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I met Michael “Big Mike” Ballard four years ago when Grassroots DC moved into the Potomac Gardens Public Housing Complex.  He made regular use of our Community Resource Center creating flyers for the dance classes he taught and using the computers and the Internet access working for his church and the nonprofit he was involved with Sistahs with Purpose.  He taught at Knox Hill, Turkey Thicket Recreation Center and Potomac Gardens.  He passed on October 10.  He is survived by his mother Linda, sister Theresa and dozens and dozens of students and friends.  He was a kind and compassionate person who will be missed.  What follows is an article I wrote about him in 2015.

Kids can be mean. Few know this better than 36-year-old DC native and Potomac Gardens resident Michael Ballard. Michael Ballard was heavy all of his life. The kids called him Fat Mike. His mother suffered from weight problems also so she understood what it was like to be teased and humiliated at school. It was only natural that they would become extremely close.

Michael continued to put on weight throughout school. By the time he graduated high school he weighed 300 pounds. Many people assume that anyone that weighs that much can’t do anything. Michael proved them wrong by going to work right out of high school. From 2000 to 2005 he worked for Goodwill Industries in housekeeping, a job he enjoyed. In 2005 Goodwill lost their contract with the Armed Forces Retirement Home and Michael went to work for Melwood, a nonprofit that creates jobs and opportunities for people with disabilities, in their housekeeping department.

At Melwood, Michael faced discrimination. His co-workers claimed that he had body odor; that he took up too much space; that he moved too slowly and was unable to complete his tasks because he couldn’t fit into the bathroom. It was high school all over again. Within just a few months Michael had left Melwood and returned to Goodwill Industries. But the stress at Melwood had caused Michael to put on more weight.  He had a different project manager at Goodwill, one who didn’t know him well and he faced discrimination at Goodwill as well.

He was accused of sitting on and breaking Goodwill’s second-hand chairs. To address the problem, the Government Service Administration brought a bench to his job site exclusively for Michael to use. Unfortunately, his project manager, unwilling to find ways to accommodate an employee of Michael’s size, threw the bench into the trash.

Besides the stress of the hostile work environment, Michael developed an upper respiratory infection from working in Goodwill’s Garage. Despite all this, Michael continued to work at Goodwill from 2006 until 2013, when he was let go.

After losing his job, Michael’s health deteriorated. Due to his extreme weight, Michael had for years suffered from lymphedma— a condition that causes swelling in the arms or legs as a result of a blockage in the lymphatic system that prevents lymph fluid from draining well—on the bottom of both his legs. Michael also developed cellulites—a noncontagious bacterial skin infection—which spread from the bottom of both of his legs to his pelvis. This condition landed him in Washington Hospital for a ten-day stretch in March of 2013. From there he was transferred to Saint Thomas Moore Rehabilitation Center where he was bed bound for two months.

Two months of having to eat in the bed, having the bed made while lying in it, having his body turned and cleaned in the bed was more humiliating than years of being teased. Michael’s weight had made him a target for mockery but now it was risking his life. Michael knew that the only way to escape the derision and to save his life was to control his weight.

In May 2013, he went from being bed bound to being wheel chair ridden. Once in the chair, he was able to begin participating in physical therapy. Soon he was able to move around with a rollator. In December of 2013, Michael was well enough to move back home to Potomac Gardens but not without the use of two portable oxygen tanks.

By this time, his mother was in trouble. Being overweight herself, she had a hernia that had grown to the size of a soccer ball. In 2014, Michael’s mother had surgery at Georgetown Hospital. Terrified that he might lose his best friend, Michael’s stress levels soared along with his eating. While his mother was recovering, Michael’s weight ballooned. At 700 pounds, hospitalization was inevitable.

This time, Michael was offered the option of a sleeve gastrectomy, a procedure that removes all but twenty-five percent of the stomach and greatly limits the patient’s food intake. The operation was performed by Dr. Paul Lin at George Washington University Hospital in March of 2015. Seven months later, Michael had lost 301 pounds.

How did he do it? In addition to the gastrectomy, Michael started exercising with regularity and intensity. For three hours, on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays he does water aerobics. His real passion is line dancing, which he does from 6:00 – 8:30 PM on Tuesdays and Thursdays at the Turkey Thicket Recreation Center. In fact, Michael has been line dancing for five years, but this December 1st will be his one-year anniversary line dancing at Turkey Thicket with a group that calls themselves The Line Dance Addicts. Michael no longer needs to use the portable oxygen to get around, although he still uses it at home. He is well on his way to full recovery from a lifetime of weight-related issues.

He is grateful for his second chance and is working to spread what he’s learned to the community around him. He has begun teaching line dancing to Potomac Gardens’ and Hopkins Apartments’ residents. Classes cost only $2 and it’s already proven popular with those of all ages and all sizes. Line Dancing with Big Mike teaches you more than the Nae Nae and the electric slide; line dancing with Big Mike teaches you that overcoming even extremely large obstacles is possible and easier when your community has your back.

