APN to Host First Town Hall Tuesday: Oil Spill, Implications for Action
(APN) ATLANTA — Atlanta Progressive News will be holding its first Official* Town Hall Meeting on this Tuesday, August 17, 2010, from 7-9pm at the Spring4th Center in Atlanta’s Midtown.
This will be the first in a series of monthly town hall meetings called by APN to address critical community issues and empower community advocates, citizens, and experts alike to share information in a collaborative setting, with the hopes of leading to meaningful action and public policy change.
APN has created a Facebook event page for the event where you can RSVP at: http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=104894789563742&.
FIRST MONTH’S TOPIC: GULF COAST OIL SPILL–IMPLICATIONS FOR ACTION
The Official Town Hall Meeting series was envisioned to address primarily local issues, but we felt due to the enormity of the Gulf Oil Spill catastrophe–which affects us all–that people really need a venue locally in which to vent their thoughts and opinions, and through which to examine systemic implications.
To that end, we have booked six speakers, who will each speak for 10 minutes, followed by a 40 minutes Q&A:
–>HOW LACK OF GOVERNMENT REGULATION AND FUNDAMENTALLY UNSAFE CONDITIONS ARE ALSO PRESENT IN NUCLEAR AND COAL POWER IN GEORGIA
(1) Bobbie Paul, Executive Director, Georgia Women’s Action for New Directions (WAND) — Nuclear power
(2) Erin Glynn, Sierra Club Georgia, Beyond Coal Campaign– Coal power
–>HOW WE MUST REDUCE OUR DEPENDENCE ON OIL
(3) Sally Flock, Executive Director, Pedestrians Educating Drivers about Safety (PEDS) — Pedestrian rights, personal choices, policy choices
(4) Cheri Mitchell, Outreach Coordinator, ACT Now — Public transportation
–>HOW WE MUST TAKE DIRECT ACTION AND REEXAMINE OUR VALUES
(5) Tracie Stern, World Can’t Wait and Revolution Books Atlanta/Revolution newspaper — Report on the Emergency Committee to Stop the Gulf Oil Disaster, and how neoliberal capitalism made oil spill possible.
(6) Carol Coney, community activist — Report on local protests and upcoming protest action
A SPACE FOR PUBLIC EXPRESSION
“It is clear that in the City of Atlanta, most public officials are not listening and are not willing to conduct the type of oversight required of them.
Meanwhile, some Council Members like Joyce Sheperd (District 12), Alex Wan (District 6), and Ivory Young (District 3) have supported limiting public input and participation before the Community Development committee,” Matthew Cardinale, News Editor and Publisher of APN, said.
“That is why we have endeavored to create our own forum where people will know that they are being listened to and that their words matter,” Cardinale said.
LOGISTICS
WHEN: Tuesday, August 17, 2010, 7-9pm. Organizational tabling and mingling to begin at 6:30pm.
WHERE: Spring4th Center
ADDRESS: 728 Spring Street NW, Atlanta GA, 30308
DIRECTIONS AND PARKING: There are 16 free spaces at the Arby’s parking lot next to Spring4th for early birds. There are paid spaces at the Georgia Tech deck for $1.50 per hour, as well as metered parking all around.
FOR DETAILS SEE: http://www.spring4th.com/PageDirections.html.
Or even better, take MARTA! The North Avenue station is two blocks away.
BEVERAGES: Spring4th has a paid bar for refreshments as well as alcoholic beverages.
ACCESSIBILITY: Spring4th is wheelchair accessible.
ORGANIZING COMMITTEE: The Town Hall Meeting is being organized by Matthew Cardinale, Atlanta Progressive News; Ben Howard, Senior Advocate; and Carol Coney, community activist.
*We are calling the meeting an Official Town Hall Meeting because Atlanta City Council passed an ordinance in 2006, which we believe is an unconstitutional infringement upon freedom of assembly [06-O-0181], stating that they are the only ones with the right to hold an “Official” Town Hall Meeting. However, because we are officially the town, we are taking back our rights to hold an Official Town Hall Meeting.
FOR MORE INFORMATION, CALL MATTHEW CARDINALE (404) 664 1243
(END/2010)
About the author:
Matthew Cardinale is the News Editor for The Atlanta Progressive News and is reachable at matthew@atlantaprogressivenews.com.
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