 8-10pm! We’ll be at Chef Hīrō which is located at 1297 Parsons Ave, so you can also grab a bite to eat or a drink while you’re there! D.J. Faye Waye will be running us through the hits, so make sure you come through and bring a friend! Parking is available at the back of the restaurant.

This is a fundraiser for BQIC, so we are asking that non-QTIPOC pay $10 to participate; queer and trans folks of color have a suggested donation of $5.

When the hijacked planes hit the twin towers of the World Trade Center, pierced the Pentagon and buried into a field near Shanksville, Pennsylvania, most of our thoughts were about the cruel, horrific shattering of family bonds, the forever severing of deep friendships, the senseless destruction of human life.  More than that America was under threat and fear prevailed.

The never-ending heartache of loss was on display in photos with messages that ringed the fence of a church near ground zero in New York:  “Have you seen him?”  “Please, any information, call…”  “Please help us find our wife and mother.”   

Hundreds of messages. No responses.

I was in New York a few days after 9/11 and witnessed the devastation.  I traveled to the site where Flight 93 impacted.  And I had heard the plane hit the Pentagon, as I joined hundreds evacuating the Congressional House Office Buildings in Washington, D.C.    

Yesterday, March 22, was a big day for labor in Columbus. Striking Starbucks workers shut down two locations, unions crowded two Statehouse hearings, and Wex Arts workers won their union, a struggle that took over two years.

Starbucks Strike

Thursday, March 23, 7pm

Register to Attend
Buckeye Environmental Network and Ohio Brine Task Force

Moderated by Athens County Commissioner Lenny Eliason, hear from experts Dr. Julie Weatherington-Rice and Fire Battalion Chief Silverio Caggiano about the hidden dangers of oil and gas waste. We will explore the radioactive and toxic properties of oil & gas waste, how it is widely spread throughout most of Ohio's counties, and it's effects on the body.

Today, Starbucks workers across the country went on a one day strike. The union Starbucks Workers United are demanding an end to the company’s union-busting campaign. 

Starbucks has launched a brutal campaign against unionization efforts in their stores. Raises were withheld from union organizers, union organizers were fired, and Starbucks locations where unions were established were illegally shut down.

But in recent months, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) has ruled in favor of workers. A judge from the NLRB recently ruled that Starbucks has to re-hire fired baristas and re-open closed locations, finding the company guilty of violating labor laws “hundreds of times.” But Starbucks has nonetheless continued their union-busting campaign.

It ought to be easy. Open bank vault, remove weapons dealers, close bank vault. In reality, we need a ton of tools, work, and luck.

In constant dollar terms, after Korea, Vietnam, Reagan’s second term, and Obama’s first term U.S. military spending went down, just never as much as it had gone up. So, ending wars, including Cold Wars, may help.

We now have a war underway in which the U.S. participation is understood as primarily spending money. Ending that spending could be expanded into reducing military spending more broadly.

March 21, 2-23

Good afternoon everyone. Thank you for joining me.

Andy Ginther just finished presenting yet another of his state of the city addresses. He repeatedly proclaims advancements in nearly every aspect of what impacts the lives of neighborhoods, individuals and working families both socially and economically. He once again paints a picture of neighborhood improvements across the city. He continues to make promises that Columbus’ great economic growth leads directly to well-paying jobs that are plentiful to everyone.

Andy Ginther’s regular refrain that never has any credible evidence-is, “he believes in doing the right thing, and not what’s easy or politically expedient” and “investing in roads and sidewalks that connect our community.”

Wednesday, March 22, 2023, 7:00 – 8:00 PM
Sociologists Paul Ray and Sherry Anderson studied the values of Americans and discovered a new demographic they labeled "cultural creatives."

Join us to learn why Paul Ray believes we are undergoing a momentous historical transition to what he calls a new "wisdom culture." We will view a slide deck that describes their work and conclusions. Chuck Lynd will then lead a discussion about the cultural creatives. Are they a hope for a regenerative future?  

Tuesday, March 21, 2023, 12:00 – 1:00 PM
Join us for the National Day of Action to Stop Dirty Banking.  We will learn about JP MorganChase's support for fossil fuels and CUT UP our Chase credit cards. It's time to withdraw our money from the machine that props up climate disaster!  
Location:  Chase Tower, 100 E. Broad St., Columbus, Ohio.  
Register here. 

Along with a few dozen Columbus-area residents of diverse age, occupation, gender, and race, my wife and I delighted in the monthly First Things event on Saturday, March 18.

Sponsored by Four Seasons City Farm—“one organization, many growing sites”—First Things is a monthly “fund raiser and friend raiser” using the exceptional, truly historic rooms of the landmark, all but forgotten Old First Presbyterian Church on Bryden Road in Old Town East, Columbus.

First Things calls us to celebrate Columbus’ best preserved, if neglected, historic area. Missing from the embarrassing AIA Guide to Columbus, the church—the oldest in Columbus—was founded in 1806.

Now on the third Saturday of each month, from 7-11 pm, the church is home to First Things.