Today’s column is going to begin with a little reader interaction. To do this, I’ll need you to put down your coffee. Now, raise your hand if you have complained that the leaders in the 60’s and 70’s let the Interstate bypass downtown Huntington. I imagine there are lots of hands raised and many of you saying how much better our City would be if we just had high speed access to downtown.

Now, raise your hand if you’ve complained about Charleston’s refusal to consider building a regional airport. Again, I’m betting there are lots of hands waiving now. I’ll bet many are saying, “Wouldn’t it have made a difference if we just had great access to the rest of the world?”

Enough “what ifs”! We have another opportunity to provide fast, easy access to the area; and this time we have a chance to have better access than almost anyone else in the country. Create Huntington, Strictly Business, Marshall University and the City of Huntington are collaborating on an exciting project and need your help to make it a success. Later this year, Google plans to select one or more communities to test an ultra-high speed broadband network that could provide Internet speeds 100 times faster than what most Americans have access to today.

What could this mean for the area? No one really knows. In the 1950’s and 1960’s, I’m sure no one knew how critical the Interstate would be to local economies. We do know that our children and their children will be impacted by our efforts. Ultra high-speed bandwidth will almost certainly drive more innovation: in high-definition video, remote data storage, real-time multimedia collaboration, and provide unimagined opportunities for software developers, researchers, writers and innovators. It will give us an opportunity to compete and win in the 21^st Century economy.

You can help make this happen. In fact, it won’t happen without you. Part of Google’s evaluation of the communities will include an assessment of how badly residents want the super-fast service.

The deadline for you to submit information is Thursday, March 25^th. To do this, you can get details and nominate Huntington at: http://sites.google.com/site/huntingtonwvfiber/ or the Facebook fan page, “Google Fiber for Huntington WV.” We encourage you to be creative: offer a written explanation, post a YouTube video, record a song, or upload some art. Use whatever creativity and skills you have to convince Google that they should select this area.

There are a number of people who would be happy to help you if you have questions or are not comfortable doing this yourself. To learn more, you can:

• Email why@whyhuntington.com with questions,
• Post questions on the Google Fiber for Huntington WV Facebook page, or
• Go to the Pullman Square Starbucks anytime from 5:30 – 9:00 pm this Thursday, March 18^th. We will have volunteers available to help you fill-out on-line forms, record videos, and answer questions.

To learn more about this project, or about how you can make your vision for a better Huntington a reality, join us at a Create Huntington Chat ‘n Chew, held 5:30 – 7:00 pm every Thursday in the lobby of the Frederick Building, 940 Fourth Avenue. For more information, go to www.createhuntington.com.

There are twelve active and growing neighborhood associations in Huntington. It’s an amazing illustration of how much the people in this town care about their community. These groups do more than just have a fun summer picnic (though some do that too) they also work to overcome the challenges that face their community. It’s an inspiring and humbling thing to know that so many people care so much.

However, these associations don’t focus just on their own neighborhood instead they also help each other out when they are in need and they collaborate via the Huntington Neighborhood Institute. Just tonight I heard people in the West Huntington Organization (one neighborhood association) speaking about a desire to help the Guyandotte Neighborhood Association with their cleanup efforts leading up to the celebration of Guyandotte’s founding anniversary. Guyandotte is as far east in Huntington as you can get and yet these great people from the other side of town are planning on helping out.

If you want a sense of community you should contact your local neighborhood association. The city has a great webpage up with all the information you need if you want to get involved.

Over the next ten days, Create Huntington will begin work on two projects to address some of our communities most difficult problems. We will launch a partnership to help build stronger, safer neighborhoods and we will introduce a lecture series to help those living in poverty and those who are more affluent communicate and work together. Both of these efforts are grounded in the belief that we will only address big issues such as poverty, crime, drugs and hopelessness if we come together as neighbors, neighborhoods, city and region.

Create Huntington is partnering with the Neighborhood Institute, the United Way, and the West Virginia Center for Civic Life to launch a project that we hope will enable us to ultimately build stronger, safer neighborhoods in Huntington.

This Project will include a series of community forums, held throughout the area, in April. In these forums, small groups will meet to openly and constructively discuss ideas for what we can all do to make our neighborhoods safer and community stronger.  In May, we will convene a city-wide “action summit” for the individual groups to share their ideas and to discuss ways we, as a City, can work together to make Huntington a great place to live.

We need your help to do this. There are two opportunities for you to get involved in the project.

