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The first vote I ever cast was for a Democrat. I believed in the Democratic Party, and I want to believe in them again. But most of them aren’t listening, and they’re not meeting this moment with the bold ferocity it requires. Until they do, I’ll remain skeptical, critical, and vocal.
Indivisible Central Ohio recently hosted an empty-chair town hall meeting for Ohio’s 15th Congressional District. Here’s how they described the event after it ended:
This article first appeared on Reel Time with Richard Ades.
As a documentary about a woman who deals with trauma with the help of exercise, Jeannette reminds me of a movie I wanted to make years ago. The main difference is that my film never got made, probably because I didn’t know how to create a space in which the woman in question felt safe enough to tell her story.
Director Maris Curran, obviously, does know how. She partly accomplishes this by avoiding the kind of probing interviews one generally sees in documentaries. Instead, she allows her subject to simply live her life in front of the camera.
Curran’s subject is Jeannette Feliciano, a survivor of 2016’s horrific mass shooting at Pulse, a gay nightclub in Orlando, Florida.
Besides being a survivor, Jeannette is also a lesbian, a single mom, a Latina, a personal trainer and a competitive bodybuilder. All of these facets of her life are represented in the documentary’s one hour and 18 minutes, though some are given more space than others.
Wednesday, June 18, 6pm
Columbus City Hall, 90 W Broad St.
Stand up for immigrants
Tuesday, June 17, 2025, 12:00 – 1:00 PM
West Lawn of the Ohio Statehouse
Across Ohio, parents are working hard and still feeling the squeeze. Families are dealing with soaring costs for childcare, groceries, and housing – and an unfair tax code, making it increasingly difficult for them to make ends meet. Governor DeWine has proposed solutions to provide tax relief and make childcare more affordable for working families through a new Ohio Child Tax Credit and investments in childcare. We are coming together to make sure children and families have the care and resources they need to thrive. We need to show lawmakers that Ohioans are paying attention—and we expect them to act.
US Solar Cell Manufacturing Grows Despite Cloudy Days Ahead
The US doubled its solar cell manufacturing capacity and added 8.6 gigawatts in the first quarter of 2025, marking the third largest quarter for new solar manufacturing capacity on record.
According to a report recently issued by Wood McKinsey for the Solar Energy Industries Association(SEIA), new solar generating capacity totaled 10.8 gigawatts. That's 7 percent lower than installations for the first quarter in 2024, 43 percent lower than installations for the fourth quarter of last year. It's still the fourth largest quarter of deployment on record according to the same report.
The top five states for solar growth this quarter include Texas, Florida, Indiana, Ohio, and Wisconsin.
Despite growing demand for energy, the solar industry faces a rocky road over the next few years, particularly if the Senate concurs with the renewable energy tax credit cuts that have already been passed by the House.
The images on TV news are misleading. They can’t be otherwise. TV news seeks out the most dramatic visuals, and those are likely to be small fires and burning vehicles, police cars damaged, and riot-clad police.
These are images associated with violence, with insurrection, with riot. They help create a narrative, but they do little to explain what is actually happening in Los Angeles — and elsewhere. They obscure the truth by eliding complex discussion. And they feed into right-wing talking points that Democratic cities and states like L.A. and California are ungovernable, and that the federal government has to step in to restore order and protect average working Americans from insurrection.
Let’s be clear about what is happening, however. Federal immigration agents — masked and in military-style garb — descended on Los Angeles and its surrounding suburbs to conduct workplace raids and the mass round-ups of undocumented workers. The communities responded with protests and active efforts to deny agents access to immigrant workers.
Watch the video of Friday's Ohio Statehouse protest by 50501 for No Kings Day, June 13, 2025
Video by Scot Lacy, Milo Pictures
This article first appeared on Ohio Capitol Journal
In August 2023, Ohio voters sent a clear message when they overwhelmingly rejected the legislature’s blatant attempt to undermine our citizen-initiative process. But instead of listening, politicians in Columbus doubled down. Their new targets? Everyday Ohioans who dare to collect signatures, knock on doors, and exercise their constitutional right to direct democracy.
Ohio Senate Bill 153 and Ohio House Bill 233 are the latest attempts to dismantle the people’s power. While headlines may focus on disingenuous provisions about voter registration and drop boxes, buried deep in these 204-page monstrosities are provisions specifically designed to intimidate, harass, and shut down grassroots campaigns before they ever reach the ballot.
Let’s be clear: these bills are an attack on the People’s Process — on your voice, your rights, your power.
This article first appeared on the Buckeye Flame.
The Ohio Senate has passed their version of the state’s two-year budget and left intact all of the anti-LGBTQ+ provisions passed by the House.
The version that the Senate passed on Wednesday included: