Drumlins Country Club, 800 Nottingham Road, Syracuse, NY, from 6:00-9:00 p.m.

April 25, 2017

The 2017 ACTS Spring Banquet is an event where we will come together celebrate transformation in the Syracuse Community. People of all backgrounds and faiths will unite over a wonderful dinner to discuss equity, justice, and solidarity. The event boasts special guest speakers and the unity of the entire ACTS Community. This year, we will also chronicle the significance of the Banquet in this Newsletter through a series of articles leading up to April 25th. In the April 10th edition of our newsletter, we will feature an in-depth interview with the ACTS Banquet Committee to discover the labors behind an unforgettable evening. As for this week, we provided a brief overview of the Spring Banquet as a reminder for social justice veterans, and an introduction for newcomers.

April 09, 2017

If this is your fist time hearing of the “CNY Solidarity Coalition,” you likely missed their meeting on April 2nd at the Bishop Harrison Center. If that’s the case, you forfeited an opportunity to convene with more than a hundred grassroots activists who contemplated our region’s most stubborn issues. The CNY Solidarity Coalition has been called a “potentially vital community ally,” by the ACTS Leadership Council. Don't worry though, as there is a General Assembly Meeting on April 9th at 3 p.m. at St. Lucy's Church. Jikyo Bonni Shoultz, a veteran member of ACTS, has written a letter to ACTS Members imploring you to become engaged. In April, there will be several events listed as important by the CNY Solidarity Coalition on their community calendar. The Coalition strives to protect all marginalized groups likely to be targeted in these uncertain times.

South Side Innovation Center, 2610 S Salina St, Syracuse, NY 13205, at 6:00 p.m.

April 06, 2017

This Thursday at 6 o'clock, April 6th, the South Side Innovation Center will be the setting for a panel about the future of I-81, and by extension, the future of the Southside and Valley areas of Syracuse. All are encouraged to attend. As I-81 reaches the end of its “functional life” in 2017 a replacement plan will fall in line. Regardless of the final selection, extensive impacts will be felt by The Southside and Valley neighborhoods within our community. Whether these impacts will be positive or negative depends on both our vigilance and capacity to unite as a community. The panel will be presented by Mark Frechette, the I-81 Project Director at the NYS Department of Transportation (DOT). Peter Sarver, the ACTS Convener of Moving People Transportation Coalition, will help represent our vision of a united Syracuse as an expert panelist. Among the remaining DOT proposals are the Community Grid or the enlargement of the I-81 overpass.