Three years ago, the Chicago visual artist Theaster Gates acquired the gazebo 12-year-old Tamir Rice was shot and killed under by a police officer. The object, which Gates describes as sacred, has become the centerpiece of a garden, flowers blooming around the site of pain and tragedy. Gates is quick to say he does not want the gazebo. That it belongs in Cleveland, Ohio, where Tamir lived and died. But the city was set on removing the object now symbolic of the scores of young, unarmed black men killed by our police force from Clevelands Cudell Recreation Center.

Caring for this gazebo felt like my duty as a black man, Gates said. But it should not be in Chicago. Its in Chicago, in some ways, because of the anxiety that mounts when bad things happen [somewhere].

Gates stepped in after Samaria Rice, Tamirs mother, reached out to him personally. Over the years, Samaria and Theaster have developed a special bond. Especially as Samaria has worked with numerous black artists to honor her sons legacy, with the Tamir Rice Afrocentric Cultural Center currently in development.

There were no propagandists on the line with us or a film crew, Gates says of him and Samaria transporting the gazebo from Cleveland to his studio space in Chicago. For the two years the gazebo sat in my studio, there was no major art reporters coming to my studio. Because I didnt ask anyone. We were just trying to be diligent with the hurt that Samaria experienced when she lost her son.

Collecting neglected black cultural objects is a chief focus of Gatess artistic practice. He has curated vintage issues of black-centric magazines Ebony and Jet and archived racist negrobilia, all in the hopes of preserving and displaying the complicated history of race in America.

Gates said: The objects Ive accumulated, I usually have them because someone called me and said, Hey, I need some help. In some cases, Im just a temporary steward and [providing] safekeeping until they find a better home.

Gates spoke to the Guardian from Cleveland, where on Wednesday he appeared at an event centered around arts and activism and linked to the fifth anniversary of Tamirs death, with other artists including EJ Hill, Michael Rakowitz and Cleveland-based Amanda D King, who runs Shooting Without Bullets, a youth arts collective.

Tamirs death has left a permanent mark on the city of Cleveland. After a three-year investigation and numerous protests, the officer who fatally shot Tamir was fired by the Cleveland police department but never faced charges. Tamirs family received $6m from the city in a 2016 settlement. In the wake of Tamirs death, artists across the nation from Ava DuVernay to Michael Rakowitz have explored his politicized death in their works.

When I ask Gates what, if anything, has changed for black people since Tamirs death, the artist is surprisingly positive.

He highlights two exciting occasions: The lynching memorial by Bryan Stevenson in Alabama which is a tangible piece of black history in a place of extremely conservative power. And in Chicago, we have our first black, female, queer leader [Lori Lightfoot], who is asking very hard questions of the police. There are people on the ground who believe everyone has the right to citizenship and humanity. And were working and fighting to make that real.

The artist is hoping to begin talks with Cleveland city officials about returning the gazebo to where it belongs. From our conversation, Gates seems to envision a city-sanctioned and -funded memorial. I want to believe that the city is open to it, he said. I believe Samaria has the right to ask the city to receive this sacred space.

Tamir Rices murder strikes a deep chord with Gates, myself, and every other black man in America because we intimately understand how his death could have been ours. Gates has his own collection of close-calls with police officers. He was 14 and playing a game of football with his friends when a police officer, who assumed a black kid running fast must be up to no good, stopped Gates and raised a gun to his head.

I knew that if I said the wrong thing that I could die, Gates recollected. What do I have in common with Tamir? Im black and Im a threat.

Samaria Rice and her supporters are seeking funding for the creation of the Tamir Rice Afrocentric Cultural Centre, which will be to provide arts, cultural, educational, and civic programs for youth ages 10-19 that celebrate the history and culture of people of African descent in Cleveland.

On Monday 25 November the Guardian-US and Guardian Cities is launching a new series called City Champions, which will report on inspiring people, groups and grassroots initiatives that are transforming lives for the better in cities in the US.

The first installment in the series will focus on Cleveland, Ohio, and will highlight community-based projects that are offering potential solutions to systemic issues including inequality, structural racism, infant mortality and lead poisoning.

For the project, the Guardian has also commissioned art works that are now on display on six billboards in the city, which seek to visualise some of the complex social justice issues affecting lives and communities.

This public art project is in partnership with For Freedoms, a national collective of artists who worked with Amanda King and other local artists Robert Banks, Matt Chasney, Amber N Ford and Noelle Richard as well as young people from Kings art collective, Shooting Without Bullets.

