International Women's
Day is
March 5th.
[Actually, International Women's Day is March 8th, and is another progressive holiday/event that seems to have originated here, but is now more widely celebrated elsewhere. March 5th is memorable as the day when Soviet leader JV Stalin is supposed to have died of natural causes in 1953, though there are questions about whether the official timeline is really what happened and if it was an assassination by revisionists.]
North Carolina’s
primary election is March 15th:
The presidential primaries
and several local and State offices and I think the Connect NC Public
Improvement Bond are up for voting Tuesday, March 15th.
Photo ID is now required, but people without it can still vote
provisionally. Gerrymandered congressional districts have to be
redrawn, so the US representative elections will be voted on June 7th
instead. For information, see www.ncsbe.gov/
and the Durham County government's website.
Local Bernie Sanders
events can be found at: go.berniesanders.com/page/event/search_simple
The NC Green Party will be
collecting signatures at polling places on the 15th to get
on the ballot in the future, since North Carolina has onerous ballot
access laws to keep third parties out of elections. To volunteer for
Green Ballot Day, see their Facebook page at:
www.facebook.com/officialncgp?fref=ts
Vigils
for Torture Accountability:
The NC Stop Torture
Now vigils to be held in Raleigh in February were rescheduled to
March 9th 9-10am because of the ice storm (see below).
National March on
Washington to Support Palestine:
Al
Awda - the Palestinian Right to Return Coalition - and the ANSWER
Coalition are sponsoring a National March on Washington, DC to
Support Palestine Sunday, March 20th, rallying in front of the White
House and then marching to the DC Convention Center, where the
Zionist lobby AIPAC is meeting (see:
www.answercoalition.org/new_national_march_on_washington_d_c_to_support_palestine
)
CONSERVATION
EVENTS and BOOK SALES
Conversations
about Development in Durham:
I'm not sure what
the content is, but these seem to be chances to discuss the way
Durham (mainly downtown?) is going and where it has been:
There
was a discussion February 27th
with representatives from Center Studio Architecture, Urban Durham
Realty, and the president of CAN.
March
1st
6-8pm Tootie's Bar (704 Rigsbee Avenue): Bringing History Back to
Durham discussion with Tootie's Bar owner Carolyn “Tootie”
Holloway and neighborhood development specialist Wanona Satcher.
March
5th
1-3pm Pleiades Gallery: discussion with Susan Herst and Mary Hunter
of Urban Durham Realty and others
Durham Arbor Day Celebration:
Durham will mark Arbor Day
Sunday, March 6th
at the NC Museum of Life and Science (433 West Murray Avenue) from
12-4pm (organized by the City of Durham General Services Department
Urban Forestry Division, Keep Durham Beautiful, Trees Across Durham,
and the Durham City-County Sustainability Office). The information I
listed in an earlier post must have been from a previous year. At
12:30 the Durham Arbor Day Proclamation and Tree City USA award will
be received and the winning trees in that contest I mentioned will be
announced. After 1pm people can visit educational tables, an
arborist demonstration, “Meet a Scientist” lab demonstration, and
get a free tree seedling (8 kinds are available) and expert advice on
tree care. At 2:30 volunteers will plant 30 trees along North
Glendale Avenue. See: keepdurhambeautiful.org/our-events/arbor-day/
This is Durham Community
Day at the Museum, so entry is free for Durham County residents
(requires a photo ID) and each resident can bring in up to 5 children
( www.lifeandscience.org/calendar/entry/3616/instance/3-6-2016
)
Keep
Durham Beautiful is also giving tree seedlings to County residents
for free March 13th,
12-4pm at the Durham Central Park Food Truck Rodeo. Choose among red
cedars, pawpaws, serviceberries, flowering dogwoods, American
beeches, sugar maples, tuliptrees, and post oaks. For more
information see:
keepdurhambeautiful.org/event/tree-seedling-giveaway/
[JC Raulston Arboretum lecture "The Value of Seed Banks:"
I'm including this item because seed banks are important, for example in preserving rare vegetable varieties and American ash trees might not survive the emerald ash borer onslaught unless seeds are artificially preserved long-term, but also because of an interview in the News & Observer March 5th, pointing out the importance of Soviet scientists in creating the first seed bank and heroically preserving it through the brutal siege of Leningrad during WWII, though the chief scientist died during the war because of politics.
