#Salisbury Mayoral Candidates

[thegirlinthepinkwheelchair]

Disability Questionnaire for Mayoral Candidates

Image ID: The graphic has photos of the 3 Mayoral candidates; Jermichael Mitchell, Megan Outten, and Randy Taylor. Under are 3 arms of various skin tones holding a vote ballot. In 2019, we have data that Wicomico County was home to over 12% people with disabilities. 12% of our county! Anyone can acquire a disability at any point. COVID-19 has created an increase in our disability community, as…

[orbemnews]

Alexey Navalny Fast Facts - CNN Father: Anatoly Navalny, former military officer and basket-weaving factory owner Mother: Lyudmila Navalnaya, basket-weaving factory owner Marriage: Yulia (Alexandrovich) Navalnaya (2000-present) Children: Daria and Zakhar Education: Peoples’ Friendship University of Russia, commercial law, 1998; attended State Finance Academy, 1999-2001 Other Facts Has been a prominent organizer of street protests and has exposed corruption in Russian government and business via social media, including his LiveJournal blog and RosPil website. Says that he stands by previous anti-immigration comments considered xenophobic, including deporting Georgians from Russia. Has apologized for the use of derogatory terms. Is barred from running for political office because of a 2013 conviction. Russian law forbids convicted criminals running for political office. Life before the assassination attempt 2000 – Joins Yabloko, the Russian United Democratic Party. 2006 – Participates in the Russian March, a nationalist event. 2007 – Is expelled from Yabloko because of his nationalistic leanings. 2007 – Launches the National Russian Liberation Movement, (known as NAROD, the Russian word for “people”). 2009 – Policy adviser to the governor of the Kirov region. November 2010 – Blows the whistle on a $4 billion embezzlement scheme at the state-run oil pipeline operator, Transneft, by posting leaked documents on his blog. December 2010 – Kirov-area open an investigation against him involving a state-owned lumber deal when he was an adviser to the governor. December 5, 2011 – Takes part in protests following Vladimir Putin‘s December 4 election win. Is arrested but is released after 15 days. 2011 – Founds the Anti-Corruption Foundation (FBK). The organization investigates corruption in the Russian government and posts supporting documentation. December 24, 2011 – Speaks before tens of thousands of pro-reform demonstrators prior to the March 2012 presidential election. March 6, 2012 – Is arrested along with other protesters after Putin wins a third term as president on March 4, with just under 65% of the vote. Critics question the results amid complaints of voter fraud. March 20, 2013 – Is indicted, along with entrepreneur Petr Ofitserov, for misappropriating $500,000 in a state-owned lumber deal when he was an adviser to the Kirov region’s governor. July 18, 2013 – A court in the city of Kirov finds Navalny and Ofitserov guilty of embezzlement. They are sentenced to five and four years in prison respectively. Detained overnight, they are released July 19 pending an appeal. The verdict is followed by public protests. 2013 – Runs unsuccessfully for mayor of Moscow. Comes in second with 27% of the vote. October 16, 2013 – The five-year prison sentence received July 2013 is reduced to a suspended sentence on appeal. October 2013 – In a statement from the Russian federal Investigative Committee, Navalny and his brother Oleg Navalny are accused of defrauding the French cosmetics company Yves Rocher’s Russian subsidiary. February 28, 2014-January 2015 – Under house arrest. December 30, 2014 – Is found guilty of fraud in the November 2013 case. Receives a suspended sentence of three and a half years. His brother receives a sentence of three and a half years in prison. February 23, 2016 – The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) rules that Navalny and Ofitserov were deprived of the right to a fair trial in their 2013 conviction. They are awarded 8,000 Euros for damages, plus additional awards for costs and expenses. April 27, 2017 – Navalny is splashed in the face with an antiseptic green dye. The attack causes vision damage in one eye. January 22, 2018 – A Moscow court orders the closure of FBK, which funds Navalny’s activities. July 29, 2019 – Suffers an “acute allergic reaction” while serving a 30-day sentence in police custody. His July 24 arrest follows a call for demonstrations after the disqualification of opposition candidates for Russian municipal elections. Doctors do not find any signs of poisoning after doing an analysis, Russian News Agency TASS reports. Poisoning and time in Germany August 20, 2020 – Feels sick during a return flight to Moscow from the Siberian city of TomskIn and falls into a coma from suspected poisoning, according to spokeswoman Kira Yarmysh. “We assume that Alexey was poisoned with something mixed into [his] tea,” Yarmysh tweets. German NGO The Cinema for Peace Foundation says it is sending a medical plane to Russia in an attempt to evacuate him. August 21, 2020 – Russian doctors give Navalny’s team permission to move him. He is scheduled for a medical evacuation to travel to a German clinic, according to Yarmysh. August 22, 2020 – Arrives at the Charité Hospital in Berlin in Germany where an “extensive medical diagnosis” is made. September 2, 2020 – In a statement, the German government reports that Navalny was poisoned with a chemical nerve agent from the Novichok group. Novichok was used in a March 2018 attack on former Russian spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter, Yulia Skripal, in the English cathedral city of Salisbury. September 7, 2020 – According to a statement released by Charité Hospital, Navalny is out of a medically induced coma. September 23, 2020 – Is discharged from the hospital, according to a statement released by the Charité Hospital. December 14, 2020 – Reporting from CNN and investigative group Bellingcat reveals that Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) formed an elite team specializing in nerve agents and trailed Navalny for years. Phone and travel records suggest the unit followed Navalny to at least 17 cities since 2017. December 17, 2020 – At his annual press conference, Putin claims that if Russian special services had wanted to kill Navalny, “they would’ve probably finished it…but in this case, his wife asked me, and I immediately gave the order to let him out of the country to be treated in Germany… This is a trick to attack the leaders [in Russia].” The CNN-Bellingcat investigation is a form of “information warfare” facilitated by foreign special services, he says. December 21, 2020 – CNN reports that Konstantin Kudryavtsev, an agent who belonged to an elite toxins team in Russia’s FSB, revealed during a debriefing details about how Navalny was poisoned, but didn’t realize he was speaking to Navalny himself. December 28, 2020 – The Russia Federal Penitentiary Service (FSIN) accuses Navalny of violating the terms of his probation by failing to show up for scheduled inspections while in Germany and requests that a court replace his suspended sentence with an actual prison term. December 29, 2020 – Russia’s main investigative body launches a criminal case against Navalny on charges of fraud related to his alleged mishandling of $5 million in donations to FBK and other organizations. Return to Russia and trial January 2021 – Russian prison authorities officially request to replace Navalny’s 2014 suspended sentence with a real jail term. The Russian Federal Penitentiary Service says that by staying in Germany, Navalny is violating the terms of his suspended sentence in the so-called Yves Rocher case, which Navalny believes is politically motivated. January 13, 2021 – Announces on social media that he will return to Russia from Germany on January 17. January 17, 2021 – Navalny is detained moments after arriving in Moscow following months of treatment in Germany after being poisoned in August 2020. The next day, he is ordered to remain in custody for 30 days during a surprise hearing. February 2, 2021 – A Moscow court sentences Navalny to prison for more than two and a half years for violating probation terms from 2014 while he was in Germany. The sentence takes into account the 11 months Navalny spent under house arrest. His lawyer says he will appeal the verdict. The sentence prompts protests across the country. February 20, 2021 – Navalny’s appeal is partially rejected. The judge shortens his sentence by a month and a half, noting the time he spent under house arrest, from December 2014 to February 2015. In a separate hearing at Babushkinsky District Court, he is convicted of defaming World War II veteran Ignat Artemenko, 94, in social media comments made June 2020. Navalny criticized a video broadcast by state TV channel RT, in which prominent figures expressed support for controversial changes to the Russian constitution. The penalty for defamation, a fine, was changed to include potential jail time in December 2020. February 24, 2021 – According to Reuters, Navalny is stripped of his “prisoner of conscience” status by Amnesty International. The decision was made due to numerous complaints about Navalny’s past xenophobic comments received by the organization. February 28, 2021 – Navalny arrives at a penal colony to serve his sentence. Source link Orbem News #Alexey #CNN #Facts #Fast #Navalny

