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A new initiative supports Black artists and racial equity.

Art is a means to an end, says Marshall Shorts. While many remember the Harlem Renaissance for its poetry and portraiture, Shorts recalls the artistic movement as a direct response to the brutality Blacks faced in the U.S. Whenever there is turbulence, Black people have historically responded with culture, says Shorts, a Columbus-based artist.

To that end, during a year marked by the COVID-19 pandemic and the global protests ignited by the deaths of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor, Shorts conceived the Deliver Black Dreams initiative to foster creativity and support Black artists. In response to despairing times, Shorts says, art can give the community hope. Its not just, lets make something pretty, lets tell these stories. Our art is a call to action, says Shorts, the lead artist of Deliver Black Dreams, which is spearheaded by the Maroon Arts Group and supported by the Greater Columbus Arts Council and the city of Columbus.

Deliver Black Dreams amplifies several art projects created by Black artists in Central Ohio. This includes the preservation of Art Unites Cbus murals, art painted on plywood that protected Downtown buildings during the racial justice protests in the spring and summer of 2020. In addition, at least three large-scale murals highlighting the initiative will be directed and painted by Black artists from the community.

Conversation is one of the most important roles that public art plays in our community, says Jami Goldstein, vice president of marketing, communications and events for GCAC. Weve long positioned ourselves as a convener, collaborator and connector in the community. A huge part of that is financially through grants, but also by giving voice to artists as they seek to be a catalyst for change and dialogue.

The initiatives first project was completed in Novembera 5,000-square-foot mural with the words Deliver Black Dreams, Its for All of Us amid a bouquet of rainbow-colored fists. Funding by Deliver Black Dreams allowed for six Black artists to be paid at scale for the project, located on a Fifth Avenue retaining wall leading into the Milo-Grogan neighborhood. Artist LisaMcLymont, who designed the mural and led the mural team, says that the Black art community is broad and talented, but rarely gets opportunities to do large, highly visible projects.

I would like to see Black art coveted in the larger community as much as art by others,McLymontsays. That is shifting for me and a few others, but Id really like to see this happening for more Black artists of all ages and interests.

Though Black artists are being commissioned in response to the events of 2020, the art world is still mostly composed of white voices. Eighty-five percent of the art hanging in the nations top museums is by white artists, according to a 2019 study by the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation and the Association of Art Museum Directors. Shorts says Deliver Black Dreams will offer programs and opportunities that create a pipeline of Black talent.

I would love to see a line item on the city budget called Deliver Black Dreams, Shorts says. The logic is if you free the least amongst us, everybody in the broad spectrum is liberated, too. But its something that all of us have to take part in, not just Black people.

Excerpt from:
Replacing the Columbus Statue: Deliver Black Dreams' Call to Action - Columbus Monthly

By Jack Mayne

City Public Works Director Maiya Andrews updated the Burien City Council Monday night (Feb. 1, 2021) on a Seahurst landslide which started about seven years ago, and now is beginning to undermine the sidewalk. Andrews said Seattle public utilities have a sewer facility and a water facility in the slide area.

We had requested that SPU (Seattle Public Utilities) either take the lead or a good financial portion of the construction of the project. She told Council that never happened, we went back and forth with them for several months.

Fix retaining wallThe Seattle utilities have their own geologists who decided the slide was not an immediate hazard, but Andrews said the slide does need to be fixed in order to maintain access to the park. Andrews said the city is continuing to look at some more natural options but likely the cheapest fix will be a retaining wall using filter tiles.

She said she has asked Seattle utilities to check the slide again but has not heard from them and hopefully well hear from them in the next few weeks.

Right now, its open, we shifted the sidewalk traffic into the street a little bit, we are going to try to fix that up a little more, Andrews said.

Andrews said she hopes to further inform the Council soon.

Private storm drainsShe mentioned another issue that of two homes that we are aware of in the general vacuity of South 124th and 12th Avenue South that have flooded in the last couple of seasons, Andrews told Council. Storm drains in the area are primarily a private system on private property and it has historically existed at that location. The system is private and is to be maintained in that way.

Councilmember Nancy Tosta asked how much of the drainage system is privately owned and Andrews said, actually quite a bit, and the city is evaluating probably a half dozen flooding events. She said three or four of those events maybe even more were related from water flowing through the center of a block or are on private property that we dont have rights to. She added that thats not unusual because the way areas that were once rural are now part of cities.

Once unincorporated, now thrivingSuch events have cropped up in what were formerly unincorporated areas that are now thriving portions of expanding metropolitans.