JCRA (jcra.ncsu.edu) announcement:
"The Value of Seed Banks"
Janice Swab, Retired Professor, Department of Biology and Health Sciences, Meredith College
Janice Swab, Retired Professor, Department of Biology and Health Sciences, Meredith College
Thursday, March 10, 2016 - 7:30 PM-9:00 PM
Seeds are humans' most precious plant resources. We collect them, exchange them, buy and sell them, and take them for granted. What are we doing to ensure that the most useful ones will be available if crops fail, environmental catastrophes occur, or for other reasons we are unable to harvest necessary seeds? Botanists have been addressing these possibilities for some time by keeping seeds in conditions that will allow them to retain viability. These facilities, known as seed banks, provide a first line of defense against catastrophic loss of plant germ plasm represented in seeds. This talk will consider the past, present, and future of these critical facilities.
- Cost
- Free for Friends of the JC Raulston Arboretum members, NC State University students (with ID), and Department of Horticultural Science faculty and staff, all others $5.00.
- Registration
- Advance registration is not available.
- Location
- Ruby C. McSwain Education Center, JC Raulston Arboretum at NC State University, 4415 Beryl Road, Raleigh, North Carolina.
Durham
Creek Week:
Durham's
annual waterway festival Creek Week will be March 12-16th (see
keepdurhambeautiful.org for events).
Solarize your home:
Solar installation costs
are falling and there is a 30% Federal tax credit for the
installation cost, though there is no longer a State tax credit.
Non-profits NC Warn and Next Climate are helping people in the
Triangle go solar through group discounts and 312 homes have
participated over two years.
There will be
presentations March 1st
7-9 pm in Chapel Hill and March 30th
7-9 pm in Raleigh (see solarize-nc.org/events/
). It is also possible to get a free home assessment, but you need
to register by April 30th.
In Durham there will be an
information session March 17th
at 7pm at the Parkwood Association's office (1417 Seaton Road), and
it is okay if you have to be late or don't live in Parkwood.
Seeking Comments on the
2045 Metropolitan Transportation Plan:
The Durham-Chapel
Hill-Carrboro Metropolitan Planning Organization is seeking comments
on the 2045 Metropolitan Transportation Plan. There is a survey at:
www.dchcmpo.org/programs/transport/2045mtp.asp#tabs4
or email DCHC MPO directly. There will be a hearing Wednesday, March
9th at 9am in the Durham City Hall Committee Room, and a drop-in
public workshop Thursday, March 17th
4-7pm at the Durham Station Transportation Center at 515 West
Pettigrew Street.
Friends of Bolin Creek
Outings:
Several
hikes are scheduled along Bolin Creek in Chapel Hill (joined by
Booker Creek to form Little Creek, which flows through Durham to join
New Hope Creek).
Spring
Wildflower Walk with David Otto – Saturday, April 2nd
at 10am, meet at the Wilson Park parking lot in Carrboro.
Birds
at UNC's Mason Farm Biological Reserve with Tom Driscoll – Sunday,
May 22nd,
at 7am at Mason Farm ( ncbg.unc.edu/mason-farm-biological-reserve/ ).
Friends
of Bolin Creek's website is bolincreek.org (but the events listed
there seem to be out of date) and their contact email is
FriendsBolinCreek [at] gmail [dot] com. The website also has a
petition about a coal ash dump in Chapel Hill.
Chatham County Library
Book Sale:
April 4-7 at the Central Carolina Community College in Pittsboro.
Friends of the Durham
Library Book Sale:
April 15-17 at the Main Library downtown.
