Week of March 1, 2007

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

Third Section of Sacred Burial Ground Saved


The Hardwired Kernal of Our Democracy


Message from the Worklink Coalition

The logical place

Suffolk Exec on ICE

Peace & Justice Calendar


Suffolk Peace Vigils

Counter Recruiting Schedule

Alternative Media for Eastern LI

Democracy Now!
Non-corporate news hour with Amy Goodman and Juan Gonzalez:
on Riverhead/Southampton/Southold Channel 20:
Monday 10 pm - Tuesday 9 pm - Wednesday 9 pm - Thursday 9 pm -
Friday - 6:30 am- Saturday - 6:30 am

Also on WUSB 90.1 FM 5pm Mon-Friday and East Hampton LTV Ch 20

See WPKN Today for program details on WPKM heard at 88.7 Montauk to Water Mill and WPKN 89.5 Bridgeport to Southampton and Southold.

WPKN/M Local News at 6:30 pm (Mon-Fri) has occasional reports from the East End.


For more Information on Peace Activism on LI

see North Fork People of Conscience at www(.)nfpofc(.)blogspot(.)com

see Suffolk Progressive Vision at www(.)spv(.)active(.)ws

Third Section of Sacred Burial Ground to be Preserved

On Tuesday February 27 the Southampton Town Board voted unanimously to buy the third of four lots in the Shinnecock Hills owned by developer Robert Romeo. The land will be purchased with $1.7 million from the Community Preservation Fund.

The 4.8 acre lot, along Montauk Highway is part of a 13 acre site believed to be a sacred burial ground by the Shinnecock Indians.

Lisa Votino-Tarrant, an activist for the Shinnecocks' effort to preserve the land says
the purchase "was a huge step in the Town to recognize Shinnecock's oral history and is a huge accomplishment for the Shinnecock Nation."

The town purchased two adjacent waterfront lots owned by the developer last year. The only lot remaining contains an early 20th century house which has been declared an "endangered historic building" by the Preservation League of New York State. Plans for purchase of this lot by Suffolk County are under discussion. Use of the building by Stony Brook University is possible.

A message from the Coalition for a Worklink Center

The following is a letter sent by the Coalition for a Worklink Center in Southampton.

We add the following: the proposal for a formal hiring site being offered by a coalition of clergy, lay, non-religious, business people and groups advocating for immigrants will not require any public funding.

____________________________________________________

To all of our friends and supporters,

Our press conference last week was very successful in that it brought our plan for a Worklink Center out to the public, but there has been substantial backlash from people opposed to the RR site

Calls have been going in to the mayor’s office expressing opposition to hiring site in our community,
so we must let the mayor know that there are many people who favor a practical and humane approach to the day labor issue.

Pleas call Mayor Epley at 283-0247 ext. # 222 and/or e-mail him at

mayorsoffice@southamptonvillage.org

e-mail the trustees: Nancy McGann, Bonnie Cannon, Bill Bates and Paul Robinson at

trustees@southamptonvillage.org

Let them know that you support the opening of a Worklink Center in Southampton Village and that since the Mayor has already come out in support of a Worklink Center you would like to see him move forward with a plan and have one opened as soon as possible, say by the end of April. A cold winter is here and we still have weeks to go before the weather starts to warm up. These men are still standing out in inhumane conditions in order to find a job. But along with the warm weather will come the protestors, creating an ugly and unwelcoming entrance to our community, while harassin the men who are simply trying to earn a living

Also, if you are inclined to write a letter to the SH press, their address

is mailbag@southamptonpress.com

Please be sure to include any of the following in your communication and add your own thoughts as well:

A Worklink Center would:
Encourage the reduction of congestion, noise, and traffic generated by business being conducted in parking lots and on roadside
Provide an 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

Residents of Southampton want to see their local government take a thoughtful and visionary approach to the issue.

We believe that the establishment of a formal hiring site is the most tenable, practical, and ethical answer to the question of “What can be done?”

We have a moral imperative to help other human beings.

THEN PLEASE SPREAD THE WORD-SEND THIS ON TO ALL OF YOUR FRIENDS IN SOUTHAMPTON SO WE CAN LET THE LOCAL GOVERNMENT KNOW WE CARE!!


Thank you!