[seriousbusinessforhumans]

(Update: CHAZ is now CHOP. Capitol Hill Occupied Protest)

(Selected segments of the article)

Jun 11

Since a lot of the narratives swirling around about Seattle right now are less-than-insightful, I’m sharing a few points to help contextualize the Capitol Hill Autonomous Zone in the bigger picture of the dizzying terrain that is Seattle history.

1. Seattle = American settler capitalism on steroids

Since its 19th century gold rush beginnings, Seattle has attracted prospectors of all sorts. Their economic prosperity has always come at a price for somone else: on February 7, 1865, the Seattle Board of Trustees passed an ordinance that banned “indians” from living within city limits, with the exception of those who were employed and housed by white settlers. To this day, the Duwamish—the original inhabitants of what is now Seattle — do not have federal recognition from the US government. Meanwhile, the city of Seattle is named for a Duwamish Chief, whose face is also used as a city logo.

Subsequent boom-and-bust periods followed, largely driven by rapid growth in high-tech industries. Within a year of the founding of the Boeing company in 1916, the US had entered World War I, and Boeing was fulfilling military contracts. The company’s founder, William Boeing, saw to it that his personal racism would have a lasting impact on the city’s widening economic inequality by authoring bylaws that restricted the sale of real estate in his neighborhood to anyone who wasn’t white. The legacy of racially-restrictive housing covenants in Seattle is a staggering wealth gap: In 2019, the median net worth of a white household in the region was $456,000. For Black households, it was $23,000.

Seattle’s most recent growth cycle, of course, is dominated by Amazon, which surpassed Microsoft in 2019 as the region’s #1 employer, with more than 53,500 local employees, most of which were added over the last decade. While Seattle became the hottest housing market in the country, many African American households were displaced from the Central District, the only neighborhood where they were allowed to own homes for decades. (Read what groups like Africatown and Wa Na Wari are doing to respond to gentrification here and here.)

Meanwhile, Seattle’s homeless rate grew to the third in the nation................

2. Durkan is a pro-corporate, anti-activist mayor

Amazon’s influence over local politics cannot be overstated. In 2019, Amazon poured millions of dollars into “Seattle’s Most Expensive Election Ever” in an attempt to buy candidates who will not try to tax them. In 2017, they gave $350,000 —their largest-ever political contribution at the time—to a group supporting Jenny Durkan for mayor.

If I had to describe Seattle’s mayor in one sentence, it would be this: Before Durkan was mayor, she was a US Attorney who conspired with the SPD and FBI to pay a convicted child molester $90,000 to infiltrate activist circles. In 2013, she explained her rationale: “It’s not the saints who can bring us the sinners.”.....

3. Seattle’s distrust of the police runs deep

Since 2012, the Seattle Department has been under a federal consent decree for excessive use of force. Here’s how King5 described the circumstances leading up to that ruling:

The Department of Justice began investigating SPD in 2011 after community leaders said police were using excessive force particularly on minorities.

One of those instances cited in the decree was the death of John T. Williams, when an officer was caught shouting they would “beat the f — — — — Mexican piss” out of a Latino man in custody. Another was an incident where a Seattle police officer punched a 17-year-old black girl in the face.

As US attorney, Jenny Durkan personally investigated the SPD’s uses of force that led to the consent decree, and for this reason, having the consent decree perceived as successful has been one of the cornerstones of her tenure as mayor. Back in May, the city asked a federal judge to terminate the consent decree—a motion that has been withdrawn in light of recent events. Durkan’s recent behavior, however, seems to suggest that she believes the consent decree was successful��at a press conference on June 7, she responded to a question about rebuilding the SPD by claiming that a restructuring had already taken place under the consent decree.

