From CNY Solidarity Coalition
Please attend: We can really have an impact on this critical issue!
Next Meeting: 3/26/23 Zoom meeting 3 PM – 4:15 PM
Zoom info to be sent the week of March 20
Special Speaker: Oceanna Fair, Families for Lead Freedom Now (branch leader)
Lead poisoning of children is a serious issue in Syracuse, resulting in nearly 12% of black children tested and 6% of white children tested in the city having elevated blood lead levels, compared to the national average of 2.6%. 17 Syracuse neighborhoods have above-the-average lead exposure levels. County statistics show city children are lead poisoned at a rate ten times higher than children in the rest of Onondaga County. Lead poisoning isn’t something we outgrow as we age: it translates to reduced IQ, inability to focus on academics or behavior in school, leading to lower performance, and often results in lifetime disabilities. Please see the Harvard University Public Health report: Lead poisoning is a crisis for Syracuse’s Black families (harvardpublichealth.org). The report’s author is Christine Mehta, a Syracuse University alum.
Despite knowledge of the danger of lead poisoning, the number of local children tested for lead at age one and two (as required by NYS law) is lower than we would think:
- Some pediatricians don’t have the required testing equipment, creating insurmountable obstacles for families to get their children tested,
- The City of Syracuse, which has passed a lead paint ordinance, still does not rigorously monitor for it, or enforce repairs,
- The Onondaga County Dept. of Health, which used to have the WIC program perform blood lead tests, no longer allows it.
ARTICLES OF THE WEEK:
Syracuse Residents Weigh Funding For 3 Proposals To Increase Lead Testing
The proposals are part of a “participatory budgeting” program run by the Central New York Community Foundation. Through the program, residents were invited to come up with a solution that the foundation will then fund with $150,000….Syracuse has one of the worst lead crises in the nation. Read it Here on Central Current
How Micron built to this moment: The maverick high-tech giant stakes its future in Central NY https://l.syracuse.com/E2FJOo
Profiting Off Of Death And Suffering Is The American Way
“The Russia-Ukraine conflict has presented the latest opportunity for profiteering off of war. The arms industry is certainly making big bucks, with policies that fuel the conflict with the selling of an array of weaponry. There are politicians who have bought stock in the arms industry just before Russia invaded Ukraine.” Read it on www.popularresistance.org
How Silicon Valley Bank & Signature Bank Lobbied to Weaken Regulations That Could Have Prevented Collapse
“…during the Trump administration, a number of Democrats joined Republicans in Congress to weaken laws including Dodd-Frank, the landmark regulatory reform passed in the wake of the (2008) crisis. Executives from Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank were among those who successfully lobbied to weaken rules that may have prevented their collapse.” Read iton https://www.democracynow.org
INDIVISIBLE has a new guide out: “A Practical Guide to Defeating MAGA,” here in PDF form. At just 19 pages, it’s their usual easy-to-read, hyper-local analysis.
ACTION ALERTS:
How can we support the Families for Lead Freedom Now agenda?
Thursday, Mar 16. Lead Free Kids NY Day of Action. Contact your elected NYS Officials. Email your elected officials right here about New York State’s childhood lead poisoning crisis and their need to act now.
Workers’ Center of CNY: We need your help TODAY to pass a higher minimum wage: We’re reaching out with an urgent ask: can you take 5 minutes TODAY to call NY state leadership and share your support for a $21.25 minimum wage?
ASSEMBLY: 866-516-7869 – SENATE: 866-716-7869
City seeks input on proposed surveillance technology for Syracuse police
The Syracuse Police Department is considering installing automated license plate readers in 26 proposed locations.
Members of the public will be able to submit comments online between March 10 and March 24, officials said.
Syracuse School District Asks For Feedback From Students, Staff, And Families
The survey focuses on potential barriers that families face in becoming involved with their children’s school. Several questions ask about child care, safety and transportation. The survey also includes more basic questions, like how much students like attending school and how fair is the school’s system of evaluating children.
The survey will remain open through spring break in early April and can be found here.
How can we support the Invest in Our NY (IONY) campaign?
