Axios Columbus

August 25, 2025
It's the last Monday of August. A long Labor Day weekend is just around the corner!
☀️ Today's weather: Sunny with a high of 75.
🎂 Happy birthday to our Axios Columbus member Steven Ciciora!
Today's newsletter is 881 words — a 3.5-minute read.
1 big thing: Family files wrongful death suit 2 years after police shooting


Two years after Ta'Kiya Young was shot and killed by a Blendon Township police officer, the officer's murder case remains unresolved.
Driving the news: Sunday was the second anniversary of Young's death. Last week, her family filed a wrongful death lawsuit against Officer Connor Grubb.
Catch up quick: Young, 21, was shopping at a Kroger on Sunbury Road when an employee accused her of stealing alcohol and flagged down two nearby officers.
- Body camera footage showed the officers approaching her car and telling her to get out, with Grubb standing in front and pointing a gun.
- Young then accelerated forward toward Grubb, who fired a shot that struck her in the chest. She died after being transported to St. Ann's Hospital.
- Young was pregnant, and her unborn daughter, due that November, did not survive.
Nearly a year later, Grubb was indicted by a Franklin County grand jury on counts of murder, involuntary manslaughter and felonious assault.
- He pleaded not guilty, posted a $20,000 bond and was on paid administrative leave until this summer.
Between the lines: Two years after the shooting, Grubb has still not stood trial.
- His first trial date was set for last month, but a judge accepted his defense's request to delay.
- It's now scheduled for Nov. 3 in Franklin County Common Pleas Court after a judge denied a request to move it.
Zoom in: The wrongful death suit alleges Grubb's "reckless and intentional conduct" violated Young's rights and caused her "preventable" death.
- The suit also names the Kroger Corporation and an unidentified Kroger employee as defendants.
- "There was no immediate threat to any officer, no weapon found, and no justification for the use of deadly force," the suit reads. "Ms. Young was executed for a minor and unverified shoplifting allegation, a tragic and inexcusable example of police misconduct and abuse of power."
Attorneys representing Grubb could not be immediately reached for comment.
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2. 🚫 Survey says: Phone bans are catching on

New survey data shared exclusively with Axios shows how attitudes toward phones in schools have shifted drastically in the space of a single generation, as educators grapple with distractions and teens' wellbeing.
Why it matters: Ohio children are heading back to class, and just a few months remain before state-mandated cellphone bans start on Jan. 1.
State of play: Ohio districts will be required to adopt a policy prohibiting cellphones "during the instructional day."
- There are exceptions, including for emergencies, "student learning" or to "monitor or address a health concern."
- Currently, schools must have a policy of some kind limiting usage, but prohibition isn't required, creating a patchwork of rules.
Between the lines: It's a divisive topic and readers sent us lots of opinions last year.
3. 👋 Columbites: Goodbye, Chapman's
Chapman's Eat Market, one of the city's most adored restaurants, officially shut its doors Saturday night.
Dining the news: Husband-and-wife owners B.J. Lieberman and Bronwyn Haines said on social media that they chose to end their story "on a high note" after a five-year lease ended.
- While it's a major blow to our culinary scene, Lieberman told WCMH-TV "all parties must end."
- Lieberman and Haines will continue operating Ginger Rabbit and Metsi's, a new Italian eatery.
Other local restaurants we've said farewell to this year:
🇰🇷 Diaspora, a Korean restaurant near OSU's campus, now a 7Brew. It may reopen elsewhere.
🌮 Nada, known for its margaritas and Mexican in the Arena District.
🍝 The Warehouse Italian restaurant in Delaware, which may reopen elsewhere.
🍹 Adobe Gilas, an original Easton tenant dating back to 1999.
🥯 Block's Bagels on McNaughten Road, now a Marx Bagels, out of Cincinnati.
🔥 Fireproof in the Short North, now a House of Creole, out of Cleveland.
🇹🇷 Cafe Istanbul in Bexley, though the Dublin and Easton locations remain open.
4. 🇦🇺 1 fun thing to go
Columbus has gained a fan over 9,000 miles away, after local Reddit sleuths helped an Australian woman track down her iPad that went missing two years ago.
Catch up quick: The woman from Sydney posted on the Columbus subreddit last week, after "Find My iPad" unexpectedly pinged her device in the Hilliard area.
- Redditors quickly realized it was likely at e-Cycle, a local device recycling company. One user who works there helped track it down using a serial number.
- The company tells us they're now in touch with the owner and plan to ship it back.
The intrigue: The woman suspects she lost it on a plane during "a journey from Brazil-LA-Sydney" and has never even been to Ohio. But that may change.
What she's saying: "I LOVE OHIO and now I want to come visit … and my faith in humanity is restored!"
Another Redditor quipped: "You're lucky it ended up in Columbus. We don't have much better to do and are very nice people."
Thanks to Tyler Buchanan for editing today's newsletter.
Our picks:
😮💨 Alissa followed the iPad story in real time and is relieved to see it had a happy ending.
🍝 Andrew will really miss Chapman's, but is excited to get to Metsi's.
❗ Tyler is in awe of the Reddit sleuths.
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