And yet, even under the consent decree, the violent and biased behavior has continued. In 2016, Seattle police shot and killed Che Taylor. The officers responsible got off without charges, and later sued Kshama Sawant for describing the killing as “murder.” (Taylor’s brother, Andrè Taylor, was recently interviewed about current events in the New Yorker.) In 2017, Seattle police shot and killed a pregnant mother of four named Charleena Lyles in her home, in front of her children. This incident sparked a new wave of protests and pushback, bringing new attention and energy to defunding and abolitionist movements that were already going on. (During a march for justice for Charleena Lyles, I personally witnessed Seattle Police shooting tear gas and blastballs into a crowd that included babies and elders.)..........................

4. Distrust of police has recently intensified

Just a sampling of the events that have weakened trust in the past two weeks:

Continuing to use tear gas — a dangerous and potentially deadly chemical weapon banned in international warfare — days after falsely promising that tear gas would no longer be used.

The arrest of Evan Hreha, who had posted a viral video days earlier of a young child who had just been pepper sprayed by Seattle police.

The excessively violent arrest (livestreamed by many residents at the time) of another protester, who was accused of allegedly tapping a police officer with her bicycle.

The situation involving Nikolas Fernandez, who barreled down the street in a car on a collision course with protesters, shot a protester, and ran to the police. (It was later revealed that his brother worked at the East Precinct.) Fernandez’s last Instagram post before the incident was a meme minimizing the value of race-based civil rights struggles; while he was in police custody, his Instagram was scrubbed clean.

Multiple falsehoods that have been asserted by the Seattle police have been credulously and unquestioningly amplified by local networks (such as the Sinclair-owned KOMO). This includes the accusation of protesters throwing “improvised explosives”—(the image they shared was clearly of a broken prayer candle).

More recently, the accusation was made during a press conference that “armed guards are requiring IDs for people to walk through the area of the East Precinct and requiring business owners in the area to pay a “fee” to enter”—a false claim that has been debunked by area businesses. The Seattle Times later traced the claim to a comment on a post made by instigators on a right-wing blog. Meanwhile, FOX News and other national outlets have continued to push this blatant falsehood.

On the night of June 8, after the police retreated from the East Precinct, police could be heard over their scanner warning about “20 to 30 Proud Boys” making their way to the area, perhaps in an attempt to scare away protesters. It is doubtful whether these Proud Boys existed. (A widely circulated image of a protester with a gun was taken that night, when protesters had reason to believe that they needed to protect themselves from roving street gangs.)

SPD Chief Carmen Best called the department’s retreat from the intersection an exercise in “trust and de-escalation.” But the erosion of the city’s trust in its police have only been exacerbated by the department’s handling of recent events. As Lola E. Peters wrote,

Had [Mayor Durkan] and Seattle Police Chief Carmen Best taken early, decisive steps — including immediately announcing the name of the officer who, on May 30, allegedly pepper sprayed a child and firing him or her on the spot — without using the amoral language of politispeak to shield themselves, they would have gained a measure of respect. Instead we hear about the importance of protecting those who are fully armored from those wearing T-shirts and sneakers.

5. Nikkita Oliver is the true mayor of our hearts

In 2017, attorney, poet, and activist Nikkita Oliver launched a bid to become mayor of Seattle. While her campaign, running on an anti-gentrification and social justice platform, was ultimately defeated in a crowded primary, her People’s Party captured national attention and helped set the tone of an agenda that continues to shine through in the best aspirations of the events of the past weeks. Oliver is a good person to follow for information about current events. (Another Seattleite to follow is Omari Salisbury, a citizen journalist whose coverage over the past two weeks has been nothing short of heroic.).................An excellent interview with Nikkita Oliver about current events was just published by Vanity Fair.

6. The Capitol Hill Autonomous Zone is, by and large, a supremely peaceful endeavor

I do not say this to delegitimize more confrontational tactics — Martin Luther King, Jr. called riots the “language of the unheard.” But the organizers who have the most at stake have made clear that they wanted to handle the retreat of the police from the area peacefully, and protesters have overwhelmingly respected their wishes. In his interview with the New Yorker, Andrè Taylor, whose brother was killed by Seattle police in 2016, said that despite the photogenic images that came out of the first night of rioting, he wanted to keep the focus on the unidirectionality of the violence inflicted on private citizens by the heavily armed, heavily funded police department.

A shrine honoring George Floyd and other victims of police violence has been constructed on the site. A makeshift outdoor theater, screening documentaries like Ava DuVernay’s 13th, now occupies the corner that was a battlefield for a week. Local activists are sharing food, playing music, and talking about ways to construct a more equitable future. The only thing to fear here is the threat posed by the people coming together for a common cause.

One valid question I have seen come up has to do with the extent to which the CHAZ experiment will center BIPOC voices. Unfortunately it is not uncommon for white activists to co-opt movements started by Black and brown organizers, and the avoidance of this dynamic will no doubt pose a continuous challenge. As of this moment, none of the demands of organizers have been met by the city, though the move to defund the police is now on the table in a way that would not have been possible without these protests.

“It’s one thing to take a space, it’s another thing to turn a space into something functional that actually serves the community,” Nikkita Oliver told Vanity Fair. “You know, Seattle is the second city to have a Black Panther Party, and one of the hallmarks of the Black Panther Party was that they met the needs of the community.”

