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The City of Columbus requires residential real estate developers to provide “affordable housing units” in exchange for tax abatements. But the City has not provided any records showing they actually collect this information from these developers showing they truly do rent to moderate income tenants – this according to a longtime Eastside affordable housing activist.

Tax abatements allow a developer or resident to forgo paying property taxes in exchange for bringing jobs or revitalization to a neighborhood. But because the Short North has been one of the hottest real estate markets in the region over the previous decade, the question is: has Columbus’s most prominent corridor needed such tax breaks? Nevertheless, in 2018 the Shorth North was designated a Community Reinvestment Area offering a 15-year, 100 percent tax abatement if projects include 10 percent affordable units. A recent Dispatch article called Columbus the “tax-abatement capital of Ohio.”

Tuesday, November 21, noon
Talking points for signature collection

register here.

Ohio’s House Bill 68 has been among the most widely discussed bills this past year. Called the Save Adolescents from Experimentation Act by its Republican sponsors, it aims to ban gender-affirming care for transgender minors and prohibit transgender girls from participating on girls’ sports teams.  

Though it might seem like a grassroots bill unique to Ohio, HB 68 is actually part of a concerted effort by anti-LGBTQ+ hate groups to pass similar legislation in state legislatures around the country. Let’s take a closer look at the bill’s provenance:

Arkansas and Ohio bills are very similar

HB 68 is based on legislation drafted out-of-state by the Family Research Council (FRC), an evangelical Christian lobbying organization based in Washington that the Southern Poverty Law Center has designated an anti-LGBTQ+ hate group.

Identity Reveal 

Detective Richardson leaned back in his Lazy Boy and stared at the ceiling fan directly over his head in his study. He took a long drag off his cigar, blowing the smoke out slowly as he thought about his encounter with Ms. Shelia at the station. He chuckled to himself as he remembered her remark in regard to Smooth being a “son of a bitch.” 

She was a woman who didn’t mind saying exactly what was on her mind. he liked that kind of woman. A woman who wasn’t imitated by his badge, blackness, and stature in height. And to top it off she was a black beauty too. But forget that! I don’t have time for any woman right now. Richardson took another long drag off his cigar, watching the tip of it glow red. That’s what Shelia was, red hot!

Monday, November 20, 6-9pm, Stonewall Columbus, 1160 N. High St.

Join Mozaic for an evening of entertainment honoring Trans Day of Remembrance! Enjoy song and dance, food, and fun as we celebrate the joy and talent of the trans community.

Space is limited to the first 50 people. RSVP at tinyurl.com/4x9x3z77.

Hosted by Mozaic and Equitas Health. 

Facebook Event

Part Two

All the issues remain on the table despite more than two decades of ignoring, stalling, denying, and lying. Where is university compliance and integrity? Nowhere to be found on the ground, across campus, and the adjacent University District where most students live, or in the lives and well-being of present and former students.

On campus, faculty sexual abuse of students goes almost universally unpunished. In rare cases, OSU waits until the offender retires, and then strips them of their honorary “emeritus” title. For decades, OSU ignores or buries almost all reports of scientific misconduct especially in the Medical Center. There is a documented history of efforts to fire whistleblowers. Those with resources to fight back often win. Younger researchers without tenure, especially women, have their academic careers end. (See m “The enterprise of scientific misconduct: Malpractice at Ohio State University”)

Part Two

All the issues remain on the table despite more than two decades of ignoring, stalling, denying, and lying. Where is university compliance and integrity? Nowhere to be found on the ground, across campus, and the adjacent University District where most students live, or in the lives and well-being of present and former students.

On campus, faculty sexual abuse of students goes almost universally unpunished. In rare cases, OSU waits until the offender retires, and then strips them of their honorary “emeritus” title. For decades, OSU ignores or buries almost all reports of scientific misconduct especially in the Medical Center. There is a documented history of efforts to fire whistleblowers. Those with resources to fight back often win. Younger researchers without tenure, especially women, have their academic careers end. (See m “The enterprise of scientific misconduct: Malpractice at Ohio State University”)

JVP Central Ohio Petition:  OH Reps: No more funding for Israeli apartheid+genocide! Ceasefire now! Free Palestine!  
Sign this petition to demand that Ohio representatives call for an immediate ceasefire, an end to US aid to Israel, an end to Israeli apartheid and settler-colonialism, and that they recognize the actions of the Israeli government as genocide.  

Read more and sign the petition here. 

Costco has a credit card partnership with one of the dirtiest banks in the world, Citibank.  Citi makes a lot of money from its relationship with Costco – and banks care about money.  That's why Costco has the power to either persuade Citi to stop financing fossil fuel expansion or switch to a better credit card company that isn't wrecking the planet.  If Costco threatens to move to a fossil-free credit card provider, Citi can be motivated to clean up its act.

Costco has already made important commitments to having climate-friendly operations, and Costco cares about what its members and potential new shoppers think.  If we come together, we can hold Costco accountable, put pressure on them to drop Citi, and push Citi to stop financing fossil fuels.