On January 12 at 1 p.m., in Wendell, Massachusetts there will be a rally to stop proposed logging of a publicly-owned forest. Wendell borders Montague, which borders Greenfield. The rally will be outside 392 Montague Road.
Climate change caused by humans will create droughts and floods that will kill millions of people, unless people start using less gas for cars, oil for heating, and electricity generated from coal. That's according to the world's leading scientists.
This photo of Red Breasted Mergansers was taken in Turners Falls, Massachusetts. Turners Falls is near Greenfield. To enlarge the photo, click on it, then scroll down and click "see full size image."
photo by Joe Oliverio
There will be a Critical Mass bicycle ride on October 20 at 3 p.m. in Brattleboro. Critical Mass bike rides started in 1992 in California and have since spread around the world. Hundreds of people ride together in a group on roads, forcing cars to go at bicycle speed. They often chant, “Critical Mass, don't use gas!”
The ride will start at the Town Common. Photos of a Critical Mass bike ride in Brattleboro last month are at:
Details about the upcoming ride are at:
In Greenfield on July 20 about 100 people attended a rally for immigrant rights. The rally was outside Greenfield's federal jail for undocumented immigrants. Two groups organized the event. They have web sites at www.jwj.org and www.pvWorkersCenter.org.
It's easy for people from Mexico to enter Canada legally. The number of undocumented people from Mexico entering Vermont from Canada has increased dramatically this year as Trump makes it harder for undocumented people to cross the USA-Mexico border. The Vermont-Canada border is much easier for undocumented people to cross.
Proving that going on strike works, 200 or so nurses at the Greenfield hospital won a new union contract. It was approved by the nurses' elected union leaders. The approximately 200 nurses will vote on June 11 on whether to accept the contract, Donna Stern told the Valley Post. She is a nurse at the hospital. “This is a huge victory,” she said.
Patients at the hospital will get better care as a result of the contract, Stern said. She thanked community supporters who showed up on the picket line. The nurses have a web site at www.MassNurses.org.
These photos were taken on April 11. They show some of the 200 or so nurses who are on strike at the Greenfield hospital. They and some of their supporters are listening to nurse Donna Stern speaking. To enlarge a photo, click on it, then scroll down and click "see full size image." More information about the nurses' strike is at:
photos by Eesha Williams
In Greenfield, about 200 nurses at the hospital have voted to go on strike. “We need the public to come out to support us on February 27 at 7 p.m. outside the main entrance to the hospital,” Donna Stern told the Valley Post in a telephone interview in February 20. “I have been a nurse at the (Greenfield) hospital since 2005. My mom was a dietary aide at the hospital,” she said.
In Brattleboro on December 9, people held a downtown rally for peace. The focus was on Honduras and Palestine. “We speak out today at a time when the U.S. government fuels wars across the globe,” the Brattleboro event organizers said. “The longest war in U.S. history is currently in Afghanistan.” About 20 people were at the event. They will have another peace rally at the same location, Pliny Park at the corner of Main and High streets, on December 17 at noon. Details are at:
Activists who had been planning a rally for workers' rights in Deerfield, Massachusetts on October 5 won a victory on October 3. Deerfield borders Greenfield. The activists cancelled the rally. Migrant Justice, a group of Latino farm workers in Vermont, announced it had reached a legally binding agreement with Unilever Corporation, the owner of Ben and Jerry's ice cream. Under the deal, wages will go up, and workers won other gains.
In a victory for the environment, a local land trust has permanently protected from development 122 acres of open space in Montague, Massachusetts. Montague borders Greenfield. The land is used to grow organic vegetables at Red Fire Farm. The land trust announced the news on September 12. It has a web site at www.MountGrace.org.
Land trusts use money from the government and private donations to protect farmland, wilderness, and forestland that is sustainably (not clear-cut) logged.