Whatever happens in the coming days, It is my sincere hope that the guiding principle will be the one that brought Seattle to this inflection point:

BLACK LIVES MATTER 🖤

[mitchbeck]

CANTLON: PACK HITTING THE ROAD AGAIN

BY: Gerry Cantlon, Howlings HARTFORD, CT -  Both the Hartford Wolf Pack and the New York Rangers are embarking on critical road trips with both squads not running on all cylinders. The Rangers lost to the Chicago Blackhawks, 4-1, on Thursday night with scoring and team cohesiveness a trademark issue currently for both teams. The Wolf Pack's shoddy performance Wednesday night included another lackluster start to the game and has been the case the past three years and covering two different coaches and basically three different teams each of those seasons. At this point, it's on the players. They need to be prepared, and the youngsters who want to get to the NHL must show they are ready for prime time. This present Wolf Pack team is .500 (4-4-1-0) and with the exception of a couple of players, clearly not ready to make the leap to, "The Show." Dustin Tokarski's goaltending on Wednesday night was shoddy at best. For a solid AHL veteran, he was laconic and beaten easily on two of the three goals he surrendered in just 4:36 of action before getting the hook. Mazanec was slightly better, but two of his goals were eerily similar to goals surrendered by Magnus Hellberg when he flamed out here two years ago. Both netminders are very well compensated this season and the team was hoping they would be the rock on which they could build the foundation of the team as the younger players went through the expected growing pains. Wednesday's top line of Lias Andersson-Ryan Gropp-Mikael Lindqvist had a rough night putting up a combined minus-8 while the fourth line, with Shawn O’Donnell leading the way with two goals, finished a plus-5. Not to diminish a great effort by the fourth line, but when they are the best line on the ice, something is clearly very wrong with that picture. Expect Saturday's game, the first of the season against in-state, divisional, and franchise rivals, the Bridgeport Sound Tigers, to come complete with some new line combinations and defensive pairings as head coach Keith McCambridge looks to shake things up to change the current fortunes that have seen the team drop three of their last four games. On Sunday, The Pack starts a second long road trip. This one consists of five games, but not like road trips of the AHL of yesteryear. Credit Patrick Williams of the NHL.com for researching and coming up with this beauty from the Baltimore Skipjacks, circa 1989-90. The Skipjacks covered 3,400 miles with eight games in eleven days. The team started with a Saturday night game in Glen Falls, NY against the Adirondack Red Wings. The next day they played a Sunday afternoon game in Moncton, New Brunswick. Then, at the end of the trip, they had a Thursday night matchup in Halifax and then a Friday night contest in New Haven. Tack in the time change from Atlantic Standard time, it’s miracle they arrived on time for the game. The trip concluded in Utica the following night. Baltimore then followed with a four-games-in-four-days jaunt. It's no surprise they didn’t make the playoffs that season. It's reminiscent of the great New Haven Nighthawks end of the season in 1991-92 with a Canadian Maritime road trip of eight games in eleven days. The trip started in Fredericton on Wednesday. A Saturday/Sunday pair in Halifax followed. It was on to Cape Breton on Tuesday; Wednesday in Moncton, Thursday and Saturday in St. John’s and then concluding on Sunday in Cape Breton. The Nighthawks lost to eventual Calder Cup champion Adirondack Red Wings in five games in the first round. AHL FUTURE The AHL will likely be adding two more Pacific Division teams in the next two years according to several sources. The expected announcement in early December that the NHL will grant Seattle an expansion franchise to bring the NHL to 32 teams with equally split conferences at 16 teams apiece. Seattle has started the renovation process of the Seattle KeyArena, with the announcement that they will be building a brand spanking new 180,000 square foot, $70 million, three-rink training facility, at the soon-to-be-renovated Northgate Mall. It will be called the Seattle Ice Center. The next piece will be their AHL team. The two most likely candidates are the Tacoma Dome which is located 30 miles south of Seattle. It's undergone a $30 million makeover that originally was priced at $21.3 million. The building last hosted hockey with the now-defunct West Coast Hockey League's Tacoma Sabercats from 1997-2002 and the WHL's Tacoma Rockets (1991-1995). The arena is the fourth largest in the US and seats 19,106 for hockey. It opened in 1983 with renovations starting this year. They have had five NHL preseason games, mostly in the 1980’s and two in the 1990’s. The last one was in 1996. The other candidate could be Everett, WA at the Angel Wings Arena. It is the current home to the WHL Everett Silvertips (2003-present). It's 40 minutes North of Seattle and the arena was opened in 2003 and seats 8,149. It's a perfect size for the AHL. The building is part of Spectra family of buildings who operate in the US and Canada, including the XL Center. Originally, the arena was known as the Everett Events Center and it was the Xfinity Arena up until a year ago when the Stillaguamish Tribe signed a 10-year, $3.4 million dollar naming rights deal to change it to the Angel Wings Arena. That new AHL team will likely come in two years. The Vancouver Canucks will likely move from Utica after this season, the last of their five-year lease. Utica has been a model AHL citizen. It's very well run and did everything you can do to make it a good place for prospects. The combination of geography and money make it likely the Canucks make a true Pacific rival coming into the NHL while saving money on its AHL recalls when they move the farm team closer to home. Canucks owner Francis Anquillini has hinted that they are looking at Abbotsford, about 45 minutes from downtown. They exited the AHL five years ago after a disastrous run with Calgary that saw the city write a check for $5.5 million for the Flames to leave. The Abbotsford Entertainment & Sports Centre is another Spectra run facility that holds 7,046 seats for hockey - again, perfect for the AHL. The other possibility floated by Acquillini is the now vacant, and the original Canucks home, the PNE Coliseum. It was built in the late 1960’s. The WHL Vancouver Giants moved out two years ago to a smaller arena in nearby Langley, BC. So if they go to the PNE Coliseum, the Canucks will have to get new chillers or repair those that have not been in operation for two years. They'll need to renovate the locker rooms and training facilities and section off the seating as well as fix up the building. It seats 16,281, far too large for AHL hockey. The mayor of Abbotsford, Henry Braun, is on record as saying he wants the Canucks AHL team to come to Abbotsford. It looks like they will come to some sort of satisfactory lease arrangement for both sides. The AHL Pacific Division travel only plays 68 games which makes it much more palatable to return the AHL to Abbotsford. Seattle’s new team nickname is down to the final two - Sockeyes and the Totems. The Totems was the name of the old Western Hockey League franchise (1958-1975) and in this PC era will likely raise a ruckus with the use of a Native American symbol. Sockeyes refers to the fish and longtime Maritime fishing industry in the Pacific Northwest. Very shocked Sea Lions didn’t make the cut in the Seattle Times name the team contest. Canlton's Corner endorses Sockeyes with no black uniforms. NOTES: Ex-Pack, Ryan Sproul’s, odyssey for finding an AHL place to play is on its third stop. He spent training camp with Stockton was released, signed with the Toronto Marlies, played one game got where he got an assist and was let go from PTO deal. He is now with the Laval Rocket on a PTO deal. Paul Carey (Salisbury Prep) is sent to Belleville by Ottawa. Alex Biega (Salisbury Prep) is recalled from Utica by Vancouver. Ex-Sound Tiger, Matt Finn, was assigned to Florida (ECHL) by Grand Rapids. Shane Starrett (South Kent Prep) is reassigned by Bakersfield to Wichita (ECHL). Former Wolf Pack, Rory Rawlyk, opts not to play in Poland and signs a deal with Evansville (SPHL). Enfield’s Robbie Baillargeon departs Tulsa (ECHL) and signs with Milton Keynes Lightning (England-EIHL). Ex-Pack, Danny “Monte” Kristo, finally officially leaves Brynas IF (Sweden-SHL) and signs with HC Rapperswil-Jona (Switzerland-LNA). Ex-Pack, Zdenek Bahensky, signs with ASC Corona Brasov (Romania-MOL). Ex-Pack and Sound Tiger, Joe Combs, signs with EHC Kloten (Switzerland-LNB). Forner CT Whale, Wojtech Wolski, had his contract brought out by Metallurg Magnitogorsk (Russia-KHL) and is looking to Switzerland or maybe another KHL team. Former New Haven Senator, Harijs Vitolins, is doing some work as an assistant coach for HK Kurbads (Latvia-LHL) during the Continental Cup tournament. Last year, he was with KHL Gagarin Cup champion SKA St. Petersburg (Russia-KHL). Jordan Sims, son of the former Hartford Whaler and Nighthawk, Al Sims, was traded from Cincinnati (ECHL) to Greenville (ECHL). Former Springfield Falcon, Trent Vogelhuber, retires, and become the assistant coach for Cleveland (AHL) where he played for three years. He might be the first player to retire after going through training camp and had been assigned to San Antonio. Another ex-Falcon, Yann Sauve, signs with Medvescak Zagreb (Croatia-EBEL). Former UCONN defenseman, David Drake, was reassigned to Reading (ECHL) by Lehigh Valley. Ben Sanderson, the son of former Whaler, Geoff Sanderson, has been changing addresses frequently lately. He started the season with Dubuque (USHL) and left after two games. He heads back to play with the Okotoks Oilers (AJHL) for a game before being traded in a Junior A interleague deal to the Vernon Vipers (BCHL). Vernon’s head coach and Director of Hockey Operations is former New Haven Senator and AHL All-Star defenseman, Mark Ferner. Sanderson is a 2019-20 commit to Colorado College (NCHC) Josh Primeau, the nephew of ex-Whaler, Keith Primeau, is loaned for the rest of the season from HC Rapperswil-Jona (Switzerland-LNA) to HC Thurgau (Switzerland-LNB). Read the full article

