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August 1, 2020 by Nukewatch Leave a Comment

Sentencing Dates Changed for Kings Bay Plowshares 7

The Kings Bay Plowshares 7—Mark Colville, Clare Grady, Martha Hennessy, Fr. Steve Kelly, Elizabeth McAlister, Patrick O’Neill, and Carmen Trotta pictured in mug shot, will be sentenced in June 2020.
Nukewatch Quarterly Summer 2020

On Friday, May 22, Judge Lisa Godbey Wood of the Southern District Federal court of Georgia in Brunswick, assigned new dates for seven defendants according to the Kings Bay Plowshares 7 (KBP7) lead attorney, Bill Quigley. Many of the defendants had asked the court to postpone their May 28 and 29 court dates to accommodate their right to be sentenced in person in court, not by video, witnessed by the public and press. The seven were convicted of three felonies and one misdemeanor on October 24, 2019 for their nonviolent, symbolic disarmament act at the Kings Bay Trident submarine base.

The defendants had also asked for home confinement during this time of Covid-19, as entering prison could be a death sentence. Their request was denied by the prosecution. Elizabeth McAlister, 80, the eldest of the KBP7 defendants and widow of Phil Berrigan, was notified that her court date was changed from May 28 to June 8. She is to be sentenced by video while she stays at her home in Connecticut. McAlister served over 17 months before trial. The US attorney is asking for three to five years of probation and restitution. [Update: McAlister was sentenced to time served and three years supervised probation on June 8.]

Martha Hennessy, granddaughter of Dorothy Day, who founded the Catholic Worker Movement, was granted an adjournment and given a new date on June 29, 3:30 pm, in Brunswick, Georgia. Patrick O’Neill, Clare Grady, Mark Colville, Carmen Trotta, and Fr. Steve Kelly also asked for an adjournment and were given June 29 and 30 as their new dates to appear with no times yet specified. They were not told whether they’ll be allowed to be sentenced in person in open court or whether they’ll have to travel to Brunswick to be sentenced remotely by video once they get there. [Update: On September 3, Carmen Trotta is scheduled for 9 am, Steve Kelly 1 pm, and Clare Grady at 4 pm. On September 4, Mark Colville 9 am, Patrick O’Neill 1 pm and Martha Hennessy at 4 pm.]

The sentencing recommendations call for up to 45 months for Steve Kelly (already served over two years) and up to 27 months for the others. Supervised probation and restitution are also requested. Judge Godbey Wood is free to sentence upward or downward from these guidelines.

As they wait for sentencing each of the defendants and their families continue to serve as their communities’ human needs grow exponentially during this Covid-19 pandemic. The defendants call for the release of people in prisons, in federal and state prisons, county and city jails, especially the elderly, the infirm and all non-violent offenders.

On April 4, 2018, acting on the 50th anniversary of Dr. King’s assassination, the Kings Bay Plowshares 7 used a bolt cutter to enter a remote gate at Naval Base Kings Bay in St. Mary’s, Georgia, and walked two miles through swamp and brush. They then split up, prayed, symbolically poured blood, and spray-painted demands to disarm nuclear weapons and to love one another. They hammered on parts of a shrine to nuclear missiles, hung banners quoting Dr. King’s, “the ultimate logic of racism is genocide,” and another naming the ominicidal logic of Trident. The seven then waited to be arrested.

—Kings Bay Plowshares 7

Filed Under: Direct Action, Newsletter Archives, Nuclear Weapons, On The Bright Side, Quarterly Newsletter

August 1, 2020 by Nukewatch 2 Comments

About John’s Recovery

Nukewatch Quarterly Summer 2020

We expect many of our readers have heard and been concerned about John LaForge, our long-time Co-director, regarding his cancer care and prognosis. We’re pleased to report that John’s treatment has been successful, it was merely a “stage 1”, and he believes he is cancer-free. John will continue living in Hamburg for a few months longer and keep on with his health and well-being regime, including heavy metal detoxification, etc., which can prevent a possible recurrence. We will see over the next few years whether John’s alternative treatments are the best way to prevent a return of his cancer. He is resuming most of his regular Nukewatch work. For some this is great news, for others a warning.

— Bonnie Urfer

I am deeply grateful for and humbled by the outpouring of love and support that made my alternative care here in Germany possible. Your financial gifts covered the costs of surgery and the other medical bills, relief that brings the tangible benefit of reduced stress. Please forgive me if you didn’t get a personal note of thanks. Not knowing the language here, confronting the diagnosis, and dealing with the coronavirus restrictions could have been overwhelming, but the generosity of family, friends and comrades have saved the day.

