Local
Virtual ComFest 2021
Applications are being accepted right now for (1) #ComFest Grants for projects by local nonprofit organizations; (2) Performers and workshop presenters; and (3) T-shirt Logo Contest designs. Deadline for all three is April 1. Details at http://ComFest.com.
In the derelict and nearly extinct Westland Mall, where the current owner couldn’t care less about the cratered parking lot, there’s still one last tenant hanging on – and for those who enter this tenant’s premises, they must unload their gun and never, ever take a picture or video of what goes on inside. You could also easily lose your life here too, as was the case back in September.
Welcome to creepy and dystopian 21st-centruy America in all its splendor.
The Westland Mall’s glory days have come and gone but may rise again. In 2019 the entire 88 acres was bought by LGR Realty of Columbus and they have designs on finally demolishing the mall to build condos and offices, or mixed-use.
But like many commercial-leasing companies/developers they have a (greedy) disconnect about what’s best for the community, what’s truly important, and needed. And just like Westland Mall’s moon-scaped parking lot, LGR Realty doesn’t seem to care what the mall’s last renter sells or the repercussions.
Thursday, March 25, 7-8pm, this on-line event requires advance registration
Protesting pipelines, fracking wells, power plants, and other polluting and dangerous “critical infrastructure sites” just got a lot harder now that Ohio S.B. 33 is law. What does this mean for you if you engage in public witness events? What are the new rules about liability for organizations, non-profits, churches, grassroots groups? How are the four new bills recently proposed in the Ohio Senate and House (S.B. 16, S.B. 41, H.B. 109, and H.B. 22) designed to make it even more complicated to engage in public witness in the streets, sidewalks and at the Statehouse?
Though the focus will be on Ohio, similar bills are making their way through state legislatures across the country.
Guest Speakers:
• Tadd Pinkston, Pinkston Law; board member, Unitarian Universalist Justice Ohio
• Rev Joan VanBecelaere, Executive Director, Unitarian Universalist Justice Ohio
This program is part of Move to Amend Central Ohio’s “Speaking of Democracy” series. All are welcome!
Thursday, March 25, 7-8pm, this on-line event requires advance registration
Protesting pipelines, fracking wells, power plants, and other polluting and dangerous “critical infrastructure sites” just got a lot harder now that Ohio S.B. 33 is law. What does this mean for you if you engage in public witness events? What are the new rules about liability for organizations, non-profits, churches, grassroots groups? How are the four new bills recently proposed in the Ohio Senate and House (S.B. 16, S.B. 41, H.B. 109, and H.B. 22) designed to make it even more complicated to engage in public witness in the streets, sidewalks and at the Statehouse?
Though the focus will be on Ohio, similar bills are making their way through state legislatures across the country.
Guest Speakers:
• Tadd Pinkston, Pinkston Law; board member, Unitarian Universalist Justice Ohio
• Rev Joan VanBecelaere, Executive Director, Unitarian Universalist Justice Ohio
This program is part of Move to Amend Central Ohio’s “Speaking of Democracy” series. All are welcome!
Wednesday, March 24, 2021, 6:00 PM
Fresh from the headlines: short, noteworthy developments in the cannabis world with an Ohio point of view. All sources are linked:
The Feds
· Full Legalization. As a follow-up to the MORE Act – passed in the U.S. House, stalled in the U.S. Senate and expired at the end of last year – Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) has signaled his intent to introduce legislation that would remove marijuana from federal scheduling, expunge records and focus on small businesses in communities hit hard by the drug war. (March 2020)
Tuesday, May 23, 9-11am, this on-line event requires advance registration
Budgets are moral documents that establish Ohio’s priorities for the next two years. Come and learn about what is in the budget to address poverty, inequality, and hunger in our communities. The Ohio Council of Churches and our statewide partners will work with legislative offices so that you will have an opportunity to share your thoughts and opinions with your State Representatives on how we can promote the common good in Ohio.
Join the Ohio Council of Churches and the Hunger Network of Ohio for a day of public witness regarding the State Biennial Budget. Budgets are moral documents that establish Ohio’s priorities for the next two years.
We are thrilled to announce that there will be comments from Bishop Michael Curry, the 27th Presiding Bishop and Primate of The Episcopal Church and a homily from Bishop Elizabeth A. Eaton, Presiding Bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, as part of this spirited event.
Come in be inspired as we prepare for meetings with members of the Ohio General Assembly to speak against hunger, homelessness, and inequity.
Don’t Let Developers Gentrify Southern Orchards!
Saturday, March 20, 1pm, 641 E. Kossuth St.
Facebook Event