WCMH - NBC - Short North Businesses Raided For Bath Salts, Synthetic Drugs

Agents execute six raids in a bath salt investigation, including three Short North-area businesses.

The story is here

COLUMBUS, Ohio --

Agents execute six raids in a bath salt investigation, including three Short North-area businesses.

The Garden, The Chamber, and The Joint, all along North High Street were raided Wednesday morning.

Law enforcement told NBC4 that the businesses are allegedly selling bath salts, synthetic cocaine and synthetic marijuana.

NBC4's Mike Bowersock reported that Thomas Smith was arrested Wednesday morning. He owns three of the businesses involved.

Smith was charged with a felony count of permitting drug abuse.

Franklin County Sheriff Zach Scott referred to the businesses as head shops, and said he is trying to get the stores closed as a public nuisance.

The three other locations targeted include a home, the S&K Market at 127 E. 5^th St., and Lefthand Distribution LLC at 6969 Worthington-Galena Rd.

The raids are being conducted by the sheriff's office, the Drug Enforcement Agency, the Franklin County Drug Task Force, and the Ohio State Highway Patrol.

Italian Villagers - "Don't Get Towed" flyering volunteers needed!

"Don't Get Towed" flyering volunteers needed! Italian Villagers, Street sweeping in our neighborhood will occur Wednesday, August 15, and Tuesday, August 21. In preparation, we will put reminder flyers on cars on Sunday, August 12. I am looking for some volunteers who are able to place flyers on car windshields that morning before 10 AM. We aim for that time-frame because most cars are still parked. The time commitment would be approximately 1 hour, and you choose exactly when that morning you flyer your assigned area. Please let them know if you are interested by emailing me at italianvillage@shortnorthblockwatch.org by this Friday at 12PM.

Scott Pilgrim vs. the World at Goodale Park Friday Night

Scott Pilgrim vs. the World at Goodale Park Friday Night Help us kick off the 4th season of Screen on the Green tomorrow evening with "Scott Pilgrim vs. the World." The movie begins at sundown on a 30-foot screen at the softball diamond in the Southwest corner of the park, and will be preceded by a half hour of classic cartoons.  Tweet And Go Seek will host a scavenger hunt in the park before the film, with seven hidden collectible art tiles in honor of the film's Seven Evil Exes. Those who find the tiles will win prizes from local businesses. Follow @tweetandgoseek on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram for details. Food trucks will sell refreshments, as organized by Food Fort Columbus.  Remember to bring blankets, lawn chairs, and flashlights.  There are no rain dates.  Screen on the Green is made possible through organization and major funding by the Short North Civic Association, with additional funding by the Short North Foundation, Gateway Film Center and ComFest. RSVP Here on Facebook We're also showing "Steel Magnolias" on Aug. 17th, and "The Sound of Music" on Sept. 21st.  More information can be found online at facebook.com/shortnorthcivic/events              The Colors Run through the Short North When: This Saturday, July 21st, 9am-Noon. What: A 5K walk/run where participants wear white shirts and organizers throw brightly colored powder at the walkers at four color stations (powder is a safe corn starch product) Where: From Arena District, North on Park, West on Buttles, North on Dennison through Victorian Village to 4th, then East to and South along High Street to Downtown (see map for details) Estimated Attendance: 12,000-15,000 Parking and Traffic Flow will be affected: ·  All vehicular traffic within the defined loop will be halted while walkers remain on the course. Victorian Village residents within the loop will not be able to exit the loop until the walkers have passed (most likely 9AM to 11AM). ·  The west-most two lanes of High Street will be closed for the walkers ·  The east-most lane will remain available for parking ·  The two remaining center lanes will be split with one traveling south and the other north ·  All traffic heading north from downtown will be diverted east or west prior to reaching Spring Street ·  Parking lots on the west side of High Street will not be accessible from 9AM to noon ·  ** Note: all employees or delivery trucks wishing to park or make deliveries on the west side of High must plan to do so either prior to 8:45AM or after noon Organizers will follow the last participant with a street sweeper and power washer to clean up the dust. For More information, visit their Website, Facebook or Youtube Short North Summer & Sidewalk Sale This once-a-year event showcases shops from the entire shopping district that are slashing their prices to move older inventory ahead of new fall merchandise. The summer sale runs Friday thru Sunday (July 20-22), highlighted by the Super Sidwalk Sale, Saturday 9am-2pm Visit the Facebook Event Page, follow deals on Twitter @ShortNorth #SidewalkSale and online at www.shortnorth.org July SNCA Meeting Please join us on this evening, Thursday, July 19th, 7-8pm at the Goodale Park Shelter House Caretaker's Residence as we resume our regularly scheduled monthly meetings, open to area residents and businesses interested in learning about and taking an active role in their neighborhood's ongoing development, issues and programming. Become a member of the Short North Civic Association The SNCA welcomes all area homeowners, renters, business owners, and employees to become members. Annual SNCA memberships cost $25 for individuals, $50 per household, and $75 for businesses. They can be purchased by visiting the link below.  JOIN TODAY!

Besa Launches in Columbus - Dynamic Searching & $1,000 for your Columbus cause!

Besa Launches in Columbus: Dynamic Searching & $1,000 for your Columbus cause!

Besa is Live!

The first phase of Besa is now live! If you are associated with a Franklin County nonprofit, log in and claim your organization's profile! We're giving away a $1,000 donation to a participating charity.

