Tuesday, December 6, 2022

januarY - 123

CALENDAR & NEWS ~ January 2023


Check original posts of events for most updated and accurate information


DR. MARTIN LUTHER KING EVENTS

Jan 14 - 12th Annual Dr. King Awards Dinner Bayfront Convention Center 1 Sassafras Pier Erie, PA Info: James C. Sherrod, Executive Director of the Martin Luther King Center at 814-459-2761
Jan 15 - As Gentle as Doves: MLK and the Nonviolence Movement Speaker: Rev. Kristina Church Unitarian Universalist Cong. of Erie 7180 Perry Hwy. 10:30,in person and via Zoom. UUCE website for the Zoom link)
Jan 16 - Annual Martin Luther King Day March in Erie Lineup 11:30am at Perry Square, Erie PA. 
Jan 16 - The Beloved Neighborhood Allegheny College Meadville PA.  6pm $20 cash or check before 1/6, from CCSD 11280 Mercer Pike Meadville PA. "Dr. Armendia Dixon and Supt. Thomas Washington preview The Beloved Neighborhood Dinner and Community Celebration of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s Birthday"
Jan 16 - Who We Are - A Chronicle of Racism in America Reg Lenna Center for the Arts, Jamestown NY 7pm.Presented by YWCA of Jamestown and St. Luke’s Episcopal Church in honor of Martin Luther King, Jr. .All proceeds support the New Neighbors Coalition of Jamestown Fund held at the Chautauqua Region Community Foundation, which is used to assist in refugee resettlement in Jamestown.
Jan 16-18 - PSU Behrend: Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Annual Commemoration  All events free and public: Erie March, brunch, multimedia presentation, documentary.

ARTS & WORDS

Jan 21 - Poets Against Racism Franklin Public Library 11am at 421 12th St, Franklin, PA Upstairs meeting room.  814-432-5062
Feb 3-19 -Cabaret   Academy Theatre, Meadville PA "Cabaret explores the dark, heady, and tumultuous life of Berlin's natives and expatriates as Germany slowly yields to the emerging Third Reich."
Feb 5 - Ethnic Heritage Ensemble Live At City Gallery 4-6PM 1503 State Erie PA 48th anniversary return , of the legendary Ethnic Heritage Ensemble's annual Black History Month Tour,2023 $25

DARNELL STALLWORTH JR

Darnell “Malik” Nathaniel Stallworth, Jr.  passed away on Friday, December 16, 2022. He started the fight with ADAPT and United Homecare Workers of Pa barely out of a nursing home. He discovered a passion for political activism and politics with SEIU Healthcare Pennsylvania. Darnell was a founding member of Erie County United, where he most recently sat on the Police Accountability Campaign Team. He was a Community Organizer with Keystone Progress where he was a founder of the Green New Deal Coalition. Darnell was a youth violence counselor with MATV. He was the first chair of the Erie Black Caucus. He was instrumental in electing several local, state, and national political leaders, and was a poll worker most recently on November 8th of 2022. Darnell had a long history with the SSJ and their neighborhood efforts being a neighborhood coordinator. A tribute is being planned for the anniverary of Anniversary of the Police Accountability campaign.  Full obituary/tribute here 

EARTH

Erie Coke Indictment: Victims might be eligible for financial compensation (Pat Lupo, OSB/Erie Times-News) Victim website  (DOJ) DOJ indictment  (DOJ/ U.S. Attorney’s Office),   Activists speak out  (YourErie) Erie Coke no-show (YourErie)

2023 Woods & Waters Film Series returns with screenings on 1/20 and 2/24 (virtual) and 3/31 (PennWest Edinboro)

2022 Post-Election Forum on PA Environment (Conservation Voters of PA) Video panel round-up "Hear from legislative champions and leaders at Conservation Voters of PA and PennFuture talk about the 2022 election results."

Presentation to Erie City Council on Recycling/Waste Diversion 12/7/2022 Presentation by Penn State Behrend students who researched the issue, begins at 10:30 mark. 12/21 meeting public comments included Sherri Mason on waste diversion project follow-up, Pat Lupo OSB on Erie Coke and Environmental ordinance, and Jenny Tompkins on environmental ordinance. 

Bayfront Pkway federal lawsuit tossed (Erie Times-News) Streetsblog USA calls it  "Mistake by the Lake"


Virtual Tour: Potential Erie to Corry Segment Erie to Pittsburgh Trail System Environmental Planning and Design, LLC January 3, 2023


NYS developments: 
ELECTIONS & GOVT

Bah Humbug Brenton Davis (Jim Wertz/Erie Reader) Jim provides a good overview of Erie Co Executive Davis and his attitudes and actions related to the DEI commission, Erie Redevelopment Authority, and process in general. 

Tactics & Actions: Q&A with a member of Fetterman campaign’s winning social media team. (Slate) Preacher mobilizes voters in PA (Washington Post)


HOME & TABLE

Meadville City Council public comments about safe and livable housing standards  (11/16/2022) Armstrong Neighborhood Channel Public comments about housing inspections for safe and livable housing. Crawford Co United delivered signatures. Update


Richford Arms had broken pipes, flooding, residents without heat and hot water for several days (Erie News Now) Affordable housing complex is undergoing $25 million renovations seriously failed residents. 

Allegheny County’s new shelter to take ‘low-barrier’ approach to couples, pets and substance use (Public Source) While offering connections to recovery services, Second Avenue Commons won’t mandate sobriety, search clients or ask what’s in their “amnesty lockers.”

JUSTICE

Jan 12 -  The Erie County Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Commission will hold a public meeting for general purposes on Thursday, January 12, 2023 at 6:00 p.m. at Blasco Memorial Library – Hirt Auditorium, 160 East Front Street, Erie, PA 16507.

