Mar 23 – Community Day of Peace concert Bay Breeze 25 E 10^th, Erie. 4PM $5 admission, proceeds benefit Mothers Against Teen Violence. Article in Showcase. Contact Lora 814-838-9649 morningstar7@verizon.net

Mar 23 – Earth Hour 2013 This Saturday, March 23 at 8:30PM, hundreds of millions of people will unite for Earth Hour 2013. It’s an hour of inspiration, where we gather to celebrate what we have done and what we are committed to do in the year ahead for our planet.

Mar 24 – “Choosing Compassionate Consumption” Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Erie. (UUSC Justice Sunday) “Our Principle of “the inherent worth and dignity of every person” is extended to the rights of workers for our food system. What can we do to improve the economic “food chain?” It includes “ethical eating” and goes beyond leaving a “healthy tip.” Rev. Steve will share his message based on the book Behind the Kitchen Door by Saru Jayaraman.

Mar 26 – Light the Way to Justice Vigil Marriage Equality or PA is sponsoring the Light the Way to Justice Vigil at the Federal Courthouse (7^th & State) in Erie PA 7pm until 8:30 PM. “This is not a march, a fight or a demonstration – this is a peaceful display of solidarity and a stand for love, not hate. Make signs to hold, bring candles and help show our desire to be equal under the law. This is a grassroots movement.” For more information, click the link on: http://www.me4pa.org. Please join us.

Mar 28 – Global Voices Give Us the Money Bob Geldof, Bono and Bill Gates discuss their anti-poverty efforts. WQLN

Mar 29 – 33^rd Annual Good Friday Pilgrimage for Peace 11am. If you wish to drive to Mt. St Benedict, you may go by chartered bus to the Cathedral.  The bus leaves the Mount at approximately 10:30 am.  The bus will return to the Mount from 6th and State. There is a prayer service at the Mount beginning at 9AM that you may wish to attend before boarding the bus. There will be cars accompanying the Peace Pilgrimage for those who choose to ride for all or any part of the Pilgrimage.  Sponsored by Erie Benedictines for Peace (http://www.eriebfp.org/ ) Full details here

Apr 2 – Pittsburgh gets BikeShare system  What is bike share and why Pittsburgh? It is a system of shared bicycles available for short-term use by annual or short-term (24-hr) members. The bikes are used for “point-to-point” trips and can lock into any of the 50 solar-powered stations planned throughout the City of Pittsburgh. The 500 bikes are designed to be sturdy, vandal-proof and with safety in mind.

Apr 3 – Bike Erie Coalition meets at Whole Foods Co-op 5:45pm. Open to public.

Apr 3 – Beyond Coal Wed, April 3, 7:30pm – 9:30pm Penn State Erie, The Behrend College Burke Hall, Room 180 (map) Learn  about Pennsylvania’s role in global warming and what is being done in the state by the Sierra Club’s Beyond Coal campaign to fight against climate change what can be done in northwestern Pennsylvania. “We have made progress by creating incentives for clean renewable energy sources like wind and solar power. And we have put in place a law that requires utility companies to reduce electric consumption, while saving rate-payers money.” Jeff Schmidt, Director of Sierra Club’s Pennsylvania Chapter will talk about ways to influence those in Harrisburg and Washington to make the right decisions that will benefit all of us and future generations. Free and open to the public.

Apr 3 – Lecture by Spike Lee at Clarion University Part of the Spike Lee Film Festival.

Apr 4 – PSU Behrend Speaker Series: Sapphire, author of “Push” (film adaptation was called Precious), The Kid (2011) Poetry Meditations on the Rainbow: Poetry (1987), American Dreams (1994), Black Wings & Blind Angels: Poems (1999). Part of the Penn State Behrend Erie Sixth Annual Gender Conference Apr 4-5.

