From Linda Stowers:
The Laramie County Democrats will be meeting on Monday, January 30, at the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) Union Hall, 810 Fremont, Cheyenne. There will be a reception at 6 p.m. for the new Executive Director of the State Party, Robin Van Ausdall, with the 7 p.m. business meeting to follow. Everyone welcomed.
Cheyenne used to be solidly in zone 4 is now one full zone warmer, zone 5. “Because this map is mostly based upon temperature, it doesn’t account for Cheyenne’s extreme winds and lack of winter snow cover. Therefore, I would caution people to not jump blindly into growing zone 5 plants and instead look at what is proven to do well here,” said Cheyenne Botanic Gardens Director Shane Smith. Cheyenne gardeners should instead stick to following the colder, zone 4 designation especially when selecting trees and shrubs, stated Smith.
“The café lacks a PA system but our acoustics sound great and the sound carries well. We are so excited to hear some local artists! Our only request is no profanity or vulgar language!”
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| Eight years and counting for downtown's "hole" (WTE photo). |
"As an artist you have a responsibility to be relevant, to put something out there that has meaning," said Denver hip-hop artist Molina Speaks, explaining why he feels connected to Occupy.
Molina talked at a community forum Monday [Jan. 16], at RedLine gallery/studios in downtown Denver, an event that literally brought art and Occupy into the same room. The afternoon of speeches, performance and workshops, coinciding with Martin Luther King Jr.'s birthday, was a smashing success, at least in spirit.
More than 300 people showed up, and many had never stepped into the high-end gallery before. The Occupiers brought their message, the artists had their work on display, and the two meshed quite naturally.
One workshop, about using music as a community-organizing tool featured Dee Galloway of the Spirituals Project and Jonny 5 from Flobots. Music met politics, and the singing could be heard down the street.
"We are really beginning to break down those artificial walls between art and community," said RedLine's executive director, P.J. D'Amico. "Art has the power to radically reframe the conversation."
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OCCUPY ART: View excerpts from the Civilians' cabaret show "Let Me Ascertain You" at thecivilians.org. The Lockerpartners have posted "The 99th Problem" on their website, lockerpartners.com (see video above).
Read more: Rinaldi: The fine art of the Occupy movement shows stripped-down, naked anger.
Chuck Pyle has won high praise from both fans and peers alike throughout an inspired performance career of over 40 years. When reviewers first gave him the "Zen Cowboy" moniker, he decided to, as he says, "Always ride the horse in the direction it's going," and took the nickname to heart, shaving his head and blending his upbeat perspective with old-fashioned horse sense. He mixes infectiously hummable melodies with straight-from-the-saddle poetry, quoting bumper stickers, proverbs, world leaders and old cowboys.
An accomplished songwriter, Chuck's songs have been recorded by John Denver, The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band and Suzy Bogguss. Country fans know him best for writing, "Cadillac Cowboy", recorded by the late Chris LeDoux, and "Jaded Lover," recorded by Jerry Jeff Walker.Clip from Chuck’s song about Wyoming, “Wide Open:” http://www.chuckpyle.com/audio/the_spaces_in_between/wide_open.mp3
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| Something to look forward to, here in Wyoming. More info here. |
Tonight, DNC Chair Debbie Wasserman Schultz released the following statement on the results of the Republican primary in South Carolina:
“If tonight proved one thing, it's that the central rationale of Mitt Romney’s campaign is cratering. He came into South Carolina with a 20 point lead -- a state where jobs and the economy is the number one issue -- and the candidate who hung his entire candidacy on these issues, Mitt Romney, saw his support collapse.
“Why? Because Mitt Romney's been exposed as being out of touch with the middle class, and voters are seeing that he lives by another set of rules. He’s refused to level with voters, and now he’s in trouble. Anyone who goes into a state with a significant double digit lead yet ends up losing that support in a week, is someone who is failing to connect.
“Voters in South Carolina saw that Mitt Romney has no core values, and that he will say anything to get elected. He’s been exposed as having plans and policies that would keep his taxes low, and make them even lower, while doing nothing for the middle class. The people of South Carolina also began to see what Romney’s brand of free enterprise really is: destroying companies and jobs to enrich himself while working families suffer. Tonight, they rejected it. At the end of the day, voters want someone they can trust, who shares their vision and who understands their plight. And they are finding that Mitt Romney is not that person.
“Regardless of who becomes the Republican nominee, all of the candidates in the race support the failed policies of the past that drove us to the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression. That’s not what the American people want, and that’s why they know that the clear choice in this election is President Obama.”
Country music legend Merle Haggard plans to play Cheyenne Frontier Days this summer.
Event organizers said Haggard would play July 22 with Chancey Williams and the Younger Brothers Band, of Wyoming, as the opening act.
It will be the second time Haggard has played at Frontier Days. The first was in 1979.
Tickets go on sale on Friday.
Frontier Days runs from July 20-29. Other performers who are set to appear include Hank Williams Jr., Reba McEntire and the Zac Brown Band.
On Wednesday, Haggard's publicist announced the singer is being treated for pneumonia in a Georgia hospital and has had to cancel the rest of his January concert dates.
