City of Columbus Mayoral candidate Joe Motil states, “ The last of the three 24/7 warming shelters that were created to remain open from mid-December until March 15 closes its doors tomorrow.” The Community Development for All People on the city’s south side made an announcement today stating, “The city of Columbus has unexpectedly terminated its funding for winter overnight warming centers. Community Development for All People is one of the recipients of that funding, and as a result of the city’s decision, the last night of our warming center will be Thursday February 23. We do not support the city’s decision. We are concerned for the impact it will have on the community members that have been staying with us each night and for the staff who worked so hard to make our warming center a safe and welcoming place. Columbus must have a better safety net for those experiencing homelessness.”     

I trust that you’ve now fully settled into your position as this city’s Chief of Police. You’re not likely to remember me, but we’ve met twice.

The first was during the Faith Forum held at the Mount Herman Missionary Baptist Church last May. Specifically, it was May 31, 2022: two years to the day that the nation first heard of a murder that would galvanize the entire country into a reckoning the likes of which had been long overdue. You were asked a series of difficult questions that day, so I’d completely understand if you’d forgotten about it. In light of recent events, however, it behooves me to repeat it. 

My question then and now are the same: In the event that one of your officers shoots someone under questionable circumstances, what will you do as this city’s chief law enforcement officer?

Wednesday, February 22, 2023, 9:00 – 10:30 PM
The Oregon Community Rights Network’s Webinar Wednesday will meander through a variety of water topics, from current conditions of water access and water quality to how the law sees water, to the growth of rights of nature to protect and preserve water, to our cultural relationships to water and its value to life in Oregon and everywhere else on the planet.  

“Water Is Us” will be moderated by ORCRN board member and Community Environmental Legal Defense Fund organizer Kai Huschke. Joining him will be Craig Kauffman – UO Political Science Professor: environmental politics, ecological law, rights of nature, and sustainable development, 

Kunu Bearchum - Filmmaker & Multimedia Producer and Chief Petitioner: Lane County Watersheds Bill of Rights, 
Michelle Holman – Community Rights Lane County member, and Chief Petitioner: Lane County Watersheds Bill of Rights.  

Please send your request for the Zoom link to: info@orcrn.org. 

On February 7, a funeral was held in the northern Syrian town of Jinderis. It was one of numerous such funerals to be held on that day across Syria and Türkiye, following a devastating earthquake that killed and injured thousands. 

Each one of these funerals represented two seemingly opposite notions: collective grief and collective hope. The Jinderis funeral was a stark representation of this dichotomy. 

The wrongful death case of a Cincinnati-area Kroger employee Evan Seyfried, who took his own life, will go forward, ruled a judge. The future trial could reveal the level and intensity of politically motivated bullying Evan faced before he passed in March of 2021. 

Evan’s family says two managers at Kroger targeted the 40-year-old assistant manager because he wore a mask. They also nicknamed him “Antifa” and encouraged Evan’s co-workers to do the same. Evan had no prior history of mental illness, and, by all accounts, was popular and well-liked by his co-workers.

Kroger, which now rivals Walmart in size and profit, tried to have the case dismissed arguing there’s a “Suicide Rule” in Ohio. It prevents legal blame being placed on a company, institution or even a person, for death caused by suicide. It’s a pro-Robber Barons law if there ever was one, and the Seyfried family is seeking to challenge the rule.