[GreenNotes] GreenNotes - 3/14/2007

Wed Mar 14 07:48:39 PST 2007

Welcome to GreenNotes!

We apologize for the lateness and size of this issue. It has taken 
some time to move GreenNotes over to the our new list server, 
Mailman, so there is pent up news. Mailman is free software licensed 
under the GPL. For that reason alone, we like it. Even better, 
Mailman allows each subscriber to manage his or her own account, 
though, if you have any questions, please contact us.

     Tom Brown <tbrown at michiana.org>
     Karl Hardy <karl_j_hardy at yahoo.com>

To manage your subscription to GreenNotes see the footer at the end 
of this email and click on the link to broadcastlist or use this url 
-- http://forum.greens.org/mailman/listinfo/broadcastlist.

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Please circulate widely.

Contact us to include your announcement in GreenNotes.

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PROGRESSIVE EVENT CALENDAR

* Mar. 14 - Michiana Peace and Justice Coalition (MPJC) monthly meeting
   1036 N. Niles Ave, in South Bend.

* Mar. 15 - St. Joseph County Municipal Separate Storm Sewer System (MS4)
                 public information session.

* Mar. 19 -  4th anniversary of the start of the war in Iraq.

* Mar. 20 - Community Forum for Economic Development Public Meeting

* Mar. 20 - Progressive Discussion Group Meeting

* Mar. 21 - St. Joseph County Election Board Meeting

* Mar. 21 & 22 - Michiana Community Currency Forums at IUSB

* April 12 - Next Monthly Meeting of the St. Joe Valley Greens

* April 14 - Bagfest,  The Conserve Plastic Bags Festival at IUSB, 
1:00 - 4:00 pm

* MPJC peace vigil - Every Monday 5 to 6pm and Saturday 1 to 2pm

* GreenTV every Wednesday evening, 10 pm, Comcast channel 99.

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4TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE START OF THE IRAQ WAR

There will be actions to mark the anniversary, March 19th, both in 
Washington D.C. and here at home. Local events will be taking place 
throughout the week. For a full list, please visit:

http://community.michiana.org/justice/

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STORM WATER RUN OFF INFORMATION

The St. Joseph County Municipal Separate Storm Sewer System (MS4) 
group will host a public information session at the St. Joseph County 
Library on Thursday, March 15 at 6:30.  Learn what the general 
citizenry of the County can do to reduce the impacts of stormwater 
runoff and soil erosion.

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COMMUNITY FORUM FOR ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT PUBLIC MEETING

Indiana's Property Tax Circuit Breaker will be the focus of the March 
meeting of the Community Forum for Economic Development.

A panel of community leaders will make short statements about the 
impact of the circuit breaker on county services and about any 
proposals that have developed to modify its impact. That will allow 
at least an hour for questions and suggestions from the audience. 
Plans are to end by 9.

The panel includes:
* Mark Dobson, St. Joseph County Commissioner and chair of the 
County's Circuit Breaker Task Force;
* Dawn Jones, President of the Board of Trustees of the South Bend 
Community School Corporation;
* Al (Buddy) Kirsits, Battalion Chief of the South Bend Fire 
Department and a member of the South Bend Common Council;
* Bob Warnock III, President of Teamsters Local 364; and,
* Marty Wolfson, an economist from the University of Notre Dame and a 
representative of the Community Forum for Economic Development.

Rafael Morton, the President of the St. Joseph County Council, will 
serve as the moderator of the program.

This PUBLIC MEETING will be held
  - Tuesday, March 20
  - from 7 to 9 PM
  - at the Minority Health Coalition office,
    915 N. Bendix Drive, in LaSalle Square, South Bend.

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PROGRESSIVE DISCUSSION GROUP MEETING

The Michiana Progressive Discussion group will meet at 7pm on Tuesday 
March 20 at the main branch of the St. Joseph County Public Library 
(304 S. Main in downtown South Bend).

Come join us for an open discussion of current events, philosophy, 
arts, culture and whatever else we feel like talking about. All are welcome!

For more information, contact Karl Hardy at karl_j_hardy at yahoo.com

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ST. JOSEPH COUNTY ELECTION BOARD MEETING

Bill Stant was the first ever statewide Green Party candidate for 
elected office in Indiana, running as a candidate for Secretary of 
State. Despite a strong local Green presence, no votes were recorded 
for Bill in St. Joseph County.

Green voters were effectively disenfranchised and local Greens are 
seeking an explanation from the Election Board as to how and why this happened.

