Important free film -- "Trapped" -- June 28, 6:30 p.m.

A free public screening and discussion of the documentary 

"TRAPPED"

 

Tuesday, June 28th

6:30-8 PM (doors open at 6)

at the 

Salem Public Library, 

Anderson Rooms

585 Liberty St. SE, Salem

This month, the U.S. Supreme Court will rule on the biggest abortion case in decades, which challenges a Texas law that has forced more than half of the state's abortion providers to close. We are getting a sense of the very real impact these restrictions have on women, and it's deeply disturbing: Researchers estimate that up to 240,000 Texas women already have tried to end a pregnancy on their own without medical assistance.

Please join the Marion-Polk Leadership & Advocacy Team for a special screening of the acclaimed documentary TRAPPED on June 28th in Salem.

A hit at the 2016 Sundance Film Festival, TRAPPEDfeatures some of the skilled, respectful healthcare providers and lawyers who are on the front lines of a battle to keep abortion safe and legal for millions of American women. Since 2011, politicians have passed more than 280 abortion restrictions at the state level, including Targeted Restrictions of Abortion Providers. These "TRAP" laws make health care harder to access and impose unnecessary red tape on abortion providers. A woman's right to make personal medical decisions about abortion shouldn't depend on her ZIP code.

A brief Q&A with the Marion-Polk Leadership & Advocacy Team will immediately follow the screening. You can also get information about how to get involved locally to protect women's health from political attacks.

Limited seating is available on a first-come, first-served basis. Please join us for this powerful documentary about what's at stake for women in 2016.

$5 suggested donation, but no one will be turned away for lack of funds.

Great idea for Downtown Salem -- Nonprofit Public Tech Space Supports Learning and Economy

The dead SJ press plant between the Transit Mall and Courthouse Square and the YMCA would be a perfect location.

https://nonprofitquarterly.org/2016/06/21/public-tech-space-needs-new-nonprofit-to-support-learning-and-innovation/

Nonprofit Public Tech Space Supports Learning and Economy

3D Printer / Luke Jones

May 31, 2016; NPR, "All Tech Considered"

NPQ has previously covered the movement to include maker spaces in libraries. Today, we're looking at Do Space, a unique nonprofit setup housed in a former Borders bookstore in Omaha, Nebraska. The location, right in the heart of Omaha at its busiest intersection, was chosen for its proximity to a transit hub, allowing for easy access via bus. And access is the point—the goal of Do Space is to offer technology at a high level to all, but especially to those who don't have access elsewhere.

The space sees itself as a "technology library, a digital workshop, and an innovation playground." The director, Rebecca Stavick, describes it this way: "I've always thought of libraries as places full of tools. Books are tools, scrolls are tools, computers are tools."

Do Space opened last winter and is now offering its first summer programs. Membership is open to all, and is free save for the cost of printing materials. Do Space has 3-D printers, laser cutters, and powerful PCs with current software, including AutoCAD software for drafting and design. High schools students take classes in design here, and entrepreneurs use the space to run small multimedia businesses with the approval of the Omaha Public Library, which has partnered with the space but leaves it as a separate entity.

What makes this space unique is the funding behind it. Seven million dollars in donations came from a coalition of Omaha philanthropists known as Heritage Services and were used to renovate the building and pay for its high-speed Internet and cutting-edge hardware. Heritage Services created a nonprofit corporation, Community Information Trust, to oversee and run the tech space.

Do Space's partnership with OPL allows it to offer ebooks via a kiosk. Metropolitan Community College, another partnership, occupies 10,000 square feet on the second floor to offer a range of classes to meet the needs of previously underserved audiences, including older adults and job seekers. There's a mentoring program available whereby anyone can ask for aid in learning new skills; just fill out the online form and an attempt will be made to match them with a mentor.

According to those behind the idea, the success of Do Space will be measured not just by who frequents the space, but the ways it is used. Additionally, due to its innovative aspects, some city leaders hold hopes of economic development in the immediate area surrounding Do Space.—Jeanne Allen