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Progressive Action Roundtable: A forum for progressive groups in the Greater New Haven Area where actions and ideas may be publicized so that others are aware of peace, health, justice, energy, environmental and other issues for the common good.

Archive for category Events

CT Coalition for Environmental Justice News

Oct 29

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CCEJ’s 7th Annual Conference on October 29 will take place at the UConn School of Business – Hartford. The cost is $25 in advance, $30 at the door; $15 college students and seniors. CCEJ’s conference will educate activists and CCEJ supporters on the impacts toxics have on our health, environment, and communities and how encouraging non-toxic products can strengthen the economy. Environmental justice activists from throughout the region will meet and learn together and share their challenges and successes in fighting for environmental justice. For more information go to http://environmental-justice.org/ConfInfo11/ConfInfo2011.html

New England Environmental Justice Forum will have a Regional Training Workshop on November 19 from 9:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. at Central Baptist Church, 457 Main St., Hartford. It is free, including lunch & childcare. The Regional Training aims to bring together environmental justice attorneys, law students, advocates, organizers, and other professionals from New England to share ideas, learn from one another, and plan future work. The Forum is especially interested in learning about community residents’ legal and technical assistance needs.

Participants will meet other environmental justice advocates who work in communities relatively close by. Lawyers interested in providing assistance in environ-mental justice matters will receive training on how to work with grassroots groups. There will be opportunities for interaction between advocates and lawyers, with the hope of starting long lasting relationships. Additionally, four open mic issue rooms will be set up where participants will be asked to speak about their campaigns and how those campaigns reduce health disparities and address climate change. Come prepared to talk!

For more information go to: neejfhartfordregional.eventbrite.com.

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PACE Presents: Crash Course: SOLUTIONS!

Oct 29

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– Judi Friedman, PACE

PACE (People’s Action for Clean Energy, Inc.) presents new ideas for the new paradigm–ideas to save yourself…and the planet! Saturday, November 19 at the Unitarian Society of Hartford, 50 Bloomfield Avenue, Hartford (1/10 mile north of intersection of Routes 44 & 189). Free admission, donations are welcome.

Starting at 4 p.m. the film The Economics of Happiness will be shown. At 5 p.m. there will be exhibits by Solar Energy Installers, Lighting Companies and other Environmental Exhibits. Little City Pizza will serve dinner and homemade desserts and coffee are available for purchase.

At 7 p.m. there will be a short Annual Meeting followed by Awards: Lifetime Achievement (Bill Duesing – Executive Director, CT Chapter Northeast Organic Farming Association); State Government Award (Dannel Malloy – Governor) and Clean Energy Leader Awards (Bryan Garcia – President, CT Clean Energy Fund, Bob Wall – Director, Energy Marketing Initiative, CT Clean Energy Fund, and Roger Smith – Director, Clean Water Fund)

Finally at 8 p.m. a panel of Duesing, Garcia, Smith as well as Nick Kacher of the New Economics Institute and Nichole Strack of 1000 Friends of Connecticut, will discuss Crash Course: SOLUTIONS!–Saving Ourselves And Saving The Planet.

For more information call: (860) 693-4813 or go to www.pace-cleanenergy.org. PACE is a non-profit public health organization.

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Are You Looking for a Cause to Be Involved In? Leonard Peltier Needs Your Help

Oct 29

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–PAR Planning Committee

Native American activist Leonard Peltier has been unjustly imprisoned since 1977. In 1975, two FBI agents were killed in a shoot-out at Wounded Knee, a reservation in Pine Ridge, South Dakota. Leonard was accused of being involved in the killing.

Federal agents manufactured evidence, hid proof of his innocence and lied to the judge. Constitutional violations abound. He did not receive a fair trial and continues to maintain his innocence.

Please see this website for background information and updates: http://www.whoisleonardpeltier.info/

If you are interested in helping win freedom for Leonard, the PAR Planning Committee wants to help you become an organizer. You can learn how to plan activities, do  media outreach and work with others to build the struggle for Leonard’s freedom.

Interested? Plan on coming to our Nov. 1 meeting. Leonard’s case will be the first item on the agenda. We will discuss ways you can be involved. Call Paula at (203) 562-2798 for the time and location.

