To restore Kimberly Parkway, we need human services first

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Duane Casares wants to restore Kimberly Parkway, a neighborhood on the southeast side of Columbus that surrounds the old Eastland Mall. “Kimberly has a terrible infant mortality problem and a high eviction rate. Many of its residents live at the federal poverty level ($26,200 for a family of four), are there are no youth-oriented services—libraries, recreation centers, YMCAs or Boys & Girls Clubs—anywhere.”

Casares and the non-profit agency he heads, Direction for Youth and Families, work to strengthen families and ...

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30
APR
1

Social Issues

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Can a court order you to not have children?

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If you have 13 children by nine women and fall behind on your child support payments, can a court order you to not have more children? A trial court in Lorain County, Ohio, thought it had the power to do so, and the appellate court agreed. Now it’s up to the Ohio Supreme Court to decide the issue. Listen to a discussion with the attorney who is handling the case. ...

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21
APR
0

Social Issues

A neighborhood’s resources determine future of its children

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You can determine the opportunities a Franklin County child will likely
have by his neighborhood. Social determinants like health, education and
incarceration rates are indicators for success and portend a bleak future for
many neighborhoods. What’s to be done? First, let’s look at the numbers.  

If you live in Upper Arlington, your life expectancy is 82 to 84 years, according to the Kirwin Institute at The Ohio State University. For someone in southern Franklinton, it’s 64 to 71 years, and ...

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16
FEB
5

Social Issues

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Restoring women trapped in prostitution

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Restoring women trapped in prostitution

Prostitution and trafficking trap countless women in a life of misery and subjugation. For those who lead comfortable lives, it’s a distant—if even recognized—problem. But it’s right here in Columbus, Ohio, and it’s widespread and destructive.

To get a sense for the problem, listen to the podcast Lawyer Up, where lawyers John Gonzales and Jack D’Aurora talk with Hannah Estabrook about how women get lured, groomed and, finally, trapped in the sex trade.

Some women do find their way ...

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14
JAN
4

Social Issues

LGTBQ rights pose no threat to religious freedom

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Are religious freedoms under attack? Gays have the right to marry. The U.S. Supreme Court has left open the question whether a baker must decorate a wedding cake and a florist must provide floral arrangements to be used at gay weddings, and the court is now deciding whether employers can discriminate against LGBTQ employees.

Can society mandate equal treatment for LGBTQ people while respecting the beliefs of those who say their religion precludes them doing anything that condones what they see ...

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3
DEC
4

Social Issues

New stadium scores over economic blight

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New stadium scores over economic blight

How governments prioritize expenditures is sometimes a head-scratcher. An example is the city of Columbus’ decision to invest millions in a new soccer stadium, while a segment of the west side continues to decay.

Two weeks ago, the Columbus Dispatch ran a three-day series, “Suffering on Sullivant,” about a three mile stretch of Sullivant Avenue that suffers from prostitution, drug use and other crimes. The landscape is marked by abandoned and dilapidated houses, trash and drug paraphernalia.

A week ago, ...

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4
NOV
6

Social Issues

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Culture of accountability crucial for police

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We want them to protect us and maintain law and order. We authorize them to use force, lethal, if necessary, and we expect them to get it right every time. And when the police err, we get angry.

We’ve seen a number of police shootings nationwide, and the shootings that cause us concern often involve white officers shooting black men. The optics aren’t good, as they say, and the question that always follows is, were the officer’s actions justified?  But ...

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8
AUG
2

Social Issues

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Eliminating poverty requires new paradigm, mindset

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Is the nation’s and Ohio’s poverty rate an inescapable fact of life or one we choose to ignore? The breadth of the problem is inescapable: 16.7 percent of Franklin County residents live at the poverty level—$25,100 annual income for a family of four—and the poverty rate has increased in every large Ohio city from 1999 to the 2013-2017 period. At last count, it’s 20.8 percent in Columbus and 36.8 percent in Youngstown.

If we want to fix the problem, ...

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9
JUN
5

Social Issues

The economic boom hasn’t benefited everyone

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The Dow Jones has been on the rise, and the unemployment rate is 3.8 percent. The  economy is humming, but is everyone benefitting? It depends on where you stand on the economic ladder. Let’s take a look, starting at the top.

Wealth at the top is increasing. According to the Spectrum Group, the number of households with a net worth of $1 million to $5 million, not including primary residence, grew in 2016 to 10.8 million; households with a net worth ...

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5
MAY
2

Social Issues

God likes guns, and Trump is biblical–Really?

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Do you think at all about where to find God in your life? I do, and I struggle to find him, but some politicians make it look easy. A select number claim to know what God wants, based on what must be a direct line to the Heavens which the rest of us will likely never enjoy. Two examples were given to us within the last few weeks.

The first is from Ohio Representatives Ron Hood, R-Ashville, and Tom Brinkman, ...

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29
APR
9

Social Issues

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