2023 Civics Edition
June 13, 2023
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A View From the Ground
News and information about politics, government, civic participation and engagement from URL Media's network of Black and Brown publishers.
In March 2023, thousands of people took the streets of Adjuntas, Puerto Rico, for Casa Pueblo's second annual gathering in support of solar energy. Photo by Katherine Rapin
🔋 An island in search of light: Almost seven years after Hurricane Maria left many residents in Adjuntas, Puerto Rico without electricity, the island's first microgrid project is expected to go live this summer. Gustavo Irizarry, who owned the only restaurant open for two weeks during the hurricane, is one of 14 merchants in the central mountain town who have invested in the island’s first community-owned solar microgrid, reports palabra. “After Maria, we saw the vulnerability and the necessity to have an electric system that truly works,” Irizarry said. “To have better, alternative power, to be able to live.”The hurricane damaged 80% of Puerto Rico's power grid, and the subsequent outages, which lasted for months, contributed to its death toll. Read more to learn about efforts on the island to build energy security.
⚖️ What post-pandemic eviction cases tell us about Latino tenants: Legal Aid of North Carolina attorney, Isaac Sturgill, describes "self-eviction" as a consequence of renters not knowing their rights. Last month, the attorney presented on "Renters Rights and Current Legislation" at the 2023 Local News Impact Summit in Charlotte, where he spoke about the alarming increase in eviction cases in Charlotte post-pandemic. Last year, the number of evictions filed in small claims court in North Carolina increased by at least 70%, cites Yuliana Montiel for La Noticia.
Jessica Moreno, co-panelist and community organizer, has worked with communities of color, particularly Latino tenants affected by court summons. “Most of the Latino community, if they receive a letter ‘threatening’ them that they must leave a property, they leave. They don’t wait and go to court. They don’t want problems, so they leave. Many of them do not speak [English], and others do not have documents or legal status," she said. Read more here.
💔 Not Invisible Act hearing gathers testimony on MMIP cases: Minnesota has one of the highest numbers of Missing and Murdered Indigenous People (MMIP) cases in the nation, with Native women and girls disproportionately affected. In response to the crisis, federal officials held a public hearing in the state last week. Native News Online reports the hearing is part of a series of field hearings organized by the U.S. Department of Interior to implement the Not Invisible Act, a law designed to tackle the MMIP crisis. The Not Invisible Act Commission was created in 2020 for lawmakers to hear directly from tribal communities impacted by the crisis. Read more here.
🇭🇹 Vice President Harris pledges $64 million in new funds for Haiti: In response to Haiti's ongoing humanitarian crisis, Vice President Kamala Harris recently announced that the Biden-Harris Administration will provide a total of $64 million to Haiti during a recent summit with Caribbean leaders in the Bahamas. The funding also includes an additional $10.5 million to help Haiti's agriculture and livestock sector.
The Haitian Times reports that while some view the summit and funding announcement as a sign of hope for a more stable Haiti, others are less optimistic. “Dialogue – whatever the motive – must take place between Haitians and in Haiti, for the benefit of their union,” wrote Mirlande Hyppolite Manigat, president of the High Council of the Transition (HCT) transitional pact, who declined to attend the meeting. Read more here.
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