Millionaires, billionaires, and wealthy corporations have benefited from a rigged system that prioritizes their profits over the well-being of working New Yorkers. We can raise over $40 billion in public funds for public investments by transforming our tax system and raising taxes only on NY’s richest.
Here are some steps you can take:
1. Call and/or email your NYS Legislators: Find them and their contact info on our website Here
Tell them to make the Corporate Tax Bill permanent:
(S1980-Hoylman/Kelles/Shrestha) In 2021, as a result of our advocacy, the state added a new corporate tax bracket for businesses making over $5 million per year. This tax has generated in hundreds of millions of additional public dollars.. Unfortunately, this corporate tax is set to sunset in 2023. The Corporate Tax Bill will make the 2021 reforms permanent and increase taxes on corporate profits of over $2.5 million per year.
2. Sign the IONY petition at https://www.investinourny.org
3. Do some reading to familiarize yourself with the IONY platform and related issues. Start with the three documents at the bottom of the IONY page: https://www.investinourny.org. Continue with the articles from our 2/21 CNY Solidarity newsletter.
4. Consider a Letter to the Editor after doing some of the suggested reading.
EVENTS/ACTIONS CALENDAR
Postponed due to Weather: NYS Senator John Mannion: Mobile Office Hours
Tuesday March 14, 2:00 pm – 4:00 pm
Community Library of Dewitt and Jamesville, 5110 Jamesville Rd., Jamesville 13078
For updates: Call Sen. Mannion’s Syracuse Office: 315-428-7632
Climate Change Awareness & Action Meeting
Tuesday March 14, 6 PM
Join us for our monthly CCAA Member’s Meeting on zoom! https://tinyurl.com/CCAAMeet0323 Special speaker, Nathaniel Stinnett, founder and exec director of the Environmental Voter Project. EVP is a national, nonpartisan, nonprofit organization focused on getting non-voting environmentalists to vote!
FOCUS Forum on the Syracuse STEAM High School.
Friday, March 17 at 12:05 p.m.
The STEAM School – which stands for Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, and Mathematics – will be the first collaborative school of its kind in Central New York. It will offer a rigorous academic curriculum with a focus on the principles of STEAM, providing students a rich project and skills-based curriculum to make them college and career ready.
Panelists: Jody Manning, Executive Director/Planning STEAM Principal; Anthony Davis, Superintendent of Schools, Syracuse City School District (SCSD); Jeremy Belfield; Superintendent of Schools, LaFayette Central School District REGISTER HERE
Clean Slate Day of Action
Monday March 20 in Albany Center for Community Alternatives
Will you stand up for all 2.3 million of us and our loved ones who are blocked from jobs, housing and education because of old conviction records? RSVP now for our Clean Slate Day of Action on March 20.
It is time New York ends perpetual punishment and ensures all of us can support ourselves and our families. But we need you to make it happen! Will you join CCA next Monday for a powerful press conference, rally, and meetings with lawmakers? We’ll board buses in Syracuse and across the state and converge on Albany to ensure Clean Slate gets passed this year. We’ll provide free transportation and lunch — we just need you to help make the day as impactful as possible.
All are welcome! Invite friends, family, and colleagues. You can post the graphics in this toolkit on social media. RSVP now and reach out with any questions!
Mass Mobilization Of Healthcare Workers, Families, Faith Leaders And Community Organizations
Tuesday, March 21st in Albany. Bus from downtown Syracuse for community leaders and organizations. About 5 seats left to date. If interested please email LaToya Jones latoya.jones@1199funds.org as soon as possible.
