Laurie Bertke

Multifaith Council seeks common spiritual ground  - Toledo Free Press The Multifaith Council of Northwest Ohio (MFC) is committed to cultivating friendships and finding common ground in shared values.

The MultiFaith Council of NW Ohio has been quietly going about the work of promoting peaceful dialogue and seeking common spiritual ground in our community for nearly 25 years. I enjoyed chatting with members of this fascinating, welcoming group of people last month. @toledofreepress.bsky.social

End is near for the landline-based service that got America online in the ’90s The landline-based service once played a dominant role in culture, exposing tens of millions to the internet and inspiring a movie starring Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan.

AOL still is offering dial up service?? Who knew. Not for much longer though.

We were a Netscape Navigator home. 😆 but I definitely used AIM.

End is near for the landline-based service that got America online in the ’90s - wapo.st/4mahyXZ

Officials voice concerns on proposed property tax changes  - Toledo Free Press School and county officials are sounding the alarm that some reforms under consideration in Ohio could have a devastating impact on services.

Nobody likes to pay taxes but they cover so many essential services. In the name of saving homeowners $$ lawmakers are toying with making some pretty big changes to the property tax system in Ohio.

If you cut property taxes, how or where do you make up the difference on that funding?

GOP bills call for districts to teach students the "success sequence"  - Toledo Free Press Some Ohio legislators are pushing a pair of bills to mandate school districts teach a formula known as the “success sequence."

"Success sequence" or "stress sequence?" Ohio bills would require high schools to teach students to graduate, get a job and marry before having kids to avoid poverty. Similar bills being introduced and passed in other states. What groups are behind this sudden push? @toledofreepress.bsky.social

🤮 seeing these all over our yard.

National Great Lakes Museum ready to display new pilothouse - Toledo Free Press The National Museum of the Great Lakes expansion is expected to boost attendance, expand educational reach and increase accessibility.

National Museum of the Great Lakes expansion is set to open this Saturday! The major addition includes a historic pilothouse experience. The museum has seen dramatic visitor growth since relocating to #Toledo in 2014. @toledofreepress.bsky.social

YouTube video by Toledo Free Press Young birders take the lead in OYBC field trip

Some amazing future conservationists out at #MageeMarsh during the #BWIAB last weekend! #wildlife #birding

youtu.be/IPpdGBDwH9k?...

Young birders club leads field trip - Toledo Free Press The Ohio Young Birders Club (OYBC) led a youth field trip May 17 at Magee Marsh Wildlife Area to educate and youth conservation leaders.

Young birders took the lead on a hike the Ohio Young Birders Club sponsored at Magee Marsh during the #BWIAB #conservation #birding toledofreepress.com/young-birder...

International exchange program funding restored ... for now - Toledo Free Press High school exchange program funding has resumed after federal freezes earlier this year, but there is still concern about the programs.

The U.S. Department of State has overseen cultural exchange programs as a means of cultivating mutual understanding between Americans and people of other countries for decades. Supporters worry these diplomacy-building initiatives risk losing federal funding in 2026. @toledofreepress.bsky.social

Biggest Week in Birding, wildlife refuge affected by funding shortfall - Toledo Free Press While visitors flock to annual bird migration in May, the ONWR is grappling with a funding shortfall that threatens daily operations.

Ottawa NWR is 'epicenter' of the Biggest Week in American Birding. Federal cuts are putting essential operations there at risk. NOTE: New Trump admin budget proposal for 2026 calls for additional $342 million in cuts for U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. #bwiab @toledofreepress.bsky.social

Biggest Week in Birding, wildlife refuge affected by funding shortfall - Toledo Free Press While visitors flock to annual bird migration in May, the ONWR is grappling with a funding shortfall that threatens daily operations.

ONWR is 'epicenter' of the Biggest Week in American Birding. Federal cuts putting essential operations there at risk. NOTE: Trump admin budget proposal for 2026 calls for additional $342 million in cuts for U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. @biggestweekbirding.bsky.social @toledofreepress.bsky.social

The Trump administration has released its proposed budget for 2026. WaPo breakdown reveals admin’s distorted priorities.

wapo.st/4iMk4RM

It’s worth a read to understand briefly all the things these agencies do that will start to impact people at the local level when they go away.

