On the Radio
The Public Good on WUFO AM 1080, Tuesdays at 1pm
PPG now has a radio show, the Public Good, each Tuesday from 1:00 to 1:30 pm on WUFO AM 1080. Each week will feature a PPG Partner or other person working toward the public good and discuss some of the region’s hottest issues. Hosted by PPG co-director Sam Magavern. Listen on your radio or at www.wufoam.com.
Upcoming shows:
The Public Good is brought to you in part by the law firm of Lipsitz and Ponterio, the only law firm in Western New York representing former coke oven workers in claims for cancer of the lung and other organs resulting from exposure to coke oven emissions.
You can listen to previous programs here:
May 14: David Lage and Sarah Maurer of ArtFarms talk about the benefits of art structures on the East Side of Buffalo.
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May 7: Najlah Habib, Demetrius Sanders, Yessica Amezquita, Sherman Webb of Leaving Our Legacy talk about sexual health and sexual education in Buffalo Public Schools.
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April 30: Reverend James Giles of Back to Basics Ministries talks about the drug policy, gang prevention and issues surrounding them.
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April 23: Sue Ventresca, Director of Health Related Services for Buffalo Public Schools talks about health issues of Buffalo Public School children, and what can be done to mitigate them.
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April 16: Andrew Prinzing, Vice Principal of Community Charter School and two UB students talk about the Buffalo Recycling Alliance and their efforts to get 1,000 youth involved in recycling projects.
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April 9: Ramone Alexander and Augustine Queener of Liberty Partnerships discuss their role in Buffalo Public Schools tutoring and after school programs.
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April 2: Erin Hatton, a professor at UB, talks about her research on Invisible Workers.
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March 26: Luke Robinson of VOICE – Buffalo and Gladys Gifford of Citizens for Regional Transit Corporation speak about the NFTA.
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March 19: Maritza Vega of Hispanic Heritage Council, discusses improvements on the west side and what they hope to see happen.
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March 12: Karima Amin of Prisoners Are People Too, provides an update on efforts to improve the Erie County Holding Center.
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March 5: Dr. Claity Massey, Head and Founder, King Center Charter School, discusses King Center’s holistic approach to public education
February 19: Jeff Conrad of the Center for Employment Opportunities discusses barriers and solutions to employment for formerly incarcerated individuals.
February 12: Gayla Thompson, Ros Hampton, and Deborah Scales of Citizen Action’s Alliance for Quality Education discuss the campaign to revise the code of conduct for the Buffalo Public Schools.
January 22: Urban planner Ray Garcia discusses his latest report on how Buffalo weathered the Great Recession as compared to other cities and to past recessions.
January 15: Dr. Katie Grimm of the Community Health Worker Network of Buffalo on poverty, disparities, and health insurance, including the need for single payer health insurance.
January 8: Barbara Breckenridge of the North East Kidney Foundation of Buffalo
December 18: Stanton Hudson from the Theodore Roosevelt Inaugural Site discusses how Teddy Roosevelt would look at our progress, or lack of progress, on some of the issues he faced when he first took office, including racial inequality, robber barons, and the environment.
December 11: Peter Hubbard from the Niagara Organizing Alliance for Hope, or NOAH, talks about how one wealthy, well-connected real estate developer from New York City is stymying progress toward redeveloping Niagara Falls.
December 4: A youth entrepreneurship showcase with Tracy Cooley, Akin Wilson, and Patricia Hutton.
November 27: Andrew Delmonte from Buffalo First on the benefits of buying local this holiday season.
November 20: David Gerber and Michael Rembis of the UB Center for Disability Studies discuss important research on disability and its history.
November 13: Jessica Bauer Walker of the Community Health Worker Network discusses who is a community health worker and how their work posivitely impacts health.
November 6: Helene Kramer of United Partners for Public Education discusses the Buffalo Public Schools and human rights issues as well.
October 30: Connie Sanderson, Continuum of Care Coordinator for the Homeless Alliance of WNY (HAWNY) discussing HAWNY’s new report, Opening Doors: Buffalo and Erie County Community Plan to End Homelessness
October 23: Kevin Connor of the Public Accountability Initiative (PAI) discusses PAI’s latest report on Wells Fargo’s Ties to the Private Prison Industry.