The community that has Michael’s back as he continues to lose weight includes but is not limited to: Cheryl Thompson Walker, Kembal Bonds, Russell, Jordan, Miss Rita and Rita from Turkey Thicket, as well as Miss Paula Allen, Miss Reshida Young and the entire Line Dance Addicts family; Dee, Reggie, Adrienne Jenkins and Dr. Cristina Schreiber from George Washington University Hospital; Sisters With A Purpose and the entire Master’s Child Church Family under the leadership of Bishop Melvin Robinson junior and his wife and church co-founder Erma Robinson-Fitzgerald; and last but not least the Lord, his mom and grandparents.

The post Remembering Big Mike: Line Dance Instructor and Inspiration appeared first on Grassroots DC.

On September 24, 2017, Many Languages One Voice (MLOV) held an Emergency Planning & Community Defense Day (Día de Planificación de Emergencia y Defensa Comunitaria).

The event was designed to bring the community together to learn about our rights as immigrants in DC, prepare together, and celebrate our communities’ strength and resilience!
¡Nos reunimos para aprender nuestros derechos como inmigrantes en DC, prepararnos juntos, y celebrar la fuerza y la resiliencia de nuestras comunidades!

Workshops included:

– Know Your Rights in DC / Tus Derechos en DC
– Emergency Preparedness Plan Against ICE / Planes de Emergencia en Contra de ICE
– Legal Advice / Consejos Legales
– Community Defense / Defensa Comunitaria

Video byBen Parisi  with subtitles byJuan Carlos Vega.

According to MLOV Executive Director Sapna Pandya, “It was an incredible day, grounded in Puerto Rican and Mexican resilience & music, with opportunities for dance, joy, and important discussions of the threats to our communities & how we will combat them together organizing towards #ExpandedSanctuary in DC. We built a beautiful community altar, answered questions about immigration and employment abuse, and got folks connected to needed services.”

MLOV’s next community event, Dance in the Round: Circle As Sanctuary, is scheduled for Sunday, October 8, starting at 2:30 pm at the Columbia Heights Civic Plaza.

The post Many Languages One Voice Community Day appeared first on Grassroots DC.

Tired of Metro fare hikes with no real improvement in service? Even if you appreciate the fact that Metro service allows many within the DMV to get by without the hassle and expense of a car, you may still wish their service were better. Now is the time to make your feelings heard.

The post Metro Service Meeting: Make Your Feelings Known appeared first on Grassroots DC.

Sunday, September 24, in Southwest Washington, DC, will see the arrival of the eighth annual DC State Fair from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. At Waterfront Station, the public is invited to enjoy contests that crown the city’s best growers, crafters, and cooks; performances from local musicians and dance troupes; and more than 55 food, art, and craft vendors showcasing and selling their wares.

This daylong celebration of all things homegrown is unique among local fairs and festivals: it is run entirely by volunteers, is free to attend, and is held in different neighborhoods from year to year, making the Fair accessible to all DC residents and visitors. This year, the DC State Fair is located at the Waterfront Metro Station at 375 and 425 M Street SW.

The post DC State Fair (Who Knew?) appeared first on Grassroots DC.

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The post Free Computer Classes appeared first on Grassroots DC.

Written by Ray Jose
MLOV Youth Justice Organizer

On Tuesday morning at 11 AM, Attorney General Jeff Sessions announced that Trump and his administration has decided to end DACA (Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals).  This means that the Department of Homeland Security will stop accepting new DACA applications (i.e. from people who are eligible but do not already have DACA).  Individuals who already have DACA and whose work permits will expire between now and March 5, 2018 will be able to apply for a two-year renewal if they apply by October 5, 2017.

This news has obviously been devastating as we remain concerned about the pending uptick in immigration enforcement & raids that this announcement foretells. We also must remain vigilant that any calls for policy change (i.e. DREAM Act, etc.) do not use undocumented youth as pawns for a white supremacist agenda that calls for border militarization or walls, military service requirements, furthering the Muslim ban or expanded cooperation between police and ICE. In fact, we are already feeling the immediate impact of this announcement – just hours ago, workers from Matchbox came in to MLOV’s offices to say that 40 of their colleagues had been forced to resign yesterday due to their immigration status.  Following the announcement from Jeff Sessions came DC Mayor Muriel Bowser’s statement, “[calling] on Congress to quickly pass the Dream Act so that DREAMers across our country can continue to build a safer, stronger, and more prosperous country for all…Washington, DC will continue to stand with our nearly 800 DREAMers and the thousands of immigrants who live in the District. We are proud of our DREAMers and our support will be unwavering.” While Mayor Bowser says she “stands unequivocally with DREAMers,” in the same breath she is complicit for not holding Trump accountable for terminating DACA. At the same time that Mayor Bowser says she and DC are “standing with the DREAMers,” the District continues to tolerate dangerous loopholes in policies that have led to our immigrant residents being deported, police violence on Black and Brown communities, abusive employers who continue to engage in wage theft, displacement of long-term residents, and an education system that is failing our youth of color. In this moment, words are not enough.  We need a real #SanctuaryDC that keeps all DC residents safe, and MLOV will hold all politicians accountable for their actions or lack thereof.  

LOOKING FOR WAYS TO SUPPORT DACA YOUTH AND OTHER UNDOCUMENTED YOUNG PEOPLE IN DC?