1.         You can volunteer to moderate community forums: We are seeking volunteers to serve as moderators for the community forums. This is a valuable opportunity to learn how to lead a productive, non-combative and effective conversation on any issue. We think you will find that the skills you learn during the training can be applied in your family, community and work life. The trainings will be held at the United Way, 820 Madison Avenue in Huntington, on March 16th. The first session will be from 12:00 noon to 3:00 pm. A light lunch will be served. The second session will be held in the evening from 5:30 pm to 8:30 pm with a light dinner served. This training is free.

2.         Your group can host a community forum: If you are involved in a community group, faith-based organization, school or neighborhood association, you are invited to host a forum that will help you bring people together to constructively discuss ways to make our community stronger and safer.

Create Huntington is also partnering with Huntington’s Community Gardens and the City of Huntington’s Weed and Seed program to hold a lecture series entitled “Building Bridges, Building Communities.” The first part of the series deals with poverty and opening honest communication between those in poverty and those who are affluent.

The first lecture will be from 9 a.m. to noon Saturday, March 20, at Empire Books and News at Pullman Square. It is based on the book, “A Framework for Understanding Poverty,” which seeks to provide those living in middle class and wealth with a better understanding of the challenges that face those living in poverty. Having sold over 1 million copies, it is described as a “must read for educators, employers, policy makers, and service providers.” The cost to participate is $5. All proceeds will benefit the Huntington Community Gardens.

If you have any questions or are interested in getting involved in either of these projects, please e-mail Create Huntington at createhuntington@gmail.com. To learn more, you may also go to www.createhuntington.com or join us at a Create Huntington Chat ‘n Chew, held 5:30 – 7:00 pm every Thursday in the lobby of the Frederick Building.

The Feminist Art Project is an established group of local artists who share the common goal of highlighting the talent and significance of female artists. The collection of artists is a continuation of the group previously launched by Katherine Cox in 2008.

Featured artists in Mavens Nine include Earline Allen, Natalie Burdette, Katherine Cox, Mary Grassell, Linda Helgason, Natalie Larsen, Staci Leech, Carter Seaton and Kristen Zammiello, many of whom are part-time or full-time faculty at Marshall University’s College of Fine Arts. The work included in the exhibition is an eclectic collection, varying in both medium and subject matter. Media range from graphite drawings and oil paintings to pottery and other three-dimensional pieces.

“As a member of the local chapter of The Feminist Art Project, I’m excited to be participating in the upcoming exhibition, Mavens Nine, at Gallery 842,” said Natalie Larsen, assistant professor of art at Marshall. “I’m honored to be associated with a group of inspired women who are curious and capable artists engaged in bringing good art and challenging new ideas to the local community.”

Larsen said her work is inspired by many things: children’s books and illustrations, literature, American history, religious studies, genealogy and art history. “I strive to make art work that is accessible to a wide audience, but also challenges viewers to ask questions and move beyond what is comfortable,” she said.

Gallery 842 is both a community- and university-held space to promote local talent and initiative. The gallery is a free cultural experience for any artist or art enthusiast, located at 842 4^th Ave. in downtown Huntington. It is open Tuesdays through Saturdays from noon to 5 p.m.

This is SB 324 also known as the Brains for Business Bill. This bill would exempt recent college graduates that reside in West Virginia from state taxes on their first $10,000 of income, for a period of two years. The bill passed the WV State Senate, but now needs to pass through the House of Delegates.

If it is not added to the agenda by tomorrow, it will die. For this to advance, we need young leaders to contact: House Finance Committee Chair Delegate Harry Keith White Capitol Phone: (304) 340-3230 E-mail: hkwhite@mail.wvnet.edu Delegate Tom Campbell, Vice Chair of the committee, Capitol Phone: (304) 340-3230 E-mail: tom.campbell@wvhouse.gov and Speaker of the House Richard Thompson Capitol Phone: (304) 340-3210 and E-mail: Speaker.Thompson@verizon.net

If they receive at least 15 to 20 calls on an issue, it will gain their attention to move things forward. Please give them a call and let them know how important it is to advance this legislation to keep and attract our greatest natural resource, young talent, that fuels our present and future economy.

Sincerely, Paul Daugherty Chairman Generation West Virginia

Bottoms is the author of seven collections of poems, including the Walt Whitman Award-winning Shooting Rats at the Bibb County Dump, praised by Robert Penn Warren as having “a vision [in which] the actual world is not transformed, but illuminated.” Recent books include his selected poems, Armored Hearts, and Waltzing Through the Endtime.

