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I fought for over 8 years for medical cannabis legalization for Ohio's patients so when it became a reality in 2016, I wanted to take what I learned in my years of patient advocacy and participate in Ohio's budding new green industry. So I was super excited when, in January of this year, I was hired by Green Thumb Industries as their Patient and Community Outreach Manager. I felt this role gave me a great opportunity to continue my work helping patients discover a better and more natural way to treat their ailments and live healthier lives.

But my excitement soon faded when I realized just how oppressive the Ohio Board of Pharmacy was going to be in their oversight and enforcement of this industry. Everything, and I mean everything, we wanted to do to engage the public and the patient community had to be fully detailed in a report to the State inspector at least two weeks prior to any given event and they had the final say in what we could and, more importantly, couldn't say or do.

Jay-Z and Cam'Ron publicly squashed their beef last month during Jay-Z’ s BSIDES + Album Cuts show by performing “Welcome To New York City” at Webster Hall.  Makes listening to music less complicated for this Columbus rap critic.

Jay-Z’s rap impact seems almost absurd. Dipset making Columbus their second home during the Roc-a-Fella era was something this rap fan personally cherishes.

Jay-Z owned Roc-A-Fella with Cam’ron’s BFF Dame Dash.

You can hear Hov’s concert via Tidal.com. We were excited and played a snippet via Bboys Steal Attention. This new radio show plays via WCRSFM.org in Columbus. Ohio 92.7 and 98.3 @ 7pm Thursdays.

Both shows appeared online in April. I didn’t know Jay-Z was planning this.

While it’s possible Hov was surfing the web and found my show.

Let’s be more practical: Jay-Z and myself both liking rap music isn’t surprising at all.

I would like to congratulate Columbus’ the Fallen regarding their new release, “Stick Yo Self” EP with French based Decision Making Theory Records/Knotweed Records in March.

The abuse of OSU athletes by Dr. Richard Strauss for the better part of two decades went unreported for nearly four decades?

And when it did come to light, it was not uncovered by the Columbus Dispatch and the city's other mainstream media, but by victims coming forward.

Suffice it to say that the Ohio State University is a sacred cow in the eyes of the local news media. The university has so many patrons and loyalists that the news organizations are reluctant to investigate it for fear of alienating and losing their fickle audience. Not to mention that OSU spends a lot of money on local advertising that the local media does not want pulled as punishment for negative coverage.

The uncritical behavior gets worse as the Dispatch, among others, has a growing propensity to run press releases from OSU as news stories in prominent positions.

For instance, on May 16 on the front page of the second section, theDispatch ran the following headline: "Study: OSU has $15.2B economic impact." The article that followed was credited to an "analysis released by the school" in a recent speech by President Michael Drake.

One of the few perks about being a third party candidate after an election is the eventual collective realization that your campaign was right about most of the things you said, despite the fact this realization happens too late for it to matter. Of course, by “perk” I mean sometimes it’s just nice to say “I told you so” after everyone seemed to ignore your contribution to the political discussion. Whether it happens to be our various stances on an assortment of issues or what we predicted that our establishment, two-party opponents would eventually do if elected (despite what they said they’d do) it’s something third party candidates from local to federal office often get used to in the year after the dust has settled.

Monday, June 3, 2019, 3:00 PM
Pack the house to protect the vote! Advocates will present to the Board of Elections new findings that show voters’ rights may be in jeopardy. Now is the time to take action and protect voting rights! Use your voice by attending the Franklin County Board of Elections meeting at 3 pm on Monday, June 3rd, 2019 to advocate for Countywide voter education programming and more comprehensive poll worker training. High rates of provisional ballot use - and rejection - not only raise questions about the health of the election system but also reflect barriers to voters being able to cast a ballot that counts.Show up and let election officials know we need to reform the system now!  Location: Franklin County Board of Elections Office, 1700 Morse Rd., Columbus, OH 43229.  Sign up here:  https://go.peoplepower.org/event/action/20010

Sunday, June 2, 2019, 1:00 – 3:00 PM
Mozaic, 2228 Summit St.
More than a naloxone training, this FREE workshop will address the fundamental principles behind harm reduction, describing how and why a compassionate, "nothing about us without us" approach to drug use saves lives by limiting the harm caused by stigma, lack of safe supplies, and de-humanizing carceral approach to addiction. Harm reduction advocates who organize in Columbus and across Ohio will describe what tools and programs are being used to value and save the lives of drug users.  Attendees will leave the workshop with important harm reduction supplies, such as narcan and sterile needles. Sheila Humphrey-Craig of Harm Reduction Ohio will also introduce her groundbreaking mock safe consumption tent, which will be on display as a resource at the Community Pride Festival.  Facebook. 

Saturday, June 1, 2019, 4:00 – 6:00 PM
Join us for a peaceful protest in the heart of Ohio in front of our government officials. Let them know we do not stand for the Heartbeat Bill. It goes against Roe v. Wade and our body autonomy. This war on progression needs to come to an end.  Location:  Ohio Statehouse, 1 Capitol Square, Columbus 43215.  Facebook.  

Rep Bernadine Kennedy Kent publicly announced Thursday she notified the House Speaker she will not return to the Statehouse, or her legislative office at the Riffe Center, until her exclusion from the democratic caucus and her complaint against two employees is addressed.
 

Rep Kennedy Kent, a black woman with a track record of exposing police misconduct and fraud, was excluded from the Ohio House Democratic caucus last year after Representative Stephanie Howse filed a written complaint against Rep Kennedy Kent alleging her electronic signature was forged on a public records request to the mayor regarding evidence that police ignored reports of child sexual abuse of black girls.
 

Now, a year later, as Howse’s criminal complaint against Rep Kennedy Kent has been resolved with a determination of no wrongdoing, Rep Kennedy Kent wants her rights as an elected Democrat acknowledged and her privileges restored to her office including admittance to caucus meetings, access to legal services and staff, and training for her legislative aid.

It was back in 1954 that Japan gave us Godzilla, the story of an ancient monster reawakened by tests of the hydrogen bomb. The original movie (though toned down for its U.S. release) was a grimly compelling morality tale. Like Frankenstein, it warned of the horrors that can be unleashed by scientists bent on advancement at all costs.

Over the years, the classic has spawned numerous sequels and reboots. Many of the earliest were campy affairs in which an actor in a Godzilla costume trampled miniature facsimiles of Tokyo while fighting new monsters such as Mothra and Rodan. More impressive was the 2014 U.S. remake, which used the latest cinematic technology to recapture the awe and wonder—if not the moral authority—of the original.

Now we have Godzilla: King of the Monsters, which could be the Godzilla movie to end all Godzilla movies. Not because it’s so great, unfortunately, but because it’s so boring.

THE ORIGINAL AND LONGEST RUNNING BELLYDANCE SCHOOL IN THE COUNTRY

Neither Habeeba nor her studio will slow down anytime soon, she said. "I am now looking forward to teaching the daughters and granddaughters of the hundreds of women I taught over the years.”

When she first began to dance professionally, Habeeba quickly gained world renown. Since then, she’s performed all over the U.S. from Puerto Rico to Hawaii, and even appeared on classic national television shows such as The Tonight Show, The Ed Sullivan Show and The Nick Clooney Show. Recently, Habeeba was featured in Anietra Hamper’s book “Secret Columbus, A Guide to the Weird, Wonderful, and Obscure."