More on Besa 

We are a non-profit organization devoted to promoting social welfare in Columbus, OH, with a focus on the younger segments of our community.  Our goal is to bring a new level of social engagement to the people and organizations that make up our vibrant city. We accomplish this by means of an easily searchable and interactive website that connects people to causes and organizations.  Key features include:

• A dynamic database of 1,600 Columbus based charities
• Profiles of causes and their impact on the community at large
• A feedback tool that empowers donors, volunteers, advocates and benefactors to share personal experiences of community engagement.
• Volunteer opportunities via a partnership with the HandsOn Central Ohio.

Click here to update your nonprofit profile.


Like Besa on Facebook

Columbus Dispatch - Home sales in Columbus area, Ohio up in June

By  Jacob Kanclerz

The Columbus Dispatch Thursday July 19, 2012 1:02 PM

The story is here

Home sales in the Columbus area and Ohio as a whole ticked upward again in June. 

Sales statewide last month numbered 11,246, up 10.6 percent from June 2011 sales of 10,165, according to the Ohio Association of Realtors. 

The 12-month sales increase streak was the first since December 2004 to November 2005, said Robert Miller, president of the Ohio Association of Realtors. 

“It’s apparent that we’ve begun to overcome the challenges stemming from the economic collapse of 2008 and have made strides in building a solid foundation for having a sustainable, growing marketplace going forward,” he said in a statement. 

In central Ohio, home sales reached 2,429, 18.1 percent higher than June 2011 totals of 2,056. Sales for the first six months this year were up 10.2 percent to 10,473 from 9,507 during the same period last year. 

Home prices rose as well. 

In central Ohio, the median price of a home sold in June was $155,250, 15 percent higher than the June 2011 median price of $135,000. 

The number of homes up for sale, 12,053, is at its lowest total since 2003, according to the Columbus Board of Realtors. 

“With the steady decrease in inventory over the last two years, and increased buyer interest, we’re back to more balanced market levels,” said Jim Coridan, president of the Columbus Board of Realtors, in a news release today. 

Realtors expect the sales surge to continue, recent surveys show. 

According to the Housing Market Confidence Index, a survey put out by the Ohio Association of Realtors, 87 percent of Ohio Realtors who responded have moderate to strong expectations for the market in the next six months. 

For central Ohio, 96 percent of local Realtors have moderate to strong expectations for the market in the next six months. 

Columbus Dispatch - Graffiti mars recently repaired Goodale Park fountain

The story is here

By  Mark Ferenchik  and  Rebecca McKinsey

Tuesday July 17, 2012 3:20 PM

The tagger who hit the Goodale Park fountain Monday night or Tuesday morning was trying to be clever: “Marriage is for people who never forget??” 

First, the fountain resembles a concrete wedding cake. Second, two elephants grace the top. 

It was signed “Scottsdale Yonkler.” 

The graffiti mars some good news for park enthusiasts. The pond finally seems to be holding water after its latest fix, following 10 futile months when nothing seemed to work. The leak had plagued the pond since the Friends of Goodale Park installed the fountain. 

City workers removed the tags today. 

That’s not the only notable city landmark that has been marred recently. 

On July 8, taggers hit the mural of birds in the underpass beneath Indianola Avenue in the Glen Echo ravine area. 

The mural of blue jays, chickadees and cardinals that Short North artist Clint Davidson painstakingly created was, ironically, designed to thwart graffiti. 

“It is definitely disappointing but it’s not totally surprising,” said Tim Lai, a local architect and co-founder of ALTernative, the local nonprofit neighborhood-improvement group that commissioned the mural. 

His group cleaned up the tags two days later. 

ALTernative paid for the repairs. But if this continues, Lai said the group might have to raise more money to keep up with taggers. 

“We do talk about installing some kind of security camera ... to help discourage people,” Lai said. 

In 2007, the city trained two temporary security cameras into the underpass to try to nab taggers in the act. 

Columbus Dispatch - Refilled pond at Goodale Park holding water

Refilled pond at Goodale Park holding water

By  Pamela Engel

The Columbus Dispatch Thursday July 12, 2012 7:14 AM

The story is here

After 10 frustrating months of ruined weddings, spoiled photographs and finger-pointing, the leaky pond at Goodale Park seems to be holding water.

“It was embarrassing that it was drained for as long as it was,” said Jacob Sternberg, a 37-year-old banker who lives nearby and visits the park a few times a week.

City Recreation and Parks officials and volunteers say they have finally conquered the leak that has troubled the pond since the Friends of Goodale Park had a 750,000-pound fountain installed last year.

In April, the city spent $144,600 to line the bottom of the pond with a clay called bentonite in hopes of stopping the leak.

When that didn’t work, Friends of Goodale Park stepped in and paid Procon Professional Construction Services $8,500 to install a rubberized lining around the base of the fountain last month.

The pond was filled from a fire hydrant on June 29 and seems to be holding, said Terri Leist, a recreation and parks spokeswoman.

For now, the fountain, topped by two elephants that spout water, remains dry.Leist said the city is working with a contractor to increase the amount of water pumped once the fountain is turned on.

Sternberg questioned whether the fountain was even worth it in the first place. “It’s very bland and boring-looking. There’s no color,” he said.

Liam Curran, a 26-year-old teaching assistant from Bexley, sympathized with city officials and park volunteers.

“It’s frustrating for them, I’m sure, just like it’s frustrating for us.”

On Tuesday afternoon, the water level was several inches below the top edge of the pond. The recent heat caused some water to evaporate, Leist said.

Officials still aren’t sure exactly what the source of the leak was, however, she said.