Local

The Compost Exchange's goal is to collect and recycle the food scraps generated by every Columbus resident, turning this locally generated natural resource into nutrient rich compost and specialty soils.

It seems Columbus’ policing unfortunately follows national trends, incident by incident. Columbus Police actions have become a regressive, dark-mirror version of the country: a week after a jury in Atlanta convicted three men on hate crimes charges for chasing down and murdering 25-year-old Ahmaud Arbery while he was going for a jog, Columbus officer Ricky Anderson shot 20-year-old Donovan Lewis in the stomach while serving the near-juvenile a warrant in the middle of the night. Twenty minutes after news broke that Derek Chauvin had een found guilty of the long, slow murder of 48-year-old George Floyd in Minneapolis, Columbus officer Nicholas Reardon shot and killed 15-year-old Ma’khia Bryant in response to that juvenile’s having called the police to help de-escalate the very situation officer Reardon walked into.

The three men who lynched Arbery were found guilty of murder and hate crimes. In a subsequent trial in Minneapolis, Derek Chauvin plead guilty to having violated Floyd’s civil rights for kneeling on his neck and back for nine minutes while Floyd took his last breaths.

I meet punk bands who talk with me about rap or vegan food.

Ocean: I think all of us in the band enjoy hip hop and rap. I'm the only one who is a vegan that eats veggie.

Erek: The best part about not being vegan is still eating vegan food. It's delicious and good for you!

Covid eliminated punk shows for a while.

Ocean: That time frame was traumatic! Some of the venues and people I know did not make it.

Erek: Everyone basically lost a year... But the scenes are back and better than ever.

I read about Body Farm at Maximum Rock N Roll because I have Verizon internet where I live.

Do you know someone at MRR or did you just send them stuff…

Erek: You submit everything. There are instructions on their site.

Once something is live on MRR do you receive emails, sell records and end up with shows?

Erek: Yes and no. It's a place that people get info for sure so it's possible but we really didn't see an increase in anything from the reviews specifically.

Can someone tour off of MRR reviews?

Erek: Not really, but it is a good reference to put in your tour package for people helping you out.

Thursday, January 26, 12noon-1pm, this on-line event requires advance registration

Budgets are Moral Documents

The Governor will introduce his budget proposal in a few weeks followed by five months of legislative committees, amendments, and votes. As people of faith, we have an opportunity to strengthen this public conversation about Ohio’s priorities and our future. Budget policy can change lives and strengthen Ohio.

Through our budget policies, we can help folks find economic stability, improve our schools, clean up our parks and rivers, and much more.

During our conversations on January 26, we will share the following.

• Our budget priorities for 2023

• Likely hot-button issues

• Historical context

• Why your voice is needed

We will hold the same conversation twice — once at 12noon and once at 7pm. Please join us for whichever time fits your schedule.

RSVP for this event by using this link.

Hosted by Hunger Network in Ohio. 

The city with no identity, no history, no leadership, and no expertise adds to its uniqueness—and lack of distinction—by its assault on most of its residents in most of it “neighborhoods.” Unlike most cities, Columbus seldom refers to itself as a “city of neighborhoods.” That is a clue to follow through the decaying broken streets and sidewalks, full of trash, zoning violations, and limited mass public transit. (See the Columbus Free Press website for my relevant essays.)

In my University District, fraternities that actively harm the area “adopt the area.”  That means paying a small fee to the for-profit/eering city departments to post a metal sign that further defaces the physical environment. “Area,” of course, is never defined. Where is the department of neighborhood protective services, like children or animals?

The sad slogan is “making Columbus beautiful.” Its parallel is city councilor-led very occasional “beautification” events of a few hours of individuals picking up trash. This substitutes for both funding and managing reliable recycling, trash collection, and inspection for violations. In others, slogans not public services.

Let us free our minds from the noise of media and politics and turn our attention to discussing the biggest decision a high school senior will make: Where to go to college.

May of you have children and grandchildren who are in their final semester of high school, ready to take the next step.

 I offer you tips from the perspective of the grandfather of a high school senior, the holder of three college degrees including a doctorate, a retired college professor with more than three decades in that catbird seat, and a careful observer of the what and what not of higher education.

First and foremost is cost. One must total up the cost of classes and books, room and board and incidentals per year and subtract any scholarships and grants. Assume that it will go up 5 percent a year while the student aid stays the same, thus the cost increases annually. Will the university provide an on-campus job to help the student earn her keep?

Ask President Biden to Sign the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons.  Sign the letter here. 

Tuesday, January 24, 7-8:30pm
Donatos, 2800 E. Main St., Bexley
Sign the petition to end qualified immunity!

Monday, January 23, 2023, 10:00 – 11:30 AMJoin Single Payer Action Network Ohio (SPAN Ohio) for a webinar with Dr. Gillian Goobie MD PhD FRCPC, Clinical Assistant Professor, Division of Respiratory Medicine, University of British Columbia, and Ted Auch, PhD, Adjunct Faculty, Department of Biology at John Carroll University in Cleveland. He is associated with FracTracker Alliance as Great Lakes Program Director.  Registration is required to attend this meeting.  Register  HERE.

Joe Motil, former Columbus City Council candidate and longtime community advocate who is submitting about 2,000 petition signatures to run for mayor in the 2023 May Primary election states, “On the eve of the trial of former Republican State House Speaker Larry Householders’ federal racketeering charges, statehouse Republican legislatures held a January 18th press conference to announce the introduction of an ethics reform bill. The proposals in this bill barely scratch the surface on corruption and the unethical behavior of elected officials, lobbyists and others. It’s hard to 'reform ethics' when there are none.”      

Motil continues , “On May 10, 2016, Mayor Ginther signed an Executive Order on 'Ethics and Conduct: Accountability and Integrity for Effective Governance.' Just as leaders of  the Republican state legislature attempting to save face because their former leader begins his trial in what is described as the 'largest corruption case in Ohio history,' Andy Ginther’s 2016 Executive Order on Ethics and Conduct stands as a page from the same playbook.”