What a Difference a Day Makes, Ya Heard?

Well, it's the start of a beautiful week, isn't it?

The sun is shining, we are alive and in the midst of the everyday reality of our routines,
we have all found a reason to believe again. A reason to believe that our voices can be heard,
that we can make a difference.

And what a difference a day makes....

The "Raise Your Hand! No Casino on the Hill" Campaign has been on television, on the radio and in the newspaper, literally, every single day all of last week. This list is not entirely comprehensive but it's a start to get you through the rest of your day and evening, yes?

We have many new converts, folks, and I will talk about them tomorrow, simply because they changed their mind by getting new information and making . . . the intelligent choice.

Public Hearings:
Let me remind you that the public hearings I attended and at which I made a demonstration against the Isle of Capri / Pittsburgh First (Hill District Last) were extremely educational. I want you all to know from me, personally, that I dropped off the hundreds of signatures you graced the petitions with, as well as the online petitions you all signed. They WERE RECEIVED and are in the hands of the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board. I also delivered the letters that I wrote to each Board member, individually, and I want you to be absolutely CLEAR:

1) The issue surrounding "local community impact" is an extremely important consideration for each licensing applicant, they are not playing favorites from what I can tell and YOUR input does matter, especially now. Do not let anyone tell you it's over, done deal, kaput, too late. In fact, your input is MORE important now than it ever has been before. This is a proactive campaign and I was told personally and again in writing, directly from the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board that any and all input from you all with regard to Hill District resident concerns and those who support us WILL be accepted. The decision is made on December 20, so get to signing and get to stepping and stay informed!
2) I am attaching the petitions you can sign on paper for Hill residents, non-Hill Residents and for churches, as a whole. Be sure to use your home address, not the church address. If you want to be known as a church or organization in a collective manner, just write your name at the bottom and consider it done. I will collect this from all of you, just give me a call: 412-656-5878
3) So, imagine that, somebody actually doing something they promised you they would do. I've got your back, so please have mine!
4) Rev. Johnnie Munroe and Dr. Goddess were on "Sunday Edition" on Sunday morning at 8: 30a.m. on KDKA, Channel 2. For those who have never seen me debate, now's your chance. Plus, Rev. Munroe was humming alot before the interview, so I knew all would go well and it did. Rev. Simms was there representing Pittsburgh First, which is a bit unfortunate that they keep putting him out there as the front man but it just continues to show their hand, in my opinion. I believe Rev. Simms believes what he's doing is a good thing. Unfortunately, he's wrong. Anyway, you will be able to see this once KDKA updates their web videos. They are usually very good with this.
5) Special thanks to Rev. Johnnie Munroe for inviting me to take the pulpit and speak at Grace Memorial Presbyterian Church on Sugartop in the Hill District! What a fantastic service, I had a great time and it reminded me as to why I should go to church more often, sinner that I am. I'll be back! By the way, WPXI, Channel 11 is on the case and they shot some footage, which aired last night during the news. Kudos to WPXI!
6) Somebody ought to let WTAE, Channel 4 know that they need to get on the ball if they want an increase in their ratings. Don't they know "Raise Your Hand! No Casino on the Hill" Campaign is "the new black"? ;-) Where is Sally Wiggins? She would never stand for this.

In the meantime, thank you for raising your hands, voices and smiles, thank you for the prayers, blessings and well-wishes, thank you for the information, thank you for SHARING the information, for signing, encouraging others and for being absolutely wonderful in believing in yourself.

By the way, I am putting together the "Raise Your Hand" choir and I need you individuals ASAP. Go to my website, learn the song and give me a call. Individuals that represent different churches and arts organizations would be fantastic. It would be great to have a Pan-Pittsburgh (not as in Steelpan but meaning across Pgh) choir.

Stay lovely,
Dr. Goddess

Here's the "Ya Heard?" section, News Media Coverage:
Television:

The Isle of Capri Cease and Desist Letter was THE TOP STORY on WPXI, Channel 11 news at 5:30pm and covered again on 11:00pm on the news. Imagine that, Thanksgiving Day, most folks are at home and this is THE Top Story. I was just as shocked as you all were. I thought it was just another standard interview. Kudos to Marc Willis for working on a holiday and kudos to me for directing everybody to meet me at Freedom Corner. ;-) Afterall, none of this is my fault. It's the ghosts of Freedom Corner!

