Local
Testimony for Columbus City Council Public Safety & Criminal Justice Committee Hearing on Flock Cameras
Lynn Tramonte, Executive Director, Ohio Immigrant Alliance
August 10, 2026
If we want to achieve public safety for all, we need to first agree on what this means and what is missing. I’m going to speak bluntly, because we cannot misunderstand each other. The systems built by white and wealthy people when this nation was created — mainly by men — prioritize their safety while denying the humanity of indigenous people, Black people, poor people, immigrants, women, and children.
This isn’t ancient history. Today we have a nationwide crisis of public shootings and gender-based violence, and the people in charge have mostly ignored, denied, or deflected the issues, allowing them to metastasize. We’ve even built a whole genre of entertainment around gender-based violence, although for women, and gay and trans people, I think crime shows are about self-preservation.
Columbus City Council President Shannon Hardin apparently did not take the pledge of silence. Or he did take the pledge but broke it after being quoted in WOSU’s story regarding Our City Our Say’s “compromise” with City Council.
Monday, August 10
PROTEST: 3:00 PM
PRESS CONFERENCE: 3:30 PM
CITY COUNCIL HEARING: 4:00 PM
Columbus City Council, 90 West Broad Street
The Safety Not Surveillance Coalition, a group of community-based organizations who formed to coordinate anti-Flock organizing in Central Ohio and build a strategy to decrease surveillance in our communities, today issued urgent demands ahead of a City Council hearing: the immediate cancellation of all contracts with Flock Safety and the rapid dismantling of its Automated License Plate Reader (ALPR) camera network throughout Central Ohio.
Flock Safety is a private surveillance company whose cameras collect data on every vehicle that passes. It records license plate numbers, timestamps, locations, and distinguishing features such as bumper stickers and dents regardless of whether the driver is suspected of any wrongdoing. Most municipalities in Central Ohio currently operate Flock cameras and OSU hosts more than 60 Flock license plate readers on or near its campus.
Sunday, August 9, 2026, 1:00 – 5:00 PM
NW Village Green OH-161 & High St.
Worthington, OH
Celebrate the rich diversity of our community at the Festival of Faiths & Nations on Sunday, August 9, from 1:00–5:00 p.m. on the Worthington Village Green.
Hosted by WIN Worthington Interfaith Neighbors, this free, family-friendly event will feature representatives from more than 20 faiths and countries, with cultural displays, music, dance, hands-on activities, games, prizes, and more.
The festival will take place alongside Sunday Funday, offering even more food, entertainment, and activities throughout downtown Worthington.
For more information, email WIN at windiversity@gmail.com
Saturday August 8, 3-5pm
Old First Presbyterian Church, 1101 Bryden Rd.
Join progressive friends to socialize, network, and hear from Jerrad Christian, candidate for Ohio's 12th Congressional district.
Jerrad Christian is a Navy veteran and software engineer running a grassroots campaign to unseat Rep. Troy Balderson, a Republican who consistently votes in support of lobbying groups, super PACs, and his billionaire donors.
Free and open to the public.
Potluck welcome.
Thursday, August 7, 7pm
Olld First Presbyterian Church, 1101 Bryden Rd.
81st Anniversary of the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. A peace concert featuring local composers and performers.
614-252-9255
Yesterday on August 4 for the third year in a row, the 1911 foundation and the men of the Eta Nu Nu chapter of the illustrious Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Inc. held a National Night Out event at Oakland Park Alternative Elementary School located at 3392 Atwood Terrace, Columbus, Ohio, near the school’s playground. Located in Oakland Park, the North Linden neighborhood school serves students in pre-kindergarten through 5th grade and operates as a lottery-based public school under the auspices of the Columbus City Schools.
Wednesday, August 5, 12pm
200 N. High Street, downtown Columbus
Got extra canned goods? Consider donating them to a couple of organizations that are tending to the skyrocketing rates of local food insecurity for our immigrant neighbors.
Our Helpers is a women-led nonprofit dedicated to improving the lives of immigrant and refugee families in Central Ohio. From food and wellness to language, mentorship, and career development, Our Helpers connects people to the tools that strengthen lives and communities. Together, we’re creating a network of care where everyone has the chance to flourish.
Once every five years, ODNR is required to update its Oil and Gas rules. The agency has begun its latest review and is holding a two-week public comment period that ends tomorrow!
I only learned of this comment period because our team is subscribed to receive email updates on rules and regulations from RuleWatch Ohio. We received only one email regarding this comment period on the day that it opened. When I read the email and learned of this important public comment opportunity, I immediately reached out to others in our network to find out if anyone knew about it. No one did.
It is unacceptable for this state regulatory agency to hold such a short comment period on something of such great consequence and to do so little to publicize it.
Alarmingly, ODNR has proposed NO CHANGE to nine rules, and if they don't change during this update, we will be stuck with them for the next five years.