Occupy Boston: Coming soon, to a television station near you

With a talk show aimed at making social change, and plans to air short films “on everyday action that people can take to challenge the 1 percent,” Occupy Boston members are taking to the airwaves.

“We want people to see what we are doing and become inspired,” said Occupy Boston TV member Bill Lewis at Brookline Access Television’s headquarters, where the group produces Occupy Boston Live.

http://tinyurl.com/7yka99k

Protestors renew calls for banks to re-write loans

Decked out in snorkels, fins, and scuba gear, more than 150 activists took to the streets of Boston’s financial district on Monday to call attention to “underwater” mortgages which they say are the root cause of the nation’s ongoing foreclosure crisis.

The demonstration – a joint effort made by members of City Life/Vida Urbana, MassUniting, and elements of the Occupy Boston and Wall Street movements – was met with curious looks from bank employees standing in the lobbies of Bank of America, JP Morgan Chase, and Fannie Mae. But organizers did catch the ear of City Councillor-At-Large Felix Arroyo, who last week announced a proposed ordinance that would require the city only conduct business with banks working to reinvest in Boston.

Filed last Wednesday, the Invest in Boston ordinance would ask city financial officers to review the banks in which the city stores its revenue – accounts that together total more than $1 billion. Arroyo says that the city should only do business with banks that are financially responsible at the local level.

http://tinyurl.com/7bn374l

Don’t Cut the T

Here’s a story you might have heard about the MBTA: it’s billions of dollars in debt. Boston has the lowest transit fares of any major city in the country, but the system is facing a $161 million budget deficit for fiscal year 2013, and it’s time for the riders to pay their fair share. To that end, the T released a proposal in early January containing two possible scenarios for fare increases and service cuts, to take effect in July of this year.

Here’s another story. The T is a lifeline for millions of people in the 175 cities it serves. Those most dependent on it are students, senior citizens, disabled people, and lower-income workers. Even those who don’t ride it reap the benefits, as public transportation keeps cars off the road, lowers pollution, and attracts tourists and shoppers who contribute to the city’s economy. The T employs over 6,000 unionized workers and enables thousands more to reach their jobs. The Ride transports elderly and disabled people to doctors’ appointments and allows them to live full lives rather than being confined to their homes. Harvard students use the T to get to extracurricular activities, job interviews, and the cultural events that make Boston an attractive place to go to school.

http://tinyurl.com/8yjkvsy

Continue reading “The OB Media Rundown for 2/2/12” »

MBTA fare hikes are just a Band-Aid

Occupy Boston has spawned a related movement called Occupy MBTA with the goal of pressuring government officials to back off the proposed changes to public transit. Their view echoes the view of many Boston area residents – that neither cutting transit lines nor raising rates is an acceptable solution to the MBTA’s budget shortfall.

http://tinyurl.com/74s729j

Menino, Advocates Urge Alternatives To MBTA Cuts

“Riders should not be forced to shoulder the entire weight of this debt,” said Mayor Menino in a letter to MBTA General Manager Richard Davey, as quoted in this article in the Boston Globe.

The Mayor also came out in favor of a gas tax or “another levy” to close the T’s revenue gaps, and recommended that the Big Dig debt that the T is carrying be forgiven, a stance that is also popular with some members of the Occupy Boston group, Occupy The T.

In an article from the Boston Occupier, writer Doug Greene says that several present at a recent Occupy The T meeting, “argued that the banks should cancel the T’s debt.”

http://tinyurl.com/8a2go6a

Activism in 2012: SDS founder discusses Occupy movement

The man credited with founding the Students for a Democratic Society, the movement that came to symbolize the radicalism that swept the 1960s, hasn’t thrown down the gauntlet [sic]. Alan Haber, now 75 and living in Ann Arbor, continues to fight the fight, from Occupy Ann Arbor and Wall Street to lobbying for development of an urban park on the downtown Library Lot on Fifth Avenue where an underground parking structure is being built.

Ultimately, the couple said, Occupy Ann Arbor fell victim of splintering groups. Haber summed it up: “There was difficult interfacing between activists and homeless.” Things grew petty with who would clean and straighten the tents, he said. These kinds of “human relations/cross classness” issues will be discussed at Crazy Wisdom Thursday night, Haber said.

Occupy Ann Arbor was never a big event, not compared with those in Boston and New York City, which Haber attended. “Here we had a little park and a few tents and a not-very-together general assembly,” Haber said. “But I was blown away at Occupy Boston. There were hundreds of tents and a library and a spiritual tent.”

http://tinyurl.com/7o9mrh2

Continue reading “The OB Media Rundown for 2/1/12” »