August 15, 2005: Rustbelt Radio

Intro

Welcome to this week's edition of Rustbelt Radio, the Pittsburgh Independent Media Center's weekly review of the news from the grassroots, news overlooked by the corporate media. The show airs every Monday from 6-7pm on WRCT 88.3FM in Pittsburgh, PA and every Saturday from 5-6pm on WVJW Benwood, 94.1 FM in the Wheeling, West Virginia area. And we're also available on the internet, both on W-R-C-T's live webstream at W-R-C-T dot ORG and archived at radio dot I-N-D-Y-P-G-H dot org.

On today's show...

• Participants in the conference of the League of Pissed off voters will tell us about the work they are doing
• we'll hear from two groups outside Pittsburgh that are doing unique grassroots organizing for change in their communities: Incite, Women of Color Against Violence; and Berkeley Copwatch.
• part of an interview with Chris Carlsson, co-founder of the first Critical Mass in San Francisco
• and our weekly update on Police brutality and misconduct from Bad Cop No Donut

but first,

Headlines

Local News

[1:30] Town fights to ban trucks on highway

In Berkeley Springs, West Virginia, citizens have united in an attempt to ban truck traffic on the highway which cuts through town. According to the Associated Press, the state Division of Highways estimates 1,700 trucks travel U.S. 522 in West Virginia every day. In Berkeley Springs, this highway is so narrow that truck traffic makes the storefront windows shake, even when the trucks are driving at the speed limit of 25 miles per hour. But according to shopkeeper Trish Shunney, it is hard enforce this speed limits, or even cite truckers who run red lights, because the road is too narrow for the police to pull trucks over. And then then there are environmental concerns. Shunney says [quote] ``Tourism is our business. So when you're putting all the pollutants in the air, into a tourist town that considers itself a health mecca, what kind of statement is that?''

The Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association opposes the ban, and claims that West Virginia can ban trucks if safety is an issue and also the U.S. Department of Transportation agrees to the ban.

[2:30] Driving While Black in Garfield

On the afternoon of Sunday August 7th several Pittsburgh police cars surrounded two men in a drop-top convertible driving through the predominantly African-American neighborhood of Garfield. After being searched, harassed, accused and insulted in front of police-wary neighbors, and held for over half an hour, the men were eventually allowed to go.

Many African American men know this experience well, often called DWB or Driving While Black. One of the men stopped that day was DJ Diesel, who spoke to Rustbelt Radio on the phone about his experience with Pittsburgh police driving through Garfield.

• [ DJ Diesel clip - 2:20 ]

That was DJ Diesel talking himself and other African American men being wrongfully pulled over by police.

[1:00] Edgewood policeman charged with rape

In another story of police abuse, Edgewood police officer Frederick Livingston has been charged with sexually assaulting a juvenile relative for more than a decade. Livingston, who lives in Monroeville, was arrested on August 5th and charged with rape, incest, sexual assault, statutory sexual assault, endangering the welfare of a child, aggravated indecent assault, indecent assault and corruption of a minor, according to court documents filed by Allegheny County police.

Authorities stated that Livingston began sexually abusing the girl over a decade ago and just recently she disclosed the abuse to a therapist. She said she had not previously reported the abuse because she thought Livingston’s standing as a police would prevent his prosecution. The status of Livingston's employment was still unclear yesterday.

Stay tuned for our regular segment on police misconduct and abuse, Bad Cop No Donut, later in this program.

[2:15] Shenango coke plant restrictions take effect

In July the Allegheny County Health Department served the Shenango Coke Works on Neville Island a large fine and a number of operating restrictions, due to the plant’s chronic and serious violations of air pollution limits. Last Monday, the operating restrictions took effect, but in a more relaxed form than the county had originally ordered.

The coke works bakes coal at high temperatures in large ovens. When the ovens are opened, the impurities burned out of the coal are released into the air. Pollution at Shenango had also been exacerbated by leaking seals on the oven doors, which allowed toxins to escape during the baking process. Because the Shenango works continues to violate pollution standards despite repeated fines and three consent agreements in the last five years, the county’s order last month included the unusual requirement that the plant lengthen the time it bakes each batch of coke from 18 hours to 24 hours. The longer baking period cuts down on emissions, and also cuts the company’s rate of production, providing a financial incentive for the plant to clean up its operations. Upon announcement of the restrictions on the plant last month, Shenango Inc., appealed the fine and entered into discussions with the county over how it would reduce pollution.