See the article here:
'My duty as a black man': the artist preserving gazebo where police killed Tamir Rice - The Guardian

Published 1:30pm EST, Friday, November 22, 2019

Milfords annual Festival of Lights and Tree Lighting will be held on Friday, Nov. 29, beginning at 5:30 p.m., on the Milford Green.

Milfords annual Festival of Lights and Tree Lighting will be held on Friday, Nov. 29, beginning at 5:30 p.m., on the Milford Green.

Photo: Christian Abraham.

Milfords annual Festival of Lights and Tree Lighting will be held on Friday, Nov. 29, beginning at 5:30 p.m., on the Milford Green.

Milfords annual Festival of Lights and Tree Lighting will be held on Friday, Nov. 29, beginning at 5:30 p.m., on the Milford Green.

Milfords annual Festival of Lights and Tree Lighting is Nov. 29

Milfords annual Festival of Lights and Tree Lighting will be held on Friday, Nov. 29, starting at 5:30 p.m., on the Milford Green. This event is sponsored by Trinity Point Wealth.

The City of Milford and the Milford Regional Chamber of Commerce are jointly presenting the festivities.

The Festival of Lights begins with a gathering on the green at 5:30, featuring live holiday music at the gazebo by The Milford Concert Band and DJ Shelia.

The Milford Bank also will be hosting its 4th annual Winter Wonderland from 5:30-7:30 p.m., at the banks main office in downtown Milford, on the Green. The event features winter-themed activities for children and adults, including a meet and greet and photos with costumed characters, a train ride, games, prizes, carolers, crafts and more.

The tree lighting kicks off at 6:30 p.m., at the gazebo with the arrival of a firetruck from Milford Firefighters Union IAFF Local 944, carrying Santa. Milford Mayor Ben Blake and Milford Regional Chamber of Commerce representatives will light up the night with the pulling of the switch setting the Milford Green trees alight. Once lit, a line for children to meet Santa will be set up outside the Gazebo.

The event is free and open to the public.

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Milford's annual Festival of Lights and Tree Lighting is Nov. 29 - New Haven Register

Friday, November 29, 2019 - Milford's Annual Festival of Lights and Tree Lighting will be held on Friday, November 29th at the Milford Green. This popular community event, sponsored by Trinity Point Wealth, begins at 5:30 pm and runs through 7:30 pm.

The City of Milford and the Milford Regional Chamber of Commerce are jointly presenting the festivities.

The Festival of Lights starts with a gathering on the green at 5:30 pm featuring live holiday music at the gazebo by The Milford Concert Band and DJ Shelia.

The Milford Bank will be hosting its 4th Annual Winter Wonderland at the Bank's MainOffice (located in Downtown Milford, on the Green) from 5:30 to 7:30 pm.

The event will feature various winter-themed activities for children and adults of all ages.

Attendees will be treated to costumed characters for a meet & greet and photos, a train ride, games, prizes, carolers, crafts and more!

The Tree Lighting kicks off at 6:30 pm at the gazebo with the arrival of a firetruck from Milford Firefighters Union IAFF Local 944 carrying jolly ole' Santa Claus.

Milford Mayor Ben Blake and Milford Regional Chamber of Commerce representatives will light up the night with the "pulling of the switch"setting the Milford Green trees alight with beautiful twinkling lights!

Once lit, Santa Clause takes time to sit with all the boys and girls.

A line for children to meet Santa will be set up outside the Gazebo.

Milford's Festival of Lights and Tree Lighting is free to attend.

Residents are encouraged to come downtown to the Milford Green to enjoy the festivities and to get into the holiday spirit!

Here is the original post:
2019 Festival of Lights and Tree Lighting - Patch.com

Orchids to

whoever came by and replaced my flag for me, from Stacey.

Jered & Heather from Texas Road House for supplying items for the Free Methodist Church Operation Christmas Child Shoe Boxes.

all the wonderful patriots fighting white nationalism by testifying against the corrupt and incompetent current resident of the White House.

Indiana for being a government of laws, and not of men, from Mike.

the reference department at Bartholomew County Public Library for quickly finding several obscure references from Polish technical literature for me.

Keenan Al-Husseini (Homes by Keeno) and his roofing crew for reroofing my DIY roofing project that started leaking during this early winter.

the members of the Common Ground Garden Club who recently planted spring flowers and day lilies at the gazebo at the fairgrounds in honor of our fallen member, Pat Murphy, who passed away early this year, from President Sherry Warner.

the Mark White family; Happy Thanksgiving, you are such good neighbors, from Francis.

the staff and volunteers that donated for the wonderful Thanksgiving dinner, from Irene.

