************* GreenGram ************* The Green Party of NJ Monthly Bulletin March 1998 issue (Part 1) - Calendar - NJ Green Council to Meet, Plan for Annual Convention - Bombing is Immoral -- So Are the Sanctions! - Shut Down the Salem Nuclear Reactors! - Hutch Deposed at Hartz Mountain: Is He Guilty?? - Hudson County Greens - Greens to Sponsor Major Conference on Bioengineering - No Bailout of PSE&G Mismanagement! - Australian Senator Encouraged After Tour of International Green Parties - Endnotes CALENDAR (contact e-mail and phone number information is listed once, the first time the contact appears in the schedule) March 3, 12:00 noon to 3:00pm: Green Party literature table at Ocean County College in Toms River. Contact Rena Amada (732-849-9050). March 4, 7:30pm: Monthly meeting of the Mercer County Greens. Discussion about deregulation of the utility industry. Contact Nick Mellis (609-393-4349; yesman@pluto.njcc.com). March 5, 8:30am to 4:00pm: The USDA will be holding hearings at Rutgers University's Livingston College campus in Piscataway for citizens to comment upon the proposed new regulations to standardize the definition of organic food. The Green Party will participate in an 11:00am press conference, to be followed by a demonstration at noon. Contact: Dana Natale (732-339-1330; NataleD1@aol.com). March 6, 7:00pm: A special community reachout meeting of the Essex County Greens will be held at 1 Belvidere Place in Montclair. Contact: Joe Fortunato (973-744-5958; JFortun845@aol.com). March 6, 7:30pm: Meeting of representatives from a variety of third parties in NJ to discuss common interests and projects. At 135 Throop Avenue in New Brunswick. Contact Joseph Mosley (732-745-2602; JoeMosley@aol.com). March 7, 11:00am: Monthly meeting of the Essex County Greens at the Collage II Coffeehouse, 399 Bloomfield Avenue, Montclair. To be followed by a "Green Party Day" of leafleting at Fresh Fields (12:30pm) to support the struggle of strawberry workers for better living conditions and also to urge people to send comments to the USDA in opposition to the new organic food standards. Greens from other areas who can help with the leafleting are strongly encouraged to do so. Contact Joe Fortunato. March 8, 4:00pm: Global Cinema Cafe, held at the Third World Center of Princeton University, corner of Olden Lane and Prospect Avenue in Princeton. For International Women's Day: "The Global Assembly Line." A vivid portrayal of the lives of working women and men in the "free trade zones" of developing countries as U.S. industries close their factories to search the globe for lower-wage labor. Filmmaker Lorraine Grey takes a rare look at the people who are making the clothing we wear and the electronics goods we use -- as well as the business decisions behind the manufacturing -- on the global assembly line. Princeton University professor Patricia Fernandez-Kelly, who co-produced the documentary, will introduce the film and lead a discussion about it. Co-sponsored by the Green Party. For more information: 609-497-3998. March 8, 5:00pm: Middlesex/Somerset Greens will meet at Tumulty's Pub in New Brunswick. Contact Bill Colucci (732-247-4855; Cyrano@TheThinker.com) or Mark Grieco (732-545-5187). March 8, 6:30pm: Mercer County Utne/Greens Salon at 189 South Harrison Street, Princeton. Pot-luck dinner begins at 6:30; discussion begins at about 7:30. Topic this month: "The Ishmael Movement as an International Phenomenon." RSVP if coming, to Steve Welzer (609-443-6782; StWelzer@aol.com) or Bobbi Parmet (609-924-2399). March 10, 7:00pm: A coalition dedicated to shutting down the Salem nuclear reactors will hold a press conference/briefing at the Cape May County Freeholders meeting in Cape May Court House (see article below). Contact Madelyn Hoffman. March 10, 7:30pm: Meeting to establish a Hoboken chapter of the Green Party. To be held in the upstairs room of the Hoboken Farmboy health foods store, Washington St., Hoboken. Contact Claudette Meliere (201-868-4481). March 11, 7:00pm: Monthly meeting of the Hudson County Greens at the Old Bergen Church, corner of Bergen Ave. and Highland St. in Jersey City. Contact Claudette Meliere. March 12, 7:00pm: Organizer meeting with Madelyn Hoffman at the Monmouth County Library in Manalapan. Contact Madelyn Hoffman (973-252-0797; OrganizerGPNJ@juno.com). March 14, 9:00am: Executive Committee meeting at 135 Throop Avenue in New