Bob Fitrakis and Connie Gadell Newton interview Connie Everett and Susann Moeller about their activist efforts to promote a ban on plastic bags in Columbus, Ohio

7/5/11

Beans, zinnias, Thai chilis, pumpkins, cabbage, basil, sage and flowers are growing in the community garden in the parking lot of the Corner Stone Deli and Café in Clintonville.

“We set these 2 gardens up as an example of what you can do in a truly urban setting.
We’re completely surrounded by traffic, parking, and cement,” said Jean Bird, who coordinates gardens for the Clintonville-Beechwold Community Resources Center, aka CRC.

“We have lots of volunteers and children. Children have done quite a bit of our planting--children from the Kid’s Club that the CRC also sponsors.”

Bird said the crops were started as seedlings with help from homeless persons and children, as well as help from Jocelyn Smallwood (red shorts) and Hallie Foster, who are with the AmeriCorps VISTA Summer Associate Program.

Smallwood said she hasn’t worked in gardens before but is enjoying it.
“The garden programs are pretty cool. They’re all over the place. We have this one and a couple more. They need a lot of care. We have a lot of volunteers who work really hard, but it’s a bit of a challenge to get out to all of them and give them the attention they need.”

She and Foster are helping to fill the gaps in person-power for the gardens. But she encourages people interested in volunteering to contact the resource center.

Youth Beat reporters gathered interesting and insightful perspectives on both Cuba and India. In the first segment a student talks about the positives and negatives she noticed while visiting Cuba, as well as her past experiences and plans for the future. Then, an Ohio State graduate student talks about the ways in which growing up in the Himalayas has shaped her views on global climate change, and what she thinks can be done in both the United States and India to improve the environment.

(Originally Aired on July 4, 2011) The First Annual DJBC Happy Hour July 4th Special features patriotic songs, plus reflections from Benjamin Franklin and Thomas Jefferson, and an interview with Paul Revere.

A preview of ALL things happening between now and right after July 4th, including July 4th.

A segment originally aired on June 27, 2011, Bryan interviews Ann Twiggs, co-chair of the Olde Towne East & Franklin Park Tour o