Local
Enter the Traitors Castle if you dare!
The Columbus Gay Men’s Chorus (“CGMC”), central Ohio’s premiere TTBB vocal organization, is kicking off its 37 th season with concerts at the Riffe Center’s Studio One Theatre starring CGMC’s auditioned, select ensemble, VOX.
VOX’s “Traitors: A Murder Mystery” show brings the hit reality competition series to the stage, singing and dancing through songs of motivation, despair and love triangles, and keeping audiences guessing through the bass, baritone and tenor “faithfuls” until the murderer is finally revealed.
“Traitors has caught all of our attention so VOX has decided to make it even gayer by creating a concert around the death and manipulation of the Traitors,” said CGMC’s Artistic Director Brayton Bollenbacher. “The concert features music, dancing and an Agatha Christie-style crime all in one concert. Can you put your detective talents to the test and find out who is the traitor in the midst of VOX?”
Only time will tell. The concert will be an interactive experience for audiences, who will have the opportunity to meet the suspects and vote on their top villain during the performance. Trust no one.
Wednesday, September 2, 2026 - 6:00pm
Columbus City Hall, 90 W. Broad St.
Honor the life of Pierre Damas Bel and demand justice. Join us for a community vigil honoring his memory. Bring candles.
20 year-old Pierre, student, son, athlete, has tragically taken his own life after being shackled by ICE with an ankle monitor. We will not let his death be in vain.
Pierre Damas Bel was an extraordinary Haitian immigrant who did everything “right”. Pierre was also an Ohioan; graduating with honors from Springfield High School this past spring and part of JROTC. A dedicated soccer player, he was set to play for Wright State University, where he was attending to become a neurosurgeon. Like many Haitians in Ohio right now, Pierre was fitted with an ankle monitor even though his asylum case was pending.
This country failed him. Our state failed him.
In the meantime, continue to call: Springfield Mayor & City Commission #: 937-324-7341
TO: Cameron Mitchell and the Cameron Mitchell Restaurants Operating Board,
We were deeply disappointed to learn that Cameron Mitchell Restaurants (CMR) sponsors “Friends of the Israel Defense Forces (FIDF) - Ohio.” In the wake of three years of continued genocide against Palestinians - from daily bombings in Gaza to the continued murder and dispossession of Palestinians in the West Bank - we find this position unconscionable and demand that CMR cease supporting the FIDF.
This weekend, Columbus audiences will have the opportunity to experience Gaza through the eyes of three American doctors who traveled there not as politicians or journalists, but as physicians trying to save lives.
American Doctor, the acclaimed new documentary from filmmaker Poh Si Teng, opens Friday, September 4, at Gateway Film Center in Columbus. The film was an official selection of the 2026 Sundance Film Festival and follows three American physicians; Palestinian American emergency physician Dr. Thaer Ahmad, Jewish American orthopedic surgeon Dr. Mark Perlmutter, and Zoroastrian American trauma surgeon Dr. Feroze Sidhwa.
The doctors volunteered inside Gaza’s overwhelmed hospitals, treating patients and working alongside Palestinian medical professionals under extraordinary conditions. Dr. Sidhwa, for example, volunteered in Gaza in March–April 2024 and returned in March–April 2025.
But American Doctor doesn’t end when the physicians leave Gaza.
The primary goal of any city government is to provide safety for citizens.
This is the most basic goal possible – even above water and power. If there is a threat to a citizen, there is someone to call who can solve the problem, for example if your house is on fire or someone is stealing your car.
This is why we collectively pay taxes to the city of Columbus.
We trust that our city leaders will use those tax dollars to protect us from each other and ourselves. It’s why we have fire and police departments in Columbus. It’s a requirement to survive.
Unfortunately, the Columbus Mayor and City Council have chosen to not fund either of these requirements and instead chose to pour hundreds of millions of dollars into the wallets of developers and real estate investors. It’s a fantastic opportunity for them to make obscene levels of profits and control the leaders we elect.