HERE ARE A FEW THINGS YOU CAN DO TODAY: 1. Donate to support three of MLOV’s undocumented immigrant youth organizers by clicking here. These youth participated in the Summer Youth Employment Program but didn’t receive stipends because they are undocumented. When we reach our donation goal, extra funds will go to DC youth needing help paying for DACA renewal (cost is $495) and related costs.  2. Encourage DACA youth and their families seek mental health support through local agencies:

• Mary’s Center
  202-846-8053
• Latin American Youth Center
  (202) 319-2229
• La Clinica del Pueblo
  (202) 462.4788

3. Join upcoming trainings provided by SanctuaryDMV to be trained in providing Rapid Response to ICE raids and ICE surveillance, which we are fearful may increase in DC and the metro area. .
Click on this link to register for an upcoming Rapid Response training by SanctuaryDMV! 4. Follow Many Languages One Voice on Facebook and Twitter to stay updated on how you can support our members’ demands for Sanctuary in Schools. This summer, MLOV trained 15 mostly undocumented immigrant youth to  be community organizers – preparing them to protect themselves, their peers, and their families.  As a result of holding local politicians like Mayor Bower accountable, funding for these youth participants’ stipends has been in jeopardy.  You can support our immigrant youth organizers by clicking here to donate.  Despite this threat, our youth have developed five critical steps that educators and administrators in the DC school system can take to keep them safe and support their education.  LEGAL SERVICES FOR DC IMMIGRANTS

As a result of organizing by MLOV in November 2016, Mayor Bowser released funds enabling local community organizations to provide pro bono legal services for DC immigrants. Refer individuals needing to renew their DACA or with other questions about their immigration status to the following MLOV partners:

• AYUDA
  202-387-4848
• Catholic Charities
  202-772-4352
• DC Immigrant Rights Project (collaboration of Ethiopian Community Center & Lutheran Social Services)
  (202) 844-5430
• Whitman Walker Health Legal Services
  (202) 745-7000
• CARECEN
  (202) 328-9799
• CAIR Coalition
  (202) 331-3320

To my undocumented family, to other DACA recipients, and to any community under attack by this White supremacist administration: we have been here before and we will continue to protect our community and resist.  Trump and politicians on both sides are deflecting the responsibility onto Congress to create a legislative solution, but we know that protecting only some immigrant youth is not enough. This moment is meant to divide immigrant communities into who is “deserving and undeserving,” it is meant to put the blame on parents of undocumented youth, it is meant to uphold the criminalization of Black and Brown immigrants who are disproportionately targeted by police, ICE and the criminal justice system.  This moment is meant to break us, but we are resilient people and we will fight for a liberation that goes beyond documentation or any legislation.

The post Many Languages One Voice Defends DACA and Beyond appeared first on Grassroots DC.

Black August is almost over.  What is Black August?  I found the following at The Malcolm X Grassroots Movement:

“Each year officially since 1979 we have used the month of August to focus on the oppressive treatment of our brothers and sisters disappeared inside the state-run gulags and concentration camps America calls prisons. It is during this time that we concentrate our efforts to free our mothers, fathers, sisters, brothers, uncles, aunts, and all other captive family and friends who have been held in isolation for decade after decade beyond their original sentence. Many of these individuals are held in the sensory deprivation and mind control units called Security Housing Units (S.H.U. Program), without even the most basic of human rights.” – Shaka At-Thinnin Black August Organizing Committee from “THE ROOTS OF BLACK AUGUST”

If you haven’t made it to any events yet this month, here’s your opportunity to make it to one final event.   

The post Black August Finale appeared first on Grassroots DC.

A quick search revealed no reports from local television news of last weeks events in Charlottesville or the solidarity marches that followed.  Fortunately, the District also has reporters who routinely imbed with the activists and organizers at these events.  Here is reporting from two of them.  

One Dead After Car Plows into Anti-Racist March in Charlottesville

Written by John Zanga
DC Media Group

Charlottesville, Va. — Anti-fascist and anti-racist counterprotestors confronted a planned white nationalist gathering in downtown Charlottesville on Saturday. Multiple angry clashes between groups in the morning resulted in many injuries.

Virginia Governor Terry McAuliffe declared a state of emergency and Virginia State Police moved in to end the protest. The Virginia National Guard was deployed and began patrolling Charlottesville.

But, in the early afternoon, a silver Challenger driving at high speed plowed through a march of anti-racist counterprotestors forming on 4th Street, tossing several people into the air like rag dolls before ramming into the rear end of another car. It appeared the car was driven deliberately into the crowd, then reversed and sped backwards.

One person was killed and 19 people were injured.

Charter said that moments after the car backed up, medics were on the scene helping the inured. He was shaken up by the incident.

As many as 30 right-wing groups, led by Alt-Right personality Richard Spencer and accompanied by known supremacist David Duke, rallied at Emancipation Park over city plans to remove a statue of Confederate General Robert E. Lee.

The clashes erupted almost from the start of the permitted protests, which began at 10 a.m. Elements from the KKK, Neo-Nazis and the Alt-Right, were met at every turn by about 1,000 counterprotesters.