[democratsunited-blog]

Rowan County Democratic Party to host annual potluck - Salisbury Post

https://uniteddemocrats.net/?p=7698

Rowan County Democratic Party to host annual potluck - Salisbury Post

The Rowan County Democratic Party will host its annual potluck lunch at noon Saturday.

The potluck will be at Shoaf’s Wagon Wheel, with guests including candidates for the North Carolina General Assembly and Rowan County commissioners.

According to a news release, candidates will be available “to get to know, if you don’t know them already.”

Guests are asked to bring a dish to share with others.

Saturday’s discussion will focus on how the party can make North Carolina and Rowan County better for all, according to the news release.

The lunch will feature a silent auction and 50/50 raffle.

The keynote speaker will be state Sen. Jeff Jackson, D-Mecklenburg County.

Jackson is campaigning for his third term in the Senate. He was first elected in 2014 after Democratic candidate Dan Clodfelter resigned to be come mayor of Charlotte.

He has worked to recruit Democratic candidates in all state House and Senate races. His committee assignments include agriculture, environment and natural resources; appropriations; judiciary, retirement and aging; and state and local government.

All registered Democrats and unaffiliated voters are welcome to attend Saturday’s lunch.

(function(d, s, id) var js, fjs = d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0]; if (d.getElementById(id)) return; js = d.createElement(s); js.id = id; js.async = true; js.src = 'https://connect.facebook.net/en_US/sdk.js#xfbml=1&version=v2.12&appId=168913723140235&autoLogAppEvents=1'; fjs.parentNode.insertBefore(js, fjs); (document, 'script', 'facebook-jssdk')); Read full story here

[kwiatkowskiile]

Salisbury Maryland Mayor Jake Day Supports/Likes Gubernatorial Candidate Who Proposes A 5 Cent Tax On Every Chicken

http://dlvr.it/QDzJYT

[megansch95]

Salisbury Maryland Mayor Jake Day Supports/Likes Gubernatorial Candidate Who Proposes A 5 Cent Tax On Every Chicken

http://dlvr.it/QDzJQ4

[paulineave82]

Salisbury Maryland Mayor Jake Day Supports/Likes Gubernatorial Candidate Who Proposes A 5 Cent Tax On Every Chicken

http://dlvr.it/QDzJSY

[christianapeterson]

Salisbury Maryland Mayor Jake Day Supports/Likes Gubernatorial Candidate Who Proposes A 5 Cent Tax On Every Chicken

http://dlvr.it/QDzBZB

[carpentermich]

Salisbury Maryland Mayor Jake Day Supports/Likes Gubernatorial Candidate Who Proposes A 5 Cent Tax On Every Chicken

http://dlvr.it/QDzB0d

[londontheatre]

Bananaman The Musical – Matthew McKenna (Bananaman) Photo by Pamela Raith

Bananaman is flying to London to save the world! The most brainless superhero ever to grace the skies is going to make his live action debut in an all-singing, all-flying must-see new British musical.