“That they should be the ones to welcome Pope Francis’s coffin in the basilica is because these people are those who represented the focus of his mission,” said Father Giulio Albanese, head of missionary cooperation and communications for the Vicariate of Rome. “They are those who live on the peripheries, geographical and existential peripheries.”

The final honor guard for Pope Francis included migrants, prisoners, transgender people, the homeless and others selected by the Vicariate of Rome as a symbol of the late pope’s mission of inclusion and outreach.

Read more from the funeral: wapo.st/3YdDGqM

Wisconsin judge arrested by FBI, charged with obstructing immigrant arrest Judge Hannah Dugan’s arrest is the first known instance of the Trump administration charging a local official with interfering with immigration enforcement.

None of this is normal. 😱

The beautiful sound of spring at Maumee Bay State Park.

Diverse coalition brings to life antiwar speech of Martin Luther King, Jr. - Toledo Free Press Event united their voices April 6 at Monroe Street United Methodist Church to commemorate anniversary of a Martin Luther King Jr. speech.

An eclectic group united their voices at the Monroe Street United Methodist Church on April 6 to commemorate the anniversary of Beyond Vietnam: A Time to Break Silence, the famous anti-war speech delivered by Martin Luther King Jr. @toledofreepress.bsky.social

Where is our humanity?

Special Report: LifeWise lobbies for nationwide legislation - Toledo Free Press Changes to Ohio law mean all public school districts are now required to adopt policies governing religious release time (RTRI).

Our latest story explores the implications of the new law requiring Ohio districts to adopt religious release time policies and ties that into the LifeWise organization’s push for similar state laws nationwide.

New story posted today.

Episode two includes a discussion of our TFP coverage of LifeWise Academy, with special guest Keith Comer of respectpublicschools.com

Episodes one and two of 'Behind the Byline with Jaden Jefferson,' my new podcast with the @toledofreepress.bsky.social, are out now! Listen on Spotify 🎧 or at ToledoFreePress.com 💻 (A new edition is up every Wednesday.)

"Today we were informed by the White House that if AP did not align its editorial standards with President Donald Trump’s executive order renaming the Gulf of Mexico as the Gulf of America, AP would be barred from accessing an event in the Oval Office."
www.ap.org/the-definiti...

I was so excited this kind security guard was willing to flip the switch to make the night sky effect in The Cloister at @toledomuseum.bsky.social for me last weekend on the last day the gallery would be open until 2027. Listen to how the chatter quiets as everyone takes it in.

Patrons pay tribute to Cloister Gallery - Toledo Free Press Patrons flock to Toledo Museum of Art's Cloister Gallery to visit the iconic space before it closed on Feb. 2. It will reopen in 2027.

❗New Post Alert ❗The Toledo Museum of Art closed its Cloister Gallery on Sunday for a two-year renovation and Toledo Free Press reporter Laurie Bertke was there to capture patron's memories. Lots of photos, too! toledofreepress.com/patrons-pay-...
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Toledo - go see the Cloisters Gallery at the Toledo Museum of Art before it closes Sunday until 2027! It’s apparently going to be moved so this is your last chance to see it the way you remember it. Lots of people visiting to take pictures today.

We are now on Bluesky! Follow us for nonpartisan, local, ethical news and features within Northwest Ohio. We are a defender of a free press and proud to be a free news source for the people. We specialize in in-depth, explanatory stories. Check us out at toledofreepress.com

LifeWise Academy draws criticism from some Ohio parents, support from religious organizations • Ohio Capital Journal Ohio school districts will soon be required to have a religious release time policy, paving the way for an expansion of LifeWise Academy. While supporters praise it, some parents say their kids have…

Ohio school districts will soon be required to have a religious release time policy, paving the way for an expansion of LifeWise Academy. While supporters praise it, some parents say their kids have been bullied for not participating, and point to school day disruption

Thanks for sharing, but this is not a Toledo Blade article - it's Toledo Free Press (no pay wall!)