Mace and tear gas was sprayed with bottles, sticks and smoke grenades thrown by White Nationalists toward Antifa. Antifa returned volleys as White Nationalists waded into the Antifa to attack them with sticks and smoke grenades.

Police formed lines between two rows of barricades, separating Nationalists from counterprotesters. But for an unknown reason police pulled back as more Nationalists arrived, marching in a column down Market Street to confront Antifa. It was at this point that the confrontations saw their most bloody moments.

White supremacists have descended on  Charlottesville since City Council voted to take down a statue of General Lee in an effort to remove Southern Heritage symbols of the Civil War. On Friday night, Neo-Nazis carried torches through the Grounds of the University of Virginia, chanting Nazi Germany slogan “Blood and Soil.” They attacked, beat and maced anti-racist protestors. Conflict also broke out when anti-fascists confronted White Nationalists at the Lee statue.

Update:  A police helicopter which had been monitoring the protests crashed following the dispersal.  Initial reports are that two died in the crash.

 

DC Remembers Charlottesville with march from WWII Memorial to Confederate statue by MPD

written by Luke
DC Independent Media Center

On the 13th of August, DC area residents protested the Nazi outrages in Charlottesville, VA. What began as a medium size march from the WWII Veterans Memorial to the White House mushroomed into a huge march from the White House past Trump Hotel to the Albert Pike (Confederate) statue by MPD. https://archive.org/details/DCCharlottesville8132017540p

Yes, DC has it’s very own statue commemorating a man who loved slavery and the Confederacy so much he moved there from the north to become a Confederate general. A similar statue of Robert E Lee in Emancipation Park in Charlottesville, VA has sparked a controversy over its pending removal blocked by a court. This has been the excuse for ever-larger KKK and Nazis rallies there that culminated in the death of one counterprotester and serious injuries to 19 more on August 12, 2017.

One demand of the protesters here in DC is that a staute commemorating slavery and murder be removed. This should be done before it becomes a magnet for neo-Nazi torchlight parades and terrorist attacks. Oddly, two videographers were nearly run down by a car driving on the sidewalk near 7th st about a half hour after this DC protest ended, but preliminary indications are this incident was only a “normal” drunk driver rather than another terrorist attack.

The deliberate and deadly, ISIS-style vehicle attack on anti-Nazi protesters in Charlottesville by comparison cannot be called anything other than terrorism and murder. All that hate came from somewhere. There seemed to be a consensus in the streets that it comes right from the top. The crowds in DC responded to Trump Hotel with massive boos and chants of “Shame shame shame,” holding Trump himself responsible for the river of hate that has inundated the US since he began his campaign.

In nearby Alexandria, VA, protesters marched on the home of notorious (and notably punched) neo-Nazi leader Richard Spencer. The IWW showed up there with their flags and remembering Heather Heyer, though DC IWW reports that (contrary to earlier rumors) she was not an IWW member. Richard Spencer hid on his roof, with just his cellphone camera peeking over the side.

Video of the massive DC marches for Charlottesville Includes bonus footage from Charlottesville providing 1 min synopsis(0:31 to 1.38)

 

The post Charlottesville and It’s Aftermath: D.C. Alternative News Round Up appeared first on Grassroots DC.

The post The NEAR Act and the Future of Policing in the District of Columbia appeared first on Grassroots DC.

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Beyond voting or joining a well publicized march or rally, many citizens are unsure how to become politically engaged.  One of the most effective ways to have an impact on public policy is to tell your local representatives what you want.  Lobbying is not just for professionals paid by corporate interest groups.  In fact, government and the institutions they regulate are far more fair, just and equitable when regular citizens like you and me show up at their office and insist that they listen to what we have to say.

With that in mind, the DC Alliance for Youth Advocates (DCAYA) will meet with Councilmembers and staff to advocate for a more youth-friendly District budget for FY2018 at the Wilson Building on Thursday, May 11.  According to the DCAYA, the District’s proposed FY2018 budget leaves significant funding gaps for a number of key programs that could better address the needs of  children and youth.

Council markup on the mayor’s proposed budget is scheduled for May 16-18, so May 11 is a critical time to reach out to members and remind them of the importance of our budget asks for DC’s youth, which include:

• Transportation: $2 million to extend transportation subsidies to adult and alternative learners through the School Transit Subsidy Program
• Youth Homelessness: Up to $3.3 million more to fully fund the Year One objectives of the Comprehensive Plan to End Youth Homelessness
• Expanded Learning: An additional $5.1 million to fund the new Office of Out-of-School Time Grants and Youth Outcomes and better meet the need for quality youth development programming
• Youth Workforce Development: A comprehensive implementation plan for coordinating and funding youth workforce development initiatives to build on the progress of DC’s WIOA State Plan
• Per-Pupil Funding: A 3.5% increase in per-pupil funding in the FY18 budget to bring DCPS closer to an adequate standard for education funding next school year
• Proposed Tax Cuts: Ensure revenue is available to fund these and other critical priorities by delaying the $40 million in estate tax and business tax cuts slated for 2018

For more information, contact Jamie Kamlet Fragale, Director of Advocacy and Communications for Academy of Hope Adult Public Charter School, or CLICK HERE.