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Bring Our War $$$ Home! 2 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 16, 2011, Hartford

Oct 4

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– Stan Heller, Middle East Crisis Committee

Money for jobs and education, not war and incarceration!

Come to the march and rally, Sunday, Oct. 16 in Hartford, part of the nationally coordinated days of local anti-war actions.

Meet inside Hartford City Hall Atrium at 2 p.m. to hear speakers. Then march to the State Capitol for the rally featuring: Vijay Prashad, Trinity College Professor; Jonathan Pelto, former legislator, blogger and activist; Hartford Mayor Pedro Segarra; LaReese Harvey, A Better Way Foundation; Dan Durso, Teamster Local 559; a representative from the AFL-CIO; and more… Special performance by HartBeat Ensemble.

For ten years now, U.S. forces have occupied Afghanistan. Iraq is and will remain an occupied territory as the U.S. constructs massive bases in Baghdad. At the same time, the government and President Obama have opened new fronts in Pakistan, Libya, Yemen and Somalia. The majority of workers and students in the U.S. oppose these wars. Yet we are continually forced to sacrifice, to make concessions and accept cutbacks to feed the war machine.

Leaving a trail of death and destruction these wars are being justified at home with an unprecedented assault on the civil liberties of Muslims. Frame-ups and phony accusations by government provocateurs are now a common threat to the Muslim community.

These attacks have extended to peace, labor, immigrant rights and international solidarity activists who now face subpoenas to appear before a grand jury. All of this is an attempt to intimidate those who speak out against
war, U.S. support for the apartheid state of Israel as well as the economic assault on workers and students.

We say bring the troops home now! No to war, cutbacks, racism and no to attacks on Muslims and immigrants!

Endorsers List (still in formation): Catholic Workers, CT United for Peace, HartBeat Ensemble, A Better Way Foundation, West Hartford Citizens for Peace and Justice, Answer Coalition, Manchester Peace Coalition, Middle East Crisis Committee, Civic Trust Public Lobbying Company, Colombia Action CT, Socialist Action,  Progressive Coalition of Greater Hartford, Bright Star Vision, Plan C: The People’s Budget, We Refuse To Be Enemies, National Lawyers Guild, Hope Out Loud, Veterans for Peace Chapter 42, Students for a Democratic Society – University of Hartford, People’s Action for Clean Energy, Socialist Party of CT.

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Holly Near Concert Oct. 15

Oct 4

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– Carol Walter, Communications Director, AWOC

Another Octave Connecticut Women’s Chorus presents Holly Near with special guest Linda Tillery, Saturday October 15, 2011 at 8 p.m.

Holly Near is a unique combination of entertainer, teacher and activist as well as an immense vocal talent. Near’s career as a singer has been defined by an unwillingness to separate her passion for music from her passion for human dignity. She is a skilled performer and an outspoken ambassador for peace who brings to the stage an integration of world consciousness, spiritual discovery and theatricality. Fiercely independent, Holly Near was one of the first women in the U.S. to go it alone when she founded Redwood Records in 1972. Her vision was to promote and produce music by politically conscious artists from around the world, a mission that Redwood Records fulfilled for nearly 20 years. Often cited as one of the founders of the “women’s music” movement, Holly found herself not only leading the way for women into the music world, but working for world peace, multicultural consciousness and feminism. The world is her university and social change movements inform her songs. Holly will be accompanied by pianist John Bocchino, celebrating more than 25 years of playing together!

The concert will be held at the Unitarian Society of New Haven, 700 Hartford Turnpike, Hamden. Ticket prices for this event: $40 Preferred Seating, $30 Regular Seating (at the door), $25 Advanced Regular Seating.

Tickets can be purchased online (www.anotheroctave.org) or by mailing your check to: AO:CWC, P.O. Box 185234, Hamden, CT 06518  Please note that tickets ordered either through our website or by mail will be held at the door.

For information please call the Chorus line at (203) 672-1919.

