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The following statements can be attributed all or in part to the Save Ohio Parks Steering Committee:

Save Ohio Parks is deeply saddened, but not surprised that the Oil and Gas Land Management Commission decided to allow fracking under our pristine and beloved state parks, wildlife areas, and public lands when four other states have already banned fracking and we are all living in the midst of an unprecedented climate catastrophe just beginning to unfold.

That this law could even be passed in Ohio speaks to the corruption in the Ohio Statehouse today and our federal government’s failing policies and laws that continue to enable an energy policy centered on corporate greed, not the needs of the people and the planet.

The reason these five individuals were appointed to this commission by Gov. Mike DeWine was for their support of the fossil fuel industry donations and dark money, despite extensive scientific evidence for the dangers of fracking to our environment and health.

The following statements can be attributed all or in part to the Save Ohio Parks Steering Committee:

Save Ohio Parks is deeply saddened, but not surprised that the Oil and Gas Land Management Commission decided to allow fracking under our pristine and beloved state parks, wildlife areas, and public lands when four other states have already banned fracking and we are all living in the midst of an unprecedented climate catastrophe just beginning to unfold.

That this law could even be passed in Ohio speaks to the corruption in the Ohio Statehouse today and our federal government’s failing policies and laws that continue to enable an energy policy centered on corporate greed, not the needs of the people and the planet.

The reason these five individuals were appointed to this commission by Gov. Mike DeWine was for their support of the fossil fuel industry donations and dark money, despite extensive scientific evidence for the dangers of fracking to our environment and health.

The Ohio Chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) is issuing a strong statement opposing any proposed changes to the allocation of funds from Issue 2, particularly those suggesting the redirection of funds towards county jail construction and tax relief.

Tom Roberts, President of the Ohio NAACP, asserts, “Ohio voters spoke in a firm and unmistakable voice to support Issue 2 in its current legislative language form. The Ohio NAACP is aware of comments made by Ohio House Speaker Jason Stephens suggesting one of the priorities for Issue 2 revenue should be ‘investing in county jail construction.’ Additionally, Ohio Lieutenant Governor Jon Husted said that the revenue should be used for ‘tax relief.’”

A meeting for the Ohio Oil and Gas Land Management Commission (OGLMC) to decide whether to approve or deny fracking for four Ohio state parks and wildlife areas will be held Wednesday, November 15, at the Ohio Department of Natural Resources (ODNR) office, 2045 Morse Road in Columbus.

Save Ohio Parks will host a press conference outside the ODNR building on a grassy area at 9:30 am, just before the 10:30 am meeting. The public is invited.

“The OGLMC has had almost a year to educate itself on the human health effects, environmental impacts and climate concerns that would likely affect citizens, Ohio state parks and the world should these fracking leases be granted,” said Randi Pokladnik, steering committee member of Save Ohio Parks.

“We and other environmental groups and citizens have inundated the commission with thousands of emails, citing research, peer-reviewed health studies and climate data associated with fracking. Now it’s up to them to do the right thing for Ohioans by denying leases to frack under our state parks and public lands,” Pokladnik said.

A meeting for the Ohio Oil and Gas Land Management Commission (OGLMC) to
decide to permit or deny fracking four Ohio state parks and wildlife areas
will be held Wednesday, November 15 at the Ohio Department of Natural
Resources (ODNR) office, 2045 Morse Road in Columbus.

Save Ohio Parks will host a press conference outside the ODNR building on a
grassy area at 9:30 a.m., just before the 10:30 a.m. meeting. The public is
invited.

"The OGLMC has had almost a year to educate itself on the human health
effects, environmental impacts and climate concerns that would likely affect
citizens, Ohio state parks and the world should these fracking leases be
granted," said Randi Pokladnik, steering committee member of Save Ohio
Parks. "We and other environmental groups and citizens have inundated the
commission with thousands of emails, citing research, peer-reviewed health
studies and climate data associated with fracking. Now it's up to them to do
the right thing for Ohioans by denying leases to frack under our state parks
and public lands."