"Pittsburgh Casino Bidders Meet Gaming Board" (KDKA - Ch. 2, Nov. 20, 2006)

http://kdka.com/video/?id=22159@kdka.dayport.com

"Religious Leaders: No Slots in Hill District" (KDKA - Ch. 2, Nov. 20, 2006)

http://kdka.com/video/?id=22168@kdka.dayport.com

Radio:
"No Casino on the Hill" (WRCT 88.3FM, "Rustbelt Radio" w/Andalusia - IndyMedia.org)

http://pittsburgh.indymedia.org/news/2006/11/25266.php

There's a special news feature on the website of the Pittsburgh Independent Media Center about Casinos in Pittsburgh. It features the interviews Andalusia Knoll did with yours truly, Dr. Goddess, Evan Frazier and Marimba Milliones, Co-Chairs of the Hill District Gaming Task Force, as well as (Good REVEREND Dr.) James Simms, the paid consultant for Pittsburgh First, a woman in Detroit who fought development there and an academic scholar who researches gambling addictions: http://media.indypgh.org/uploads/2006/11/casinofeature.mp3

And here's audio from the Nov. 3rd rally: http://media.indypgh.org/uploads/2006/11/casinoupdate.mp3

If anyone has the news feeds from KQV radio, let me know. They've been on the case as well.

Newest Newspaper Articles:
"Hill Clergy Lead Effort to Rebuff Slots License in Hill" (Pgh Post-Gazette)
http://www.postgazette.com/pg/06325/740003-53.stm

"Hill Residents Draw Line in Sand" (New Pittsburgh Courier)
http://newpittsburghcourieronline.com/articlelive/articles/36540/1/Hill-residents-draw-line-in-the-sand/Voice-opposition-to-slots-casino.html

"Payne is Surprised at Casino Backlash" (Pgh Post-Gazette)
http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/06326/740430-53.stm

"Hill District Activist Faces Lawsuit" (Pgh Tribune Review)
http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/news/today/s_480944.html

"Activist Threatened With Lawsuit" (New Pittsburgh Courier)
http://newpittsburghcourieronline.com/articlelive/articles/36539/1/Activist-threatened-with-lawsuit/Takes-protest-to-next-level.html

"Casino Threat Stirs Activists' Ire" (Pgh Tribune Review)
http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/news/cityregion/s_481093.html

Chris Rawson's Journal (Pgh Post-Gazette)
http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/06327/740641-326.stm

"Protest on the Hill"
Aficionados of the work of August Wilson, as well as any caring Pittsburgher, must be concerned with the future of the Hill District, where some residents think having a slots parlor dumped on them is reminiscent of the catastrophic "urban renewal" it suffered in the 1950s. Wilson's last play, "Radio Golf," is strangely prescient in dramatizing a similar conflict between real estate speculation and the legacy of the past. And one of the leaders of the Hill District protest is Wilson's niece, Kim Ellis, who has become visible enough to have received a "cease and desist" letter, threatening a defamation lawsuit, from the Isle of Capri lawyers.

Knowing Kim, I think they're picking on the wrong person.

(Dr. G: You've got that right, Chris!)

"Too Much, Too Late" (Pgh City Paper - Dr. G: No, it's not too late, in fact we are right on time but this reporter is not clear on that yet and spoke a bit too soon or maybe he's just pessimistic, who knows?)

http://www.pittsburghcitypaper.ws/gyrobase/Content?oid=oid%3A20027

"Positive Change in Our Communities Must Start With Us" (New Pittsburgh Courier Editorial): http://newpittsburghcourieronline.com/articlelive/authors/21/Louis-'Hop&%2339;-Kendrick

Recent Articles:

Bill Toland's Casino Journal

Nov. 22, 2006

Casinos on the brain

Casino Journal had a dream last night. About casinos. No joke. We dreamt that, against all odds, Don Barden's PITG Gaming upset Isle of Capri and Forest City for the right to build a casino on Pittsburgh's North Shore. And that was it. No weird falling sensation, no dead relatives from the past, no nonsensical bits where we turn into a fish, just a dream about next month's Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board meeting. You may choose to take this as a premonition. We take it as a sign that the Casino Journal has an exceedingly boring life, and probably needs a few days off.

....Meanwhile, in the Hill, opponents of the proposed Isle of Capri casino continue to make noise, to the befuddlement of rookie Councilwoman Tonya Payne :

"Claiming no one has been more surprised at the rising wave of opposition to the Isle of Capri casino plan than she has, city Councilwoman Tonya Payne says neither she nor her office has spoken with anyone voicing concern. 'The people out there yelling the loudest are not calling me,' she said yesterday. 'If there are voices out there against the plan, those voices can work with me. But they've never said anything to me.' Early on, Ms. Payne publicly supported Isle of Capri Casinos Inc., which is the only one of three bidders competing for the lone Pittsburgh license that would put a slots parlor in the Hill District, on the site of Mellon Arena. It has offered $290 million toward a new arena and promised a $350 million redevelopment of the Lower Hill and a $1 million-a-year community reinvestment fund targeting the Hill and Uptown."

