Latest news with #CommunityJusticeProject
Yahoo
24-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Reassessment notices arriving in Schuylkill mailboxes
POTTSVILLE — County residents have started to receive their change of value notices for reassessment. The first batch of notices has been sent, confirmed Tim Barr, project director for Vision Government Solutions, the Massachusetts-based company hired in December 2022 to do a countywide reassessment. 'We want to help people,' he said of any residents who have questions. Residents will have the chance to appeal valuations in July through October. Property owners will have the chance to ask specific, parcel-related questions about data collected during the informal review process. Informal reviews and formal appeal hearings will be held at the former Schuylkill Transportation building at 252 Industrial Park Road in the Saint Clair Industrial Park . Residents can schedule informal reviews by phone by calling 1-800-525-9876 or by visiting the website, Barr, who has been conducting property reassessment work in Pennsylvania for 40 years, said the purpose of reassessment is to ensure tax fairness. 'The whole point of the reassessment is to bring uniformity to this,' he said, adding their will be errors they find in the data, which will be corrected as needed. That means that two homes with similar valuations, as set by the current conditions and market values, should be taxed at the same rates. The reassessment is required as part of the settlement of a lawsuit filed by the Community Justice Project on behalf of Schuylkill County property owners. The nonprofit contends the county's current tax assessments violate state law. The last countywide reassessment was conducted in 1996. In some cases taxes went up, and in others they decreased, he said. Commissioner Larry Padora said he is taking calls from constituents, with some questioning the veracity of the information since their taxes went down. Taxes will not be affected until 2026, when the valuations take effect. The county will mail official change of assessment notices to property owners by July 1.
Yahoo
18-03-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Miami Beach mayor's plan to evict O Cinema has brought global backlash. Will it pass?
A proposal last week by Miami Beach Mayor Steven Meiner to terminate O Cinema's lease after the art house theater screened the Oscar-winning documentary 'No Other Land' has been met with fierce backlash, both locally and abroad. On Monday afternoon, Meiner and city commissioners received an open letter from more than 600 members of the 'international filmmaking community,' who called the mayor's effort 'an attack on freedom of expression.' Among the signers were filmmaker and activist Michael Moore, Miami-born 'Moonlight' director Barry Jenkins, and Laura Poitras, who directed the 2015 Oscar-winning documentary 'Citizenfour.' Meanwhile, O Cinema is preparing for possible legal action. The theater is being represented by the American Civil Liberties Union of Florida, which has questioned the legality of Meiner's resolution to oust the theater from a city-owned building and strip its grant funding. The theater is also receiving legal counsel from the Miami-based Community Justice Project. But ahead of a City Commission meeting Wednesday where the proposal is on the agenda and expected to draw dozens of speakers, Meiner has shown no signs of backing down. 'No Other Land' documents the destruction of a group of Palestinian villages in the West Bank at the hands of the Israeli military. In a newsletter last Tuesday, Meiner, who is Jewish and a staunch supporter of Israel, announced his proposal to evict the theater after it proceeded with screenings of the film, which he called 'a false one-sided propaganda attack on the Jewish people that is not consistent with the values of our City and residents.' He has not spoken publicly on the matter since. Meiner met Monday morning with representatives of O Cinema, but it doesn't appear that the two sides reached a resolution. ACLU of Florida Legal Director Daniel Tilley said after the meeting that he couldn't talk about the details of settlement negotiations, and a city spokesperson did not respond to a request for comment. But hours later, O Cinema announced it would hold a press conference Tuesday 'to discuss the First Amendment concerns' raised by Meiner's proposal. 'Defunding and evicting a local independent cinema under these circumstances would be patently unconstitutional, plain and simple,' Tilley said in a statement. 'If supporters of the resolution truly value freedom, they must also value free speech, which means all speech is protected — not just the speech certain politicians agree with.' The theater signed a five-year lease with the city in 2019 that was renewed last year until July 2026, according to documents reviewed by the Miami Herald. Under the agreement, the city can terminate the lease 'for convenience' with 180 days' notice 'without cause and without liability' to the city. But some legal experts have said the mayor's proposal may run afoul of free speech protections, in part because Meiner has indicated that his resolution was brought in response to the theater's decision to screen 'No Other Land' over his objections. '[N]ormalizing hate and then disseminating antisemitism in a facility owned by the taxpayers of Miami Beach ... is unjust to the values of our city and residents and should not be tolerated,' Meiner wrote in his newsletter last week. 