Read more: http://trib.com/news/state-and-regional/merle-haggard-to-perform-at-cheyenne-frontier-days/article_b58cfbf2-6373-57e5-9a80-
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| Sen. Liz Byrd looks on as Wyoming Gov. Mike Sullivan signs law authorizing Martin Luther King, Jr./WY Equality Day at a 1990 ceremony in the State Capitol. |
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| Martin Luther King, Jr./WY Equality Day march in Cheyenne. |
To recognize her many contributions to Wyoming, both as an educator and legislator, UW . AADS is working to raise $25,000 to endow the series, which will bring minority educators and speakers to UW and serve to honor the woman who sponsored legislation that, in 1990, established Martin Luther King, Jr./Wyoming Equality Day as a state holiday.
"I can't think of a better person to represent the University of Wyoming," says AADS Director Tracey O. Patton. "She's emblematic of what we all hope to accomplish in life. I think every person on this planet would like to affect positive change for the world. Very few of us get to do that but she did. She has made lives better in the state of Wyoming."
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| Cheyenne Mayor Rick Kaysen speaks at the State Capitol Building on Martin Luther King, Jr./WY Equality Day. |
If there's anything the 32 parent-writers and 15 experts of Easy to Love but Hard to Raise want you to know, it's this:
YOU ARE NOT ALONE. We've been there. We've done that. We've navigated the system. Some of us succeeded. Some failed. We've been judged by friends, teachers, family, & strangers. We've gotten the phone calls & the looks. We've done things we never thought we'd do, good & bad. We've been up nights, cried in our pillows, and screamed in frustration. We've doubted ourselves, our children, & our partners. We've had to educate everyone, including our children's doctors. We are parents of children with alphabet soup diagnoses, invisible special needs, behavioral problems.Our children are easy to love, but oh, so hard to raise.
Easy to Love but Hard to Raise is an anthology of personal essays written by parents of children with ADD, ADHD, OCD, PDD, ASDs, SPD, PBD and/or other alphabet soup diagnoses that takes the already difficult job of parenting and adds to the challenge.
These essays focus on honest feelings, lessons learned, epiphanies, commonplace and extraordinary experiences. They are written by parents of toddlers, young children, teens, and adult children; those who are in the parenting trenches now, and those looking back on their parenting experiences.
Topics include : how children came to be diagnosed, the experience of dealing with problem behaviors in various contexts and settings, experiences with/feelings about treatment (therapies, medications, alternative treatments), school (and other advocacy) experiences, children's social interactions/friends, and the effect of parenting a difficult child on a parent's emotional and physical health, marriage, and other relationships.
State residents will celebrate Martin Luther King Day with in communities across Wyoming including in Riverton where Rez Action, a group working with the Equality State Policy Center, plans a march and speeches by three leaders of the Wind River tribes.
“We invite all those who want to celebrate equality to march with us to honor the work of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.,” a news release from the organizers says. “We march in celebration of equality and Dr. King’s vision of ‘that all of us will be able to sit down together at the table of brotherhood.’”
Other events are planned in Laramie and Casper.
Tribal members Micah Lott and Molly Holt are two of the Rez Action members staging Monday’s “Embrace Equality Celebrate Diversity” event in Riverton. Participants will rendezvous at 1 p.m. at City Park for the march to City Hall. State Rep. Patrick Goggles, the House minority leader who represents HD33, will speak as well as former state representative Scott Ratliff, now an special assistant on Native American issues to U.S. Sen. Mike Enzi, Northern Arapaho tribal liaison Gary Collins, and Riverton activist Cody Green.
For information, please contact Micah Lott at 307-851-1344 or micah.lott93@gmail.com. Rez Action members describe the group as an organization of “dedicated activists who fight social injustice, discrimination, and advocate for a healthy environment.”
The Casper NAACP will host the annual Martin Luther King Jr. Day March and Rally starting at 11 a.m. at Casper’s City Park at Center and 7th streets. Marchers will walk to the United Methodist Church downtown. Eastern Shoshone Tribal elder Ivan Posey will speak. Members of the Wind River Unity Youth Council will participate as dancers with the Scout River Drum Group. Following a soup lunch at the church, the Unity group will conduct a workshop at 1 p.m. In Casper, contact Nurieh Glasgow at 234-3428 or Janet de Vries at 268-2446 for more information.
A third march is planned on Jan. 16 in Laramie. Marchers will walk from the Albany County Courthouse to the University of Wyoming Student Union starting at 4 p.m. followed by a supper in the union ballroom. As part of its Martin Luther King Jr./Days of Dialogue, actor Hill Harper will speak at 1 pm. Jan 18 at the Wyoming College of Arts and Sciences auditorium. A full schedule of events is available here.
In Cheyenne, a march is planned at Noon from the old Union Pacific Railroad Depot up Capitol Avenue to the state Capitol. Gov. Matt Mead and Mayor Rick Kaysen will speak along with State Auditor Cynthia Cloud, and State Supt. of Public Instruction Cindy Hill. The march is being organized by the Love and Charity Club. Contact moderator Rita Watson at 307-632-2338 for more information.
