I use walking sticks when I walk nowadays, kind of like cross-country skiing in late summer, but I had no idea doing so would connect me with a guy named Joe and open a flow of aching love and the deep desire to matter.

“Can I give you a cane?” he asked.

This was in the alley two blocks from my house. I was pushing myself along — I love to walk in alleys for some reason, maybe because I never know what I’ll come upon — and I passed an older guy (around my age, that is) whose garage door was open. He was working at his bandsaw. As I walked past him, he turned and called out his cane offer to me.

I stopped, shrugged. In my 75 years on Planet Earth, no one had ever offered me a free cane before. We stood looking at each other. “Hi,” I said. We introduced ourselves. He stepped away from his bandsaw and I explained that I already had a cane., but thanked him. “This is what I do,” he said. “I make stuff. I give it away.”

Can't Gerrymander Statewide Races

While the Republican's once a decade gerrymander hangs in the balance, it is well to remember that one class of races cannot be grotesquely reshaped. Statewide contests, which fully encompass the often jagged borders of Ohio, are immune to the stuff.  It would be wise for Democrats to concentrate on them.

A few months ago, I was sure that the Ohio Supreme Court would step in, slap the redistricting commission's and Ohio legislature's hands and force the creation of intelligently shaped districts that would have a slight Republican advantage after tossing out the horribly GOP-skewed ones. Three appeals to the high court already have been filed but any decisions will come in December at the earliest.

No less prominent journalists than cleveland.com's Andrew Tobias and Ohio University's Thomas Suddes are hinting that Ohio Supreme Court Chief Justice Maureen O'Connor will join the three Democrats on the court in voting 4-3 to throw out the gerrymanders and form fair districts. O'Connor went against the grain last decade, but was outvoted by her Republican colleagues.

SB 117 and HB 351, two bills to repeal the OVEC coal plant bailouts from HB6, are currently stuck in committee and we need calls to the committee members to put pressure on them to pass these bills out of committee! Below are sample scripts and the numbers for all the committee members on the Senate Energy and Public Utilities Committee and the House Public Utilities Committee. I have also attached a PDF of this document, as well as a PDF with talking points for those of you who would like more information. Please feel free to personalize the script. It is helpful to make calls to all of the committee members, but if you are in one of their districts, please prioritize that representative and note when you call them that you are in their district.

Sunday, October 3, 2021, 4:00 - 5:00 PM

The event will be held October 2, 2021, 1-3 PM at The Linden Branch of the Columbus Metro. Library (2223 Cleveland Ave.) Click here to RSVP.
Residents, Business Leaders, And Elected Officials Come Together To Discuss Clean Energy Jobs, Public Health, And Environmental Justice
At a time when clean energy projects are developing across the state, Columbus Stand Up! and the Ohio Climate Justice Fund will host a community conversation in the Linden neighborhood of Columbus to discuss ways to advance an equitable clean future for everyone in Ohio.