'For this reason, I am introducing legislation to move on from O Cinema, as permitted by our contract, and seek a cultural partner that better aligns with our community values.' Meiner would need support from at least three city commissioners to achieve the majority vote required to pass his resolution. Only one commissioner, David Suarez, has publicly indicated support for Meiner's approach, telling the Herald last week that Miami Beach has 'zero tolerance for pro Hamas/terrorist propaganda,' though Suarez did not explicitly say how he would vote. READ MORE: Miami Beach mayor moves to end O Cinema lease after screening of Israeli-Palestinian film Two commissioners, Kristen Rosen Gonzalez and Tanya Katzoff Bhatt, have raised concerns about the proposal. Rosen Gonzalez said that canceling the theater's lease 'would result in an expensive lawsuit we will lose' and proposed that instead of canceling the showings of 'No Other Land,' the cinema could also show another film, 'Screams Before Silence,' a documentary told through the perspective of Israeli women who were attacked by Hamas on Oct. 7, 2023. Three other commissioners have provided little or no public indication of their views on the proposal. Commissioners Alex Fernandez and Laura Dominguez declined to comment, and Commissioner Joseph Magazine told the Herald on Friday that he was 'in fact-gathering mode about what the right decision is.' 'I'm really focusing on trying to speak to as many community leaders that I almost know will have differing opinions on this,' Magazine said. 'My goal is always to bring our community together.' Meiner's proposal would terminate O Cinema's lease at the old City Hall building on Washington Avenue in South Beach and immediately cut off future city funding. In recent months, the city agreed to fulfill two grant agreements with O Cinema — one for about $26,000 and one for about $54,000 — and has already paid half of those amounts. In a joint letter to city officials last Friday, the Florida Muslim Bar Association, Palestinian American Bar Association and American Muslim Bar Association said they were 'troubled by the actions being taken to limit the public's access to diverse viewpoints, as well as the cinema's ability to conduct business free from viewpoint-based censorship from the City.' 'The First Amendment of the United States protects freedom of speech and expression,' the groups said. 'This includes the right of filmmakers to produce and exhibit their work, and the right of the public to view it.' READ MORE: Miami Beach mayor urges theater to cancel Oscar-winner he calls 'hateful propaganda' In a March 5 letter, Meiner had urged the theater to cancel scheduled screenings of the film, citing critiques from Israeli and German government officials. O Cinema CEO Vivian Marthell responded the next day that the theater would not show the film based on 'concerns of antisemitic rhetoric.' But Marthell reversed course one day later, a decision that followed conversations with the theater's staff and board of directors, according to Kareem Tabsch, co-founder and chair of the board of directors of O Cinema. 'That was a decision that was made under duress,' Tabsch said of the initial cancellation. 'There was a panic for the future of the organization.' Since deciding to show the film and facing the threat of eviction, Tabsch said O Cinema has received an outpouring of support. 'The filmmaking community has really rallied behind this, because I think ... an attack on one of us is an attack on all of us,' he said. 'We cannot let government become involved in dictating what is permissible or not for arts organizations to present to the public, and we certainly can't allow them to decide what the public should be viewing.' In addition to letter-writing campaigns to elected officials and statements of support from groups like the International Documentary Association, O Cinema has received 'a modest uptick' in donations, Tabsch said. Still, he said, the theater relies heavily on city funding. 'If we are evicted and our funding is cut, we will be homeless,' he said. South Beach is O Cinema's only current location, though the theater announced plans last month to open a new location in Miami's Little River neighborhood in June. This story was produced with financial support from Trish and Dan Bell and from donors comprising the South Florida Jewish and Muslim Communities, in partnership with Journalism Funding Partners. The Miami Herald maintains full editorial control of this work.
Miami Herald
18-03-2025
- Entertainment
- Miami Herald
Miami Beach mayor's plan to evict O Cinema has brought global backlash. Will it pass?
