Local

The universe has a uncanny knack for adding perspective whenever popularity gets confused with significance. The actor Paul Walker was popular. Nelson Mandela was significant. Fox News should not be counted in the ranks of admirers of the revolutionary lion turned honored statesman. Cynics say there’s little difference in cable news, but sometimes the differences are obvious and stark. While CNN and MSNBC honored Mandela by turning over their evening programming to covering his life and times, Fox News stayed on message by largely relegating Mandela’s passage to the news crawl and pounding away with their anti-Obamacare propaganda. The media gossip site, Mediaite went deep into CNN, MSNBC and Fox’s coverage (or lack of) of Mandela’s passage and the clear loser lagging behind the field was the “news” network led by hardcore right-wingers Rupert Murdoch and Roger Ailes. Hardly a surprise considering everything Mandela stood for are the very things Fox News is against. I flipped the television from Rachel Maddow interviewing Ron Dellums to Megan Kelly chatting amiably with a medal-winning soldier.

Dear Editor We’re extremely disappointed that the Ohio House would gut an effective 10-year-old bipartisan law at the request of the debt settlement industry. It should raise eyebrows that during committee hearings, the industry trade group was the sole proponent of the bill, while numerous pro-consumer groups offered compelling arguments against the bill. HB 173 is a bad deal for consumers and Ohio doesn’t need it. We already have effective regulation for the debt settlement industry in the 2004 Ohio Debt Adjusters Act, which was put in place for a reason. While industry would have you believe HB 173 adds regulations to keep out “bad actors,” this is a smoke screen. HB 173 includes safeguards that are already in effect under the Federal Trade Commission’s Telemarketing Sales Rule of 2010.

Harvest Pizzeria has the best vegan pizza crust in town. I love this place for so many reasons. Their motto is LOCAL TASTES BETTER, and I agree, especially when it is organic, and I look forward to the day it all becomes veganic. Their website features some of the local farms from where they source their ingredients. When I spoke with the staff, they informed me that they are also highly conscious about recycling everything possible, even their “to-go” containers are made of recycled products. No Styrofoam (I can’t stand Styrofoam!). When I go, it is typically for lunch because of the lunch special pricing. The outdoor seating is enjoyable in the seasons you want to be outside (clearly not right now). I typically order the vegetable pizza, hold the cheeses and onion and tomato sauce, and substitute them for, vegan pesto, artichokes, basil, Marcona style almonds and when they have it, balsamic reduction. OH. MY. GAWD. I’m drooling thinking about one right now. They also offer a gluten-free pizza and sell some other locally produced products such as pasta. If you have a penchant for unique libations, Curio is right next door.

If you blink, you might miss is. Tucked away at 19 N. Pearl St. in downtown Columbus, Ringside Cafe is one of our city's hidden gems. It was empty when I walked in Monday afternoon. My curiosity had been piqued by the elaborately carved stone facade. “This place is old,” I thought as I pulled open the front door. Without having any idea of the purpose of my visit, manager Tim Hartman eagerly filled me in on the history of the quaint watering hole. The second oldest bar in Columbus (behind only the Jury Room), Ringside dates to 1897. Hartman explained that it was once a favorite hangout for politicians and he pointed out the stained glass window that depicts an elephant and a donkey. The story goes that one side or the other would be covered to signify which party was meeting there. There are many other stories associated with Ringside, such as the tunnel that supposedly once connected the tavern to the Statehouse. Ringside's menu serves as a history lesson.

I do not wish to go on further about our feline friends in the Peaves household, but it is necessary to explain that our youngest, Kabibble, has an affinity for plants. To wit, she climbs Mrs Peaves' hybiscus. For that reason we chose to opt for an artificial Christmas tree this year. The idea being, as it is not an actual plant, perhaps Kabibble would leave it be. I had no idea what that decision would cost me, both monetarily and in terms of aggravation. First there was the matter of finding the right tree. Previously our Christmas tree buying experience was the same, year after year. Mrs. Peaves would find the most forlorn tree on the lot and “save” it. She called this act of idiocy “letting the tree fulfill its destiny.” I did not argue with her in order to maintain the general well being of the household and all its occupants. Purchasing an artificial tree was a foreign endeavor to me. Having no use of the things, I had paid no attention to them whatsoever. I was rather surprised to learn that not all of them are created equally.

