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Harvey J Graff

Unknown to many residents of Columbus is the curious one-sided relationship between a small revenue-generating, non-academic element of the prestigious Harvard Business School, and certain elements of Columbus’ aspirational self-appointed, private “leadership class.”

Columbus CEO reminds us of this revealing connection in its announcement “Harvard Business School calls on Columbus execs for leadership program.” (Jess Deyo, May 24, 2022) Note the curious phrasing “calls on.”

Image from salon video

Watch salon video
The salon was available on Facebook Live as well.

The theme for the June 2022 Free Press Second Saturday Cyber-Salon was Peace and Democracy: Do We Have Either? And the inspiration for some of the discussion was the 40th anniversary of the 1982 peace march in New York City, the largest march of its kind in US history.  

Free Press Board member Mark Stansbery facilitated the salon from the Columbus Arts Festival.  

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To win a statewide election in Ohio, one must overcome the twin tyrants: public opinion polls and fund-raising. Failure to do so means defeat.

U.S. Rep. Tim Ryan has demonstrated that he understands the tyrants because he kept on advertising on television and on social networks after the May 3 primary election after he won the Democratic nomination, while his Republican opponent in the U.S Senate race, J.D. Vance, has remained quiet since the primary.

Ryan kept on fundraising, too. He has access to millions by virtue to his own solicitations, the money the Senate Democratic Campaign Committee will put in, and what independent committees might do for him.

The result was that the first public opinion poll on the race, done by Suffolk for the USA Today Network, found Ryan and Vance in a dead heat, as I suggested in my May 17 column. ColumbusMediaInsiderPoliticalOutsider: How Whaley Beats DeWine | ColumbusFreePress.com Vance had 41.6 percent to Ryan’s 39.4 percent but with a 4.4 percent margin of error.  It is too close to call.

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This month is Pride Month! To honor LGBTQ authors, artists, creators, and stories, we've compiled a list of books to help you consume more LGBTQ authors, artists, creators, and stories in June and beyond. These 5 finest LGBTQ novels, deal with issues of gender and sexual identity.

This is the list for you if you're seeking for a decent LGBTQ book to read.

1. The One Woman by Laura May

Julie, a graphic designer, manipulates what the eye cannot detect in Laura May's debut novel, The One Woman. Julie's life and her relationship with her partner Mark are mundane in every way. Until she meets Ann, that is. Ann is both a businesswoman and a sweet and loving individual. Julie is unable to deny that their chance encounter ended in attraction. The spark is uncontrolled as their past and present intersect once more in Barcelona. When misfortune strikes, Julie must choose between her love for Ann and her loyalty to Mark. Is pure love capable of withstanding the passage of time?

Details about event

Saturday, June 11, 10:15am
Ohio Statehouse
Join First Church youth and members as we participate in the 2022 “March for our Lives” rally at the Statehouse, Saturday, June 11, at 11 a.m. We will gather in the church playground at 10:15 a.m. and step off towards the Statehouse at 10:30 a.m. We encourage participants to wear orange. For more information about the "March for Our Lives" rally visit
https://marchforourlives.com/chapter/mfol-columbus-oh/

Early voting site

During the 2020 election, Joseph Enriquez took the most drastic measure most Central Ohioans can imagine. He tried to vote on a Saturday afternoon at the Board of Elections on Morse Road, during an Ohio State football game, hoping that his fellow Ohioans’ love of the Buckeyes would shorten the lines.

While Enriquez’s plan did not get him to the short lines that he hoped for, his plan speaks to Ohio voters’ commitment to exercising their right to vote. But should Ohio voters have to wait in hour-long lines to cast their votes?

As the primary elections fade into the background, we have only a few short months until once again we are swept up in the day-to-day slog of debates, advertising, and general political combat.

It may be useful, therefore, to look back on an issue with the 2020 election so we can seek solutions before November comes on us all too quickly. This issue is one that affects us all, though some more than others – the problem of long voting lines.

“They were at places that seemed safe — but few spaces in America are guaranteed safe anymore.”

This is CNN, doing its best to stay atop America’s mass shootings and keep the survivors (by which I mean us) informed. Yeah, 13 gun massacres this past weekend, at strip malls, nightclubs, graduation parties — with 16 people dying, many more injured — and the total number of such shootings so far in 2022 is 246.

“The country is on pace to match or surpass last year's total, which is the worst on record . . .”

Vanderelli Room

Friday, June 10, 6-11pm
Vanderelli Room, 218 McDowell St, Columbus
Activation. Celebration. Restoration. If there's one thing that LGBTQIA+ folx know intuitively, it's how to move defiantly and triumphantly in crisis. Join us for Franklinton Pride, Franklinton Friday, and the GCAC Art Fair (that's right, they're all on the same night) for OUT LOUD AND PROUD. An unapologetic celebration of queer identity and authenticity. 

Harvey J Graff

Early twenty-first century’s continuing contradictions

With Franklinton’s increasing geographic and structural isolation came population loss: from 36,000 to 26,500 in 1950, 15,000 in 2000, and 8,132 in 2017. Government policies at all levels had negative impact which the remaining residents struggled to combat or mitigate. Redevelopment is uneven, inequitable, and incomplete. Most residents lack high school diplomas and live below the artificially low poverty levels. Almost all public elementary school students are eligible for free or reduced lunch programs.

On the one hand, the Franklinton Floodwall, finally completed in 2004, protects the area from very high crests of more than 30 feet. This released part of the area from building restrictions. Some commercial and industrial businesses grow, prompting community plans and creation of an Area Commission. As with other Columbus neighborhoods, the Area Commission is as much window-dressing as a point of community collaboration, coordination, and democratic action.

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