[mrg-announce] MRGRA Announcements

[Eli Beckerman]

--1. Somerville public meeting on Union Square rezoning plans (6/24)
--2. Meeting to create a Cambridge energy co-op (6/26)
--3. Grassroots Use of Technology Conference (6/28)
--4. Next MRGRA Meeting (Tues 7/8)

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 Send announcements to mrg-announce at green-rainbow.org
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Public Meeting on rezoning plans for Union Square

JOIN us on Tuesday, June 24th, 6pm at the Somerville High School
Auditorium to show your support for Affordable Housing in Union Square-
a CORE ISSUE FOR AHOC!!!!!!!

This coming Tuesday, June 24th, The City of Somerville is hosting a
public meeting to share new plans for the rezoning of Union Square.  As
many of you know, this is the third round of attempting to rezone Union
Square, as the first 2 rounds never made it to a full vote by the Board
of Alderman.  The newest proposal will be taken to the Board of Alderman
this fall, but in the meantime, the City Planning Department (part of
OSPCD) has been working hard to "get it right" this time.  They formed a
focus group made up of representatives from the community, including
AHOC and SCC, to solicit input and response to their proposed plan.
This group met many times for long meetings lasting late into the night.

There are some good elements of the City's rezoning proposal that we can
take credit for from our previous organizing work, i.e. there are a
couple of sub-districts in this new proposal that call for 15% required
affordable units (city wide inclusionary zoning is at 12.5%), and even a
sub-district (with a higher density allowance) that requires 17.5%
affordable housing.  AHOC has continued to push for 15% affordable
housing across the Union Square area included in their rezoning, as well
as asking for specific means of achieving deeper affordability, family
sized units, a mix of rental and owner units, and preservation of
existing affordable housing.

While we should be pleased by the City's effort to increase affordable
housing requirements, given the sweeping changes to Union Square that
may very well happen as a result of the rezoning and the coming of the
Green Line (read: gentrification), it's imperative for our folks and
allies to present a powerful position that the City needs to be even
more proactive in making sure the low and moderate income residents, new
immigrant population, and families of Somerville have a place to stay,
and don't get pushed out. When you look at the demographics of
Somerville, Union Square perhaps reflects best the diversity that
everyone claims to love about Somerville-and we need to work especially
hard to keep this.

So, we need you, and others that you know, to help take this message to
the city:  "Zone for People:  Keep families and low/moderate income
residents in Somerville!"  We have been and will continue to work on
this campaign as the zoning progresses, and will keep you involved every
step of the way.  Union Square is a critical playing field for
determining the fate of the rest of the city in the next few decades, so
we're setting precedent for what comes next.  While there will be at
least one public hearing in the fall, the meeting next Tuesday, while
not a public hearing,  will be a good chance to show up in numbers, and
remind the City how important affordable housing is to this community.
We're not sure if there will be scheduled time in this meeting for
general comments, but there will be time for questions, and we encourage
you to stand up and give your feedback, ask the poignant questions, and
generally let folks know we are watching and care.

For more information, call: (617) 776-5931 x230.

We hope to see you on Tuesday!  We will try to sit together, and will
have stickers for your shirts.

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Let's Create a Cambridge-Based Energy Co-op!

Thursday, June 26, 7:00pm

Livable Streets Office, 100 Sidney St.

Inspired by Co-op Power, a Greenfield-based sustainable energy
cooperative, a group of Cambridge residents came together in
late May to explore possibilities for creating a local
energy co-op.  Possibilities include:

  * Community "barnraisings" to install solar thermal hot water systems
  * Creating an energy conservation/efficiency co-op
  * Developing district energy systems using renewable sources such as
geothermal, solar, or wind
  * Creating green jobs

With soaring oil prices and a global climate emergency at hand,
the time for community-based energy alternatives is now!
Join us and help to build an energy co-op in Cambridge.

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Grassroots Use of Technology Conference (Organizers Collaborative)

Fellow Peace Movement Activists:

If you're like me, you are wondering about what comes next for our
movement WHILE ALSO working on many projects that you hope will make a
difference. Whatever happens with the elections and Washington's
continued promotion of military solutions, one thing is clear: we need
a robust, active and mobilized peace movement.

Technological solutions and internet mobilization are often presented
as magic bullets for our movement. Anyone with experience using these
tools knows that this is not true. But the converse is equally untrue:
technological change does offer many opportunities to strengthen our
organizing and outreach. It also impacts our ability to shape the
national debate.

I'm therefore writing to let you know that the biggest annual event in
New England for technology and grassroots organizers is just under 2
weeks away!

This is the Grassroots Use of Technology conference, which will be
held for the second straight year at the Wannalancit conference center
at U of Mass Lowell.*

This year's conference is designed to help you with the challenge of
moving your organization and groups further into the digital age.
There are five workshops on social networking, three on using your web
site effectively, two on online collaboration, and five on tech
infrastructure.

As in past years, half of the workshops will be at A BEGINNER LEVEL
and half will be oriented towards more advanced users. This is an
opportunity for you to share strategies and learn from your peers at
many other nonprofits in the area.

Please be sure to let your webmaster/IT volunteers know about the
conference as they might also find it useful!

The latest information please see our conference website at
http://organizerscollaborative.org/conference. Our presenters this
year include:

•       Nick Jehlen online organizer for the Winter Soldier hearings
(KEYNOTE!)
•       Tom Kelly from www.Florida-Voters.org
•       Laura Quinn from Idealware with Steve Backman on Web Site Tools
•       Aliza Dichter from Center for International Media Action on
Media Strategy
•       Dan MacNeil from Community Software Lab on Recruiting Tech
Volunteers
•       Ben Sheldon from the CTC Vista Project on Facebook and
Traditional Outreach
•       Harold Jordan from Philadelphia ACLU with Martha Rogers on
simple tech tools
•       Rich Cowan from Organizers' Collaborative on Database integration
with Facebook/Linkedin
•       Katie Winterbottom from Grassroots.org on Web Site Promotion
•       Stephen Wilmarth from Center for 21st Century Skills on Social
Networking

Activists and organizers attending the conference will include not
only tech-sector folks, but also people from the peace and social
justice movements.

If you have any questions, please feel free contact me at the number below.

Sincerely,

Suren Moodliar
Executive Director**
617-720-6190

* Check our website--www.OrganizersCollaborative.org--for quick
transport options from Boston.

** Suren Moodliar is also a coordinator of Massachusetts Global
Action/encuentro5

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MRGRA General Monthly Meeting

Tuesday, July 8
7 - 9 pm
Cambridge Public Library - Central Square

Values discussion TBD.
Agenda items to mrg-action at green-rainbow.org

For the rest of the year (and indefinitely), we have confirmed that
we will meet the 2nd Tuesday of each month at the Central Square library --
except for two months -- November and December -- for which we have the
FIRST Tuesday of the month reserved. We may consider selecting a different
meeting date and/or location for the November meeting, since that is
election day.