Melquan Barnett gets sentence of up to 5 yrs (Erie Times-News)


Millcreek police adding mental health aid For crisis calls and officer well-being  (Erie Times-News) 

The Rage of Innocence: How America Criminalizes Black Youth 11.18.2022 (City Club of Cleveland)  

Community Matters - Alize Scott - December 15, 2022 (WRFA) AUDIO Guest Jamestown YWCA's Director of Social Justice and Race Equity Alize Scott discusses recent local lawn jockey costume incident, white privilege, micro-aggressions, and more.


MARY LOU KOWNACKI, OSB

Mary Lou Kownacki OSB passed away January 6, 2023 after a three-year battle with cancer. Over the past 50 years, she founded or helped organize many organizations that worked for peace and helped the poor, some of the more well-known including the Pax Center, Emmaus Soup Kitchen, Inner City Neighborhood Art House, Erie Benedictines for Peace, Trinity Square Foundation, and Poetry Park. She was a writer, poet and teacher on contemplative activism, nonviolence, and spirituality. She was National Coordinator for Pax Christi USA from 1984 to 1991. More on her life here:  Prayer and obituary from Benedictine Sisters    Pax Christi USA tribute  

SCHOOLS & YOUTH


Anti-mask parents sue again, claim Millcreek, NE school directors violated Sunshine Act (Erie Times-News) Also who will pay legal fees? Related: Erie County PA Parents Protecting Children  and Erie County Moms for Liberty are  presently involved in getting parents to run for school boards in Erie county in the coming year.


Roger Young Park on Hold (Erie News Now) 

PENNCREST backgrounder and updates Progressive education blogger on rightwing activity at PENNCREST school board

WORK

Video: Panel on Gen-Z workforce    (City Club of Cleveland) Panel of Gen Z voices, in conversation with Grace Heffernan with the Northeast Ohio Worker's Center, live at The Happy Dog.  Information

Report offers path to fixing ‘broken’ unemployment system (Penn Capital-Star) "An already fragile system ‘crumbled’ during the pandemic. " 

City of Steel documentary traces the story of Pittsburgh steel through the voices of workers  (WESA) Neighborhoods, culture, labor activism, Pittsburgh and WWII, industry collapse and more. Well done story telling in an hour and a half doc.  Watch online

UE Research and Education Fund has won a generous grant from the Preston-Werner Foundation to expand the Green Locomotive climate justice project. (United Electrical Workers)  "This project aims to create good union jobs, address climate change, and clean up pollution in the low-income communities and communities of color which bear the brunt of pollution from rail yards"

Billy Bragg Performs at Starbucks Workers United Rally in Buffalo (Buffalo.FM | WNYmedia Network)  10/12/2022  Backgrounder 

GEMISH

Seneca Nation gets grant for Southern Tier Regional Transit Hub On Cattaraugus Territory (SNI Official Newsletter) "Project will enhance accessibility, streamline transportation service to Seneca Territory and throughout the region"

W.PA College actions  
Here’s how some college men are helping to prevent sexual violence (Emily Folts at Public Source/Open Campus) 

WOMEN

Jan 11 - She Said Reg Lenna at Jamestown NY, Based on the story of NYTimes reporters Megan Twohey and Jodi Kantor, who together broke the story that helped propel the #Metoo movement, shattered decades of silence around the subject of sexual assault in Hollywood. 

Jan 22 - Womens March 2023: Bigger Than Roe "This year's National Women's March will be in Madison, Wisconsin with sister marches around the country." #BiggerthanRoe  No events in region at this writing, check back. 

Erie Art Museum "Eighty-Six Reasons" explores how and why women were sent to asylums in the 19th and 20th centuries. At Erie Art museum through May 14, 2023. 

PHOTOS
Top photo by Deb Spilko, with Mike Mahler's late pooches Heracles and Hecate 2016
Martin Luther King 


Franco Harris as featured speaker at a labor-organized Erie rally for Obama September 2008. Photo is from an album that features a lot of photos from that event. PHOTO: Deb Spilko


Check original posts of events for most updated and accurate information


MLK

Jan 14 - 12th Annual Dr. King Awards Dinner Bayfront Convention Center 1 Sassafras Pier Erie, PA Info: James C. Sherrod, Executive Director of the Martin Luther King Center at 814-459-2761
Jan 15 - As Gentle as Doves: MLK and the Nonviolence Movement Speaker: Rev. Kristina Church Unitarian Universalist Cong. of Erie 7180 Perry Hwy. 10:30,in person and via Zoom. UUCE website for the Zoom link)
Jan 16 - Annual Martin Luther King Day March in Erie Lineup 11:30am at Perry Square, Erie PA. 
Jan 16 - The Beloved Neighborhood Allegheny College Meadville PA.  6pm $20 cash or check before 1/6, from CCSD 11280 Mercer Pike Meadville PA. "Dr. Armendia Dixon and Supt. Thomas Washington preview The Beloved Neighborhood Dinner and Community Celebration of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s Birthday"
Jan 16 - Who We Are - A Chronicle of Racism in America Reg Lenna Center for the Arts, Jamestown NY 7pm.Presented by YWCA of Jamestown and St. Luke’s Episcopal Church in honor of Martin Luther King, Jr. .All proceeds support the New Neighbors Coalition of Jamestown Fund held at the Chautauqua Region Community Foundation, which is used to assist in refugee resettlement in Jamestown.
Jan 16-18 - PSU Behrend: Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Annual Commemoration  All events free and public: Erie March, brunch, multimedia presentation, documentary.