Sr. Margaret Smyth, Co-Chair

Dianne Rulnick, Co-Chair

Coalition for a Worklink Center

the logical place

February 26, 2007

To the editor, Southampton Press:

Local elected officials rejected the plan for a formal hiring site for day-laborers at the logical place on North Sea Road, based on restrictions in the Community Preservation law.

After this rejection the plan for the railroad station site was developed.

Mayor Epley now says there are too many problems with this plan and that the original Aldrich Park site just south of the 7-11 now looks a lot better.

Assemblyman Fred Thiele says he wants to help.

So here is a suggestion for the mayor and Mr. Thiele: Do whatever is necessary to change the Community Preservation law to allow, in this special case, the use of land purchased by the fund for the purpose of improving public safety and domestic tranquility (or whatever proper language fits).

We need this. We now face increasing disorder, with groups such as the Minutemen exploiting the situation, using the fear and ignorance of our people to advance their aims.

The proposed hiring center, financed privately, will help increase the wages paid workers, get people off the streets and restore the image of Southampton as a prestigous resort community, rather than a place of hatred and strife.

Anthony Ernst
Southampton

The hard wired kernel of our democracy

From Michael O'Neill:

Fear, anxiety, and it is no exaggeration to say real terror, are being spread through the country by increasingly punitive laws designed to make life even harder for immigrants. The acceleration of raids, incarceration, deportation and persecution of immigrants at every level of government is only growing in tandem with the blanket media coverage being given to anti-immigrant hate groups that originated the Minutemen and other hard right anti-immigrant groups, including the fundamentalist religious right.

It makes it more important than ever for progressives to bring support, help and succor to the immigrant community. To stand up for the immigrant community is not just humane, but a civic duty to stand for those truths we say we hold self-evident that all men and women are created equal, which we say forms the hard wired kernel of our democracy. To stand up for the immigrant community now, is to stand in respect and allegiance to the legacy and history of our nation, which is a history of immigration. To fight for the rights of immigrants, urging generosity and well-earned amnesty to regularize immigration status is to continue our forebear's fight against the deep historical tendency of white Americans to despise and hold immigrants in hateful contempt.

All across the country in the past few days demonstrations of solidarity with immigrants have been taking place, which is encouraging, but not nearly enough to fight this recalcitrant tendency of our patrimony.

Of the many articles appearing in newspapers, I link to two below**, the last one suggesting the political climate is being intentionally created by these raids at just the time when a tepid bill for comprehensive reform of immigration is on the brink of being brought out of committee to the Congress and to the nation.

These raids serve the purpose of the right's propaganda that immigrants of color are vectors of disease and crime; that they are criminal; that they are illegal, that they are lowering our standard of living, corrupting our culture and threatening our language.

This ideology articulated by Samuel Huntington and broadcast daily by Lou Dobbs is being taken up and championed by Know Nothing vigilantes being given respectability and assisted by many people, including Democrats like Steve Levy as well as Huntington and Dobbs who have bought into the distortions, half truths and deliberate disinformation.

The political strategy coming out of the recent picketing by the Farmingville Minimen against the jornaleros at the shape-up site on Horse Block Rd. Their 2 closest and most vocal supporters in the Suffolk Leigislature (Carracappa & Eddington) are sponsoring a bill they will try to get approved by the Public Safety Committee to bring before the legislature. This law will make it a crime to stand (loiter) on the side of a county road to solicit work, under guise of public safety. What admirable protective solicitation!

They will hold hearings on the law on Thursday 3/1 and Tuesday 3/6 at 9:30 am in the Wm Rogers Legislative Bldg, 725 Veterans Hwy in Hauppage.

The last anti-immigrant bill passed by the legislature saw the Minimen sign up for the first 40 speaking slots, getting there at 8 am. Since they held most of the seats and the first 2 hrs of speakers, except for a sprinkling of opponents, they were able to give the distinct impression the overwhelming majority of Suffolk residents agreed with their ill tempered, anti-immigrant racism.

They completely spooked the legislators into believing they had little political choice but to go along with their hysteria. The next 3 hearings, the LIIA did muster up the majority of speakers and held by far the most seats, but to little avail because the legislators had decided their vote and had made their deals on that first day's hearings. The Minimen & Sachem Quality of Life cohorts did not even show up for the last two hearings, because they were confident they held the majority of legislators, which they did 16 to 4.