Grant Tucker for the good help he gave me in a time of need.

the young man who witnessed my accident and helped me.

Lindsey Reagan, from your family and neighbors.

Kris Whipker, from your family and Donna.

Joan Allman, from your sisters and family.

Joann Page, from the WW.

Joan Allman, from everyone in the family.

ANOTHER beautiful morning

See more here:
Around Town November 24 - The Republic

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Porter Turman, 4, watches the Santa Fe Plazas holiday lights come on from the shoulders of his father Ryan Turman, from Amarillo, Texas, in November 2016. (Eddie Moore/Albuquerque Journal)

SANTA FE, N.M. Santa Fes official kickoff to the holiday season takes place on Friday, Nov. 29., the day after Thanksgiving, when 10,000 lights strung among the trees and structures on the Plaza are flipped on. The event always attracts a huge crowd and is one of the best times to renew old acquaintances.

The festivities start at 3 p.m., with the Santo Nio Choir and girl scouts giving out cookies and hot chocolate. Santa and Mrs. Claus are expected to arrive at about 4 p.m. on a vintage fire truck.

Volunteers will begin lighting farolitos at 4:30 p.m. to illuminate the Plaza until the lighting ceremony begins at 6:30 p.m., presided over by the mayor and city councilors.

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There will be music and other entertainment on the gazebo throughout the evening before the countdown to flipping the switch.

CHAOS! AT THE CIRCUS: In another Thanksgiving weekend tradition, the Wise Fool troupe brings its corps of acrobats, aerialists, dancers and musicians to The Lensic, 211 W. San Francisco, for the annual Circus Luminous.

Circus Luminous (Courtesy of Wise Fool)

This years show, to be staged Friday to Sunday, Nov. 29-Dec. 1., is called Chaos!

Heres how Wise Fool describes it: Youll experience four competing approaches to dealing with chaos each inspiring you to ask where chaos comes from, and how it moves, sings, laughs and flies. One approach urges you to improve your Self. Another tries to turn you against the Other. Yet another invites you to join the Resistance. And the fourth, well, we barely understand that one ourselves. Come early and join the immersive experience! The fun begins the minute you enter the Lensic lobby, when youll encounter a chaos trade show sponsored by Wise Fools (fictional) Corporate Social Responsibility Program.

Shows are at 7 p.m. Friday, 2 and 7 p.m. Saturday, and 4 p.m. Sunday. The Sunday performance is low sensory, which means it is designed to create a performing arts experience that is welcoming to everyone, including families that have children with autism or other disabilities that may create sensory sensitivities.

Tickets are $20-$45, or $12-$27 for ages 12 and under. Go to lensic.org or call the box office at 988-1234.

THE FUNGINEERS: Bringing a show said to be a kids show for adults, an adult show kids love, a teenage cartoon come to life, and a grandparents weird and wonderful Saturday night, The Fungineers perform Saturday, Nov. 30, at Meow Wolf. (Despite the kids show references, this is a 21-and-over event.)

The Fungineers (Courtesy of The Fungeneers)

The group sounds and looks like a combination of Parliament/Funkadelic, Sesame Street and an overly costumed hip-hop group (you can download their EP Make It Up at fungineers.com), led by Paragon the Cyber-Unicorn-Tron, part robot-monkey, part unicorn, all-beatboxing DJ. Other members go by Lil Dino, Doctah Aqua-Sock-ta-Puss, Flavatar, Baby Swagress and the Sillionaire.

Guest acts kick off the show at 8 p.m., and its expected to run to 2 a.m.

Tickets are $22 at meowwolf.com.

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Arts and Entertainment: Top Picks for the Week - Albuquerque Journal

A South Texas ranch that has hit the market is set up to handle a lot of guests.

The Stormbreak Ranch is about an hour from San Antonio and Austin in the town of Waelder in Gonzales County.

The 70-acre ranch has four accommodation lodges with a total of 20 bedroom suites.

The main lodge has a game room, multiple living areas and a huge stone fireplace.

There is a dining area for 50-plus, a fully equipped professional commercial kitchen, a massive chapel-conference center, a swimming pool and hot tub with decorated cabana, a 400-yard-long distance shooting range, a professional eight-station sporting-clays shooting complex, a large walk-in meat locker with butchers trolley, waterfalls, ponds and streams, and more, said Adam York representing property broker Hall and Hall.

The ranch has a cedar-beamed and stone gazebo sitting on a pond, and it is landscaped with stone waterfalls, ponds and streams.