North Carolina Nongame
and Endangered Wildlife Fund:
When you do your North
Carolina tax, consider donating to the Nongame and Endangered
Wildlife Fund (
www.ncwildlife.org/News/NewsArticle/tabid/416/indexID/10300/Default.aspx
). I think donation doesn’t effect your tax bill, but I might be
thinking of a similar Federal fund. Unfortunately North Carolina’s
Fund is the main non-Federal funding for programs to study and
conserve non-game species, such as sea turtles, threatened bats, and
freshwater mussels, and this could also indirectly benefits gaming
species. Freshwater mussels are very diverse in this region, but
many species are threatened or have already been killed off. They
are economically useful to have around because they clean the water
and were once so abundant that they were collected for mother of
pearl, etc. in places. The Fund probably helps research and manage
the Federal and State endangered dwarf wedgemussel, or Alasmidonta
heterodon (pictures at:
www.ncwildlife.org/Learning/Species/Mollusks/DwarfWedgemussel.aspx ).
Populations in Wake County could be harmed by Raleigh’s 540 Outer
Loop, if it is built along the Orange Route, as the DOT now plans to
do. State agencies will probably have to mitigate the impact if this
goes ahead, and might do captive breeding, but they could have looked
for a way to avoid harming the mussels in the first place.
Earth
Day is coming up April 22nd
and May Day/International Workers' Day is May 1st:
Durham's
Earth Day Festival will be April 19th
(possibly this is an old calendar item, but there should be a
celebration sometime in April) 12-5pm at Rock Creek Park (701 Stadium
Drive), or at the Holton Career and Resource Center (401 North Driver
Street), if it is rained out outside. See:
keepdurhambeautiful.org/our-events/durham-earth-day/
Events from an activist calendar in Chapel Hill:
"EUROPE'S REFUGEE CRISIS AND THE RIGHTS OF MIGRANTS: What Role for Europe's Supranational Courts? Moritz Baumgärtel, Université libre de Bruxelles, focuses on the intersection of migrant rights and human rights in litigation before European Court of Human Rights and European Court of Justice supranational courts. 12:30-2 p.m., Monday, February 29, Duke Law School 4045, 210 Science Dr, Durham. Co-sponsored by International Human Rights Clinic, Center for International & Comparative Law, and Duke Human Rights Center@FHI. Lunch served. Information:ali [dot] prince [at] law [dot] duke [dot] edu .
THE MIINE WARS: Screening of second half of documentary of coal miners' bitter battle for dignity at beginning of 20th century. 1:15 p,m., Monday, February 29, Carol Woods' Assembly Hall, 750 Weaver Dairy Rd, Chapel Hill. Elders for Peace. 919-636-1849.
LAW AND LEGAL CHALLENGES IN ADDRESSING PSYCHOLOGISTS IN THE CIA TORTURE PROGRAM: Talk by Steven Watt, Senior Staff Attorney of Human Rights Program, ACLU. will focus on recent ACLU lawsuit of Salim v. Mitchell filed against psychologists James Elmer Mitchell and John Jessen. Role of these psychologists was detailed in The Senate Intelligence Committee Report on Torture: Committee Study of the Central Intelligence Agency's Detention and Interrogation Program (2014). 12:30 p.m., Tuesday, March 1, Duke Law School 4045, 210 Science Dr, Durham. Co-sponsored by International Human Rights Clinic, Center for International & Comparative Law, Duke Human Rights Center at Kenan Institute for Ethics, Duke Human Rights Center at Franklin Humanities Institute, International Law Society, and Human Rights Law Society. Lunch. RSVP to ali [dot] prince [at] law [dot] duke [dot] edu . 919-613-7239.
OUR RIGHT TO PLACE: VISION OF DURHAM'S FUTURE: Panel of recognized Durham leaders focuses on how to insure that people of color and working class have a voice in conversation, decision-making, and visioning. 6:30-8 p.m., Wednesday, March 2, Duke's FHI Garage, Smith Warehouse, Bay 4, 114 S Buchanan Blvd at Maxwell St , Durham. Sponsored by Duke Human Rights Center@FHI, The Pauli Murray Project, and Forum for Scholars and Publics. 919-668-1923.
