These food chains are owned by far right-wingers who've funded conservative super-PACs.
LAUREN KELLEY, ALTERNET
For all the Oreo Cookies out there – companies that support gay rights, if only because doing so is good for business – there are plenty of food companies that have not come around on progressive social issues. In fact, a number of food companies are owned by far right-wingers who’ve spent significant money opposing gay rights, abortion rights, and other important causes and funding attack ads against left-leaning politicians.
The companies in question include many popular chain restaurants that you may eat at occasionally, or even all the time. It’s wise to know where your dining dollars are going.
To that end, here are five food chains that are helmed by owners who support right-wing politics.
Listed are Chick-Fil-A, Carl's Jr., Domino's Pizza, White Castle, and Waffle House
Broome-Tioga NAACP, Urban League of Broome County, and Broome County YWCA call for passage of the Police Modernization law
June 17, 2015 – Binghamton, NY – Tonight at the Binghamton City Council Business meeting representatives from the Broome Tioga NAACP, the Urban League of Broome County and the Broome County YWCA will read statements during the public comment session endorsing the Police Modernization Law currently being discussed in the Municipal and Public Affairs Committee.
The legislation, drafted by the Binghamton Human Rights Commission, which has been in committee since February, has four objectives: (1) to affirm that racial profiling by law enforcement is illegal in the City of Binghamton; (2) mandate the tracking, analysis and reporting of all traffic and pedestrian stops by the police; (3) mandate comprehensive annual in-service cultural competency, implicit bias, and procedural justice training of local law enforcement; and (4) require the police administration to develop and present a plan to diversify the department. Once moved to the floor, a series of public hearings will be scheduled.
The right of the Binghamton City Council to pass legislation related to police conduct, such as the Police Modernization Law, is supported by New York State law. This was confirmed by the New York Civil Liberties Union in a conversation with the Binghamton Human Rights Commission. They stated “the home rule provision of the New York State Constitution confers broad police power on local governments to legislate to address local affairs and government issues as long as it does not conflict with the Constitution or a state law” and pointed to New York City’s Community Safety Act (a law banning racial profiling by the NYPD) as a precedent. The Community Safety Act, which was signed into law in January 2014, goes beyond the reforms being proposed by the Police Modernization Law and was endorsed by over 100 human services and civil rights organizations (many of them state-wide and national).
Binghamton City Council’s business meeting starts at 6:30pm in City Council Chambers at Binghamton City Hall.
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Other Resources
Several organizations have issued statements or guidelines for drafting and passage of laws related to bias-based policing and racial profiling. For example:
The NAACP and Amnesty International have suggested that such a law should include:
1. A comprehensive effective ban on racial profiling.
2. Bans on pre-textual stops (those instances in which police use minor/common traffic violations to inquire about drugs, guns, or other breaches of the law) of pedestrians and motorists.
3. Criminalizes violations of the racial profiling ban and specify penalties for officers who repeatedly engage in racial profiling.
4. Mandatory data collection for all stops and all searches (traffic and pedestrian)
5. Data analysis and publication of the data collected to complaints of racial profiling and regularly publish results of racial profiling investigations.
6. An independent commission to review and respond to complaints of racial profiling and regularly publish results of racial profiling investigations.
7. Allows for individuals to seek court orders to stop individual departments from continuing to engage in racial profiling.
8. Provide funds for periodically retraining officers and installing in-car video cameras for monitoring traffic stops.
The National Urban League has called for:
1. Widespread use of body cameras and dashboard cameras
2. Broken windows reform and implementation of 21st century community policing model
3. Review and revision of police use of deadly force policies
4. Comprehensive retraining of all police officers
5. Comprehensive review and strengthening of police hiring standards
6. Appointment of special prosecutors to investigate police misconduct
7. Mandatory, uniform FBI reporting and audit of lethal force incidents involving all law enforcement
8. Creation and audit of national citizen database of complaints against police
9. Adoption of national police accreditation system for mandatory use by law enforcement to be eligible for federal funds
10. National comprehensive anti-racial profiling law
Quotes
“A diverse law enforcement agency can better develop relationships with the community it serves, promote trust in the fairness of law enforcement, and facilitate effective policing by encouraging citizen support and cooperation. Law enforcement agencies should seek to hire a diverse workforce.”
-U.S. Department of Justice
http://www.cops.usdoj.gov/pdf/taskforce/Diversity_in_Law_Enforcement_Lit...
“Ban racial profiling by the police… [and] mandate that all police departments collect and report data on a quarterly basis on police shootings, and other deaths in custody, as well as stops, frisks, searches, citations, arrests, and uses of force.”
- American Civil Liberties Union
https://action.aclu.org/secure/DOJ-racial-profiling
“The NBPA also support legislation that holds the governmental entity, its police department and offending officers liable for violating the civil rights of our citizenry. The NBPA also supports mandated and uniform data collection and analysis to research and abate adverse impact; educate the police and the public and to develop policy and procedures designed to correct and discipline deviance.”