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Walking The Wards Of New Haven #2: Sustainability Tour Of Fair Haven Oct. 1

Oct 4

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– Aaron Goode, New Haven Bioregional Group

Saturday, October 1, 9:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m., we will meet at 58 Atwater Street, Fair Haven. Join us for the second installment in our occasional series “Walking the Wards of New Haven” as we explore some of the ways Fair Haven is striving to become a sustainable community. We will visit a school garden that is part of a citywide initiative called “Grow New Haven” that aims to connect young people with the sources of their food; a neighborhood market participating in a “Healthy Corner Store” program to bring better food choices into New Haven’s food deserts; two sites that are part of a new initiative to use abandoned city lots for urban agriculture; the newly relocated New Haven Bike Collective; and a new co-housing initiative called the Atwater Resource Cooperative. We’ll also look at how neighbors are strengthening local resilience through institutions like the Chatham Square Neighborhood Association and the Share Haven Time Bank.

Whether you are a philanthropist, policy-maker, student, longtime resident, new resident or visitor to New Haven, you will not want to miss this tour. The walk will be at a leisurely pace and will cover about three miles. Please bring water and appropriate footwear.

We will meet at 9:30 a.m. in front of 58 Atwater Street, between Grand Avenue and Pine Street. Parking is available on the street or in the parking lot at the Senior Center at 26 Atwater Street. The “D” bus line runs at frequent intervals along Grand Avenue and connects with Downtown.

Light refreshments will be available at 58 Atwater before and after the tour — otherwise please bring your own snacks. The tour will return to 58 Atwater at 12:30 pm. Questions? Contact Aaron at aaron.goode@gmail.com or (203) 589-9445.

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International Day Of Peace Celebration Sept. 17 and 18

Aug 31

Posted by Progressive Action Roundtable in Events, Peace | No Comments

– New Haven Peace Commission

Continuing the tradition of New Haven neighborhood organizations commemorating the United Nations International Day of Peace, the City of New Haven Peace Commission has announced that two neighborhood organizations are planning public events against violence in the streets tying the issue with the struggle for world peace: Trowbridge Square Renaissance and the West River Neighborhood Corporation. On Saturday, Sept. 17, 1 p.m., the Trowbridge organization will feature the planting of a tree in the historic Square with a granite marker featuring their slogan Striving for Unity. The ceremony will be part of a neighborhood celebration.

On Sunday, Sept. 18, the West River Neighborhood Services Corporation will continue its annual tradition of commemorating the International Day of Peace at the site of the United Nations Peace Garden on the recently dedicated Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King Boulevard.

The City of New Haven Peace Commission is continuing its effort to have every neighborhood commemorate the global campaign for peace. Newhallville, Dixwell, East Rock and Fair Haven neighborhoods have participated. East Rock Park has been designated a Peace Park.

“The campaign will continue until every neighborhood in New Haven marks its commitment to peace. New Haven was designated by the United Nations General Assembly as a Peace Messenger City. It holds the honored seat of President of the International Association of Peace Messenger Cities, consisting of over 100 cities worldwide,” stated Alfred Marder, Chairman of the Commission.

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Sept. 25 Wheel-A-Thon To Help Youth With Disabilities, West Haven

Aug 31

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– Chris Zurcher, Center for Disability Rights

The 2011 Center for Disability Rights Wheel-A-Thon to benefit youth with disabilities will take place from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 25, at the Savin Rock Conference Center in West Haven. The CDR Wheel-A-Thon consists of a one-and-a-half mile course along the waterfront.

Last year, individuals and members of 16 teams raised $11,485 for CDR’s scholarship program.

The CDR Wheel-A-Thon is a fundraising and community awareness campaign to benefit the youth programs and activities of the CDR and its partners. Money raised in 2010 funded three college scholarships for students with disabilities; advocacy with students to improve their education; facilitation services for youth groups; and CDR youth transition services.

CDR is still looking for participants and sponsors. For information, call Jill at (203) 934-7077, Ext. 17, or visit the Wheel-A-Thon web site.

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International Day Of Peace Celebration On The New Haven Green Wednesday, Sept. 21. Volunteers needed!

Aug 31

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– New Haven Peace Commission

The New Haven Green will be the site of a dramatic outpouring of New Haven school children’s calling for world peace on Wednesday morning, Sept. 21, 2011, United Nations International Day of Peace. The Green will be bedecked with 6,000 Pinwheels for Peace created in the New Haven schools carrying the children’s messages for peace in the streets and among nations. 1,500 children from the sixth and seventh grades of all the New Haven schools will descend upon the central Green at 10:30 a.m. for a March for Peace and a cultural program commemorating the International Day of Peace. Prior to the event, the schools will be discussing a curriculum dedicated to conflict resolution and peace.