Fast-forward: "Kim Ellis, one of the most prominent critics of the Isle of Capri plan, yesterday received a letter from the casino developer's attorney, asking that she "cease and desist" her defamation of the company by forwarding 'misleading' information, such as was in a letter sent to city Councilman William Peduto, regarding a business matter in Kimmswick, Mo. Ms. Ellis has made some of the same claims in public, saying that Missouri residents successfully defeated an Isle of Capri proposal even after the Missouri Gaming Control Board gave the group a license. Les McMackin, an executive with Isle of Capri, said Ms. Ellis' communication is false. The control board never granted it a license."

Nov. 20, 2006

Down the stretch they come

... The anti-casino groups in the Hill have made more noise in the last few weeks than they have in the entire year leading up to today's hearings and next month's decision from the PGCB: A group of ministers will hold a news conference today to voice their opposition to the proposed plan for a casino on the lower Hill District. The news conference is slated for 2 p.m. at Freedom Corner, Crawford Street and Centre Avenue, the P-G reports.

From the ministers themselves:
"The coalition of ministers who represent thousands of Hill District residents were compelled to make a public statement about the devastation that a casino will bring to the Hill District community including an increase in addiction, crime and poverty. 'We must continue to say no and we invite other churches and institutions of The Hill to stand with us to say no to gaming in The Hill,' says Rev. Dr. Johnnie Monroe of Grace Presbyterian.

Old but Relevant News:
"Legislator from Hill District Assails Casino Plans" (Pgh Post-Gazette, State Rep. Jake Wheatley's "Coming Out" Party, May 16, 2006)
http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/06136/690519-53.stm

"Casino Plan Ripped" (Pgh Tribune Review, Gov. Rendell Unveils Plan B, March 29, 2006)
http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/s_437924.html

Raise Your Hand! No Casino on the Hill
http://www.drgoddess.com/save-the-hill

Please sign the petition:
http://www.thepetitionsite.com/takeaction/953928017

Call for Artists!
Can You Sing, Spit Poems, Dance or Act?
Want to Make History?

Artists & Performers Needed For:

Raise Your Hand Choir to sing "Raise Your Hand!: The Hill Freedom Song" and Other Freedom Songs and Upcoming Spring Production of "Dr. Goddess Goes to Jail!, a spoken word, musical comedy"

Lead and Backup Singers needed to learn and sing lead vocals; backups to learn chorus and do chants and hums
Poets – needed for spoken word / poetry performances
Visual Artists, show off your wares to demonstrate your support and your culture!
Marchers / Stompers / Steppers needed to get your black boot-stompin' on
Actors - No Experience Necessary for Supporting Roles, Experience a Must for Lead Roles
Dancers – needed to dance, obviously (Modern, African, Hip Hop, Ballet & Tap)

Needed Immediately & ONGOING Performance Dates and Times
Contact Dr. Goddess for Auditions / Rehearsal, & Info: dr.goddess@gmail.com (email preferred) 412-656-5878

Learn the Song Here:
www.drgoddess.com/save-the-hill.php

Raise Your Hand!: The Hill Freedom Song
© 2006 Dr. Goddess All Rights Reserved

If you love someone on the Hill, raise your hand
If you love someone from the Hill, raise your hand
I know everything's gotta change
But we ain't goin' for none of these games
We don't want no casino on the Hill
Somebody raise your hand (2x)

If you've had some Hawkins chicken, raise your hand
And if you've ever caught a Jitney from the Jitney station, raise your hand
If you want your neighborhood to have more
Cuz we still ain't got no grocery store
We don't want no casinos on the Hill
Somebody raise your hand
Come on and raise your hand

If you went to the games up Kennard, raise your hand
If you were in the league at Ozanam, raise your hand
Well, everything's gotta change
But we ain't goin' for none of these games
We don't want no casino on the Hill
Somebody raise your hand (2x)

If you live up Sugartop and think you are cute, raise your hand
But if you get to downtown by stepping off of your stoop, raise your hand
Cuz I got something on my mind
And I'ma tell you this just one more time
We don't want no casino on the Hill
Come on and raise your hand (2x)

If you know the history of the Hill, raise your hand
If you know the Wylie Avenue thrills, raise your hand
We've got a lot to be proud of our past
And we're gonna build a future that's gonna last
So we don't want no casino on the Hill
Somebody raise your hand (2x)

Don't try to use August Wilson's name
While you put the neighborhood he loved to shame
Cuz we don't want no casino on the Hill
Somebody raise your hand
He already raised his hand

(Let's go global):
If you're tired of the man trying to take all your land, raise your hand
If you got a situation with a corporation, raise your hand
Cuz everytime there's a new plan

It seems we gotta make you understand
We're standing up on our feet
Ain't gonna take no defeat
Raise your hand!
Ooooooooooo
Ooooooooooooooo . . .