Happy Birthday PNC-MN! Two Years of Reporting

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The Pagan Newswire Collective – Minnesota Bureau is two years old!  The Minnesota bureau first posted Community Notes from TCPagans on July 28th, 2010.

So how have we done?

Here are some of the stats for our first two years. We have had over a quarter million page views, averaging 250/day or 4000 -10,000 a month. Twelve of the last 24 months averaged over 7000 readers. On our best day we had over 28,000 readers stop by. We have written 488 posts, an amazing number in two years! We have tripled direct subscribers to 223, added 1800 twitter subscribers and another 750 who follow our Facebook page for posting notices. All of our posts get a fair reading, especially over time. We learned the power of Facebook when one of our top posts went viral on Facebook and we had over 45,000 visits in just a few days. I have to credit Cara for covering many of those stories which skew our stats upward. She has a long background in finding compelling stories that interest Pagans! As the editorial editor, I am really satisfied that over 25 of our editorial articles and interviews have over 500 views. Our content is used as a resource for other news and religious writers across the internet.

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Crystal Blanton Returns For Sacred Harvest Festival “RJ” Circle – Interview

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Crystal Blanton

Crystal Blanton is returning to Sacred Harvest Festival,  Aug 6-12th.  She is bringing her whole family to experience the festival, and is offering a second  Restorative Justice Circle as a service.  Harmony Tribe is facilitating community participation by non-registrants of the festival  for this event, Thursday, Aug. 9th, 10am at the festival site in Geneva, Mn. I talked to her by phone:

You are back at Sacred Harvest Festival (SHF) ?

Crystal: Yes, I had such a good time last year and I made such incredible connections with people that I really, really wanted to go back, and I wanted to share that experience with my family. I knew that if I could make it happen, I would.

Are you familiar with SHF Guest, Yeshe Rabbit?

We are both in the Bay area, and have had a great connection with each other as we both have continued to grow along our paths. I am really excited that she is one of the national guests this year. I think she will give the festival a great service. I visit her store often. I don’t work within her coven, but because we both are in the Bay area and do leadership type programs we come across each other frequently. We have been able to develop a great working relationship and friendship together even though we don’t work in the same coven.

Crystal at SHF 2011
with Bear Eared Hat

You are offering another Restorative Justice Circle  (RJ) at SHF, why a second one?

Usually when we do an RJ circle around a particular topic there is a follow-up. We do that as a means to make sure that after the first interaction that people have had the opportunity to be a part of the solution and deal with whatever has come up since the initial engagement. In this kind of scenario, my thought was to come back and offer that same kind of opportunity for people to engage in a follow-up but to also focus on some community building type exercises supporting the community with moving forward and gaining more tools as a community in that rebuilding process. This is the benefit for participating if you participated last year, to support going from one phase to the next phase of healing and restoring community values.

What if this is your first RJ experience, what would be the benefit?

As I am designing this my initial plan will likely change once I connect with the community. There is always what we think we want to do, and then once there, what is needed. My guess is that it would have a portion set aside to talk about the past year, and the feelings and emotions associated with the rebuilding of community. I want to focus more on that direction, but that is just based on impressions of what I left a year ago. Since this will be open to community, it also depends on who decides to participate and attends. Part of the RJ process, that can be both challenging and important, is to be able to move within the needs of the community which we are serving at that moment. Because I don’t know what portion of the HT community will be participating, I have to leave that somewhat open at this time. There will be time to get some basic feelings out, but my main push will be to get to the next phase of restoring.

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Court Rules Flambeau, Wisconsin ‘Model Mine’ Violated Clean Water Act

A federal court ruled Tuesday that Flambeau Mining Company (FMC) violated the Clean Water Act on numerous occasions by allowing pollution from its Flambeau Mine site, near Ladysmith, Wis., to enter the Flambeau River and a nearby tributary known as Stream C.
The lawsuit was filed early last year by the Wisconsin Resources Protection Council (WRPC), the Center for Biological Diversity, and Laura Gauger. The complaint charged that Flambeau Mining Company (a subsidiary of Kennecott Minerals Company / Rio Tinto) was violating the Clean Water Act by discharging storm water runoff containing pollutants, including toxic metals like copper and zinc, from a detention basin known as a biofilter.

Flambeau Mine in September 1994, when heavy rains caused flooding at the mine site.

The federal Clean Water Act makes it unlawful to discharge pollutants from a point source to waters of the United States without a permit issued under the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (“NPDES”).  Both the U.S. EPA and the DNR (which has been delegated authority to issue NPDES permits in Wisconsin under its parallel program, the WPDES) commonly issue permits to point-source discharges of industrial stormwater such as the discharge from FMC’s biofilter.  The most important function of an NPDES permit is to ensure that all applicable water quality standards are maintained. FMC never had an NPDES permit authorizing the discharge of copper, zinc, iron, and other pollutants from the biofilter to Stream C, and therefore was in violation of the Clean Water Act.
 

