HBCU ALUMNI, STUDENTS TO RALLY ON CAPTIOL HILL
Call for direct-action from HBCU supporters to urge Congress for resources
WASHINGTON, DC - Concerned alumni, students and friends of Historically Black Colleges and Universities are set to gather on Capitol Hill on April 27 for a National Day of Action to increase support for black institutions of higher learning.
The direct-action was organized to ensure accountability by the White House and members of Congress to not only maintain funding, but increase resources to HBCUs – pillar institutions to educating and supporting thousands.
The HBCU National Day of Action is organized by the HBCU Collective, a group of alumni, students and friends of HBCUs who work in politics and advocacy and are determined to preserve, support and grow HBCUs.
“Alumni and students play an integral role in preserving and growing our HBCUs,” said co-leader of the HBCU Collective Robert Stephens. “We’re here to make sure our elected officials see and feel the importance of HBCUs – and we’re here to hold them accountable for their support.”
On April 27, the HBCU Collective expects to galvanize support from more than 100 HBCUs across the nation on Capitol Hill to advocate to their members of Congress. And engage thousands through an online and social media based outreach to urge them to call, write and tweet their federal and state elected officials to make HBCUs a priority in state legislative sessions and in Congress.
The HBCU Collective has three asks from state and federal elected officials:
“We care about the existence of our institutions and we are going to make sure elected officials do exactly what they promised, and that is to support our HBCUs and their students financially,” said Dominique Warren, co-leader of the HBCU Collective.
HBCU Collective plans to host meetings with elected officials and staff members in their home districts and in the districts of HBCUs to make allocating funding and resources a priority during this Congressional session, and every session in the future.
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Alumni and students who work in politics and advocacy have formed the HBCU Collective to urge state and federal leaders to create policies to strengthen Historically Black Colleges and Universities.
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NIGHT SKIING WILL BE CLOSED FOR THE SEASON AFTER APRIL 8th 2017.
To celebrate such an awesome season, we are offering NIGHT TICKETS FOR $25 TODAY THRU APRIL 8th. Discounted night tickets available at any ticket window or re-road your Go Card online and head straight to the lift!
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New Research Highlights Solar Jobs Expansion in Local Communities Nationwide
Economic analysis finds solar industry produced $154 billion in economic activity for the United States in 2016
WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Solar Foundation today released data on the number of solar jobs in every state, metropolitan area, county, and congressional district, revealing the impact of the nation’s historic solar jobs boom down to the local level. This data can be found on an interactive Solar Jobs Map available at SolarStates.org.
The new Solar Jobs Map is part of the data collection effort for The Solar Foundation’s Solar Jobs Census 2016, the seventh annual report on solar employment in the United States. In addition to the map, The Solar Foundation produced 50 state-level fact sheets and released an analysis of the economic impact of the solar labor market nationwide and in five states: California, Florida, New York, Ohio, and Texas.
The Solar Jobs Census 2016 found that employment increased by a historic 25 percent nationwide from 2015 to 2016, for a total of 260,077 solar workers. This growth occurred across all regions of the country -- the number of solar jobs increased in 44 of the 50 states from 2015 to 2016. In 21 of the 50 states, solar jobs grew by 50 percent or more.
Metropolitan areas across the nation also saw historic solar jobs growth from 2015 to 2016, as the data in the Solar Jobs Map shows. For example, solar jobs in the Cleveland, Ohio metropolitan area doubled, for a total of 1,632 solar workers in 2016. The number of jobs in the San Antonio, Texas metro area increased by 146 percent to 1,767 solar workers.
Jobs in the Albuquerque, New Mexico metro area increased 78 percent to 1,771 solar workers. Jobs in Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, Florida increased 40 percent to 1,215 solar workers. The Atlanta, Georgia metro area had 2,406 solar workers, a 15 percent increase from 2015; and jobs in the Milwaukee, Wisconsin metro area increased 20 percent to 1,033 solar workers.
“The solar industry is generating well-paying jobs everywhere from Detroit to Miami to Salt Lake City, and in states from Ohio to Texas to South Carolina,” said Andrea Luecke, President and Executive Director of The Solar Foundation. “America’s solar energy boom adds tens of billions of dollars to our economy each year, all while providing an affordable, reliable, and local energy source.”
The top 25 metropolitan areas based on the total number of solar workers are listed below, along with the percentage increase or decrease from 2015. The Solar Jobs Map provides complete data on solar jobs in all 50 states, along with details on jobs by solar employment sector, percentages of women and veterans in the solar workforce, and more. Users can toggle between 2015 and 2016 data to compare the number of solar jobs year over year.
