URL Weekly 7/21

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Friday, July 21, 2023

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Today is Friday, and we're highlighting stories from across the URL Media network about the fight to keep a casino out of Coney Island, guaranteed income programs and a basketball team that builds camaraderie among women in New York City.

It’s hot strike summer in Los Angeles with SAG-AFTRA joining the Writers Guild of America on the picket lines after contract negotiations with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers broke down. But why should you care? Be sure to check out tomorrow’s newsletter where I break it down.

— Alicia Ramirez

Uplift. 🙌🏼 Respect. 💯 Love. 💛

🎰 Developers bet big on Coney Island: Despite developers’ vision that New York City’s first legally operated, full-service casino in the heart of Coney Island will boost the neighborhood’s economy, community members are concerned that the development will gentrify and destroy the neighborhood’s unique character. Documented has the story here.

💰 Providing marginalized communities with guaranteed income: There are roughly 50 active guaranteed income initiatives across the nation, about half of which target mothers and low-income people. Prism recently spoke with advocates and participants of a few recently established programs to understand their impact. Read more here.

📰 NAHJ calls for more Latinos in news: The National Association of Hispanic Journalists met last week in Miami for its annual conference in service of its mission: to get more Latino representation in the news industry. Pulso has more from the conference here.

☀️ How BIPOC communities can protect themselves in extreme heat: This summer is shaping up to be one of the hottest — if not the hottest — on record. But the fallout of this extreme heat disproportionately impacts communities of color. Read more here from PushBlack.

🏳️‍⚧️ Calif. AG joins suit in support of trans students: California Attorney General Rob Bonta recently joined 16 other attorneys general to support a Massachusetts school district’s policy that seeks to create a safe and supportive environment for students who are not yet ready to share their gender identity. Black Voice News has more here.

📬 DOJ sent Trump a target letter. What does that mean?: Attorney Damon Tyner appeared on Wake Up With WURD to talk about the target letter sent to former President Donald Trump. 🎧 Listen to the interview here.

🗳️ Minn. city council candidate running for office after felony drug conviction: Duluth City Council candidate Miranda Pacheco recently had her voting rights restored after a felony drug conviction. Now, she’s hoping to use her own experience to help her address the city’s housing and mental health needs. Sahan Journal has her story here.

🏛️ Affirmative action is dead. What happens now?: Our Body Politic guest host Karen Grigsby Bates, founding member of NPR’s “Code Switch” podcast, talks with experts about the history of affirmative action, and what the recent ruling means for the nation's future. Listeners also hear from students. 🎧 Listen to the full discussion here.

🇭🇹 Crisis in Haiti deepens as kidnappings and killings surge: Between May 1 and July 12, a human rights group recorded 75 killings and 40 kidnappings in Haiti — a sharp increase since the “bwa kale” vigilante movement was launched in April to curb gang activity. Read more here from The Haitian Times.

More from The Haitian Times: What is the “bwa kale” vigilante movement?

🕵️ Police still don’t know who stole over $600K from the Detroit Public Library: Out of $600,000 in stolen funds from the Detroit Public Library, about $280,000 has been recovered, but police still don’t know where the rest of the money is. The case has been “inactive” since September 2021. Outlier Media has the story here.

⚖️ Interior Secretary Deb Haaland accused of ethics violations: Days after the Bureau of Land Management issued an order that prevented mining within 10 miles of New Mexico’s Chaco Culture National Historical Park, the House Committee on Natural Resources sent a letter to Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland accusing her of ethics violations. Read more about this developing story from Native News Online.

🇭🇳 Gang violence, climate change a devastating mix for this Honduran community: People in the Honduran riverside town of Chamelecón have learned to live under the authority of gangs and high unemployment rates, and that combined with the dangers of climate change continue to threaten the community’s survival. palabra. has the story here.

📱 There’s an app for Greek life: Three members of prominent Black fraternities have come together to create an app that empowers fraternities and sororities to build stronger bonds within their chapters and form connections beyond their individual organizations.

Watch The Yard has their story here

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🎥 The kaleidoscopic creativity of filmmaker Smriti Mundhara: Filmmaker and executive producer of the twice Emmy-nominated Netflix original “Indian Matchmaking” Smriti Mundhara joined Immigrantly to share more about her creative process. 🎧 Listen to the conversation here.

📖 This book is for people who are done with capitalism: “What Things Cost: An Anthology for the People” is a collection of work from more than 100 poets and essayists exploring the way labor shapes us. “Taken together, these poems ask us to consider what work means to us, what work has done to us, how our bodies and minds have labored—for what, for whom.” Read the full review here in Scalawag.

🙏🏽 Community leader dies after battle with cancer: Former Oklahoma executive and civic leader Michael Perkins Johnson died earlier this month after a battle with cancer. The 77-year-old transitioned at his Florida home with family by his side. Read more here from The Oklahoma Eagle.

🏀 Meet New York City’s lady ballers: The variety of women who attend Ladies Who Hoop is broad. Some are in their early 20s; others are in their 70s. Some have experience playing semi-professional basketball, while others have little experience playing at all. But no matter their background, everyone is welcome. Epicenter-NYC has the story here.

Sara Lomax-Reese, CEO of WURD Radio, media entrepreneur for almost 30 years, served as Program Lead for the inaugural Facebook BIPOC Sustainability Accelerator and is a former John S. Knight Fellow.

S. Mitra Kalita, former SVP at CNN Digital, current CEO & Publisher at Kalita Mukul Creative Inc., which publishes Epicenter-NYC, The Unmuted and The Escape Home has worked at The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, The LA Times, and has launched brands like Mint and Quartz.

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