- sudo-discuss - sudoroom.org

ISPs blocking millions in state money to boost Oakland’s high-speed internet

by Peter Mui

“...The $14 million initially set aside for Oakland — a large chunk of the $24.5 million slated for Alameda County at large — is intended to build out the “last mile” of broadband connectivity, or tether parts of the city to the larger internet backbone built along major interstate highways. “...The issue hits close to home for high-school students in East Oakland, who said in interviews that everything from their post-pandemic education to FaceTimes calls with relatives to simple entertainment options were a nightmare of frozen screens, lagging videos and endless troubleshooting…” Article in the Mercury News about broadband deployment in East Oakland: https://www.mercurynews.com/2023/12/24/why-are-comcast-and-att-trying-to-bl… Do any suders / sudomeshers know Patrick Messac and/or the digital-equity advocacy group #OaklandUndivided? Seasons Greetings, -Peter

1 year, 8 months

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Addressing concerns

by Toan Nguyen

Hi all, I'm reaching out to share and clarify two concerns that was brought up from some Sudo Room members that occured during SR meeting on Wednesday Dec. 20. FNB discussion - (1) Josh attended as "Benny" since it was already on the device he was using and not intended to fake his identity. (2) Josh made an error when he said "FNB wants to approve PP proposal". FNB had a meeting right before SR and it wasn't clear to Josh that we were to stand aside the following day. An FNB member changed their mind at the last minute, that also resulted in a member opposing a decision to favor the proposal so hence the stand aside. There were also concerns that Josh misrepresented EBFNB and more of his personal views during Omni delegates meetings. I feel it can be difficult to balance since we don't want to misrepresent our collective at the same time voice how we feel as an individual towards an agenda. I've spoken with Josh, we had a great conversation and from that got an understanding where he's coming from, and where I'm coming from. We as part of collectives in this space we all share with one another, it'll be better when we all share with one another. Given the reminder of misrepresent concerns from our own collective, and to help avoid the friction between volunteers from SR and EBFNB that may escalate, I asked Josh to step down as a delegate for East Bay Food Not Bombs. Thanks, Toan

1 year, 8 months

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CLP logged into the Omni twitter on October 3rd

by Jake

just to inform sudoroom people of something mentioned on our slack: CLP (the authoritarian group we had to kick out in September) logged into the Omni twitter account on October 3rd and sent their boycott campaign to a bunch of our followers. I know Sudoroom people would mostly rather not have to think about this stuff, but if we want to remain at the Omni (which was mostly founded by sudoroom and CCL) we need to understand the magnitude of the struggle we're in and why it happened, especially so we can respond appropriately to the coming challenges. -jake

1 year, 8 months

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need help completing a $4000 grant invoice by Dec. 27th

by Jake

Peter has helped us apply for a $4000 grant for Sudoroom, but we have to complete the invoice and send it in in the next few days! It needs some text filled in describing our activities in sudoroom - it's pretty self-explanatory but I can't do it right now. Can someone familiar with Tuesday night events send me their gmail address so that I can share the google doc with you to advance it toward being ready to send? thank you! -jake

1 year, 9 months

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emergency sudoroom meeting tonight! 8PM

by Jake

In case people haven't heard yet, Omni Commons is facing foreclosure starting on January 1st since our present loan is expiring and we have not found a new one. We as Sudoroom need to meet and discuss the situation, spread awareness and give our delegate instructions on how to represent us when they go to the Omni Delegate's Meeting tomorrow night (thursday). We will be meeting in-person at sudoroom AND have a portal open to the internet through Jitsi, at this URL: https://meet.waag.org/turtlesturtlesturtles We will try to convey things through the telepresence portal but it will certainly be easier to follow and participate in the meeting if you are in-person, so please consider that. We will open an on-line notepad and share in the process of taking notes, and that URL will be shared at the beginning of the meeting. Please consider showing up just to help take notes if you're a fast typer! -jake

1 year, 9 months

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Omni Commons Winter Campaign : Give Butter!