As the date the restrictions were to take place neared, the county announced that the plant would be required to lengthen its coke baking times only to 20 hours rather than 24. The reason given for the change was that Shenango had shut down 5 of its 56 ovens for repairs, and was in discussions with the county about how to reduce the emissions. Together, the lengthier baking time and the closed oven will reduce emissions by 19%. , The county expects to soon announce a consent agreement with the company, which would include a listing of the faulty ovens with a timetable for repair, and a settlement of Shenango’s appeal to the 250,000 fine the county levied against the company in July.

The smoke from coke operations typically contains a multitude of toxic compounds. While no complete assessment of the composition of the pollution released by the Shenango plant has been conducted, because most of the compounds it releases are not regulated even though some are known to be toxic, the plant has chronically exceeded limits on regulated pollutants including benzene, hydrogen sulfide, and fine particulate matter.

Wrapup

For more on all of our local news stories, visit pittsburgh dot I-N-D-Y-M-E-D-I-A dot O-R-G.

Global News

Intro

You are listening to Rust Belt Radio, the Pittsburgh Independent Media Center's weekly review of news overlooked by the corporate media. We turn now to headlines from Independent Media Centers around the world.

[2:30] Mountain Justice Summer

Mountain Justice Summer, the coalition of environmentalists and community members across Appalachia, is continuing its summer campaign, fighting to save Appalachia's mountains, streams and forests from greedy coal companies.

Last week MJS rallied in Elk Valley, Tennessee at the Zeb Mountain mine. With locals they held a protest against mountaintop mining happening there. Participants delivered demands to the National Coal Corporation regarding their Mine #7 at Zeb Mountain where they are currently removing three peaks using cross-ridge mining, a form of mountaintop mining that blows off the top of the mountain. This practice differs from mountaintop removal in that the peaks are “reclaimed” after the mining process is over. The coal company claims to put the mountain back to its “approximate original contour.”

The demands Mountain Justice Summer made to the National Coal Corporation were: 1) Shut down the Zeb Mountain mine and stop all surface mining because it destroys watersheds, pollutes drinking water, blocks access to public land, and destroys forest ecosystems, fishing and hunting areas; 2) Employ local residents in FULL restoration, not reclamation, of previously mined areas; 3) Give reparations to those who have been adversely impacted by destructive strip mining.

MJS says National Coal is also in clear violation of the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act under a statue that says no mining activity shall be done within 100 feet of a public road. At the Zeb Mountain mine site, there is a sediment pond twice as large as the mining plans call for located 8-10 feet from Lick Fork Road. This sediment pond has developed a crack and leaks orange-rust colored water near local farms.

Micah Lee of Asheville, North Carolina, said (quote) "I’ve traveled across Appalachia, met with coalfield residents, and witnessed the destruction of Appalachia at the hands of the coal companies. Mountaintop removal mining is ravaging Appalachia, and we have an opportunity to stop it in Tennessee before it’s too late.”

Gena Lewis of Maryville, TN said (quote) “If the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation enforced the plain language of Tennessee’s Water Quality Law, this type of destructive surface mining would not be permitted.” Gena is a UT law student and co-coordinator of United Mountain Defense, a local group working with Mountain Justice Summer to raise awareness of mountaintop mining in Tennessee.

Mountain Justice Summer has also been active in West Virginia, as reported on previous Rustbelt Radio programs. In addition to fighting Mountaintop Removal Mining there, locals succeeded in stopping Massey Energy's construction of a coal silo near an elementary school.

Earlier today about a dozen Mountain Justice Summer and Earth First! activists began a blockade of National Coal's strip mine in Campbell County, Tennessee. Calling National Coal "corporate criminals", activists say the company is destroying the North Cumberland Mountains in Tennesse. They blockaded the entrance to the mine by locking themselves to a car on the haul road and sitting in a tripod to prevent access to the mine. Other activists have locked themselves to drilling equipment. As of this afternoon, nine were arrested. Mountain Justice Summer reports that the police endangered one of activists by pushing the 30-foot-high tripod over while he was locked in it, injuring his knee in the process. Police used "pain compliance holds" on another activist while he was locked to the blockade and employed heavy-handed tactics in trying to remove another.

Tomorrow, Tuesday, Mountain Justice will rally at the headquarters of National Coal. And on Thursday, Mountain Justice Summer is holding another rally at the Tennessee Valley Authority headquarters in Knoxville. The authority is being challenged by activists because it is the largest coal burner in the region, purchasing coal from mountaintop removal operations in both West Virginia and Kentucky, and is planning to allow mountaintop mining on public land in Tennesse.

