Local
This weekend, Columbus audiences will have the opportunity to experience Gaza through the eyes of three American doctors who traveled there not as politicians or journalists, but as physicians trying to save lives.
American Doctor, the acclaimed new documentary from filmmaker Poh Si Teng, opens Friday, September 4, at Gateway Film Center in Columbus. The film was an official selection of the 2026 Sundance Film Festival and follows three American physicians; Palestinian American emergency physician Dr. Thaer Ahmad, Jewish American orthopedic surgeon Dr. Mark Perlmutter, and Zoroastrian American trauma surgeon Dr. Feroze Sidhwa.
The doctors volunteered inside Gaza’s overwhelmed hospitals, treating patients and working alongside Palestinian medical professionals under extraordinary conditions. Dr. Sidhwa, for example, volunteered in Gaza in March–April 2024 and returned in March–April 2025.
But American Doctor doesn’t end when the physicians leave Gaza.
The primary goal of any city government is to provide safety for citizens.
This is the most basic goal possible – even above water and power. If there is a threat to a citizen, there is someone to call who can solve the problem, for example if your house is on fire or someone is stealing your car.
This is why we collectively pay taxes to the city of Columbus.
We trust that our city leaders will use those tax dollars to protect us from each other and ourselves. It’s why we have fire and police departments in Columbus. It’s a requirement to survive.
Unfortunately, the Columbus Mayor and City Council have chosen to not fund either of these requirements and instead chose to pour hundreds of millions of dollars into the wallets of developers and real estate investors. It’s a fantastic opportunity for them to make obscene levels of profits and control the leaders we elect.
Columbus Fire Department
Everyone loves firefighters.
Sep 1, 2026 06:00 PM
Zoom
Join us for a virtual meeting to explore how elections work at September 1 at 6pm. We’ll explore election history and the US Constitution and take a deep dive into election administration in Ohio. Panelists include Susannah Goodman, Common Cause’s policy director, Voting & Fair Representation; Patrick Berry, senior counsel in the Brennan Center's Voting Rights and Elections Program; and Maria Bruno, Ohioans Against Extremism’s co-founder and executive director. This virtual session will also focus on ways to ensure that elections run smoothly and that every vote is properly counted.
We’ll be joined experts in the field including:
Tuesday, September 1, 2026 - 04:30pm
Chalmers P. Wylie Ambulatory Care Center
Weekly. Support veterans: Protect the VA! Join our Rush-Hour Resistance Rally outside the Chalmers Wylie VA Clinic to protest the cuts to the VA and support veterans! We will be demonstrating on public sidewalks on both sides of James Road, which are highly visible to commuters passing by.
To eliminate any possibility of getting in the way of patients or staff at the clinic, we are asking everyone to avoid using the VA lot to the east of James Road. Instead, please park west of James Road.
Look for Visitor Parking signs in the lot for Africentric High School, 3223 Allegheny Ave, Columbus, OH 43209.
More information on parking and sign up here.
I first met Senator Ray Miller in August of 2006 when I arrived at The Ohio State University from Purdue University where I taught for eight years, but I was familiar with his work long before then. Simply put, Senator Miller was a stalwart in Ohio politics, hence his reputation preceded him. Dr. William E. Nelson, longtime professor of political science and African American and African Studies at The Ohio State University who mentored Miller as a student at The Ohio State University, facilitated the introduction. Out of that initial meeting the Ray Miller Institute for Change and Leadership was formed in the fall of 2006. For the next five years, 20 fellows were admitted to the program each year and met every Monday for ten weeks at the African American and African Studies Community Extension Center where they were immersed in the theory and praxis of leadership development. From there a decades-long friendship began. During that time Miller served on the Department of African American and African Studies Community Extension Center’s advisory board. His participation and wise counsel were invaluable to the center’s success during my eight-year tenure as its director.
Sunday, August 30, 2026 - 1:00-6:00pm
Various front porches and community spots throughout the Olde Towne East neighborhood (including a kickoff/presence around the Olde Towne East Pocket Park and specific addresses like 953 Bryden Rd and 47 N. Monroe. Bring a chair or a blanket and stroll around the streets of grand Victorian homes in what was once the city’s affluent Silk Stocking District, and enjoy all kinds of music being performed on multiple neighborhood porches, patios, and lawns.
Culiminating with concert from 4-8:30pm at Central Community House, 1251 Bryden Rd, Columbus, OH 43205.
Here is the spectacular lineup:
4pm Kickoff with powerhouse vocalist of Dayton's own Lindsi Fisher
530pm The groove keeps rolling with Columbus's very own NexLevel Band
7pm prepare yourself for our headliner: The smooth sax, melodies of explosive soul stirring energy of Billboard Top Charting artist Patrick Lamb.
Food Trucks will be on-site.
If Cameron Mitchell chooses to support the Friends of the Israel Death Forces while Palestinians are being killed, displaced, and devastated, then I believe he should be prepared to answer for that choice. There is nothing “neutral” about supporting an organization whose critics argue that its work contributes to sustaining Israel’s military establishment while Palestinian civilians suffer.
I stand with Baladna: Palestine Society of Columbus and its boycott efforts against businesses and individuals that support or enable Israel’s actions toward Palestinians. Baladna is a newly established, 100% volunteer-run nonprofit organization.
For that reason, I am adding Cameron Mitchell to my boycott list.
You do not get to profit from a community and then demand silence when people criticize your choices. Supporting human rights means speaking up when innocent civilians are suffering. It means saying NO to genocide. NO to ethnic cleansing. NO to the killing and displacement of Palestinians.
Please take action to demand the release of Springfield Haitian pastors recently imprisoned by ICE.
Suggested message: “My name is (insert your name and any affiliation). I urge you to intervene immediately in the detention of Rev. Adrien and Rev. Dumanom, two Haitian pastors from Springfield, Ohio, and to do all you can, both privately and publicly, to facilitate their release. These two pastors are significant peacemakers and provide critical support for the Haitian community in this time of trauma and uncertainty. These pastors have been removed from the community and we demand that they be returned and provided due process.” Calling is most effective, but you can also email.
• Gov. Dewine 614-644-4357 https://governor.ohio.gov/contact (You can thank the Governor for his support of the Haitian community and then tell him it’s not enough)
• Senator Jon Husted : 202-224-3353 https://www.husted.senate.gov/
• Senator Moreno : 202 -224-2315 https://www.moreno.senate.gov/
Haga clic aquí para español - Click here for Spanish
Masked ICE agents are conducting aggressive enforcement operations throughout Springfield, stopping vehicles mid-street, going door-to-door, and using city property as a staging area. At this week’s City Commission meeting, residents testified about the terror gripping their community.
What was Mayor Rue's response? A moment of silence and a prayer. Meanwhile, Governor DeWine has seemingly abandoned the issue.
We must be crystal clear about the political realities shaping our elections. In 2024, former Vice President Kamala Harris lost the presidential race driven in key part by strategic campaign commercials and national ad buys highlighting her California prosecutorial record. These campaigns explicitly targeted Black communities by focusing on tough-on-crime messaging, aggressive prosecutions, and systemic wrongful convictions—contributing to over 21% of Black men voting for Donald Trump. Voters refuse to offer unearned loyalty when concerns surrounding prosecutorial histories, mass incarceration, and systemic injustice are ignored.