In 2016, The Solar Foundation found that with 260,077 solar workers nationwide, the solar industry produced $62.5 billion in direct sales. The solar industry’s broader labor impact that includes direct, indirect, and induced jobs amounted to nearly 789,000 U.S. jobs. These jobs paid more than $50 billion in salaries, wages, and benefits and produced $154 billion in total economic activity for the United States in 2016. State-based economic impact data for California, Florida, New York, Ohio, and Texas are available via fact sheets at SolarStates.org.
“Solar power not only enhances environmental protection and health -- it helps accelerate economic growth,” said Colorado Governor John Hickenlooper. “We are pleased that the solar industry continues to find Colorado a good state for business. For years, Colorado has been on the leading edge of clean energy and solar deployment. Thanks to Coloradans’ vision, initiative, and leadership, we’ve grown our solar workforce by 20 percent in 2016 -- and are among the top states in solar deployment, setting a great example for the entire nation.”
"As a Solar America City and a SolSmart Gold City, we’ve worked to make it easier and more affordable to install solar,” said Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett. “As a result, we have seen tremendous growth of solar job opportunities in Milwaukee and hope to see continued growth in these sustainable jobs. These jobs are important to our local economy and help us reach many of the goals in our City’s sustainability plan."
Since 2010, The Solar Foundation’s National Solar Jobs Census has defined solar workers as those who spend at least 50 percent of their time on solar-related work. The Solar Foundation has consistently found that approximately 90 percent of these workers spend 100 percent of their time on solar-related work. The Solar Jobs Census 2016 was part of the U.S. Department of Energy’s U.S. Energy and Employment Report (USEER) data collection effort that included more than 500,000 telephone calls and over 60,000 emails to energy establishments in the U.S. between October and November 2016. This resulted in a total of 3,888 full completions for establishments involved in solar activity in the United States.
Detailed information on solar jobs at the national level can be found in the full report for the National Solar Jobs Census 2016, available at SolarJobsCensus.org. Complete information on solar jobs at the state and local levels can be found in the Solar Jobs Map available at SolarStates.org.
About The Solar Foundation
The Solar Foundation® is an independent 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization whose mission is to accelerate adoption of the world’s most abundant energy source. Through its leadership, research, and capacity building, The Solar Foundation creates transformative solutions to achieve a prosperous future in which solar technology is integrated into all aspects of our lives. The Solar Foundation is considered the premier research organization on the solar labor workforce, employer trends, and the economic impacts of solar. It has provided expert advice to leading organizations such as the National Academies, the Inter-American Development Bank, the U.S. Department of Energy, and others during a time of dynamic industry growth and policy and economic uncertainty. Visit us at TheSolarFoundation.org.
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THE CUCKOOS
PREMIERE NEW SINGLE
"MIND BREAKTHROUGH"
WITH PANCAKES & WHISKEY
LISTEN HERE
SELF-TITLED DEBUT EP DUE OUT 4/14
"However you'd like to classify them is up to you, but what it boils down to is [The Cuckoos] are just a great young band that has a promising future." -Pancakes & Whiskey
"Imagine The Doors, Joy Division, and Rick James writing songs with Tame Impala and you start to get an idea of the rock and rollmagic being conjured by Austin group The Cuckoos." -Glide Magazine
MARCH 28, 2017 - NEW YORK, NY - Psychedelic rock band, The Cuckoos, are premiering their new single, "Mind Breakthrough", exclusively today with Pancakes & Whiskey. Listen HERE. "Mind Breakthrough" is the latest release from The Cuckoos' forthcoming self-titled debut EP, due out 4/14. The EP's lead single, "Get It On", premiered with Glide Magazine, who noted, "Charismatic lead singer Kenneth Frost definitely brings to mind Jim Morrison, but even with the presence of an organ there is a more modern dance groove happening that makes you want to gyrate." For more information on The Cuckoos, please visit: http://www.thecuckoosaustin.com/
Earlier this month, The Cuckoos appeared at their first SXSW and announced a string of additional Texas tour dates surrounding their EP release. The band will be playing in cities like Houston, San Antonio and Dallas, in addition to their hometown of Austin. See below for a full list of dates. To stay up-to-date with the band's tour schedule, please visit their website or Facebook page.
Drawing inspiration from vintage pop, psychedelic rock, funk and blues, The Cuckoos have been recognized for their ability to bring back the sounds of the 1960s in their original songs. Classic Rock Magazine christened their psychedelic garage rock "spectacular," declaring the band "hip young dudes who mine the late sixties acid rock scene for inspiration, but sound so authentic you'll think you're having a flashback."
