What do you know about the Broome Co Jail?

The Jan 19 Press and Sun Bulletin article about failure of the NYS Commission of Correction’s response to inmate grievances is barely the tip of the iceberg.  The public response to those they deem with multiple stigmas – inmate, mentally ill, and triple diagnosed developmentally impaired is to continually ignore or cut and reduce from services.  Several recent governors have ignored local needs, most recently in 2014 when the Broome County Mental Health Clinic was closed to a thousand recipients resulting in continuing waiting lists for services and denial of service especially to the DD/MI population.  No one rushed in with funding. 

Broome County decided it did not want to pay the salaries and pensions for quality mental health workers.   Remember, it is state and federal funding that provides the majority of these mental health services for the public residents.   Instead Broome County follows the mantra of the radical right to only fund police and the military by hiring a dozen correctional officers.

175 years later, Dorothea Dix would be aghast to know that the mentally ill are still being “caged” (in solitary), beaten and neglected” in our local jails.  It is a tragedy that Broome County does not have the integrity to have an independent criminal justice oversight committee.  Too many employees fear standing up for clients.  You are not aware that some inmates have waited a week to receive the grievance form they want to file.  How does that impact the “24 Hour Reports” the Comptroller recommends?  Over seventy percent of inmates are too poor to pay bail, therefore serving time before conviction.
Has the community kept up with best practices by contracting out to Correctional Medical Care at the jail?  No.   There have been several deaths at the jail.  There are many reports of inhumane medical neglect.

It is the same Broome County legislators who in 2014, and a few months ago, wanted to deny the new detox facility to their neighbors.   Five years ago if you wanted suboxone you had to go to Ithaca.  Will funding for treatment follow?  Or will they continue to cry Not MY Taxes.  Why does the local press refuse to print this information.  Who is willing to make government work for the people instead of the monthly assault that all government is totalitarianism.

Justice and Unity for the Southern Tier (J.U.S.T.) is dedicated to dismantling mass incarceration in the Southern Tier. The diverse, social conditions and institutions contributing to mass incarceration demand a multifaceted effort to devise its end. Championing community mobilizations, supports, and services to end poverty, racism, the criminalization of the differently-abled, and the school-to-prison pipeline, J.U.S.T. believes that rehabilitation, education, and persistent community engagement is the best way to bring about true change. J.U.S.T advocates with and for individuals, families and loved ones of those currently or previously incarcerated, as well as educates community members, police, schools and other community service providers about the harms of mass incarceration. We welcome all who are interested in creating a JUST community in the Southern Tier. (website www.justiceST.com)

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El Charcón Sister City Project

An invitation to join the Binghamton El Charcón Sister City Project

          Looking for a more positive approach to the immigration issue?  Greater Binghamton's sister city relationship with the rural community of El Charcón (El Salvador) promotes education, leadership training and skills training, especially for women and youth. The result: a vibrant and resilient community that offers an alternative to risking the challenging journey to the U.S. in order to find work.  We invite you to join this exciting partnership.  Contact us at BECSCP@gmail.com for more information!

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The A.C.A. is a paper tiger, we need Single Payer Health Care

The Affordable Care Act was an improvement in a totally broken national health care system. Among other benefits, it increased access for millions through the expanded Medicaid program. It prevented the denial of coverage due to pre-existing medical conditions. However, it was a “band-aid”. We need a real solution. We need universal health care NOW.

Almost 30 million Americans still have no health care coverage. Many millions more live with the risk of bankruptcy due to deductibles, coinsurance requirements and copayments. Thousands of American businesses who admirably help pay for employee health coverage are made uncompetitive relative to their overseas counterparts. Many thousands of churches, school districts and county governments struggle to maintain employee health coverage and balance their budgets as their premiums increase unpredictably and far exceeding the cost-of-living. The solution to all of these problems is SINGLE PAYER HEALTH CARE.

The solution to all of these problems is the United States coming together, Democrat-Republican-other, youth-aged and in-between, black-white-brown-yellow, rich-poor, gay-straight-trans-bisexual, legal citizen-illegal immigrant, male and female standing up in solidarity to DEMAND SINGLE PAYER HEALTH CARE NOW! In 22 countries with health insurance for all, people live longer than people in the U.S. and spend ½ the amount that we do. Indeed, 1/3 of our premium dollars are wasted on private insurers’ billing, marketing and salaries.