Invited to address the students are Ambassador Anwarul Chowdhury, former Under Secretary General and High Representative of the United Nations and Honorary President of the UN NGO Committee on the International Day of Peace, Mayor of New Haven John DeStefano, Superintendent of Schools Reginald Mayo and Peace Commission Chairman, Alfred Marder.

In addition to the New Haven School system “streaming” the event to all the schools in New Haven, the Peace Commission has partnered with Kragujevac, Serbia, a city that suffered from recent war, for a similar event by their school children. The events will be carried out simultaneously. Plans are underfoot to try to “stream” the events via internet to both cities and to the 100 cities of the International Association of Peace Messenger Cities of which both cities are Executive Board members.

The 6,000 Pinwheels will set a new record for the number reported globally in celebration of the United Nations’ Day of Peace.

VOLUNTEERS NEEDED

6,000 pinwheels need to be in place before the students arrive at 9:45 a.m. We need 25 volunteers to arrive no later than 7 a.m. ready to work. Please reply to grnhpeacecouncil3@gmail.com if you can do this!

THANK YOU!

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Leo Kottke To Headline CT Folk Festival And Green Expo Sept. 9, 10, 11, Edgerton Park

Aug 31

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– Alice-Anne Harwood, Director, CT Folk

CT Folk is pleased to present the 2011 Connecticut Folk Festival and Green Expo. Innovative acoustic guitar virtuoso Leo Kottke will headline the Connecticut Folk Festival and Green Expo’s main stage concert on Saturday, Sept. 10, in New Haven’s Edgerton Park. Kottke has been awarded two Grammy nominations, and tours internationally.

The 5 p.m. Saturday concert under the stars will also feature acclaimed singer-songwriter, Vance Gilbert; national touring musicians, Nerissa and Katryna Nields; Connecticut-based bluegrass and swing band Too Blue; and the winner of CT Folk’s 2011 songwriting contest.

The CT Folk Festival and Green Expo kick off on Friday, Sept. 9, with the Grassy Hill Song Circle, a unique evening of collaborative entertainment. Four singer/songwriters will play solo work and then accompany each other in a jam-session atmosphere: Mai Bloomfield, Anthony daCosta, Brian Dolzani and Rachael Sage, with Vance Gilbert as the hilarious Master of Ceremonies! The Grassy Hill Song Circle will also be held in the magical atmosphere of Edgerton Park, beginning at 7 p.m.

On Saturday afternoon, Edgerton Park will be the site of CT Folk’s sixth annual Green Expo, a free afternoon event, 11 a.m.–4 p.m., featuring 75 exhibitors, activities and demonstrations to promote sustainable living.

The performers for a free Saturday afternoon concert will be Nerissa and Katryna Nields, New Haven’s Professors of Bluegrass and Connecticut’s own Mon Monarch (featuring the current CT State Troubadour, Chuck E. Costa).

The Festival will conclude at noon on Sunday, Sept. 11 with the Dava Hoot, an informal community sing-along hosted by the CT Folk Board Band in Edgerton Park.

Now in its second decade, the Connecticut Folk Festival & Green Expo is produced by CT Folk, a nonprofit organization dedicated to presenting traditional and contemporary folk music and caring for the Earth.

Visit http://ctfolk.com for more information.

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‘Moving Connecticut’ beyond fossil fuels — Sept. 24

Aug 31

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– Chris Schweitzer, New Haven Environmental Justice Network

On Saturday, Sept. 24, communities across CT will have activities that will send the message: “Move beyond fossil fuels.” “CT communities are working for a healthy planet and a brighter future.” “Our movement is here.” “Politicians are stuck in the mud, but citizens like us are not.”

Come out and be a part of the critical mass–this big beautiful movement–and tell our politicians that caring about our planet is our priority.

It’s time to gear up for Moving Planet — A Day to Move Beyond Fossil Fuels, 350.org’s day of international action! This time around, 350.org is aiming BIG, asking for massive turnouts in major cities, and New Haven is one of them!