[0:30] Ghana’s conservation program gets funding

The government of Ghana received an 8.7 million dollar grant to protect the biodiversity of her forests and reward neighboring communities for participating in environmental protection programs. Ghana has already set aside 16 percent of her land for conservation, but in specific areas identified for their high biodiversity levels, natural resource protections will be even stronger thanks to the available funding. Those protections will go toward stopping illegal timber logging and other destructive practices in the Globally Significant Biodiversity Areas there, and other funds will go towards developing sustainable economic ventures. The grant comes from the Global Environment Facility.

Wrapup

You can read more about our global news stories by visting I-N-D-Y-M-E-D-I-A dot O-R-G.

Bad Cop No Donut

Bad Cop No Donut this week brings us news of tasers in Ohio and sexual misconduct in West Virginia. But first, we'll hear a statement from Pittsburgh Deputy Police Chief William Mullen about an incident in Mount Washington last week where a man was shot and killed by Pittsburgh Police.

• BCND - 4:22

That was Ron Anicich from CKLN on his weekly program Bad Cop No Donut. Stay tuned later in this program to hear from volunteers in the Copwatch program in Berkeley California.

Features

Intro

Welcome back to Rust Belt Radio, the Pittsburgh Independent Media Center's weekly review of news from the grassroots.

[15:00]League of pissed voters

league chant

This past weekend the League of Pissed off voters held their national Smackdown conference in Pittsburgh. The conference focused on youth voter activism, hip-hop organizing, multi-race coalition building and grassroots media. The League of Pissed off voters focuses on winnable electoral reform initiatives in key states that increase access to voting. They also focus on campaigns related to living wage, education, juvenile justice, and social security. We spoke with some conference goers about the work that they do with the league.

15 minute league segment

More information about the League of Pissed off voters you can go to www.indyvoter.org that's www.i-n-d-y-v-o-t-e-r.org

You're listening to Rust Belt Radio.

[14:00] Incite -- Women of Color Against Violence, and Berkeley Copwatch

This week for Rustbelt Radio's regular feature, "The Light at the End of the Fort Pitt Tunnel", instead our usual look at a local grassroots organization, we're going to look at groups doing important grassroots organizing elsewhere. While Pittsburgh's grassroots activist community has a broad and diverse set of projects and organizations, occasionally a look at other communities for ideas and inspiration.

First we'll hear from Megan Williamson of Michigan Indymedia's Black Box Radio with a report on the group Incite -- Women of Color Against Violence. Then, Pop Defect radio brings us a story on Copwatch in Berkeley California.

• [6:00] INCITE
• [7:28] Berkeley Copwatch

Ending

Calendar of events

And now we present the Indymedia calendar of events:

• On Thursday August 18th there will a celebration of Ali Hebshi’s life, a Pittsburgh local who recently passed away. The even will celebrate his commitment to justice and take place at 7PM in West Park on the Northside across from the Unitarian Universalist Church, at 416 W. North Avenue

• On Thursday the 18th, at 8PM the movie "Frantz Fanon: black skin, white masks", will be playing at the Frick Fine Arts Building near the Carnegie Library in Oakland,. The movie explores the anti-colonialist theories of Fanon, author of The Wretched of the Earth.

• On Saturday, August 20, 2005 – Pittsburgh Organizing Group will be hosting another rally and march against military recruitment. This will also be a non-violent day of direct action People will be gatheringat 10:30am at the Dinosaur sculpture in front of Carnegie Library at 4400 Forbes Avenue

Outro

Thanks for tuning in to Rust Belt Radio here on WRCT Pittsburgh and WVJW Benwood.

Our hosts this week are Andalusia Knoll and Jessica McPherson with contributions from Matt Toups, Abie Flaxman, David Meieran, and Michigan Indymedia's Black Box Radio. This week's show was produced by Matt Toups. Special thanks to all of our hosts, producers, and contributors.

Your story submissions are welcome! To get involved with Rust Belt Radio, or to send us your comments, email RADIO at I-N-D-Y-P-G-H dot ORG. All of our shows are available for download on our website at RADIO dot INDY-P-G-H dot ORG

Tune in next week at this time for another edition of Rust Belt Radio, the Pittsburgh Independent Media Center's weekly review of news from the grassroots.