bookmark_borderHurricane Effects Election in Montgomery County

Aftermath Of Hurricane Sandy

Regional Updates

Dear Friend,

I have a few quick updates I wanted to share with you. In the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy, many in our area remain without power, changes to absentee voting have been enacted and along the New Jersey coastline there is much devastation.

Southeast Pennsylvania currently accounts for the most outages in the state as of now with Philadelphia between 5,000-10,000 customers without power and Montgomery County at 50,000 customers without power. You can check the status of your area or report an outage through PECO.

This past Monday, Governor Corbett signed an executive order that allowed for absentee ballot applications to be extended if a county’s offices were closed during the storm. For Philadelphia and Montgomery Countyapplications were accepted until 5pm today, in person at the County Board of Elections. This morning, Governor Corbett extended the deadline for submission of those ballots to no later than Monday, November 5th at 5pm, also at the County Board of Elections, either by mail or in person.

Because Pennsylvanians often visit the many shore towns of New Jersey, I wanted to let you know New Jersey is still under a state of Emergency and re-entry to the states barrier islands and coastal communities has not been permitted for many towns yet. If you or someone you know wants to know when a community will reopen, please check by county. Because some county offices remain closed, please use their websites for updates on openings and potential requirements for entering. You can also request and find out more about Disaster Assistance through the federal government.

I hope everyone remains safe in the days that follow, and as always, it is an honor to represent you in Congress.

Sincerely,

Allyson Y. Schwartz

Member of Congress

bookmark_borderOccupy Philly Daily Happenings

PHILADELPHIA, PA — 12:00pm Bubbas and Zaydas for Peace in the Middle East – 19th & JFK
3:00pm From South Africa to Palestine – Boycott Divestments and Sanctions past and present – Anderson Hall, Temple University
7:00pm Peace Center of Delaware County Film Series – Waltz with Bashir – Peace Center of Delware County – 1001 Old Springfield Rd –
Springfield, PA

November 2nd, 3pm – From South Africa to Palestine – Boycott Divestments and Sanctions past and present – Anderson Hall, Temple
University – In 2005, Palestinian civil society called for the boycott divestment and sanctions against Israel until it Complies with
International Law and Universal Principles of Human Rights. Philly Boycott Divestment and Sanctions members Nathaniel Miller and Susan Landau will speak about their organizations BDS campaign against Sabra and Tribe.

November 2nd, 7pm – We may forget the past, but the past won’t forget us WALTZ with BASHIR @First-Friday Free Large Screen Film Series at the Peace Center of Delaware County, 1001 Old Sproul Road, Springfield, PA 19064 – (WALTZ with BASHIR, 2008, 86 mins., Rated R for disturbing images of atrocities, strong violence, brief nudity and a scene of graphic sexual content. Written and directed by Ari Folman. Hebrew with English subtitles.) Israeli director Ari Folman’s animated, quasi-documentary film which follows the filmmaker’s attempt to recall his long submerged memories from the Lebanon War when his Israeli army unit enabled allied the Christian militia, in the heart of Beirut, to massacre more than 3,000 Palestinians in the Sabra-Shatila refugee camps. A haunting film that explores the unending psychological trauma of war, with a message that resonates long after the final fadeout. Doors open at 6:30p.m. for light refreshments. Peace Center is located at the Springfield Friends Meeting that has adjacent parking lot. After film discussion. For directions and more information including film trailer, visit  www.delcopeacecenter.org, or call 610-544-1818. Co-sponsored by the Brandywine Peace Community.

Philly Debtors’ Assembly – bring your stories! Sunday, November 11, 2012 2:00pm. Wooden Shoe, 704 South St. YOU ARE NOT A LOAN! We are in debt – student debt, credit card debt, medical debt, in foreclosure, and much more. This is not because of some personal failing, but the failings of mafia capitalism as a whole – a system which profits from our pain to line the pockets of Wall St. We are fed up! We gather to share our stories and offer support, to sing and play music, to break bread and make friends. Please join Strike Debt Philly and together let’s build a movement to abolish exploitation and debt! For those interested: the next meeting for Strike Debt Philly will be Sunday, Nov. 4 at 2pm at the Wooden Shoe, 704 South St.

For those of you who didn’t attend last year’s Women’s Day GA at which Selma spoke — or haven’t had a chance to meet her elsewhere — I highly recommend you attend. I guarantee that she will ignite your activism, revolutionize your thinking, and show you simply and clearly how sex, race & class connect to your life and our movement for change. Sex, Race & Class Study Group with Selma James. All welcome! Monday, November  5th at The Friends Center 1501 Cherry St. 6pm Potluck reception, 6:30pm reading from Sex, Race and Class – The Perspective of  Winning: A Selection of Writings 1952-2011 by Selma James. (Childcare available). Two members of the Study Group will report on “Striving for Clarity and Influence – The Political Legacy of CLR James (2001-2012)”, pp 283-296. Followed by discussion and comments from Selma. Childcare provided by Philadelphia Childcare Collective.

November 5th,, 6:30pm – Friends Center – 1501 Cherry St – Movie Mondays hosted by the Envision Peace Museum. Movies will the first Monday of Each month from October – December. The second in the series will the short film “The Story of Change”, followed by the feature film “Economics of Happiness”. This feature length documentary illustrates how people around the world are resisting the policies of globalization and corporate power.

UPDATE – For those of you planning on showing up at court Monday morning to support Shawn McMonigle, the trial has been continued,
which means IT WILL NOT BE MONDAY MORNING! A new date and time will be posted soon. Thanks for your support!

According to reports (see caav.org web site), the NYC administration is not distributing food or water to people who could not/did not go to public shelters. This failure of public officials (and ultimately the profit-driven system) means many, many people are in dire need. Occupy Wall Street, Food Not Bombs and CAAAV (a pan-Asian community organization) are trying to meet these needs. See for more information: http://caaav.org/update-on-caaavs-efforts-post-hurricane-sandy-volunteer-and-donate Update on CAAAV’s Efforts Post-Hurricane Sandy!  Volunteer and Donate!

Events listed here include Occupy Philly related events as well as other social justice events. For more updates be sure to check the Occupy Philadelphia Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/OccupyPhiladelphia. Your support is greatly appreciated!

bookmark_borderPhiladelphia Closed

PHILADELPHIA, PA; OCTOBER 29, 2012 2:45PM — Mayor Nutter announced at a press conference, “Philadelphia will be closed tomorrow.” All public schools will be closed. The District Attorney, the Sheriff and all non-emergency services will be closed.

Though Hurricane Sandy’s winds are not the strongest on record, it is the strongest storm as measured by low barometric pressure to ever come up the East Coast of the United States.