Apr 8 – “The Invisible War” 7-9pm –Groundbreaking investigative documentary about the epidemic of rape within the U.S. military. Presented by Passages, Inc. Clarion University 840 Wood Street Clarion, PA More Information: (814) 226-7273

Apr 11 - Kane Smego at Venango Campus of Clarion University, Robert W. Rhoades Center, Oil City P A. 7:30PM. Kane “Novakane” Smego is a nationally-recognized spoken word poet and Artistic Director of Sacrificial Poets whose dynamic workshops explore the power of stories and voice as tools for self-transformation, non-violent resistance, and community engagement. Immediately following the popular revolutions in Tunisia and Egypt in January 2010, Kane recorded the stories of the young people driving these powerful movements, teamed up with two other young poets and a film-maker and created the multimedia project “Poetic Portraits of a Revolution.” 7:30 p.m. Robert W. Rhoades Center”All the events, unless otherwise noted, are free and open to Venango College students, their families, and the local communities.”

Apr 12 – 13 – Erie Reader Staged Reading Series: “8” by Dustin Lance Black (PACA – Performing Arts Center & Theater, 1505 State St, Erie, PA 16501) Portrays the legal argument and witness testimony of the Perry v. Schwarzenegger trial, which led to the overturning of California’s anti-marriage equality Proposition 8. Using actual transcripts from the court case, Black has crafted a heartbreaking and compelling look at this monumental legal case. Free admission – no reservations needed. 8 PM both nights. Contact: Mark Tanenbaum. Phone: (814) 434-0687 Browse to http://www.paca1505.com. For more on “8” click here

Apr 12-14 – SpiritQuest Film Festival Edinboro University campus. Focusing on the human experience, from day to day relationships to matters of life and death, war and peace, science and spirituality

Apr 13 – Thomas Merton 2013 Award Honoring Martin Sheen 5 PM Soldiers and Sailors Memorial Hall – 4141 Fifth Ave Pittsburgh, PA 15213

Apr 13-22 – Earth Week at SUNY Fredonia

Apr 16-18 Birds and Vines

Apr 17 – Staged reading “8”at Allegheny College, Meadville PA.  7pm @ Arter Hall Little Theater. About the CA court case challenging the constitutionality of Prop 8 that is now headed to the U.S. Supreme Court. Talkback to follow. Collaboration with Student Experimental Theater. [Ally Week event] email queersnalliesac@gmail.com with any questions.  For more on “8” click here

Apr 18 – Candidate Forum on LGBT issues Avalon Hotel 10^th & State. 7PM Free and open to public.

Apr 20- Presque Isle Cleanup More info at the park office 2nd floor of Tom Ridge Environmental Center (TREC) or at (814)833-7424.

Apr 21 – Wild & Scenic Film Festival Bradford PA

Apr 21 – EarthFest 2013 Cleveland “This year’s theme is “Celebrating Advanced and Renewable Energy.”… Ohio’s largest environmental education event and the longest running Earth Day celebration in the nation.

Apr 22 – Earth Day

Apr 22 – PA Deadline to register to vote in primary

Apr 30 – “The Invisible War” 6:00 pm Groundbreaking investigative documentary about one of America’s most shameful and best kept secrets: the epidemic of rape within the U.S. military. Presented by Crime Victim Center of Erie County, Inc. Co-Presented by Mercyhurst University and Mercyhurst Veterans Association Taylor Little Theater 501 East 38th Street Erie, PA More Information: (814) 455-9414 www.cvcerie.org

May 2 STUCK Tour Cleveland Cedar Lee Theatre Documentary presentation about international adoption from the Both Ends Burning Campaign.

May 3 – STUCK Tour in Pittsburgh Southside Works Cinema

May 10 – David Francey at Fredonia Opera House.

May 18 – Bike Around the Bay Sponsored by Environment Erie.  Join hundreds of tri-state bicyclists on Saturday, May 18, 2013 at the Intermodel Transportation Center on the Bayfront Parkway. Bike 10 Miles – Town Tour, especially designed for families and less experienced riders; 30 Miles – Bay Tour, for casual riders or 50 Miles – Endurance Tour, for seasoned riders. All riders bike along Presque Isle Bay and Lake Erie. Cost: Individuals are $20.00, families are $40.00. Group rates available: scouts, churches, youth groups, etc. Support Environment Erie, the non-profit youth environmental education program.