October 16: Matthew Parham and Vera Cedano of the WNY Law Center discuss the latest consumer law issues
October 9: Angela Blue from the AFL-CIO discusses race, gender and labor unions today
October 2: Environmental Educator Andy Goldstein talks about raising Buffalo’s recycling rate.
September 25: Roseann Scibilia of the University District Community Development Association discusses the upcoming Home Energy Conservation Kit (HECK) Project of the WNY Apollo Allianceand how you can reduce your utility bills by being more energy efficient and also about assistance programs.
September 18: Myrna Young and Ivy Diggs-Washington of Everywoman Opportunity Center, discuss some of the challenges facing women in today’s economy, including the plight of returning women veterans, issues of human trafficking, and the difficulty of finding a new job after being laid off.
September 11: Erin Heaney, executive director of the Clean Air Coalition of WNY, discusses local campaigns to reduce and prevent pollution including truck traffic at the Peace Bridge, the Amigone Crematory in Tonawanda, and improving the Local Emergency Response system in Buffalo.
August 21: The real story of Buffalo’s population with urban planner Ramon Garcia
August 14: Barbara Seals Nevergold, Buffalo Public Schools Board Member
August 7: Jim Heaney of the Investigative Post discusses unpaid Housing Court fines
July 24: Making Buffalo more bike friendly with Henry Raess and Chris Bain of GO Bike Buffalo
July 17: Dr. Hank Stopinski, principal of the Health Sciences Charter School
July 3: Mike Lee and Shane Jones of the Community Action Organization’s Green Entrepreneurial Center
June 19: Ida Parker of Buffalo Prenatal-Perinatal Network
May 22: Judith Anderson, executive director of the Environmental Justice Action Group, on fresh food and environmental justice for Buffalo’s East Side
May 15: Melodie Baker, assistant director of Bethel Head Start, on the role of early childhood education in combatting poverty
May 8: Stephanie Simeon, Heart of the City Neighborhoods, Inc.
May 1: Katie Duggan-Haas, Modern Recycling
April 24: Representatives from the Community Fair Housing Fair
April 17: City of Buffalo Seasonal Sanitation workers Abraham McKinney and Timothy Johnson
April 3: Sean Lora-Hetzner and Janie Sweat of Filmore-Leroy Area Residents, Inc.
March 27: Hannya Boulos of Buffalo ReformEd
March 20: Tapestry High School students, Jesse Callanan and Susan Miller, and their teacher, Geoff Schutte, offer their thoughts on what makes a public high school succeed and on their efforts to make the streets near their school more bicycle and pedestrian friendly.
February 28: Dr. Laurene Tumiel-Berhalther of UB Family Medicine discusses her innovative Patient Voices project and the importance of listening to patients in providing quality health care.
February 21: Cynnie Gaasch, Executive Director of Young Audiences of WNY
February 14: Douglas Hartmayer, Public Affairs Director for the Niagara Frontier Transportation Authority
February 7: Chair of the Erie County Legislature, Betty Jean Grant
January 31: Jonathon Welch, owner of Talking Leaves Books, discusses buying local, independent bookstores, and the importance of bringing local business to Canal Side.
January 17: Dr. Henry Taylor, Center for Urban Studies at the University of Buffalo
December 27: Steve Deisig, Opportunity Corps Program Manager of The Service Collaborative of WNY
December 6: Chandra Banks, director of residential services at Buffalo Federation of Neighborhood Centers, discusses issues of mental health and affordable housing in Buffalo.
November 22: Buffalo Public Schools Associate Superintendant Will Keresztes
November 15: Karima Amin of Prisoners Are People Too and Rev. Eugene Pierce of the Erie County Prisoners’ Rights Coalition revisit the campaign for reform at the Erie County Holding Center and cover the landmark settlement from this past summer. Both are members of the Erie County Community Corrections Advisory Board.
November 1: Judith LeBlanc, the National Field Director of Peace Action & Peace ActionEducation Fund. She is leading Peace Action’s national work on ‘Move the Money’ to reduce the defense budget and put the money into domestic human needs. She is also helping to broaden understanding and connecting of the Occupy Wall Street to the issues that many progressives have been working on.
