Thursday, February 9 and Friday, February 17 at 1 p.m.
Columbus City Hall, 90 W. Broad Street

Join the movement for an expanded Columbus City Council with representatives from wards instead of all ar-large. The Charter Review Committee is holding two additional working meetings to deliberate on information presented during its initial six sessions. Members will continue to form recommendations for the full report to be delivered to City Council and Mayor Andrew J. Ginther. Public comments can be made at the meetings. Written comments can be submitted on the committee's website at https://www.columbus.gov/council/Charter-Review/Charter-Review-Committee/

It was bound to be the case that if a U.S. president ever admitted that the United States murdered people and did so on a scale at least as significant as other countries, he would be defending the practice, not denouncing it.

It is not a secret in much of the world that the United States is (as that Putin stooge Martin Luther King Jr. put it) the greatest purveyor of violence on earth. The United States is the top weapons dealer, the top weapons buyer, the biggest military spender, the most widespread imperial presence, the most frequent war maker, the most prolific overthrower of governments, and from 1945 to 2017 the killer of the most people through war.

During this past U.S. election, a debate moderator asked if a candidate would be willing to kill thousands of innocent children as part of basic presidential duties. One can find many faults in Russia and other countries, but in none could one find such an occurrence.

I ask people at public events where I speak to name eight countries bombed under president Barack Obama, and most cannot come close. Nowhere else on earth can people not keep track of their wars.

Ask many a problem gambler in Columbus, especially those who play video slot machines, and they’ll probably tell you this: “I hit big when Hollywood and Scioto Downs first opened, but I haven’t won big since.”

When the two casinos opened in 2012 it was a curiosity for many. Vegas-style gaming was now just a very, very short drive away. No longer did you have to cross state borders or fly to Nevada or New Jersey.

Six years later, here comes the (obvious) fallout from having a casino in your backyard: gambling addiction.

According to a study by WalletHub, a personal finance website, the state is tied for fourth with New Jersey for adults having a gambling problem. The factors weighed were the percentage of adults with gambling disorders, the number of gambling-addiction treatment programs, and the number of gambling-related arrests per 100,000 population.

Not surprising, Ohio is spending more and more to prevent and treat gambling addiction. For fiscal year 2015, the state spent $5.8 million to fight gambling problems, which is up from $4.5 million the previous year. This money comes from 2 percent share of taxes paid by the state’s four casinos.