Village Elections: March 21 If you live in the villages of Baldwinsville, Fabius, Fayetteville, Jordan, Manlius, or Skaneateles, make sure you have a plan to vote on Tuesday, March 21st, 2023. Elections vary per village. Questions?, contact your village clerk. More information: http://www.ongov.net/elections/Village-Elections.html
Save the Dates
Covid-19: Riding The Latest Wave. What workers need to know to stay safe on the job
Occupational Health Clinical Center
Choose either date:
Wednesday, March 22 4:00 -6:00pm: English Register
Thursday, March 30 4:00-6:00pm: English Register
What do workers need to know to stay safe on the job? Join us for an ONLINE training where you’ll learn:
- Your rights as a worker
- The latest information on COVID
- What are worker health and safety committees
- The rules all employers must follow
Presented By: Nenycosh, Wnycosh, Midstate Cosh And The Occupational Health Clinical Center
Also available in Spanish and Burmese: Call Jeanette Zoeckler, PhD, MPH. Director, Occupational Health Clinical Center (315) 432-8899 ext 121 desk.
Fund Excluded Workers Coalition Phone Bank Session (Workers’ Center of CNY)
Thurs. 3/23: 6:00pm
Phone banking for the Unemployment Bridge Program (S3192/A4821) to provide unemployment compensation to New York workers who are excluded from traditional unemployment insurance. Register here
Mass Mobilization Day For Access to Representation Act – NY Immigrant Coalition
Tues. Mar. 28
Thursday, March 30, at 6 p.m. – Central Current Virtual Town Hall: Bring-a-Friend Edition
Like what you’ve been reading? Tell a friend (or two!) to join us for an evening of dialogue, questions and answers with Central Current’s editorial and business staff.
To attend: sign up for newsletter, membership, or donation: https://centralcurrent.org
Syracuse Citizen Review Board (CRB): Acknowledging 30 Years!
Wed., April 5, 2023
10:30 AM Assembly @ Dunbar Center and Hopps Memorial Church
11:oo AM March to City Hall
12:00 PM Speakers: City Hall Steps
5:30 PM @ Nancy Cantor Warehouse: Reception; Discussion of the CRB’s past, Present, and Future
Nonviolent Action from Civil Rights to Climate Justice
Thurs. April 13, 6-7:30pm. Peter Graham Scholarly Commons, Bird Library at SU, Room 114.
Activist and author George Lakey discusses his work with the Earth Quaker Action Team (EQAT), a mostly youth-led coalition, which he co-founded to pursue ecojustice at the intersections of race, class, queerness, and the climate crisis. Series info: https://envirostorycny.com/
Climate Justice Nonviolent Direct Action Training
Fri., April 14, 9am-12pm. Community Folk Art Center (CFAC), 805 E Genesee St, Syracuse, NY 13210
Civil rights leader and author George Lakey works with community leaders and university students, faculty, and staff to think carefully about how they can craft nonviolent social change campaigns to be inclusive, powerful, and successful. Open to the public, but space is limited. Please register by Friday, April 7, 2023. Series info: https://envirostorycny.com/
The Letter: A Message for Our Earth
First Showing: Co-Sponsored by the Roman Catholic Diocese of Syracuse and Liverpool Public Library
Saturday April 15th, 2:00-4:00 p.m.. Liverpool Public Library, 310 Tulip St, Liverpool, NY 13088
FREE but you must register: https://tinyurl.com/2p9zycmt
Approximately 80% of the people on Earth belong to a faith. Pope Francis has written a document called Laudato Si’ where he calls on “all people of good will” to care for our common home. He also highlights the importance of open, respectful dialogue with scientists and people of other faiths in addressing the ecological crisis. Based on the Laudato Si’ document, this film demonstrates how common ground can be found in people of different faiths and backgrounds by addressing shared values and delivering hope. The approximately 90 minute film showing will be followed by time for dialog, discussion, and calls to action. Film Trailer: https://tinyurl.com/2ud82md5
Second Showing: Co-Sponsored byThe Roman Catholic Diocese of Syracuse and ArtRage Gallery
April 26, 2023. Film screening 7pm; doors open at 6:30pm for patrons to view exhibit, Climate Connections.
ArtRage Gallery, 505 Hawley Ave, Syracuse, NY 13203 A light snack will be available.
