Week of September 14, 2006

For an updated East End Report click here

In this week's report: [ click on any of the bold headers below ]


They are not going away

Coalition for a Worklink Center

Peace & Justice Calendar


Suffolk Peace Vigils (East End Women in Black Vigil Sunday)

Counter Recruiting Schedule

Alternative Media for Eastern LI

See wpkn.org/today for program details on WPKM heard at 88.7 Montauk to Water Mill and WPKN 89.5 Bridgeport to Southampton and Southold. Local News at 6:30 pm (Mon-Fri) has occasional reports from the East End.

Support Independent Media: WUSB and WPKN/WPKM need your support.
Go to wpkn(dot)org and wusb(dot)fm and contribute on line.

Democracy Now! with Amy Goodman and Juan Gonzalez: Monday- Saturday on Riverhead/Southampton/Southold Channel 20.

Monday 10pm
Tuesday 9 pm
Wednesday 6am
Thursday 5pm
Friday 7pm
Saturday 8pm

See the North Fork People of Conscience web site

Also see the Suffolk Progressive Vision web site for links to more local events.

The East End Report is compiled by Tony Ernst.

Send comments, corrections and event listings to eastendreport@yahoo.com

They are not going away ......

The men seeking work here, driven from their homes south of the border by the fallout from international trade, are not going away. In Mexico the agricultural sector has been decimated by imports of subsidized U.S. corn, forcing family farmers to leave their land, and look for jobs in the cities or in the U.S. (American Friends Service Committee)

The (Minute) men seeking a fight are not going away as long as we do nothing. They brag that they have won a victory in Southampton -dispersing day laborers from their gathering place near the 7-11 to nearby streets. Their tactics here are part of their organizing strategy.

Southampton Village Mayor Mark Epley has a sensible plan. He wants the Village to provide a space in a new park to be developed on Aldrich Lane (just south of the 7-11 convenience store) for day laborers to meet from early morning until noon each day. The group Coalition for a Worklink Center will manage a hiring site with funding from private sources at that location until a more permanent home for the operation is found. The hiring site will be for all seeking work.

The operation of such a center is not a new concept. It will link workers with employers and help insure the workers are paid. Hiring sites such as is proposed exist in places such as Freeport, Hempstead and Glen Cove on Long Island and towns across the country. Such sites operate successfully particularly when local police and officials are supportive.

The underlying factors that drive immigration can only be addressed by
fundamental changes in policy at the national level. Meanwhile, it is not
reasonable to expect that the US will be able to stem the tide of immigrants
across the border or to arrest the large number of un-documented people
who are here now.
WE must act to provide for our domestic tranquility.

So we urge the Mayor and the Village Trustees to move ahead with their plan. To do nothing is not an option.

Coalition for a Worklink Center

The Coalition for a Worklink Center, representing various sectors of Long Island’s East End community, seeks to address the tensions that have resulted from the absence of a legitimate hiring site for day laborers, most of whom are recent immigrants.

The Coalition is comprised of business people, educators, members of local clergy and houses of worship, members of non-profit organizations, the East Hampton and Southampton Anti-Bias Task Forces, and other concerned local residents.

Its primary goal is to establish a formal hiring site where local contractors and workers can meet in order to fill and find jobs and, in a regulated and humane environment, continue to carry out the work that residents of the East End deem necessary, thereby helping to maintain the quality of life and standard of living that local residents enjoy.

Throughout the country communities are acknowledging the need for formal hiring sites (also known as hiring halls or shape-up sites), and more and more are being established, in some cases with funding from municipal governments.

An article in the New York Times (January 26, 2006) states that, according to a study of day laborers carried out in 20 states and the District of Columbia, there are “63 day labor centers that operate as hiring halls where workers and employers arrange to meet. These centers, usually created in partnerships with local government or community organizations, often require workers and employers to register, helping to reduce abuses. The centers provide shelter, bathrooms and water—sometimes even English lessons—while workers wait.”

The Coalition recognizes that the need to find a positive and lasting solution to what some sectors of the community perceive as a problem has become urgent. Concerned residents of Southampton Town want to see their local government take a thoughtful and visionary approach to the issue. Because the demand for relatively cheap labor will never disappear—on the part of both contractors and homeowners—and because the demand for paying work will never disappear—on the part of documented and undocumented workers alike—the Coalition believes that the establishment of a formal hiring site is the most tenable, practical, and ethical answer to the question of “What can be done?”