He has earned fellowships from the Guggenheim Foundation and the National Endowment for the Arts. Among his other awards are the Levinson and Frederick Bock Prizes of Poetry magazine, an Ingram Merrill Award, and an Award in Literature from the American Academy and Institute of Arts and Letters.

As a Southern writer, Bottoms’ style is both narrative and contemplative, possessed of what James Dickey has called a “sardonic yet compassionate countryman’s voice.” His poems explore both our natural and human-created landscapes, uncovering the history of a place in the collective memory of its people. He holds the Amos Distinguished Chair in English Letters at Georgia State University.

Bottoms’ appearance is a featured presentation of the Visiting Writers Series, sponsored by the Marshall University English Department and the College of Liberal Arts. It is free and open to the public.

As I look back on these dinners now, I think I understand what made them special. They were opportunities for people to express their creativity or to show off a little, to be with friends, talk about problems and issues that were important to the church, and to give a little of themselves to others.

I understand now that when we created the Create Huntington Chat ‘n Chews over a year ago we were trying to recreate the community of these pot luck dinners.

We wanted to create a place where everyone could sit at the table: where anyone’s idea was valid, where people found support instead of negativism and everyone was given the opportunity to be part of the solution. We wanted to create a place that was friendly and filled with talk and laughter.

We hoped that by bringing people with different interests and from different backgrounds together, we could build a community of creative people who would affirm, support and help each other.

Our goal was to provide a way for people to transform their ideas, hopes and desires into action and reality. We wanted to create a way for regular people to be part of making Huntington a great place to live; where they could present an idea they thought would improve the community, recruit support and bring their initiative to life.

In many ways, we’ve accomplished these goals. We’d like for you to join us “at the table.”

Among the items on the buffet at the Chat ‘n Chew this week, we will have a group working on a project to establish a “culture center” where people from different backgrounds, nations and cultures have a space to celebrate their heritage and share it with others. Another group is creating a menu of training and other services for parents. Teams will also be there to recruit volunteers for beautification projects and learn how they can help stimulate downtown development. Importantly, we will have a few surprises: new people, bringing new ideas and energy that none of us had considered before.

You are invited to and add your ideas and energy to the smorgasbord. The Create Huntington Chat ‘n Chews meet every Thursday, 5:30 – 7:00 in the lobby of the Frederick Building, 940 Fourth Avenue. The forums are free and open to everyone. For more information, go to www.createhuntington.com.

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Academy Award nominee Burma VJ: Reporting from a Closed Country (Belgium) shows how Burma became headline news across the globe when peaceful Buddhist monks led a massive rebellion. More than 100,000 people took to the streets protesting a cruel dictatorship that has held the country hostage for more than 40 years. Foreign news crews were banned to enter and the Internet was shut down. The Democratic Voice of Burma, a collective of 30 anonymous and underground video journalists (VJs) recorded these historic and dramatic events on handycams and smuggled the footage out of the country, where it was broadcast worldwide via satellite. Risking torture and life imprisonment, the VJs vividly document the brutal clashes with the military and undercover police – even after they themselves become targets of the authorities. Burma VJ plays like a thriller, all the more scary because it is true. This film is presented in both English and Burmese with English subtitles. Catch it Friday, March 5 at 9:45 p.m., Saturday, March 6 at 2:30 p.m. and Sunday, March 7 at 5:30 p.m.

The Girl From Monaco (France) is a comic thriller about a brilliant and neurotic attorney who travels to Monaco to defend a famous criminal. But, instead of focusing on the case, he falls for Audrey, a beautiful she-devil, who turns him into a complete wreck. Audrey is an ambitious, sexy and ultimately deadly, weather girl on one of Monaco’s TV stations, who has no intention of reciting weather reports for much longer. Eventually the attorney turns to his zealous bodyguard to help get him out of the mess he’s created.  Presented in French with English subtitles, this film plays Friday, March 5 at 5:30 p.m. and Saturday, March 6 at 9:45 p.m.

Depatures (Japan) follows Daigo, a talented musician. When his orchestra is abruptly disbanded, he suddenly finds himself without a source of steady income. Making the decision to move back to his small hometown, he answers a classified ad for a company called “Departures,” mistakenly assuming that he will be working for a travel agency. Upon discovering that he will actually be preparing the bodies of the recently deceased for their trip to the afterlife, Daigo accepts the position as gatekeeper between life and death and gradually gains a greater appreciation for life. His wife and friends despise his new line of work, but he takes a great amount of pride in the fact that he is helping to ensure that the dead receive a proper send-off from this state of being.  This film is presented In Japanese with English subtitles and plays Saturday, March 6 at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday, March 7 at 2:30 p.m.