Bananaman, the Man-of-Peel, is a unique member of the superhero ranks. Our handsome hero may have a jaw line you can see from space and sport the snazziest of tight lycra outfits, but this superhero has ‘the muscles of 20 men and the brain of 20 mussels.’ Which isn’t much.

With supervillains Doctor Gloom and General Blight attempting world domination who can we call? Superman’s on holiday, Spiderman’s not picking up – our only option, our very very last option is – Bananaman.

For the first time ever, Bananaman will be live on stage in Bananaman the Musical.

Bananaman the Musical, written and composed by Leon Parris, directed by Mark Perry, will run at Southwark Playhouse from December 15th 2017 to January 20th 2018. Press night is Thursday January 4, 2018 at 7.30pm

Bananaman began life in the Nutty comic in 1980, and was a flyaway success, transferring to The Dandy before joining the world’s longest-running comic, The Beano in 2012 and he is now one of The Beano’s flagship characters. A send-up of the likes of Superman and Batman, he was the subject of the hugely popular TV cartoon that ran between 1983 and 1986 for three series and 40 episodes on the BBC and featured the voices of Tim Brooke-Taylor, Graeme Garden and Bill Oddie from The Goodies.

Fans of the the TV series will remember the iconic opening sequence, “This is 29 Acacia Road. And this is Eric Wimp. He’s a schoolboy who leads an amazing double life. For when Eric eats a banana an amazing transformation occurs. Eric is Bananaman. Ever alert for the call to action.”

[See image gallery at http://ift.tt/1FpwFUw]

  With a useless hero and some equally clueless villains, Bananaman’s winkingly clever, delightfully silly humour has been sealed into the memories of those who saw him first, and will now spark the imagination of a new bunch of Bananafans.

It won’t be long before we all ‘Peel the Power’ of Bananaman. Matthew McKenna is unmasked today as the star and “handsome hero” of Bananaman the Musical. Matthew has appeared in many major West End musicals, including The Phantom of the Opera, Sunset Boulevard, Legally Blonde the Musical, We Will Rock You, Starlight Express (as Elektra), and The Rocky Horror Show (Riff Raff) and both Singing in the Rain and 42nd Street at the Theatre Du Chatelet, Paris.

Also starring, as Bananaman’s arch nemesis Doctor Gloom, the super villain seeking world domination, will be Marc Pickering. Marc Pickering returns to Southwark Playhouse where he appeared in the European premiere of Toxic Avenger The Musical. He recently starred as Finch in the musical How To Succeed in Business Without Really Trying (Wiltons Music Hall), Joseph Merrick in The Elephant Man (Trafalgar Studios), Merchant of Venice (Arcola) and The Glee Club (Hull Truck). His film work includes Sleepy Hollow, Calendar Girls, Kill Keith, I Want Candy, The Darkest Day and Montparnasse in Tom Hooper’s 2012 film of the celebrated musical Les Misérables. On TV he has appeared in the new series of Josh and Homeboys & Dalziel & Pascoe (BBC), played R Wayne in Peter Kay’s talent show parody Britain’s Got the Pop Factor, Ippolito D’este in Borgia III (for Netflix), and the young Enoch “Nucky” Thompson in the fifth and final season of the HBO series Boardwalk Empire.

Bringing the rest of the residents of Acacia Road to life are a stellar West End cast.

Jodie Jacobs (Broadway World Award Best Supporting Actress for Rock Of Ages) is Eric’s loyal sidekick, Crow. Jodie Jacobs has played Fantine in Les Misérables, Grizabella in Cats, Florence in Chess, Serena Katz in Fame and she understudied the lead roles of Scaramouche & Meatloaf in We Will Rock You (Dominion), Audrey in Little Shop of Horrors (Duke of York’s) and Eva Peron in Evita (Adelphi Theatre). Jodie has most recently been seen in The Lionel Bart Story as Judy Garland and Georgia Brown. She received an Off West End Award and a West End Wilma nomination for Lizzie (Greenwich Theatre and Denmark transfer), she won a Broadway World award for Best Supporting Actress for Rock Of Ages (West End). She was recently nominated Best Actress in a Musical as Atropos in the brand new musical 27 (Cockpit).

Mark Newnham (Eric Wimp) recently played Dave Davies in the Kinks musical Sunny Afternoon and the young Steve Marriott in the new musical All Or Nothing. His other roles include Cookie in Return to the Forbidden Planet, John Lennon in Lennon at Liverpool Royal Court Theatre, Jamie in The Last 5 Years, and Hot Stuff.

Carl Mullaney (General Blight) has appeared in Les Misérables, (West End), Chicago (West End & international tour as Mary Sunshine), Saucy Jack and the Space Vixens (Booby Shevalle), West Side Story, Jest End and Fashion Victim The Musical.

CHIEF O’REILLY – TJ Lloyd T J Lloyd’s previous musicals include playing Nicely Nicely Johnson in Guys & Dolls, The Baker in Into The Woods, Charley Kringas in Merrily We Roll Along and Ray in Elegies for Angels, Punks & Raging Queens.