Whatever uniqueness the East End of Long Island may boast in relation to the rest of the country, it does share the need for a workforce that is willing and able to do certain jobs that communities across America deem vital—jobs that currently experience a shortage in the supply of Americans willing to carry them out. The construction, renovation, painting, and landscaping industries all require tremendous numbers of workers in order to handle the volume of work that homeowners—both the wealthy and those belonging to all levels of the large middle class—in the Hamptons demand. The nursery, farming, and vineyard industries, equally vital to the East End community, require a plentiful supply of labor as well.

Given the economic realities and demands of the community, the Coalition believes strongly that a formal hiring site will accomplish a number of positive goals that will benefit the community.
A formal hiring site will:

Encourage the reduction of congestion, noise, and traffic generated by business being conducted in parking lots and on roadsides

* Provide a legitimate, easily accessible location in which contractors and workers can conduct business

* Offer shelter and basic facilities to both contractors and workers

* Foster fair conduct between employers and employees

July 2006

Peace & Justice Calendar - Starting September 14

Link to September 21 Calendar - click here!

For details about the following events SCROLL DOWN:

* September 16 (Saturday): Gospel Jamboree 2006 in Agawam Park , Southampton 2 to 6 pm

* September 17 (Sunday): "Number the Dead" of Iraq War in New York 10-11 am

* September 17 (Sunday): : East End Community Gathering at Red Creek Park, Hampton Bays 1-6pm

* September 17 (Sunday): East End Women in Black Vigil in Sag Harbor at 5pm

* September 17 (Sunday): Constitution Day - Reading the Constitution in Bridgehampton from 6 to 9pm

* September 19 (Tuesday): US Foreign Policy and Immigration with Bill McNulty in Freeport at 7pm

* September 24 (Sunday): Vigil for End of Occupations of Palestine and Iraq and for Peace in Lebanon - in Bridgehampton at 5pm

* October 5 (Thursday): The World Can't Wait - Rally in NYC

*
October 15 (Sunday): Rachel's Words - Tribute to Rachel Corrie in Bridgehampton at 7:30pm

* November 17-19(Friday-Sunday): Annual School of the Americas Vigil / Demonstration at Ft. Benning Georgia

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Repeating Events:

( see Counter-Recruiting for listing of weekly and monthly demonstrations)

* Sunday Nights: "Bush is a Liar Choir" rehearses in Lindenhurst from 7 to 9pm

* Every Thursday evening - Book Study Group in Water Mill at 6:30

* "Herstory" Writing Workshops on Wednesdays in Farmingville (Spanish and English) 3 to 5 pm and Thursdays in Spanish only in East Hampton at 7 pm

* Second Tuesday of Month: South Fork Chapter of LI Progressive Coalition Meets in Water Mill at 6:30 pm

Details Follow:
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September 16 (Saturday): Gospel Jamboree 2006 in Agawam Park , Southampton 2 to 6 pm

The East End African American Museum and Center for Excellence in partnership with the Village of Southampton and the Southampton Cultural Center presents for our 3rd year:

Gospel Jamboree 2006

Saturday, September 16th from 2 to 6 pm at Agawam Park, Pond Lane, Southampton

Come bring your blankets, chairs, picnic baskets and enjoy a family day of fun.

Come and listen to the best Gospel on Eastern Long Island - featuring Showers of Blessings - Kings Chapel COGIC, Community Baptist Church Mass Choir and Male Chorus, First Baptist Southampton Mass Choir and Male Chorus, E.L.I. Psalmist Community Choir, Dan Bailey Drummers, Nicole Lee and friends, and many more.

There will also be food, book displays, poetry readings and more.

Don't let this special occasion pass you by.

For more information, please contact Bonnie Cannon at (631)287-1271 or
Brenda Simmons at (631)287-0247 ext. 222.

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September 17 (Sunday): "Number the Dead" of Iraq War in New York 10-11 am

From North Fork People of Conscience:

On Sunday, September 17, from 10-11 am, in New York City, we will be joining the NUMBER THE DEAD line of people holding pictures of the soldiers who have died in Iraq. The line will stretch down Fifth Avenue from 98th Street to 8th Street.

