🌱 Columbus PD Search For Burglary Suspects + Gun Violence Awareness

Hello all. It's me, Rose Mendez, your host of the Columbus Patch newsletter — here to explain all the most important things happening in town these days.

But first, your local weather:

• Saturday: Partly sunny and cooler. High: 55 Low: 33.
• Sunday: Partly sunny. High: 55 Low: 26.

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Here are the top three stories today in Columbus:

1. The Columbus Police Department is searching for two suspects involved in the burglary at Vape City on Victory Drive on Mar. 9. Police released security camera footage and descriptions of the suspects, and asks the community to help identify them. Suspect One is White or Hispanic male with a mustache and possibly a goatee or beard. Suspect Two is also a White or Hispanic male with a mustache and long, brown hair. View the link to see the video. (WRBL.com)
2. On Saturday, Mar. 18, 100 Women on the Move, a local charitable organization, will host an event to raise awareness of the rise in gun violence in Columbus. The event begins at 10:00 a.m. at the Columbus Civic Center with speakers including Mayor Skip Henderson, Police Chief Freddie Blackmon, and Sheriff Greg Countryman. 100 Women on the Move founder Wanda Banks-Rookard said, "As the community knows, there so much violence going on, and we need to come together as a community and try to stop the violence, but it takes the whole community." (WTVM 9)
3. On Thursday evening, Mar. 16, there was a soft opening and preview of the Highside Market, a mixed-used development located at the corner of 13th Street and 2nd Avenue in Uptown Columbus. There will be other events leading up to the grand-opening in late August or early September of this year. President of the Cotton Companies, Christopher Woodruff, said the Highside market will be a place for the community to "come shop, come work, come exercise, it’s a place to come eat, a place to drink." (WTVM 9)

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Today and tomorrow in Columbus:

Saturday, March 18

• RiverBlast Festival 2023 At National Civil War Naval Museum (10:00 AM)
• St. Patty’s Day Bar Crawl At 1039 Broadway (2:00 PM)
• Remembering… - Columbus Symphony Orchestra At Bill Heard Theatre (7:30 PM)

Sunday, March 19

• RiverBlast Festival 2023 At National Civil War Naval Museum (10:00 AM)

From my notebook:

• Get ready for "Dancing Stars Columbus" on Apr. 13! Local celebrities and business people will “strut” their stuff to raise money for the Alzheimer’s Association. (WTVM 9)
• Anthony Gates, 29, of Columbus was sentenced to 20 years in prison in connection to an accidental shooting in October 2019. While Gates and his girlfriend, Trilisha Williams, were fighting, Trilisha's 6-year-old son accidentally shot her while reportedly aiming at Gates. (WTVM 9)
• An adorable black-and-white Border Collie puppy named Aspen is looking for her forever family! See Aspen and more adoptable pets in the Columbus area. (Columbus Patch)

Now you're in the loop and ready to start this Saturday off right! I'll see you back in your inbox soon with a new update.

— Rose Mendez

About me: Rose Mendez is a freelance writer. She is studying English Literature at Hunter College. She loves reading, walking around the city, and coffee!