On April 11, a local anti-corruption group held the Columbus Grassroots Anti-Corruption Forum from 6:30pm-8:00pm EST, at the Columbus Metropolitan Library, 850 N. Nelson Rd., Columbus, OH, 43219. Anti-corruption activists, local leaders, and national experts attended the forum to discuss state-based strategies to to pass anti-corruption reform, gerrymandering reform, and open primaries.

“After almost 100 days of a new administration, it’s clear that the government still won’t drain the swamp: we have to fix corruption ourselves.” Said Barbara Eakins, local member of Represent.Us, the nation’s largest grassroots anti-corruption campaign, which brings together conservatives, progressives and everyone in between to pass anti-corruption laws in cities and states around the country. Represent.Us’ local members helped organize the forum. “There is an anti-corruption movement growing in Ohio, and this forum gives local activists what they need to get involved in fighting our corrupt political system, starting right here in Columbus.” continued Eakins.

Speakers at the forum included:

There’s a predictable cycle to pop culture phenomenons: hyper popularity for a few years, followed by dismissal as something that’s “over,” followed eventually by nostalgia. World of Warcraft, once the online game everyone was playing, weathered that slump and is now well aware that the surge of players returning to the game with last summer’s Legion expansion are here for the nostalgia.

To be fair, WoW was never exactly dead – when Activision Blizzard stopped publicly reporting at the end of 2015, it only had half the subscribers it had at its peak, but that still left it with 5.5 million players. Much of that was thanks to the game finally catching on in China, where distribution and then censorship problems bogged it down until it was cooling off in the US and Europe. (This also helps explain why last year’s Warcraft movie was a blockbuster in China despite being a failure in North America.)

A Morning Consult poll winks at me from my inbox: 57 percent of Americans support more airstrikes in Syria.

My eyeballs roll. Hopelessness permeates me, especially because I’m hardly surprised, but still . . . come on. This is nuts. The poll could be about the next move in a Call of Duty video game: 57 percent of Americans say destroy the zombies.

This is American exceptionalism in action. We have the right to be perpetual spectators. We have the right to “have an opinion” about whom the military should bomb next. It means nothing, except to those on the far end of the Great American Video Game, where the results are real.

Saturday, April 15, 9am, step-off 10:30am
McFerson Park, 218 West St., downtown Columbus
Facebook Event
The 2017 Robert J. Fass Memorial AIDS Walk Central Ohio will take place on Saturday, April 15, 2017 in Columbus. This year’s tri-city walk/run/ride is slated to be the largest HIV/AIDS awareness event in Ohio. 
The mission of AIDS Walk Central Ohio is to raise awareness and funds for HIV/AIDS service organizations through education and promotional activities leading up to the walk and through the participation of corporations, walkers, runners, civic leaders and community members together in this annual event.

Green Columbus
Earth Day Community Service Volunteer Events and Earth Day at the Commons
Volunteer dates: April 8-15, various locations
Earth Day Celebration: April 22, 1-7pm, Columbus Commons, Town and High Streets, downtown Columbus, Free
The largest Earth Day volunteer service project in the nation! Service sites vary in size from 5 to 300 volunteers and range from neighborhood litter sweeps, community gardens, and river-cleanups to tree planting and invasive species removal.
We will cap off Earth Day Volunteer Week with a community celebration on Saturday, April 22, 2017. Join us rain or shine at Columbus Commons downtown for a day-long celebration featuring local music, family-friendly activities, eco-friendly artisans, and Columbus' best food trucks.
Main Stage schedule/line-up:
1:30pm-2:15pm - Joey Hendrickson and The Sleepless Nights
2:45pm-3:30pm – Mr. Eric Music (4 Kids rocks!)
4:00pm-4:45pm - Clemens & CO
5:30pm-6:45pm – Hebdo