We all need to see what the number 2,651 dead (as of Sunday, September 3) looks like. We hope you will spread the word (a flyer is attached) and join us on the line.

Here is the information we have received from the organizers.

On Sunday September 17th there will be 2700 concerned persons lining the east sidewalk of 5th Avenue from 8th Street to 98th Street in NYC. The number corresponds to the number of US soldiers that have died in Iraq.
Each person will hold a poster board with the name, age and hometown of every fallen US soldier. In addition, each block will have a poster marking the number of Iraqis who have been killed.

Also, please visit our blog at: nfpofc.blogspot.com

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September 17 (Sunday): Constitution Day - Reading the Constitution in Bridgehampton from 6 to 9pm

The Unitarian Universalist Congregation of the South Fork and the East End Committee to Defend the Bill of Rights will again celebrate Constitution Day at the Unitarian Meetinghouse, 977 Bridgehampton-Sag Harbor Turnpike on Sunday, Sept 17, from 6-9 pm. Constitution Day has been proclaimed by Congress to celebrate the anniversary of the ratification of our Constitution in legislation sponsored by Sen. Robert Byrd. All are invited to help read the Constitution in its entirety. There will be special early American music as well as the reading.

Call Myrna Truitt, 631 728-7601 for more information.
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September 17 (Sunday): East End Community Gathering at Red Creek Park, Hampton Bays 1 to 6pm

AFTER-SUMMER EAST END COMMUNITY GATHERING

Family, Friends and Neighbors!!!

Free Food - share our drinks, hotdogs & ice cream

Also consider bringing a pot luck dish for 5 or 6 people
(Perhaps a dish from your own cultural background);

PRIZES; PRIZES; PRIZES; PRIZES
Music, Poetry, Games, Dancing, Sports & More

Location: Red Creek Park, Hampton Bays
(Exit 65 North from Sunrise Hwy; first right and third left into Park)

Time: 1 to 4pm
(If it rains, picnic will begin at noon until 3 P.M. with inside fun!!)

For information & to let us know you’re coming call: Picnic Committee @ 631-727-6831

Picnic Committee:

Anti-Bias Task Force: Riverhead, Southampton, Southold & East Hampton;
Chamber of Commerce: Southampton & Greater Westhampton Beach;
Citizens Advisory Council of Southampton/Tuckahoe; Human Resources of the Hamptons; Kiwanis Club -- Riverhead;
Lions Club Southampton;
N.A.A.C.P.;
Peconic Community Council; Rogers Memorial Library;
Shinnecock Museum & Cultural Center;
Spanish Apostolate -- North & South Forks;
St. Rosalie’s Church – Hampton Bays ;
Suffolk County Community College;
Youth Bureau-Town of Southampton (list in formation)
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September 17 (Sunday): East End Women in Black Vigil in Sag Harbor at 5pm

This vigil is held every month on the third Sunday in Sag Harbor at the Wharf. Also this month on all other Sundays in Bridgehampton at the Monument (Ocean Road and Rte 27).

see www.eewib.blogspot.com
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September 19 (Tuesday): Discussion with Bill McNulty -US Foreign Policy and Immigration in Freeport at 7pm

A discussion with Bill McNulty, Suffolk coordinator of the School of Americas Watch will be held at the Freeport Memorial Library on Tuesday evening, September 19.

The subject is how US foreign policy is related to immigration.
Mr. McNulty will defend the following analysis:

"For more than a century U.S. foreign policy has been geared to protect “U.S. interests” throughout the world. These “interests” have been the economic interests of the big corporations. The “protection” of these interests has been reflected in invasions of countries, overthrow of foreign governments, support of genocidal dictatorships, and, due to wars and/or “free trade agreements”, destruction of local economies that could compete or otherwise interfere with the interests of the corporations.

Results of these policies in Latin America: displacement of populations that must migrate in order to survive.

The U.S. foreign policy has a big responsibility in the problems facing the immigrants. Closing the border will not bring a solution. The solution lies in changing the foreign policy and ending the unconditional support of the big corporations that exploit both, U.S. workers and the rest of the world."

Bill McMulty is a veteran of both the US military and the fight to close the terrorists training camp at Fort Benning, Georgia, formerly called the School of the Americas. His radio program is heard weekly on WUSB-FM 90.1 from noon to 2pm on Thursdays.