Brunswick. Contact Gary Novosielski (201-507-5477; gpn@bigfoot.com) or Joe Mosley. March 14, 1:00pm: Progressive Taxation for Education will be meeting at the Rutgers Labor Education Center in New Brunswick. Contact Joe Mosley. March 16, 7:30pm: Sub-committee on Public Forums will meet at the home of Joe Mosley in New Brunswick. Discussion will take place about holding a series of forums on three subjects: Ending Corporate "Personhood"; Controlling Corporations through Charters; GPNJ Electoral Campaign Reform Bill. The committee anticipates recruiting expert speakers to address these themes. Contact Jim Mohn (201-861-7360; mohn@internetz.com). March 18, 11:15am: The State Election Law Enforcement Commission will be holding a second round of hearings on public financing for gubernatorial campaigns. To be held at the Burlington County Office Building, Freeholders Board Room (1st floor), 49 Rancocas Road, Mount Holly. Contact Madelyn Hoffman or phone the Burlington County Freeholder's office: 609-265-5020. March 19, 1:40-3:00pm: Madelyn Hoffman will speak at a teach-in on election reform to be held at Ocean County College, conference rooms A & B, in Toms River. Contact Rena Amada. March 19, 7:00pm: Organizer meeting with Madelyn Hoffman at the Monmouth County Library in Manalapan. Contact Madelyn. March 21, 10:00am to 3:00pm: NJ Green Council meeting at 58 Brooktree Road, East Windsor (see article below). Contact Gary Novosielski. March 30, 7:00pm: Organizer meeting with Madelyn Hoffman at 49 Park Street in Montclair. ------------------------------------------------------ NJ GREEN COUNCIL TO MEET, PLAN FOR ANNUAL CONVENTION The GPNJ Executive Council will convene Saturday March 21, 10:00am to 3:00pm, in East Windsor. The Council is composed of party officers, state committee chairs, and county coordinators. Agenda items for this meeting include: fundraising projects, campaign finance reform work, public forums on corporate power and corporate charters, and planning for the Annual Convention of the Green Party. Regarding the Convention: Proposals to be considered and nominations for party officers which are submitted to the EC during March will have the advantage of being printed in the April GreenGram. The convention will be held Saturday, April 18, 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM, at the Rutgers Labor Education Center in New Brunswick. ------------------------------------------------------ BOMBING IS IMMORAL -- SO ARE THE SANCTIONS! Greens around the state were active leading and supporting a variety of forums, demonstrations, vigils, marches, and teach-ins against the plans of the warmongers to once again rain bombs down on a distant Third World country (Iraq has been the target lately, but we haven't forgotten Panama, Libya, Grenada, Vietnam, Cambodia, and Laos ... all being such Formidable Powers as to constitute major threats to our Way of Life). The principal event organized by the Green Party was a forum and march held Feb. 28 in Montclair. Over 100 people attended a morning speakout at the Unitarian Church to hear presenters from a variety of organizations. Minister Charles Ortman discussed the continued hardship caused by the sanctions against Iraq. A recent report by Pax Christi indicated that the sanctions have caused the deaths of hundreds of thousands of children. Gary Novosielski, Chair of the Green Party, concluded his remarks by reading an anti- war poem by Mark Twain. As the forum got underway Congressman Donald Payne entered the church as a surprise guest. He expressed his opposition to renewed bombing and praised the diplomatic efforts of Kofi Annan, the United Nations Secretary General. Congressman Payne was one of the few to oppose the bombing of Iraq in 1991. A highlight of the morning session saw Reverend Ortman leading the assemblage in a spirited rendition of "Ain't Gonna Study War No More." Anti-war poems and songs gave the forum a beautiful cultural ambience. Then, with the Green Party banner up front, the march to the armed forces recruiting center stepped off. As the marchers chanted and picketed at the recruiting center on busy Bloomfield Avenue they received an enthusiastic response from passing motorists and pedestrians. In addition to the Green Party, the Montclair event was also endorsed by Pax Christi, Women's International League for Peace and Freedom, NJ Peace Action, the Montclair Civil