BANGKOK, Thailand -- A Constitutional Court suspended Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha from office on August 24, immediately replacing him with his deputy, while judges decide when Mr. Prayuth's prime ministry should end after he seized power in a 2014 coup and won a 2019 election.

The new Acting Prime Minister Prawit Wongsuwon, 77, was expected to continue Mr. Prayuth's domestic policies and announce no major changes in international relations.

Mr. Prawit was a former army chief and is an influential political manipulator among conservatives.

He was senior among six deputy prime ministers, and had participated in Mr. Prayuth's coup.

It was not known when the Constitutional Court would issue a final and binding ruling on the opposition's petition which seeks to oust Mr. Prayuth and stage fresh elections.

Mr. Prayuth's opponents say his term as prime minister legally expired on August 24 -- eight years after his August 24, 2014 military coup which toppled an elected civilian government when Mr. Prayuth was army chief.

I’ve had four encounters with Columbus City Council President Shannon G. Hardin since the beginning of the summer.

The first three happened in early June: the executive committee of the Columbus Coalition for Rent Control, of which I’m a member, met with him and Councilmember Shayla D. Favor, Chair of the Housing, Public Health, and Criminal Justice committees on City Council. We had a meeting to discuss whether our petition and their “Housing For All” legislative package had any overlap.

The second was at the panel discussion and “Town Hall” event meant to introduce an educational campaign about said legislation.

After the “Town Hall” – a dog-and-pony show during which three people from the committee were allowed to pose questions to a panel of bureaucrats and an elected official who had nothing to do with the legislation – Council President Hardin asked me what I thought of the proposed legislation.

“It looks like a good framework,” I said, adding, “But – ”

“But it needs to have some teeth,” interjected Hardin. He followed that up by saying, “Thank you for everything you do. Keep holding us accountable – I mean it.”

Monthly Green Drinks events are back! On hiatus since February 2020, Green Drinks is an informal meetup of local residents who care about the environment. Please join us to kick off this programming Tuesday, August 30th, from 5:30-7:30 pm at Milestone 229! Milestone 229 is located on the Scioto Mile at 229 Civic Center Dr., and you'll find us out on the patio.

Special guests will include Rose Fortman, owner of Windrose Outdoor, and Shelly Douglas, the new Executive Director of Green Columbus. Come learn about kayak and paddleboard rentals on the Scioto and hear what Green Columbus has been up to! There will be special drink deals provided by 614 Lager and Buckeye Vodka, with 50% of proceeds going toward our Earth Day 2023 fund.

Swing by after work to enjoy happy hour pricing, chat with fellow Green Drinks enthusiasts, and support Green Columbus! We can't wait to see you and share what we've been working on.

Now that Columbus City Schools (CCS) teachers are back in schools, they have a simple request of Superintendent Dr. Talisa Dixon and her allies on the Board: "Please come to my school, a football game, an orchestra concert, and get to know us and what we do for the district."

But from what the Free Press has heard repeatedly over the summer – as the paper has been speaking regularly with a dozen teachers or so – is that Dr. Dixon has been, in many ways, not accessible to teachers and seemingly disinterested in their day-to-day efforts.

True, the virus forced schools to go remote in 2020, but these long-time teachers say there’s a tangible difference between Dr. Dixon and one past Superintendent, in particular.

CCS teachers told the Free Press they like to reflect on how Superintendent Dr. Dan Good treated them. Dr. Good ran the district from 2013 to 2017.

“He came to your school, walked the hallways, and he wanted to know your name and he wouldn’t forget who you were,” said one teacher.

We are quoting all teachers anonymously as they fear retaliation.

RESULTS.  
RESULTS is an organization where everyday people advocate for a world free of poverty and oppression. In the last year, we helped shape the emergency Covid funding bill that kept millions of people from being evicted and provided monthly child tax credit payments to families. And most recently mobilized 137 House representatives to sign a bipartisan letter demanding robust funding to address the pandemics of AIDS, TB, and Malaria.

Now adays, it is easy for people get bogged down and discouraged with bad news. They don’t think they can make a difference in reaching their Senator or Representative.  RESULTS has proven to us that we can make a difference! RESULTS has taught us how to meet with and influence our members of Congress, get published, and reach out to our community to bring them into action.