The Freeport Memorial Library is at 144 West Merrick Road, Freeport.

Co-sponsors: Five Towns Forum, I.F.C.O., Long Island Alliance for Peaceful Alternatives, Nassau Greens, Workplace Project. Long Island Media Watch.
For more information call: Mara Bard - (516) 379-8522
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September 24 (Sunday): Vigil for End of Occupations of Palestine and Iraq and for Peace in Lebanon - in Bridgehampton at 5pm

(see September 10, 17 above)
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October 5 (Thursday): The World Can't Wait - Rally in NYC


From 'World Can't Wait': On Thursday October 5, in New York and other cities people will make a huge political statement that cannot be ignored by massing in large numbers to say: "Bring This to a Halt! The World Can't Wait! Drive Out the Bush Regime!"

More Info: worldcantwait.org
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October 15 (Sunday): Rachel's Words - Tribute to Rachel Corrie in Bridgehampton at 7:30pm

The Committee for Peace in Israel and Palestine will present

RACHEL'S WORDS a tribute to Rachel Corrie who died, trying to bring peace to a violent world

(Rachel Corrie, a young American, was crushed to death by an Israeli Army bulldozer, as she tried to prevent the demolition of a Palestinian pharmacist's house in Gaza).

Sunday, October 15, 2006, 7:30pm

At the Unitarian Universalist Meeting House
977 Bridgehampton-Sag Harbor Turnpike
contribution: $10
All are Welcome

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November 17-19(Friday-Sunday): Annual School of the Americas Vigil / Demonstration at Ft. Benning Georgia

The fight to close the military training camp for Latin American military continues. Close to 20,000 participants are expected to be there, many from Long Island.

Contact Bill McNulty at wmcnult@suffolk.lib.ny.us

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Repeating Events:

See Suffolk Peace Vigils for a complete list of weekly and monthly vigils.
See Counter Recruiting Schedule for a listing of weekly and monthly demonstrations.
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Sunday nights from 7:00 to 9:00 in Lindenhurst: Join political action singing group.

Participate in songs regarding environment, anti-war, labor, multiculturalism, civil rights, and other issues. Sing historic songs of struggle and social change. Explore the role of music in political movements. Experience singing musical arrangements, in four part harmony.

Perform these songs for others. Contribute to the progressive movement while becoming culturally enriched. If you've ever wanted to be in a singing group, now is your chance! Experienced and non-experienced singers are welcome. All we ask is that you are able to sing on pitch.

Rehearsals take place, Sunday nights from 7:00 to 9:00 in Lindenhurst.

Anyone interested, please call Lisa Fishbein at: (631) 957-4954
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Thursday evening Book Study Group in Water Mill at 6:30 pm

The group meets at the Lutheran Church at Hayground Road and Montauk Highway on Thursdays at 6:30pmContact Pastor Vita at 631-537-1187 or pastorvita(at)verizon(dot)net
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"Herstory" Writing Workshops in Spanish and English

Mondays in Farmingville:

Herstory Writers Workshop meets every Monday afternoon at the Farmingville branch of the Workplace Project from 3 to 5. Both English-speaking and Spanish-speaking women come together to share and shape their life experiences through memoir writing. The workshop is conducted in both English and Spanish.

Call 631-723-0150 for more information and directions to the center.

Thursdays in East Hampton:

Every Thursday Spanish-speaking women come together to share their writing with one another and receive feedback on how to structure and shape their lifewriting.

The East Hampton workshop is open to East Hampton Town residents and is conducted entirely in SpanishIt meets every Thursday, 7-9 p.m., at the Senior Citizens Center, 128 Springs-Fireplace Road.Call 631-723-0150 for more information.
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Second Tuesday each month:

South Fork Chapter - LI Progressive Coalition Meets in Water Mill at 6:30pm The regular monthly meeting of the South Fork chapter of the Progressive Coalition is at 6:30pm on the 2nd Tuesday of each month at the Lutheran Church on Montauk Highway & Hayground Rd. between Water Mill and Bridgehampton.

Info: 516-541-1006, ext.55 or www dot lipc dot org
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Send event listings for next week's report by 5pm Tuesday to eastendreport@yahoo.com

Plain old text would be appreciated!