Flock, JIF, Springfield

Top of Mind

Flock Cameras,

Columbus has prohibited city resources from being used for federal immigration enforcement since 2017.

But a recent audit found that data from the city’s automated license plate cameras was searched 15,577 times for reasons that may have been connected to immigration enforcement.

Only 20 of those searches came from inside the Columbus Division of Police. The rest were conducted by outside agencies with access to Columbus data through Flock Safety’s wider sharing network.

Police say ICE did not directly search the cameras. The audit did, however, identify searches involving the Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Border Patrol and agencies participating in ICE’s 287(g) program, which allows local law enforcement officers to perform certain federal immigration duties.

That distinction matters, but it does not erase the larger problem.

Columbus bought the cameras. Columbus collected the data. Yet thousands of searches were conducted by agencies outside the city, for purposes that may have conflicted with Columbus policy.

Mayor Andrew Ginther responded by suspending statewide sharing of the city’s Flock data. Columbus had previously stopped sharing its information nationwide and will now limit access to individually approved agencies.

The city is also launching a public portal where residents can review information about camera use, data retention and outside access.

Columbus signed a two-year, $228,000 contract with Flock in 2024. Across Franklin County, nearly 600 automated license plate readers have been mapped along roads, intersections and neighborhood entrances.

The cameras capture more than plate numbers. They can record where and when a vehicle was seen, along with its make, model, color and identifying features. Police say the system helps investigate stolen vehicles, robberies, assaults, homicides and missing-person cases.

That can make the cameras valuable. It can also make their data highly revealing.

Flock users are required to enter a reason before conducting a search, but the explanation is typed into a text box by the officer performing it. That means the safeguard depends heavily on users accurately describing their own activity and agencies consistently reviewing it.

The audit shows what can happen when a local surveillance system becomes part of a much larger network. Columbus may set its own policies, but those policies mean little if outside agencies can still use city data for purposes local leaders have rejected.

City Council has scheduled an August 10 public hearing and invited Flock representatives to answer questions.

The portal may tell residents how the cameras are supposed to work. The hearing needs to explain how 15,577 questionable searches were allowed to happen, who was responsible for monitoring them and what will be different the next time an outside agency asks Columbus to look the other way.

Scarlet Letter Trivia

Question: How many traffic cameras are in Columbus, Ohio?
A. 102
B. 131
C. 144
D. 166

16 W Salon Is Officially Open

Say hello to 16 W Salon, a brand-new, solo-owned salon at 16 W Poplar Ave. Now in its second week, the salon has a team of six specializing in color, extensions, and bridal hair.

The vibe is funky, earthy, welcoming, and proudly LGBTQ friendly. There is also usually a golden retriever on-site, which feels like reason enough to book. Go support a new local salon and check out 16 W Salon.

The GIF Was Created in Columbus. Its Creator Says You’re Pronouncing It Wrong.

Before GIFs became the internet’s favorite way to communicate shock, joy, secondhand embarrassment and people slowly disappearing into bushes, they were created to solve a much less exciting problem.

Pictures were too big.

In 1987, a team at Columbus-based CompuServe developed the Graphics Interchange Format, better known as the GIF. Led by software engineer Steve Wilhite, the team needed a way to send color images quickly across different computers at a time when dial-up connections moved at roughly the speed of a government permitting office.

The format debuted on June 15, 1987.

GIFs used a compression system that reduced file sizes without making images blurry. That made them useful for early weather maps, stock charts, logos and other graphics viewed through CompuServe, one of the world’s first major online services.

This was years before most households had internet access. CompuServe users connected through telephone lines, often using modems that squealed, hissed and then charged by the hour. A smaller image file was not merely convenient. It could save real time and real money.

The original GIF was not animated. That feature came later, after an updated version of the format allowed multiple images to be stored in one file. Web browsers eventually made those frames loop automatically, opening the door for flashing banners, spinning email icons, dancing babies and nearly every questionable design choice of the early internet.

The format was technically limited. A GIF could display only 256 colors, making it a poor choice for detailed photographs. But it was compact, widely supported and easy to share. Those limitations eventually became part of its identity.

By the 2010s, GIFs had evolved into a language of their own. Instead of describing how you feel, you could send Michael Jackson eating popcorn or a confused John Travolta and move on with your day.

Then came the argument that may outlive the format itself.

Is GIF pronounced with a hard G, like “gift,” or a soft G, like the peanut butter brand Jif?

Wilhite gave a direct answer while accepting a lifetime achievement award at the 2013 Webby Awards.

“It’s pronounced JIF, not GIF.”

He later said dictionaries were wrong to accept both pronunciations. The creator had spoken. The internet listened carefully and continued pronouncing it however it wanted.

CompuServe’s former Upper Arlington headquarters now has an Ohio historical marker recognizing the company’s role in the development of early online services, including the GIF.

That means one of the internet’s most recognizable inventions was not born in Silicon Valley, Seattle or a glamorous California garage.

It was built in Central Ohio to help pictures move a little faster.

And according to the man who led its creation, it’s the same as the peanut butter.

Springfield’s Haitian Community Loses Its Protection

Thousands of Haitian immigrants in Springfield could begin losing their legal ability to work and remain in the country after Temporary Protected Status expires Monday.

Springfield is home to an estimated 12,000 to 15,000 Haitian residents. Many work in manufacturing, health care, food service and other industries that have struggled to find workers.

TPS allows immigrants to live and work legally when conditions in their home country make returning unsafe. Haiti has held the designation since the 2010 earthquake and remains under a U.S. “Do Not Travel” advisory because of violence, kidnapping and political instability.

The Trump administration argues that the protection was always meant to be temporary. The Supreme Court agreed the federal government has broad authority to end it, rejecting claims that the decision was driven by racial hostility.

The ruling has drawn criticism from Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine, who said removing people who work, buy homes, start businesses and support their families is not in Ohio’s interest.

For Springfield, the question is no longer theoretical. Employers could lose workers, families could lose income and thousands of residents could face deportation to a country the United States still warns its own citizens not to visit.

The protection was temporary.

The lives built under it were not.

Trivia Answer: B 131