— John LaForge

Filed Under: Newsletter Archives, Office News, On The Bright Side, Quarterly Newsletter, Uncategorized

August 1, 2020 by Nukewatch Leave a Comment

A Huge Thank You to Our Community of Volunteers

Kelly Lundeen, Nukewatch, Co-Director
Nukewatch Quarterly Summer 2020

This issue of the Nukewatch Quarterly has been put together by many people who offered to band together with me while John was being treated for cancer. It would not have been possible without you. As if cancer wasn’t enough for this little organization to deal with, coronavirus came along, but that didn’t stop you all from safely participating in the continuing work of Nukewatch. We have built this community stronger than before, so I want to mention all of our recent volunteers, those who were prevented from volunteering due to the Covid-19 outbreak, along with those who volunteer in an ongoing way to distribute the Nukewatch Quarterly in their region. As you’ll see from the list below, though we are based in Wisconsin, we have almost 100 volunteers in 23 states, DC and three countries! While many of us feel alone in these Covid times, know that we are building our community together – at least in spirit! Hopefully we will soon be with one another in the streets.

Nukewatch volunteer, Sharyl Manwiller.

Ann Wright—Honolulu, HI
Winona Catholic Worker—Winona, MN
Willy St Coop—Madison, WI
David Williams—Madison, WI
Victor White—Oceanside, CA
Deb Weiss—Antigo, WI
LeeAnn Ward & Larry Lack—Calais, ME
Rachel Wales—Oak Lawn, IL
Gail Vaughn—Counce, TN
Bonnie Urfer—Luck, WI
Brian Terrell—Maloy, IA
Mark Taylor—Genoa, WI
Taylor Library—North Mankato, MN
Ann Suellentrop—Kansas City, KS
Nancy Stewart—Luck, WI
Arianne Stewart Peterson—Rice Lake, WI
Mary Sanderson—Deforest, WI
San Jose Catholic Worker—San Jose, CA
Rosalie Riegle—Evanston, IL
Redwood City Catholic Worker—Redwood City, CA
Angela Price—Fresno, CA
Jeff Peterson—Luck, WI
Peace Nook—Columbia, MO
Mary Olson—Candler, NC
Ohio Valley Environmental Coalition—Huntingson, WV
Oak Ridge Environmental Peace Alliance—OakRidge, TN
Nuclear-Free Great Lakes—Monroe, MI
Nuclear Resister—Tucson, AZ
Nuclear Watch South—Atlanta, GA
Nonviolent Peace Force—St. Paul, MN
Diane Nahas—Sands Point, NY
Leona Morgan—Albuquerque, AZ
Yasha Morales—Shell Lake, WI
Sofía Morales—Shell Lake, WI
Jose Morales—Shell Lake, WI
Joseph Miller—Portland, OR
George Milkowski—Chicago, IL
Mike Miles—Luck, WI
Steve McKeown—Minneapolis, MN
Bob Mayberry—Oceanside, CA
Sharyl Manwiller—Turtle Lake, WI
Christine Manwiller—Turtle Lake, WI
Jane Magers—Des Moines, IA
LEPOCO Peace Center—Bethlehem, PA
Jane Leech—Cumberland, WI
Andrew Lanier—San Jose, CA
Michael Komba—Milwaukee, WI
Nora Kobylasz—Omaha, NE
Judy Kleihnert—Washington Island, WI
Barb Kass—Luck, WI
Cynthia Johnson—Berkeley, CA
Steve Jacobs—Columbia, MO
Ralph Hutchison—Oak Ridge, TN
Celest Howard—Hillsboro, OR
Elena Hight—Edmond, OK
Mark Helpsmeet—Eau Claire, WI
John Heid—Tucson, AZ
Ground Zero Center for Nonviolent Action—Poulsbo, WA
Sadie Green—Hopkins, MN
Green Party Illinios—Wheaton, IL
Laura Gauger—Duluth, MN
Fred Gallucio—Newport Beach, CA
Jenn Galler—Knoxville, TN
Fresno Center for Nonviolence—Fresno, CA
Walter  Esler—Chicago, IL
East Side Freedom Library—St. Paul, MN
Dennis DuVall—Radeberg, Germany
Alan Donohue—Ithaca, NY
Susan Crane—Redwood City, CA
Frank Cordaro—Des Moines, IA
Conservation Council of New Brunswick —New Brunswick, Canada
Cindy Collins—Knoxville, TN
Kevin Collins—Knoxville, TN
Felice and Jack Cohen-Joppa —Tucson, AZ
Sharon Cody—Chicago, IL
Spencer Cody—Cincinnati, OH
Jason Cody—Chicago, IL
Claddagh Coffee—St. Paul, MN
Marty Briceland—Greenwood, WI
Liana Bratton—Osceola, WI
John Brakke—Minneapolis, MN
Jan Boudart—Chicago, IL
Julie Borodin—Madison, WI
Mike Boland—Luck, WI
Kristin Boland—Luck, WI
Ann Boland—Luck, WI
Black Cat Cafe—Ashland, WI
Richard Bishop—Stevensville, MT
Emmet Bindon—Chicago, IL
Beyond Pesticides—Washington, DC
Ann Berwald—Northbrook, IL
Bellingham Alternative Library —Bellingham, WA
Sydney Baiman—Chicago, IL
Backroads Coffee & Tea—Hayward, WI
Cee’Cee’ Anderson—College Park, GA

