All Sides with Amy Juravich

The race for Ohio governor is heating up.

Amy Acton and her Republican opponent, Vivek Ramaswamy, have been traveling the state, doing the grassroots work and raising money. Ramaswamy, who has much more money than Acton, has been running ads for months, as has his political action committee. Acton appears to have been saving her money for the stretch run and has just started running ads.

The ads are coming fast and furious, setting up a rough-and-tumble final two months before Election Day.

The question is, will the positive and negative ads help us understand who these candidates really are?

To help dissect the candidates and the race going forward, we welcome Cheri Strachan, director of the Ray C. Bliss Institute of Applied Politics at the University of Akron.

Snollygoster of the week

For those of you outside Central Ohio, you should know we have not had a competitive mayoral race in Columbus since at least the Clinton administration, possibly the first Bush administration. Competitive races for mayor violate the Columbus Way: collaborating, usually behind closed doors, and waiting your turn to run for mayor.

Columbus City Council President Shannon Hardin is not waiting his turn. He announced last week that he will challenge the three-term incumbent, Ginther. It was a big production. His campaign leaked it to the Dispatch and the local NBC affiliate. They did interviews the day before and held the story for a day. Hardin held a big announcement at his childhood home on the first day of school. It was very well planned.

Then Columbus got flash floods. It was a real mess in many parts of the city. The city had to temporarily erect the floodwalls, and major roadways were blocked. What did Mayor Ginther do at the exact time Hardin was kicking off his challenge? The mayor stood in front of a floodwall and explained how the city—ahem, his administration—was going to assist people affected by the flooding.

It would have been a pretty good split screen, but the TV stations only focused on the flooding and Ginther. I do not know if it was intentional, but scheduling a weather emergency news conference at the same time as your opponent's campaign announcement is pretty shrewd.

There are so many ways to fix breakfast. But what makes a restaurant’s breakfast special, special?

Columbus has some serious chef talent, and a food and travel writer is spotlighting that talent.

Hardships can be a part of any life, but doing something with them and turning it into something positive can be difficult, but this is what one woman did.

Math is difficult for many students. It can be very challenging to learn new math skills and kids often become overwhelmed and discouraged by its challenges, but one teacher decided to fix this problem.

Guests:

• Nick Dekker, food and travel writer, Breakfast with Nick
• Dureti "Mimi" Tadesse, CEO and founder, Cawwaaqee Guuttatta Women’s Empowerment
• Caroline Farkas, certified teacher and educational content creator/founder, Doodles and Digits

Columbus Blue Jackets fans are nothing if not loyal.

They've rolled with many punches over the years, but it's been a summer of discontent for local hockey lovers. Firings, team shakeups and trade rumors have rattled, well, pretty much everyone who cares about the team.

With training camp just around the corner, can the team end a six-season playoff drought?

We are talking all things Blue Jackets on this hour of All Sides.

Guests:

• Aaron Portzline, senior reporter, The Athletic
• Todd Sharrock, vice president of communications, Columbus Blue Jackets
• Jody Shelley, TV color analyst/former Blue Jackets forward

photo: Jay LaPrete / AP

The Black Lives Matter movement was monumental in calling out police brutality in our nation. It brought to light countless gruesome stories of victims and officers who dodged accountability.

But the police force has had a long history of brutality against the Black community, even Black police officers.

To fight back against the discrimination they faced, Cleveland police officers began the Shield Club, an organization representing Black officers. For decades, the group tried to bring reforms to the police system. Sometimes the efforts were fruitful, but many times, a lost cause.

How did Black police officers reconcile working for the same system that they felt put their own community at risk? And can you really fix a system from within?

Journalist Wilbert L. Cooper uncovers the story of being a Black cop in America in his recent book The Black Shield.

He shares the stories of his own family members, who were almost all police officers, and shares the history of one of the country’s oldest Black policing organizations.

Guest:

• Wilbert L. Cooper, journalist, The Marshall Project/author, The Black Shield

photo: The Black Shield Police Association / facebook

The phrase, "It's a nice place to visit, but I wouldn't want to live there," sums up some people's feelings about the “downtown” of a city.

