Local

Partners working at the 1085 West 5th Avenue Starbucks had worked side-by-side in cramped quarters through the entire COVID-19 pandemic.

Yet the day before their scheduled in-person unionization vote earlier this month, Starbucks corporate leadership suddenly felt it was unsafe for workers to be together in the same building.

Starbucks’ corporate offices filed an emergency motion with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) asking the election be rescheduled due to safety concerns. A Starbucks partner – what Starbucks calls their employees – at the West 5th location had tested positive for coronavirus, and the unionization vote was temporarily suspended.

However, concerns for safety subsided immediately following the NLRB ruling. All partners were back at work the next day. It was immediately clear to all that the motion to delay the vote was an intentional effort by management to derail unionization efforts. The vote has been rescheduled as a mail-in.

“We would have crushed it, easily,” recalled one union organizer.

National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby said this week, when asked about UK shipments of Depleted Uranium weapons to Ukraine: “If Russia is deeply concerned about the welfare of their tanks and tank soldiers, the safest thing for them to do is move them across the border, get them out of Ukraine.”

Meanwhile, Pentagon spokesperson Garron Garn said Depleted Uranium had “saved the lives of many service members in combat,” and “other countries have long possessed depleted uranium rounds as well, including Russia.”

City of Columbus mayoral candidate Joe Motil states, “CoverMyMeds announced today that it will be cutting 815 jobs nationwide, converting 1,100 employees to fulltime remote work, and plans to sublease portions of its 200,000 square foot Columbus headquarters for office space.”      

Motil continues, “Columbus taxpayers need to be reminded that on July 25, 2018, CoverMyMeds received one of if not the largest tax abatement handouts in our city’s history of $77,741,415. This corporate pork chop to one of the wealthiest corporations in the nation. The McKesson Corporation, will result in the loss of $55 million that should have gone towards providing revenue to educate our children in Columbus Public Schools. I testified against this tax abatement in City Council Chambers in July of 2018 as I have against dozens of other corporate gifts over the last 8 years.”      

Thursday, March 30, 5-6pm, this on-line event requires advance registration

Transgender Day of Visibility on March 31 is a day dedicated to celebrating transgender people, recognizing their contributions to society, and raising awareness about the discrimination they face. In this installment of Meetup Live’s “Dismantling Social Injustice” (DSI) series, we’re holding a panel discussion on pressing issues within the trans community.

Hear from panelists Hope Giselle, author and activist; Mandy Giles, advocate and parent of two transgender adults; and Ryan Sallans, international speaker and author, about current anti-trans legislation and its effects as well as its historical roots. Learn about ways to advocate for trans rights and protections. Stick around for a question-and-answer session at the end.

Agenda:

• Introductions (5 minutes)

• Fireside Chat (40 minutes)

• Question-and-answer session (15 minutes)

RSVP for this event by using this link.

Hosted by Meetup Live.

I knew Future’s “1 Big Party Tour” at Nationwide and Ohio States women’s basketball NCAA Tourney were my week.

People watch a show on Netflix, or Hulu for a week and nothing else.

I avoided every form of entertainment except for watching OSU women’s basketball and blaring Future from my Beat’s Headphones. Dogma 23 March Madness.

The Ohio State women’s team were in NCAA playoffs. I felt like my week would have a different meaning if I immersed myself in the Lady Bucks and didn’t watch anything besides Lady Bucks, and Future.

The first couple games where Ohio State beat James Madison and North Carolina were in Columbus. We found this compelling because Senior Jacy Sheldon is from nearby suburb Dublin. Jacy’s sister Emma Sheldon could seen on the sidelines cheering Jacy. Watching Jacy make a play, and then a young girl with Down Syndrome in an OSU shirt smiling embraced the local and endearing.

Lady Buck’s Taylor Thierry wore a clunky plastic mask. It looked as if the Lady Bucks were a heartwarming film about a band of orphans or foster kids who found sports which helped outsiders find beauty within Columbus.