DELIVERING DEVELOPMENT & RELIEF IN PALESTINE AND LEBANON: Speaker Bill Corcoran, President & CEO of American Near East Refugee Aid (ANERA), on ANERA’s work among refugees in Palestine and Lebanon. Since 1967, ANERA has been responding to critical needs of the Palestinian people and others caught in regional conflicts. 7 p. m., Wednesday, March 2, UNC’s FedEx Global Education Center, Room 1005, Pittsboro and McCauley Sts. Sponsored by Coalition for Peace with Justice, Carolina Center for Study of Middle East and Muslim Civilizations, Curriculum in Global Studies, and Center for Global Initiatives. Contact: 919-342-8928 or cpwj [dot] contact [at] gmail [dot] com .
A BRIDGE TO UNDERSTANDING ISLAM: Invitation to Islamic Center of Raleigh's annual Open House, an event for those from other faiths to learn and experience different aspects of Islam. Event features Imam AbuTaleb and guest speaker Dr. Carl Earnst, UNC-Chapel Deptartment of Religious Studies. Come learn about Islam, Muslim culture, and sample culinary treats from around the world. Noon to 4 p.m.,Saturday, March 5, 808 Atwater St, Raleigh. Details: http://raleighmasjid.org/activities/iar-open-house.html.
SHOW CANDIDATES NC OWES RESTITUTION TO TORTURE VICTIMS: Witness with NC Stop Torture Now to correct government's blindness to state's rendition flights from Johnston County to carry kidnapped men to sites of torture. Rescheduled to Wed, March 9, 9 AM, Attorney General Roy Cooper's office, 114 W. Edenton St, corner of Salisbury St, and then 10 AM, Governor Pat McCrory's mansion, 200 N. Blount St, corner of Jones St, Raleigh. Speakers include Allyson Caison, NC Stop Torture Now; Manzoor Cheema, Movement to End Racism; Islamophobia; Jennifer Copeland, NC Council of Churches; Deborah Weissman, UNC School of Law. Info: http://ncstn.org/. 919--637-7678.
THE WANTED 18: View Canadian-Palestinian animated documentary about a tiny village next to Bethlehem that attempts to have a small local dairy industry during the First Intifada (1987 – 1993), hiding a herd of 18 dairy cows from Israeli security forces when the dairy collective was considered a danger to Israel. Enjoy 2014 film (75 min) that includes archival footage, drawings, black-and-white stop-motion animation, and re-enactments. 7:30 p.m., Wednesday, March 9, Community Church of Chapel Hill Unitarian Universalist sanctuary, 106 Purefoy Rd (road is open to church). Co-sponsored by Charles M. Jones Peace and Justice Committee and Balance and Accuracy in Journalism (BAJ). Information: http://variety.com/2014/film/festivals/film-review-the-wanted-18-1201366864/, 919-942-2535, 919-542-2139.
ONGOING VIGILS FOR JUSTICE AND PEACE: Raleigh: Stop the Arms Race and Build a Culture of Peace Vigil, 1st Wednesday of every month, Noon to 1 PM, Century Post Office on Fayetteville St (919-782-0667); Raleigh: End the death penalty (PFADP, AI-USA, NC-ACLU), 5 - 6 PM, Mondays, Central Prison, corner of Hunt Dr and Western Blvd (919-779-1912); Chapel Hill: 4:30 - 5:30 PM EST [5-6 PM EDT], Fridays, corner of Elliott Rd and East Franklin St; bring your sign(s) to show your concern or take one from collection (919-942-2535)."
More about The Wanted 18 from the Coalition for Peace with Justice (peace-with-justice.org/ ):
"Through a clever mix of stop motion animation and interviews, The Wanted 18 recreates an astonishing true story: the Israeli army's pursuit of 18 cows, whose independent milk production on a Palestinian collective farm was declared "a threat to the national security of the state of Israel." In response to the Israeli occupation of the West Bank, a group of people from the town of Beit Sahour decide to buy 18 cows and produce their own milk as a co-operative. Their venture is so successful that the collective farm becomes a landmark, and the cows local celebrities-until the Israeli army takes note and declares that the farm is an illegal security threat. Consequently, the dairy is forced to go underground, the cows continuing to produce their "Intifada milk" with the Israeli army in relentless pursuit.
Wednesday, March 9, 2016 * 7:30 pm * Community Church of Chapel Hill * 106 Purefoy Rd. * Chapel Hill, NC 27514
Co-sponsored by Balance and Accuracy in Journalism"
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