The OGLMC, made up of five people appointed by Gov. Mike DeWine is tasked

A meeting for the Ohio Oil and Gas Land Management Commission (OGLMC) to
decide to permit or deny fracking four Ohio state parks and wildlife areas
will be held Wednesday, November 15 at the Ohio Department of Natural
Resources (ODNR) office, 2045 Morse Road in Columbus.

Save Ohio Parks will host a press conference outside the ODNR building on a
grassy area at 9:30 a.m., just before the 10:30 a.m. meeting. The public is
invited.

"The OGLMC has had almost a year to educate itself on the human health
effects, environmental impacts and climate concerns that would likely affect
citizens, Ohio state parks and the world should these fracking leases be
granted," said Randi Pokladnik, steering committee member of Save Ohio
Parks. "We and other environmental groups and citizens have inundated the
commission with thousands of emails, citing research, peer-reviewed health
studies and climate data associated with fracking. Now it's up to them to do
the right thing for Ohioans by denying leases to frack under our state parks
and public lands."

The OGLMC, made up of five people appointed by Gov. Mike DeWine is tasked

Our GREEP zoom #156 opens as the magnificent ANDREA MILLER of the Center for Common Ground tells us about the critical election in Virginia, showing us the astounding flood of money into these key races.  It’s an amazing show of the power of corrupt funding in what’s left of our democracy.

From the labor movement we then hear PATRICK CROWLEY, AARON WAZLAVEK and JAY PONTI fill us in powerful developments in the green economy as strikes proliferate throughout the nation.  The recent rise of organized labor is one of the great unexpected successes of the new century.

MYLA RESON and TATANKA BRICCA give us critical perspectives on all this.

Then WENDI LEDERMAN tells the horrifying on-going details of the Cop City assault on Atlanta, protestors and the actual law with a wave of brutal, illegal repression.

After I exposed Ginther’s habitual hollow phrase, “Our top three priorities are neighborhoods, neighborhoods, neighborhoods” at my press conference on Thursday (Columbus Dispatch, October 27, 2023, “Motil Questions Ginther’s support for neighborhoods; Ginther cites millions invested”), we can all add yet another false claim to the endless growing list. The marketing research firm that Andy paid $97,000 to tell him what important to voters, apparently did not do any research about their client.

Ginther’s dishonest campaign TV ad and mailers falsely present my own positions on excessive use of the police force. This refers to the one night in the Short North when he ordered 150 law enforcement, bicycle and foot patrols, canine units, helicopters, drones, motorcycles, and horses. He quotes me completely out of context. He next, lies about his gun buyback event claiming it “took 300 guns off our streets.” With no evidence at all, the campaign also claims that Andy is a "champion" of “Mental health and addiction treatment.” None of this is true.

Andrew Ginther’s 2023 campaign for mayor seems to be driven almost entirely by developers and architects, whose campaign donations make up 48 percent of the $1 million the campaign has received this year. In total, Ginther received $485,609.69 from developers and architects just this year.

Included in the donations to the Ginther campaign is $13,700 from M/I Homes PAC, the political wing of M/I Homes of Central Ohio LLC, who own almost 700 properties in the county according to the auditor’s website, and $15,000 from Smoot Construction, a company that regularly receives contracts from the city and earned a place in Ginther’s 2020 State of the City Address.

When it comes to Columbus’s new district system for City Council, Eastside activist Jonathan Beard pulls no punches.

“I started calling this ‘Columbabama.’ This is repackaged 1950’s Jim Crow,” he says. “These fake districts were Shannon Hardin’s effort to confuse the ballot, claim responsiveness to an issue, and preserve white money and white voters’ influence over who represents Black folk in Columbus.”

In 2016, Beard unsuccessfully tried to bring true representative districts to Columbus. His non-profit Everyday People For Positive Change spent $13,000 while the City spent over $1 million to distort and then defeat the citizen-initiated vote.

“Our proposal simply sought to enlarge the size of council and bring real council districts to the city. Columbus is the only big city in America to retain an all-at-large election system,” he says.