Local
The Columbus Dispatch article by Cole Behrens from November 13 shows us that the Columbus City Schools (CCS) continues to play politics with the future of our children. The Superintendent knows she must cut about 50 million dollars from the budget.
She was in the district when her predecessor hired hundreds of additional administrators to the Central Office. She knows that the Central Office is overstaffed. The Board of Education (elected by Franklin County Democrats) knows this too; they aren’t stupid. So, what’s the first thing they choose to do to solve this budget challenge?
Play politics.
Instead of cutting the overstaffed Central Office, the Superintendent and the politically-motivated Board of Education will take the easiest route to solve the problem: lay off a wide range of employees at every level.
Some Central Office administrative roles will be eliminated, but also plenty of janitors, secretaries, and teachers. Everyone will be angry, but it will be spread across all levels fairly. Fair to the employees perhaps, but unfair to the students.
Flock Group, Inc. has had some explaining to do this year. Billed as an intelligent platform that "unites communities, businesses, schools and law enforcement, combining their power to solve and deter crime together," the vendor of automated license plate reader (ALPR) data has, in actuality, been accused of using data points from 83,000 cameras to help a sheriff's deputy in Texas track one of the state's citizens as she fled to Illinois -- a state where the right to end a pregnancy is protected -- following a self-administered abortion in the Lone Star State.
The Ohio State Highway Patrol (OSHP) has a contract to give the company $90,000 per year. For some Ohioans, that's too much.
"Given [the lack of regulation], we think it is irresponsible of our state and local governments to be purchasing, obtaining, or using these types of mass surveillance devices and technologies with no adequate statutory safeguards in place governing their use," says Gary Daniels, a legislative director at the Ohio chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union.
Join Indivisible every Saturday as we stand at the corner of High Street and North Broadway and protest the destruction and degradation of the Trump administration. Location: East North Broadway and High St., Columbus.
This article first appeared on the Buckeye Flame.
In January, I became the first out transgender person to serve on a city council in Ohio when I was appointed to fill an open seat. I ran to keep that seat in November and lost, but I wasn’t deflated or discouraged.
I’m actually more energized and more committed than ever. And here’s why.
Back in 2023, I ran for the Ohio House of Representatives. I knew winning wouldn’t be easy. For starters, I was running in Ohio’s most conservative district. My opponent was a co-sponsor of the Ohio Drag Ban. But that wasn’t all. As a transgender woman running in that political climate, I had more than just a tough race ahead – I had to face the reality that people who didn’t want to see me or anyone like me in politics would do everything in their power to stop us.
I wasn’t alone, though. Alongside me, two other transgender women ran for Ohio House seats. Together, we were determined to show up, fight and challenge the status quo.
Progressives in Congress introduced a resolution recognizing Israel’s ongoing genocide in Gaza and demanding accountability for these atrocities.
Tell your member of Congress to join this historic resolution today.
Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib (MI-12) is joined by 20 additional Members of Congress in introducing a resolution Recognizing the genocide of the Palestinian people in Gaza. The legislation calls on the U.S. to end its complicity in the genocide, including halting weapons to the Israeli military and supporting international measures of accountability.
This article first appeared on Substack
Donald Trump is a horrible person. He is vile, corrupt, petty, mean, narcissistic, immature, greedy, dishonest, selfish, cruel, and evil, so naturally, he would be best friends with a pedophile.
“I have met some very bad people,” Jeffrey Epstein wrote in a 2017 email. “None as bad as Trump. Not one decent cell in his body.”
It's not Epstein's opinion of Trump that we should care about. After all, Jeffrey Epstein was a pedophile. Who cares about Trump's opinion when he disses Joe Biden or Barack Obama? Does anyone really believe Jack Smith is a lunatic just because Trump says it? If we don't care about Trump's opinion about people, then we shouldn't care about Jeffrey Epstein's. I'm sure people don't get worse than Jeffrey Epstein. So I don't care about Epstein's opinion; I care about his recollections.
Yesterday, House Democrats released emails in which Epstein wrote that Trump had “spent hours at my house” with one of his victims. And another email, Epstein wrote that Trump “knew about the girls.”
The Ohio Immigrant Alliance (OIA) is hosting its first ever Family Reunion and Fundraiser on November 15 at Chez Rama from 4-7pm (3669 E. Livingston Ave. in Columbus), a popular Senegalese restaurant. The entire community is invited!
Performer: Habi Gawlo, renowned West African griot and Columbus resident. Find additional examples of Habi’s beautiful performances on OIA’s TikTok page, from Pulaagam: A Celebration of Fulani Heritage. Reunion attendees will be invited to participate in the juurgal and should bring dollar bills.
From Democratic Socialists of America:
Union Starbucks workers across the country are launching a nationwide strike today, Thursday, November 13. More than a year after the company stopped bargaining in good faith, stonewalling any progress at the table, Starbucks Workers United (SBWU) members in 19 cities across 14 states will go on the picket lines at Red Cup Rallies. The SBWU strike will keep going until the company comes to the table.
The Ohio Ecological Food and Farm Association (OEFFA) is a community of sustainable and organic farmers, handlers, producers, and consumers across the U.S. The challenges faced by those in our network are unique to diversified and usually small- or mid-scale farms that provide healthy food to their communities.
The government shutdown, tariff negotiations, staffing changes at the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), and other recent events have specific implications for these farms and the local communities that benefit from their products. We have been actively connecting with individuals who want to share their stories to uplift some of the experiences of those in our community.