Its how things developed sometimes, and neighbors are not forced to maintain those sort of things and Andrews said this one is sort of harder than some and has a lot of complexities. Sometimes septic and sewer systems are also involved, she said.

Councilmember Nancy Tosta said the city would be keeping track of such anomalies and get people to work together on these problem. Government Is not going to be able to pay for all of this sort of thing.

Councilmember Cydney Moore asks if the city could assist with some of these problem.

Id be careful said Andrews.

City Attorney Garmon Newsom II said to be wary of getting involved in relationships with private property owners issues.

Its not maybe practical to expect for (city) staff to now, in additional to its actual work, starting to manage the relationships between individuals and he added that frequently residents dont want to hear from us. They just want to do what they want to do.

He suggested the residents dont want to hear from city staff, and that more likely suggestions should come from councilmembers. There have been threats that no one is coming to my property, or else.

Photos of recent flooding in Boulevard Park from Deputy Mayor Krystal Marx Facebook page

Black History MonthThe Burien Council has proclaimed February as Black History Month.

The proclamation said, Black and African American community members in Burien own small businesses, work as educators, and contribute to all essential activities that contribute to Buriens prosperity and quality of life.

Promoted city employees

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Burien Council hears of Seahurst landslide and of flooding problems due to rainy winter - The B-Town Blog

The reclaimed nature of land, faulty land filling, and lack of basic infrastructure continue to plague the majority of the plots identified for the rehabilitation of families evicted for rail-road connectivity of the Vallarpadam International Container Transshipment Terminal.

In a preliminary report following an inspection of four out of the seven rehabilitation sites in 2017, an assistant executive engineer of PWD Building Sub Division had admitted to it. Things, alleges Moolampilly Coordination Committee that has been anchoring the cause of evictees, remain more or less same almost four years later.

The report found the plots at Moolampilly were devoid of basic infrastructure like a proper connecting road and that the existing road was too steep for vehicle movement. It also called for strong foundation for any construction on the plots.

The finding was almost similar for the plots at Mulavukad too. Basic infrastructure like road, water, power, and drains were found missing with strong foundation recommended for constructions owing to the reclaimed nature of land. Lack of basic infrastructure ailed the plots at Kothad as well.

The officer also recommended coconut wood piling and granite reinforcement considering the loose nature of land for the construction of a retaining wall for a plot of one of the evictees in Vaduthala.

In Mulavukad, none of the allotted 13 families have so far constructed house for fear of making investments in a lost cause, said Francis Kalathungal, general convener of Moolampilly Coordination Committee. While six out of the 13 families have constructed houses on the plots at Moolampilly, two houses have developed cracks.

Two out of 106 families alone have constructed houses on one of the rehabilitation plots at Thuthiyoor. One of the two houses constructed at another site at Thuthiyoor has developed a crack while the other has tilted discouraging the other 52 families there to undertake construction.

The rehabilitation site at Vaduthala was by far the best among the plots where 42 of the 98 families have constructed houses. In Cheranalloor, three out of the six families and in Kothad, four out of the 15 families have built houses.

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Rehabilitation plots on reclaimed land lack basic infrastructure - The Hindu

A University professor has given his opinion after a huge brick wall collapsed in Nottingham.

Emergency services evacuated five families from four separate properties in Spalding Road and Windmill Lane, Sneinton, on February 3 after a 70-foot high wall fell down.

Nottinghamshire Police said no-one was injured but some homes were left severely damaged.

David Large, a University of Nottingham professor in the Faculty of Engineering, said he believe it was likely to be down to recent weather conditions.

He said: "I looked at the pictures and thought the wall has failed, it has probably been gradually heading in that direction and just tipped over. Of this scale, it is quite uncommon.

"There's been a lot of rain recently, the soils have been quite wet and that would increase the force in the wall.

"If the wall was heading towards a point where it might collapse, it could just tip over. Over time a wall will gradually start to bulge or tilt. It will be subtle and at some point, it will reach a critical stage.

"It looked like the wall collapsed and what was behind it followed. The rockface doesn't seem to have moved that much, it seemed to be the soil between the rocks and the wall that's moved.

"Maybe the wall was a bit old and heading in that direction. It was obviously past its best. I would imagine that extra bit of rain recently has caused this particular section of wall to fall."

He added: "It is an absolutely terrible thing to happen, the people in those houses must've had the fright of their lives.

"Thankfully nobody was outside and close to the wall when it fell that could've been quite awful."

