Local

Passport 196 just launched in October 2017 in Upper Arlington on the corner of Fishinger and Riverside Drive (33). They serve an assortment of Caribbean fusion food with jerk seasonings. Azariyah Aiyetoro, the brother of Passport 196’s founder John Hudson, who manages the restaurant, recently made a vegan shift in consciousness and wanted to offer a more robust, full-service (appetizer to dessert) vegan menu in addition to their current conventional menu. These are exciting times for our Vegan Options Daily campaign as they consulted VeganShift.org’s concierge on the local market gaps and decided to include a vegan fishless (Gardein) sandwich, in addition to the grilled chickless (Gardien) sandwich, and vegan burger (Beyond Meat).
 

Monday, July 2, 2018, 9:00 AM 
First English Lutheran Church, 1015 E Main Street, Columbus, OH 43205
Miriam Vargas, originally from Honduras, is a long-term resident of Columbus, OH, and mother of two U.S. citizen daughters. Her decision comes as she has received an order of deportation which would separate her from her children forever. This happens as President Trump has increased the cruel and inhumane policies of immigrant detainments and separation of mothers from their children. Through sanctuary at First English Lutheran Church, she hopes to find the legal and community support she needs to keep her family together. In Miriam's words, “I have no other choice but to enter sanctuary. I am doing this to keep my family together. My two children are what matters. I need to be with them”. It will be a rough road ahead with an uncertain timeline, but she will not be alone. In Columbus, she will join Edith Espinal who has been in sanctuary for over 9 months at the Columbus Mennonite Church and will become the 5th person in Ohio to be in sanctuary publicly. 

To begin with let me give a disclaimer. This review is going to be really hard for me to do. I ought to admit that I really like the producer Vidhu Vinod Chopra's filmmaking sensibilities. When a movie stays with you for almost 30 years and if you still feel like you haven't gotten over it, like his film Parinda, then I guess you really like the filmmaker. If the only movie that you went to the theatre on two consecutive days, 3 Idiots, is made by the same filmmaker, then you really know that you really, really like this filmmaker.

My second reason is that I find it difficult to review someone's life. "Sanju," showing at AMC Village 18, is a movie based on a Indian actor Sanjay Dutt. Even though it is touted as a biography, it revolves only around two major life-altering experiences in the actor's life: his addiction to drugs and his legal battle for carrying illegal weapon. 

Sunday, July 1, 3-5pm
North Congregational United Church of Christ, 2040 Henderson Rd.
Music that makes a difference – top Columbus songwriters present The Concert for Children at the Border. The event, hosted by North Congregational Church, is raising funds for Refugee and Immigrant Center for Education and Legal Services (RAICES), providing legal counsel for children incarcerated by Homeland Security on the border with Mexico.

Among the scheduled performers are:
- Shaun Booker and Sean Carney, winner, Memphis International Blues Challenge
- Rj Cowdery, winner, Kerrville New Folk Festival
- Arkadiy Gips, violinist on two world tours with Madonna
- TJ George, winner, Columbus Music Awards
- Eric Gnezda - Songwriter and Speaker, creator and host of Songs at the Center, the American Public Television Series

The mood was not only to vote but to resist. A massive crowd filled the Ohio Statehouse capitol square on Saturday morning June 30, 2018 for the Families Stay Together rally. The demonstrators were of two minds. the majority, working on behalf of the Democratic Party to create a blue wave around the immigration issue and the others a plurality of activists who want to defy and resist the Trump administration and are calling for direct action, civil disobedience and some to make the United States ungovernable unless Trump backs off on his militaristic border tactics. Many of the latter forces called for the abolition of ICE and had chants involving "Melt ICE" and Crush ICE." 

The very diverse crowd listened to a number of speakers, many who were experiencing immigration issues, and the rally culminated in a march around the block. At the end intersection of Broad and High Streets some marchers shut down the roads for a short while. Police presence was minimal, the police were restrained in their reactions, and the march ultimately continued down West Broad Street to the ICE headquarters in the Leveque Lincoln tower. 

Two Ohio Republican legislators recently introduced a bill that mandates all medical and mental health care providers, and teachers, disclose if the child they are working with identifies as LGBTQ - or else they’ll be criminalized as felons.

This bill turns care providers into spies, polices LGBTQ youth and puts them into dangerous situations. Suffering from gender dysphoria and seeking help is not a crime!

Sign the petition now to strike down Bill 658 and send a clear message to legislators: Stop targeting transgender youth

Many LGBTQ youth are homeless because of family rejection for their gender identity and sexuality. Transgender youth face added discrimination and violence. But it doesn’t have to be this way. Join us now to annihilate this bill that puts the safety and well-being of LGBTQ youth at risk.

WCBE is proud to announce its very own Community Relations director, Johnny DiLoretto, will do his community relations thing in high style this July 4th when he assumes the not-so-honorable throne as the Less-than-Grand Marshal at the 35th annual Doo Dah parade.

“My first thought was ‘Who was their first choice?’ Surely, someone better was unavailable…” DiLoretto joked. “I'm still in shock about it. It’s such a mark of distinction here in Columbus,” he said. “And, it’s such a no-holds-barred, throw-caution-to-the-wind-anything-goes event, it’s just a perfect fit.”

WCBE president, Dan Mushalko, quipped, “There can be no lesser honor than to be a less than grand marshal. We’re so proud of Johnny for stooping to this level and we desperately hope no one associates him with WCBE on the entire parade route.”

All joking aside, Mz Doo Dah, ChairChick & Queen of Doo Dah, Deb Roberts assures that DiLoretto was indeed their first less-than-grand choice this year. “Johnny's a man about town.  He's funny.  He's a survivor of Sinclair Broadcasting, and,” she added, “he's a man who knows how to make some fun!”

Saturday, June 30
Families Belong Together Rally
Ohio StateHouse West Plaza, Broad and High Streets, Columbus - 10am
and
121 S. Washington St. Delaware - 10am
"Compassion is a choice we make that love is more important than comfort or convenience." Let's become better humans. Let's make #compassioncontagious - Glennon Doyle Melton
Join us by protesting the Trump administration’s cruel & in-humane anti-immigrant policy, which has separated thousands of immigrant children from their parents in recent weeks. Rallies will take place across the nation on 6/30.

Today an anti-worker majority of justices on the United States Supreme Court struck down 40 years of precedent permitting public sector unions to collect a fair share fee from workers who receive the benefits of collective bargaining and representation in the workplace. The ruling in Janus v. AFSCME, like similar legislation in Congress and so-called right to work initiatives in Ohio, is the result of a multi-year campaign by corporate interests and wealthy individuals who oppose the very idea that workers should have freedom of association, economic power and a voice in our system of government.

Under the high court’s decision, unions must still negotiate for and represent all workers in a bargaining unit, including those who refuse to pay a fee for the benefits and services they receive from the union. The Court’s decision also forces loyal union members who voluntarily pay dues to subsidize anti-union co-workers who refuse to pay while receiving the same wages, benefits and working conditions as union members. But the Janus decision is about more than the “free-rider” problem.