Filed Under: Newsletter Archives, Office News, On The Bright Side, Quarterly Newsletter, Uncategorized

July 26, 2020 by Nukewatch Leave a Comment

Charges in South Carolina against Nuclear Executives

Nukewatch Quarterly Summer 2020

Washington DC—The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) today charged SCANA Corp., two of its former top executives, and South Carolina Electric & Gas Co. (SCE&G), now known as Dominion Energy South Carolina Inc., with defrauding investors by making false and misleading statements about a $9 billion nuclear power reactor expansion that was ultimately abandoned.

The SEC’s complaint alleges that SCANA, its former CEO Kevin Marsh, former Executive Vice President Stephen Byrne, and subsidiary SCE&G misled investors about a project to build two nuclear reactors that would qualify the company for more than $1 billion in tax credits. According to the complaint, the defendants claimed that the project was on track even though they knew it was far behind schedule, making it unlikely to qualify for the tax credits. The complaint further alleges one SCANA executive said that officers of the company “flew around the country showing the same . . . construction pictures from different angles and played our fiddles” while the project itself “was going up in flames.” SCANA abandoned the project in mid-2017 with neither reactor completed. The complaint alleges that the false statements and omissions enabled SCANA to boost its stock price, sell more than $1 billion in bonds, and obtain regulatory approval to raise customers’ rates to finance the project.

“When making statements to the public, executives cannot provide false information or half-truths,” said Richard R. Best, director of the SEC’s Atlanta regional office. “This case demonstrates the SEC’s commitment to holding companies and individuals at the highest corporate levels responsible when they mislead investors and fail to provide them with full and fair information…”

—The Securities and Exchange Commission, Press Release, Feb, 27, 2020

Filed Under: Newsletter Archives, Nuclear Power, On The Bright Side, Quarterly Newsletter

July 26, 2020 by Nukewatch Leave a Comment

Phasing Out of Poison Power

By Clay Bennett
By Kristin Boland
Nukewatch Quarterly Summer 2020

In recent months four nuclear power reactors have been sent into decommissioning, three in Europe and one in the United States. The closing of each one brings encouragement and a reminder of the scale of the work which remains.

In December 2019, Switzerland turned off the Mühleberg reactor near Bern. Mühleberg had been in operation for 47 years; the work of decommissioning will require a team of 200 people and is expected to take 15 years, with the cost estimated to be at least $1.4 billion. The closure of Mühleberg is part of Switzerland’s commitment to transition away from nuclear power, opting instead for greater reliance on renewable energy.

Like Switzerland, the French government has begun a move away from nuclear power, although it currently operates 58 nuclear reactors that produce three-quarters of the country’s electricity. The country has committed to close all reactors over 40 years old by 2023.

New York’s Indian Point unit 2 was shut down April 30 and is in the process of being decommissioned, with full shut down of unit 3 in 2021. Indian Point sits on the Hudson River, in a densely populated area of the east coast 30 miles north of New York City. The decommissioning is estimated to be a 12 to 15 year project, costing $2.3 billion.

The closing of each nuclear power reactor is worthy of celebration. Companies may close them because they’re losing money, but governments around the globe are making life-affirming decisions to transition from dangerous nuclear power to sustainable energy sources.

Filed Under: Newsletter Archives, Nuclear Power, On The Bright Side, Quarterly Newsletter

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