Lemon Tree (Israel) tells the story of a widow and empty nester Salma Zidane, who lives on the Palestinian West Bank in a house flanked by lemon trees planted by her great grandparents. Unfortunately, when the Israeli minister of defense builds a house adjacent to her own, her lemon trees are deemed a security risk. Salma hires a lawyer to prevent the powerful man from having her ancestral trees removed, but the odds are stacked against her, and to make matters worse, she begins to fall in love with her lawyer. Personal drama gives way to political controversies as Salma forms an unexpected bond with the minister’s lonely wife, and takes her protest – with the help of her young lawyer – all the way to the Israeli Supreme Court. Presented in Arabic with English subtitles, this film plays Friday, March 5 at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday, March 7 at 12:30 p.m.

Flow: For the Love of Water (U.S.A.) is the one American film being shown during the festival. This powerful documentary investigates one of the most important political and environmental issues of the 21st Century – The World Water Crisis – building a case against privatization of the world’s dwindling fresh water supply with an unflinching focus on politics, pollution, human rights, and the emergence of a domineering world water cartel. Interviews with scientists and activists intelligently reveal the rapidly building crisis, at both the global and human scale, and the film introduces many of the governmental and corporate culprits behind the water grab, while begging the question “CAN ANYONE REALLY OWN WATER?” Presented in English, this film plays Saturday, March 6 at 5:30 p.m. and Sunday, March 7 at 7:30 p.m.

Lake Tahoe (Mexico) closes out he festival. Teenage Juan crashes his family’s car into a telegraph pole on the outskirts of town, and then scours the streets searching for someone to help him fix it. His quest will bring him to Don Heber, an old paranoid mechanic whose only companion is Sica, his almost human boxer dog; to Lucía, a young mother who is convinced that her real place in life is as a lead singer in a punk band, and to “The One who Knows”, a teenage mechanic obsessed with martial arts and Kung Fu philosophy. The absurd and bewildering worlds of these characters drag Juan into a one day journey in which he will come to accept what he was escaping from in the first place–an event both as natural and inexplicable as a loved one’s death. Presented in Spanish with English subtitles, this film plays Saturday, March 6 at 12:30 p.m. and Sunday, March 7 at 9:45 p.m.

Tickets may be purchased at the door.  Full-time Marshall students may receive a ticket at no charge.  Marshall faculty and staff are $5.50 each. Marshall faculty, staff and students MUST present a valid MU ID prior to admission.  Individual tickets are $7 and may be purchased at the door 15 minutes prior to each film.  Advance tickets are not necessary. For more information, call (304) 696-6656. Visit our website to view film trailers or read reviews at http://www.marshall.edu/muartser/springfestival.asp.

The Spring International Film Festival is sponsored by BB & T, Hooters, Cabell Huntington Convention and Visitor’s Bureau. WKEE, WVHU, The Herald- Dispatch, Marshall University and the College of Fine Arts.

“We are honored that West Virginia was selected as the 20th state in the country to host our nation’s treasure,” said Penny Watkins, executive director of the Marshall Artists Series. “Also, we are excited that our Marshall University students and other area youth will have the opportunity to interact and learn from NSO members during special outreach events.”

This performance is part of the American Residency project. Beginning in 1992, the symphony accepts an invitation every year from one state or region to offer opportunities such as sharing elements of classical music, exploring diverse musical influences and giving the area a musical voice through training, career development and commissions.

Principal Conductor Iván Fischer and Music Director Designate Christoph Eschenbach lead this ensemble of talented musicians. The evening’s program will feature music from composers such as Antonín Dvořák, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and Leonard Bernstein. Notable pieces include Dvořák’s Symphony No. 8, Mozart’s Symphony No. 38 (Prague) and Bernstein’s Three Dance Episodes from “On the Town.”

Single tickets go on sale to the general public Friday, Feb. 26th at noon in the Joan C. Edwards Performing Arts Center box office and all Ticketmaster locations, online at ticketmaster.com or call 304-696-6656 for more details. Tickets are $35, $25 and $10.

The National Symphony Orchestra is sponsored by West Virginia Culture and History, the West Virginia Commission on the Arts, the National Endowment for the Arts and the Marshall Artists Series.