The 200th birthday of the Rev. Dr. James Preston Poindexter, Columbus abolitionist and civil rights leader, will be celebrated on Saturday, October 26, from 11am to 12noon in the new Washington Gladden Social Justice Park on E. Broad St. at Cleveland Ave. The event is free and open to the public.

The celebration, which will be held on his actual birthday, will include speakers, music, and light refreshments. In case of inclement weather, the event will be held next door in First Congregational Church, 444 E. Broad St.

Rev. Poindexter, who died in 1907, was an exceptional religious, political, and social justice leader in Columbus during the 19th century. He was an abolitionist, a conductor on the Underground Railroad, and a lifelong advocate for civil and voting rights for African-Americans. He was pastor of the Anti-Slavery Baptist Church, and later, Second Baptist Church, and was a member of Columbus City Council and the Columbus Board of Education.

To Whom it May Concern:

In October of 2017, President Trump declared the opioid crisis a public health emergency. Ever since, the Trump Administration has applied an all-of-government type approach to the epidemic, taking an extraordinary range of actions that reflect the President’s commitment to stopping the crisis in its tracks.

Until the summer of 2019, I never felt the direct effects of the opioid epidemic. In August of 2019 I lost a loved one to an overdose. I made it a personal goal that day to find ways the drug epidemic could be more effectively combated. The President of The United States declared the epidemic a public health emergency, so what could Columbus do to better contribute locally?

During my quest to answer that question, I spoke to numerous Columbus police officers, two Franklin County Deputy Sheriffs, a Whitehall Narcotics Officer and two Columbus Drug Enforcement Agency agents. I also obtained the Columbus Police Narcotics Bureau Annual Reports for 2015-2016-2017 and 2018 through a public records request. This is what I found….

“The mission of the Narcotics Bureau is:

Thursday, October 24, 2019, 6:30 – 8:30 PM

Oh, how the simplistic certainty resonates.

Russsiagate, recently stoked by Hillary Clinton, comes saturated in ironies, which are usually media-invisible.

The Democrats’ winning-but-nonetheless-losing presidential candidate of 2016 loosed some pent-up fury at democracy the other day, as well as annoyance with those who challenge the sacred status quo of the American governing process, when she tried to re-marginalize Tulsi Gabbard and Jill Stein, along with the generic concept of, good Lord, third parties.

The Columbus Dispatch reported that city lobbyists and former Mayor Michael Coleman and former Columbus City Council President John Kennedy were both hired this past Spring by the Haslam Sports Group to help broker the new Crew Stadium deal. Joe Motil, candidate for Columbus City Council stated, “It’s no secret that Michael Coleman is fully responsible for Council President Shannon Hardin’s appointment to City Council and his giving the boot to former pro-tem Priscilla Tyson who was in line to serve as the next City Council President. Coleman also hand-picked Andrew Ginther to replace him as Mayor.  Mr. Kennedy has continued over the years to maintain close relationships with City Hall Department Directors and others”. Both men were also recently hired as lobbyist by the Greater Columbus Arts Council and Franklin County Conventions Center Authority to influence City Council to agree to a Ticket Tax that will provide that organization with an estimated $6 million annually and they represented the developers of the $192 million North Market project.