October 25: Sophie Feal, Supervising Immigration Attorney at Volunteer Lawyers Project
October 18: Erie County Executive Candidate and current County Comptroller Mark Poloncarz
October 11: Lauren Breen of the WNY Law Center and Paul Curtin of the Legal Aid Bureau of Buffalo
October 4: Natasha Soto of the Clean Air Coalition of WNY joins us for a discussion about the health impacts of the Peace Bridge on the West Side community and what a better, more just Peace Bridge project would look like.
September 27: Dr. Curtis Haynes, Jr., Buffalo State College. The Buff State Economics Professor and former City Council Member joins the Public Good to discuss inner-city economic development.
September 20: Roseann Scibilia of the University District Community Development Association and Omar Torres of West Side Neighborhood Housing Services discuss the WNY Apollo Alliance Home Energy Conservation Kit Project. Learn how you can reduce your utility bills by being more energy efficient and also about assistance programs you may be eligible for.
September 13: The Public Good focuses on local elections and the voter guide prepared by PPG, Coalition for Economic Justice, Erie County Prisoners Rights Coalition, Prisoners are People Too!, Coalition of Black Trade Unionists, Buffalo First!, Clean Air Coalition of WNY, and Citizen Action.
September 6: Jim Anderson of Citizen Action discusses the campaign to change school suspension policy and discusses local election issues
August 30: Belmont Housing Resources Belmont Housing offers a wide range of programs for renters and homeowners. Learn from Kathy O’Brien and Ardis Damon what they can do for you.
August 23: Legislator Maria Whyte, Candidate for County Clerk County Legislator Maria Whyte is running for County Clerk this November. Learn about the issues and her positions on them.
August 16: Creighton Randall of Buffalo CarShare. While Buffalo has been ranked as having the easiest commute in the nation (among large cities) it is not very convenient for those who don’t own a vehicle (over 30% of Buffalo’s households). Buffalo CarShare provides affordable, community-based car sharing services that benefit the environment through practical innovation.
August 9: County Comptroller Mark Poloncarz
August 2: County Executive Chris Collins
July 26: Community Gardens with Tim Fulton from Groundwork Buffalo and Chelsea Wagner from Journey’s End Refugee Services. Vacant lots are turning into beautiful gardens all over Buffalo’s east and west sides. Tune in to listen to teens from the east side who are greening vacant lots, along with those involved in community gardens for refugee populations on the west side.
July 19: Subsidy Reform in New York State with Bettina Damiani. Each year, New York State spends about $8.2 billion in tax breaks for businesses in the name of economic development, with surprisingly little to show for it. Bettina Damiani, Project Director for Good Jobs New York, comes to Buffalo to discuss how we can get more bang for our buck
July 12: Racial Disparities and Community Health Workers, with Jessica Walker and Nadia Pizarro. Buffalo has some of the worst racial disparities in health in the nation. Learn how community health workers can be part of the solution.
July 5: Fair Housing in Buffalo’s Suburbs, with Kelly Patterson. Professor Patterson made headlines recently with her study of discrimination and other barriers to fair housing.
June 28: Buffalo’s Green Development Zone, with Eric Walker. PUSH Buffalo recently won an international competition with its project to redevelop housing, vacant lots, and neighborhood amenities on the West Side.
June 21: The Fight to Bring High Speed Internet to Buffalo with Janique Curry. The Don’t Bypass Buffalo Coalition says that Verizon needs to bring its high speed FiOS service to urban and minority residents, not just to the suburbs.
June 14: Urban Farms and Community Gardens with Zoe Holloman. Who is raising 30,000 tilapia fish in a greenhouse on Buffalo’s west side? Who is teaching Buffalo’s youth to become urban farmers and entrepreneurs? Find out from Zoe Holloman of the Massachusetts Avenue Project.
May 31: Redistricting, Downsizing, and Voting with Reverend Jeff Carter (Ephesus Ministries) and Professor Michael Halberstam (UB Law School)
May 17: Environmental Justice and Buffalo’s Green Code with Stephanie Simeon (Heart of the City Neighborhoods)
May 10: Arts and Culture in Erie County: the Role of Government with Gary Earl Ross (playwright, author) and Rahwa Ghirmatzion (Ujiima Theatre)
May 3: Canal Side: Ensuring Opportunity for African American Workers and Businesses with Duane Diggs (VOICE Buffalo)