The ranch can effortlessly handle a host of corporate needs, such as management and director meetings and ongoing staff training, family reunions, organizational meetings, and the largest weddings, according to the sales pitch.

The brokers are asking $5.1 million for the property, which has been operated as a luxury addiction treatment center.

1/7Stormbreak Ranch is in Gonzales County.(Hall and Hall)

2/7Stormbreak Ranch has four lodge buildings.(Hall and Hall)

3/7Stormbreak Ranch has four lodge buildings.(Hall and Hall)

4/7Stormbreak Ranch has four lodge buildings.(Hall and Hall)

5/7Stormbreak Ranch has a pool and other outdoor features.(Hall and Hall)

6/7The main lodge has several living areas.(Hall and Hall)

7/7The property has outdoor event spaces.(Hall and Hall)

See more here:
South Texas ranch used as a luxury addiction rehab center is up for grabs - The Dallas Morning News

Rooms with a view are always a joy and this property delivers several of them.

Vista Colomba is in the sought-after location of The Mall, in Brading, where it looks out over fabulous countryside, with distant sea views too.

Floor-to-ceiling windows in many of the rear-facing rooms put this unique home ahead of its time in terms of design.

It is set over two floors, with the sitting room and its adjoining balcony on the first floor to really make the most of the surroundings.

The flexible accommodation gives new owners the choice of having one large family home or dividing part of the ground floor into a separate annexe perfect for multi-generational families sharing a property.

As you approach the house, you will see the ample brick-paved driveway to the front, which provides parking for several cars and gives access to the double garage.

There are gates to both sides of the property, leading to the rear garden.

Here you will discover a mini oasis, with a patio leading out from the house and onto the lawn, which is planted with a wide range of shrubs.

The far end of the garden is gravelled and has raised vegetable beds, a greenhouse, timber shed and an attractive gazebo an ideal spot to relax with a drink on a summers day.

Inside the home, the front door leads into the spacious entrance hall, with wood-effect flooring.

A handy lobby area has double-glazed French doors leading out to the rear garden.

The downstairs accommodation comprises of a spacious kitchen/diner (measuring approximately 22ft by 13ft), a second kitchen (or utility room), a conservatory, shower room and a sitting room (or fourth bedroom).

The open-plan kitchen/diner is naturally bright, thanks to some floor-to-ceiling windows, and it has a triple aspect to the front, side and rear, with views of the sea and countryside from the rear.

It is fitted with a range of floor units with wooden worksurfaces and includes an integrated dishwasher, electric cooker point and a gas-fired AGA.

Upstairs, even the landing is a generous area, again with floor-to-ceiling double glazed windows, with sea and countryside views to the rear.

The sitting room is another large, bright, triple-aspect room with patio doors leading out to the balcony.

Bedroom one has more floor-to-ceiling windows so you can take in those lovely views from your bed.

There are two further double rooms, one of which is en-suite.

The family bathroom has an oversized bath and double shower cubicle with a glass screen.

Read the rest here:
Property: Check out the amazing view - Isle of Wight County Press

A rendering of plans for the rebuilt Bayside Park in Brick. (Photo: Brick Township)

Bricks Bayside Park, devastated during Superstorm Sandy and in relatively poor condition ever since, will undergo a major turnaround over the winter and retake its spot as one of Bricks most beautiful public properties come spring.

The park, in the Normandy Beach section across Route 35 from Brick Beach III, is a major hot spot for crabbers and anglers during the summer. The park is also a place of respite for residents and visitors alike, who have enjoyed its gazebo surrounded by small intimate paths through the dune grass and native plants. The newly-rebuilt park will maintain all of these aspects and build on them, Mayor John Ducey said.

The township council on Monday night awarded a $722,022 contract to Price Construction, of Freehold, to undertake the rebuild. In a separate measure, the governing body awarded an $84,690 contract to Albert Marine, of Waretown, to rebuild the bulkhead and boardwalk that runs along the perimeter of the waterfront park.

Were going to construct it over the winter so it can be opened in time for Memorial Day weekend, said Ducey. Thats the goal we want it to be enjoyed by everybody once the beaches are open.

The park will feature extensive amenities, including fish cleaning and bait stations, a meditation zen garden (which may be used for waterside yoga practice) plus brand new playground equipment for children. Additionally, a cornhole game will be located at the park.

The signature gazebo will also be rebuilt and placed at the center of the park.