Jun 1 – Rally for Bradley Manning at Fort Meade (Maryland)

Jun 17-19 – Games for Change Festival NYC. Last year sold out so register early if you plan on attending. You can also watch it online.

Jun 20-23 – Netroots Nation

NEWS & VARIOUS

• On Point: Environmentalism’s Next Generation  A new generation of “climate activists” are ready to raise Hell over the Keystone Pipeline and more. We hear from them.
• DEP’s climate denier head Michael Krancur stepping down, going back through the pro-fracking revolving door from whence he came
• Trailer for Wikileaks documentary “We Steal Secrets” out now. Film opens limited 5/24/13 and goes wide in June.
• Paralyzed Iraq Vet Tomas Young Discusses His ‘Last Letter’ to Bush & Cheney, His Decision to Die Iraq War veteran and the main subject of the documentary, Body of War. On April 4, 2004, his fifth day in Iraq, Young’s unit came under fire in Baghdad. Young was left paralyzed, never to walk again. Released from medical care three months later, Young returned home to become an active member in Iraq Veterans Against the War.

SOME ENVIRONMENTAL PAGES AND WEBSITES IN REGION

ERIE

• Environment Erie
• GreenEriePA

Western NY

• GrowWNY “For all things environmental in Western New York – news, events, outdoor places, and much more!” Like here
• Re-ENERGIZE BUFFALO “All things GREEN: Energy, Environment, and Economy
  *Grow Clean Energy *Cut Pollution *Protect Health *Create Jobs
• Greenworks Buffalo Niagara Community organization dedicated to fostering the growth and development of local green businesses and green business practices. email signup here

Pittsburgh

• Greener Pittsburgh Directory, Events, Jobs, Products, etc
• Pittsburghgreenstory.org
• “Cool Pittsburgh”

Cleveland

• GreenCityBlueLake

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Anonymous-ART-of-Revolution/362231420471759

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Feb 28-Mar 3 – “Anna in the Tropics” Allegheny Playshop Theatre presents a Pulitzer Prize-winning play by Cuban-American playwright Nilo Cruz,  Vukovich Center for Communication Arts Allegheny College, Meadville PA.. The play evokes the world of a Tampa cigar factory in 1929, when cigars were still rolled by hand and “lectores,” or readers, were employed to educate and entertain the workers.

Mar 1-31 – March events at Presque Isle and TREC

Mar 1-31 – EUP Women’s History Month Calendar

Mar 2 – Pennsylvania Progressive Summit Harrisburg

Mar 3 – Stevie Wonder with Friends: Celebrating a Message of Peace  On BET 11:00AM. In In an effort to commemorate the UN and its affiliates who have worked toward the betterment of humanity throughout the world, American activist and musical icon Stevie Wonder headlined a star-studded show of some of the nation’s most inspiring artists.

Mar 3 – WNY Peace Center Director at UU of N. Chautauqua 11 AM Worship: Justice Sunday with guest speaker Charles Bowman and Worship Associates Joan and Rodney Houck Charles Bowman is the Interim Executive Director of WNY Peace Center in Buffalo. He is a retired biologist who has worked in Albany, at University of Buffalo, and the Veterans Association. His talk will focus on two connected issues: unmanned aerial vehicles and renewable energy. www.uucnc.org

Mar 5 – An Evening with Ishmael Beah Robert H. Jackson Center Jamestown, N.Y. What does war look like through the eyes of a child soldier? Learn the answers to this difficult question and more as the Robert H. Jackson Center hosts An Evening With Ishmael Beah. Beah, a former child soldier and author of A Long Way Gone: Memories of a Boy Soldier, will give a candid personal account of his experiences in Sierra Leone and share his hopes for the future of the country. To learn more about his experiences, please visit www.alongwaygone.com. A reception in Beah’s honor will be held at 5:30 p.m., prior to the 7 p.m. presentation. Both are free and open to the public courtesy of sponsors Allegheny College, Chautauqua Region Community Foundation, Lutheran Social Services, and Lake Shore Savings Bank. A limited number of complimentary copies of Beah’s book will be available to attendees. Beah on Jon Stewart