ARTS & WORDS

Jan 21 - Poets Against Racism Franklin Public Library 11am at 421 12th St, Franklin, PA Upstairs meeting room.  814-432-5062

Feb 3-19 -Cabaret Academy Theatre, Meadville PA "Cabaret explores the dark, heady, and tumultuous life of Berlin's natives and expatriates as Germany slowly yields to the emerging Third Reich."


Feb 5 - Ethnic Heritage Ensemble Live At City Gallery 4-6PM 1503 State Erie PA 48th anniversary return , of the legendary Ethnic Heritage Ensemble's annual Black History Month Tour,2023 $25




EARTH

Erie Coke Indictment: Victims might be eligible for financial compensation (Pat Lupo, OSB/Erie Times-News) Victim website  (DOJ) DOJ indictment  (DOJ/ U.S. Attorney’s Office),   Activists speak out  (YourErie) Erie Coke no-show (YourErie)

2023 Woods & Waters Film Series returns with screenings on 1/20 and 2/24 (virtual) and 3/31 (PennWest Edinboro)

2022 Post-Election Forum on PA Environment (Conservation Voters of PA) Video panel round-up "Hear from legislative champions and leaders at Conservation Voters of PA and PennFuture talk about the 2022 election results."

Presentation to Erie City Council on Recycling/Waste Diversion 12/7/2022 Presentation by Penn State Behrend students who researched the issue, begins at 10:30 mark. 12/21 meeting public comments included Sherri Mason on waste diversion project follow-up, Pat Lupo OSB on Erie Coke and Environmental ordinance, and Jenny Tompkins on environmental ordinance. 




Staughton Lynd, who passed away at 93 this past November, was an attorney in the lawsuit against US Steel's efforts to move operations to lakefront property on the PA/Ohio line. The lawsuit plaintiffs were a coalition with labor, environmental, community and religious. (btw, the environmental group Downwind Neighbors was based in Erie).

NYS developments: 
ELECTIONS & GOVT

Bah Humbug Brenton Davis (Jim Wertz/Erie Reader) Jim provides a good overview of Erie Co Executive Davis and his attitudes and actions related to the DEI commission, Erie Redevelopment Authority, and process in general. 

Tactics & Actions: Q&A with a member of Fetterman campaign’s winning social media team. (Slate) Preacher mobilizes voters in PA (Washington Post)


HOME & TABLE

Meadville City Council public comments about safe and livable housing standards  (11/16/2022) Armstrong Neighborhood Channel Public comments about housing inspections for safe and livable housing. Crawford Co United delivered signatures. Update


Richford Arms has broken pipes, flooding, residents without heat and hot water for several days, speak out (Erie News Now) Affordable housing complex is undergoing $25 million renovations. 

Allegheny County’s new shelter to take ‘low-barrier’ approach to couples, pets and substance use (Public Source) While offering connections to recovery services, Second Avenue Commons won’t mandate sobriety, search clients or ask what’s in their “amnesty lockers.”

JUSTICE

Jan 12 -  The Erie County Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Commission will hold a public meeting for general purposes on Thursday, January 12, 2023 at 6:00 p.m. at Blasco Memorial Library – Hirt Auditorium, 160 East Front Street, Erie, PA 16507.

Melquan Barnett gets sentence of up to 5 yrs (Erie Times-News)


Millcreek police adding mental health aid For crisis calls and officer well-being  (Erie Times-News) 

The Rage of Innocence: How America Criminalizes Black Youth 11.18.2022 (City Club of Cleveland)  VIDEO Professor Kristin Henning has spent twenty-five years rep­resenting Black children in Washington, D.C.’s juve­nile courts.

Community Matters - Alize Scott - December 15, 2022 (WRFA) AUDIO Guest Jamestown YWCA's Director of Social Justice and Race Equity Alize Scott discusses recent local lawn jockey costume incident, white privilege, micro-aggressions, and more.


SCHOOLS & YOUTH


Anti-mask parents sue again, claim Millcreek, NE school directors violated Sunshine Act (Erie Times-News) Also who will pay legal fees? Related: Erie County PA Parents Protecting Children  and Erie County Moms for Liberty are  presently involved in getting parents to run for school boards in Erie county in the coming year.


Roger Young Park on Hold (Erie News Now) 

PENNCREST backgrounder and updates Progressive education blogger on rightwing activity at PENNCREST school board



Staughton Lynd 1929-2022 Historian, author and labor lawyer, lifelong activist for peace, civil rights, social justice, working people and prisoner advocacy, passed away at 93 in Warren, Ohio on November 17, 2022. 
WORK

Video: Panel on Gen-Z workforce    (City Club of Cleveland) Panel of Gen Z voices, in conversation with Grace Heffernan with the Northeast Ohio Worker's Center, live at The Happy Dog.  Information

Report offers path to fixing ‘broken’ unemployment system (Penn Capital-Star) "An already fragile system ‘crumbled’ during the pandemic. " 

City of Steel documentary traces the story of Pittsburgh steel through the voices of workers  (WESA) Neighborhoods, culture, labor activism, Pittsburgh and WWII, industry collapse and more. Well done story telling in an hour and a half doc.  Watch online

UE Research and Education Fund has won a generous grant from the Preston-Werner Foundation to expand the Green Locomotive climate justice project. (United Electrical Workers)  "This project aims to create good union jobs, address climate change, and clean up pollution in the low-income communities and communities of color which bear the brunt of pollution from rail yards"
Billy Bragg Performs at Starbucks Workers United Rally in Buffalo (Buffalo.FM | WNYmedia Network)  10/12/2022  Backgrounder 

ETC

Seneca Nation gets grant for Southern Tier Regional Transit Hub On Cattaraugus Territory (SNI Official Newsletter) "Project will enhance accessibility, streamline transportation service to Seneca Territory and throughout the region"

W.PA College actions  
Here’s how some college men are helping to prevent sexual violence (Emily Folts at Public Source/Open Campus) 

WOMEN

Jan 11 - She Said Reg Lenna at Jamestown NY, Based on the story of NYTimes reporters Megan Twohey and Jodi Kantor, who together broke the story that helped propel the #Metoo movement, shattered decades of silence around the subject of sexual assault in Hollywood. 

