CCBOR Files Lawsuit Against the City
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On Thursday, June 17th, 2020, CCBOR sought a temporary restraining order to postpone our current petition-circulating deadline to 2022, so as to take into account the possibility of a second Covid-19 wave and the current ban on large gatherings under "Responsible Restart Ohio" public health measures.
On Friday, June 19th, the U.S. District Court for Southern Ohio and Columbus city government ignored appeals to establish community rights, and recognition of our local initiative to protect all residents from the risk of harms from oil and gas industry disposals to city resources!!
Click on above image to watch GrassRootsOhio interview of CCBOR's Bill Lyons and
CELDF Ohio Organizer Tish O'Dell immediately following court decision to
squash Columbus participatory democracy
Upshot from CCBOR perspective:
- Our system is set up so that we will ALWAYS LOSE, if we attempt to use our rights of initiative in Columbus, and in the state of Ohio
- Our elected officials and the courts have callously stated to us that we should have been out circulating our petition during the COVID pandemic, if we want to get our initiative on the ballot
- This is nothing new to us, as we are experiencing this reality over and over again and again, when we attempt to express our constitutional right of participatory democracy in Columbus!
Amid the latest citizen assertions for social and environmental justice in our city and around the country, our initiative for local self-governance to protect ourselves from corporate-based harms continues.
WE ALL MUST HOLD OUR LOCAL ELECTED OFFICIALS ACCOUNTABLE WHEN THEY REFUSE TO HONOR OUR CIVIL RIGHTS AND OUR RESOURCE DEMOCRACY, IN ORDER TO PROTECT OUR VERY LIVES IN OUR OWN CITY!!
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PLEASE SIGN IF YOU HAVE NOT ALREADY!!
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THIS PETITION IS NOT THE SAME ONE THAT WE HAVE BEEN CIRCULATING IN COLUMBUS TO PLACE OUR INITIATIVE ON THE BALLOT!!
We are asking everyone, even those who reside outside of Columbus Ohio, to please sign our online petition as an endorsement of the public for Columbus City Council to put our community bill of rights charter amendment on the Columbus city ballot in November 2020.
Please consider an online donation!
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Thank you!
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MTA Event Thursday, June 25th 7pm
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How Big Money Limits People's Environmental & Democratic Rights
(Central OH Community Conversations)
Central Ohio has a fracking problem and a democracy problem.
Because our elected representatives have failed to protect Central Ohio from fracking and its related activities, local citizens have sought to bring the issue to the people through the citizen initiative process. Six years, four campaigns, and several legislative roadblocks later, the citizen-initiative has yet to appear on the ballot where citizens could vote on banning fracking in Columbus.
Join Move to Amend, Central Ohio and guest speaker Bill Lyons for a summary of the Columbus Community Bill of Rights (CCBOR), the astonishing obstacles it continues to face, and what local people can do to remedy our fracking and democracy problem. Q&A and discussion will follow. (Local groups also demanding justice are welcome to post announcements.)
Join Zoom Meeting
Meeting ID: 835 335 1622
One tap mobile
+13126266799,,8353351622#
WHEN: June 25, 2020 at 7pm - 8pm
WHERE: Virtual Conference (Zoom)
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CELDF Report: Corporations are
Suing Cities Across the USA
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[excerpt:]
This paradigm favors the corporation. When the U.S. Constitution began to be interpreted by the courts, corporations were among the first to win its protection. In the early 1800s, the Contracts and Commerce clauses were interpreted to shield corporations from public lawmaking. By the end of that century, they had won recognition under the Fourteenth Amendment as "persons" protected from government actions.
Today, these constitutional "rights" effectively insulate corporations from powerful local lawmaking.
Click HERE or on the image above to read the full article from Community Environmental Legal Defense Fund.
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Organizations needed to sign letter in support
against the "Brine Bill"
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See the Ohio Brine Task Force letter of support attached to this newsletter email. If you know of any organizations who can sign on in support of stopping the further deregulation of radioactive oil & gas brines, please tell them to sign on. Send them a copy of the letter, and ask them to return to Teresa Mills at tmills@benohio.org, or via mail to:
BEN
PO Box 824, Athens OH 45701
This letter and signers will be sent to Ohio legislators in support of ensuring that HB 545 never reaches the floor for a vote. You can read more about HB 545 on our website.
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Cabot Oil faces multiple criminal charges
for Dimock PA pollutions
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Gasland fracking firm faces criminal charges over water contamination
The centerpiece for the movie 'Gasland' was this case where, in Dimock PA, 22 homes lost their groundwater wells due to contamination (mainly from methane migration) from gas drilling. A decade of loss of use of their water, a meaningless EPA report, and many tired and angry residents later, it appears that some justice may be served.
Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro making a video statement on 15 June 2020.
Photo: From video statement
[Excerpt:]
Pennsylvania's Department of Environmental Protection reviewed 10,615 water samples collected by other operators in Susquehanna County which did test for methane. These included samples for 12 drinking supplies in Dimock township. Mr. Shapiro said:
"All 12 of these sampling locations demonstrated excessively high methane levels. In fact, the highest reading was a level far exceeding the point at which gas filled water can litereally explode."
Click HERE or on the image above or to read the full article in 'Drill Or Drop'.
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U.S. Gas Drillers Face A Major Problem
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[Excerpt:]
The political winds are beginning to turn against gas. For years, the industry has sold gas as a boon for climate change, able to slash emissions by replacing coal. But more recent research has questioned that premise. Releases of methane - at the well head, as well as when gas is moved through pipelines and distribution networks - negate much of the climate benefit.
With renewables now readily accessible and cost-effective, the political power of gas as a "bridge fuel" has evaporated and the industry finds itself on the defensive.
Click HERE to read the full article in Yahoo! Finance.
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Our Charlotte Owens is running for
State Rep. in District 78
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Charlotte Owens (also seen in header image of this newsletter) is a candidate for Ohio state representative for District 78, which is located southeast of Franklin County, and is located within 12 counties thanks to heavy gerrymandering.
Please visit her website to learn more about her issues - we know one of them is to push back against radioactive oil/gas waste being discharged in Central Ohio!
She is asking for support, including donations which can be easily done on her website:
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GrassRootOhio - Every Friday
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Listen to Carolyn Harding interview guests about Ohio issues that affect all of us in the state.
The show appears on Columbus local radio station WGRN 94.1FM, every Friday at 5:00pm.
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Other Great Resources Online
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LC Concerned Citizens newsletter.
To subscribe, click HERE and follow the instructions on their website, located in the right-hand sidebar to email them and ask to subscribe.
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Click on the image above to watch our video 'We're All Downstream'
Please share this video by copying this link and sending:
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Remember, this is OUR
Participatory Representative Democracy
If we don't use it, we lose it
Toxic Radioactive Waste Doesn’t Belong Here
Protect our Home, our Families, our Rights!
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