A City Council spokesperson said: We are doing all we can to provide help and support for residents affected by the collapse of a large wall in the early hours of Wednesday morning. This was an awful incident where everyone is relieved there have been no injuries, but which has left households already coping with lockdown with significant issues to deal with.

Boundary and retaining walls are generally the responsibility of property owners and we believe this to be the case here, but in situations like this, councils have the powers to carry out work which ensures peoples safety, with the ability to recover costs.

We are now focused on assessing the condition of the affected gardens and properties and making the area safe before turning our attention to the clear-up work.

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Expert's opinion on how 70ft wall collapsed in the middle of the night - Nottinghamshire Live

I heard about Jane building walls, and I had some tumbledown walls on my property, so I tried to get in touch with her.

Jane DeWitt: I was in my late 20s or early 30s then. It was about 13 years ago. I had come to the idea that stonework was what I loved to do and that Id keep doing it as long as it made me happy. I grew up on a dairy farm a couple miles from Mary Beths farmhouse, and I was deciding that this [town] really was my home. I was just trying to put together a life in this rural place.

Beck: Mary Beth, in your email you mentioned that you had a hard time getting ahold of Jane to hire her.

Mary Beth: Yes, shes very popular and hard to pin down. I knew I wanted her, because every time I saw a stone wall by Jane DeWitt I thought it was beautiful. The way I did pin her down was: Someone she was working for had a dog that wandered into the street. I brought his dog back to him. He was very grateful. I said, By the way, is Jane DeWitt the one who is building your walls? Ive been trying to get her for about a year now. The next day, there was Jane, knocking on my back door.

Jane: I think I interrupted your bath.

Beck: What were your first impressions of each other?

Jane: Mary Beth was so kind and excited. Those are the kind of people I like to work for and with, because its so much fun.

Mary Beth: My first impression of Jane was: This is a woman of confidence. Shes not going to be a bullshitter. Even though shes brilliant and has a degree in literature from Dartmouth, she was a spirit of nature. She loves browns and greens, and she was standing there with her long hair and perfect posture, and I said to myself: This is somebody that I want to connect with.

Beck: How did your relationship evolve from being a business owner and a client to being real friends?

Jane: One of the things that I like about my professionbut which also makes me hard to get ahold ofis that my work takes a while. And youre usually working at someones home, so you get to have a rapport with people. Were a chatty crew. I think Mary Beth asked if I would like to go bicycle riding, and I thought that could be fun.

Mary Beth: She had an old Subaru, and she would leave the windows open and play NPR while working on a wall. I hear this and I think, Wow, she likes the same radio station that I listen to. I had a pond [on the property], so I may have said, Help yourself to the pond, or something like that. There may have been swimming involved. It all happened very organically.

Jane: Swimming is something I love so much. Often on a hot day, even if shes not there, Ill go up and swim in her pond. It has become a refuge for me. Its just a beautiful place that shes created.

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Friendship and Stonework Grow More Beautiful With Time - The Atlantic

Mumbai: The much-needed repairs of BG Kher Marg, the road that links areas like Malabar Hill, Walkeshwar, Kemps Corner to the rest of Mumbai does not seem to begin anytime soon, according to sources at the BMC.

The road that was damaged following a massive landslide after incessant rains in August 2020, will now be repaired only after an inspection post monsoon. "It is very important to observe what happens on the hill slope during monsoon this year. Only after observing the effects of heavy rains on the slope will we be able to start with the repair works accordingly," said a senior BMC official.

Formerly called as the Ridge Road, it is a long stretch running parallel to Walkeshwar. Named after former premier of the erstwhile State of Bombay, Bal Gangadhar Kher or B G Kher, the road is sometimes still referred to by its old moniker.

The road links the Malabar hill to a crucial junction, where Hughes Road, Napean Sea Road and Peddar Road connect. In a sense, it covered the gap between the Malabar hill and the rest of Mumbai, and hence started to be called as the Ridge Road.

The landslide near Kemps corner flyover on August 5, 2020 developed huge cracks on BG Kher Marg (Ridge Road) outside the iconic hanging garden and damaged the retaining wall of the garden too.

The incident did not just damage the road near Kemps Corner, Hughes Road but also led to the collapse of many trees on the stretch and damage to the main water pipeline that supplied water to D ward. The pipeline has been temporarily fixed and water supply was restored immediately by the BMC hydraulic department.

After the landslide, BMC formed a technical advisory committee, which included professors from IIT, NMIMS, BMC officials and members from structural consultancy companies, to study the condition of soil and road before reconstruction of the patch. As per reports, the Geo Technical investigation is completed as per the recommendation of the committee.