Jan 22 - Womens March 2023: Bigger Than Roe "This year's National Women's March will be in Madison, Wisconsin with sister marches around the country." #BiggerthanRoe

Erie Art Museum "Eighty-Six Reasons" explores how and why women were sent to asylums in the 19th and 20th centuries. At Erie Art museum through May 14, 2023. 

PHOTOS
Top photo by Deb Spilko, with Mike Mahler's late pooches Heracles and Hecate 2016
Martin Luther King 
Franco Harris as featured speaker at a labor-organized Erie rally for Obama September 2008. Photo is from an album that features a lot of photos from that event. 







+++++++++

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ARTS & WORDS

Jan 21 - Poets Against Racism Franklin Public Library 11am at 421 12th St, Franklin, PA Upstairs meeting room.  814-432-5062

Feb 3-19 -Cabaret  Academy Theatre, Meadville PA "Cabaret explores the dark, heady, and tumultuous life of Berlin's natives and expatriates as Germany slowly yields to the emerging Third Reich."

Feb 5 - Ethnic Heritage Ensemble Live At City Gallery 4-6PM 1503 State Erie PA 48th anniversary return , of the legendary Ethnic Heritage Ensemble's annual Black History Month Tour,2023 $25



EARTH

2023 Woods & Waters Film Series returns with screenings on 1/20 amd 2/24 (virtual) and 3/31 (In-person, TBA)

2022 Post-Election Forum on PA Environment (Conservation Voters of PA) Video panel round-up "Hear from legislative champions and leaders at Conservation Voters of PA and PennFuture talk about the 2022 election results."

Presentation to Erie City Council on Recycling/Waste Diversion 12/7/2022 Presentation by Penn State Behrend students who researched the issue, begins at 10:30 mark. 12/21 meeting public comments included Sherri Mason on waste diversion project follow-up, Pat Lupo OSB on Erie Coke and Environmental ordinance, and Jenny Tompkins on environmental ordinance. 




NYS developments: 
ELECTIONS & GOVT

Bah Humbug Brenton Davis (Jim Wertz/Erie Reader) Jim provides a good overview of Erie Co Exectutive Davis and his attitudes and actions related to the DEI commission, Erie Redevelopmeent Authority, and process in general. 


Tactics & Actions: Q&A with a member of Fetterman campaign’s winning social media team. (Slate) Preacher mobilizes voters in PA (Washington Post)


State GOP monkeyshines: There's nothing free about PA "Freedom Caucus" (Lloyd E Sheafer) "Take it from a cancer survivor – we can’t afford to ignore this malignancy in our politics"  Pa. Republicans appear unlikely to abandon combative agenda (Spotlight PA) Laughlin Introduces Voter ID Legislation (Politics PA) 

HOME & TABLE

Meadville City Council public comments about safe and livable housing standards  (11/16/2022) Armstrong Neighborhood Channel Public comments about housing inspections for safe and livable housing. Crawford Co United delivered signatures. Update


Richford Arms has broken pipes, flooding, residents without heat and hot water for several days, speak out (Erie News Now) Affordable housing complex is undergoing $25 million renovations. 

Allegheny County’s new shelter to take ‘low-barrier’ approach to couples, pets and substance use (Public Source) While offering connections to recovery services, Second Avenue Commons won’t mandate sobriety, search clients or ask what’s in their “amnesty lockers.”

JUSTICE

New PA regulation banning lgbtq+ discrimination (ACLU-PA)

Pa. Board of Pardons approves less than 10% of Marijuana Pardon Project applicants (Pgh City Paper)  


The Rage of Innocence: How America Criminalizes Black Youth 11.18.2022 (City Club of Cleveland)  VIDEO Professor Kristin Henning has spent twenty-five years rep­resenting Black children in Washington, D.C.’s juve­nile courts.

Community Matters - Alize Scott - December 15, 2022 (WRFA) AUDIO Guest Jamestown YWCA's Director of Social Justice and Race Equity Alize Scott


Millcreek police adding mental health aid For crisis calls and officer well-being  (Erie Times-News) 

MLK
Jan 14 - 12th Annual Dr. King Awards Dinner Bayfront Convention Center 1 Sassafras Pier Erie, PA Info: James C. Sherrod, Executive Director of the Martin Luther King Center at 814-459-2761

Jan 16 - The Beloved Neighborhood Allegheny College Meadville PA.  6pm $20 cash or check before 1/6, from CCSD 11280 Mercer Pike Meadville PA. "Dr. Armendia Dixon and Supt. Thomas Washington preview The Beloved Neighborhood Dinner and Community Celebration of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s Birthday"

Jan 14 - As Gentle as Doves: MLK and the Nonviolence Movement Speaker: Rev. Kristina Church Unitarian Universalist Cong. of Erie 7180 Perry Hwy. 10:30,in person and via Zoom. UUCE website for the Zoom link)

Jan 16 - Annual Martin Luther King Day March Lineup 11:30am at Perry Square, Erie PA. +++

SCHOOLS & YOUTH


Anti-mask parents sue again, claim Millcreek, NE school directors violated Sunshine Act (Erie Times-News) Erie County PA Parents Protecting Children  and Erie County Moms for Liberty are  presently involved in getting parents to run for school boards in Erie county in the coming year.


