| October 8th, 2019 Islington Corridor Improvement Project: Nikki’s Bahn Mi has been hit hard at the epicenter of most of the construction work. She has had several days last month where she had to close due to the construction project. Please support a fellow small business owner and grab some great food this week! I’m a big fan of her bahn mi tacos, but a warm bowl of pho on a rainy day sounds like heaven right about now. The project is currently about 2/3rds done. Next week, the gravel bed and paving will begin from Jewell Court to approximately Rite Aid. Construction will continue as long as the asphalt plants stay open, sometime in December. At that time, temporary paving will covered the entire work space to last through the winter. The project will restart in the spring to completion. Stay in the know! Sign up for project updates here: Islington Street Corridor Project. Summit on Racism: In mid-September, a white West End business owner used a racial slur in an instagram post. When she was asked to remove the slur from her post, she doubled down and used it again multiple times in a video on the platform. The event has caused significant ripples in our community. In an attempt to use this incident to drive change, several local business owners have been working with the Portsmouth Chamber of Commerce to use this event as an impetus to expand awareness and education and provide a opportunity for growth in our Seacoast community and beyond. We want to know: Where do you feel you could use more education? What type of event would help you in your business to develop a more diverse and welcoming workplace? Do you have thoughts to share on the topic? Looking for resources? Dig Deeper. The Niceties: This play on race and representation by the New Hampshire Theatre Project goes live this Friday through October 27th. This new play from Eleanor Burgess opens a conversation between a black student and her white professor about why her history is not covered in the class. Their subsequent conversation is an intense, intelligent and nuanced conversation about race, history, and power in America. Grab tickets here. WESTIVAL: WESTIVAL was a big hit once again. This year, the budget was significantly larger than years past. Since the planning was not a part of the monthly WEBA meetings, we’d like to meet with the WESTIVAL organizing committee to talk about how to move forward in the future. Social Media Policies: After the racial slur incident, it became clear that we need to develop a policy around statements made on the WEBA social media. The WEBA accounts should not be used to reach out to anyone on behalf of the organization without group consensus. The WEBA social media accounts shall be used to share local events and articles that meet our mission: to preserve and promote the unique character of the West End. We appreciate the resource of the WEBA pages, but we see the need for anyone managing the social media accounts to be active members of the monthly West End meetings to accurately represent the group and help formulate these policies. We are looking for a regular member of the West End meetings to take over management of these pages. Need experience to build your resume? Holler at your girl! TOTE AROUND TOWN: This is the biggest holiday shopping event on the Seacoast. Prep for Tote is already in the works! We had a lot of fun at this community-building, holiday shopping event last year. Stay in the know and join in by following Tote Around Town on social media. Info meeting coming soon! |
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Present: Sara Curry, Blaze Yoga and Pilates Jonathan Blakeslee, White Heron Tea Ben VanCamp, Portsmouth Chamber Valerie Rochon, Portsmouth Chamber Catherine Stewart, New Hampshire Theatre Project Connie Freiermuth, Pontine Theatre Monique Shevlin, Signature Title and Escrow Josh Nash, Portsmouth Community Radio Becky Pickul, Greengard Center for Autism Ryan Flynn, City of Portsmouth, Islington Project Coordinator Eric Eby, City of Portsmouth, Traffic Engineer Brad Chareth, Underwood Engineers Gary Mohr, Severino Construction Islington Street Corridor Project Superintendent Charlotte Hubbard, Partners Bank Leo Poisson, Portsmouth Jewelers Denyelle Kilgour, Sylvan Learning Josiah Babcock, Inhouse Digital Kristin Cokines, Great Rhythm Brewing Company |
