Immigration reform supporters will hold a rally Wednesday afternoon, on the eve of Tax Day, to publicize recent research that indicates allowing current undocumented immigrants — or “illegal aliens” — to become legal, tax-paying citizens would produce billions of dollars in new tax revenues.

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Ohioans to Stop Executions and other human rights groups are asking Gov. John Kasich to halt any further executions of inmates until the Ohio Supreme Court completes its review of the state’s death penalty process.

The groups, which include the Intercommunity Justice and Peace Center (IJPC) in Cincinnati, say the U.S. Supreme Court has denied a petition by the Ohio Attorney General’s Office to review an August 2011 ruling by the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals. That means the exoneration of Death Row inmate Joe D’Ambrosio is upheld.

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A coalition of progressive groups will hold a national convention later this month in Madison, Wis., the site of a hard-fought political battle to protect collective bargaining rights for public-sector labor unions.

Democracy Convention 2011 is scheduled for Aug. 24-28, and is envisioned as the inaugural session of what will become an annual event. It will feature several conferences on topics like community organizing, curtailing corporate influence in politics, economic democracy, independent media and constitutional reform.

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A bipartisan political action committee (PAC) that lobbies for “fair and just immigration laws” has selected Butler County's outspoken sheriff as one of 10 U.S. politicians inducted into its newly created Hall of Shame for local officials across the nation.

Immigrants' List says Sheriff Richard K. Jones was selected because the conservative Republican exploits fear and misinformation to make headlines and further his political ambitions.

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As Cincinnati Archbishop Dennis Schnurr and other Catholic officials speak out publicly against a new federal rule involving free birth control, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) defends the switch and says the criticism is misguided.

Last month the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced that the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act — known informally as “ObamaCare” — would require nearly universal coverage of contraception.

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People who want to apply for the state of Ohio's new high-risk medical insurance pool can get free help at two upcoming events.

As part of recent health-care reforms, the state launched the high-risk insurance pool Aug. 1. The program is designed to offer affordable coverage to individuals who have been denied coverage in the past because of pre-existing medical conditions.

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Dictionary.com defines “synchronicity” as “the coincidental occurrence of events and especially psychic events (as similar thoughts in widely separated persons or a mental image of an unexpected event before it happens) that seem related but are not explained by conventional mechanisms of causality.”

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This week’s U.S. Supreme Court ruling that allows corporations to make unlimited contributions to political campaigns has been widely criticized by many moderates and progressives as an action that could distort democracy and confuse the electorate.

Now Common Cause/Ohio is joining the wave of opposition, calling the decision “a major blow to established campaign reforms and to the democratic process itself.”

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The final ratification of the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence River Basin Water Resources Compact came Oct. 3 when President Bush signed the joint resolution of Congress. The law is now on the books, even though some in Ohio who support Issue 3 – the constitutional amendment to guarantee property owners the right to reasonable use of their land (see my news article "No One Owns Water") – claim passage is needed to enact the law.

“The compact provides a comprehensive management framework for achieving sustainable water use and resource protection,” according to a pres release from the Council of Great Lakes Governors. “The eight Great Lakes states reached a similar good faith, agreement with Ontario and Québec in 2005, which the provinces are using to amend their existing water programs for greater regional consistency.”

The compact includes the following points:

• Economic development will be fostered through sustainable use and responsible management of basin waters.

• In general, there will be a ban on new diversions of water from the basin but limited exceptions could be allowed in communities near the basin when rigorous standards are met.

• Communities that apply for an exception will have a clear, predictable decision making process, standards to be met and, opportunities to appeal decisions. These processes and standards do not exist under current law.

• The states will use a consistent standard to review proposed uses of basin water. The states will have flexibility regarding their water management programs and how to apply this standard.

• Regional goals and objectives for water conservation and efficiency will be developed, and they will be reviewed every five years. Each state will develop and implement a water conservation and efficiency program that may be voluntary or mandatory.

• There is a strong commitment to continued public involvement in the implementation of the compact.

For more information, visit www.cglg.org.

— Margo Pierce

Do something other than veg out in front of the boob tube tomorrow night. Join a conversation about a topic on everyone’s mind: energy.

Tonight at 6 p.m. the Imago Earth Center (700 Enright Ave., Price Hill) kicks off its First Friday Conversations with a 20-minute video of Al Gore’s New Thinking on the Climate Crisis. Imago’s 2008-09 season features the year-long theme “Enhancing Earth by Getting ‘Off the Grid.’ ”

“Drawing on a broad understanding of ‘the grid,’ we’ll look at many aspects of unplugging from the current models of growth and consumption,” says an event announcement.

For more info, visit www.imagoearth.org  or call 513-921-5124.

— Margo Pierce