Welcome to Monday!

🌤️ Today's weather: Mostly sunny, with a high around 75.

🎂 Happy birthday to our member Sonya Slater and happy belated birthday to Emily Brobeck!

🗳️ Situational awareness: Columbus City Council revealed its plan to reform council elections and is expected to begin the process tonight of placing the proposal on the Nov. 3 ballot.

Today's newsletter is 1,070 words — a 4-minute read.

Flock cameras, data centers and potential charter amendments are grabbing headlines as Columbus City Council returns from summer recess, but members remain focused on preparing the city for massive change.

Why it matters: Columbus is growing as fast as anywhere in the country, and that requires important decisions from council that will shape our future.

What they're saying: "Columbus is in a defining moment," Council member Nick Bankston tells Axios. "We are one of the fastest-growing cities in the Midwest, and that growth brings both extraordinary opportunity and real responsibility."

What we're hearing: Members shared focuses on three key topics amid that growth:

🔎 Safety without surveillance: Although violent crime is down, Council member Emmanuel Remy has heard this summer that residents "want a safe Columbus" and "have concerns in their neighborhoods."

• But he also acknowledges the city needs "the right solution for the community" regarding controversial Flock cameras.
• "I believe this is a tool that has incredible value to law enforcement, but a tool that also needs the appropriate safeguards if we continue to use it."

💨 Moving quickly: Columbus faces "real challenges" in a "misalignment" between funding timelines and the "actual pace of technology and construction," Bankston says.

• The city continues to see federal and state dollars paused, delayed or restructured as local commitments and investments move forward, creating a "bottleneck," he says.
• Bankston wants to reorient projects to focus on "more flexible, phase-friendly funding structures" rather than "simply more total dollars" in an attempt to clear those bottlenecks.

👧 Youth programming: Council member Nancy Day-Achauer's "top priority" is Columbus's youth ecosystem, which "lacks a cohesive vision and strategic plan" as the city faces "gaps and redundancies" in equitable access and resources.

• In response, she's created a youth programmers summit for November that will gather leaders and providers to find solutions.

We're grateful to the readers who make Axios Local part of their day and continue to follow the stories unfolding around them.

Looking ahead: There's always more to cover. Member support helps our newsroom grow alongside your community and continue bringing you the local reporting you value.

🪴 Become a member today. You'll support our newsroom and help us keep delivering smart, trustworthy journalism about the place you call home.

• Thank you for growing with us.

The Senate GOP campaign arm, in a private memo to top AI companies, warns that toxic views of U.S. data centers are killing the party's chances of holding a vital seat in Ohio.

In the memo, obtained by Axios, the National Republican Senatorial Committee says Democrats have made data centers a "centerpiece" of their campaign to defeat Sen. Jon Husted (R) — and that it's working.

• "If he loses and data centers get the blame, politicians across the country will take notice — and they will not go near the next one," the memo says. "This has become a sleeper issue for the entire election cycle."

The big picture: AI CEOs and top Republicans share in the rising panic. They tell us internal polls show data centers are as popular as spent nuclear waste, and more broadly have become a proxy for feelings about AI.

• Tech giants are scrambling to pull together media campaigns to try to shift opinion before it hardens locally and nationally.
• But Democrats aren't dummies. They see the same polls and are moving fast.
• Even politicians who previously embraced data centers, including Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro (D), are racing to crack down on them this election year.

Zoom in: Husted's opponent, former Sen. Sherrod Brown (D), has spent millions of dollars on a summer ad campaign calling Husted "the face of data centers in Ohio."

• The NRSC memo says Brown has made data centers his "de facto opponent."

By the numbers: A Fox News poll earlier this month showed Brown leading Husted by 8 points.

The bottom line

Ohio spent three years courting young entrepreneurs celebrated by Forbes' influential "30 Under 30" list, whose creator was fired last month for an ethical breach at the publication.

State of play: The "Under 30" franchise was the signature creation of Randall Lane, Forbes' chief content officer who received a $6 million payment from the founder of a company that does business with Forbes, The New York Times reports.

• Lane told the Times he "made a mistake" by failing to disclose what he considered a personal gift.

Flashback: Lane helped bring the Under 30 Summit to Ohio after JobsOhio secured a three-year sponsorship agreement.

• Cleveland hosted in 2023, followed by Cincinnati in 2024 and Columbus in 2025.

What they're saying: At the Cleveland announcement in 2022, Lane said the events would "spotlight Ohio's talented workforce and ample opportunities for entrepreneurs and investors."

The economic impact

👋 Alissa here. I finally snagged a reservation at one of Columbus' buzziest new restaurants, the long-anticipated replacement of Milestone 229.

Dining the news: Amara opened about a month ago and tables have been filling fast. Billed as "Mediterranean at Heart," it's the latest concept from Josh Dalton, the chef behind Veritas and Speck.

The vibe: As one of Columbus' only riverfront restaurants, the atmosphere has always been the space's main attraction — and that's still the case.

• The circular, modernist building and patio feel completely transformed. A warm ambiance is accented by lush plants, natural textures and a cozy fire pit.

Dig in: Most things on the upscale menu are sharable. With five types of hummus and four other spreads to choose from, I recommend it.

• The tangy feta dip ($14) stole the show.
• Each comes with a fluffy, garlicky pita, and you can — and definitely should — add another for $3.

What I ate: My husband and I split two entrees: the butcher's cut with fried potatoes ($100) and a roasted half chicken on a bed of grains and olives ($38).

• The steak was indescribably flavorful, and my knife sliced through the chicken like butter.

Best bites: The rice pudding topped with cherries, pistachios and a dollop of pink cotton candy ($13) was one of my most memorable desserts in a while.

The bottom line: Yes, it's pricey. But I can't think of a better spot for a special occasion.

📍 Stop by: 5-10pm Tuesday-Saturday, 229 S. Civic Center Drive. Menu.

More photos

Thanks to Tyler Buchanan for editing today's newsletter.

Our picks:

📩 Alissa RSVP'd for Axios Cincinnati's launch event on Thursday. Say "hi" if you're coming!

🥙 Andrew is looking forward to trying Amara.

🥩 Tyler wants that ribeye.