Local
An historic Friday the 13th yellow harvest moon shining a light on an outdoor Jack White show, his Raconteurs going off like Roman candles for the better part of two hours – could there be any summer's night of musical intensity more spectacularly supernatural?
Maybe a Def Leppard/Whitesnake/Blackstone Cherry return-of-the-wish-they-were-still-dead tour, for sure. Or maybe not.
Just kidding, kids. Thus it was at a heavily attended PromoWest amphitheater one warm and humid evening last month, the moon at its advertised farthest-away apogee in a dozen years (a minimoon they call it as opposed to a supermoon which is closest).
Nothing mini about the music that night, strictly super. But I think the infamous numeral of bad luck; the rare cosmic distance between earth and luna; and Jack White's personal nuclear energy made the night one very special bunch of loose ends coming together and sparking maniacally like the devil's lightning.
Exciting as hell!
Good timing. The New York Times just published an op-ed called “Why Republicans Play Dirty.” Lately, the better adjective would be “filthy” if you think of Trump holding up military money to the Ukraine while trying to get the Ukrainians to do a black bag surveillance job on Joe Biden and his son. Or, the ritualistic – like the running of the bulls in Spain – stripping of Ohio’s voter rolls.
Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose trampled democracy in Ohio when he removed 235,000 of the state’s voters from voting rolls for not voting in two previous federal elections. Back in January this year he purged 250,000 voters. Sadly, the Free Press previously reported LaRose had promised not to purge.
Monday, September 30, 2019, 11:00 AM – 1:00 PM
On an overcast but otherwise pleasant Saturday morning in late September, about 300 volunteers set out on a litter sweep of the Kokosing River. By the time the mud they stirred up had settled, the volunteers had collected more than six tons of trash. That included nearly two tons of tires — 171 of them.
These folks don’t mess around.
Not that I expected they would. Earlier in September, some of the volunteers — The Kokosing River Rats — helped with the Friends of the Mohican River Watershed cleanup, covering the river from Greer to Brinkhaven. In short, they kicked ass, digging out tires and heavy debris from what is considered one of the most scenic stretches of the Mohican.
On Sept. 21, it was time to return the favor. Representing the Mohican Watershed group, I headed down to Millwood on the Kokosing with my friend, Elaine, and my Grumman canoe. I wanted to help and get down and dirty with these folks on the Kokosing, but I had an ulterior motive. Our Mohican crew is a relatively new group, having only two cleanups under our belts. I wanted to see how a well-established group conducted a river sweep.
The people of Toledo, along with supporters of the Lake Erie Bill of Rights (LEBOR), were disgusted to find out in early May of this year that language was inserted into the state budget bill, just before the House passed its version of the budget, to undermine LEBOR and Rights of Nature in Ohio. Which representative was responsible for adding this language and who or what group was behind it? I, and other members of the Ohio Community Rights Network (OHCRN) set to find out.
On February 26, 2019, the people of Toledo passed LEBOR with 61% of the vote. This landmark law granted rights to Lake Erie and its entire ecosystem to exist, flourish and naturally evolve. It also empowers citizens – as part of that larger ecosystem, and who have the right to a healthy environment – to stand up for the lake when those rights are violated. This is the first-of-its-kind law in the United States to grant rights to an entire body of water and its ecosystem. Similar rights of nature laws have passed in Australia, New Zealand, Ecuador, India, Bolivia, Brazil and Colombia.
Sunday, September 29, 2019, 2:00 – 7:00 PM
We’re cooking to share a meal outside the downtown YMCA shelter again — bring whatever vegan(ish) food you can find, or just bring yourself to help prepare the meal, or just come over for conversation and company. New people are Always welcome! The address on the event is where the cooking itself will occur. (We're test-running a new cooking location that is a bit bigger, and is wheelchair accessible)
Ohio State University will raise the minimum wage of about 3,800 non-union employees to $15 per hour next year. In making the announcement on August 30, OSU President Michael Drake used the language of free market ideology.
“This effort is in keeping with a competitive marketplace and…the university’s commitment to invest in individuals and families throughout our Buckeye community,” Drake said in a press release. He said nothing about a living wage or economic justice. He used phrases like “competitive marketplace” and “investing” in people — crediting the pay raise to a strong labor market.
In other words, the free market is working as it should. “A rising tide lifts all boats,” John F. Kennedy said. If an economy is strong and growing, everyone will benefit from it. Right?
Saturday, Sept 28, 9am-12pm
Scioto River
COSI Columbus' Dynamic Hands-On Science Center!, Green Columbus, and Keep Columbus Beautiful are joining forces alongside many local organizations and corporations such as Accenture, NiSource, The Nature Conservancy, the Ohio Environmental Council, Sierra Club and many more to clean the Scioto River within the I-270 loop at 8 sites in just one day!
