Local
Saturday, April 8, 7-8pm, this event will be occurring via Zoom
Get to know our local progressive candidates!
Speakers:
• Adrienne Hood, Columbus City Council candidate
• Joe Motil, Columbus Mayor candidate
A question-and-answer period will be included.
Please use this Zoom link to join this event.
Hosted by The Columbus Free Press.
City of Columbus mayoral candidate Joe Motil says, “Andy Ginther continues to spout off about crime numbers being down and how he is going to make Columbus, Ohio “the safest city in America” while he reduces the police force. At the same moment, five homicides occurred within a 48-hour period between this past Saturday evening and late Monday afternoon. To date, there have been 44 homicides in Columbus. On March 13th, the city of Columbus tragically recorded its 30th homicide of 2023. Since Ginther has been mayor, this is the second fastest time that Columbus has reached 30 homicides.”
RAPID 5’s “vision” to put parks and greenways within a mile-and-a-half of all Franklin County residents is arguably one of the most ambitious public-private development endeavors in the history of Central Ohio.
RAPID 5 stands for “Rivers and Parks Imagination Design” and has a “vision” – they refuse to call it “plans” – for all five of Central Ohio major waterways: the Big Darby, the Scioto River, the Olentangy River, Alum Creek and the Big Walnut.
Those behind RAPID 5 and on its board are some of the biggest policy makers and developers in the region: MORPC, Franklin County Metro Parks, Thrive Developers, Continental Real Estate Company (described as a full-service retail and hospitality developer), M/I Homes and City of Columbus, to name a few.
But so far, RAPID 5 has left one significant and extremely large public group out of its preliminary vision plans or draft reports – the pubic itself.
I submitted this “guest essay” to the New York Times following publication their fourth error-filled opinion essay about universities and the humanities in less than one month. Not surprisingly, they did not publish it. I turn to the Columbus Free Press because the issues are important to all of us.
I note that in late autumn 2021, under a new editor, the New York Times changed the name of its Opinion or Op-Ed essays since the 1890s, to Guest Essay. At the same time, they removed any mention of accuracy or factual from their criteria.
Thursday, April 6 at 7 PM on ZOOM
I invite you to a Columbus Area meeting of SPAN Ohio. It will be on ZOOM so you don't have to travel and can come as you are. You can actively participate, and I hope you will. Mark the date on your calendar!
Some agenda Items are:
The generating capacity of renewable energy in the U.S has surpassed coal for the first time in 2022.
The Energy Information Agency (EIA) has released data that shows that in 2022 for the first time renewable energy surpassed the generating capacity of coal on the U.S grid. This follows data in 2020 showing renewable energy surpassed nuclear energy as a generating source.
Currently wind and solar account for about 14 percent of the power that's on the grid. Hydro is at about six percent and the other forms such as geothermal and biofuels account for another three percent. The renewable share of the U.S grid is around 23 percent in generating capacity. Coal is currently down to about 20 percent and nuclear is down to about 18 percent. The number one generating source is natural gas at about 40 percent of the generating capacity on the grid. https://www.eia.gov/
Wednesday, April 5, 12:30pm
Public Utilities Commission of Ohio
180 E Broad St
Columbus, OH 43215
United States
Google map and directions
The Public Utilities Commission of Ohio has the authority to stop the coal plant subsidies.
The PUCO is required to conduct audits to determine whether or not the costs ratepayers are charged each month to pay off the coal plant shareholders’ debts are “prudent.” And audits at the Public Utilities Commission reveal that OVEC is running the plants at inefficient times and overcharging all of us.
City of Columbus mayoral candidate Joe Motil states, “Today’s [April 3rd] homeowner repair loan forgiveness by Mayor Ginther was just another election year staged media event. Due to the city handing out home repair grants to eligible recipients for some time now, it is only fair to those homeowner repair recipients who have been required with paying back their interest free loans to be given the same treatment. The earlier recipients should have been given grants in the first place.”
Motil continues, “Assistance with home repairs for seniors and those on fixed incomes is important. I have heard stories for years now how new residents who are purchasing tax abated luxury homes in desirable risk-free development urban neighborhoods are calling code enforcement officers on long-time residents who cannot afford repairs. Along with escalating property taxes, this is just one more adverse impact caused by gentrification.”
Tuesday, April 4, 2023, 7:00 PM
On April 4, 1967, exactly one year before he was murdered, Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. gave an historic sermon at New York’s Riverside Church on the profound connection between US militarism abroad with violence, racial repression, and widespread deprivation on the home front.
Over 50 years later, from Ukraine to Uvalde, the crises of militarism, materialism, racism and the prospect of spiritual death that Dr. King warned us about are still very much with us. Not only does this militarism abroad continue to seed violence and poverty at home, it now aggravates the climate crisis and consumes vital resources that could alleviate climate-related suffering.
The New Democracy Coalition (NDC), Massachusetts Peace Action (MAPA), and cosponsors will present a public reading of “Beyond Vietnam: A Time to Break Silence”, May 2, with 100 readers, on Boston City Hall Plaza, to bring community focus to the issues of war, militarism and racism.
The Central Ohio Workers Center is currently circulating an on-line petition and providing a suggested letter for those wishing to physically mail a show of support for this program. Implementing this program in Columbus will provide necessary identification for tens of thousands of residents, especially those in vulnerable populations who have trouble obtaining traditional forms of ID such as victims of domestic violence, people experiencing homelessness, immigrants, and those re-entering society from prison/jail. This would represent a significant step in addressing a critical city‐wide problem since lack of acceptable identification keeps these populations isolated and susceptible to exploitation. This municipal ID card will be helpful for proving identity and could connect residents to services, programs, and benefits. Click here to sign onto the letter of support.