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The Hilliard Beacon Podcast: Daily Summaries Delivered
by Franklin Street Creative
As The Hilliard Beacon our only goal is to help keep you informed and develop a reliable source of steady information and reporting for you - our community. hilliardbeacon.substack.com
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- 2 days ago45 min
HBAC 170: Electric Aggravation, Flock Vexation
On this edition of the Audio Companion we sift through a full week of Hilliard happenings and big decisions affecting you!In a first since 2011…After a brief discussion of the shooting we reflect on our chat from last week with other local journalists and share our thoughts on their approach and our collaborative effort. Kevin reminds us that he usually looks to step up the posting rate with Council back in session and setting the pace. So, keep an eye out for additional writing on the website and your email inbox.Tubi TimeKevin - Refuses the siren song of Tubi for now - Tim offers to come over and download the app for himJordan - The Iron Circle - a Bruce Lee inspired fever dream memorable (to me) only for Eli Wallach’s brief, bizarre appearance. Jordan also watched Krull for some reason.Tim - The truly unimpeachable Rambo: First Blood, some assorted so-so documentaries and from the category “confusing VHS your grandparents owned,” The Giant of Thunder Mountain. Richard Kiel and Jack Elam? What do you mean this was a limited release?Housing Study IssuedSharing a link to the final product of the Housing Steering Commission’s work detailing Hilliard’s ongoing approach to adding rooftops in the 43026. We hope to return Jackie Yeoman (and hook up her microphone directly, this time), Vince Papsidero or Curtiss Williams to speak to the document directly but wanted to share this piece of information immediately with more analysis to come. This is precisely the type of long term story the Beacon loves to cover and we’re happy you’re here too.Electric Aggregation Agreement Ended 20:34 - 28:30We discuss the timing of the decision and whether or not a “guarantee of best price” was really all the Agreement was about. Given that the program was instituted in the rocky 2022 post-Covid economy and still saved 4.5 million dollars, one wonders at the logic of abandoning that same program with traditional energy markets in total freakout over data centers and the Strait of Hormuz.Jordan suggests a program that won approval with 61% of the vote was about embracing a community approach, using pooled buying power to create savings through concerted choice and gradually changing the shape of our electricity consumption.Instead of those embraced ballot values, residents are now back in the deregulated Ohio energy buying system they voted their way out of and comparing Apples to Apples at the most volatile moment in market memory. The city anticipates a traditional price dip in October.Hilliard Withdraws Appeal to Ohio EPA28:40 - 33:20Kevin’s reporting on the Fuel Cell issue and our subsequent discussion highlight the shifting ground of these major development decisions.We Talk:* State Legislature impacts* Standing issues * Ohio Power Siting Board* Increasing polarization at earlier and earlier points in the processFlock Cameras Paused33:20 - 43:20As national backlash mounts over ALPR technology and its deployment Hilliard City Council has chosen to pause the contract and re-evaluate the relationship.Jordan discusses the case of Lindsey Isaacs, a Florida woman wrongfully jailed for 13 days after a months long police investigation.Interestingly, Lindsey herself places blame on Police misuse and mistakes rather than the technology itself. It’s noted that Lindsey’s defense used a Flock hit on her vehicle in a certain location to actually provide her team with the ability to plainly state she could not have been at the scene at the time of the accident.Just one of an <a target="_blank" href="https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2026/09/high-crime-lmao-how-co
- 1 weeks ago59 min
HBAC 169: Local News Roundtable
Telling it like it is…For the latest HBAC Jordan, Tim and Kevin called in the big guns, bringing together three pioneering local publishers for a conversation about the state of news and reporting in our region. We spend an hour with the the trio of bestsellers describing their individual efforts to rekindle the relationship between residents and good journalism in each of their communities.Gary Gardiner of Westerville News, Joe Case of Marysville Matters and William Lutz of Civic Capacity each came to Substack from different backgrounds but their reasons for picking up the local journalism torch are similar and quite related to our own.Gardiner spent decades in newspaper and Associated Press photography before launching Westerville News after Gannett closed its local weeklies. Case retired from a career that included radio journalism, statehouse reporting and corporate public affairs before turning his attention to Marysville and Union County. Lutz, a former elected official and local-government administrator, began Civic Capacity after hearing residents say they wished they better understood how their communities operated.Each drawn to generating reliable, recurring reporting the group spends the majority of the conversation discussing pieces and choices that have shaped their attempts to fill the gaps created following the collapse of the news environment locally and regionally.Topics Discussed:* Replacing the trust of ‘The Paper’* More than publishing information / signal to noise ratio* It starts with showing up* Stories under the story / the long tail* Regional overlap and development intensity* Helping residents to understand function of government and how to engage…* Audience growth and sustainability practices* Collaboration* Where local journalism is headed next and individual growth plans (including our own!)Each of these authors have already broken major stories in their community on their platforms. Each represent what is merely the tip of the iceberg relative to the effort necessary to meet the journalistic challenge of the 21st century.Will you be the next writer, photographer, resident to take up the banner?The Hilliard Beacon is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit hilliardbeacon.substack.com/subscribe