Roger Young Park on Hold (Erie News Now) 

IN MEMORIAM

Staughton Lynd and his wife Alice moved to Youngstown in 1977 to work for legal services, and became lawyer for Staughton served as attorney for the Ecumenical Coalition of the Mahoning Valley in its unsuccessful efforts to implement a plan for worker/community ownership of the area steel mills. He was one of the lawyers involved with the lawsuit to stop US Steel from moving out of Youngstown and into the massive new plant proposed for pristine areas on in the Conneaut region. The lawsuit filed in Erie County involved labor, religious community and environmental organizations, a combination that Staughton observed was probably without precedent. He spent a lifetime working for peace and social justice. After retirement, Staughton and Alice became very involved with prisoner advocacy. 

WORK

Video: Panel on Gen-Z workforce    (City Club of Cleveland) Panel of Gen Z voices, in conversation with Grace Heffernan with the Northeast Ohio Worker's Center, live at The Happy Dog.  Information

Report offers path to fixing ‘broken’ unemployment system (Penn Capital-Star) "An already fragile system ‘crumbled’ during the pandemic. " 

City of Steel documentary traces the story of Pittsburgh steel through the voices of workers  (WESA) Neighborhoods, culture, labor activism, Pittsburgh and WWII, industry collapse and more. Well done story telling in an hour and a half doc.  Watch online

UE Research and Education Fund has won a generous grant from the Preston-Werner Foundation to expand the Green Locomotive climate justice project. (United Electrical Workers)  "This project aims to create good union jobs, address climate change, and clean up pollution in the low-income communities and communities of color which bear the brunt of pollution from rail yards"
Billy Bragg Performs at Starbucks Workers United Rally in Buffalo (Buffalo.FM | WNYmedia Network)  10/12/2022  Backgrounder 

ETC
Holocaust Remembrance Day +++

Seneca Nation gets grant for Southern Tier Regional Transit Hub On Cattaraugus Territory (SNI Official Newsletter) "Project will enhance accessibility, streamline transportation service to Seneca Territory and throughout the region"

W.PA College actions  
Here’s how some college men are helping to prevent sexual violence (Emily Folts at Public Source/Open Campus) 

WOMEN
Jan 4 - Call Jane -  Movie at Reg Lenna in Jamestown NY Sponsored by WHY Urology Associates.  A fictionalized drama about the Jane Collective, an underground network that helped women secure safe abortions before it was legalized in 1973. Story focuses on a woman whose pregnancy threatens her life. Also watch on demand on YouTube, Google Play, Apple TV, Redbox, Amazon Prime Video, Vudu

Jan 11 - She Said Reg Lenna at Jamestown NY, Based on the story of NYTimes reporters Megan Twohey and Jodi Kantor, who together broke the story that helped propel the #Metoo movement, shattered decades of silence around the subject of sexual assault in Hollywood. 

Jan 22 - Womens March 2023 "This year's National Women's March will be in Madison, Wisconsin with sister marches around the country." #BiggerthanRoe

Erie Art Museum "Eighty-Six Reasons" explores how and why women were sent to asylums in the 19th and 20th centuries. At Erie Art museum through May 14, 2023. 

PHOTOS

Franco Harris as featured speaker at a labor-organized Erie rally for Obama September 2008. Photo is from an album that features a lot of photos from that event.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~







ARTS

Jan 21 - Poets Against Racism Franklin Public Library 11AM.  421 12th St, Franklin, PA +++

Feb 3-19 -Cabaret Academy Theatre, Meadville PA "Cabaret explores the dark, heady, and tumultuous life of Berlin's natives and expatriates as Germany slowly yields to the emerging Third Reich."

As I Am: An Exhibition of Artwork from LGBTQIA+ Youth in Erie  Penn State Behrend (Erie) Opening Reception Jan 12 5-7PM, on display through January 24.   

Erie Art Museum "Eighty-Six Reasons" explores how and why women were sent to asylums in the 19th and 20th centuries. At Erie Art museum through May 14, 2023. 

EARTH

2023 Woods & Waters Film Series returns with screenings on 1/20 amd 2/24 (virtual) and 3/31 (In-person, TBA)

2022 Post-Election Forum on PA Environment (Conservation Voters of PA) Video panel round-up "Hear from legislative champions and leaders at Conservation Voters of PA and PennFuture talk about the 2022 election results, including who’s returning to Harrisburg, which new environmental champions are joining them, and how the massive changes in the legislature will impact environmental policy."


NY Governor Signs Partial Ban on Crypto Mining (Common Dreams) "This first-in-the-nation law should set the standard for every other state where crypto miners are coming in, extracting resources, and wreaking havoc," said Liz Moran, Earthjustice's NY policy advocate. Also NYS Climate Action Council approves clean energy plan.   

'Woods in Your Backyard Series'   (PennState Extension) "Explore planning and implementing simple stewardship practices on your lot to create and enhance natural areas and make a positive impact on the environment during this series."



ELECTIONS & GOVT

Bah Humbug Brenton Davis (Jim Wertz/Erie Reader) Jim provides a good overview of Erie Co Exectutive Davis and his attitudes and actions related to the DEI commission, Erie Redevelopmeent Authority, and process in general. 


Tactics & Actions Q&A with a member of Fetterman campaign’s winning social media team. (Slate) Preacher mobilizes voters in PA (Washington Post)


State GOP monkeyshines There's nothing free about PA "Freedom Caucus" (Lloyd E Sheafer) "Take it from a cancer survivor – we can’t afford to ignore this malignancy in our politics"  Pa. Republicans appear unlikely to abandon combative agenda (Spotlight PA) Laughlin Introduces Voter ID Legislation (Politics PA) 

HOME & TABLE

Meadville City Council public comments about safe and livable housing standards  (11/16/2022) Armstrong Neighborhood Channel Public comments about housing inspections for safe and livable housing. Crawford Co United delivered signatures. Update


Allegheny County’s new shelter to take ‘low-barrier’ approach to couples, pets and substance use (Public Source) While offering connections to recovery services, Second Avenue Commons won’t mandate sobriety, search clients or ask what’s in their “amnesty lockers.”