Please call the members of the Legislature Public Safety Committee to tell them to stop the shameful discrimination and persecution of immigrant day laborers and be sure to write a note to:

Jay Schneiderman

email: Jay.Schneiderman@suffolkcountyny.gov"

P.O. Box 1827, Sag Harbor, NY 11963
Phone: 852-8400 Fax: 852-8404)

Ed Romaine

Edward.Romaine@suffolkcountyny.gov

423 Griffing Avenue, Suite 2, Riverhead, NY 11901 Phone: 852·3200

Fax: 852·3203

Tell them you were ashamed of their last anti-immigrant vote which seems to have only encouraged this mushrooming anti-immigrant hatred; that if we do not expect a profile in courage, then they might show a modicum of familiarity, if not respect for our Constitution.

____________________
* New Haven Register: Immigrant Supporters Forum in Danbury

Arizona Republic: Fence in courage, Fence out chaos

Also see "Who Would Jesus Deport?"

Suffolk Legislature: Public Safety Committee

Jack Eddington - Chair
90 West Main
Patchogue, NY 11772
631-854-1400

Kate Browning - Vice Chair
2 Coraci Blvd, suite 11
Shirle, NY 11967
631-52-1300

Joseph Caracappa
1919 Middle Country Rd
Centereach nY 11720
631-854-9292

The Arizona Republic: Fence in courage, fence out chaos

Feb. 23, 2007 12:00 AM

It looked like just a silly photo-op. But it was more.

On Tuesday, Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff and his tour group of U.S. lawmakers did some welding on a border fence near Yuma. Chertoff declared the area was brought "under permanent control" with fencing, sensors and increased patrols.

Considering that apprehensions still run about 100 per day, this is good news only in the comparative sense; the way disorder beats complete chaos.

Considering the recent gun violence targeting illegal immigrants along migrant corridors, even "disorder" sounds like an overly optimistic assessment.

Yet Chertoff's trip was about more than hyperbole.

With the Senate working on immigration reform legislation, Chertoff's tour provides cover for those not yet courageous enough to come out for a comprehensive approach. Like the reform bill passed by the Senate last year, the one that's due to be introduced in a few weeks comes from Arizona's Sen. John McCain and Sen. Edward Kennedy, D-Mass.

Like last year's, it will be comprehensive.

And controversial.

Like last year's, its biggest challenge will come from those who want to "get tough" instead of rational. Even in the newly Democratic Congress, politicians tremble at the thought of being called soft on immigration.

Chertoff's visit is a clear signal that the nation did, indeed, get tough. National Guard soldiers are on the border, barriers and sensors are being put in place and the Border Patrol is hiring hundreds of new agents. Worksite raids have also made national news as the Bush administration sent a stern message to business.

Now it's time to get comprehensive.

At a recent White House meeting, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid asked Bush to assign White House staff to work with Congress on immigration reform. OK, sure, the president has staff working on this. But this issue needs a high-level White House representative. It needs star power.

Bush, who has long said he supports comprehensive reform, needs to send a big shot up the Hill to make this a national priority.

The border infrastructure and personnel that Chertoff showed off in Arizona are important, but the result of such efforts is a predictable balloon effect - illegal immigration is simply pushed someplace else.

That's not opinion. It's history.

What's more, by making the journey harder without eliminating the jobs that attract migrants, U.S. policies have contributed to the creation of violent criminal smuggling organizations.

To truly achieve border security, the nation needs a way to legalize the current undocumented population, bring new workers legally into the country, provide a reliable verification system for employers to check a worker's status, and sanction employers who don't use it.

Chertoff's border tour emphasized serious enforcement. Politicians can point to that. They can agree that enforcement is important. But we need more.

Border enforcement can only be an effective long-term strategy if it is a part of comprehensive reform.

Suffolk Exec on ICE

Suffolk County Executive Steve Levy to Announce ICE Initiative at Suffolk Correctional Facility

County Executive Also Joins with Legislators Caracappa and Eddington to Crack Down on Contractors Hiring Along Highways

Suffolk County Executive Steve Levy and Sheriff Vincent DeMarco Wednesday will announce a county initiative to station federal agents from Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) at the county correctional facility to check the legal status of inmates as they are processed through the penal system.