Rights Coalition, Church Women United, United Nations Association-USA (Montclair Chapter), and the Unitarian Peace Site. Other anti-war events in which Greens participated: . Pax Christie led an impromptu demonstration at the East Gate of Fort Monmouth on Feb. 7 and then a vigil on Feb. 21 attended by Earl Gray and Rena and Len Amada. . Rena and Len brought the Green Party Resolution on Iraq to a Unitarian Universalist service on Feb. 22 and to a teach-in at Monmouth College on Feb. 24. . There were marches in Teaneck on Feb. 21 and March 1. . The Mercer County Greens helped in the planning of a candlelight vigil held February 22 at Palmer Square in Princeton. Rev. Robert Moore of the Coalition for Peace Action was the principal facilitator for this event. . There was a half-hour silent vigil in Ridgewood on Feb. 22. I dreamed I saw the bombers, riding shotgun in the sky, Turning into butterflies above our Green Nation. We are stardust (billion year old carbon) We are golden (but lost in the Devil's bargain) And we've got to get ourselves back to the Garden. ------------------------------------------------------ SHUT DOWN THE SALEM NUCLEAR REACTORS! On February 27 members of the Unplug Salem Coalition, including the Green Party of New Jersey, held a demonstration in front of the Salem nuclear power facility to protest the Nuclear Regulatory Commission's plans to reopen Salem I. Approximately 80 people attended the rally, including Roger Sedmont of the South-Central Jersey Greens and Madelyn Hoffman, GPNJ Organizer, who said: "The national trend is to shut down these [unsafe reactors] permanently. These are two big nightmares just waiting to happen." Added Earl Gray, of the Monmouth County Greens: "Where is Governor Whitman on this issue? Why doesn't she support the views of area residents, businesses and even some newspapers that Salem should remain unplugged permanently? County Freeholders and other public officials should act on a proposed resolution to discontinue purchasing power from those utilities which run nuclear power plants once utility deregulation goes into effect." Toward that end, on March 10 at 7:00pm, a southern NJ coalition will hold a press conference/briefing at the monthly Freeholders meeting in the town of Cape May Court House (Cape May County). They are urging the Freeholders to resolve not to purchase electricity produced through nuclear power, and they would like to have people in the audience ask pertinent questions of Nuclear Energy Institute representatives who will be present. Then, at the following Freeholders meeting on April 14th, there will be a major demonstration. This will be the last "information gathering meeting" with representatives from PSE&G and Atlantic Electric speaking. The coalition hopes to get a non-nuclear utility to send a representative to speak as well. Come on down to Cape May Court House on April 14! Wear your gas masks! Bring drums! The protest will last from 6:30-8:00pm, at the County Administration Building. Contact Madelyn Hoffman for more information. (Directions to the Cape May County Administration Building: Take the Garden State Parkway South to the first traffic light. Make a left turn, then take your first immediate left -- it's a service road and it runs right past the Administration Building, which is the second building on the right). Also in Cape May County: April 21, 6:30-8:30pm, the Coalition for Peace and Justice (South Jersey) is having an Earth Day dinner honoring Ruth Fisher, with special guest Ted Taylor, a nuclear scientist from Princeton. Cost is $15 ($10 for student/low income/senior). For more info contact norco@bellatlantic.net. ------------------------------------------------------ HUTCH DEPOSED AT HARTZ MOUNTAIN: IS HE GUILTY??? On February 26 GPNJ Treasurer Stuart Hutchison was deposed in the case of "James Mohn and the Green Party of New Jersey vs. Hartz Mountain Industries and the Mall at Mill Creek." Hartz Mountain owns the property on which the Mall at Mill Creek is located. Also present at the deposition, which was held at the plush offices of Hartz Mountain in Secaucus, were Rutgers Law School student Dawn Pacifico and Frank Askin, the legendary civil liberties attorney who founded the Constitutional Litigation Clinic at the Rutgers University Campus in Newark. Mr. Askin's counsel is supported by the clinic and the American Civil Liberties Union of New Jersey. At