More here:
Bayside Park in Normandy Beach to be Rebuilt With Fishing Amenities, Meditation Garden and Playground - Shorebeat

John Locher/AP

Anthony J. Wrobel, left, speaks with attorney Joseph Abood in court Wednesday, June 27, 2018, in Las Vegas. Wrobel is accused of killing Venetian operations executive Mia Banks and wounding table games chief Hector Rodriguez at a companypicnic.

By Ricardo Torres-Cortez (contact)

Saturday, Nov. 23, 2019 | 2 a.m.

Rachel Lee listened as the convicted killer read a statement to explain why he took her mother Mia Banks life during a company outing last year at Sunset Park.

Lee would also hear from a defense attorney that the man who pleaded guilty in September to murder and attempted murder charges has faced a lifetime of undiagnosed autism and that his body and brain have been afflicted by Type 1 diabetes. Anthony Wrobel also shot another one of his bosses, who survived the attempted murder.

Wrobel, facing life in prison, stood in front of a Clark County district judge on Thursday waiting to hear his punishment. The only question that remained Thursday was when Wrobel, 44, would be eligible for parole: 30, 38, 44 years?

Either way, attorney Joseph Abood theorized, his clients body probably will have given out by then.

But when it came time for shooting survivor Hector Rodriguez to respond, he was angry. After all, he said he could still see the scars Wrobel left him when he opened fire April 15, 2018, under a gazebo at a company picnic for Venetian employees.

Rodriguez said that he, through no fault of his own, was handed a lifetime sentence of painful recovery.

Hes undergone multiple surgeries and there are still bullet fragments lodged in his body, he said. The founding fathers, he countered, would roll over in their graves if they saw a court that afforded Wrobel mercy, he later concluded.

Then it was time for Banks daughters Rachel and Angela Lee, 28, to speak. Angela has had recurring nightmares about that fateful day, the uncertainty that followed in a hospital waiting room and the realization that her mother was gone.

Its still shocking, she said, wiping away tears.

Rachel Lee, 21, was so distraught she could barely read the statement she prepared. But she pulled together the strength to tell those in the silent Las Vegas courtroom about her life: from the joys of being born to an independent woman and the heartache of losing her.

And when it came time to address the person who caused her pain, she taught the room a lesson in grace, grief and maturity. The judge was in tears by the end.

I forgive him, she told Judge Douglas Herndon. I forgive you, she told Anthony Wrobel, who sitting on the other side of the small courtroom.

Wrobel, a former Strip table games dealer, was handed a life sentence with the possibility of parole in 38 years more than the 30-year recommendation, but less than the 44-years-to-life he could have received, according to the Associated Press.

Metro Police and prosecutors had alleged Wrobel, a disgruntled employee at the Venetian, had planned on killing his bosses during a picnic outing at Sunset Park. After the shooting, he drove through southwest United States and ended up days later in the Texas panhandle where he was arrested while he slept at a truck stop.

Rachel Lee aspires to her mothers work ethic, which allowed a woman to climb from table games dealer to vice president of gaming operations at a major Strip property. She worked in a mans world and made it look easy, Rachel Lee said. The shooter unjustly took her rock, security and her light in the darkness, she said.

Rachel Leeremembers the family having to pick her mothers last outfit. She vowed not to look at her mothers remains in the casket during viewing because she didnt want that to be her last memory, she told the court.

She was shaking and her stomach in knots when she stepped in front of the casket and saw someone who looked like mom, but it was not her.

It was then, she said, that she knew she was in a better place. She was no longer suffering.

View original post here:
'I forgive him': Daughter of picnic-slaying victim tearful in testimony - Las Vegas Sun

Submitted photo

Thanksgiving is almost here and that means its almost time for the Turkey Trot, an annual fundraiser for local cross country and track and field programs.

The race will take place in Old Town Eureka on Thanksgiving morning and has quickly grown into a big event, attracting as many as 1,000 runners recently, according to race organizers.

Its a big tradition, College of the Redwoods cross country and track and field coach Reed Elmore said. We get a lot of athletes coming home that week, and for the running community, its a big deal.

Proceeds from the event will go to fund local H-DNL, College of the Redwoods and Humboldt State programs.

Its a great way to get some exercise before you eat a bunch of turkey, Elmore said.

The winner in each division will receive a prize of a pie.

The racing action gets under way at 9 a.m., with registration beginning at 7:30 a.m. at the Gazebo in Old Town.

Runners can also register beforehand at the Joggn shoppe in Arcata.

For more information call the Joggn Shoppe at 822-3136.

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Ray Hamill writes at humboldtsports.com, where you can read lots more about sports in Humboldt County.

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Excitement Building for This Year's Turkey Trot - Lost Coast Outpost