August 11, 2023

From Parking Lot to Park?

by Eesha Williams
Tags:

Twenty people attended a peace rally in Greenfield on August 5. “We stood for peace and a ban on all nuclear weapons, just one day before the 78th anniversary of the US atomic bomb ‘test’ that destroyed Hiroshima. A second, plutonium, bomb was 'tested' on another civilian target three days later, destroying the city of Nagasaki on August 9,” Anna Gyorgy told the Valley Post. She works for a group that has a web site at www.traprock.org. The bombs killed about 200,000 people.

*********

In Northampton, 12 people attended a labor rally on August 7. It was outside Starbucks. “Since December 2021, more than 340 Starbucks stores have voted to unionize. Since then, we've been organizing for a fair contract. How has Starbucks responded? With the largest union-busting campaign in modern history,” organizers wrote. They have a web page at www.facebook.com/WMALF

*********

There will be carpools from the Valley to a Boston rally in support of Trader Joe's workers and their union. The rally in on August 15. Details are at www.instagram.com/p/CvsRsk1S4Kz/?img_index=1

*********

There will be buses from Vermont to a New York City climate march September 17. The group 350 Vermont is organizing the buses, which will likely pick people up in Brattleboro. Details are at www.EndFossilFuels.us.

**********

Meka Magee told the Valley Post on August 8, “The two most powerful Black women leaders in Amherst Regional Public Schools have filed racial discrimination complaints.” Magee is a teacher and was president of the teachers' union in Amherst. She filed her August 8 complaint with the Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination. Assistant Superintendent Doreen Cunningham filed her complaint June 30.

**********

In Greenfield, people are asking the city to turn the Hope Street parking lot, which is now the location of the temporary fire department headquarters, into something better than a parking lot, when workers finish building the new fire station. It could be a grassy park with trees and/or affordable housing. One of the organizers is Susan Worgaftik. The Valley Post can pass along messages to her.

Comments

Post new comment

CAPTCHA
This question is for testing whether you are a human visitor and to prevent automated spam submissions.
             _   _   _           _   _   _ 
 __      __ | \ | | / | __   __ | | | | (_)
 \ \ /\ / / |  \| | | | \ \ / / | | | | | |
  \ V  V /  | |\  | | |  \ V /  | |_| | | |
   \_/\_/   |_| \_| |_|   \_/    \___/  |_|
Enter the code depicted in ASCII art style.