FREE but you must register: https://tinyurl.com/2mmr25bj
Thursday, April 27, at 6 p.m. – Central Current Virtual town hall: Commentary & Perspectives Edition
Central Current has heard a lot of interest from our readers in submitting letters, opinion, creative writing and commentary. Our staff will lead a roundtable discussion about opinion and readers’ submissions. We’ll discuss Central Current’s vision and what it would take to execute this addition to our website in the future. To attend: sign up for newsletter, membership, or donation: https://centralcurrent.org
EarthFest 2023
Sat., April 29, Canal Landing Park in Fayetteville
Sustainable Manlius and Renewable Fayetteville will be hosting EarthFest 2023, a large, outdoor environmental and sustainability event.. Informational booths, an EV car show, EV buses and many other educational and fun activities for both adults and children. Come learn about solar power, native plants, EVs and bicycles, composting techniques and sustainable practices, among other things.
Thursday, May 25, at 6 p.m. – Central Current Spring Fundraiser Kick-off at Harvey’s Garden:
Join Central Current in-person at Harvey’s Garden for local food, drink and music. Hear about what we’ve accomplished since our launch in June 2022, see what’s in store for 2023, and mingle with the community and our staff. There may just be a surprise or two in store! To attend: sign up for newsletter, membership, or donation: https://centralcurrent.org
Thursday, June 22, at 6 p.m. – Central Current In-person focus group: Commentary & Perspectives:
There was a real interest in this topic. We hear you – and that’s why we’ll have a virtual AND in-person discussion around this. If you’d like to participate, email membership@centralcurrent.org
Election Day: Tues. November 7, 2023 County, town, and village elections. More info: NY State Board of Elections page and at the Onondaga County Board of Elections Primaries will be in June.
ONGOING EVENTS:
Looking For Flexible — No Meeting, No Committee — Opportunity To Oppose War And Oppression And Work For Peace And Social Justice?
We call it STREET HEAT: an easy, uncomplicated way –in solidarity with a handful of others — to stand up and out for what we stand for. Greeting passing traffic at rush hour with hand-held signs, we want to get them thinking about the day’s crucial issues.
First Tuesday Of The Month…4 to 4:45 p.m.: Killer drones
Hancock AFB (home of the 174th Attack Wing of the NYS National Guard), 6000 East Molloy Rd.
across from the main gate. Park on the south shoulder.
Every Friday…4 to 4:45 p.m.
West sidewalk of the broad intersection of Erie Blvd East & East Genesee St. in De Witt (across from the Fire Dept.)
For years our focus has been on solidarity with the people of Palestine; while the invasion of Ukraine persists, we also address that tragedy.
Our current stalwart team: Julienne, Les, Leslie, Geoff, Ed, Ann, Peter…. To learn more: Ed or Ann 315 478 4571
CNY Solidarity Coalition
Check out our Website and our Instagram.
Sign up for this newsletter Here
Twitter: @CNYSolidarity and @IndivisibleNY24
Facebook: www.facebook.com/cnysolidarity/ and
www.facebook.com/groups/IndivisibleNY24
Mail/Donations Address: CNY Solidarity Coalition, P.O. Box 6137, Teall Post Office, 226 Teall Ave., Syracuse NY 13217
To contribute: Donate Here through PayPal. Or send checks to mailing address above
Our Committees: To sign up for each of the committee mailing lists, contact the person listed.
Indivisible Onondaga County (Formerly Indivisible NY24): Contact: Deborah Rose: dcurryrose@gmail.com
Climate Justice: Contact: Dick Kornbluth dick@dickkornbluth.com
SLAT (State/Local Action Team) Contact: Peter McCarthy – pmccar1100@gmail.com
Beyond War and Militarism. A joint committee of CNY Solidarity Coalition and the Syracuse Peace Council. Contact: Ron Van Norstrand: ron@vannorstrandlaw.com
CNY Solidarity Coalition contributes regularly to local progressive organizations: Syracuse Peace Council, National Action Network, and Urban Jobs Coalition, as well as to our mailing list provider, RiseUp. We also make occasional donations as needed to other local groups. We depend on our supporters’ contributions for this.
To contribute: Donate Here through PayPal. Or send checks to the mailing address above.
Peter McCarthy
Coordinating Committee
CNY Solidarity Coalition