May 2010 Election Results that Impact Central Ohio

Also...Nickie Antonio is poised to become Ohio's first out state lawmaker. See my post from as night. Michael Stinziano, a Democrat, won the nomination in the 25th District of the Ohio House of Representatives.

clipped from www.columbusunderground.com Issue 1 (Third Frontier) has passed Issue 2 (Casino Relocation) has passed Democratic endorsements won include Lee Fisher for US Senate and Charleta Tavares for Ohio Senate District 15. Republican endorsements won include Jon Husted for Secretary of State, David Yost for Auditor, Steven Stivers for Congress District 15. And last but not least… Studio 35 got their liquor license approved to be allowed to serve wine and cocktails. Full results can be found at vote.franklincountyohio.gov.

Lesbian set to become Ohio's first out state lawmaker!

Nickie is great!!

clipped from www.gaypolitics.com Nickie Antonio tonight won the Democratic primary in the District 13 Ohio State House race that drew no Republican opponents for the fall.  With only token opposition in the general election this November, Antonio is poised to become the state’s first openly LGBT state legislator. Now in her second term on the Lakewood City Council, Antonio said, “I’m very thankful for the support of the Victory Fund.  I’m proud of their endorsement, and they really put their hearts into this campaign.  Like me, they believe that Ohio will benefit from having diverse voices in government that truly represent everybody in our state.” The Victory Fund has endorsed 35 candidates in state legislative races so far this year.  One of the group’s goals is ensuring every state has at least one openly LGBT state legislator, said Chuck Wolfe, its president and CEO.

“We’re looking forward to finally adding Ohio to the list of states where our community has a voice in state government. The most dynamic and important fights for our rights are happening in state legislatures, so it’s vital to have people like Nickie at the table of power. Change can come slowly in Washington, so building our political power in state capitals can mean a quicker path to a more free, more fair America,” said Wolfe.

For a full list of LGBT candidates endorsed by the Victory Fund this year, go to www.victoryfund.org.

Flash Mob at the Ohio Union 5/3/2010 - The Ohio State University

The Ohio Union — May 03, 2010 — Students and staff break out into a dance in the great hall of the new Ohio Union on Monday, May 3, 2010 around 12:35 PM.

Hungarian Village neighborhood (in Central Ohio) reviving ties to ethnic past

clipped from www.dispatch.com Not many Hungarians remain, but some residents of the small South Side neighborhood fly the national flag and honor the culture Monday, May 3, 2010 2:51 AM By Mark Ferenchik THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH Yes, Hungarians still live in Hungarian Village. Take Joseph Nagy. He ran a shoe-repair shop on Parsons Avenue for six decades, retiring last fall a few months before he turned 87. For years, he walked the block or so from his E. Hinman Avenue house to the store. Tom Linzell, president of the Hungarian Village Society, is not Hungarian but flies Hungary's flag outside the house he bought in 2001. Shirley Ann Eastham, 5, lives in Hungarian Village with her three older brothers and a new puppy named Diego. Margaret Leonardo, 85, has lived on Hinman Avenue since her Hungarian father moved there in 1950.

His father came to the United States in 1903 to mine coal in Perry County, and then moved to Columbus in the 1930s, thanks to the Works Progress Administration, the Depression-era jobs program for out-of-work Americans.

Margaret Leonardo's father, Joseph Meszaros, mined coal in Athens County. He moved his family to Columbus in 1950. Leonardo, 85, still lives in their 95-year-old Hinman Avenue house.

But for the most part, Hungarian Village is devoid of residents who can trace their roots to Budapest or Debrecen.

"Not many Hungarians in this neighborhood. All passed away," Nagy said.

Italian Village and, of course, German Village are far better known. But those who have moved to Hungarian Village in recent years are working to re-create its identity. They fly Hungarian flags on their porches and used grant money to buy signs that are red, white and green - the colors of Hungary's flag - to educate visitors.

"We love the neighborhood," said Flo Plagenz, who, with her husband, Andrew, moved to Hungarian Village six years ago. "Even though we're not Hungarian, there's pride in having that identification."

Hungarian Village is wedged just south of Merion Village and north of the Reeb- Hosack/Steelton Village neighborhood. It's little more than Woodrow and Hinman avenues between S.High Street and Parsons Avenue, although in the 1970s, neighborhood leaders listed the northern border as E. Markison Avenue, said Doreen Uhas-Sauer, president of the Columbus Landmarks Foundation.

A century ago, the neighborhood teemed with immigrants from Hungary, Croatia and Italy. So many countries were represented on the South Side then that a Parsons Avenue market called Foreign Grocery employed a staff that spoke about a dozen languages.

The residents had left the mines to toil at nearby businesses and factories such as Buckeye Steel Castings, where they made parts for railroad cars. And Parsons Avenue hummed with commerce. "It was a vibrant community through the 1940s and 1950s, even the 1960s," said Alex Huber of the Hungarian Cultural Association in Columbus.

In 1973, the Rev. Zoltan Szabo, pastor of the Hungarian Reformed Church on Woodrow Avenue, proposed a "new" Hungarian Village akin to German Village. The Hungarian Cultural Association still meets in the 104-year-old church, once a neighborhood hub.

The church now has only 175 members. But in the 1940s, "You had to get to church early, or you didn't get a seat," said Julius Gyurcsik, who grew up on the South Side and now lives near Carroll in Fairfield County.

In May 1991, Hungary's president at the time, Arpad Goncz, visited the church on a seven-day U.S. trip.

