Local

Part Two

The bigger picture

NorthSteppe/Stickney is only the most egregious of the offending organizations among its peers. Almost as large and faulty is HomeTeam Properties, which has purchased property on false grounds (including the house next door to ours). It also claims in printed booklets that list all its properties that it is OSU Student Housing. As with NorthSteppe, it is not. Owner-occupiers receive these fraudulent mailings in our boxes addressed to “OSU student.” Simple record checking would prevent that. My direct inquiries to HomeTeam never result in an answer or an apology. OSU appears unwilling to protect its own interests.

Not only are HomeTeam houses typically in disrepair, they also refuse to provide sufficient trash and recycle containers or instruct their tenants on the law or their responsibilities. For example, the house beside ours—formerly home to a faculty family of five— has eight single residents. HomeTeam provides one trash and one recycle bin. My wife and I, a family of two, have the same number. (A small landlord across the street does not even arrange for a recycle bin.)

Google recently announced its new post-pandemic work policy, requiring employees work in the office for at least three days a week. A survey of over 1,000 Google employees showed that two-thirds feel unhappy with being forced to be in the office three days a week, and many intend to leave.

Google recently announced its new post-pandemic work policy, requiring employees work in the office for at least three days a week. A survey of over 1,000 Google employees showed that two-thirds feel unhappy with being forced to be in the office three days a week, and many intend to leave.

Google recently announced its new post-pandemic work policy, requiring employees work in the office for at least three days a week. A survey of over 1,000 Google employees showed that two-thirds feel unhappy with being forced to be in the office three days a week, and many intend to leave.

In the Thursday, April 28 Columbus Dispatch, an article reported that Mayor Ginther’s office had lobbied the Citizens Commission on Elected Officials Compensation to boost the pay of whomever would become mayor in 2026 by 14% in addition to cost-of-living adjustments (COLAs). Joe Motil, former Columbus City Council candidate and longtime community advocate who has begun circulating petitions to run for Mayor in 2023  states that, “Mayor Ginther apparently believes that record-breaking monetary compensation justifies the central purpose of serving as a public servant. And the fact that Ginther’s office would use pressure to influence the commission’s recommendations is an unethical abuse of power. Instead of Ginther and his office spending valuable time lobbying his hand-picked members of the compensation commission for a possible raise, they should be lobbying officials of Intel and the Columbus Partnership to invest in our affordable housing crisis.”

We’ve all heard of the old axiom about aging “like a fine wine.” Of course, in Ohio politics hardly anything is aging finely these days, including our recently-rendered-useless amendments to Ohio’s Constitution that attempted to curtail hyper-partisan gerrymandering, passed respectively in 2015 and 2018. Another thing on this list of items that “haven’t aged well” in Ohio politics is our feckless Governor Mike DeWine, who has ducked and dodged almost every difficult political battle he’s faced since taking office in 2019. He’s also seemingly always surrounded by corruption as the ever-growing HB 6 scandal gets closer and closer to his door. In fact, the name DeWine has grown so unpopular with Democrats, Libertarians –– and even Republicans –– that it’s hard to see exactly how our Governor wins reelection.

Friday, April 29, 2022, 11:30 AM
The Great Lakes Water Quality Board (WQB) of the International Joint Commission (IJC) is hosting a public webinar to provide information and answer questions about the board's recent report: Decommissioning of Nuclear Power Facilities in the Great Lakes Basin.  On the webinar, Great Lakes Water Quality Board members will provide an overview of the report's findings and recommendations. There will be Q&A for the panelists to answer participants' questions.  More information and registration here.

Friday, April 29, 2022, 11:30 AM
The Great Lakes Water Quality Board (WQB) of the International Joint Commission (IJC) is hosting a public webinar to provide information and answer questions about the board's recent report: Decommissioning of Nuclear Power Facilities in the Great Lakes Basin.  On the webinar, Great Lakes Water Quality Board members will provide an overview of the report's findings and recommendations. There will be Q&A for the panelists to answer participants' questions.  More information and registration here.

Two decades ago, a new name entered the Toledo political arena: Teresa Fedor.

I was living in nearby Bowling Green at the time and had never heard of her.

She had been an elementary public school teacher in the Toledo area for 18 years.

My first thought was that Fedor was giving up a lot -- a good-paying job that she loved and was gifted at that had good fringe benefits and a good retirement program -- for an uncertain future in the Ohio House of Representatives.

She was a protégé of U.S. Rep. Marcy Kaptur of Toledo, who is now the longest serving woman n in the history of the U.S. House of Representatives.

"Saint Marcy," as the congresswomen is affectionately known, is revered for her political insight and it was never keener than when she plucked Fedor out of the classroom and put her in the Ohio Legislature.

Now, another wise political hand, Democratic gubernatorial candidate John Cranley, has forged a partnership with Fedor by putting her on the ticket as his running mate.

Paris 75 Cafe in Olde Dublin is a quaint and simply adorable boutique teeming with European flair and fascination. It’s not a dine-indoors restaurant experience, however they have a patio, a few tables, and chairs to sit on outdoors and snack on the several foreign foods they offer to eat or drink: chocolate bars that offer either non-vegan and vegan milk (almond-based) and chocolate - yes, not the usual dark chocolate. 

Other treats include: handcrafted French macaroons and other pastries (non-vegan, but some are dairy-free and gluten-free); fudge (both non-vegan and three vegan options which are vanilla, rum raisin, and salted-caramel; a cashew nut-based vegan craft cheeze brand from Spain with seven uncommon flavors in the US/vegan market to choose from including bleu cheeze, pimento, onion, white, quince, truffle, and blueberry; as well as delicious pumpkin-based vegan jerky, vegan mayo, vegan pesto, and an herb spread by the same company.