You may have seen us at the farmers' market, at festivals, local coffee shops, or wherever people gather, with a sign proclaiming “ban mega data centers” and with our clipboards at-the-ready. We're gathering signatures for the Conserve Ohio petition; it is formally known as the Ohio Prohibition of Data Center Construction Amendment. It needs 413,488 valid signatures from at least 44 of Ohio's 88 counties by July 1, 2026 to get on the November ballot.

John Donne’s Meditation XVII, best known for the line “for whom the bell tolls,” argues that no person stands apart from the rest of humanity. What happens to one part of the whole eventually reaches the rest. I work in software engineering. I am part of the problem. I understand why data centers exist, and I benefit from them like everyone else. The cloud isn’t some kind of metaphysical thing… it sits somewhere, on land, tied to power and water and people. But I also live

As food prices climb and government programs face uncertainty, local communities are stepping up to care for one another. Across Scioto County, neighbors are filling crucial gaps through no-barrier pantries and mutual aid networks, ensuring everyone has access to food, dignity, and support.

From Columbus Day to Indigenous Peoples’ Day Each year on the second Monday of October, Americans have traditionally celebrated Columbus...