After increasing pressure from North Campus residents, the high-end apartment developer behind The View on Pavey Square has drawn up another redesign. The developers said while previous designs were a mismatch, this new design complements Pavey Square, which is arguably one of the city’s most historically organic and visually distinct areas. Some of the North Campus activists, or the group Protect Old North, say this is another victory considering the developer, JSDI Celmark, has come back with several redesigns in response to their push back.

Some with Protect Old North have told The Columbus Free Press their position has always been that all development plans follow the University Area Plan, which calls for a maximum height of 45-feet for this area of High Street.

But does their position truly protect North Campus?

In a functioning democracy, all residents of a community should have an equal say in decisions that affect the entire community. But this hasn’t been happening in the Near East Side, Short North, Weinland Park, University District, and other Columbus neighborhoods.

With the blessing of a city government that is friendly to gentrification, developers and wealthy property owners have been on a frenzy of redevelopment in these areas — tearing down family homes and historic buildings to make room for luxury housing. Soaring housing costs in these neighborhoods have forced thousands of low- and middle income residents out of their homes.

Rally for Climate Action at the Ohio Statehouse

Privatization is becoming the policy de joure at Ohio State University, but students and university employees are left out of the discussions.

As OSU’s leadership has shifted, many community members have become concerned about drastic changes in student life and operations, like the new sophomore on-campus housing requirement and the recent parking privatization deal. The OSU administration has touted great success with the parking privatization, but how much is propaganda and talking points?

Now OSU has turned to privatizing campus energy services. Few details were shared with the public about the parking deal, like how savings were spent or how the university’s mission has been better served. Similar concerns are echoed in the current energy privatization deal.    

Columbus is neither Steel City nor Motor City – places where one industry dominates the economic landscape. Ohio State University has dominated Central Ohio’s economic landscape. Stakeholders and residents here have benefitted from a growing university and more income streams.

Did you know that trolls, Internet or otherwise, have a mental disorder? So found a study in the Journal of Personality and Individual Differences. Researchers surveyed 1,200 respondents, giving each one a personality test and then analyzing their Internet comments. The subjects’ behaviors were matched to a “Dark Tetrad” of personality traits that include sadism, psychopathy, and Machiavellianism. You remember Machiavelli, the 16th Century writer whose work endorsed deceit and duplicity as tools of control?  The trolls in the study scored highest in sadism. Congratulations.

Unfortunately for us non-sadists and psychopaths, trolling has become rampant in all areas of social activism. You might think marijuana, the last presumed bastion of peace and love, would be immune, or at least, less vulnerable. You’d be wrong. Some have called this booming industry, and Ohio in particular, a circular firing squad, rampant with infighting and hell bent on self-destruction.