Paganistan Weekly; July 23-29

Teacher and Author Gede Parma will be at the Eye of Horus, July 29th & 30th. Learn more at http://shop.eyeofhorus.biz/Spirit-Flight-of-Shaman-and-Witch-with-Gede-Parma-p/cls-gp2.htm

Sacred Harvest Festival is just a couple weeks away. SHF is Minnesota’s premier Pagan festival. August 6-12; check it out at http://harmonytribe.org/content/sacred-harvest-festival-2012-our-fifteenth-year

THE END IS NEAR: After December 21, 2012, I will no longer be publishing this newsletter. If you want an easy to view calendar which provides the source material for this newsletter, join the Yahoo group at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/TwinCitiesPagans/

New Alexandrian Library Foundation in DC is Laid

via PNC-DC

By David Salisbury
For nearly a year, PNC-DC has been reporting on the announcement and progress of the New Alexandrian Library – a Pagan library project at Seelie Court in Delaware. This week, a huge step in the construction process took place as workers laid the foundation for the physical structure. I was able to briefly speak with ASW elder Michael Smith on the process. Additional information on the building was given by Jim Dickinson, the NAL’s Project Construction Manager.

CapitalWitch – Recently the foundation for the library site was poured. Can you describe what that process was like?

Michael Smith – It was actually a several stage process. First the footers were poured and a riser wall was constructed to make sure that the finished floor would be above the 100-year flood-water estimates. We want to make sure everything we are entrusted with is kept safe for the ages! After the foundation was backfilled to ensure a minimum 4” floor pad, we held a ritual to seed the floor area with crystals charged at the Between the Worlds rituals in 2004 and 2007, waters collected from the sacred sites around the planet, and crystals charged by supporters of the project over the years. The floor pad was then poured over all those charged sacrifices and blessings. It is just amazing how much energy people have given in support of this project through the years, in anticipation of this manifestation, and we are so grateful that it continues!

CW – Are there any obstacles such as weather that pose challenges?

MS – The construction process can be unpredictable – as anyone who has ever built their own home knows! After the necessary permits were obtained (a daunting process in itself!), the weather was our most difficult challenge. There were alternating periods of extreme heat and then strings of days when rain prevented work. Temperature is very important when pouring concrete and too much heat can cause all sorts of issues: early set of the concrete, inadequate time to work it properly and ensure air bubbles are floated out and the pad cures level. Today, we got very lucky in that the temperature was much lower than predicted a few days ago. The decision was make by the contractor and the masons at 5:30 a.m. this morning. The floor is in, beautifully flat and curing well!

CW – The laying of the foundation seems like an exciting step both physically and spiritually. Was there or will be any additional magickal prep-worked involved in the setting of the foundation or the raising of the walls?

MS – As mentioned above, sacred waters from around the world, sacred protective objects and crystals charged for this very purpose at our Between The Worlds gatherings’ main rituals in 2000, 2004, and 2007 are placed throughout the foundation. This work was designed to root all of the power and intention we have raised to support the Library over the years. Additional ritual and magickal work will be done at each step of the construction. The specific dome construction allows us to place objects and implant workings into each seam between the triangles – to help the project grow and prosper each step of the way.

CW – What are the next steps for the structure of the building?

MS – After the pad is full cured, the contractor will begin assembling the vertical riser walls. Then he will use a small crane to lift the triangle components into place. It is then that we will be able to see the ‘dome’ take form! Soon after, the standard wood construction bits will be put in (and windows and doors installed) – and we will have a strong, durable, long-lasting concrete vault for the collection!

CW – Do you expect the upcoming stages to move forward in the time frame you anticipated?

MS – Giving a couple of days here and there – to deal with future weather issues – we are expected to be right on schedule! The dam has broken and the energy of this project is flowing from Yesod to Malkuth in a free and beautiful way! The building will be done on schedule. We have great confidence in our contractor and appreciate his desire to make sure things are done right and well, even if it take a little longer than expected. We expect the Library to be around for many, many, many decades and recognize the need for the beginnings, and there will be many, to be as considered and grounding as possible.

Then begins the hard work of outfitting it to display and maintain the collections in peak condition: shelving, digital media equipment, etc. It is a very exciting time and there are small hoards of people that cannot wait to get into the nuts and bolts details of outfitting a state-of-the-art esoteric research library!

CW –  Is there anything else you’d like to add?

MS – We need continued donations of money!  We will, of course, release a complete accounting of the project and an official audit of the project by an outside firm.  We want everyone to know we are using your donations wisely and responsibly!

New Alexandrian Library is a Dream whose time is now. Now, more than ever, we need the continued support of the communities and individuals the NAL is being built to serve.   Please donate!

Any monetary donation, no matter how small, is needed now as the project progresses. One can donate through the NAL’s website or through the Causes campaign ‘Support the New Alexandrian Library.’

Please, spread the word of this important project to one’s communities and friends. And look for more exciting news and additional ways that people can help the New Alexandrian Library in the near future.