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    Call for Safe Communities on Monday

    (from the MIRA Coalition)

    ACTION ALERT: Call for Safe Communities on Monday! Please share with your networks – want an overwhelming show of support

    Hundreds of people are at the State House today to show their support for the Safe Communities Act, which has a hearing from 10 am to 3 pm before the Joint Committee on Public Safety and Homeland Security.

    The powerful testimony from mayors, legislators, and a broad swath of civil rights, social justice, health, faith, education and community-based organizations, combined with the sheer number of supporters, is making a real impact.

    Now we need your support to keep the pressure on our legislators.

    On Monday, June 12, we want to flood legislators’ offices with calls in support of the Safe Communities Act. So we’re asking you to call your state Representative and your Senator, even if they’ve already endorsed the bill.

    If you need help sharpening your message, check out our online resources. And if you don’t get a live person, leave a voicemail with your name, address, and your message of strong support for the Safe Communities Act. Urge your legislators to persuade undecided colleagues as well.

    And spread the word! Please share this message with your networks over the weekend. At the very least, encourage five friends or relatives to call as well!

    If you don’t know your legislators, find them here. Make sure to add them to your address book for easy reference in the future!

    Last, but not least, if you want to know just how much we have to be proud of in our Commonwealth, see the tsunami of live-tweets coming out of the Safe Communities Act hearing: #SafeCommunities.

    March For Truth – Sat June 3rd

    #MarchForTruth
    Saturday June 3rd
    2:00-5:00pm
    Boston Common

    https://www.facebook.com/events/1923529787891022/

    From the event page:

    Gather on Boston Common to join sister rallies from across the country in peaceful demonstration on Saturday, June 3rd. Join with other concerned citizens to RECLAIM OUR DEMOCRACY, to advocate for restoring integrity to its institutions, and to protest the Trump administration’s dangerous, destructive policies and actions.

    As events progress in Washington, we’ve updated our Mission Statement:

    We call for a #MarchForTruth to raise our voices and let our elected leaders know that Americans want answers.

    The legitimacy of our democracy is more important than the interests of any party, or any President. So, we will rise together to call for a complete, fair and impartial investigation, for the pursuit of truth, and for the restoration of faith in our electoral system and the Office of the Presidency.

    Across the country, peaceful demonstrations will be arranged on Saturday, June 3rd.

    – Yes, a special counsel is in place, but that’s just a start; the battle is far from over to get to the bottom of this investigation.

    – We still need an independent commission with subpoena powers. The bombshell news that Robert Mueller has been appointed by the Department of Justice to serve as Special Counsel on the Russia investigation comes after a “cascade of damaging developments for Mr. Trump in recent days,” as the New York Times reported. But as House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi put it, “A special prosecutor is the first step, but it cannot be the last. Director Mueller will still be in the chain of command under the Trump-appointed leadership of the Justice Department. He cannot take the place of a truly independent, outside commission that is completely free from the Trump administration’s meddling.”

    – And Congressional investigations must continue. As Rep. John Conyers, Ranking Member of the House Committee on the Judiciary noted, “the appointment of a special counsel does not relieve Congress of its responsibility to conduct oversight of the Trump Administration.”

    – The gravity of this situation is profound. The sovereignty of our nation was attacked to elect a man who is a threat to the rule of law. There are criminal investigations, and investigations into matters of national security, that must be completed to restore our faith.

    – The culture of deceit that surrounds Donald Trump and his associates must be dealt with urgently. If this man was elected in part by colluding with a foreign power, then we must know it. We must know if our government is legitimate. For if it is not, then we must right that wrong. We must restore trust, in our government, and in one another.

    OUR GOALS ARE SIMPLE:

    – An independent commission must be established and Congressional investigations should be properly resourced and pursued free of partisan interests;

    – As much information should be made available to the public as possible, and as soon as possible;

    – If crimes were committed or if collusion is discovered, it must be prosecuted.

    – Congress must compel Donald Trump to release his tax returns to clarify any foreign obligations

    THE PUBLIC DESERVES TRANSPARENCY AND A NONPARTISAN PURSUIT OF THE TRUTH

    *Note: By choosing to attend this event, you are acknowledging the risks involved, and you are committing to participate nonviolently and in accordance with the law, and to work to de-escalate confrontations with opposing persons or others. You agree (i) not to engage in any act of violence or violation of any applicable law and (ii) to obey the orders of authorized event marshals and law enforcement authorities.