I write in sadness but with admiration and memories of pleasure. I am of an age. I dedicated my 2022 book, Searching for Literacy, to four scholar/friends who I knew well for between 25 and more than 50 years. I published obituaries for two of them, and dedicated earlier books to former adviser and professors, and two doctoral graduates who died tragically prematurely.

I write to remember for myself, his Columbus Free Press family, former students, and beloved family Jack (John K.) Hartman, since 2015 the Media Insider columnist.

I met and immediately established a collegial friendship with Jack as soon as he contacted me after reading my own Columbus Free Press Busting Myths essays. We bonded immediately over coffee in my dining room because of our lifelong progressive activism and as retired professors and active tennis players in our younger years. When Jack taught journalism at Central Michigan University, he read my younger brother’s rock and pop music reviews in the Detroit Free Press (until my brother lost his job during a major strike during which the newspaper illegally broke the union). Our new and 18-month friendship had many bases.

A recent report demonstrates that renewable energy has grown 9.6 percent worldwide. This record rate of growth saw 295 gigawatts of renewables added to the various grids, resulting in a total of 3372 gigawatts of renewables worldwide. China accounted for almost half of new generating capacity with 141 gigawatts added. Europe followed a distance second at 57 gigawatts of generating capacity. North America added 29 gigawatts with the continent of Africa falling far behind with only 2.7 gigawatts of installed new renewable capacity in 2022. 

Worldwide installed renewable generating capacity is split pretty much evenly between hydroelectric, solar and wind. China is far ahead with 392 gigawatts of installed systems. In second place with a quarter of that amount or about 111 GW is the United States, followed by Japan, Germany and India.  

Wednesday, March 29, 2023, 6:00 PM
Ohio recently enacted the nation's strictest voter ID law, and it will already be in effect for our May primary and Early Vote beginning April 4.

The Ohio Voter Rights Coalition is teaming up with VoteRiders to deliver timely and important voter ID information and assistance directly to voters who may be impacted by the new law.  We need your help to ensure that every voter has the ID they need to cast a ballot that counts. Join us as we write letters to individuals who have voted with alternative ID in the past so they know their options when it comes to obtaining a free ID or voting by mail.  Every letter we send delivers essential information and assistance to the voters most likely to be disenfranchised by voter ID laws.  

Location:  Columbus Metropolitan Library, Northern Lights Branch, 4093 Cleveland Ave., Columbus.  

The first ever City Council district election is in November and roughly half the candidates met last night in a forum, not a debate, at the First Church of God on Refugee Road. The local chapter of the National Council of Negro Women, which is often referred to as an “organization of organizations” of African American women, sponsored the event.

The mayoral and Columbus Board of Education candidates were also invited. Mayoral candidate Joe Motil took the stage to field questions from the audience, but Mayor Ginther did not show.

Council President Shannon Hardin, running in District 9 (Far East), was in attendance but did not take the stage to field questions. Both Councilmembers Shayla Favor, running in District 7 (downtown and Near East), and Lourdes Barroso de Padilla, running in District 8 (Southside and Southeast), were not in attendance or did not take the stage. Melissa Green, running in District 6 (Hilltop and Southwest), was in attendance but due to time constraints and because her district is uncontested, she was not asked to take questions on stage.

Tuesday, March 28, 2023, 6:00 – 8:00 PM
We are only a few weeks away from the start of Earth Day Columbus, and there are over 100 community worksites in need of volunteers. On 3/28, come learn about the projects happening near you, sign up to volunteer, and enjoy $3 beers from Great Lakes Brewing Company. 

Attendees who register to volunteer during April will receive a free drink! All proceeds from this event will go toward the cost of soil, mulch, and tree seedlings for community worksites. Green Columbus.  

Location:  COhatch Upper Arlington, 1733 W. Lane Ave., Columbus.  

More information here.