>In the early morning of Wednesday, UC police blocked off streets surrounding People’s Park, began construction of a large fence around the perimeter of the park and began cutting down trees. Over the next several hours, more police and security arrived as park defenders inside the fenced off area attempted to block destruction of park infrastructure while encouraging supporters to rally in protest.

>Brett Hartl, government affairs director at the Center for Biological Diversity, labeled the bill “a climate suicide pact” noting: “The new leasing required in this bill will fan the flames of the climate disasters torching our country.”

>Allegheny County Councilmember Bethany Hallam, who sits on the Jail Oversight Board for Pittsburgh, said in a statement: “We hear continuously, month after month, we have loved ones who lost their family members in the jail. Oftentimes we are told [by jail officials] there was no foul play; it was a “natural” death — I don’t know about you, but I don’t think it’s natural when we have 26-year-olds falling dead on the floor of the jail.”

>According to Jack Spadaro, a former director of the National Mine Health and Safety Academy, there are credible findings by the Environmental Protection Agency, the Army Corps of Engineers and the West Virginia state government: “These are scientific studies done by teams of scientists, hydrologists and engineers; they’ve all shown there is a link between mountaintop removal mining and flooding.” (Public News Service, July 8, 2009)

>According to the March of Dimes, more than 2.2 million women of childbearing age live in 1,095 counties that have no hospitals offering obstetric care, no birth centers, no OB-GYN medical services or certified nurse midwives.

This should make for some interesting spectacle come November