 

The post Lobbying on Behalf of District Children and Youth appeared first on Grassroots DC.

Cross-Posted from Street Sense
by Ashley Clarke

The D.C. Office of Planning is amending the Comprehensive Plan, a long-standing document that outlines priorities for D.C.’s future growth and change. In a statement from the Office of Planning, Director Eric Shaw encouraged residents to read the Comprehensive Plan and make suggestions for changes.

“‘Planning an Inclusive City’ is the guiding vision for the DC Comprehensive Plan. An inclusive city is one where every member of the community feels welcome wherever they are in the city, and where everyone has a fair and equitable opportunity to live a healthy, successful and fulfilling life,” Edward Geifer, associate director of the Office of Planning, wrote in an email to Street Sense.

A heterogeneous coalition was born out of the Office of Planning’s call to the public.  Community organizations, for-profit and nonprofit developers, faith groups, tenant advocates and other local organizations have formed a loose coalition of interested parties to identify priorities for creating more affordable housing and community support for under-resourced communities in D.C.  The coalition met over several months to reach an agreement on a series of priorities that are listed on their website at www.DCHousingpriorities.org.

According to the 2016 annual census done by the D.C. Council on Homelessness,  8,350 people experience homelessness on any given night in the city.  Coalition members want to see growth in the city but also want the Office of Planning to know that growth does not mean pushing marginalized people further to the margins.

“It is possible to build new housing, including a good measure of affordable housing, and grow the District’s tax base in a way that makes business sense and advances the public good. The result can be a combination of new housing and amenities for residents and increased revenue for the city so it can continue to enhance quality of life,” said Aakash Thakkar in the a news release. Thakkar is the senior vice president of EYA, a real estate development firm that is part of the coalition.

Coalition  members believe that more affordable housing and targeted support for D.C. communities should be in the Comprehensive Plan.  Philip Stump-Kennedy told Street Sense that Latino Economic Development Center (LEDC) joined the coalition in hopes of using the Office of Planning as a tool for their mission. Stump-Kennedy is the regional tenant organizing manager at LEDC. He said he is tasked with the preservation of affordable housing in D.C, which is one of the priorities the coalition wants addressed. He referred to the lack of affordable housing in D.C. and said it is important that subsidized housing like Section 8 housing is maintained in the District.

Stump-Kennedy also believes rent control is an important part of affordable housing preservation. The rest of the coalition agrees and lists the protection of tenants as a priority. Stump-Kennedy said that the LEDC focuses on organizing tenants, connecting them with attorneys and other tenant associations. Stump-Kennedy said there is strength in numbers and organization.

“We need policies that preserve the affordable housing we already have as the District develops. It’s clear the city needs more units to meet the demand of the people coming here, but we also need strategies to protect tenants who are struggling to stay in the city. Those goals don’t have to be in conflict,” said Rob Wohl, a tenant organizer for the LEDC, in a news release.

The coalition members believe that the development of affordable housing and equitable economics requires the participation of all D.C. communities in order to move toward a solution. A full list of organizations and businesses in support of the D.C. housing priorities can be found on their webpage.

Residents can get involved by signing up for updates at plandc.dc.gov and submitting proposed amendments during the open call period for amendments.

The post D.C. Seeks to Improve Its Comprehensive Plan appeared first on Grassroots DC.

It seems like it’s been years since January 20, 2017.  A lot of people, many of them devout moderates, said that we should give Donald Trump a chance.  He’s not really going to do the things he says he’s going to do.  He’s not a true conservative.  He’s just saying those things to get elected.  Others preferred to heed the words of Maya Angelou:  “When someone shows you who they are believe them; the first time.”

Candidate Trump showed us who he was throughout the campaign.  President Trump didn’t hesitate to tell us how he feels about his constituents during his inaugural address:

“Mothers and children trapped in poverty in our inner cities; rusted out factories scattered like tombstones across the landscape of our nation; an education system flush with cash, but which leaves our young and beautiful students deprived of all knowledge; and the crime and the gangs and the drugs that have stolen too many lives and robbed our country of so much unrealized potential.”

Me, my daughter Joshua and her friend Nicole took a camera to the inauguration, but alas we missed the speech.   Although we tried at several locations, we never made it past security.  In what seemed like symbolism, we found anti-Trump protestors north of the mall, all of them in Maya Angelou’s camp.  South of the mall, we found many more pro-Trump attendees, also trying to get through security.  There were also a number of protesters on the south side of the mall whose motivations I still don’t understand. The video is below:

Within hours of the inauguration that so many of us missed, the pages on LGBT rights, civil rights, climate change, and health care were removed from the “issues” section of the official White House website.  Like icing on a mostly Styrofoam replica of Obama’s real inauguration cake, the video below popped up on my daughter’s twitter feed as we were making our way home.

Amazing. This brave woman stood against anti-Muslim protesters at the Islamic Center in Washington D.C. That’s a true ally. #Inauguration pic.twitter.com/bp2DycFL9m

— sarah amy harvard (@amyharvard_) January 20, 2017

I fear that the anti-Trump enthusiasm will wane as the long days of the Trump Administration stretch into weeks, months and years.   On the whole, I’d have to say that January 20, 2017, was not a good day.