Mar 7 – What would Medicaid expansion mean for you? Public Hearing with Rep. Bizarro and Rep. Fabrizio, Blasco Library 10-1.. “Are you an uninsured Pennsylvanian? Are you a healthcare or hospital worker? Are you a taxpayer or citizen of Pa? Come stand for affordable health care, jobs for our community, and funding for our hospitals. Corbett says No we say Unite. Corbett is becoming more isolated in his decision not to accept funding. 1.3 million uninsured Pennsylvanians would be covered, 41,000 healthcare jobs will be created, and hospitals will receive valuable funding. Let’s unite and win this for our state!” Public hearing with State Reps Flo Fabrizio and Ryan Bizzarro, 10am Blasco Memorial Library, HO Hirt Auditorium, 160 E Front St Erie

Mar 7 – Civil Rights : Making the Movement 6:00 pm The Robert H. Jackson Center (Jamestown NY) will debut their new spring 2013 exhibit with a public. Features materials from the collection of Dave Crane, a history professor at Alamance Community College in North Carolina. The materials consist of buttons, badges, pinbacks, posters, photographs, pamphlets, and flyers that document the Civil Rights Movement from 1909-1976. The material culture of the freedom struggle helped the movement achieve its objectives of ending Jim Crow segregation and disfranchisement. There will also be a chronology of significant Supreme Court opinions that both aided and dismantled civil rights in America. The exhibit will be on display through September 2013. This exhibit is made possible through the support of the Chautauqua Region Community Foundation, Wegmans, and our local community.

Mar 8 - International Women’s Day: Call to Action Sponsored by Thomas Merton Center held at Friends Meeting House 4836 Ellsworth Avenue Pittssburgh,  Join us in celebration of International Women’s Day on Friday, March 8! This event focuses on how women have been impacted by wars. The free event will feature a screening of “The Invisible War.” The 2012 documentary film exposes sexual assault in the United States military and is nominated for Best Documentary Feature at the 85th Academy Awards.The event also features a dramatic reading, speakers Francine Porter, Joyce Wagner, Edith Bell and Scilla Wahrhaftig and will end with a Q&A after the film.This event is sponsored by the Thomas Merton Center, Code Pink Pittsburgh, Women’s League for International Peace and Freedom and American Friends Service Committee of PA. We hope to see you there!”

Mar 8-9 – Allegheny To Host Photojournalism Conference on the Ethics and Challenges of Visual Storytelling Allegheny College will host a two-day conference, “Documents of War: the Ethics and Challenges of Visual Storytelling,” exploring the role of photojournalism and film documentaries in the context of armed conflict, on March 8 and 9. The conference, which is free and open to the public, requires no preregistration.

Mar 11 – Erie Benedictines for Peace present peace activist and author Kathy Kelly. 7 pm Mount St. Benedict Monastery 6101 East Lake Road, Erie PA. Kathy Kelly co-coordinates Voices for Creative Nonviolence, (www.vcnv.org) a campaign to end U.S. military and economic warfare. – To RSVP on Facebook. See more at: Bio here http://vcnv.org/speaker-bio/kathy-kelly More details here http://www.nwpapeace.org/?q=node%2F174   

KATHY KELLY:
• Leading voice questioning US policy in Iraq, Afghanistan and Pakistan
• Twelve trips to Afghanistan living in working-class neighborhoods of Kabul
• Lived in Baghdad during 2003 “Shock and Awe” bombing
• Led a delegation to Pakistan to study effects of US drone warfare
• Coordinator of Voices for Creative Nonviolence

Mar 14 – MATV Fundraiser at JR’s Last Laugh 14th & State Headliner: Kevin Meaney.  Special Event Price: $18.00 Call (814) 461-0911 for Reservations & remember to mention Mother’s Against Teen Violence. *Dinner is available starting at 5:30pm & tickets will go on sale at 6:00pm Be sure to mention MATV when calling.

