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This is a Zoom/Facebook event salon Saturday, May 10 from 7-8pm

Our theme is: Resistance in May

Speakers:
Lynn Tramonte -Ohio Immigrant Alliance
Theresa Hice-Formille - American Association of University Professors and Springfield Neighbors United
Mazen Rasoul - Immigration lawyer

Including:
Post-primary election discussion
Workers rights
Immigrant rights
Joining the fight against this administration

Questions or if you have an announcement about your event or group, let us know here: colsfreepress@gmail.com

Join Zoom Meeting
https://us06web.zoom.us/j/87630301989...

Saturday, May 10, 1-3pm
Bicentennial Park, 233 S Civic Center Dr, Columbus 43215

On Saturday, May 10, join us in Columbus to say no to the bullies and billionaires who are threatening our freedoms and disappearing residents from our streets.

In honor of Mother's Day weekend, and as part of actions happening throughout the state, we invite mothers and others to join us in standing up and speaking out against fascism.

We will have speakers, music, sign language interpretation, a great sound system, and an opportunity to march. Please join us at Bicentennial Park as we build momentum against Trump, Musk, and the hostile takeover of our government.

The Ohio House of Representatives has introduced a bill that would commit $10 million in taxpayer funds “to create the Ohio Israel Trade and Innovation Partnership.” House Bill 188 (H.B. 188) as introduced would create a “partnership” of 14 members who would seek to advance:

They’re at it again. Despite a year and a half. Despite a half billion dollars. Despite record opposition to a similar bill, the Ohio General Assembly is once again pushing forward with its wet dream of legislatively killing last year’s Issue 2 that legalized adult use marijuana. So, what’s a seasoned activist to do? How about submitting written testimony to the Judiciary Committee, followed by reworking that same testimony into an article for the Columbus Free Press. Then, everyone can to see, hear, read, digest, and abhor the legislature’s total lack of understanding of what mandatory minimum sentencing means to sick, dying, and disabled patients.

Lawmakers demand answers after a Haitian woman dies at an ICE detention center

Italy is predominantly Catholic, and it respects religious freedom and welcomes Muslim visitors. According to the latest information, major cities like Rome, Milan, and Venice have mosques and Islamic centers. Some tourist attractions offer prayer rooms, and many Italians are open-minded towards different cultures and religions.

Islam in Italy has a long history dating back to the 9th century when Muslim forces occupied parts of southern Italy. Today, Islam is the second-largest religion in Italy after Christianity. The Muslim population in Italy is estimated to be around two million, making up about 3.5 percent of the total population. Most Muslims in Italy are immigrants or children of immigrants from countries like Morocco, Albania, Tunisia, and Bangladesh. There are also a growing number of Italian converts to Islam.

President Biden left behind an economy that was pretty healthy, conventionally speaking. Unemployment was low and wages were rising, but stubbornly high costs of living opened a door for Donald Trump’s political comeback.

Exactly why has the City of Columbus and the Ohio Department of Transportation (ODOT) removed large areas of tree canopy and brush from Columbus over the past several years? According to some homeowners and activists in Franklinton, ODOT accidentally let the cat out of the bag. Telling them during a meeting it was because “homeless live there.”

Other Franklinton homeowners refute ODOT’s slip-of-the-tongue explanation, saying there is no conspiracy against the unhoused, instead they contend ODOT lied during the meeting to conceal the truth. Which is that ODOT and its private contractors failed to follow their protocols due to incompetence and laziness.  

Nevertheless, in April of 2024, ODOT with help from local contractors, removed roughly six acres of trees and brush off the slopes of SR-315 and I-70 within Franklinton. Incidentally, ODOT’s contractors also at that time cut down $30,000 worth of City of Columbus trees planted on a city easement between city and ODOT property. Rosalie Hendon, Columbus’s City Forester, has requested ODOT pay to have them replaced.

2025 Iberian Peninsula Blackout

After an unprecedented power outage hit Spain, Portugal, and parts of France last week, many in the media speculated that the large amounts of renewable energy in the Iberian system was to blame for the blackout. 

The exact cause of the grid collapse is not yet known, but at 12:33 p.m. on April 28, electricity generation in Spain dropped rapidly from around 27 gigawatts to just over 12 gigawatts. The sudden drop in grid load destabilized electricity flows, resulting in a peninsula wide power outage.

At the time of the incident, Spain and Portugal were sourcing about 80 percent of their electricity from wind and solar, leading to the speculation that the grid could have been overloaded with renewable energy. 

While renewables are well known for being more intermittent than generation from fossil fuels, the consensus amongst grid experts is that the generation source had nothing to do with this week's blackout. 

New York City political and literary imprint Seven Stories Press acquired Columbus, Ohio’s 2 Dollar Radio.

I looked at Seven Stories Press’ list. I saw Huey Newton, Howard Zinn, Noam Chomsky, Ralph Nader, Angela Davis, Amnesty International, Phil Jackson, Kalle Lasn, Lydia Lunch, Karl Marx, Fidel Castro, Free Press’ contributor Greg Palast, Upton Sinclair, Kurt Vonnegut, Gary Webb, The Zapatista’s, Slavoj Zizek, Pacifica Radio’s Sonali Kolhalkar and The Weathermen.

I determined that Upton Sinclair and The Weathermen wouldn’t ruin the vegan food at Two Dollar Radio’s German Village location.

IF you like radio – Rising Up With Sonali airs from 92.7/ 98.3 wcrsfm.org weekdays 9-10am.

Seven Stories publishes Weather Underground’s Sing A Battle Song 1970-1974.

Weather Underground were a political community which used writings, speeches, and various explosions as opposition of oppressions of Black people, the Vietnam War, and the CIA’s dismantling of Democratic governments in Latin America which were empirical colonialist experiences of our government killing people.