The Cuckoos were formed in 2014 by lead vocalist/keyboardist, Kenneth Frost, and lead guitarist/backing vocalist, Dave North. To flesh out their lineup, North introduced Frost to a pair of his longtime friends, including powerhouse drummer Cole Koenning and bassist Eric Ross. Together, despite their young ages, the four musicians have quickly amassed a body of work that evokes a nostalgic classic-rock sound, yet remains fresh and innovative.
In their short time as a band, The Cuckoos have earned a number of accolades, including #1 Psychedelic Band to See Live by Classic Rock Magazine (Pink Floyd Issue), and #1 Emerging Psychedelic Band by The Deli Austin in 2015. "We just want to make music that makes people feel good and feel bad," Frost explains. "We just want them to feel something; something that's passionate and honest."
"Mind Breakthrough" is the second single from The Cuckoos' self-titled debut EP, due out 4/14.
For more information please visit:
http://www.thecuckoosaustin.com/
https://www.facebook.com/thecuckoosaustin/
https://twitter.com/TheCuckoosATX
https://instagram.com/thecuckoos
https://soundcloud.com/the-cuckoos
The Cuckoos EP
1. Get It On
2. Stuck Dreamin' Of The Girl Next Door
4. New Sunrise
5. It's Too Late
6. You're Gonna Work For Us Until The Day You Die
*Digital/CD also includes:
7. Mind Breakthrough (radio edit)
8. New Sunrise (radio edit)
Tour Dates
4/06 - Lunch Time Concert @ Texas State - San Marcos, TX (for KTSW Radio)
4/13 - Fitzgerald's - San Antonio, TX
4/15 - Cactus Records - Houston, TX
4/19 - The Mohawk - Austin, TX
4/29 - Armoury, DE - Dallas, TX (Locked & Loaded)
5/13 - The Mohawk - Austin, TX
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VAIL DANCE FESTIVAL KICKS-OFF 2017 SEASON ON JULY 29
Festival Announces Michelle Dorrance As Artist-in Residence and Season Program
(VAIL, CO) – On July 29, the Vail Dance Festival kicks off its 29th year (July 29- August 12) with a season of new collaborations, artist debuts, and world premieres. Directed by former New York City Ballet star Damian Woetzel, the 2017 season will feature as Artist-In-Residence the tap dance innovator and MacArthur ‘Genius’ Grant recipient Michelle Dorrance, who will perform and collaborate with other Festival artists throughout the season. As part of her residency, Dorrance will anchor the Festival’s annual night of world premieres, which this year will celebrate new work by women choreographers. The season also focuses on choreographer Jerome Robbins (1918-1998) and composer Leonard Bernstein (1918-1990) in anticipation of their joint 2018 centennial anniversary. In honor of these two towering American artists, the Festival will feature their groundbreaking works on various performances; Robbins will be celebrated in the UpClose performance; a new work choreographed by Matthew Neenan and set to Mr. Bernstein’s music will premiere on the International Evenings of Dance; and the Leonard Bernstein Composer-in-Residence program will launch with Pulitzer Prize winning composer Caroline Shaw in this new role.
"Collaborations by Jerome Robbins and Leonard Bernstein were a key part of my onstage career at NYCB, and these artistic giants remain a powerful inspiration for me,” said festival director Damian Woetzel. "I am honored to be celebrating them and building on their work this summer.”
Among new artists at the Festival will be Royal Ballet rising stars Francesca Hayward and Marcelino Sambé, who join such Festival regulars as Lil Buck, Misty Copeland, Robert Fairchild, Tiler Peck, and Melissa Toogood. The L.A. Dance Project makes its Festival debut, and companies returning to Vail include the Martha Graham Dance Company, BalletX, and Denver’s Colorado Ballet. Musicians appearing include the string quartet Brooklyn Rider, singer and multi-instrumentalist Kate Davis, pianist Cameron Grant, the Breckenridge Music Festival Orchestra, and in a new Festival role of Conductor and Musical Director, Kurt Crowley, who is currently conducting Hamilton on Broadway.
Festival Highlights:
New Works by Women Choreographers:
Under Woetzel’s direction for the past decade, the Festival has presented over 50 world premieres. For 2017, the NOW: Premieres performance will celebrate the work of female choreographers, with new commissions from New York City Ballet principal Lauren Lovette, neoclassical and contemporary ballet choreographer Claudia Schreier, acclaimed modern dance choreographer Pam Tanowitz, and tap dance revolutionary Michelle Dorrance.
Festival Artists and Companies:
New performers on Vail’s International Evenings of Dance will include the rising Royal Ballet stars Francesca Hayward and Marcelino Sambé, Miami City Ballet’s Patricia Delgado, and American Ballet Theatre’s Marcelo Gomes, who join frequent Festival performers including Isabella Boylston, Misty Copeland, Carla Körbes, Misa Kuranaga, Lauren Lovette, Tiler Peck, Unity Phelan, Devon Teuscher, Melissa Toogood, Lil Buck, Jeffrey Cirio, Robert Fairchild, Calvin Royal III, Daniel Ulbricht, Jared Angle, James Whiteside, Ron Myles, and Joseph Gordon.