Columbus Fire Department
Everyone loves firefighters.
Sep 1, 2026 06:00 PM
Zoom
Join us for a virtual meeting to explore how elections work at September 1 at 6pm. We’ll explore election history and the US Constitution and take a deep dive into election administration in Ohio. Panelists include Susannah Goodman, Common Cause’s policy director, Voting & Fair Representation; Patrick Berry, senior counsel in the Brennan Center's Voting Rights and Elections Program; and Maria Bruno, Ohioans Against Extremism’s co-founder and executive director. This virtual session will also focus on ways to ensure that elections run smoothly and that every vote is properly counted.
We’ll be joined experts in the field including:
Tuesday, September 1, 2026 - 04:30pm
Chalmers P. Wylie Ambulatory Care Center
Weekly. Support veterans: Protect the VA! Join our Rush-Hour Resistance Rally outside the Chalmers Wylie VA Clinic to protest the cuts to the VA and support veterans! We will be demonstrating on public sidewalks on both sides of James Road, which are highly visible to commuters passing by.
To eliminate any possibility of getting in the way of patients or staff at the clinic, we are asking everyone to avoid using the VA lot to the east of James Road. Instead, please park west of James Road.
Look for Visitor Parking signs in the lot for Africentric High School, 3223 Allegheny Ave, Columbus, OH 43209.
More information on parking and sign up here.
I first met Senator Ray Miller in August of 2006 when I arrived at The Ohio State University from Purdue University where I taught for eight years, but I was familiar with his work long before then. Simply put, Senator Miller was a stalwart in Ohio politics, hence his reputation preceded him. Dr. William E. Nelson, longtime professor of political science and African American and African Studies at The Ohio State University who mentored Miller as a student at The Ohio State University, facilitated the introduction. Out of that initial meeting the Ray Miller Institute for Change and Leadership was formed in the fall of 2006. For the next five years, 20 fellows were admitted to the program each year and met every Monday for ten weeks at the African American and African Studies Community Extension Center where they were immersed in the theory and praxis of leadership development. From there a decades-long friendship began. During that time Miller served on the Department of African American and African Studies Community Extension Center’s advisory board. His participation and wise counsel were invaluable to the center’s success during my eight-year tenure as its director.
Sunday, August 30, 2026 - 1:00-6:00pm
Various front porches and community spots throughout the Olde Towne East neighborhood (including a kickoff/presence around the Olde Towne East Pocket Park and specific addresses like 953 Bryden Rd and 47 N. Monroe. Bring a chair or a blanket and stroll around the streets of grand Victorian homes in what was once the city’s affluent Silk Stocking District, and enjoy all kinds of music being performed on multiple neighborhood porches, patios, and lawns.
Culiminating with concert from 4-8:30pm at Central Community House, 1251 Bryden Rd, Columbus, OH 43205.
Here is the spectacular lineup:
4pm Kickoff with powerhouse vocalist of Dayton's own Lindsi Fisher
530pm The groove keeps rolling with Columbus's very own NexLevel Band
7pm prepare yourself for our headliner: The smooth sax, melodies of explosive soul stirring energy of Billboard Top Charting artist Patrick Lamb.
Food Trucks will be on-site.
If Cameron Mitchell chooses to support the Friends of the Israel Death Forces while Palestinians are being killed, displaced, and devastated, then I believe he should be prepared to answer for that choice. There is nothing “neutral” about supporting an organization whose critics argue that its work contributes to sustaining Israel’s military establishment while Palestinian civilians suffer.
I stand with Baladna: Palestine Society of Columbus and its boycott efforts against businesses and individuals that support or enable Israel’s actions toward Palestinians. Baladna is a newly established, 100% volunteer-run nonprofit organization.
For that reason, I am adding Cameron Mitchell to my boycott list.
You do not get to profit from a community and then demand silence when people criticize your choices. Supporting human rights means speaking up when innocent civilians are suffering. It means saying NO to genocide. NO to ethnic cleansing. NO to the killing and displacement of Palestinians.