Mar 16-17 – 10th Annual Taste and Tour at Hurry Hill Farm 10am to 4pm free. Progressive maple farmers Jan and Lisa hold this fun and educational event.

Mar 19 – Special Presentation: After I Picked the Fruit Follows the lives of five immigrant farmworker women over a ten-year period as they labor in the apple orchards and fields of rural western New York, migrate seasonally to Florida, raise their families, and try to hide from the Bush-era immigration raids that were conducted in response to 9/11. Filmed in New York, Florida, and Mexico, this intimate, bittersweet, feature-length film illuminates a community that is nearly invisible to most Americans, and will change the way you look at our national ‘immigration problem.’” It will screen on Tuesday, March 19, at 7 p.m. in the Taylor Little Theatre at Mercyhurst University. Panel discussion to follow. Presented by the Mercyhurst Institute for Arts & Culture and the Mercyhurst departments of Social Work and Criminal Justice. Free and open to the public. For more information call 814-824-3000 or visit miac.mercyhurst.edu.

Mar 19 – Oscar Romero Award & Lecture 8 p.m The Mercyhurst University Department of Religious Studies is honored to present the 2013 Oscar Romero Award to Sister Mary Lou Kownacki, OSB, a tireless advocate for the poor and vulnerable. The annual award is given to persons whose lives have demonstrated in an extraordinary manner the commitment to faith, justice, and the dignity of all God’s people. Kownacki will deliver her lecture, “Turned Into Fire,” on Tuesday, March 19, at 8 p.m. in the Mercy Heritage Room of Sullivan Hall. Free and open to the public. For more information, contact Thomas Forsthoefel, Ph.D., professor of religious studies, at 814-824-2353.

Mar 20 –  Sustainability Department Film:  A Fierce Green Fire Walker Recital Hall This new documentary from filmmaker Mark Kitchell chronicles the development of grassroots environmental activism across the decades – and the globe – as people come together to save the planet, their homes and the future. Kitchell will be present when the film screens at the Walker Recital Hall at Mercyhurst University at 7 p.m. Q-and-A to follow. Free and open to the public. For more information, contact Marnie Sullivan, Ph.D., assistant professor of English, at msullivan@mercyhurst.edu or 814-824-3759.

Friday, Mar 22 Maria J. Langer Film Series: Ai Weiwei: Never Sorry Taylor Little Theatre Chinese artist and activist Ai Weiwei has garnered international attention as much for his ambitious artwork as his political provocations. From 2008 to 2010, Beijing-based journalist and filmmaker Alison Klayman documented Ai’s artistic process in preparation for major museum exhibitions, his intimate exchanges with family members and his increasingly public clashes with the Chinese government. @ 7:15 pm $6 for adults, $5 for seniors / students, purchase by calling 814-814-824-3000 or by visiting miac.mercyhurst.edu.

Mar 21 Mercyhurst hosts Global Gifts Fair to help empower local refugees

Mar 23 – Community Day of Peace concert Bay Breeze 25 E 10^th, Erie. 4PM $5 admission, proceeds benefit Mothers Against Teen Violence. Contact Lora 814-838-9649 morningstar7@verizon.net

Mar 24 – “Choosing Compassionate Consumption”  Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Erie. (UUSC Justice Sunday) “Our Principle of “the inherent worth and dignity of every person” is extended to the rights of workers for our food system. What can we do to improve the economic “food chain?” It includes “ethical eating” and goes beyond leaving a “healthy tip.” Rev. Steve will share his message based on the book Behind the Kitchen Door by Saru Jayaraman.

