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President Hardin, esteemed members of City Council, and fellow community members. Thank you for granting me an opportunity to speak before you tonight on harm reduction strategies for a healthier West Side through our compassionate client center and trauma responsive approach via 1DivineLine2Health Hilltop Drop-In Center. We are on frontlines serving those affected by human and drug trafficking. We serve their children and caregivers. An issue of immense importance to our city is the need to implement and advance effective harm reduction strategies as a cornerstone of our public health response towards substance use disorders. This is a subject that is often difficult to discuss but it is critical to the health, safety, and dignity of residents.
Even the experts get it wrong once in a while.
Erected in 1929, on a ridge over a Maumee River floodplain south of Toledo, is an impressive statue commemorating the Battle of Fallen Timbers. It was the height of summer 1794, and a Native American confederacy made what would amount to one of several last stands against the invaders. The battle’s name was inspired by a tornado that had previously torn through the mix of prairie and forest. On the battlefield was future President William Henry Harrison, as was Tecumseh.
Near the statue is a notable rock moved here to honor the battle’s Native casualties. The legend goes a chief rallied his warriors from this rock – his last words before being gunned down. There’s decaying tobacco stuffed into chiseled holes, testimony First Nations continue to make offerings.
To a Land Unknown is a film shaped by its director’s dual allegiances.
As a man of Palestinian descent (though he now lives in Denmark), Mahdi Fleifel is devoted to telling the stories of his people. But as a cinephile, he seems equally devoted to recreating the magic of the American films he watched growing up in the 1980s.
The result is the story of two Palestinian refugees that combines the unvarnished realism of a documentary with the kind of alternately warm and testy relationship you might find in an American “buddy flick.”
The tale’s setting is Athens, Greece, where Chatila and his cousin Reda (Mahmood Bakri and Aram Sabbah, both excellent) are barely scraping by with the help of petty thefts and, in Reda’s case, paid sexual trysts. Their situation is desperate, but they see it as temporary.
If they can save up enough money, they plan to purchase fake passports and make their way to what they see as the greener pastures of Germany. Once there, they hope to open a café with the help of Chatila’s wife and son, who are now living in a refugee camp in Lebanon.
Every story deserves to be told accurately, compassionately, and thoughtfully—in every language. In a time when misinformation spreads rapidly and facts are routinely distorted, the Transgender Law Center (TLC) and the National LGBTQ Task Force remain committed to that core principle. That’s why we are proud to announce the release of our journalist guides in Spanish, a significant milestone in our work toward ensuring that Spanish-speaking reporters have culturally rooted, accessible resources to tell trans stories with dignity, nuance, and power.
The recent legislation passed by the United States Congress, oddly named One Big Beautiful Bill (OBBB), and signed by the U.S. president, shows that Republican lawmakers in the nation’s capital don’t care about excess and premature mortality in the United States.
If these increased deaths truly mattered to the Republican representatives and senators, the OBBB would not have included such a lack of concern for its dreadful consequences on human life and wellbeing.
In the coming months, the OBBB can be expected to result in excess and premature deaths in the United States, especially among vulnerable groups, such as low-income individuals and families, children, people with disabilities, and seniors.
The lack of concern from Republican lawmakers about the expected excess and premature mortality resulting from the OBBB is evident in the candid remark made by an Iowa Republican senator during a recent town hall meeting.
What if a farm could go back in time?
Simply Living invites the public to a guided regenerative farm tour on Sunday, July 20, at the farm of Kevin Eigel and Marsha Miller, just outside of Columbus. This immersive experience offers a rare opportunity to witness more than 20 years of ecological restoration on a farm that’s being returned to the ecosystem that existed before it was first cultivated over 130 years ago.
Visitors will walk the land, observe restored native habitats, and learn how regenerative agriculture and ecological restoration practices can work together to heal soil, support biodiversity, and create resilient landscapes.
Event Details
What: Regenerative Farm Tour with Kevin Eigel & Marsha Miller
When: Sunday, July 20, 2025 - 10:00 am-11:30 am
Where: Location shared with ticket purchase
Hosted by: Simply Living
Four presenters spoke about qualified immunity and the ballot initiative to overturn qualified immunity during the weekly “Current Events” discussion group that had been held July 15, 2025 at the recently-opened Bob Crane Community Center in Upper Arlington.
Qualified immunity is a legal concept that protects government officials, for example, police officers and others, from civil liability for violating a person’s civil rights in most situations when they are acting in their professional capacity.
One speaker, Cynthia Brown, is the 2023 Free Press Libby Award winner for Community Activism. Cynthia’s passion to change the system has grown since her nephew Kareem Ali Nadir Jones was shot and killed by Columbus police in 2017. He was harassed for no good reason and ordered to get on the ground. He was then tragically shot in the face, neck, and in the back while on the ground by two white officers. Both are still with the Division.
Thursday, July 17 - 6pm
Ohio Statehouse, Broad Street and High Street
July 17 is the 5th anniversary of the passing of Congressman John Lewis. The Good Trouble Lives On events nationwide are in his honor. Good Trouble Lives On is a national day of nonviolent action to respond to the attacks posed on our civil and human rights by the Trump administration and to remind them that in America, the power lies with the people.
From voter suppression bills like the SAVE Act to the criminalization of protest, the Trump administration is launching a full-scale attack on our civil and human rights. But we know the truth: in America, the power lies with the people, and we’re rising to prove it.
This is more than a protest; it’s a moral reckoning. A continuation of the movement Lewis helped lead, and a new front in the struggle for freedom.
Please note: A core principle behind our Good Trouble Lives On actions is a commitment to nonviolence in all we do. We expect all participants to seek to de-escalate any potential confrontation with those who disagree with our values.