Are you interested in joining in this effort? Let’s plan Connecticut’s largest grassroots climate action to date! Our work is already underway. Get in touch to get involved!

MOVING CONNECTICUT (actnh.org/move and http://on.fb.me/jLWXpT on Facebook) is going to be bigger and more beautiful than ever before. The last two years we’ve seen our community rally together for these global days of action and do what our politicians will not: find a way forward together. Moving Planet in Connecticut will be a chance for people across the state–young and old, student and professional, of all races and genders and political leanings–to come together and celebrate the motion that will save our planet: bicycles filling the streets, hands tending our gardens, nature walks inspiring us with a sense of place, ride shares and buses and trains that make travel affordable and available for all.

But we can’t do it without you. We know now more than ever before that no one is going to step up for us and fight for the change our planet and its people desperately need. The hope for the future is in us, ordinary citizens with jobs and families, who want a safe and healthy future for our children and people around the world. The only way we’ll get there is together, raising our voices together for the future we need. On September 24th we’ll be moving.

Join in: actnh.org/join.

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Please volunteer to help plant 6000 pinwheels for peace on the New Haven Green early Wednesday morning, Sept. 21

Aug 25

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Please volunteer to help plant 6000 pinwheels for peace on the New Haven Green early Wednesday morning, Sept. 21.

The New Haven school system is celebrating International Day of Peace, Sept. 21, with a program on the Green. With art teachers the students are constructing the pinwheels. Social Studies teachers are helping students examine the meaning of peace. The music department will have a chorus of students singing a song of peace. There will be a student-created dance performance. The ceremony starts 10:30 AM.

We hope to link up electronically with students in Kragujevac, Serbia, who are also celebrating.

But the 6000 pinwheels need to in place before the students arrive at 9:45 AM.

So we need you and 24 others to volunteer to arrive no later than 7 AM ready to work.

Please reply to grnhpeacecouncil3@gmail.com NOW if you can do this!

THANK YOU!

This may be the largest display of Pinwheels for Peace ever.

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News from the New Haven Bioregional Group

May 31

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—Maria Tupper

Saturday, June 4, 10 a.m. – 12 noon

CT Trails Day – New Haven Bioregional Group – Sandy Point Bird Sanctuary. Explore one of the most beautiful walks in the Greater New Haven area. Sandy Point, a long spit of sandy beach extending into New Haven Harbor, is not only a great place to watch birds, but is also a popular spot for mating horseshoe crabs in the late spring. On this fun 2 mile walk, we will take in spectacular views of the New Haven skyline, Sleeping Giant, and other landmarks, as well as learn about interesting critters from local experts (Tony Dominski and a bird expert). Meet in the public parking lot across from Captain’s Galley, 19 Beach Street, West Haven. For questions and rain plan call Aaron Goode (203) 589-9445 or aaron.goode@gmail.com.

Saturday, June 18, 6 p.m. potluck, 7 p.m. movie

“Living Without Money” This documentary portraits the life of 68 year old Heidemarie Schwermer, a German woman who made a deliberate choice to stop using money 14 years ago. She cancelled her apartment, gave away all of her belongings and kept nothing but a suitcase full of clothes. This was a decision that changed the entire outlook on her life dramatically. Today, after 14 years, she is still living almost without money and claims she is feeling more free and independent than ever. The film follows Heidemarie in her day to day life and shows the challenges she meets by living an alternative lifestyle. The film is followed by a panel discussing their experiences of living on little or no money. NH Bioregional Group. FUUS, 608 Whitney Ave., New Haven.

Sunday, June 19, 9 a.m.

Foraging Bicycle Tour- Part of Arts and Ideas Festival

Foraging Tour: The most gourmet food grows itself and is accessible to everyone who cares to notice it, right here in New Haven. Zaac, an organizer with the Connecticut-Westchester Mycological Association, will assist in our discovery (and collection if you bring a cloth bag) of nutritious tendrils, sweet fruits, medicinal roots, and protein-rich mushrooms. Zaac has led foraging walks in the past for the Bioregional Group. Meet at the corner of Elm and Church Streets, where the Festival information booth is located. Helmets are required and riders should bring a plant identification book if they have one.

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