Wednesday, April 21, 2021, 3:00 PM
Local Solutions to Climate Change: A conversation with Rachael Belz, executive director of Ohio Citizen Action and Carla Walker, Climate and Environmental Justice Advocate.  How can we address climate change with community-driven solutions? How can we preserve local parks and green spaces, ensure clean air and water, and reduce carbon emissions that are undermining our children's futures? Yes, the Paris Climate Accord, Biden Administration and Congress have key roles to play. But what can we do in our own back yard to make progress in the battle against climate change?  Register here. 

Joe Motil, former Columbus City Council candidate and outspoken critic of Columbus City Council’s decades-long charade of its musical chair schemes to maintain control and power of City Council, has announced the selection of running mates who will join Team Hardin on the ballot this November.            

Motil states that, “Although the Hardin, Tyson, Mitch Brown nominating committee that is listed on their Declaration of Candidacy Petition technically made the selection of Nick Bankston and Lourdes de Padilla to replace Tyson and Brown, this whole scheme was developed months ago by those who control city hall and Franklin County Democratic Party leaders. This was a lame attempt to hoodwink the citizens of Columbus into believing the two replacement candidates were not appointed and are not part of the club. Columbus voters know better.”

When Ohio legislators passed the historically corrupt House Bill 6 (HB6) in 2019, they forced all Ohioans to pay more on their electric bills to bail out the Ohio Valley Electric Corporation’s (OVEC) two dirty, inefficient, and outdated coal plants in Ohio and Indiana for the next decade. These plants are major contributors to air pollution in and around Ohio, and are major emitters of greenhouse gases that exacerbate the climate crisis. Ohioans shouldn’t be forced to pay extra to make their own air quality worse, especially during a global respiratory pandemic!

Now Ohio legislators have the opportunity to do the right thing and pass Senate Bill 117 (SB117), a piece of legislation that would repeal the financially burdensome and environmentally foolish bailout of the OVEC plants in its entirety. This bipartisan legislation would protect Ohioans and hold the OVEC owners responsible for their own bad financial decisions.

Cincinnati, OH:Plaintiffs from seven Ohio counties, representing Rights of Nature laws and other measures protecting local democracy from corporate special interests, filed an appeal to the Sixth Circuit in a federal civil rights case against the State of Ohio. Oral arguments will be presented tomorrow, April 20.

This follows the filing of briefsagainst the plaintiffs by American Petroleum Institute, Ohio Chamber of Commerce and Ohio Oil and Gas Association.

Oral arguments are scheduled for Tuesday April 20, 1:30 pm EST and can be listened to here: https://www.ca6.uscourts.gov/live-arguments

Monday, April 19, 2021, 7:00 PM
Join the A-Z team as we explore the intersections of labor and our plastics crisis. Learn how workers involved in plastics production AND environmental nonprofit workers fighting plastic industry pollution can stand in solidarity for workers’ rights and healthy communities. Register here.