Many Hungarians or those with Hungarian roots attended St. Ladislas Roman Catholic Church, also on the South Side.

Last summer, Columbus Landmarks led a tour of the neighborhood, visiting houses and studying their century-old architecture, including Queen Anne and Dutch Colonial styles.

Thousands of Hungarian refugees from the failed 1956 anti-Soviet revolution settled in U.S. cities with larger Hungarian populations such as Cleveland, New York and Newark, N.J., Huber said. A few came to Columbus, infusing the neighborhood and city with new blood, said Huber, himself a refugee.

Today, some residents are working to restore the neighborhood, which struggles with foreclosures, boarded-up houses and a spate of arsons a little more than a year ago.

Tom Linzell, president of the Hungarian Village Society, bought his Hinman Avenue house in 2001. Like the Plagenzes, he was a first-time buyer, and the price - $82,000 - was "obviously a factor," he said.

But more than that attracted him. He likes being 3 miles from work Downtown. And he likes the traditional neighborhood feel, with garages along alleys behind the houses, and the racial and economic diversity.

Linzell, 41, grew up in Worthington and knew nothing of the neighborhood's history. He does now, and flies a Hungarian flag.

You might not hear szia - Hungarian for "hello" - on Hinman Avenue today. But you can imagine it.

mferenchik@dispatch.com

President Obama and Jay Leno at White House Correspondents Dinner

May 01, 2010 — President Obama and Jay Leno trade jokes at the 2010 White House Correspondents Association Dinner in Washington, D.C.

New Men's Clothing Store Opening Downtown

clipped from www.columbusunderground.com New retail ventures are slowly re-entering the Downtown market, and the addition of The Player’s Catalog, a new men’s clothing store marks a very significant move into the area. This mail-order-turned-retail store is located at 10 W. Broad Street inside the One Columbus Center at the corner of High & Broad, and will be holding their grand opening on Monday, May 10th.

“We’ve operated as a print catalog with online sales for quite awhile, but we actually started many years ago as a golf business”, said Ben Simon, General Manager of The Player’s Catalog. “So that’s where the name comes from.”

The transformation into a retail venture has been a gradual one for the business, as their focus has evolved over the past few years.

“We were testing some different products, and we determined that there was a market in the high-end menswear business, so we started moving in that direction five or six years ago,” said Ben. “We decided to totally move in that direction and now we have hardly anything golf-related and are strictly high-end menswear.”

Some of the brands carried include Cole Haan, Allen Edmonds, Jhane Barnes, Robert Talbott and Tommy Bahama.

“Our merchandise mix is a bit faster than others, kind of like a Nordstrom on steroids,” added Ben. “Customers will find a very wide selection of almost all of the popular brand names they know. It will look like Nordstrom’s Men’s Department in Downtown Columbus.”

The new store will serve as both a retail space for walk-in customers as well as office space for the continuation of the catalog and online business.

“We have about 1,000 square feet of retail in the front and we’ll run the catalog from the rest of the space in the back,” explained Ben. “The big impetus for doing this Downtown is that we’re not a true retail store, so we don’t have to abide by traditional retail hours.”

The store will be open from 11am to 4pm to start, with additional hours to be added as necessary.

“We’re hoping is that the people in our building will help get the word out,” said Ben. “It feels like a small community Downtown even though there are a lot of people working in these buildings.”

More information can be found online at www.playerscatalog.com.

Statement from HRC on Secretary Gates’ Letter on Delaying “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” Repeal

Late Friday afternoon, Secretary of Defense Robert Gates and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Admiral Mike Mullen sent a letter to House Armed Services Committee Chairman Ike Skelton on the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” (DADT) law. In the letter, they urge Congress to continue the current policy until the completion of the Pentagon working group that is examining how to implement a change to the law. This view contradicts the President’s commitment he made in the State of the Union.

Below is HRC's statement. HRC continues to urge Congress to vote to repeal the law this year, while providing a reasonable timeframe for completion of the review and then to implement the new policy. Below HRC's statement is the letter from Gated and Mullen.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: April 30, 2010

Michael Cole

Statement from Human Rights Campaign President on Secretary Gates’ Letter on “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” Repeal

WASHINGTON – Today, Joe Solmonese, president of the Human Rights Campaign, issued the following statement:

“Today’s letter from Secretary Gates and Admiral Mullen to House Armed Services Committee Chairman Ike Skelton flies in the face of the President’s commitment in the State of the Union address to work with Congress to repeal the discriminatory “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” law this year. If the President is going to fulfill his promise it is essential that he address this contradiction immediately. It is inconceivable that the Secretary of Defense would so blatantly undermine the Commander-in-Chief’s policy commitment.

“There is no reason that Congress cannot move forward with repeal while the Pentagon’s review of how – not if – to end the ban on open service continues apace. As part of the legislative repeal, Congress can provide additional time to the Pentagon for a careful and thoughtful implementation of this change to the law. Action by Congress this year, in the National Defense Authorization bill, will not, as the Secretary suggests, ‘send a very damaging message to our men and women in uniform that in essence their views, concerns and perspectives do not matter on an issue with such a direct impact on and consequence for them and their families.’ But failure to act this year will, without a doubt, continue to send the message to the thousands of gay and lesbian Americans serving their country in silence that their views and concerns, and the impact on them and their families, do not matter to the military leadership, including their Commander-in-Chief. ”

The Human Rights Campaign is America’s largest civil rights organization working to achieve lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender equality. By inspiring and engaging all Americans, HRC strives to end discrimination against LGBT citizens and realize a nation that achieves fundamental fairness and equality for all.

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