Julia Rosenblatt of Hartbeat Ensemble and spoken word poet MIRA discuss their collaborative play, FlipSide, a work in progress.  FlipSide portrays two sides of the “war on drugs.”  See it this weekend at Manchester Community College.

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We continue our discussion on the life of three Puerto Rican brothers on and off the streets in Springfield MA, with author Tim Black.  More info about the book: click here.

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By George D. Micewicz

It’s a fair statement to say that people should be free to do what they want as long as their actions don’t infringe on the rights of others. Laws are created to help ensure that people have the right to life and liberty. Most laws make sense. No one will argue that murder and robbery should be made legal. These crimes are heinous, and have a tremendous negative impact on people. Other laws are more dubious. They outlaw activities that only affect those people who are willingly engaged in the actions. One example is a law that makes certain sexual acts between consenting adults illegal. Another example is the prohibition of marijuana. The choice to use marijuana is a personal one, and it causes no harm to anyone. Marijuana should be made legal. Read the full story

Sociologist Tim Black discusses his new book, When a Heart Turns Rock Solid, about three Puerto Rican brothers on and off the streets in Springfield, MA over two decades.

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In response to several incidents, most notably a recent armed robbery attempt on the main campus of the University of Hartford, officials and city police began nighttime checkpoints at both campuses, Bloomfield Avenue and Asylum Ave.  The University originally assumed that the alleged perpetrators were from off-campus.  The implication was that they were from the city of Hartford.  Read the full story