- 2 weeks ago1h 0m
HBAC 167: ‘Leisure Club’ Founder Matt Barnes
We had a great time talking with pal and local legend Matt Barnes for this edition of the HBAC. We go through the arc of Matt’s career and unearth some great stories and bits of wisdom for people taking the unconventional route through working life. Risk, Transition, and Making it GoWe talked first about the excitement and intensity that drives a lot of career change. If lucky, it’s a thrilling moment of fulfillment but under stressful conditions it becomes more difficult. Repetition, support, and consistency personally all on top of market conditions and capital requirements makes for a powerful change agent good and bad.When you’ve finally started the thing and become an expert at all it requires - that’s merely the first step. Jeni’s Splendid Ice CreamOne of Matt’s first major career stops was Jeni’s - but not the juggernaut they are today. From his entry point into the company (a spot handwriting sample) through his “recruitment” as a lead sales person for the company (going from 35 locations to over 450), Matt’s run through the early and massively expansion oriented phase of this national company taught him a lot about scale and logistics.Aside from brute force and a little Charlie Day “can-do” dry ice shipping and in-store sampling were transformative to the business of moving premium ice cream, charging premium prices, and locking in committed buyers and fans.Tubi TimeWith such a pop culture enthusiast in the house our run through Tubi this week was extra enjoyable. Make sure to check out some…SOME…of the following.Tim - Stunt Rock, Electric Dragon 80,000 volts, TerminusJordan - Fistful of Dollars, The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly, For a Few Dollars MoreKevin - Discusses Svengoolie Movie Night - Still won’t watch TubiMatt - Brings up the Iron Eagle clubhouse (not streaming on Tubi - But IE2 is!) in the context of his next business venture but we also take time to talk the influence of regional cultural icons like Ghoulardi or Big Chuck and Little JohnLeisure Club - From Art Space to “Third Place”From its beginnings in the influential 400 West Rich arts hub - Leisure Club was always an evolving atmosphere. Tapping into mid-century modern aesthetics and nostalgia made for a place that grew into a social, cultural hub the wider scene lacked and that social media or exclusively online spaces could never match.Barnes is reminded of rooms full of people connecting and colliding over shared memories and a cold beer. The sense that Leisure Club was defining a social scene just prior to the devastating re-adjustment of the Covid-19 pandemic was very real.Subsequent pivots and re-formats were successful but very different. Vintage brands, merchandise, alternate locations with slight variations on the theme. All these efforts were adding to the Leisure Club brand and presence but subtracting from Matt Barnes.The New StyleThe group then move into discussion of suburban development and how small owners and entrepreneurs would instantly be better stewards of markets and communities without landlords and developers becoming permanent rent extractors.Using his own experience, after 17 years of tenancy and more than a half million in rent, Jordan is no closer to owning the location he’s made profitable while other addresses in the same plaza have turned over and over or remained vacant.He suggests, if a massive tech park can be spun up with 10 year 75% tax abatements at city expense then other models and modes of commercial ownership in traditional sectors could be developed across the city’s neighborhood geography for less.Jordan concludes, developing commercial land bank and trust models - providing alternate paths to ownership stakes and shared risk financing - would go a long, long way towards providing 21st century Hilliard small business with new, stable growth.Hilliard’s RiseWe wrap the conversation with more Hilliard talk: The Mill Run renaissance, parks and trails, housing and amenities growth…all emphasizing the point Matt made at the outset. Change is the only constant and communities are not static. As we have always said at the Beacon the variable that matters is YOU. Do you know about the bulldozers?The data centers?The scooter laws?Is your life being considered? Your voice heard and honored in council chambers?Will the next Hilliard be yours?The Hilliard Beacon is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit <a href="https:/
- 4 weeks ago52 min
HBAC 166: Summertime and the people are busy