-National Black Police Association
http://www.blackpolice.org/positions.html
Family Planning of South Central New York is looking for pieces of art, sculpture, or wearable fashion made with condoms or themed broadly around reproductive health for our upcoming 75th Anniversary Celebration Art Show and fundraiser. Family Planning will provide expired condoms if you choose to use them in your work of art. Don’t miss this fun opportunity to support your local reproductive health care and education nonprofit. All proceeds from a silent auction of donated artwork will go to our programs that provide health care and education to women, men, and teens in need.
Application, Sketch and Concept due Aug. 15th.
75th Anniversary Celebration and Art Show October, 1st. For complete details and application packet, please email Mary Robinson at mary.robinson@fpscny.org.
Come and take part in one of the many Yoga celebrations happening all over the globe in recognition of International Yoga Day! Join us for a day of Yoga and community in the heart of Downtown Binghamton! We are excited for the opportunity to bring people together in a way that allows them to interact with the downtown landscape. All classes will be held outside on the walk-able portion of the courtyard in front of the Metro Center (between Sip of Seattle and Visions Credit Union). All events are FREE to the public and we encourage everyone to participate. Come to as little or as much of the event as you like. Kids and families are welcome! Please email bikramyogabinghamton@gmail.com for more information.
Schedule of Events -
12:00PM: Opening Remarks
12:30PM: Bikram Yoga Class (taught by Roxanne Janecki). Come take class with the 2015 USA Yoga Bronze Medal Champion! Bikram Yoga is a sequence of 26 postures and two breathing exercises designed to heal the body and leave you feeling rejuvenated! Move your spine, sweat, make friends, and feel good. Accessible to practitioners of all ages, abilities, and experience. Bring a Yoga mat and sunscreen!
2:30PM: Vinyasa Yoga Class (taught by Bryce Farrell). Join us for a 75 minute sequence that brings together an awareness of both the breath and body. Explore a variety of postures that will encourage finding strength and length and improve physical and mental stamina. This class is suitable for beginners and advanced yogis alike. Expect to leave feeling focused and refreshed!
Have you heard of the Binghamton Food Conspiracy? Wholeshare?
If you appreciate good organic food and products, you should! The Binghamton Food Conspiracy is a local buying group that has access to 4 large distributors. According to their website, "This group is coordinated by a small group of locals who believe in access to fresh local / organic foods. This is mostly a volunteer effort, with the coordinators receiving a small group charge for helping out. " Many items are large or in bulk, but the group offers "splits" where several members can share an order. Pickups are on Friday from 4:30-6:30pm when there is an order placed. The site is organized by products, by vendors, and is easy to search. To sign up go to http://www.wholeshare.com/join/1054
Over 100 people stopped by Metro Center Plaza on First Friday to offer their support for a people- centered development in the space. Buskers abounded in the space--musicians, dancers and spontaneous music making. Chalk artists, young and old had a great time decorating the space. Postcards with ideas for the space were filled out and petitions were signed. An excellent video by Markeee can be seen at https://vimeo.com/129963856
IF you want to sign a petition about the Metro Center Plaza go here: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/17L1IyG9xD8iUe4F5NwvCh7woCwuPv8AwDWIx5YR...
The top ideas people offered were for a location for music events, a Farmer's Market or crafts fairs, trees, outdoor movies, art and sculpture in the space.
Also popular were fountains, benches, outdoor performance spaces for music, dance and theatre, outdoor seating for restaurants or coffee shops, gardens or green space. Food trucks and kids' activities were also mentioned. Some unusual suggestions were Astroturfing the space, a chalk maze, a space for meditation, a plexiglass cover for winter events, indoor public space in the MetroCenter Mall, and an underground tunnel for winter use.
The postcards and the petitions will be forwarded to the City and organizers of this planning event will research more proposals for the space.
More photos of the events are on the Dept of Public Art facebook page and this site under image gallery.
Late Breaking (Updated):
The binghamton bridge received (through a friend, not directly) a missive from the City Clerk late Thursday, cautioning organizers not to put anything on city property, like a table for instance. The text of the message is here:
From: Pelletier, Jeremy
Sent: Thursday, June 04, 2015 4:14 PM
To: 'binghamtonbridge@gmail.com'
Subject: Pop-Up event on June 5th at Metro Center Courtyard
To Whom it May Concern:
I noticed on the Press and Sun Bulletin website today that there is a “pop-up event” scheduled for tomorrow June 5th in the Metro Center Courtyard. I wanted you to be aware that you will not be able to place any tables, chairs, equipment etc. on City property without first obtaining a City of Binghamton event permit. I have provided you a link to the permit application on the City website and included the section of the City Code regarding event permit regulations. You may gather in this area tomorrow, but you will not be able to place anything on City property as this would require an event permit application. Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions.