A few Decembers ago, I wrote a column complaining that Columbus had no local productions of A Christmas Carol. I went so far as to suggest that people travel to Cincinnati or Cleveland to catch the heartwarming holiday chestnut. No need for that this year. We now have no fewer than three local shows that spread Charles Dickens’s timeless message of generosity and redemption. One is a musical (Shadowbox Live’s Scrooge), one features a female Scrooge (Columbus Civic Theater’s A Christmas Carol), and one is a new adaptation that amounts to a play within a play. Written by Patrick Barlow and presented by CATCO, this version begins as a small group of British actors gather in a deserted London theater during World War II. After one of them passes out copies of the script, they begin acting out the familiar story of the 19th century skinflint who considers the Christmas season an affront to rationality. In other words, “humbug.” How do World War II and the German blitzkrieg dovetail into Dickens’s morality tale? Well, they don’t. After doling out the parts, the fictitious actors simply go about the business of leading us through Scrooge’s spiritual journey.

A headline in the Saturday, November 30 Columbus Dispatch screamed: “Family’s well not tainted by driller.” The lead asserts that, “Natural gas that caught fire after it bubbled from a faucet in a Portage County house did not come from a nearby shale well, state officials have concluded.” The question is, can we trust these state officials? The investigation conducted by the Ohio Department of Natural Resources (ODNR) needs to be closely examined. The ODNR is at best a “captured agency” which has been accused repeatedly of promoting the oil and gas industry and specifically fracking, the practice of horizontal drilling. The freepress.org reported earlier this year that formal complaints were filed against ODNR employees for falsifying “production records on wells.” Reports were also made to the FBI that the ODNR was covering up 1200 gas wells that were on record without tax ID numbers in southern Ohio.

Recently Ohio Right to Life brought a bill to the Ohio General Assembly that would change substantially the way adoptions are done in the state. HB 307, known as the Infant Adoption Reform Bill, shortens the time that an adoption in Ohio can be challenged post-finalization, decreases the time a man is eligible to file with the Putative Father Registry, permits individuals and couples to advertise for a child to adopt and increases the Ohio adoption tax credit from $1500 to $10,000. ORTL president Mike Gonidakis claims that these measures will reduce abortion rates and encourage adoption by relieving potential adoptive parents (popularly known in adoption reform as “paps”) from the stress and expense of a long drawn-out, often expensive, adoption process. There is nothing in the bill, however, to indicate how making the adoption process easier and cheaper will increase newborn adoption rates since newborns are traditionally in short supply. Nor does it address how to increase the adoption of hundreds of available children warehoused in the state's over-burdened foster care system.

The passing of a billionaire hardly goes unnoticed and Peter Lewis is no different. In drug policy circles, on either side of the fence, he needs no introduction. At age 80, Peter died in his Florida home on November 23, 2013. He will be remembered for far more than just his money. I’d like to say that I knew Peter, but in truth, I never personally met him. Yet, in the six degrees of separation, we’re only one degree apart. He had probably seen my name many times, and I, his. He knew some of the same people well who I know well. However, the times that I could have met him, I made other choices. The 2001 Drug Policy Foundation Conference in Albuquerque, New Mexico serves as but one example. On the expansive hotel staircase leading to the ballroom in which Peter would be speaking, I encountered one of my new reform colleagues (now a long-standing and trusted friend). “Come upstairs with me and meet Peter Lewis,” he urged. Bedazzled by all of the famous faces I had met that weekend, I nodded, yes. But my heart lay elsewhere – the trip to Albuquerque served the dual purpose of being a celebration of my 25th wedding anniversary. I could meet Peter Lewis, or leave with my family.

Reader: Can you explore the topic of genital piercings? Thank you. Genital piercings are a very personal choice. Ultimately, the choice to receive them is for extra sensitivity and pleasurable sensations during sexual activity. There are a number of types of piercings that all have different appearance, healing time and sensation that it provides. Sometimes the type of piercing one receives isn’t necessarily a personal preference, but one that matches the body and how the genitals are uniquely shaped. The most common concern is to take care who is piercing you, receiving a consultation prior to, (perhaps from sending in photos of the area to be pierced for your consultation) and caring for the piercing properly, allowing it to heal thoroughly. Safe sex is highly recommended, even for fluid-bonded partners, because of the open wound at the location of the piercing and risk of infection to it. I asked a friend of mine who has genital piercings to contribute to this particular article. “The Jingle Jangle of Your Honey Pot” The first one was more symbolic than functional really, the bigger ring on the outer labia.