Apr 8 – “The Invisible War” 7-9pm –Groundbreaking investigative documentary about the epidemic of rape within the U.S. military. Presented by Passages, Inc. Clarion University 840 Wood Street Clarion, PA More Information: (814) 226-7273

Apr 12 – 13 – Erie Reader Staged Reading Series: “8” by Dustin Lance Black (PACA – Performing Arts Center & Theater, 1505 State St, Erie, PA 16501) Portrays the legal argument and witness testimony of the Perry v. Schwarzenegger trial, which led to the overturning of California’s  anti-marriage equality Proposition 8. Using actual transcripts from the court case, Black has crafted a heartbreaking and compelling look at this monumental legal case. Free admission – no reservations needed. 8 PM both nights. Contact: Mark Tanenbaum. Phone: (814) 434-0687  Browse to http://www.paca1505.com.

Apr 12-14 – SpiritQuest Film Festival Edinboro University campus. Focusing on the human experience, from day to day relationships to matters of life and death, war and peace, science and spirituality

Apr 13 – Thomas Merton 2013 Award Honoring Martin Sheen 5 PM Soldiers and Sailors Memorial Hall – 4141 Fifth Ave Pittsburgh, PA 15213

Apr 21 – Wild & Scenic Film Festival Bradford PA

Apr 21 – EarthFest 2013 Cleveland “This year’s theme is “Celebrating Advanced and Renewable Energy.”… Ohio’s largest environmental education event and the longest running Earth Day celebration in the nation.

Apr 22 – Earth Day

May 10 – David Francey at Fredonia Opera House.

Jun 17-19 – Games for Change Festival  NYC. Last year sold out so register early if you plan on attending. You can also watch it online.

Jun 20-23 – Netroots Nation

NEWS & VARIOUS

“Suffragists marching on State Street (1915)”   Photo from Erie Co Historical Society

Erie Dems website and Facebook page if you are interested in keeping up with things of interest to local Democrats, check out these sites.

Pennsylvania:13 GOP state senators, including the senate majority leader, have formally introduced their electoral college rigging bill. Republicans need a total of 26 votes to pass the bill. They currently control the chamber and hold 27 seats total. As they also control the state house in Pennsylvania, the GOP could theoretically ram the bill through in as little as 4 days as soon as they have the votes to pass it.Pennsylvania has been at the forefront of recent efforts to rig the electoral college, with Republicans from Gov. Tom Corbett on down, first considering this scheme way back in 2011.

Dan Zmijewski disrupts open-carry rally in Perry Square    In the article “Erie’s Perry Square site for rally against increased gun control”. Dave Rocco explains the ordinance concerning weapons in the park, and Doug Boldt (who organized the Bob’s Gun Shop forum) explains why he opposes the rally.

Watch “Inocente” episode. Oscar-winning documentary about a talented 15-year-old Latina who, as an undocumented homeless immigrant, fiercely pursues her dream of becoming an artist. First Kickstarter film to win an Oscar.

“A Place at the Table” In theatres, available on iTunes and on demand March 1. examines the shocking paradox of hunger in the wealthiest nation on earth, through the stories of three Americans who face food insecurity daily. The feature-length film features interviews with Oscar-winning actor Jeff Bridges, author Raj Patel, Top Chef’s Tom Colicchio and original music by Grammy award winning indie-folk duo The Civil Wars and Grammy – and Oscar – winning producer/composer T Bone Burnett.  Piece on NPR  Piece on NPR

“Only You Can Prevent Faucet Fires” made a big splash at Keystone event here is the source http://lmnopi.blogspot.com/2013/02/i-haz-t-shirt-store.html

The case for closing liquor stores “Violent crime has intractable causes like poverty, drugs and guns. But one cause — the number of businesses selling booze in a neighborhood — could be directly controlled. Should it be?”

Indoor compost video Those who have tried this recommend an old cotton T-shirt over top of the top layer to control odor. The shirt will become compost.

The Obnoxious Tea Party Leaders Have Vanished from the Political Stage — Palin, Beck, DeMint, Paul, Bachmann… Poof! Every single prominent Tea Party leader has either lost their job or abandoned being a voice of the movement.

A Better World is Possible!

Suffragists marching on State Street (1915)