Organizers of the event will hold the event anyway and few of the plans will be interrupted by the City's edict. "If the City were to enforce the law against putting something on city property they would have to shut down the whole Art Walk." said Peg Johnston, a DPA member "We will stick to our plan to arrange some boxes in a temporary way to show what flowers and benches and a stage might look like in the large plaza." Buskers--musicians, dancers, and others are still welcome to entertain as they would any time in this space. As planned, the group will collect postcard suggestions, collect signatures on petitions, and take photos of people with their "idea balloons." Supporters are encouraged to tweet what they would like to see in the MetroCenter Plaza under the hashtag #ImagineBinghamton.
Goal is to Showcase the Value of Preserving this Public Space for People
Groups Call on City to Discard $500,000 Ten-Space Parking Plan and Launch an Open, Inclusive Design Contest for this Public Space
BINGHAMTON – Members from the Department of Public Art (DPA) and Binghamton Advocates for Quality Public Spaces are working with other local groups and residents to organize a “pop-up event” in the Metrocenter public courtyard from 7:00 – 8:00pm Friday june 5th, coinciding with June's First Friday event.
The hour-long, free-form event will feature local musicians, street performers, and interactive activities, and invites any and all residents to join the fun with props, games, and smiles. Organizers will solicit design ideas for the MetroCenter courtyard in various ways and suggestions will be forwarded to the City.
The event is being planned to fill this underutilized and neglected space with creativity, fun, and people to highlight the need to improve and beautify this space for people instead of spending $500,000 to pave it over for ten parking spots. A groundswell of public opposition to the Mayor's $500,000 parking lot plan has brought the plan to a screeching halt, and the pop-up event organizers believe it's time to shift to advocating for a more cost-effective alternative that better reflects community input and wishes.
“We all agree this public space needs to be improved, especially since this administration spent its first year quietly funding the removal of benches, garbage cans, trees, flowerbeds, and lighting,” said Tarik Abdelazim, a member of Binghamton Advocates for Quality Public Spaces and the city's former Director of Planning, Housing and Community Development. “However, instead of secretly trying to push forward with a wasteful and poorly designed parking lot to please one or two downtown business owners, we encourage the administration and City Council to engage the public in shaping a common vision and cost-effective design that prioritizes people over cars.”
“The Dept of Public Art encourages creativity and public participation in the design of public spaces in Binghamton,” said Mark Bowers, one of the founding members of DPA, “and this interactive, open event is a first step for this space.”
Those organizing the event promise this is the beginning of a positive grassroots effort to re-imagine this space consistent with the community-based vision for downtown captured in Blueprint Binghamton, the city's recently completed comprehensive plan that was legally adopted by City Council last year. Members from both groups want to work constructively with the City on an alternative that taps the creative energies of this community.
Members from these groups cite the top five reasons stated by local taxpayers over the last few months as to why the administration's parking lot project should be rejected:
The parking lot will be funded by a bond, and therefore cost approximately $500,000 (principal and interest payments for 15 years). With only ten parking spaces, that's $50,000 a spot—a complete waste of limited tax dollars when there are so many other urgent infrastructure needs that would benefit all residents!
The City owns three underutilized parking ramps and the large lot behind CVS—all a stone's throw from this proposed parking lot. The parking ramps need millions of dollars in repairs, so why would any Council member approve spending half a million dollars to add ten spaces in one of the only centrally located public spaces in downtown?
The parking lot is poorly designed, and involves ripping out new investments made as part of the Court Street Gateway Project; relocating light poles, traffic signals, and curb cuts; and introducing new safety risks to pedestrians and bikers on one of our most heavily trafficked sidewalks in downtown. Worse, city officials have stated at Traffic Board meetings that they plan to eliminate reverse diagonal parking on Court Street to improve line of sight for cars coming in and out of this ten-space parking lot—a move that will actually reduce the number of parking spaces on Court Street!
Successful downtowns today feature vibrant and active public spaces. We fully agree that the Metrocenter Courtyard is underutilized and an eyesore. However, we believe it needs to be redesigned and improved for people—not paved over for cars! For a fraction of the cost of the parking lot, this commons area could become a downtown hub, supporting expansive outdoor seating at Galaxy Brewing and Sip of Seattle, live music, and other seasonal programming.
The administration is just about to start a $100,000 downtown parking study, a priority recommendation listed in Blueprint Binghamton, the City's Comprehensive Plan formally adopted by City Council last year. Blueprint Binghamton. The section on downtown in the City's newly adopted plan remarks on the excessive acreage of land committed to paved parking area, and recommends a parking study to consider ways to reduce the land committed to parking, and articulates a resident-driven vision of a walkable, livable downtown with more public spaces, recreational assets,and housing and transportation choices. It makes no sense to add a new parking lot before the parking study is done and in complete contradiction to the plan legally adopted by City Council last summer!
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