The County Executive will also work with County Legislators Jack Eddington (chairman of the Legislature's Public Safety committee) and Joe Caracappa to craft a constitutionally acceptable law to address the phenomenon of contractors stopping along county roadways to hire day workers “ a move the lawmakers say fuels the vibrant, illegal underground economy."

Additionally, Suffolk will announce compliance seminars to assist contractors doing business with the county to comply with Levy's local law passed last year that requires such firms to certify that their employees are eligible for employment in the U.S.

Notice provided by:
Ed Dumas
Director of Communications
Suffolk County Executive
631.853.4018 (Office)

Suffolk Peace Vigils - Starting March 2

This coming week's Peace Vigils are on:

Friday in Sayville: 4pm at Railroad Ave and Main St

Saturday in Bellport: 11am at Station and South Country Roads

Saturday in Setauket: 11 am at Bennetts Road and Rte 25A - North Country Peace Group

Sunday in Bridgehampton: 3pm at the Monument - Ocean Road and Rte 27

Wednesday in Mastic-Shirley: 4:30 pm - Montauk Highway and William Floyd Parkway
new vigil- contact: Susan at SMc1270236@msn.com
________________________________________________________________________________
East End Women in Black vigil for peace in the middle east and an end to the occupations of Palestine and Iraq on the first and third Sundays in Bridgehampton and Sag Harbor.

The next vigil is on Sunday March 4 at the Monument in Bridgehampton from 3 to 4pm.

For the winter months, vigils are held on the first Sunday each month in Bridgehampton and the third Sunday each month at the Sag Harbor Wharf starting at 3pm

More info at East End Women in Black web site or call 631-259-2482

_______________________________________________________

South Country Peace Group, South Country Women in Black and Pax Christi Sponsor a vigil in Patchogue on the last Sunday of each month.

This month the memorial candlelight vigil will be on Sunday, March 25 at the Four Corners in Patchogue—where Ocean Avenue crosses Main St/Rte 27A at sundown.

There will be a reading of the names of those killed in Iraq .

Organized by the South Country Peace Group, Bellport Women In Black and St Joseph the Worker Pax Christi. This event takes place on the last Sunday of each month at or right after sundown.


For update on time contact Dennis Urlaub at dmu7@optonline.net

_________________________________________________________

Veterans For Peace and Code Pink will vigil for peace on the second Saturday each month at the Armed Forces Plaza in Hauppauge in front of the Dennison State Office Building on Route 347. The next vigil will be Saturday, March 10th between 4:00 & 6:00 pm.

More info: email to ltbrin@earthlink.net

Peace & Justice Calendar - Starting March 1

For details on these events scroll down: UPDATED March 6

* March 7 (Wednesday): Terry Sullivan and Friends Sing in Bridgehampton at 7pm

* March 17,18 (Sat, Sunday): "Eyes Wide Open" exhibit on losses of the Iraq war in Bridgehampton from 10am to 6pm Saturday, 1 - 6pm Sunday

* March 18 (Sunday): Honor the Fallen Memorial in Peconic 11am-5pm

* March 21 (Wednesday) 'An Inconvenient Truth' Slide Show in Sag Harbor at 7 pm

Repeating Events:

* Second Friday of Month: US Dept. of Labor Rep at OLA's Water Mill Office

* Demonstration at Patchogue Recruiting Station 12-1:30 pm

* Every Thursday evening - Book Study Group in Water Mill at 7pm

* "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:
_____________________________________________________

March 7 (Wednesday): Terry Sullivan and Friends Sing in Bridgehampton at 7pm

Terry Sullivan and friends will be "singing in community" at the Unitarian-Universalist Meeting House - 977 Bridgehampton-Sag Harbor Turnpike on Wednesday evening at 7pm.
_________________________________________________________

March 17,18 (Sat, Sunday): "Eyes Wide Open" exhibit on losses of the Iraq war in Bridgehampton from 10am to 6pm Saturday, 1 - 6pm Sunday

"Eyes Wide Open", the American Friends Service Committe exhibit about the losses of the Iraq war will be on view at the Unitarian-Universalist Meeting House, 977 Bridgehampton - Sag Harbor Turnpike in Bridgehampton. Hours are from 10 am to 6 pm Saturday and 1 pm to 6 pm Sunday. On Sunday a meditative gathering/service will be held at 6pm.
________________________________________________________

March 18 (Sunday): Honor the Fallen Memorial in Peconic 11am-5pm

The Honor the Fallen Memorial, marking the end of four years of war in Iraq and the beginning of the fifth year will be on view Sunday March 18 in Peconic.