The work to be carried out on the stretch includes stabilisation of hill slope, retention of wall, repair of N S Patkar Marg and B G Kher Marg. While work in stabilising the hill slope and repair of N S Patkar Marg has already been undertaken by BMC, the Ridge Road will have to wait till post monsoon 2021.

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Mumbai: Repair of BG Kher Marg only after post-monsoon inspection - Free Press Journal

In 1959, a group of students died while on a hiking trip in the Ural Mountains. The circumstances of the incident and the way in which they died presented a mystery that has remained unsolved in the decades since.

The Dyatlov Pass incident is an intriguing unsolved mystery from the last century. In February 1959, a group of nine experienced Russian mountaineers perished during a difficult expedition in the northern Urals. A snow avalanche hypothesis was proposed, among other theories, but was found to be inconsistent with the evidence of a lower-than-usual slope angle, scarcity of avalanche signs, uncertainties about the trigger mechanism, and abnormal injuries of the victims.

Now, researchers have come up with a plausible explanation of the accident: a low-angle avalanche enabled by unusually slippery snow and high winds. From a piece in Wired about the investigation:

The cross-country skiers had actually pitched camp on a small step in the hillside, scooping away the snow to level it out. When they cut into the snowpack, they sliced through the weak layer, essentially initiating a countdown. When you create a cut in the slope to install the tent, its like when you remove a retaining wall, says Gaume, a snow physicist at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology. The slab of denser snow now hung precariously over the camp. All the ingredients were there, Gaume adds. There was a weak layer, there was a slab, and the slope angle was locally steeper than the critical angle.

Also from the Wired piece: the researchers were inspired by the realistic snow modeling that Disney did for Frozen. (via kottke ride home)

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Explaining the Icy Mystery of the Dyatlov Pass - kottke.org

PEOPLE who moved traffic cones and signs at Greengates junction, which resulted in a member of the public being injured, have been condemned by the construction team.

The actions, along with drivers making illegal manoeuvres, were a cause for concern in the latest update on the multi-million pound improvement works at the junction of Harrogate Road and New Line.

Howard Civil Engineering said construction has continued in 2021 as normal despite the national lockdown, as the work is exempt from the 'stay at home' regulations.

But the firm raised concerns about the behaviour of some people at the roadworks.

It said: "We are aware a small number of road users are making dangerousmanoeuvres around the traffic management measures which jeopardise the safety of others.

"Should you witness any dangerous or illegalmanoeuvres, please report these directly to West Yorkshire Police.

"We have also been receiving reports of people interfering with the traffic management measures in place, including moving cones and taking down signs.

"A member of the public has recently suffered an injury as a consequence of this and we urge members of the community to please keep in mind that it is illegal to tamper with traffic management measures.

"Doing so puts our workforce and other members of the public at risk.

"Howard Civil Engineering and Bradford Council would like to thank those who are driving safely through the junction.

"Your continued patience and understanding as we undertake improvement works are greatly appreciated."

In the past fortnight, work rerouting water mains has continued, and a significant amount of work has been done on the retaining wall next to Farmfoods.

Workers have continued with work to create the new P-loop road but the recent bad weather has slowed progress. Work installing kerbs has also been delayed as materials are in short supply due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

In the next two weeks, work on water mains and P-loop will continue and landscaping work around Farmfoods will begin, and adaptations around New Line Retail Park will also be started.

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Anger after traffic cones moved at Greengates junction - Bradford Telegraph and Argus

APP donates to new mom

Dominicas youngest political party, the Alternative Peoples Party, has announced that since their formation in January 2020, over $85 thousand has been spent to cater to the needs of citizens here on the island.

Speaking to Dominica News Online (DNO) the partys executive disclosed that financing came primarily from funding from members and friends of the party, with the highest single donation being EC$1,500.00 and the lowest at $2.65.

According to the executive team, within the past six months, the party has undertaken a total of fifty projects some of which includes, free public internet access (Wi-Fi) for the community of Tarreau, the refurbishment of a basketball court and youth bakery in Point Mitchel, back to school incentives and Layt donations to moms and pregnant women in need, donation of a fire hose to the Dominica Fire and Ambulance Service, partnership on Delices Petite Savanne Road with Singoalla Blomqvist-Williams, and the initiation of a mobile and Childrens Library project to name a few.

The party further revealed that for the past year, while surveying the entire island, theyve also made several donations to numerous families in need, which includes, food supplies, clothing, and other essential items.