The post Inauguration Day Blues appeared first on Grassroots DC.

What will the Trump Presidency mean to the District of Columbia?  With its status as a federal district, all laws passed by the City Council are subject to Congressional approval. Legislation like needle exchange programs and gun control have been held up and denied all together by Congress.  We can blame the conservative members of the House of Representatives for spear-heading these efforts but even a majority Democratic House and Senate have failed to uphold the laws that District residents and their representatives have passed when they cross the sensibilities of the Right.

With rumors that the Trump Administration plan to disrupt the District’s pro-choice and anti-gun legislation as well as the relatively new Death with Dignity Act, what can the many residents in favor of the legalization of Marijuana expect?

Local marijuana advocacy group DCMJ tried to get ahead of the issue with a pro-marijuana demonstration.  On the morning of the inauguration, DCMJ planned to distribute 4,200 joints.  This video below, shot by Joshua Rose Schmidt, shows how things went.

The post DCMJ Inauguration Day Protest appeared first on Grassroots DC.

 

The post Black Lives Matter DC Reclaiming Martin Luther King appeared first on Grassroots DC.

Twelve people arrested blocking the controversial gas pipeline slated to pass near nuclear power plant

Update December 10

All twelve activists who stopped work at a Spectra AIM pipeline construction site on Thursday evening were released on bail early Saturday morning. They will appear in court on Monday, December 12 in Cortlandt Manor, NY on charges of trespassing and resisting arrest.

Update December 9, 6:30am

The twelve people arrested at the Verplanck, NY Spectra construction site were arraigned overnight in Cortlandt, NY. The District Attorney asked for $50,000 bail each.

Defendants’ attorney got bail reduced, according to Kim Fraczek of Sane Energy Project, who posted the following on Facebook:

Dave Dorfman, our attorney, met with Judge McCarthy in the wee hours, and got the judge to reduce bail from $50,000 to $5,000 for 11 of them and $1,500 for one of them. They have been sent to Valhalla Correctional Facility at 10 Woods Rd. in Valhalla, NY.

The individual with bail reduced to $1,500 is a New York resident, while the other 11 are from out of state. All have prior experience protesting fossil fuel infrastructure, according to Fraczek.

To assist with $500 bond for the eleven out-of-state arrestees, you can donate to Mississippi Stand.

To assist with $150 bond for the New York resident, you can donate to ResistSpectra.

Twelve people were arrested at the Spectra Energy construction site late Thursday evening./Screenshot, Resist Spectra live stream

Update, 11:30pm

Twelve people were arrested at a construction site in Verplanck, NY where Spectra Energy is “pulling pipe” under the Hudson River to complete its AIM pipeline project.

The twelve “stormed inside” the site, according to Kim Fraczek, director of Sane Energy Project. Six of the activists then locked themselves to construction equipment, disrupting nighttime work on the pipeline.

Supporters off the property cheered as police pulled out with the twelve arrestees.

Supporters gathered outside the construction site./Screenshot, Resist Spectra live stream

December 8, 10pm:

Six activists have locked themselves to equipment at a Spectra construction site where the Algonquin Incremental Market (AIM) pipeline project crosses the Hudson River. At about 8:30pm, activists swarmed the site where Spectra is now pulling pipeline under the river, according to Kim Fraczek of Sane Energy Project. Spectra security, state police and local police officers are on the scene.

Objections to the Spectra AIM gas pipeline have largely focused on its route, which passes only 105 feet from the Indian Point Energy Center. The river crossing in Verplanck, NY which the activists have locked down is less than a mile from the nuclear power plant.

The aging nuclear power plant has a long history of emergency shutdowns and leakage into the Hudson River. People opposing the project contend that with the additional of a 42″ diameter gas pipeline, an accident is likely and would have catastrophic consequences.

Spectra AIM was supposed to go into service on November 1, transporting fracked gas from Pennsylvania to New England, but there were difficulties with test drilling under the Hudson River over the summer caused delays. Clay in the river bed collapsed during test drilling, and a drill bit broke and was lost in the river. The drill method is the controversial Horizontal Directional Drill (HDD) technique. Over project opponents objections, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission gave permission for the company to continue with the project.

In October, construction was also delayed when four activists crawled into pipeline intended to be pulled under the Hudson River and occupied it for 16 hours.

The post Breaking: Lockdown at Spectra AIM Construction Site at Hudson River Crossing appeared first on DCMediaGroup.

Panel of ‘judges’ hears testimony from residents opposed to FERC’s close relationship with the natural gas industry./Photo by Mark Hand

Described as the first-ever “People’s Hearing” challenging the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), more than 60 speakers presented testimony on why they believe the agency systematically fails to listen to the concerns of the general public.

A panel of “judges,” fashioned similar to the monthly FERC open meetings, presided over the Dec. 2 hearing, held at the National Press Club in Washington, DC. Unlike the real FERC meetings, speakers did not run the risk of getting escorted out by security guards for standing up and expressing dissent with the agency’s decisions.