Kevin returns from his vacation to the island of Roatan, off the coast of Honduras.Related: Check out what some of the richest people in the world are getting up to with the Prospera “economic development zone.”Local Weather ContinuesThe Franklinton flood wall erected and additional images from our latest round of heavy storms that delivered nearly 3 inches of rain overnight in some areas. In neighboring Gary, Indiana - power remains out for large portions of the city leaving thousands in the dark with no climate control.On a Lighter NoteTubi Time with Tim returns to great acclaim and fanfare.Jordan - Out of Time - A “not great” re-teaming of Denzel and director Carl Franklin.Tim - Nuke ‘em High - Comedy / Horror in need of fine tuning.Kevin - (non-Tubi) Obsession and Blazing Saddles - The generational divide widens.We Apply for a Grant We discuss the Franklin Street non-profit grant application and a new documentary short featuring Kevin and Jordan about Hilliard and Ohio data centers.City Council Returns & Colorado Mountain Sports Applies for New GrowthIn a very packed August 13th meeting Planning and Zoning heard from Colorado Mountain Sports as they brought forward another stage of site development in keeping with the infill focus of the Community Plan. We wrap with some discussion of the upcoming second reading (TONIGHT 8/24) of the new legislation attempting to place some safeguards on minor use of devices in the rapidly expanding personal mobility market.We thank you for reading the Hilliard Beacon. Enjoy some Mahalia Jackson on us and have a great Monday, Hilliard.Cover image credit: The island of Roatán, off the northern coast of Honduras. [Source: ambienteterritoriosociedade-ics.org]Production by Tim HofmannThe Hilliard Beacon is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit hilliardbeacon.substack.com/subscribe
- Aug 16, 202641 min
HBAC #165 - Hilliard, Unfiltered
This episode was recorded just prior to the severe storms that rocked the area Tuesday morning. The Beacon passes our sincere best wishes to those affected and thanks profusely those responding to all our neighbors in need. If you’d like to tell your storm story or discuss other local matters contact us hilliardbeacon@substack.comWe open this edition of the HBAC by discussing some of our favorite walks and new business stops in Hilliard before kicking things over to Tubi Time w/ Tim where we learned about R.O.T.O.R. (a hastily developed, mustachioed and disastrously implemented law enforcement technology run amok) and Tim’s tour through the lesser known works of Jim Varney…A brain without a heart... a conscience without recognition... a will without a soul. R.O.T.O.R.The importance of being ErnestOversight and EngagementTalk then shifts to legitimate local matters where we discuss the increasing and intentional fog around the “business” side of government and what is required of local elected officials to provide meaningful access. Certainly, and given the law, organizations like the Hilliard Development Corporation can be given critical responsibilities within city government but ultimately must remain fully accountable to democratic decision making and oversight.Efforts on the state and private level to obfuscate or hide business incentives behind layers of NDA (non-disclosure agreements) and general legislative prohibitions do not remove the responsibility of local elected officials to use government to not only implement programs like the HDC but to openly evaluate their effectiveness and their appropriateness for the task of economic development over time.With the state level (and similarly structured) JobsOhio economic development scheme coming under new bipartisan scrutiny the time has never been better to begin evaluation of its local extensions.Jordan discusses what the hotel occupancy rate can tell us about the type of revenue being generated for use at the city level and what a council level commission might do to improve how residents are involved with the allocation of these resources.Flock Flailing…Amid a wave of coast to coast national stories detailing specific abuses the country is re-evaluating its relationship with Flock and ALPR generally as an evolving surveillance technology. While no one can deny the power of the tool to interdict crime in new ways, similarly, no one can deny the traditional disappointments and vulnerabilities to personal abuse overflowing in any serious appraisal. It is the defining, cutting edge of mass surveillance technology under stress.Once again, having been largely re-assured the city and department are treating the technology carefully by Chief Woods in a direct interview the Beacon suggests in this discussion an additional, separate layer of city commission evaluation will be necessary to make clear what our residents find unacceptable about the use of the technology and to set guard rails alongside law enforcement. If we have any hope of equitably navigating this new technology at the municipal level both partners (the police and the people) have to share the responsibility of the nearly unlimited data harvesting taking place and guarding against those who will abuse it.Thank you for reading and listening to the Hilliard Beacon. We appreciate your support and could not do this work of local journalism without you. Please take a moment to consider signing up to support us in an ongoing way through the link below.The Hilliard Beacon is a reader-supported publication. To receive ne
- Aug 4, 202648 min
HBAC 164: Cicada Summer w/ Don Kloss
