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To your surprise, perhaps, my answer is an emphatic, unqualified NO. In this Busting Myths column, I will be schematic, but I am prepared to expand my understanding of both city and state in response to readers’ questions. For background, I refer you to my essays on DeWine, the state, and Ohio Republicans published in Columbus Free Press since September 2021, available on the website.
Is Mike DeWine actually a governor?
By “actually a governor,” I mean the following: Does the occupant of the Office of the Governor fulfill the duties of the elected senior administrator the State of Ohio? My answer is emphatically NO. Clues leap off the pages of his second State of the State Address on Mar. 22, in his fourth year in office. Supposedly the pandemic prevented 2020 and 2021 speeches, but it didn’t stop almost daily news conferences for most of the first year, or the State Legislature from meeting. (See Anna Staver and Mary Jane Sanese, “Police funding, mental health among Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine’s focus in State of the State.”)
Paris, 13th District today. Émilie Wong (Lucie Zhang) meets Camille Germain (Makita Samba) who's attracted to Nora Ligier (Noémie Merlant), who crosses the path of Amber Sweet (Jehnny Beth). Three girls and a boy redefine what modern love is.
"Paris, 13th District" is foremost a film about youth, but they're no longer teenagers. The four main characters are young adults who already have some life experience, and who are going to meet each other and love one another. They all have a social existence; they aren’t hermits. Three of them are in their thirties and have already dealt with difficulties in finding housing and/or a job, are going through professional crises and are unable to settle down in their sexuality let alone a relationship.
Earth Month is here.
Over the last 15 years, tens of thousands of people have come together to volunteer in and around Columbus and together we planted over 200,000 trees and cleaned and beautified many neighborhoods and parks
There are over 125 ways you can join Earth Month by volunteering at a site near you. Just click here and find the one that is closest to you or that suits you best: https://www.earthdaycolumbus.org/volunteer
Get together with others and make an impact. So come on out and join us!
Save the date for April 23rd at Genoa Park to celebrate Earth Day with us from noon to 7 pm with food trucks, local partners, beer, and free music.
Have a wonderful Earth Month,
Your Green Columbus Team
Saturday, April 2, 1-3pm, Columbus Metropolitan Library [Parsons Branch], 1113 Parsons Ave.
Join us for a critical reading and discussion group based on Mao Zedong’s famous essay, “Combat Liberalism!”
We will be discussing the essay “Combat Liberalism” and exploring questions such as:
• What is liberalism?
• What is neoliberalism?
• Why are all American politicians liberal?
• How do Mao’s ideas about liberalism apply to our own political situation?
• Is there any alternative to liberalism?
This class is free and open to all! We do recommend that attendees read or familiarize themselves with the text, but we will also review it together as part of the class.
Click here for a free PDF of “Combat Liberalism.”
Click here for a free audio of “Combat Liberalism.”
Hosted by PSL [Party for Socialism and Liberation] Columbus.
Date:
Saturday, April 2, 2022 - 1:00pm
Ohio’s first-ever “Day of Empathy” – part of a nationwide effort first initiated by CNN’s Van Jones – took place Thursday, March 31 in the Ohio Statehouse atrium. The event attracted a who’s who of Columbus activists who challenged the community to seek criminal justice transformation for the betterment of all. Participants demanded more empathy from police, and at the same time, towards those suffering from trauma, like heroin addicts.
“Our game plan is to create positive change and a new vision for the great state of Ohio. To be the nation’s leader in reducing violence, crime, poverty, hungry, addiction, and trauma, and broken families by creating equity in Ohio, as well as strengthen relationships between law enforcement and the communities they serve,” said De-Escalate Ohio’s Cynthia Brown, who created and hosted the event.
Friday, April 1, 5:30-9:30pm, Gokul Cafe, 2685 Federated Blvd.
If you feel like being foolish (or not) on April Fool’s Day, join us at Gokul Cafe for appetizers, a dinner buffet, and karaoke! Gokul Cafe has some of the best vegan Indian food around.
Kamal, the owner of Gokul Cafe, has made certain that we will have an intimate evening by reserving the main dining room for us. The stage will be there for the karaoke too! We will start with appetizers from 5:30pm to 6:30pm (Jalapeño Pakoras, Potato Bondas, Baked Beans on Toast, and Idli Manchurian).
The karaoke will be from 6:30pm to 8:00pm. Dinner will be served buffet style starting at 8pm (Tofu Spinach, Malai Kofta Curry, Chana Masala, Dal Fry, Vegetable Biryani Rice, Basmati Rice, Puri bread, Mango Medley and Coconut Kir). Gluten free bread will be available for those who want it. Kamal will also be serving his refreshing Mintoli drink of mint, lemon, and ginger. All of the food at Gokul Cafe is prepared fresh and is vegan! Gokul Cafe has some of the most flavorful cuisine your taste buds will meet!
Talk World Radio: Ruth McDonough on Unarmed Resistance in Western Sahara
https://davidswanson.org/talk-world-radio-ruth-mcdonough-on-unarmed-resistance-in-western-sahara/
AUDIO:
Thursday, March 31, 2-4pm, Ohio Statehouse Atrium
The Heartbeat Movement, in partnership with Dream Corps Justice, is holding Ohio’s inaugural day of action for unity in the community to plan for community development and criminal justice transformation. Learn how the Heartbeat Movement is working to create windows of opportunities in Franklin County and the State of Ohio.
The purposes of this event include the following.
• Build empathy in elected officials
• Humanize and uplift stories of those who have been impacted by the criminal justice system
• Raise awareness about issues within the community and how people can help bring positive change
Joe Motil, former Columbus City Council candidate and longtime community advocate who is strongly considering running for Mayor in 2023 states that, “Mayor Ginther’s continued Enterprise Zone tax abatement hand outs at the Rickenbacker logistics center and elsewhere need to be repealed. And with Intel’s presence, the need for tax incentives as an enticement to locate at Rickenbacker and in other Columbus locations makes no sense at all.”
This past Monday, Columbus City Council members approved of a $5.34 million 10-year tax abatement to the athletic sportswear company lululemon USA Inc. The company has operated a distribution warehouse since 2014 at the Rickenbacker logistics center which is one of the if not the number one most risk-free development logistics centers in the United States. Rickenbacker boasted a vacancy rate of its warehouse space of 2.1 percent at the end of the recent 4th quarter.
Ohio State administration and the Department of Public Safety are using crime reports to manipulate how our community understands safety, and we let them get away with it.
Between July and September 2021, Ohio State blasted out 14 “Neighborhood Safety Notices” by email to the campus community, causing panic and outrage. The result? A petition was circulated pressuring the university to hire more police, and a parent-led group purchased billboards that read “COLLEGE SHOULD NOT BE A CRIME SCENE[1].”
Was there actually a dramatic crime wave last summer? As the university sent us safety tips and continued to send alerts, most of us students assumed worst. But a closer examination of the “safety notices,” along with new revelations about the crimes that aren’t being reported, points to something else. OSU administration is manipulating crime reporting to serve its own goals—goals that have a lot more to do with money than they do with safety.