A collection of memorial photos and information on each of the US soldiers who died in the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq will be at the Southold Community Center on Peconic Lane
in Peconic from 11 am to 5pm on Sunday March 18.

A project of North Fork People of Conscience - www.nfpofc.blogspot.com

More Info at: 631 298 4912
____________________________________________

March 21 (Wednesday) 'An Inconvenient Truth' Slide Show in Sag Harbor at 7 pm

A slide show and Q&A on global warming science and solutions will be presented by sustainability educator and activist for The Climate Project, Sara Gordon.

Sag Harbor United Methodist Church, 48 Madison Street, Sag Harbor.
For more information: 917 941-6653
_______________________________________________________

Repeating Events:

See Suffolk Peace Vigils for a complete list of weekly and monthly vigils.

See Recruiting Schedule for a listing of weekly and monthly demonstrations
_______________________________________________________
Second Friday of Month: Labor Dept Reps in Water Mill from 11am to 1 pm

Bilingual Latino representatives from the US Dept of Labor's Wage and Hour Division are available the second Friday of every month in the OLA office, from 11 a.m. - 1 p.m., to answer questions concerning workers' rights and to help workers--whether documented or undocumented--recover pay owed them.
If your employer has not paid you for time you've worked or if you know someone in this situation, visit the OLA office at 1152 Montauk Hwy in Water Mill to find out what you can do.
Call 631-726-6526 (OLA6).

_________________________________________________

Saturday Demos in Patchogue Recruiting Station at 12-1:30pm

We will continue our regular protest in Patchogue on Saturday with informational leafletting against recruiters in our public schools and deceiptful recruiting practices. Signs, flyers, petitions will be provided.

Where: 116 Main St., Patchogue, west of Route 112, east of N. Ocean Ave.

When: 12:00 noon - 1:30 p.m. Come for 1/2 hour or the whole time.

Why: To make the public aware of military recruiting practices in our public schools. We want equal access into our schools alongside military recruiters with information regarding the realities of the military. We want an adult present when a student speaks with a recruiter.

Contact: 631-875-8647

________________________________________________

Thursday evening Book Study Group in Water Mill at 7 pm

The Thursday night group invites you to a Lively discussion
starting March 1.

"Saving Jesus (from the Religious Right)"

To view an introductory video, go to
http://www.livingthequestions.com/samples/cbw.htm

Meeting begins at 7:00 (note new time) with Taize (Candlelight, Silence, Simple Chants, Scripture)

Simple Soup at 7:30
Dvd & discussion from 8:00 until 9:00.


The group meets at the Lutheran Church at Hayground Road and Montauk Highway
on Thursdays at the new time of 7pm.

Contact Pastor Vita at 631-537-1187 or pastorvita(at)verizon(dot)net

____________________________________________________
"Herstory" Writing Workshops in Spanish and English

Wednesdays 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 Spanish. It meets every Thursday, 7-9 p.m., at the Senior Citizens Center, 128 Springs-Fireplace Road.
Call 631-723-0150 for more information.
___________________________________________________

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 (.)lipc(.)org
_____________________________________________________

Sundays: Bush is a Liar Choir" rehearses in Lindenhurst from 7 to 9pm
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.

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.We need sopranos!Rehearsals take place, Sunday nights from 7:00 to 9:00 in Lindenhurst.
Call Lisa Fishbein at: (631) 957-4954
____________________________________________

Send event listings for next week's report by 5pm Tuesday to

eastendreport@yahoo.com





Steiger Trial Date Postponed

Sunday, 25 Feb 2007

Dear Friends,

I am sorry to tell you that the judge has once again postponed my jury trial, previously scheduled for Feb 27.

The court will contact my atty. and I will contact you when we have a date scheduled.

Sincerely,

Dan Steiger

631 831 4966