JUSTICE

Pa. Board of Pardons approves less than 10% of Marijuana Pardon Project applicants (Pgh City Paper)  


The Rage of Innocence: How America Criminalizes Black Youth 11.18.2022 (City Club of Cleveland)  VIDEO Professor Kristin Henning has spent twenty-five years rep­resenting Black children in Washington, D.C.’s juve­nile courts.


Millcreek police adding mental health aid For crisis calls and officer well-being  (Erie Times-News) 

MLK
Jan 14 - 12th Annual Dr. King Awards Dinner Bayfront Convention Center 1 Sassafras Pier Erie, PA 16507 Host: +++
Jan 16 - The Beloved Neighborhood Allegheny College Meadville PA.  6pm $20 cash or check before 1/6, from CCSD 11280 Mercer Pike Meadville PA. "Dr. Armendia Dixon and Supt. Thomas Washington preview The Beloved Neighborhood Dinner and Community Celebration of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s Birthday"
Jan 16 - - Erie March +++

SCHOOLS & YOUTH


Roger Young Park on Hold (Erie News Now) 

IN MEMORIAM

Staughton Lynd and his wife Alice moved to Youngstown in 1977 to work for legal services, and became lawyer for Staughton served as attorney for the Ecumenical Coalition of the Mahoning Valley in its unsuccessful efforts to implement a plan for worker/community ownership of the area steel mills. He was one of the lawyers involved with the lawsuit to stop US Steel from moving out of Youngstown and into the massive new plant proposed for pristine areas on in the Conneaut region. The lawsuit filed in Erie County involved labor, religious community and environmental organizations, a combination that Staughton observed was probably without precedent. He spent a lifetime working for peace and social justice. After retirement, Staughton and Alice became very involved with prisoner advocacy. 

WORK

Video: Panel on Gen-Z workforce    (City Club of Cleveland) Panel of Gen Z voices, in conversation with Grace Heffernan with the Northeast Ohio Worker's Center, live at The Happy Dog.  Information

Report offers path to fixing ‘broken’ unemployment system (Penn Capital-Star) "An already fragile system ‘crumbled’ during the pandemic. " 

City of Steel documentary traces the story of Pittsburgh steel through the voices of workers  (WESA) Neighborhoods, culture, labor activism, Pittsburgh and WWII, industry collapse and more. Well done story telling in an hour and a half doc.  Watch online

UE Research and Education Fund has won a generous grant from the Preston-Werner Foundation to expand the Green Locomotive climate justice project. (United Electrical Workers)  "This project aims to create good union jobs, address climate change, and clean up pollution in the low-income communities and communities of color which bear the brunt of pollution from rail yards"
Billy Bragg Performs at Starbucks Workers United Rally in Buffalo (Buffalo.FM | WNYmedia Network)  10/12/2022  Backgrounder 

ETC
Holocaust Remembrance Day +++

Seneca Nation gets grant for Southern Tier Regional Transit Hub On Cattaraugus Territory (SNI Official Newsletter) "Project will enhance accessibility, streamline transportation service to Seneca Territory and throughout the region"

W.PA College actions  
Here’s how some college men are helping to prevent sexual violence (Emily Folts at Public Source/Open Campus) 

ROE
Jan 4 - Call Jane -  Movie at Reg Lenna in Jamestown NY A fictionalized drama about the Jane Collective, an underground network that helped women secure safe abortions before it was legalized in 1973. Story focuses on a woman whose pregnancy threatens her life. Also watch on demand on YouTube, Google Play, Apple TV, Redbox, Amazon Prime Video, Vudu

Jan 22 - Womens March 2023  "This year's National Women's March will be in Madison, Wisconsin with sister marches around the country." #BiggerthanRoe 

PHOTOS

Franco Harris as featured speaker at a labor-organized Erie rally for Obama September 2008. Photo is from an album that features a lot of photos from that event.
Rest in peace.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

ARTS

Feb 3-19 -Cabaret Academy Theatre, Meadville PA "Cabaret explores the dark, heady, and tumultuous life of Berlin's natives and expatriates as Germany slowly yields to the emerging Third Reich."

As I Am: An Exhibition of Artwork from LGBTQIA+ Youth in Erie  Penn State Behrend (Erie) Opening Reception Jan 12 5-7PM, on display through January 24.   

Erie Art Museum "Eighty-Six Reasons" explores how and why women were sent to asylums in the 19th and 20th centuries. At Erie Art museum through May 14, 2023. 