While the corporate masters of Congress prevent a federal solution, New Yorkers already have a single payer bill (the Gottfried-Perkins’ “N.Y. Health Act”) awaiting approval in our state legislature. In 2017 the New York Assembly passed the Act by a margin of 2 to 1. Now we need the NY State Senate to do the same. Some naysayers and concerned citizens ask, “How will this Single Payer Health Care system be funded, especially since it includes prescription drugs, dental, vision and hearing care coverage? The answer is – a graduated assessment on payroll and non-payroll taxable income. It will be based on “ability to pay”. 80% of the premiums will be covered by employers. All of the funds will be placed in a NY Health Trust Fund, administered by the NYS Health Department, overseen by consumers and providers.

Another logically asked question is – what organizations support the NY Health Act. The list continues to lengthen, but already includes the following – NYS AFL-CIO, NYS Nurses Assoc., Citizen Action, United Federation of Teachers, League of Women Voters, NYS Academy of Family Physicians, Public Citizen and over 100 NYS legislators. There is, of course, strong resistance to the passage of the Act among well-lobbied legislators. The lobbyists have the greater access to power. However, WE are the ultimate power. WE determine who represents us. WE need to step up. WE need to speak up. WE need to hold the feet of our representatives to the fire of public outcry for change. WE need to reject their complicit, self-serving actions. WE need to question their authority and motives. Health care is a human right, not a commodity for those who can afford to pay. People are the Power. Let’s unite and wield it!

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Triple Cities Carousel 5 year Anniversary

Since the day Triple Cities Carousel launched five years ago, it has been my whole life. Running a newspaper is not an easy task for anybody, but starting one from scratch in the 21st century is as Sisyphean as it gets. I have given my everything to Carousel, and that has more often than not come at the expense of my health, my relationships, my sanity, and my personal well-being. I cannot always tell where Carousel ends and I begin, because everything about the newspaper and the organization that has grown around it is so close to my heart.

I am incredibly proud of the impact Carousel has had on the local community, and I am forever grateful to the staff, advertisers, and readers who have gotten us this far. Together we have built something amazing. After this next issue goes to print, it is time for me to walk away and let Carousel continue on without me.

I’m very excited to announce that next month I’ll be stepping into the role of Marketing Director at Binghamton University's Anderson Center for the Performing Arts. This job is a dream come true for me, and I’m very much looking forward to starting this next chapter of my life.

As many of you know, Carousel was sold late last year to local media group Equinox Broadcasting. They’ve got a great team of creative, media-minded folks over there, and I have full faith that Carousel will continue on under their stewardship and grow to levels I never could have imagined. It’s not my place to announce the new editor-in-chief, but rest assured that the paper is in good hands. I, for one, am extremely excited to see what the future brings for Carousel, and for the local arts scene as a whole.

And so, friends, there is nothing left to do but party. Carousel's 5th Birthday Bash is coming up this weekend, and I hope to see you all there. We will toast, we will hug, we will cry, and we’ll dance like a bunch of maniacs.

–Chris Bodnarczuk, founder

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Single Payer Health Care in America NOW

 

                                         An unpublished op/ed submitted to Binghamton Press 

                                                                By Richard Masters

Sick people are still dying in the U.S. for lack of medical care or going bankrupt from medical bills. Thirty Million have no insurance at all. Only in America! Every other industrialized country in the world – EXCEPT the U.S. – provides its citizens with health care as a right. Even some Central American countries and Mexico provide government funded Health care. Polls show that a majority of our people would prefer a single payer system, but both major parties say it can't be done. We can't afford it. At the same time, both parties voted to increase the pentagon budget by $160 billion over the next two years. It seems that there's always money for war, while programs like food stamps are being cut, and single payer is, of course, out of the question. Right now, there is only one major party in the U.S. – the MONEY party. One wing is the Democrats; the other is the Republicans. Both are responsive only to their big donors: corporations and the 1%. Don't expect the Money party to embrace Single payer. It doesn't benefit the donors. The Green Party endorses Single payer. Don't waste your vote on the Money party. Vote GREEN!