issue in this case is whether an owner of so-called "private property," such as the Mall at Mill Creek, has the right to require Jim Mohn, or our Green Party as a whole, to have insurance that will cover any liability claims that arise from handing out literature or from otherwise soliciting support for our party and goals on the mall's property. Well, we don't need to tell you what a terrifying figure Jim Mohn is! Hartz Mountain can't very well turn our Constitution's First Amendment upside down or inside out, so the business concern is essentially asking the court to affirm its right to require us to spend our small treasury on insurance premiums. The net result of such a ruling would mean that only those individuals or groups that can afford to buy insurance coverage can legally go onto such "private property" to communicate with their fellow citizens. This is why the Hartz legal beagles deposed Hutch; they want to know how much money we have in the bank so they can go to the judge and protest that if we really want to hand out our literature on their mall's property, we can buy the insurance. Hutch said, "This kind of harassment is so typical of these giant corporations; they really want to do away with our First Amendment rights. Hartz Mountain practically indicates they want to prohibit people like us altogether from going on their mall property for the entire holiday shopping season, from Thanksgiving to New Year's Day, because they're scared we'll somehow lower their profits!" Mr. Askin believes that our chances in this case are very good, and he expects a "summary judgement," that is a judgement by the court without the case proceeding to trial, within six to eight weeks. If the case does go to trial, it's not likely that it will be resolved before the end of the summer. ------------------------------------------------------ HUDSON COUNTY GREENS The Hudson County Greens met at Old Bergen Church, Jersey City, on Feb. 11, with 14 in attendance. We had a brief review of last November's election results. The surprises were that in Bayonne and Jersey City Madelyn Hoffman did better than anticipated, though in Hoboken the Green Party did not do as well as hoped for. We then had a lively discussion of some local issues around the county: Bayonne: The city council recently slipped through a provision in the rent control legislation that would decontrol vacated apartments. For tenants this creates the problem of decreasing the number of affordable units, plus some landlords are "encouraging" existing tenants to move out by poor maintenance and possibly harassment. In the upcoming mayoral race, neither candidate has opposed this move. There was a suggestion to sponsor a candidates forum which would force the issue into the public eye. Hoboken: Although there was less support for Green issues than expected last November, it was noted that Hobokenites can be roused occasionally as in the light rail controversy where the proposed route was changed as a result of community pressure. The waterfront development proposals for a Pathmark/shopping center, sports stadium, or other "ideas" may be a rallying issue. Jersey City: On the same night as our meeting, the city council was in session to decide on a capital improvement bond which would include $9.5 million for a charter school to be located near Newport Mall and the Park Hamilton luxury apartment complex, and the introduction of a second bond for five community centers and a Journal Square Renaissance Center which supposedly could be for other charter schools, pre- kindergarten classes and community college offices. Besides the possible tax burden to local residents, the secretiveness of these maneuvers is cause for concern. While the mayor and city council push their pet projects, the residents in lower income areas are fighting the constant introduction of drugs into their neighborhoods, which gives the police an excuse to harass/arrest young people while the upper level dealers and the real problems remain. What is needed are educational opportunities, safe facilities where young people can hang out, job training (and jobs!), counseling and rehab services, and clean safe streets. The possibility of distributing a leaflet inviting local residents to organize a protest was discussed. - Claudette Meliere, County Coordinator ------------------------------------------------------ (continued in Part 2)