FROM OTHER SOURCES (#3): NEWS AND FEATURES FOR AND ABOUT AMHERST

Editor’s Note: “From Other Sources” offers links to articles that might be of interest to Amherst readers. We will update this section every other week, emphasizing different timely topics from edition to edition. We have now added a tag for “From Other Sources” so that you can easily find all previous editions/links. Simply click the “From Other Sources” tag from the tag menu at the bottom of the page. 

ART

How Public Art Can Boost the Pride and Resilience of Your Neighborhood. (7/10/19) by Jacob Moses. At Strong Towns, we’ve documented several stories of communities who’ve embraced the relationship between public art and financial resilience. For example, we’ve seen communities use public art to prevent crime in a troubled neighborhood park and boost community engagement.  (From Strong Towns.)

CAMPUS

Amherst, UMass Negotiate on Strategic Partnership. (7/12/19) by Scott Merzbach.

A long-running agreement between Amherst and the University of Massachusetts expired July 1, but negotiations are under way to continue what is known as the strategic partnership. (From the Daily Hampshire Gazette.)

HISTORY

What to the Slave is the Fourth of July? (a reading by Ossie Davis). 

On July 5, members of the Amherst community gathered at the Bang’s Center for a community reading of Frederick Douglass’ famous speech. Here is another dramatic reading of that oratory. (From A Voice Ringing O’er the Gale: The Oratory of Frederick Douglass, read by Ossie Davis.)

HOUSING

16-Apartment Building with Commercial Space Proposed for Edge of Downtown Amherst (7/9/19) by Scott Merzbach. The development, called Center East Commons, would feature 30 bedrooms and a 500-square-foot professional office. It would be constructed at 462 Main Street next to an 1820 home that for many years has provided office space. (From the Daily Hampshire Gazette.)

Northampton Affordable Housing Project Cheered (6/29/19) by Bera Dunau 

A large crowd gathered for an open house to celebrate The Lumber Yard affordable housing project Friday afternoon. The project itself, developed by the Valley Community Development Corporation andWayfinders LLC, which is in charge of property management for the site, is already up and running. On the day of the celebration, 40 of its 55 units were already occupied, with people moving into 12 of the other units that day. (From The Daily Hampshire Gazette.)

Five Lessons on Affordable Housing (7/11/19) by Bill Duryea. In America’s fast-growing cities, the need for new housing isn’t keeping up with the demand. A handful of cities have some new policy ideas to address a problem that doesn’t have a silver bullet solution. (From Politico.)

Jacobin Magazine Affordable Housing Issue (Summer 2019). Capitalism’s ability to provide us with shelter—the most basic human need after food and water—is a failure. The system has continued to perpetuate the inequality that has haunted cities since their inception. (From Jacobin Magazine.).

IMMIGRATION

Thousands Are Targeted as ICE Prepares to Raid Undocumented Families (7/11/19) by Caitlin Dickerson and Zolan Kanno-Youngs. Nationwide raids to arrest thousands of members of undocumented families have been scheduled to begin Sunday, according to two current and one former homeland security officials. (From The New York Times.)

Boston Will Protect Immigrants During Any Immigration Raids (7/12/19) by Jacqueline Tempera. After news that federal immigration agents plan to raid cities across the country beginning Sunday and arrest people without documentation, Boston officials are assuring residents they will protect them. (From MassLive.)

Easthampton City Council Unanimously Passes Welcoming City Ordinance (7/11/19) 

by Michael Connors. The city council unanimously passed an ordinance Wednesday night that formally prohibits city officials from arbitrarily reviewing a person’s immigration status unless required by law. (From the Daily Hampshire Gazette.)

Greenfield City Council to See Safe City Ordinance (7/11/19) by Melina Bourdeau. 

The safe city ordinance that will be in front of Greenfield’s city council is to “affirm that Greenfield is a welcoming city, which embraces everyone including, but not limited to, the immigrant, the refugee, the asylum seeker and anyone of good faith and good will who wishes to be a member of our community. (From the Greenfield Recorder.)

Lights for Liberty Vigil (July 12) Reflects Growing Resistance to Immigrant Detention Policies (7/11/19) by Tova Lapin. A plan for a rally and vigil on Friday, July 12, has drawn widespread support, with more than 600 demonstrations planned on five continents. (From Fortune.) (Watch for a report on Lights for Liberty vigils in Greenfield, Shutesbury, and Amherst.) 

“Unconscionable & Unacceptable”: Rep. Barragán Decries Detention of Migrant Children in Prison Cells (7/11/19) Yazmin Juárez, the Guatemalan mother whose child died from a lung infection after being held in an ICE detention center, testified before members of a congressional panel last Wednesday. (From Democracy Now!)