MRS WIMP – Lizzii Hills Lizzii Hills is returning to Southwark Playhouse after starring there as Mayor Babs Belgoody & Ma Ferd in the European premiere of The Toxic Avenger The Musical. Her other musicals include Hedy LaRue in How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying (Wilton’s) Sarah Brown in Guys & Dolls, The Rat Pack Live from Las Vegas, Chicago, High Society, Me and My Girl,and Crazy for You.

MAD MAGICIAN – Brian Gilligan Brian Gilligan starred as Guy in Once (Dublin), Deco in The Commitments (UK and Irish Tour), Cornelius/1st Cover Faustus, Doctor Faustus (West End), Bruno in Piaf (Charing Cross Theatre), and Michael Collins in Michael Collins: A Musical Drama, (Tivoli Theatre, Dublin).

FIONA – Emma Ralston Emma Ralston was Pluto in the UK premiere of Sondheim’s The Frogs (Jermyn Street Theatre), Little Red Riding Hood, Into the Woods (Ye Olde Rose & Crown), and Eve Meet Me In St. Louis (Landor Theatre).

Chris McGuigan (Ensemble) Chris McGuigan was in Candide (Cadogan Hall), Norman Jewison in JUDY! (Arts Theatre), Herakles, Sondheim’s The Frogs (UK premiere, Jermyn Street), All My Sons (Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre), Marcel Dusoleil (the lead), Amour (European premiere, Royal Academy of Music).

Amy Perry (Ensemble) Amy Perry was Millie Dillmount in Thoroughly Modern Millie (Adelphi Theatre), Myra Yerkes, Road Show (Union Theatre), Ursula March, Sweet Charity (Cadogan Hall).

Bananaman the Musical is produced by Sightline Entertainment in association with Cahoots Theatre Company and Beano Studios.

Leon Parris (Writer and Composer) Leon Parris is an award winning writer and composer for musicals including Wolfboy, Enid Blyton’s The Famous Five, Stig of the Dump and Monte Cristo. He was winner of the Vivian Ellis Best Musical Award and The Really Useful Group Award for Most Promising Writer.

Mark Perry (Director) Founder of Sightline Entertainment, Mark’s production credits include The Famous Five, Honk, The Country, The Picture of Dorian Gray, You’re a Good Man Charlie Brown, Just So, Bent and Stiffed. Directing credits include A Comedy of Arias, The Caretaker, Little Shop of Horrors, The Rocky Horror Picture Show, Sleuth, Cinderella Boom or Bust, A Slice of Saturday Night. As an actor, Mark has worked extensively in TV and theatre both in the West End and on national tour.

Alan Berry (Musical Supervisor) Alan is currently the Musical Director for The Girl From The North Country at The Old Vic. Previous shows include Groundhog Day, Matilda The Musical, The Commitments, Ghost The Musical, Avenue Q, Shrek, Hairspray and Spamalot. Future projects include Big Fish at The Other Palace.

Mike Leopold (Set and Costume Designer) Michael’s recent credits include, Thoroughly Modern Millie 48 Hour (Adelphi Theatre), King Lear (The Cockpit), and The Wasp (Jermyn Street Theatre), Journey’s End (Charles Cryer Theatre). He designed Proof (Tabard Theatre) and Chummy (The White Bear Theatre) which both received Off West End nominations for Best Design in 2015 and 2017. Associate credits include Love Me Tender, The Last Tango, Death Trap, Tango Moderne, Son of a Preacher Man (All UK Tours), Top Hat (Kilworth House).

Grant Murphy (Assistant Director/Choreographer) Creative credits include: Joseph (Jersey Opera House); Yas Jungle Cirque (Yas Island Abu Dhabi); Legally Blonde (Stanwix Theatre); Forever Plaid (St James Theatre London); Guys and Dolls (Cadogan Hall); Aladdin (Salisbury Playhouse); Pinocchio (Greenwich Theatre); Rags (Lyric Theatre); Avenue Q (Ovation Productions); 18 Stone of Idiot – The Johnny Vegas Show (UMTV); He assisted Baayork Lee on A Chorus Line (London Palladium); and was tap coach to the Billy Elliot boys.

Sightline Entertainment – Producer Sightline Entertainment is an independently owned production company based in London Sightline produces commercial new work and revivals of both plays and musical theatre productions.

Beano Studios – Original Producer Beano Studios is a new global multimedia company established to create, curate and deliver mischievous entertainment for kids aged 6-106, all over the world. They produce diverse entertainment across multiple platforms including TV, digital, theatrical projects, consumer and the much-loved comic and annual.

LISTINGS INFORMATION BANANAMAN THE MUSICAL Southwark Playhouse THE LARGE 77-85 Newington Causeway London SE1 6BD

Friday December 15th 2017 to Saturday 20th January 2018

http://ift.tt/2C3Ofo9 London Theatre 1

[seriousbusinessforhumans]

(Update: CHAZ is now CHOP. Capitol Hill Occupied Protest)

Jun 9

In credit to the people who freed Capitol Hill, this list of demands is neither brief nor simplistic. This is no simple request to end police brutality. We demand that the City Council and the Mayor, whoever that may be, implement these policy changes for the cultural and historic advancement of the City of Seattle, and to ease the struggles of its people. This document is to represent the black voices who spoke in victory at the top of 12th & Pine after 9 days of peaceful protest while under constant nightly attack from the Seattle Police Department. These are words from that night, June 8th, 2020.

Given the historical moment, we’ll begin with our demands pertaining to the Justice System.

The Seattle Police Department and attached court system are beyond reform. We do not request reform, we demand abolition. We demand that the Seattle Council and the Mayor defund and abolish the Seattle Police Department and the attached Criminal Justice Apparatus. This means 100% of funding, including existing pensions for Seattle Police. At an equal level of priority we also demand that the city disallow the operations of ICE in the city of Seattle.