A proposal last week by Miami Beach Mayor Steven Meiner to terminate O Cinema's lease after the art house theater screened the Oscar-winning documentary 'No Other Land' has been met with fierce backlash, both locally and abroad. On Monday afternoon, Meiner and city commissioners received an open letter from more than 600 members of the 'international filmmaking community,' who called the mayor's effort 'an attack on freedom of expression.' Among the signers were filmmaker and activist Michael Moore, Miami-born 'Moonlight' director Barry Jenkins, and Laura Poitras, who directed the 2015 Oscar-winning documentary 'Citizenfour.' Meanwhile, O Cinema is preparing for possible legal action. The theater is being represented by the American Civil Liberties Union of Florida, which has questioned the legality of Meiner's resolution to oust the theater from a city-owned building and strip its grant funding. The theater is also receiving legal counsel from the Miami-based Community Justice Project. But ahead of a City Commission meeting Wednesday where the proposal is on the agenda and expected to draw dozens of speakers, Meiner has shown no signs of backing down. 'No Other Land' documents the destruction of a group of Palestinian villages in the West Bank at the hands of the Israeli military. In a newsletter last Tuesday, Meiner, who is Jewish and a staunch supporter of Israel, announced his proposal to evict the theater after it proceeded with screenings of the film, which he called 'a false one-sided propaganda attack on the Jewish people that is not consistent with the values of our City and residents.' He has not spoken publicly on the matter since. Meiner met Monday morning with representatives of O Cinema, but it doesn't appear that the two sides reached a resolution. ACLU of Florida Legal Director Daniel Tilley said after the meeting that he couldn't talk about the details of settlement negotiations, and a city spokesperson did not respond to a request for comment. But hours later, O Cinema announced it would hold a press conference Tuesday 'to discuss the First Amendment concerns' raised by Meiner's proposal. 'Defunding and evicting a local independent cinema under these circumstances would be patently unconstitutional, plain and simple,' Tilley said in a statement. 'If supporters of the resolution truly value freedom, they must also value free speech, which means all speech is protected — not just the speech certain politicians agree with.' The theater signed a five-year lease with the city in 2019 that was renewed last year until July 2026, according to documents reviewed by the Miami Herald. Under the agreement, the city can terminate the lease 'for convenience' with 180 days' notice 'without cause and without liability' to the city. But some legal experts have said the mayor's proposal may run afoul of free speech protections, in part because Meiner has indicated that his resolution was brought in response to the theater's decision to screen 'No Other Land' over his objections. '[N]ormalizing hate and then disseminating antisemitism in a facility owned by the taxpayers of Miami Beach ... is unjust to the values of our city and residents and should not be tolerated,' Meiner wrote in his newsletter last week. 'For this reason, I am introducing legislation to move on from O Cinema, as permitted by our contract, and seek a cultural partner that better aligns with our community values.' Meiner would need support from at least three city commissioners to achieve the majority vote required to pass his resolution. Only one commissioner, David Suarez, has publicly indicated support for Meiner's approach, telling the Herald last week that Miami Beach has 'zero tolerance for pro Hamas/terrorist propaganda,' though Suarez did not explicitly say how he would vote. READ MORE: Miami Beach mayor moves to end O Cinema lease after screening of Israeli-Palestinian film Two commissioners, Kristen Rosen Gonzalez and Tanya Katzoff Bhatt, have raised concerns about the proposal. Rosen Gonzalez said that canceling the theater's lease 'would result in an expensive lawsuit we will lose' and proposed that instead of canceling the showings of 'No Other Land,' the cinema could also show another film, 'Screams Before Silence,' a documentary told through the perspective of Israeli women who were attacked by Hamas on Oct. 7, 2023. Three other commissioners have provided little or no public indication of their views on the proposal. Commissioners Alex Fernandez and Laura Dominguez declined to comment, and Commissioner Joseph Magazine told the Herald on Friday that he was 'in fact-gathering mode about what the right decision is.' 'I'm really focusing on trying to speak to as many community leaders that I almost know will have differing opinions on this,' Magazine said. 'My goal is always to bring our community together.' Meiner's proposal would terminate O Cinema's lease at the old City Hall building on Washington Avenue in South Beach and immediately cut off future city funding. In recent months, the city agreed to fulfill two grant agreements with O Cinema — one for about $26,000 and one for about $54,000 — and has already paid half of those amounts. In a joint letter to city officials last Friday, the Florida Muslim Bar Association, Palestinian American Bar Association and American Muslim Bar Association said they were 'troubled by the actions being taken to limit the public's access to diverse viewpoints, as well as the cinema's ability to conduct business free from viewpoint-based censorship from the City.' 'The First Amendment of the United States protects freedom of speech and expression,' the groups said. 