Notwithstanding the amount spent last year, the team says plans are in place to double that figure. Just this past weekend, the party held its first block meeting in the communities of Fond St.Jean and Bagatelle where several pronouncements were made.

Following our several trips over the past six months, we have decided to adopt the area. We identified the needs of the residents in these areas and our team is ready to do all it takes to improve the lives of these individuals. We are one and we are in the struggle for progress together, they made known.

Acknowledging that theyre not able to commit to all the needs at the present moment, in the first instance, the team has agreed to commence the construction of a new home for elderly resident Mr. Bonnie Fontaine of Fond. St. Jean.

The elderly man sleeps sitting down; on a pail and when it rains, he is not spared. Construction for this new house for brother Bonnie will commence almost immediately, we were told.

Additionally work for the community will include the building of a retaining wall that will protect vital properties and the creation of a more permanent crossing for the ravine in the community.

In the neighboring community of Bagatelle, plans are in place to assist the youth with the establishment of their business enterprise: animal livestock rearing, shrimps production, pesticide production, essential oils, and other commercial products development, and the development of the housing stock.

These are not promises, they state. We have indeed declared what we have already begun to do. We shall build a house for Mr. Bonnie. We will organize the youth and give them all the support they need to become self-sustaining. We have gotten good signals of support for tarish and other materials needed for the back wall in Fond. St. Jean and we will work on constructing a permanent cross-over ravine in Fond St. Jean.

Moreover, in Pointe Michel, work started over the weekend on the Gomer Feeder Road, a project they say will greatly assist the farmers in that location.

The new party vows to unite the community to work for progress, and states, together, we will take care of the needs of our people and work to put them in a position where they can fend for themselves. APP is ready to build together with the citizens of our dear nation from scratch. We just need the people to help us to help them, as we are here to serve.

To anyone willing to join in the efforts be it cash or kind, they are encouraged to visit the partys website to donate or contact them via their Facebook page for more information.

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APP spends nearly $90K assisting; plans to double that figure this year (With Photos) - Dominica News Online

With taxpayer approval, several hundred feet of guide rail may soon line a section of Hubbell Mountain Road in Sherman.

With taxpayer approval, several hundred feet of guide rail may soon line a section of Hubbell Mountain Road in Sherman.

Photo: Google Maps / Google

With taxpayer approval, several hundred feet of guide rail may soon line a section of Hubbell Mountain Road in Sherman.

With taxpayer approval, several hundred feet of guide rail may soon line a section of Hubbell Mountain Road in Sherman.

Guide rails proposed for Shermans Hubbell Mountain Road, now its up to the taxpayers

SHERMAN Several hundred feet of guide rail may soon line a section of Hubbell Mountain Road but whether or not that happens will be up to taxpayers.

During its Thursday evening meeting, the Board of Selectmen voted to bring to a town meeting a request of no more than $9,999 to install 450 feet of guide rail on the residential roadway.

First Selectman Don Lowe said there have been a few accidents on Hubbell Mountain Road, and one particular resident is very concerned about having a car go right into her home.

She said there have been two accidents, and only a row of trees have kept the cars from going into her home, Lowe said.

According to state police, a driver lost control outside that residents home last August, crashing into a series of small trees and bushes before proceeding down the yard and striking a stone retaining wall.

Lowe said two other Hubbell Mountain Road residents have also expressed traffic safety concerns, and he agrees there is quite a safety issue.

The road has been examined and analyzed, Lowe said, and the town has received proposals from several companies that install guide rails.

Ive been on site with (Public Works Supervisor) Don Borkowski and all three of these people who have submitted proposals, Lowe said.

Of the proposals, Lowe said, he and Borkowski happened to like the least expensive of the three.

The proposal includes the installation of used guide rails, which Selectman Kevin Keenan noted would be in between the weathered steel guide rails that sort of blend into the environment and the shiny new ones that you see along interstates.

Since the rail would be used, he said, it would have a dull effect.

I just wanted to point that out in case anyones concerned about bright, shiny new guide rails going up on a nice country road, Keenan added.

Lowe said he believes the rural-looking guide rails would blend in well.

I felt we got kind of lucky because the least expensive option is also the most aesthetically pleasing for that road, he said.

Lowe said the installation of guide rails in other parts of town are being considered, but those roadways havent been fully analyzed yet.

A town meeting date has not yet been set for the vote on the Hubbell Mountain Road guide rails.

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Guide rails proposed for Sherman's Hubbell Mountain Road, now it's up to the taxpayers - Laredo Morning Times