In the transitionary period between now and the dismantlement of the Seattle Police Department, we demand that the use of armed force be banned entirely. No guns, no batons, no riot shields, no chemical weapons, especially against those exercising their First Amendment right as Americans to protest.

We demand an end to the school-to-prison pipeline and the abolition of youth jails. Get kids out of prison, get cops out of schools. We also demand that the new youth prison being built in Seattle currently be repurposed.

We demand that not the City government, nor the State government, but that the Federal government launch a full-scale investigation into past and current cases of police brutality in Seattle and Washington, as well as the re-opening of all closed cases reported to the Office of Police Accountability. In particular, we demand that cases particular to Seattle and Washington be reopened where no justice has been served, namely the cases of Iosia Faletogo, Damarius Butts, Isaiah Obet, Tommy Le, Shaun Fuhr, and Charleena Lyles.

We demand reparations for victims of police brutality, in a form to be determined.

We demand that the City of Seattle make the names of officers involved in police brutality a matter of public record. Anonymity should not even be a privilege in public service.

We demand a retrial of all People in Color currently serving a prison sentence for violent crime, by a jury of their peers in their community.

We demand decriminalization of the acts of protest, and amnesty for protestors generally, but specifically those involved in what has been termed “The George Floyd Rebellion” against the terrorist cell that previously occupied this area known as the Seattle Police Department. This includes the immediate release of all protestors currently being held in prison after the arrests made at 11th and Pine on Sunday night and early Saturday morning June 7th and 8th, and any other protesters arrested in the past two weeks of the uprising, the name Evan Hreha in particular comes to mind who filmed Seattle police macing a young girl and is now in jail.

We demand that the City of Seattle and the State Government release any prisoner currently serving time for a marijuana-related offense and expunge the related conviction.

We demand the City of Seattle and State Government release any prisoner currently serving time just for resisting arrest if there are no other related charges, and that those convictions should also be expunged.

We demand that prisoners currently serving time be given the full and unrestricted right to vote, and for Washington State to pass legislation specifically breaking from Federal law that prevents felons from being able to vote.

We demand an end to prosecutorial immunity for police officers in the time between now and the dissolution of the SPD and extant justice system.

We demand the abolition of imprisonment, generally speaking, but especially the abolition of both youth prisons and privately-owned, for-profit prisons.

We demand in replacement of the current criminal justice system the creation of restorative/transformative accountability programs as a replacement for imprisonment.

We demand autonomy be given to the people to create localized anti-crime systems.

We demand that the Seattle Police Department, between now and the time of its abolition in the near future, empty its “lost and found” and return property owned by denizens of the city.

We demand justice for those who have been sexually harassed or abused by the Seattle Police Department or prison guards in the state of Washington.

We demand that between now and the abolition of the SPD that each and every SPD officer turn on their body cameras, and that the body camera video of all Seattle police should be a matter of easily accessible public record.

We demand that the funding previously used for Seattle Police be redirected into: A) Socialized Health and Medicine for the City of Seattle. B) Free public housing, because housing is a right, not a privilege. C) Public education, to decrease the average class size in city schools and increase teacher salary. D) Naturalization services for immigrants to the United States living here undocumented. (We demand they be called “undocumented” because no person is illegal.) E) General community development. Parks, etc.

We also have economic demands that must be addressed.

We demand the de-gentrification of Seattle, starting with rent control.

We demand the restoration of city funding for arts and culture to re-establish the once-rich local cultural identity of Seattle.

We demand free college for the people of the state of Washington, due to the overwhelming effect that education has on economic success, and the correlated overwhelming impact of poverty on people of color, as a form of reparations for the treatment of Black people in this state and country.

We demand that between now and the abolition of the SPD that Seattle Police be prohibited from performing “homeless sweeps” that displace and disturb our homeless neighbors, and on equal footing we demand an end to all evictions. 

We demand a decentralized election process to give the citizens of Seattle a greater ability to select candidates for public office such that we are not forced to choose at the poll between equally undesirable options. There are multiple systems and policies in place which make it impractical at best for working-class people to run for public office, all of which must go, starting with any fees associated with applying to run for public office.

Related to economic demands, we also have demands pertaining to what we would formally call “Health and Human Services.”

We demand the hospitals and care facilities of Seattle employ black doctors and nurses specifically to help care for black patients.

We demand the people of Seattle seek out and proudly support Black-owned businesses. Your money is our power and sustainability.

We demand that the city create an entirely separate system staffed by mental health experts to respond to 911 calls pertaining to mental health crises, and insist that all involved in such a program be put through thorough, rigorous training in conflict de-escalation.

Finally, let us now address our demands regarding the education system in the City of Seattle and State of Washington.

We demand that the history of Black and Native Americans be given a significantly greater focus in the Washington State education curriculum.

We demand that thorough anti-bias training become a legal requirement for all jobs in the education system, as well as in the medical profession and in mass media.

We demand the City of Seattle and State of Washington remove any and all monuments dedicated to historical figures of the Confederacy, whose treasonous attempts to build an America with slavery as a permanent fixture were an affront to the human race.

Transcribed by @irie_kenya and @AustinCHowe. Special thanks to Magik for starting and facilitating the discussion to create this list, to Omari Salisbury for the idea to break the list into categories, and as well a thanks to Kshama Sawant for being the only Seattle official to discuss with the people on Free Capitol Hill the night that it was liberated.

Although we have liberated Free Capitol Hill in the name of the people of Seattle, we must not forget that we stand on land already once stolen from the Duwamish People, the first people of Seattle, and whose brother, John T. Williams of the Nuu-chah-nulth tribe up north was murdered by the Seattle Police Department 10 years ago.

Black Lives Matter — All day, Every day.