DEI
Erie at Large: Bah Humbug Brenton Davis (Erie Reader) 
Erie DEI Commission 
Pastor Mock urges Davis to reconsider Erie County DEI board dismissals (Erie Times-News)
Erie DEI Commission members hire attorney, reject Brenton Davis' rationale for removal+++
Brenton Davis ER

Davis cuts budget items


EARTH

Jan 20, Feb 24 and Mar 31 - 2023 Woods & Waters Film Series 6:30pm Jan & Feb virtualMarch in-person (location TBA) Hosts: French Creek Valley Conservancy and the Foundation for Sustainable Forests. 
~~~



Panel discussion on "The Erie Situation" documentary about Lake Erie's toxic algae Recorded during Buffalo International Film Festival.   The Erie Situation official website 

NY Governor Signs Partial Ban on Crypto Mining (Common Dreams) "This first-in-the-nation law should set the standard for every other state where crypto miners are coming in, extracting resources, and wreaking havoc," said Liz Moran, Earthjustice's NY policy advocate. Also NYS Climate Action Council approves clean energy plan.   

'Woods in Your Backyard Series'   (PennState Extension) "Explore planning and implementing simple stewardship practices on your lot to create and enhance natural areas and make a positive impact on the environment during this series."


ELECTIONS & GOVT

Q&A with a member of Fetterman campaign’s winning social media team. (Slate)


Rural voters came out for Fetterman and Shapiro, what happens next for them? (Erie Times-News)   



Preacher mobilizes voters in PA (Washington Post)
Despite midterm losses, Pa. Republicans appear unlikely to abandon combative agenda (Spotlight PA) 
PA House Republicans pushing to replicate conservative-leaning 'Freedom Caucus' (Erie News Now)  There's nothing free about PA "Freedom Caucus" (Lloyd E Sheafer) "Take it from a cancer survivor – we can’t afford to ignore this malignancy in our politics"



HOME & TABLE

Displacement and gentrification are not inevitable, a new report finds (WESA) 

Meadville City Council public comments about safe and livable housing standards  (11/16/2022) Armstrong Neighborhood Channel Public comments about housing inspections for safe and livable housing. Crawford Co United delivered signatures. 


While offering connections to recovery services, Second Avenue Commons won’t mandate sobriety, search clients or ask what’s in their “amnesty lockers.” 
(Public Source) 'the decision to become sober often hinges upon having access to housing and, while prohibiting substance use within the facility, they won’t conduct searches and will provide “amnesty lockers” for possessions that aren’t allowed inside.'

Building on hope: I_You Design Lab aims to give the displaced a sense of home (Freshwater Cleveland)



JUSTICE

Pa. Board of Pardons approves less than 10% of Marijuana Pardon Project applicants (Pgh City Paper)  


The Rage of Innocence: How America Criminalizes Black Youth 11.18.2022 (City Club of Cleveland)  VIDEO Professor Kristin Henning has spent twenty-five years rep­resenting Black children in Washington, D.C.’s juve­nile courts.


melquan Barnett

Wolf backs regulatory change that would formalize discrimination protections for LGBTQ 

Pa. mayors call on Congress to fast-track protections for Dreamers (Penn Capital-Star) Nine PA mayors including Erie Mayor Schember signed a bipartisan letter calling on Congress to pass permanent immigration protections for Dreamers before a Republican takeover of the U.S. House next year.


MLK
Jan 14 - 12th Annual Dr. King Awards Dinner Bayfront Convention Center 1 Sassafras Pier Erie, PA 16507 Host: +++
Jan 16 - The Beloved Neighborhood Schultz Hall Allegheny College 520 N. Main St Meadville 6-8pm $20 admission cash or check before 1/6, from CCSD 11280 Mercer Pike Meadville++ Sponsors: Meadville Dr Martin Luther King Jr Scholarship Fund, Crawford Central School Dist. Allegheny College 
Jan 16 -  - Erie March+++


SCHOOLS


Roger Young Park on Hold (Erie News Now) 

STAUGHTON LYND

https://www.vindy.com/news/local-news/2022/11/valley-labor-peace-activist-staughton-lynd-dies-at-92/?fbclid=IwAR10WZZMXishcSlDzvoqTY06NBRbdqWITwYA4YebK-m4VlvKxT0BCInk2U4 
DARNELL

WORK


Video: Panel on Gen-Z workforce 
   (City Club of Cleveland) Panel of Gen Z voices, in conversation with Grace Heffernan with the Northeast Ohio Worker's Center, live at The Happy Dog.  Information

Report offers path to fixing ‘broken’ unemployment system (Penn Capital-Star) "An already fragile system ‘crumbled’ during the pandemic. " 

City of Steel documentary traces the story of Pittsburgh steel through the voices of workers  (WESA)  Watch online

UE Research and Education Fund has won a generous grant from the Preston-Werner Foundation to expand the Green Locomotive climate justice project. (United Electrical Workers)  "This project aims to create good union jobs, address climate change, and clean up pollution in the low-income communities and communities of color which bear the brunt of pollution from rail yards"
Billy Bragg Performs at Starbucks Workers United Rally in Buffalo (Buffalo.FM | WNYmedia Network)  10/12/2022  Backgrounder 

ETC
College men can play a crucial role in preventing sexual violence. Here’s how some are stepping up (Emily Folts at Public Source/Open Campus) Efforts on Pittsburgh campuses 

Seneca Nation Joined By Sen Schumer To Announce $7.625 Million Federal Grant To Support Construction Of Southern Tier Regional Transit Hub On Cattaraugus Territory (SNI Official Newsletter) "Project will enhance accessibility, streamline transportation service to Seneca Territory and throughout the region"

CMU launches Center for Transformational Play to accelerate change with video games (NextPittsburgh) 

Holocaust Remembrance Day +++

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Loss of Titusville Herald

Sewer rates


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~555

ARTS

Tommy Link profile in Erie Arts & Culture You can also check out other artist profiles on the website's Friday Feature page. 
Feb 3-19 -Cabaret Academy Theatre, Meadville PA "Cabaret explores the dark, heady, and tumultuous life of Berlin's natives and expatriates as Germany slowly yields to the emerging Third Reich."
https://www.theacademytheatre.org/cabaret

October 20th, 2022 – May 14th, 2023 Erie Art Museum "Eighty-Six Reasons explores how and why women were sent to asylums in the 19th and 20th centuries and examines the unfair and misconstrued diagnoses and treatments they received at the hands of medical misogyny" Eighty-Six Reasons — Erie Art Museum

At Chauatauqua this summer, Bonnie Raitt in June Natalie Merchant in July8 and 

EARTH

Jan 20, Feb 24 and Mar 31 - 2023 Woods & Waters Film Series 6:30pm Jan & Feb virtualMarch in-person (location TBA) Hosts: French Creek Valley Conservancy and the Foundation for Sustainable Forests. 
~~~