Many speakers at the standing room-only event described FERC as a “rubber stamp” machine. They urged Congress to grant FERC more leeway to reject a company’s application if the agency determines the project would harm local communities and the environment. Relying on “the market” to decide whether a project should be approved is a flawed regulatory practice that should be replaced by a system that examines the actual need for the infrastructure and whether other options exist to meet the energy needs of the public, speakers said.

The roster of speakers served to illustrate the impressive scope of infrastructure build-out — from pipelines to compressor stations to liquefied natural gas export terminals — occurring in the eastern U.S. Speakers expressed frustration with how FERC appears to operate as an industry partner rather than an honest broker in natural gas infrastructure proceedings.

Russell Chisholm of the group Preserve Giles County contended that the voices of local residents were “stripped” from the public scoping meetings held for the Mountain Valley Pipeline (MVP), a project proposed by EQT Midstream Partners LP and four corporate partners. According to Chisholm, FERC project manager Paul Friedman facilitated two public scoping meetings in southwestern Virginia: one in May 2015 and the other in November 2016.

“In both sessions, there was a common pattern in Friedman’s behavior of circumventing and converting so-called public hearings for the purpose of collecting citizens concerns and information into a systematic effort by Friedman to manipulate public opinion, dissuade opposition to the MVP and cloud any public record of that opposition,” said Chisholm, a U.S. Army veteran, who told the audience he planned to head to North Dakota after the public hearing to join other veterans in a show of solidarity with Native Americans opposed to the Dakota Access Pipeline project.

Activists Seek to Fix ‘Corrupt’ Agency

The hearing’s organizers — Delaware Riverkeeper Network, Berks Gas Truth, Food & Water Watch, Clean Water Action, Beyond Extreme Energy, EarthWorks and Catskill Mountainkeeper — said they support a request signed by more than 180 organizations calling on Congress to reform the Natural Gas Act and investigate how FERC reviews natural gas infrastructure projects.

Throughout its nearly 40-year history, FERC has generally kept a low profile. With the passage of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 and the start of the shale gas boom, though, FERC’s stature grew as residents started doing their homework on how natural gas projects were getting proposed and approved in their communities. For the past two years, activists have attended every monthly FERC meeting to protest the way the agency reviews natural gas infrastructure applications.

The Delaware Riverkeeper Network and other groups hold a “people’s hearing” in Washington, DC, to discuss FERC’s review and approval process./Photo by Mark Hand

Under the Energy Policy Act of 2005, FERC became the lead agency for purposes of complying with the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). With this newly assumed power, FERC has refused to heed the advice of experts at other federal agencies, said David Sligh, conservation director for Wild Virginia, a nonprofit group dedicated to preserving the state’s national forests. The group opposes the MVP and the Atlantic Coast Pipeline, a natural gas project proposed by Dominion Resources.

FERC often ignores or downplays the importance of concerns raised by the U.S. Forest Service and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), said Sligh. Wild Virginia reviewed 18 cases across the U.S. in which various EPA regional offices commented on a FERC draft environmental impact statement (EIS). In every case, Sligh said, the EPA deemed the information in the draft EIS to be “insufficient,” whether it was a flawed analyses of route alternatives and cumulative impacts, a failure to address long-term damages to waterbodies and mature forests, or a refusal to follow NEPA regulations in regard to needs analyses, greenhouse gases and environmental justice.

“FERC must not have the option of ignoring the opinions and judgments of environmental agencies that have greater expertise and credibility. Congress must see to it,” Sligh said.

Megan Holleran, who has been fighting construction of Constitution Pipeline Co. LLC’s natural gas pipeline on her family’s property in Susquehanna County, Pa., said the people’s hearing successfully provided attendees with a look at the many areas of FERC’s regulatory review process that need to be fixed.

“Even the people who are trying to work within the system are finding that it is broken. There is a sense from people outside of the activism community that we ignore the official process and then just stand out there and tie ourselves to a tree,” Holleran said in an interview. “The people’s hearing is a really good way to send out the message that everyone does try to follow the official process. The reason we end up tied to a tree is because the official process is corrupt.”

Belinda Blazic, a New Jersey resident fighting Transcontinental Gas Pipe Line’s proposed Garden State Expansion Project, questioned why FERC lets pipeline companies build their projects in segments, a common complaint heard at the hearing. Pipeline segmentation, according to Blazic, makes it easier for companies to overcome regulatory requirements at both the federal and state levels. “The impacts of these projects in our communities raise serious questions of FERC’s review process. Congressional investigation and legislative remedy are needed,” she said. “The ‘R’ in FERC stands for ‘Regulatory’ not ‘rubber stamp.’”

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At a march in solidarity with Dakota Access Pipeline protesters in Washington, DC/Photo by Ted Majdosz

Against all odds, the Standing Rock Sioux have prevailed in stopping the Dakota Access Pipeline at Lake Oahe. On Sunday, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers denied–for the time being–the easement which would have given Energy Transfer Partners permission to build the final segment of the project under the Missouri River.

Occupants of the Oceti Sakowin camp erupted in joy and celebration at the announcement.

“We will not fight tonight, we will dance,” said Rami Bald Eagle, Cheyenne River Lakota Tribal Leader, when he received the news.