According to a national study, city leaders' efforts to bring people back downtown have a long way to go.

The most recent nationwide City Pulse survey found that nearly 75% of city residents say their central business districts offer a great experience but fewer than half visit weekly.

This statistic applies to Columbus as well. Columbus is the fastest growing city in the Midwest, but the survey found that the city lacks an identity.

On this hour of All Sides, we’re talking about what it takes to turn around some of those views.

How are leaders working to promote Columbus and what is the city’s identity?

Guests:

• Sheryl Schulze, managing director, Gensler Columbus
• Brian Ross, president & CEO, Experience Columbus
• Brian Kemp, real estate agent, Keller Williams

Ohio State University researchers want your baby teeth and toenail clippings, but the reason why is not what you may think.

Oilfield brine is a byproduct of oil and gas development and is used in some Ohio townships for ice melting and dust control on roadways.

Researchers want to know more about the health effects of this brine, and they can figure that out with the help of your baby teeth, toenail clippings, and soil samples.

We'll also discuss what technology meteorologists use to predict the weather and how reliable it is. Finally, Russell Holly is back to talk about his time at Disney’s big event – D23.

Guests:

• Arbor Quist, assistant professor of epidemiology at Ohio State University
• Ben Gelber, meteorologist for NBC4
• Russell Holly, director of commerce content for CNET

We are being surveyed constantly. Propped up on hundreds of telephone poles, stop signs, and rods are automated license plate recognition technologies.

There are many types of surveillance technology, but Flock Safety is one making news as people in Columbus and across the country react to their use. These small devices capture license plate information, as well as bumper stickers and other items on your car.

In theory, they are meant to track cars after a crime has been committed, to find missing people, and to be a tool for law enforcement.

But, in recent months, this is not what has happened. Individuals have abused this technology. People are concerned about their privacy and how data from these are stored. And for some people, their safety has been compromised by these devices.

Guests:

• Katie Geniusz, reporter with WOSU
• Emmanuel V. Remy, Columbus City Councilmember and chair of Public Safety and Criminal Justice Committee
• Drew Harwell, technology reporter for The Washington Post

An upcoming musical event on September 1, Southern Oracles, will celebrate the South Side, an area of Columbus that is historically and artistically rich, vibrant and diverse.

Through music and poetry, artists will pay tribute to beloved spots – from Boyd's Barbershop to Golden Donuts to Mae's Market.

Guests:

• Scott Woods, poet, writer, author
• Jason Rawls, musician, DJ, and assistant professor of hip hop at Ohio State University
• Trek Manifest, musical artist and rapper

Columbus now has a contested race for mayor. City council president Shannon Hardin, tired of waiting his turn, wants to deny Mayor Andrew Ginther a fourth term.

Politically speaking – the gloves are coming off.

We're talking with Shannon Hardin about why now, his vision for the city, and whether this is really a good move for Columbus Democrats?

In other political news, Columbus City Council is considering changes to they way they are election, a Republican caucus memo warns that the data center issue could derail congressional candidates like U.S. Senator Jon Husted?

We'll discuss this and more on our Weekly Reporter Roundtable show.

Guests:

• Shannon Hardin, Columbus City Council President and candidate for mayor in 2027
• Mark Ferenchik, news director, WOSU Public Media
• Megan Henry, reporter, Ohio Capital Journal
• Shane Stegmiller, reporter, Hannah News Service

Central Ohio students are headed back to class and that's a sure sign that summer is winding down. Despite the approaching change from summer into fall, the heat remains high among Columbus' creative community.

Join host All Sides Weekend Host Christopher Purdy and his guests for a preview of arts and cultural events in and around the Columbus area.

Included among this week's topics is a preview of the upcoming Columbus Comedy Festival.

Host:

• Christopher Purdy, All Sides Weekend and Classical 101 morning host

Guests:

• Karen Peeler, professor emerita, Ohio State University, Older Wiser Lifelong Scholars (OWLS) program
• Walker Evans, founder, Columbus Underground/Columbus Comedy Festival sponsor
• Alicia Hui, violinist, Columbus Symphony/director of community engagement, VIVO Music Festival