Panel discussion on "The Erie Situation" documentary about Lake Erie's toxic algae Recorded during Buffalo International Film Festival.   The Erie Situation official website 

NY Governor Signs Partial Ban on Crypto Mining (Common Dreams) "This first-in-the-nation law should set the standard for every other state where crypto miners are coming in, extracting resources, and wreaking havoc," said Liz Moran, Earthjustice's NY policy advocate

'Woods in Your Backyard Series'   (PennState Extension) "Explore planning and implementing simple stewardship practices on your lot to create and enhance natural areas and make a positive impact on the environment during this series."

ELECTIONS & GOVT

Q&A with a member of Fetterman campaign’s winning social media team. (Slate)



Rural voters came out for Fetterman and Shapiro, what happens next for them? (Erie Times-News)   



Preacher mobilizes voters in PA (Washington Post)
Despite midterm losses, Pa. Republicans appear unlikely to abandon combative agenda (Spotlight PA) 
PA House Republicans pushing to replicate conservative-leaning 'Freedom Caucus' (Erie News Now)  There's nothing free about PA "Freedom Caucus" (Lloyd E Sheafer) "Take it from a cancer survivor – we can’t afford to ignore this malignancy in our politics"



HOME & TABLE

Displacement and gentrification are not inevitable, a new report finds (WESA) 

Meadville City Council public comments about safe and livable housing standards  (11/16/2022) Armstrong Neighborhood Channel Public comments about housing inspections for safe and livable housing. Crawford Co United delivered signatures. 


While offering connections to recovery services, Second Avenue Commons won’t mandate sobriety, search clients or ask what’s in their “amnesty lockers.”   (Public Source) 'the decision to become sober often hinges upon having access to housing and, while prohibiting substance use within the facility, they won’t conduct searches and will provide “amnesty lockers” for possessions that aren’t allowed inside.'


JUSTICE

Pa. Board of Pardons approves less than 10% of Marijuana Pardon Project applicants (Pgh City Paper)


The Rage of Innocence: How America Criminalizes Black Youth 11.18.2022 (City Club of Cleveland)  VIDEO Professor Kristin Henning has spent twenty-five years rep­resenting Black children in Washington, D.C.’s juve­nile courts.





    MLK
Jan 14 - 12th Annual Dr. King Awards Dinner Bayfront Convention Center 1 Sassafras Pier Erie, PA 16507 Host: +++
Jan 16 - The Beloved Neighborhood Schultz Hall Allegheny College 520 N. Main St Meadville 6-8pm $20 admission cash or check before 1/6, from CCSD 11280 Mercer Pike Meadville++ Sponsors: Meadville Dr Martin Luther King Jr Scholarship Fund, Crawford Central School Dist. Allegheny College 
Jan 16 -  - Erie March+++


SCHOOLS


Roger Young Park on Hold (Erie News Now) 

STAUGHTON LYND

https://www.vindy.com/news/local-news/2022/11/valley-labor-peace-activist-staughton-lynd-dies-at-92/?fbclid=IwAR10WZZMXishcSlDzvoqTY06NBRbdqWITwYA4YebK-m4VlvKxT0BCInk2U4 


WORK


Video: Panel on Gen-Z workforce 
   (City Club of Cleveland) Panel of Gen Z voices, in conversation with Grace Heffernan with the Northeast Ohio Worker's Center, live at The Happy Dog.  Information

Report offers path to fixing ‘broken’ unemployment system (Penn Capital-Star) "An already fragile system ‘crumbled’ during the pandemic. " 

City of Steel documentary traces the story of Pittsburgh steel through the voices of workers  (WESA)  Watch online

UE Research and Education Fund has won a generous grant from the Preston-Werner Foundation to expand the Green Locomotive climate justice project. (United Electrical Workers)  "This project aims to create good union jobs, address climate change, and clean up pollution in the low-income communities and communities of color which bear the brunt of pollution from rail yards"
Billy Bragg Performs at Starbucks Workers United Rally in Buffalo (Buffalo.FM | WNYmedia Network)  10/12/2022  Backgrounder 

ETC
College men can play a crucial role in preventing sexual violence. Here’s how some are stepping up (Emily Folts at Public Source/Open Campus) Efforts on Pittsburgh campuses 

Seneca Nation Joined By Sen Schumer To Announce $7.625 Million Federal Grant To Support Construction Of Southern Tier Regional Transit Hub On Cattaraugus Territory (SNI Official Newsletter) "Project will enhance accessibility, streamline transportation service to Seneca Territory and throughout the region"

CMU launches Center for Transformational Play to accelerate change with video games (NextPittsburgh) 

Holocaust Remembrance Day +++

Brenton Davis ER

Davis cuts budget items

Loss of Titusville Herald





















~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Wolf backs regulatory change that would formalize discrimination protections for LGBTQ Pennsylvanians
melquan Barnett
Pa. mayors call on Congress to fast-track protections for Dreamers (Penn Capital-Star) Nine Pennsylvania mayors including Erie Mayor Schember have signed a bipartisan letter calling on Congress to pass permanent immigration protections for Dreamers before a Republican takeover of the U.S. House next year.

Sewer rates

JULY

https://www.reddit.com/r/Erie/ comments/1lbd4ic/erie_turned_ up_today/   PHOTO++ ARTS AmeriMasala Creative Workshops for Teens and Adults ...