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On July 18th at noon, Ohioans will gather in three cities - Cincinnati, Columbus and Cleveland -  for a Day of Hope.

The three events will take place on the anniversary of the last person to be executed in Ohio (Robert Van Hook, July 18, 2018) and will include a call on state leaders to end the death penalty.

“We’re hopeful that Ohio has seen its last execution. Death penalty repeal has bipartisan support in the legislature and we’re confident that we will see an end to this system in the near future,” said Hannah Kubbins, executive director of Ohioans to Stop Executions (OTSE).

The events will take place at 12 pm, noon, at the following locations:

In Columbus, speakers will include:

"This guy cannot sing."

 That was my initial impression of the husky hippie guitar player fronting the band who followed The Neil Show!, namely Electric Orange Peel, on the late Friday afternoon white Gazebo Stage.

Soon I thought, "But who cares? These cats can PLAY!"

Talk about contrasts. The shire's ambassadors of the forest glade Show! were replaced by the single most ferociously dynamic ball of firebird jam bands I have EVER seen.

Lay your arms down at the feet of the keyboardist, he's taking prisoners. The dude dominated like a hellion, playing his organ like a pair of conga drums, smashing chords with both hands chop chop chop, going full metal roller ball like a head-on collision with Mad Max. No mercy! All action.

The song had started out badly sung in a lolling tempo, then went from verse and pseudo chorus to a seven-minute anthemic coda in the key change of FAST. So no real song in between. Fine with me.

Saturday, July 16, 12noon, Ohio Statehouse

Join the nationwide March for Trans Justice on Saturday, July 16. Ohio rallies will take place in Akron, Bowling Green, Cincinnati, Columbus, Delaware, and more, beginning at 12noon. Signs and clothing with supportive messaging are encouraged! Please dress for the weather, wear comfortable shoes, and bring your own portable chair if you would like to sit during the event.

In what arguably is the Midwest’s largest boomtown, City of Columbus leadership and the grassroots effort “Neighbors 4 More Neighbors” have been seeking greater housing density for Columbus’s downtown and nearby neighborhoods, such as the Short North.

Just this week City Council unanimously passed a zoning change which could lead to 800 more apartments inside the popular Scioto Audubon Metro Park. 

Those pushing greater density – such as Neighbors 4 More Neighbors or “N4MN” – are adamant this is the path Columbus needs to take. You can put the downtowns of Cincinnati and Cleveland in Columbus’s downtown in square miles, they say.

What’s more, says N4MN, Columbus and Central Ohio has sprawled so far, so fast, its straining resources and government services, to maintain roads, add water lines and provide public transit, etc.

Greater density has also become policy, as Mayor Ginther and City Council in June announced the Columbus Housing Strategy with a core effort “to build more housing at all price points region-wide.” Part of this plan includes a $200 million affordable housing bond on November’s ballot.

Joe Motil, former Columbus City Council candidate and longtime community advocate who is now circulating petitions to run for Mayor in the 2023 May primary election states,” I have been publicly outspoken about wasting city tax dollars to purchase or lease state property.  The development of this so called “sports complex” at the Mapfre site was an especially glaring example of such waste. My view is that the city needs to shelf this project and use these tax dollars on affordable housing, sidewalks and street lighting or drug treatment facilities. There are more important economic and social needs facing the citizens of Columbus today where these tax dollars could be better spent.”   

Friday, July 15, 12noon-1pm, this on-line event requires advance registration

In January 2022, Intel announced plans to build the largest semiconductor chip manufacturing facility ever built in New Albany, Ohio. The initial investment of $20 billion is the largest single private-sector investment in Ohio history. This initial phase is expected to employ not only Intel staff but construction and service industry workers. This development raises questions over the lasting impacts this facility will have on Ohio. Where will these new employees come from and where will they live? What are the long-lasting impacts on our water and energy resources? What kinds of transportation infrastructure investments should we make to protect our quality of life? How will this affect Ohio’s economic future? This summer, CURA brings together industry experts, researchers, and government leaders for four online-only webinars to discuss these topics and more!

This panel discussion will be moderated by Harvey Miller.

Development Panelists:

The monumental battle over remote work in Columbus and elsewhere is heating up this summer as more traditionalist business leaders are demanding that their employees come to the office much or all of the time. Google maps workers, asked to come back to the office full-time recently, fought back with a petition and threats of a strike, and won a reprieve of 90 days.

Thursday, July 14, 3-6pm
925 Mt Vernon Ave., corner of 17th.
Free parking is located across from the market.

Our theme: Sharing the Wealth refers to the wealth of the land and the community. BGM@MPACC reserves space for Ohio farmers/growers, as well as cottage food operations and small processors that source ingredients locally and local craft artisans.

The market encourages the following: developing and niche farmers; farmers/urban gardeners practicing organic farming methods and season extension; producers that source locally; community gardens and producers eager to educate consumers about their products.

Wednesday, July 13, 1:30pm, this event will be livestreamed on the PUCO YouTube channel.

Join us in watching and live tweeting the public meeting and help hold AEP and PJM accountable!

RSVP for this event by using this link.

PUCO Press Release

PUCO schedules power outage review for July 13

COLUMBUS, OHIO (June 29, 2022) The Public Utilities Commission of Ohio (PUCO) announced today that officials with AEP Ohio, AEP Transmission, and PJM Interconnection will appear before the Commission on July 13 to discuss this month’s electric power outages.

“The PUCO’s mission is to assure access to reliable utility services. Consistent with our mission, the PUCO will conduct a review of the outages, why and where the outages occurred, the impact on vulnerable populations, communication efforts, the decision-making surrounding the forced outages, the timeline of events, and what can be done to better protect or assist consumers in the future,” stated PUCO Chair Jenifer French.

My struggles to gain democratic legal rights and respect for residents in the “city” of Columbus continue. The three documents reprinted here below elaborate the themes of my recent essays. To expand the discussion to a larger public, I include them here.

First, I wrote to the City Council legislative aides, department heads, and City Attorneys with who I am in communication. They were silent for some weeks after I tripped on (illegal) broken pavement and fractured my right leg, and commented that the City’s failure to inspect and enforce its zoning codes makes the city as well as the large corporate property owner legally liable.

June 10, 2022

To my correspondents,

Today for the second time in two weeks that we lost electric power from AEP for multiple hours on a weekday morning. Never an explanation. [This is the week before AEP’s massive and unexplained failures. The City refuses to hold AEP accountable, leaving that to the state’s corruption-ridden PUCO]

This parallels Rumpke's sporadic performances without consequences and City Council’s insulting public clean-up by volunteers—who also pay taxes for public services--days.