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Winners of Smartphone Photo Contest

Winners Announced Smartphone Photo Contest & Exhibit at Cooperative Gallery

Kalindi Naslund won both the First Prize and People’s Choice Award in the Smartphone Photo Contest for her photo “Tour Eiffel, Paris 2017” taken from Sacre Coeur Basilica.  Second Prize was awarded to Jonathan Cohen for his dramatic sunset of “Port Orange, FL.”  (pictured above)  Lori Warfield won Third Prize for a winter forest scene called “Sentinels.” The winners shared $500 in prizes. Proceeds from the entry fees will also benefit the Dept. of Public Art for its Mural projects.

Honorable Mentions were awarded to Carrianne Fairbairn for “Summer Nights,” Tim Sullivan for “Shades of  Night,” Amy Cousins for “Dancing in the Night,” Cassarah E. Jones for “ “While the Rooster Crows,” and Peg Johnston for “Scrabble.” Joshua Bernard judged the contest .

The Smartphone Photo Contest will be open one more week Friday March 23rd from 3-6 and Saturday March 24th, 12-4 pm at the Cooperative Gallery 213 State St. in Binghamton.

The first-ever local Smartphone Photo Contest and Exhibit attracted 49 photographers showing 121 photos snapped on their phones. According to Peg Johnston, curator of the show, “First timers, amateurs, and professional photographers all tried their hands at photos taken with their phones with remarkable results.”

Peg Johnston has been a member of the Cooperative Gallery since its inception in 2000 and has mounted several installations and curated exhibits including the “TRASH Eco Art” exhibit, “Binghamton: A Memoir,” and the “Book as Art” show. In 2016 she received the Heart of the Arts Award from the Broome County Arts Council.

The Cooperative Gallery, a popular stop on the First Friday Art Walk, located at Artists Row –State of the Art, at 213 State Street in Binghamton, is open on First Friday 3- 9 pm and regularly Fridays from 3-6 and Saturdays from 12- 4 pm.  A free weekly e-newsletter is available by signing up at  www.cooperativegallery.com or on Facebook  at Cooperative Gallery 213.

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121 Photos at the Smartphone Photo Contest

Smartphone Photo Contest & Exhibit at Cooperative Gallery

When the first-ever local Smartphone Photo Contest and Exhibit opens at the Cooperative Gallery 49 photographers will show 121 photos snapped on their phones. The state of emergency cancelled First Friday but the gallery is open Fridays 3-6 and Saturdays 12-4. According to Peg Johnston, curator of the show, “Smartphone photos are ubiquitous on social media and at all gatherings, and I am impressed with both the sheer beauty and often the serendipity of the images these people have captured.”

Joshua B. Ludski will be the judge for the contest and there will also be voting for a People’s Choice Award. Cash prizes will be awarded at 1 pm on Saturday March 17th.  Proceeds from the entry fees will split between cash prizes for winners and a donation to the Dept. of Public Art. Participating photographers will gather for a Gallery Tour including brief presentations by entrants.  The public is welcome.

Peg Johnston has been a member of the Cooperative Gallery since its inception in 2000 and has mounted several installations and curated exhibits including the “TRASH Eco Art” exhibit, “Binghamton: A Memoir,” and the “Book as Art” show. In 2016 she received the Heart of the Arts Award from the Broome County Arts Council.

The Cooperative Gallery, a popular stop on the First Friday Art Walk, located at Artists Row –State of the Art, at 213 State Street in Binghamton, is open on First Friday 3- 9 pm and regularly Fridays from 3-6 and Saturdays from 12- 4 pm.  A free weekly e-newsletter is available by signing up at  www.cooperativegallery.com or on Facebook  at Cooperative Gallery 213.

Photo: “Phones at the Ready” a photo of the Carnegie Library at the Luma Projection Festival by Peg Johnston

 

 

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Amazon: Resisting the Monopoly

It is becoming harder and harder to have a locally owned business and as a consumer, to buy local. Amazon is now the default for many shoppers and is rubbing out any competition be it local or national. An article in The Nation details the many ways the Amazon stacks the deck against entrepreneurs. And, as progressively minded citizens know, local dollars tend to stay local and help the local economy much more than money spent in big box stores, and certainly in online stores. Amazon affiliates with smaller entrepreneurs but, as this article details, at increasingly unfavorable terms. Now we need to support alternatives even if they are a bit more inconvenient or expensive. For instance, Alibris.com is an online bookseller affiliated with small businesses all over and they have great service, support the little guy.  Is it possible to get along without Amazon?  Let's find out!

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