The following are blog entries from fellow progressives in the area (NONA = Newark Ohio News Analysis by Stan Wrzyszczynski and WF1 = Working Families First by Garry Goldsmith):
“Between The Lines” (NONA, October, 22nd, 2020): Stan highlights that the continued development in Newark and Licking County is for the few, not the many, especially when you look at the new Fire Station that was built without a plan to man it.
“Supremely Disingenuous” (NONA, October 27th, 2020): Stan remarks on former President Trump’s mind games about the then-impending Election’s vote tally.
“Super Dup-er” (NONA, October 30th, 2020): The Newark downtown Arcade renovation project is analyzed. Stan looks into the motives behind the project and how the Newark Development Partners hope to gain millions of dollars in taxdollars to help with their “investment”.
“What’s Next For Democracy?” (WF1, November 15th, 2020): Garry of the Working Families First Initiative discusses how we got to the point where we saw the rise of fascism in 2016 and then he offers some solutions for how to avoid it going forward.
“Solipsism” (NONA, December 1st, 2020): Stan looks into the battle of our nation’s “soul” and how it has been corrupted by the Republican Party’s behavior up through now in peddling lies to advance their own interests.
“We Pretend To Work; They Pretend To Pay Us” (NONA, December 3rd, 2020): Stan examines how Wall Street lives in an alternate reality and how our leaders refuse to hold the modern robber barons responsible for the damage that their exploits create.
“In The Heat Of The Night” (NONA, December 9, 2020): The politics of the “revolving door” is analyzed as the piece starts with a remark about how a member of the Military Industrial Complex has been tapped to lead the military whilst the Mayor of Newark moves veterans of the police force up the chain of command, all of which serves in guaranteeing no change whatsoever.
“What Kind Of Planet Are They Living On?” (NONA, December 17, 2020): Stan expertly points out the repulsive hypocrisy of Licking County Commissioner Tim Bubb gleefully talking about spending over a million dollars on replacing public-owned windows while leaders in the County and in the City of Newark conveniently do nothing about the issue of homelessness.
“A New Normal Christmas Carol” (NONA, December 20, 2020): Stan reminisces on our struggle to escape America’s obsession with guns.
“Free Market Economics” (NONA, December 31, 2020): The corruption of business-government alliances is examined from the controversy of Trump leasing land for drilling in the Artic National Wildlife Refuge to the Newark Arcade and subsidization via tax cuts by way of the Newark Development Partners.
“More Hannah Arendt [Again]” (NONA, January 5, 2021): The day before the Trump Horde stormed the Capitol Building in the Nation’s Capitol, Stan analyzed some disturbing similarities between Trump and authoritarians of the past.
“Welcome To Denial Ohio Jeff Hall Mayor” (NONA, January 8, 2021): Stan reviews the lack of care for the homeless in the decision to turn the abandoned Family Dollar into a thrift store instead of the originally-planned homeless shelter.
“Addendum to Denial” (NONA, January 11, 2021): The scourge of growing inequality in Newark is assessed.
“New Life For An Old Structure (Again)” (NONA, January 15, 2021): Stan revisits the old Longaburger basket at the East End edge of Newark.
“Loopholes, Not For Everyone” (NONA, January 29, 2021): Stan masterfully ties together a series of events and important stories: the lackluster rollout of the vaccinations for COVID-19, a loud and ignorant protest of the rollout by a Republican lawmaker in Ohio, and the apparent inoculation from accountability bestowed upon Trump by his sycophantic allies in Congress.
“Polarity” (NONA, February 7, 2021): Stan analyzes the crisis of homelessness and how we can’t begin to address it without connecting the dots to those who have more than enough to spare.
“Early Onset Of Collective Amnesia” (NONA, February 14, 2021): Stan notes that public service mergers, public-private partnerships, and privatizations have not produced better service results for the people where it is most needed.