The Standing Rock Sioux released a statement of thanks to Water Protectors and allies who had taken part in the standoff: “Today, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers announced that it will not be granting the easement to cross Lake Oahe for the proposed Dakota Access Pipeline. Instead, the Corps will be undertaking an environmental impact statement to look at possible alternative routes. We wholeheartedly support the decision of the administration and commend with the utmost gratitude the courage it took on the part of President Obama, the Army Corps, the Department of Justice and the Department of the Interior to take steps to correct the course of history and to do the right thing.”

Jo-Ellen Darcy, Army’s Assistant Secretary for Civil Works, issued the announcement. “Although we have had continuing discussion and exchanges of new information with the Standing Rock Sioux and Dakota Access, it’s clear that there’s more work to do,” she said. The ACE will explore “alternatives” to the pipeline crossing.

The ACE statement came as thousands of U.S. veterans had been arriving by car all day Sunday, adding to the existing thousands already at four camps who have opposed the project since April.

The group of at least 2,000 veterans had mobilized in response to a violent attack on Water Protectors by Morton County police on November 20. They came to form a buffer between Morton County police and Water Protectors. Over 300 had been injured, including shootings with rubber bullets and water cannons. On that night, over 26 were shot with projectiles thought to be rubber bullets. An activist lost use of her arm from what is thought to be a concussion grenade.

Hundreds of cars with veterans stream into Oceti Sakowin camp/Photo by Dennis Trainor

The Army Corps decision is not final but will probably lead to an analysis for a formal Environment Impact Statement, long sought by the tribes, which could take months to complete.

It’s unclear how the transition to the Trump administration will ultimately affect the Dakota Access Pipeline’s route.

“We don’t know what the next administration is going to do, but at least if we get an Environmental Impact Statement process in place that will delay this for months,” Dallas Goldtooth of the Indigenous Environmental Network said in a video posted on Facebook.

Gail Small, a Native American Studies professor at Montana State University, told Inforum that presidential power is constrained by federal agencies such the Army Corps, which have broad discretion in making regulatory decisions such as easements.

Energy Transfer Partners can also appeal the decision. While any scenario will push the pipeline’s in-service date long past January 1, whether the pipeline will be re-routed, or stopped entirely, is up in the air.

Goldtooth thanked the Water Protectors and allies for their hard work fighting the Dakota Access project and asked them to continue supporting those everywhere trying to keep fossil fuels in the ground. “Thank you so much for this moment,” he said.

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Protesters gather outside the Capitol Hill home of Elaine Chao/Photo by Collin Rees

Dozens of people marched from Columbus Circle to the Capitol Hill house of Elaine Chao, President-elect Donald Trump’s nominee for secretary of the U.S. Department of Transportation and a board member of Wells Fargo & Co., an investor in the Dakota Access Pipeline.

The Dec. 3 action was organized by the Washington, DC, chapter of Showing Up for Racial Justice (SURJ) to demonstrate solidarity with Native Americans who have been fighting construction of the Dakota Access Pipeline since last spring. As part of the months-long anti-DAPL campaign, activists have urged Wells Fargo and other investment banks providing loans to DAPL developer Energy Transfer Partners to end their financial support of the oil pipeline project.

“In responding to peaceful protection of tribal lands and resources with militarized violence, federal, state and local governments, as well as the shadowy web of corporations funding and construction the Dakota Access Pipeline (DAPL), are perpetuating a long history of white imperialist violence against the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe and other native peoples,” SURJ said in a Dec. 3 press release.

Organizers from SURJ chose Columbus Circle, just south of Union Station, as the starting point for the march to symbolize the brutality faced by indigenous people in the Americas at the hands of white settlers for more than 500 years. Along with showing solidarity with the Standing Rock Sioux in North Dakota, organizers recognized that the District of Columbia is situated on the land of the Powhatan chiefdom, a tribal body that encompassed nearly 30 tribes and 6,000 square miles.

Activists Escalate Campaign against DAPL Banks

The protesters walked several blocks from Columbus Circle, halting traffic along the way, to Chao’s house where they intended to urge the incoming DOT secretary to convince Wells Fargo to end its financing of the Dakota Access project. The former Labor secretary in the George W. Bush administration appeared not to be home. Wells Fargo reportedly said it would “be pleased” to meet with the Standing Rock Sioux tribe this month to discuss its investment in the Dakota Access Pipeline.

Protesters march from Columbus Circle to home of Wells Fargo board member Elaine Chao to demonstrate solidarity with the Standing Rock Sioux trible./Photo by Mark Hand.

Chao is married to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, a Republican from Kentucky. The protesters quietly sang outside the house and then passed out leaflets about the Dakota Access Pipeline in the neighborhood. About a half-dozen police arrived on the scene, but no one was arrested.

“We join the thousands of American Indians from hundreds of tribes and millions of people of conscience from around the world in demanding the immediate withdrawal of police/military and construction forces from Standing Rock, as well as reparations for the recent and historical harms perpetrated by the U.S. government,” the SURJ press release said.

Along with serving as a board member of Wells Fargo, Chao also sits on the board of directors of News Corp., the Rupert Murdoch-founded media conglomerate that owns Fox News, The Wall Street Journal and dozens of other media companies.

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