"I things I care about are public education in Columbus and in the United States and gun control. I'm very concerned about the amount of guns that are on the streets and in the hands of children who, of course, don't know what to do with them...We're wiping out an entire generation of young guys w/ these guns on the street."

"It seems like every day I read the newspaper and there's another report of teenagers or very young people who had their entire lives ahead of them (being) the victim of drive-by shootings or revenge shootings of some kind. You read about people who are in their homes, in their beds, or just relaxing and minding their own business, and they're shot--- thru a wall or thru a window."

Sharon said she thinks this will get worse before it gets better.
"There is no powerful force opposing gun ownership, but there is a very powerful force supporting it."

She's currently not working w/ other people in her community on this issue but she has done it.

"Somewhere in my heart I've probably given up on it because I've been fighting about 40 yrs. But it's something I should really explore. I should be very active about it."

"Educating our children (is what's important). It's the jumping off point for how they do the rest of their lives. W/o that education, you just can't get anywhere anymore. You're not able to get a decent job which means you can't get a decent home, can't raise a family. It all starts w/ education and not just for the purpose of getting a job, but to know more about the world around you."

Eva, who declined to give her last name, said she works at OSU and has friends who have worked in elementary, middle, and high schools. She said she opposes the funding cuts to education.

"There's got to be some place else they can cut."

"The work I'm out here doing today is environmental work. That's what I care about...I think most people don't realize we're a part of the rest of the world. I think that people think they're separate from everything else--from other people, from the universe, from the trees and the animals---when in fact we're all connected. The things we do to the other residents of the Earth affect us and the people we care about."

Edmiston was at Broad and High collecting signatures to pressure American Electric Power to comply w/ the Clean Air Act.

"They're trying to extend the deadline by which they have to reduce their emissions. At the moment, it's 2015. They're trying to extend it all the way to 2020. But there's no guarantee that when we get to 2020 they won't just try to extend it another 5 years."

Edmiston said Progress Ohio is running the petition drive w/ funding from the Environmental Defense Fund.

He said even though the EDF is large, it doesn't have nearly as much money as AEP.

Gerald James said his health benefits thru the Veteran's Administration is what's important to him.

"I'm having a few problems, but some of them have been resolved."

James said he's been in Columbus about a month and a half.
"I'm OK w/ it. But Dayton was much better...because they (people w/ the VA) cared about me more. Columbus is supposed to be the capital, but they are a bunch of you-know-whats. But I'm dealing w/ it. I'm alright."

He said he was staying at a Volunteers of America shelter here in Columbus but got kicked out for getting drunk the other night. When asked where he planned to sleep that night he said, " I have no idea, but I'll be alright."

He said he gets his meals from soup chickens and shelters and from "different places around town."

For a moment James turned his head to look at a child who was kicking her legs and singing as the adult w/ her waited for a bus.

" I have a daughter. She's 10, in Battle Creek, Michigan."

He said he loves this nation but thinks it's "going to hell." Perhaps it's my own limited comprehension, but I couldn't get much from his explanation about why our nation is heading in the wrong direction. You can try listening to the short audio file if you're interested.

James said he gets along w/ everyone he encounters on the streets, including the police. He agreed w/ me that good relationships are what make life worth living, and that it makes sense to try to find common-ground instead of focusing on things that can divide us.

"I don't give a woof woof if you're Black or White. You're my people. So I care about you...You're just like me. I'm human and you're human."

Urban Soundz

Click on the "play" button below to hear the show!

 THE WORLD PARTY NOW AIRS FOR 2 HOURS ON WCRS!

TUESDAYS from 7PM - 9PM

The World Party features energetic and eclectic dance and party music from all corners of the globe!

• Show 56 originally aired on July 12, 2011.

• Show 56 features international dance and party music originating from the Ivory Coast, Russia, United States of America, England, Spain, France, Romania, Australia, Sweden, and more. Cool music playing on radio stations and at festivals, bars and dance clubs all over the world!

Tonight on the Show:
The Bryan Award Nominations- Who are they? What are they?
Preview of the Primetime Emmy Nominations on Thursday- Who will get in?
Weekend Warrior Previews the Week's Events

This edition of Youth Beat Radio features many art-related pieces with independent spirits. First, Mad Mike reviews local independent movie theaters. Harrison Sydnor follows with an EcoBeat interview with the independent movie theater The Gateway Film Center. Then Youth Beat contributor Brenden Martin, East High School, shares two of his poems, and Yi-Ann Lii, Ohio State University, shares a creative essay about adjusting to life in Ohio. Anwar Nur, a contributor from Temple University, reviews independent musical artist Aloe Black's album "Good Things." Finally, Youth Beat reporter Bridgette Kreuz sits down with a dance student from Ohio State to learn more about her major.

Daniel Ingwerson
“The city has given a lot of support (for community gardens) vocally… but it’s often been more of a promise than a follow thru. Just this past year there was going to be $60,000 distributed to , I think, 50 gardens.

“I know of over a dozen community gardens that did not receive the grant that was announced on Earth Day by Mayor Coleman at Franklin Park. The got zip as far as money is concerned...that’s kind of disappointing.”

When the city spends $44 million on the new Scioto river way, and they can’t even put $50,000 into community gardens. That’s not saying much for the city’s real support…compared to other big cities Columbus is at the back of the pack (in its support for community gardens.)

“Don’t get me wrong, I appreciate what the city has done so far, but it’s nowhere near enough. Our food supply is not as safe and secure as some of us would like to think.”