Editorial: Athens suds, pay-raise duds, many new buds

↑ Those happy sounds you hear might just be from local Ohio University Bobcats and other fans of Jackie O’s, the venerable Athens craft brewery that just announced it is expanding its brewing to Columbus by buying the former Elevator Brewing Company site at 165 N. 4th St. Now, fans of Mystic Mama, Firefly, Razz Wheat and other favorites won’t have to settle for grocery-store cans any more.

↓ Alas, Downtown’s beery good cheer contrasts with sad news in Dublin: The equally venerable La Scala Italian Bistro is closing Oct. 31 after decades of hosting memorable special occasions. COVID-19 dealt La Scala its cruelest blow in July, when the disease claimed the life of chef and owner Willi Lalli; and the limitations the pandemic put on gatherings crippled the banquet business that sustained the restaurant. Thousands of good memories will live forever.

→ Minimum-wage workers in Ohio are getting a raise come Jan. 1 — but at 10 cents per hour (up to $8.80) for nontipped employees and a nickel for those who get tips (up to $4.40), we understand if they aren’t celebrating. The 2006 state constitutional amendment that mandates Ohio’s minimum wage to increase with inflation is helpful, but the problem remains that the wage isn’t enough to keep an adult and two children out of poverty.

↑ OK, an obsession with “tiny houses” might be unusual for a 21-year-old, but it sure paid off for Brandon Randolph of Wadsworth, who won a diminutive domicile worth more than $40,000. He really should share the space — and the free beer — with his grandfather, Jim Bauer. Randolph figures his grandpa’s charming appearance in his Twitter entry helped him win the prize in a “Dorm from Home” contest by the Natural Light beer company.

↑ “Up” is certainly the appropriate symbol for news that the old Port Columbus Airport Terminal, once perilously close to demolition, may have a future as home to a newly established Ohio Air & Space Hall of Fame. The General Assembly has granted $550,000 toward the $2 million cost of fully renovating the 1929 art deco landmark and museum director Ron Kaplan is optimistic about raising the rest. We hope to see it soar.

→ Depending on how you feel about sprawl, you may be happy or sad to know that 2020’s triple whammy of pandemic, recession and immigration restrictions haven’t changed the Mid-Ohio Regional Planning Commission’s prediction that central Ohio will be home to 3 million people by 2050. Those home- and apartment-builders had better keep hammering.

↑ Two words: Gravy flight. You read that right; in a world where fat, salt and meat are increasingly frowned upon, a new take-out eatery called Boxwood Biscuit serves a bit of carnivore heaven by way of a giant biscuit accompanied by three kinds of creamy wonderful. Along with Pork Sausage Miso, Thunderkiss Red Eye Maple and others, they offer the vegetarian option of Soy-sausage Miso, if you’re into that.