'This includes the right of filmmakers to produce and exhibit their work, and the right of the public to view it.' READ MORE: Miami Beach mayor urges theater to cancel Oscar-winner he calls 'hateful propaganda' In a March 5 letter, Meiner had urged the theater to cancel scheduled screenings of the film, citing critiques from Israeli and German government officials. O Cinema CEO Vivian Marthell responded the next day that the theater would not show the film based on 'concerns of antisemitic rhetoric.' But Marthell reversed course one day later, a decision that followed conversations with the theater's staff and board of directors, according to Kareem Tabsch, co-founder and chair of the board of directors of O Cinema. 'That was a decision that was made under duress,' Tabsch said of the initial cancellation. 'There was a panic for the future of the organization.' Since deciding to show the film and facing the threat of eviction, Tabsch said O Cinema has received an outpouring of support. 'The filmmaking community has really rallied behind this, because I think ... an attack on one of us is an attack on all of us,' he said. 'We cannot let government become involved in dictating what is permissible or not for arts organizations to present to the public, and we certainly can't allow them to decide what the public should be viewing.' In addition to letter-writing campaigns to elected officials and statements of support from groups like the International Documentary Association, O Cinema has received 'a modest uptick' in donations, Tabsch said. Still, he said, the theater relies heavily on city funding. 'If we are evicted and our funding is cut, we will be homeless,' he said. South Beach is O Cinema's only current location, though the theater announced plans last month to open a new location in Miami's Little River neighborhood in June. This story was produced with financial support from Trish and Dan Bell and from donors comprising the South Florida Jewish and Muslim Communities, in partnership with Journalism Funding Partners. The Miami Herald maintains full editorial control of this work.
Yahoo
11-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
How 1990s technology is helping thieves steal from Pennsylvania SNAP EBT card users
HARRISBURG, Pa. (WHTM) — The card was never out of Monique Bryant's hand. She never lent it to anyone. Never told anyone the PIN number. True, all of that might not be enough to prevent a hacker from cloning a well-heeled consumer's platinum-tier credit card either. The difference? The card-issuing bank would typically reimburse the credit cardholder for any losses. But Bryant, of Harrisburg — less able to afford a loss — is out the $198.66 of her money someone managed to spend at a bakery in Chicago after taking it from her SNAP, or Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, funds that she accesses using her electronic benefit transfer, or EBT debit, card. The reason for that? Close Thanks for signing up! Watch for us in your inbox. Subscribe Now 'Congress under the last [Biden] administration authorized states to restore lost benefits in addition to providing a new card' when someone's card information was stolen, explained Peter Zurflieh, a staff attorney with the Harrisburg-based Community Justice Project. 'But that authorization expired Dec. 24, 2024. And so now, if this happens to you and you've been 'skimmed' post-Dec. 24, 2024, you can get your card replaced, but you can't get the back benefits.' 'They more or less just send you to the food banks,' Bryant said. Zurflieh said even under the best circumstances — i.e., when their benefits aren't stolen — the average SNAP recipient runs out of benefits about two-thirds of the way through each month. Visitors return to Middle Creek after avian flu closure 'Skimmers' are devices like the ones Highspire police said Saturday someone slipped over a legitimate credit and debit card terminal at a Dollar General, collecting information from a card's magnetic stripe and the personal identification numbers, or PINs, entered by consumers. For about a decade, most credit and debit cards have had microchips, which are more difficult to clone than the magnetic strips; if a consumer tries to swipe a magnetic strip rather than inserting the chip, a bank's systems might be more wary of approving the transaction. Pennsylvania's EBT public assistance cards were once a state-of-the-art leap from paper food stamps. But that was a long time ago. 'It happened in 1998, and as I understand it, there haven't been any technological improvements to the cards since then,' Zurflieh said — no chips, not to mention an even newer generation of near-field communication technology that allows most credit card users nowadays to tap to pay. Zurflieh said that needs to change, because thieves have stolen nearly $9 million in SNAP benefits in nearly 19,000 different incidents in the past two years. Sure enough, bipartisan legislation could grant that wish. State Rep. Dan Williams (D-Chester County) is circulating a co-sponsorship memo with State Rep. Doyle Heffley (R-Carbon County), asking for support for forthcoming 'legislation to require the Pennsylvania Department of Human Services (DHS) to work with the General Assembly to ensure an efficient transition to chip-enabled EBT cards.' Williams and Heffley say it's a necessary but tall task. 'Some states are in the process of moving to a chip-enabled EBT card to prevent skimming, but this change must be rolled out in a methodical manner,' they wrote in the memo. 'New EBT cards will need to be distributed and point-of-sale systems at SNAP-authorized retailers will need to be upgraded and tested to avoid disruptions for recipients and retailers.' Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
