Local
To the Editor:
As a resident of German Village and Chair of the German Village Society’s Historic Preservation Committee, I am writing out of deep concern for the ongoing and unnecessary destruction of historic sandstone curbs in our neighborhood. These curbs, hand-cut in the 19th century by immigrant stonemasons, are not just stones. They are part of the original streetscape that gives German Village its nationally recognized character.
In recent months, contractors working on behalf of the City of Columbus have demolished these curbs during ADA ramp installations — without public notice and without obtaining a Certificate of Appropriateness (COA). Every homeowner in German Village is required to secure a COA for any sidewalk, curb, or exterior work affecting historic materials. Yet the City has proceeded as though it is exempt from the very rules that residents must follow.
The result is permanent loss. Once these sandstone curbs are removed and replaced with modern concrete, they cannot be recreated. Their historic craftsmanship and material integrity are gone forever.
Mohan Karki is a Bhutanese-Nepali refugee from Ohio who has been held in detention at the St. Clair County jail for over six months and is at risk of an imminent deportation currently scheduled for Tuesday, December 2nd. See this article for more information about Mohan’s story and his likely fate if he is deported to Bhutan and expelled into statelessness.
Priority Actions:Click here to send an email to the ICE Field Office Director Kevin Raycraft
Call the Detroit ICE Field Office at 313-771-6601
As one of the few surviving non-corporate owned sources of information in Columbus we pride ourselves in reading your opinions. One person had some illuminating observations about two recent stories. You deserve to read them.
Response to Political Theater Nov 27, 2025
https://columbusfreepress.com/article/political-theater
It’s no secret that the mayor is trying his best to expand and promote women’s sports in Columbus as he stated in his recent State of the City Address while claiming to position Columbus as the nation’s capital for women’s sports.
To the Editor:
Accountability is the bedrock of American justice. Yet, as I fight to end Qualified Immunity for government actors through the Ohio Coalition to End Qualified Immunity, I am now forced to fight a similar battle on a heartbreakingly personal front. My son, Terrell Michael Raphael Brown died May 26, 2022, at just 21 years old after being served a fatal volume of alcohol by a local establishment.
Common sense says that a business profiting from recklessly overserving a young man to the point of toxicity should be held liable. However, the Ohio Dram Shop Act (O.R.C. 4399.18) acts as a shield, granting statutory immunity to businesses and attempting to block a grieving family’s right to a jury trial. This law relies on a "First-Party" bar, effectively blaming the victim for their own death while ignoring the gross negligence of the establishment that kept pouring the drinks. This is legally and morally unsound.
This article first appeared on Substack.
This past Saturday, as Buckeyes everywhere donned their scarlet and grey and prepared for THE game, Honesty For Ohio Education posted a graphic that everyone needs to see.
The image above really highlights how Ohio’s new law — SB 1 — has already harmed OSU and universities across the state.
Why the Planet Melts When We Break Natural Law
The planet isn’t melting because of politics, culture, or morality. It’s melting because humans are operating out of alignment with the physical laws that govern reality. The consequences we are living through are not random — they are structural.Enslavement, domination, and exploitation are not built into the structure of reality. They are human inventions. And whenever societies organize themselves around ideas that break natural balance, the results show up in the real world.The imbalance we are seeing today — the heat, the instability, the “melt” — is the earth responding to systems that violate natural law.
Congress may soon be voting on a war powers resolution on Venezuela, and has a responsibility to vote Yes -- to reiterate what is found in the U.S. Constitution, the UN Charter, and other laws: it is illegal to attack another country.
Your representative needs to publicly insist that the Speaker of the House comply with the War Powers Resolution by holding the vote that he has been illegally refusing to hold.
I was attending my first meeting of the Columbus Democratic Socialists of America on November 22 when I heard an observation that resonated with me.
I had spoken to Columbus City Council in the past.
It’s intimidating – your first time standing in front of City Council all sitting in elevated seats far away from you. Sometimes they get out their cell phones when you’re speaking and never actually ask you any follow up questions. They also don’t tell you that there’s free parking next to City Hall if you’re scheduled to speak. Anyway…
Someone at the Columbus Democratic Socialists of America meeting complained that City Council turns off the online video during the public testimony part of the meeting. It’s happened to me as well.
They just choose to not broadcast or record it. Unfortunately, I’m a guy who loves to solve problems; that’s how I’m hard-wired.
Monday, December 1, 2025, 12:00 – 1:00 PM
Ohio Statehouse, Rotunda
Retired pastor Lea Austin will lead with a Litany for the Eulogy of Policy Violence.
We refuse to accept policy violence as normal or inevitable.
James Heddle, part of a social justice documentary filmmaking team with his wife Mary Beth Brangan, passed away in November 2025. The Free Press will forever be indebted to Jim and Mary Beth for documenting the election integrity movement that began after the stolen 2004 presidential election in Ohio.
In the chaotic days following the W Bush “victory” in 2004, Jim and Mary Beth joined dozens of activists in Columbus to help in the Free Press struggle to expose election fraud and refute the results. Their video “A Little Light’ll Do Ya” depicted the January 5 challenge to Ohio’s electoral votes in Congress. Jim and Mary Beth continued to partner with the Free Press and Ohio’s election integrity community for the next three election cycles. They covered election conferences, election protection activities, and election-related lawsuits brought by the Free Press’ Ohio Litigation project.