    MIT May Day Walkout and Rally

    May Day MIT Walkout and Rally (May 1, 2:30pm, Killian Court)

    On International Workers Day
    Stand up for immigrant and worker rights
    Join fellow students and workers in a show of solidarity
    Help build the resistance movement
    Participate in the nationwide Un Día Sin Inmigrantes

    • 2:30pm: Walk out of class to Killian Court for a rally featuring protest music, banner-making, and more!
    • 3:00pm: Hear from speakers at the rally
    • 4:00pm: Walk to Boston Common
    • 5:00pm: Mobilization in Boston Common with students and workers from city-wide, organized by Cosecha, Boston May Day Coalition, COMBAT, and others!
    • mitresist.com/mayday

      Boston Common Rally
      https://www.facebook.com/events/1461135840565583/

      http://www.bostonmayday.org/

    Tax Day Rally

    (from MassPeaceAction)

    Tax Day Rally Saturday, April 15, 1:00 pm
    Cambridge Common

    Trump must release all his tax returns
    Corporations and 1%ers should pay their fair share in taxes
    Oppose the Trump/Ryan “Death Budget”
    Support the People’s Budget

    Info
    Sign up/Volunteer

    If ever patriots were needed to address threats to the country, that time is now.

    Trump’s lies, corruption and his new budget proposal pose a clear and present danger to the nation

    • We Demand that Donald Trump release his tax returns! Expose Trump’s conflicts of interests and business connections. As a billionaire, he will directly benefit from his proposed tax breaks.
    • We Demand that big corporations and people with very high incomes pay their fair share of taxes. Oppose the hundreds of billions of dollars in even more “big, big” tax giveaways promised by the president.

    Welcome To Boston: Admission $100,000

    (from Housing Justice Boston)

    March B R A housing approvals point to six figure only residents in the New Boston

    During March 2017, the Boston Redevelopment Authority board approved almost 2,000 new housing units for construction in Boston. The projected costs for these units tells a clear story. This city is being rebuilt largely for residents able to pay $3,000 per month and up to live here and will effectively require an annual income of $100,000 or more to do so. Boston is rapidly becoming a city affordable to those who make six figures.

    “Affordable” housing as defined by HUD is when households pay 30% or less of a their annual income toward housing costs. Using the March B R A approvals as a snapshot relative to that criteria, 88% of Boston’s current residents will be ineligible to live in the “New Boston”.

    City Hall has made repeated claims about record amounts of “affordable” housing and that we should “Imagine” a Boston for all. Instead, the data shows us that the new Boston will be for the few. New housing being built is, for the most part, only affordable to the top 12% of current Boston residents… Imagine that.

    Most of us here in Reality Boston accept that Downtown and Seaport are not places we will ever be able to live. But the troubling part about the March B R A new housing unit approvals is they are in the neighborhoods beyond Downtown. Developers are running out of places to build downtown, which the means outer neighborhoods are now in the cross hairs.

    $3K per month, $100K a year is the new norm and nearly 90% of Boston households are not part of that equation. It’s 2017 and we’ve reached a tipping point,unless more of today’s Bostonians begin to challenge the current redevelopment model in this city (where a questionable Mayor and the B R A are all powerful), many thousands of People are about to become former Bostonians.

    B R A March, 2017 – Scorecard:

    • 1,953 New Housing Units
    • $2,777 Average projected cost per month
    • $111,080 Annual income required (per HUD guidelines)

    This analysis is based on data extracted from commonly available public sources listed below:

    http://www.bostonplans.org/news-calendar/news-updates/2017/03/17/bpda-board-approves-nine-development-projects
    https://owd.boston.gov/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/2015-Office-of-Workforce-Development-Workforce-Report-Booklet_v1_r8_spreads.pdf
    http://www.rentcafe.com/blog/rental-market/us-average-apartment-size-trends-downward/#table
    https://www.jefftk.com/apartment_prices/index#2017-03-19&2
    https://www.zillow.com/homes/for_rent/Boston-MA/condo,apartment_duplex_type/44269_rid/42.457154,-70.635567,42.171801,-71.305733_rect/10_zm

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