Please consider joining us at the Election Board meeting on Wed. 
March 21 at 10am, at the County-City Building.

Be on the lookout for an upcoming Michiana Point-of-View piece on 
this subject in the South Bend Tribune co-written by Karl Hardy and 
Kathleen Petitjean.

For more information, please contact Karl at karl_j_hardy at yahoo.com

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MICHIANA COMMUNITY CURRENCY FORUM AT IUSB

The American Democracy Project at Indiana University South Bend will 
host The Michiana Community Currency Forum, Wednesday Mar. 21 and 
Thursday Mar. 22, as part of their Poverty and Living Wage Series.

For more information please visit:

http://www.michianacurrency.org

email: michianacurrency at sbcglobal.net

phone: (574) 233.3928

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ANNOUNCING NEW ORGANIC PRODUCE CO-OP

There is a new Organic Produce Co-Op operating out of the Studio Arts 
Center, 807 Lincoln Way West (corner of Cottage Grove & Lincoln Way), 
in downtown South Bend.

Details:

- $20 a week  (or more, in $10 increments)
- Pick up on Mondays from 5pm . 7pm
- You receive a basket of organic produce that varies by availability

Example:
3 lbs. Granny Smith apples, 5 lbs. carrots, 3 lbs. onions, 2 stalks 
broccoli, 1 bunch Rainbow Swiss chard, 1 large bulb garlic, 1 bunch 
bananas, 1 head Green Leaf lettuce, 1 bundle basil and several large yams.

For more information, contact:  Elizabeth Biddlecome at 
elizabethbiddlecome at hotmail.com or 287-8565.

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ST. JOE VALLEY GREENS WEB-BASED TECHNOLOGY UPDATE

The proposal made by Tom Brown to develop and establish a Progressive 
Web Portal is moving forward as discussions for how the portal will 
be organized and administered have begun. This is an exciting project 
that promises to help build the progressive community in the Michiana area.

At present, Tom and Karl are updating and revising the St. Joe Valley 
Greens' website. The changes are not dramatic, more behind the scenes 
than up front. Check it  out  at <http://www.sjvgreens.org> and give 
us some feedback.

The planned progressive portal site will offer news, op-ed pieces and 
a calendar of notable events for progressives.

Other possible features include hosting email lists and web pages for 
local groups as well as providing space for blogs, forums, and 
multimedia (video and podcast) content.

The next step is setting up a demonstration site.

If you or your organization is interested in being involved in the 
media collective that will administer the site, please contact us at 
greentv at sjvgreens.org.

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BAGFEST AT IUSB

BagFest: The Conserve Plastic Bags Festival is a community project 
with two primary aims: (1) To raise public awareness on the 
consumption of plastic bags and, (2) to instill moral and civic 
responsibilities that inspire behavioral, environmental, and economic 
changes in our community.  To meet these goals, a festival will be 
held at Indiana University South Bend (IU South Bend).

Saturday, April 14, 2007
12:00 p.m.-4:00 p.m.

Your students are invited to attend and/or volunteer the day of the 
event.  Volunteer opportunities include: assisting with the filming 
of a documentary of the event, Bag Pile-Up, directing attendants to 
event locations, helping load bag donations into a semi-truck, and 
helping conduct surveys, contests, and interviews.  Please refer to 
the attachment for more details about the event and volunteer opportunities!

Please contact the project director for more information:

Michelle Verges, PhD
Department of Psychology
Indiana University South Bend
1700 Mishawaka Avenue
South Bend, IN 46615
Phone: (574) 520-4593
mverges at iusb.edu
http://www.conserveplasticbags.blogspot.com/

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SJVGREENS WEB SITE: WHAT'S FRESH

* The 5 Degrees of Government

* Impeach Bush & Cheney / Stop War Against Iran Update - 2/25/07

* Impeach Bush/Cheney Resources - 3/4/07

* 36 Vermont Towns Vote to Initiate Impeachment Investigation

* Karl Hardy Attends 2nd South Bend Government Academy

* Action Alert! Tell Congress to Support HR 1176 - The Citizen Child 
Protection Act

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KEY VALUES OF THE GREENS

  1. Ecological wisdom
  2. Social justice
  3. Grassroots democracy
  4. Nonviolence
  5. Decentralization
  6. Community-based economics
  7. Feminism
  8. Respect for diversity
  9. Personal and global responsibility
10. Future focus

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St. Joe Valley Greens, South Bend, IN
http://www.sjvgreens.org/
mailto: greentv at sjvgreens.org