Tim bangs drums on this record!For this installment of the Hilliard Beacon our usual hosts Jordan, Tim and Kevin welcome local certified naturalist and author Don Kloss to hold court on a range of important issues and bring light to some lesser known or fading Hilliard history.EPA Gives Tech World a Brake CheckIn the growing pushback to data center ubiquity across the US the Ohio EPA issued a consequential decision whereby approvals for wastewater dispersal will have to be worked out on a project by project basis. This individual process had been the standard in almost every prior case of projects of this type but the decision heads off a proposed general permit that would have allowed data centers without sewer access to discharge wastewater back into rivers, lakes and streams.Don brought up the famed local Blatz Lake being filled in with little fanfare and after just a few minutes digging I found another EPA document pertaining to its filling. Interesting to note that as recently as 2024 the site plans were all still showing connectivity to AEP via onsite substation with no indication of current plans for “behind the meter” fuel cell generation.Local History & Brood XWe let Don take us through the known history of Ohio Cicada and feature some of his digital work from archive site Central Ohio Nature.Days of Local Future PastWe also spend some time talking the new Hilliard e-bike and micro mobility ordinance. Kevin leads us through his latest reporting and Don, as an avid e-bike and trail user wondered at their compatibility for such a wide variety of users and speeds.Don also took a moment to highlight a popular post he’d made recently on NextDoor regarding a famed Ohio Wyandot native who refused the removal order and we share that history for you here as well…You can click this link and visit the Dublin Historical Society website for a more complete accounting of the life and time of Kihue (who came to be known as Bill Moose.)Thanks for listening, Hilliard!The Hilliard Beacon is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit hilliardbeacon.substack.com/subscribe
- Jul 27, 202648 min
HBAC: Summer Madness Edition
As you’ll hear, we’re always in the Heat Dome at the Beacon and never more so than mid-July.We intro a new segment, Tim's "Tubi Corner,” with Bronx Executioner & Heavy Metal.On a personal note we talk recent and (not so recent) International travel stories and how the embedded family is an ideal unit for real cultural exchange.We also had a great response to Kev’s ‘87 Reliant during the Fourth of July Parade and got some nice praise for the kind of local journalism you’ve come to expect over 25+ years of Corvo’s Hilliard reporting.Jordan wants a Donut Factory x Meatball Mafia crossover to discuss owner / operator Robert DelliQuadri’s piece in Stock and Barrel on rising costs in the food world.Tentative Tax Budgets for Norwich Township and Hilliard are out. The Popular Annual Financial Report ‘25 for Hilliard has also been made available (Click here PAFR) with the Comprehensive version of the same report to follow once approved and complete.The Noor / Hilliard federal lawsuit remained in discovery at the time of recording with the original expectation of 6-8 weeks for this phase.Hilliard City Council is weighing legislation regarding scooters, e-bikes and micro-mobility devices. On Sunday afternoon (7/27) I personally witnessed two kids cross both lanes of traffic heading southbound on Leap Road without looking back while entering the flow of traffic…at all. No helmets. Without being alarmist and even with legislation it feels uncomfortably likely that a tragedy is looming.The Hilliard Beacon is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit hilliardbeacon.substack.com/subscribe
- Jul 18, 202650 min
HBAC 163: Franklin County Fair w/ Amy Fleshman
Amy Fleshman, the year round manager of the fair stops by to get us up to date on this special community tradition!This episode of the Beacon offers a behind-the-scenes look at what it takes to stage one of central Ohio's longest-running community traditions. The guys are joined by Amy Fleshman, manager of the Franklin County Fairgrounds, for a conversation about the months of planning, hundreds of volunteers, evolving agricultural traditions, and the partnerships that make the fair possible. The discussion also explores how the fair is expanding its accessibility, educational mission, and role as a gathering place for the entire county.* Final preparations for the 2026 Franklin County Fair and the logistics of transforming the fairgrounds for opening day.* Year-round planning, infrastructure, scheduling, and the role of the volunteer board in organizing the fair.* Staffing the fair: full-time employees, part-time workers, and the extensive volunteer effort.* The 109-year history of the Franklin County Fair, its agricultural roots, and how it has evolved alongside Franklin County.* Agriculture today, changing livestock exhibits, home arts, horticulture, and the central role of 4-H youth development.* Why the fair is a defining social experience for 4-H members and multi-generational families.* Community partnerships, including the Hilliard Moose, Groveport Lions Club, Kiwanis, and other civic organizations.* Daily attractions and entertainment, including laser tag, train displays, dog shows, chainsaw carving, Jurassic Kingdom, and family activities.* Food vendors, new concessions, local favorites, and classic fair food.* The fair’s mission of creating an inclusive, family-oriented environment.* Accessibility initiatives, including sensory-friendly hours, quiet spaces, nursing rooms, adult changing restrooms, and mobility improvements.* The fairgrounds relationship with Norwich Township and the role played in shared public facilities like the Joint Safety and Services building.* Franklin County’s role in supporting the fair, recent facility improvements, and public investment.* Public safety partnerships with the Franklin County Sheriff’s Office and collaboration with the County Engineer.* Future vision for the fair, stronger countywide partnerships, and plans for the new Brundige 4-H Youth Innovation Center.The Hilliard Beacon is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit hilliardbeacon.substack.com/subscribe
About The Hilliard Beacon Podcast
As The Hilliard Beacon our only goal is to help keep you informed and develop a reliable source of steady information and reporting for you - our community. hilliardbeacon.substack.com
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