Sometimes one decision speaks volumes. And so it was when the Congressional Progressive Caucus -- with 98 members in the House -- recently chose to have its PAC endorse a corporate “moderate” against the strong progressive candidate Nina Turner. In the process, the Progressive Caucus underscored its loyalty to establishment Democrats while damaging its credibility among progressives nationwide.

Wednesday, April 27, 7pm, this on-line event requires advance registration

This bill has passed the House and is already before the Senate Energy and Public Utilities Committee now. They could hear it at any time. We need to act now! Join us for a discussion on what the bill will do, why the secrecy, and how it can affect every Ohioan.

H.B. 434 states that its proposed activities are an essential governmental function and that it addresses matters of public necessity. It repeals the Ohio Department of Health’s authorization to regulate and oversee entities dealing with radioactivity.

Eight of the bill’s 14 pages are taken up creating a convoluted process for getting board members onto the Nuclear Development Authority.

As if this were not enough to ensure that the public will be shut out of involvement and oversight of activities, today’s amendment would move the Authority under the auspices of the Ohio Department of Development.

Part One

The shame of the city

What happened to the University District?

The area adjacent to The Ohio State University in the middle of Columbus, Ohio, was once a distinctive, mixed neighborhood of owner-occupiers and their boarders and renters in small, scattered, private rooming houses and single-family homes. Over several decades it was transformed into the dominance—numerically, culturally, socially, politically, and economically—of large, for-profit landlords with young-adult student tenants. For 18 years I’ve been co-owner of a 107-year-old, architect-designed house in the district whose history partly reflects this transformation; it morphed from dual-family to multiple student renters and back to single-family status. The 2021-22 period crystalizes the 40-year history of this landmark neighborhood’s decline.

Sunday, April 24, 5-6pm, this on-line event requires advance registration

UUJO’s Environmental Justice Team presents “Connecting the Dots” on Sunday, April 24, focusing on community gardens in rural and urban Ohio and their impact on food justice, access to healthy sustainable food, resilience, and mitigation of food deserts.

Pam Roberts, Executive Director of Together We Grow Gardens, will share resources and ideas for creating community gardens that provide greater equity and food justice. Come and share your successes and questions about community gardening!

“Connecting the Dots: Planet, People, Power” was launched by UUJO: Unitarian Universalist Justice Ohio in September 2021. We meet monthly to provide a platform for issues of environmental justice along with actions that can be performed during each meeting. Our monthly topics are driven by you and the immediate areas of environmental injustice that you are confronting right now.

RSVP for this event by using this link.