Thursday, September 08, 2016

Unity and Action

Two separate citizen action events are happening right now. Please consider how you can be involved.  

First,
will be held September 10th – 11th 2016
Unity Park, Lake Winona in Winona Minnesota

UPDATE: DAPL Standing Rock protectors will be at the event on Saturday from 10 am until 3:00 pm The event is at Unity Park which is on the lake behind Winona Health. The Protectors will have information about how others can help. at this event about how people in our area can help and support their work. In the meantime, donations can be made through the Standing Rock Souix Tribe's website. There is also a PayPal donation site. Tribal governments from throughout the Americas have sent representatives and aid.

If you have any doubt that we are living in a managed information world, note that hardly a word has been uttered (ok - yes, Lawrence O'Donnell on MSNBC but just about nothing on "news" programs) about this very important struggle for rights of Native American sovereign governments and people, protection of the environment, the future of our climate-changing world, and more on any of the main media "news" programs. There was one very brief segment a couple of weeks ago mostly from the point of view of law enforcement. No mention of desecration of Native American burial grounds, lack of oversight by government agencies charged with providing oversight, illegal security procedures, or historical context. Why? You need only wait for the first commercial break about "energy voters" brought to you by the American Petroleum Institute. For good coverage of this issue including interviews with the attorneys, elders, historians, scientists, and activists, watch Democracy Now!



As we hear more about local activities to support the protectors, we'll update.


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Neighborhood Announces Study, Campaign & Public Presentation to Revitalize Memorial Pool 9/7/2016 - PRESS – FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE LA CROSSE, WI – The Grandview-Emerson Neighborhood Association’s (GENA) Save Memorial Pool Committee has been hard at work in recent weeks to revitalize Memorial Pool after over a year of closure. First, they hired a nationally recognized pool consultant, Isaac Sports Group (ISG), to conduct an assessment that would complement the City’s technical evaluation and soon-to-be-approved City Pool Committee.

Now, the Save Memorial Pool Committee is reaching out for $4,000 in donations to fund additional steps providing state-of-the-art pool design concepts, improved aquatic programming ideas and additional cost-saving strategies in time to inform 2017 City Budget law makers and staff. Donations can be brought to participating State/Campbell Rd businesses or written-out and mailed to "La Crosse Neighborhoods, Inc. - GENA" RE: Memorial Pool, P.O. Box 1661, La Crosse, WI 54602.

-- read more here: www.facebook.com/savememorialpool 

In this case, an historic gem and important neighborhood anchor and resource has been allowed to fall into disrepair and was slated to become (probably) another parking lot. However, the people who live, play, and work here decided that's not what they wanted and they have actively taken a role in educating, examining, questioning, planning, and moving forward with actions to save and improve the Memorial Pool. If there were a prize for citizen action, this group should get it.

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