The Festival welcomes for the first-time Benjamin Millipied’s L.A. Dance Project, who join other companies appearing at the Festival including Dorrance Dance, Philadelphia’s BalletX, the Martha Graham Dance Company, and Denver’s Colorado Ballet and Wonderbound companies.
Bernstein and Robbins:
Venerating the history of the arts in America has been a Festival mainstay, and in anticipation of the centennial years of both Leonard Bernstein and Jerome Robbins in 2018 the Festival will honor their legacy and impact through performances, residencies, and a commitment to new music for performances in Vail. Among the efforts under this mantle:
The 2017 Festival will focus its UpClose rehearsal-style performance on the work of Robbins, the ballet and Broadway choreographic genius.
The American Dance Classics performance, will present the Bernstein/Robbins breakthrough balletFancy Free, along with George Balanchine’s first ballet made in America, Serenade.
Inspired by Maestro Bernstein’s tremendous creative influence the Festival will launch the Leonard Bernstein Composer-in-Residence program, a new role to be inaugurated by Pulitzer Prize winning composer Caroline Shaw for 2017-2018. Shaw will attend the 2017 Festival where one of her existing works will be performed, in anticipation of a new composition for the 2018 Festival season. See below full description of this new role. *
Conductor and pianist Kurt Crowley, currently conductor of Broadway’s Hamilton, will lead musical collaboration at the Festival as its new Conductor and Musical Director. Crowley debuted with the Festival in fall 2016 as conductor of Stravinsky’s Apollo for the Vail Dance Festival ReMix season at NY City Center.
For the International Evenings of Dance, a new work will be choreographed by Matthew Neenan set to the music of Leonard Bernstein in anticipation of his centennial.
Music
Live music plays an important part of many Festival performances. This year, the acclaimed Brooklyn Rider string quartet will return to Vail as Quartet-In-Residence, joining solo musicians including singer/multi-instrumentalist Kate Davis, pianist Cameron Grant, to perform alongside the dance on several evenings including the gala performances, International Evenings of Dance I & II and NOW: Premieres. The Breckinridge Music Festival Orchestra will appear at the Festival for the first time as part of the American Dance Classics performance.
*About the Leonard Bernstein Composer-in-Residence at the Vail Dance Festival
Recognizing the extraordinary impact of Leonard Bernstein, and in honor of the upcoming centennial year of his birth, the Festival has created a new position to integrate the composition of music into the structure of programming. The Composer-in-Residence will create a new piece of music to be choreographed and premiered at the festival, and will participate in programming that highlights the crucial partnership of music and dance. Existing work of the Composer-in-Residence will be featured in various programs throughout the festival. The inaugural composer-in-residence is the Pulitzer Prize-winning composer Caroline Shaw.
Vail Dance Festival Fan Club pre-sale ticketing begins Feb. 21 and the public on-sale date is Feb. 28.
The Vail Dance Festival performances take place at the Gerald R. Ford Amphitheater in Vail and the Vilar Performing Arts Center in Beaver Creek. Vail Dance Festival Fan Club pre-sale tickets go on sale Feb. 21 and public on-sale begins Feb. 28.For more information on becoming a Fan Club member, call 970.777.2015. Visit www.vaildance.org for more information and follow the Festival on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube.
About Vail Dance Festival: The outdoor splendor of the Colorado Rocky Mountains is the backdrop each summer as the unique mountain town of Vail plays host to a collection of the world’s finest dancers. Under the artistic direction of Damian Woetzel, the Vail Dance Festival has become renowned for its artistic excellence, unique programming, new works, and one-of-a-kind partnerships. Nearly 20-thousand people from around the world descend each summer on Vail, a vibrant cultural destination, for the Festival’s two-week residence. The Festival’s spirited atmosphere transforms the village into a culturally-rich environment that is inviting to dance aficionados and newcomers alike. In addition to regular performances, the Festival features robust community programming and education events, drawing on its roster of visiting artists, in addition to year-round personnel who focus on arts education in the Vail Valley. In the fall of 2016, the Vail Dance Festival presented for the first time a season outside of its Colorado-base, with a series of acclaimed performances at New York City Center entitled Vail Dance Festival: ReMix NYC. The Vail Dance Festival is a project of the Vail Valley Foundation, which since 1981 has fulfilled its mission to enhance and sustain the quality of life in the Vail Valley by providing leadership in arts, education and athletics. For more information, visit www.vaildance.org.
