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Stored in a nondescript Columbus office complex is a massive cache of Ohio’s most important Native American artifacts. Also stored there are the remains of roughly 7,200 Native Americans whose grave sites were dug up by archeologists or looters over the previous century or longer.

These remains and the 110,000-plus funerary objects found with them have been stored by the Ohio History Connection in near secrecy, but what can’t be denied is what they represent.

That Ohio, and the Scioto River Valley in particular, is hallowed and historical ground for many who claim First Nation ancestry. A history the white man tried to erase with shovels, bulldozers, and his insatiable appetite for more.

“It’s abundant, it’s everywhere, but it’s silent,” said Alex Wesaw of the Pokagon Band of Potawatomi Indians, who was hired in 2020 to run the Ohio History Connection’s American Indian Relations Division, which, surprisingly, was only just established at the end of the last decade.

As Thanksgiving rolls around again this year, it’s time to once more get in your Republican family members’ faces about the harsh realities that their political party is creating –– whether they fully understand those realities or not. After all, it’s only been two years since one of the most controversial elections in American history –– and two years away from another that will have massive implications on democracy in our state and country as well. However, this past midterm election was equally important –– and while the majority of Americans succeeded in showing up and realizing that importance, it’s fair to say that Ohio voters failed to fully grasp the gravity of our own state’s situation. Ohio’s democracy is slowly teetering on the edge of fascism –– and Republicans are to blame.

Earlier this week tickets for Taylor Swift's tour went on sale. Maybe at this point you're thinking, "What does that have to do with me?" Stay tuned, dear reader! The fact that fans couldn't buy tickets and that the sale had to stop while secondary markets were price-gouging is a direct result of Ticketmaster's unchecked, concentrated monopoly power—and that's why we need government action to help consumers and artists. 

Six out of ten people in jail have not been convicted of a crime. They simply cannot afford to pay their cash bail and are awaiting their court trials. The financial implications for taxpayers include an estimated quarter of a billion dollars spent each year to incarcerate these folks.  

For the accused who can’t afford to pay cash bail, the financial ramifications of sitting in jail compound each other. They could suffer the loss of their job, an eviction, loss of custody of their children, additional health concerns, or a long-term impact on their credit rating.  

Cash bail is paid to the court by the accused to get out of jail and returned when they appear for trial. Bail bondsmen, essentially loan companies, are often used to come up with the amount, but they charge on average a 10% nonrefundable fee.

When you buy union, you're supporting good jobs in American communities, jobs that provide living wages and benefits, safe working conditions, and dignity and respect for work. Look for these quality products, produced by union members, when preparing for your Thanksgiving feast.

The following list comes to us from Union Label and the products are made by the Bakery, Confectionery, Tobacco Workers and Grain Millers (BCTGM); the Glass, Molders, Pottery, Plastics and Allied Workers-USW (GMP-USW); the Machinists (IAM); UNITE HERE; the United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW); the United Steelworkers (USW); the United Farm Workers (UFW); and the Teamsters (IBT).

Set the Table

·Anchor Hocking (GMP-USW)

·Bennington Potters (UNITE HERE)

·Clauss knives (USW)

·CorningWare (USW)

·Cutco knives

A local non-profit movement continues to make a positive impact on the lives of Ohio’s prison inmate population each year by sending them personalized, handwritten Christmas cards that encourage them to "Continue the Story." 

Over the past several years, Central Ohio’s “Continue the Story" movement has personally reached more than 64,700 inmates incarcerated in Ohio’s prison system at Christmastime, one inmate at a time, in hopes of brightening their lives by spreading the Christmas spirit, which is one of joy and hope. 

Although it is rapidly growing with hundreds of volunteers throughout Greater Columbus, “Continue the Story” was created six years ago after members of the organization became painfully aware of some of the horrors of the modern criminal justice system. Organizers believe a lot of the people who are incarcerated today are essentially good people who’ve made mistakes. 

Sunday, November 20, 1pm
Washington Gladden Social Justice Park, northeast corner of E. Broad St. and Cleveland Ave.

Please join us as we remember victims of traffic crashes and their loved ones, as well as first responders and medical professionals.

Traffic crash rates in Columbus are still increasing, unfortunately — up 14% in 2021 and rising — despite the “Vision Zero” traffic safety strategy that had been adopted by the City of Columbus two years ago.

Therefore, we are calling on our officials to immediately implement data-driven solutions to prevent traffic crashes beginning with the high-injury network arterials.

For too long, we have prioritized moving cars at high speeds over the safety of everyone, and society at large is paying the price with endless stories of lives ruined and/or never fully realized because of death, injuries, and lifelong disabilities.

This loss and suffering is preventable!

The National Safety Council estimates the annual cost of traffic crashes to society at $887 billion in 2021, which equates to $2.6 billion annual cost to the City of Columbus.

Foreword: Columbus, Ohio, exposes itself embarrassingly….

If I, as the holder a Ph.D., am barely able to comprehend the intentionally garbled and misleading rhetorical constructions of all of the City of Columbus, Ohio’s purposefully overwhelming number of off-year propositions and charter amendments in the November 2022 election, the City itself violates the newly-approved charter amendment outlawing self-dealing voter initiatives and dropping the 1914 stipulation that competitive testing must be part of the city’s hiring process.

Indeed the number, the linguistic misconstruction, the disorganization, and the mangled presentation of the bond proposals is itself a clear and compelling example of City Council’s purposeful “self-dealing.” Or shall we say “double-dealing”?

I woke up one morning and looked at the internet.

Joe Walsh planned celebrating Veteran’s Day Weekend at Nationwide Arena with a VetsAid concert which reunited James Gang with the assistance of Dave Grohl in Columbus, Ohio.

Walsh is one of the biggest figures in music.

Joe Walsh, Robert Plant, and Ozzy Osbourne exist as men who defined Rock’n’Roll’s evolution from the blues, Elvis, and doo wop.

Robert Plant fronted Led Zeppelin. Ozzy Osbourne founded Rock’n’Roll gospel music with Black Sabbath anthems.

Walsh sang in James Gang who brought the template for Rock’n’Roll in the wake of the Kent State shootings and Vietnam. Walsh was in the Eagles which probably floated during the Reagan era.

James Gang playing Columbus in 2022 would’ve existed as one of the most important events in the history of Columbus.

If this wasn’t a unique occurrence, Joe enlisted a crop of Ohio’s most revered Rock’n’Roll artists:

Nine Inch Nails: Cleveland

Black Keys: Akron

The Breeders: Dayton

James Gang: Kent/Cleveland

Dave Grohl: Warren, Ohio

The fight to shut down the Dakota Access Pipeline (DAPL) continues. Right now, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is assessing the environmental impact of this climate-busting pipeline, but they have kept key stakeholders in the dark about the true impacts of a potential oil spill.

We already know the pipeline poses a serious ongoing threat to the Missouri River, including the primary water source of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe.

Join frontline Indigenous water protectors calling for transparency on the risks of the Dakota Access Pipeline.

Each day the Dakota Access Pipeline (DAPL) continues to operate, it violates Indigenous sovereignty and treaty rights and poses a constant threat to the Missouri River — a crucial water source for the Standing Rock Sioux and Cheyenne River Sioux Tribes as well as much of the United States.