Join us. Lets tell the city- No more tax title auctions in Springfield

Jackie and Son   picture by John Morris

Please join Arise and Springfield No One Leaves to let the city of Springfield know that we will not  stand for one more sale of property by auction that has been taken by tax title and sold to speculative developers instead of serving the  citizens who are in need of housing in their very own city.

Tuesday June 18th, 2013
Springfield City Hall
5:30pm
We will meet in front of city hall- located across from Court Square downtown Spfld
Visit Arise Facebook Page for updates and more information on contacts and directions

                                       https://www.facebook.com/groups/75509399798/

Please Join Us Let our voices be heard

Activist ejected from House Hearing 5 Detained

Dump DeMarco’ housing activists ejected from House hearing

By Arturo Garcia
Tuesday, March 19, 2013 15:13 EDT

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Topics: Ed DeMarco ♦ Federal Housing Finance Agency ♦ jeb hensarling

 

Housing activists staged a demonstration during a meeting of the House Committee on Housing Finance on Tuesday, disrupting testimony by Ed DeMarco, acting director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency.
According to C-SPAN, the protesters were members of several advocacy groups, including City Life/Vida Urbana, New Bottom Line, NEW ROAD, and Right to the City. At first, demonstrators stood up one at a time while DeMarco was testifying before the committee before being ordered out by chairman Rep. Jeb Hensarling (R-TX).
After the second protester is ejected, one person can be heard saying, “I thought Barney Frank had retired,” a reference to the former Massachusetts congressman, who has accused the housing industry of fostering a climate that led to the country’s mortgage crisis.

www.homesforall.org

Shortly after the second ejection, a third person holds up a sign saying, “Dump DeMarco,” leading Hensarling to ask Capitol police to escort a group of about 12 demonstrators out of the hearing.
“Ladies and gentlemen, we’re not gonna allow you to disturb this hearing as part of the people’s House,” he said as the demonstrators were led out.
Last year, protesters gathered outside DeMarco’s home in Silver Spring, Maryland criticizing his performance.
Watch video of DeMarco’s testimony being derailed by protesters, posted on Tuesday, below

Don't forget: CD training this Monday

Hello good people of the Valley,

I hope this email finds you all safe and warm.  This has certainly been a trying week and I know that some of you may not be out of the woods just yet.  Please do not hesitate to call on your comrades if you are in need of a hot shower, a warm meal, or a heated place to sleep!  I hope I do not speak alone when I say that the outpouring of generosity from friends and family over the last several days has been a beautiful reminder that we are all in this together.

Despite the fact that this is a difficult time for many of us, we are moving forward with the Civil Disobedience Clinic that has been planned for November 7th at 6:30 pm at the Western Mass Jobs with Justice office at 640 Page Boulevard in Springfield. The clinic is designed to give demonstrators a general overview of what civil disobedience is, what the legal and practical consequences of engaging in civil disobedience are, and what demonstrators' rights are if they are arrested. Attorneys Jeff Feuer and Lee Goldstein of the NLG Massachusetts Chapter's Mass Defense Committee will be conducting the clinic.  For more information on the amazing work these guys do, please check out their website at http://www.goldsteinandfeuer.com/. They have been fighting for people's rights in Boston for over 30 years and have generously offered to come to Springfield to share their expertise and knowledge with our chapter, as well as the community activist groups we work with.

The clinic is free and open to all who are interested in attending, including community activists, students, professors, attorneys, and legal workers. We are especially encouraging local NLG attorneys and attorney friends of the Guild to attend the clinic, as it will be considered an official training for those who are willing to help the WNE Chapter conduct Civil Disobedience Clinics in the future.  As the only Guild presence in Western Mass, WNE Chapter student members are doing our best to provide Occupiers and other local community activists with the legal support they need to carry their movement forward, but as law students, there is only so much we can do. We are relying on long-time Guild attorneys and supporters to rise up to this momentous occasion in history to help us, the next generation of progressive lawyers, as we strive to meet the legal needs of our local activist community at this time.

If you plan to attend the clinic, please RSVP to wne.nlg@gmail.com.  You may also contact us at that email with questions about the Civil Disobedience Clinic or to let us know that you are interested in becoming more involved.

I hope to see many new and familiar faces in attendance!

In solidarity, Lauren Marcous,Student Representative,National Lawyers Guild, Western New England University Chapter

Graphic from Deviant Art