by Z Silver Zahn

Hello All, While we face multiple hurdles as a collective we ask for any support to keep us going to face these difficult conversations and transformations. Please spread and share our givebutter. $1, $5, whatever amounts will help us keep operations going! https://givebutter.com/gHpD3e [image: Solidarity for Palestinian Liberation (5).png] Omni Commons <https://omnicommons.org/>is one of the largest collectively owned and operated community buildings in the East Bay, housing many organizations doing crucial grassroots organizing and mutual aid efforts essential to the future of a healthy and thriving community. With a looming foreclosure, we are asking for your support to keep our doors open. You can make a one-time donation here or - even better - support us with a monthly financial donation through our Patreon Campaign. <https://www.patreon.com/omnicommons> With community spaces are becoming more and more rare as rents rise and developers sell these spaces for condos, Omni Commons makes full use of our 12,000 space by serving crucial roles for the community: - We are housing 8 different collectives to support some of the East Bay’s most vulnerable and underserved communities. Their inspiring work includes surplus food distribution to thousands of individuals, AA meetings, generic insulin research, and internet access for the unhoused. - As one of the few remaining affordable large event venues in the area, we are hosting numerous events at an affordable rate for emerging artists and nonprofits, from hip hop shows to dance performances and fashion shows. - We coordinate mutual aid efforts, both in emergency situations and day-to-day, when we open our free store three times a week and give away clothing. * In January, during one of the most severe atmospheric rivers of the season, intrepid Omni volunteers came together to open the doors to the unhoused populations, who were getting drenched and needing shelter. More than 50 individuals came through the doors, with donations pouring in from around the region. It was a testament to the power and potential of OMNI Commons. * We are proud of our work, but are a turning point in our history and are asking for your support again.

1 year, 9 months

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Updated invitation: Omni Commons Community Meeting @ Thu Dec 21, 2023 7pm - 9pm (PST) (sudo-discuss@sudoroom.org)

by Z Silver Zahn

This event has been updated Changed: conferencing Omni Commons Community Meeting Thursday Dec 21, 2023 ⋅ 7pm – 9pm Pacific Time - Los Angeles Location Omni Commons, 4799 Shattuck Ave., Oakland, CA 94609, USA https://www.google.com/maps/search/Omni+Commons,+4799+Shattuck+Ave.,+Oaklan… Attachments Omni Commons (15).png https://drive.google.com/open?id=1BwpjBtn1Hv1FGIWPIXaaaEXwwdY0i_j8&authuser… You're Invited - This Thursday is a hybrid meeting for Omni Commons member collectives, projects, former collectives to come discuss our future as a building in 2024. Building Proposals**Do NOT share publicly**If you can't make it in person please join us online meet.google.com/des-hkce-hof Organizer Z Silver Zahn natashazahn27(a)gmail.com Reply for sudo-discuss(a)sudoroom.org and view more details https://calendar.google.com/calendar/event?action=VIEW&eid=MGhtdGcya2Z0M2xn… Your attendance is optional. ~~//~~ Invitation from Google Calendar: https://calendar.google.com/calendar/ You are receiving this email because you are an attendee on the event. To stop receiving future updates for this event, decline this event. Forwarding this invitation could allow any recipient to send a response to the organizer, be added to the guest list, invite others regardless of their own invitation status, or modify your RSVP. Learn more https://support.google.com/calendar/answer/37135#forwarding

1 year, 9 months

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Updated invitation: Omni Commons Community Meeting @ Thu Dec 21, 2023 7pm - 9pm (PST) (sudo-discuss@sudoroom.org)

by Z Silver Zahn

This event has been updated Changed: description Omni Commons Community Meeting Thursday Dec 21, 2023 ⋅ 7pm – 9pm Pacific Time - Los Angeles Location Omni Commons, 4799 Shattuck Ave., Oakland, CA 94609, USA https://www.google.com/maps/search/Omni+Commons,+4799+Shattuck+Ave.,+Oaklan… Join with Google Meet https://meet.google.com/ido-abwk-ajx?hs=224 Attachments Omni Commons (15).png https://drive.google.com/open?id=1BwpjBtn1Hv1FGIWPIXaaaEXwwdY0i_j8&authuser… You're Invited - This Thursday is a hybrid meeting for Omni Commons member collectives, projects, former collectives to come discuss our future as a building in 2024. Building Proposals**Do NOT share publicly**If you can't make it in person please join us online meet.google.com/des-hkce-hof Organizer Z Silver Zahn natashazahn27(a)gmail.com Reply for sudo-discuss(a)sudoroom.org and view more details https://calendar.google.com/calendar/event?action=VIEW&eid=MGhtdGcya2Z0M2xn… Your attendance is optional. ~~//~~ Invitation from Google Calendar: https://calendar.google.com/calendar/ You are receiving this email because you are an attendee on the event. To stop receiving future updates for this event, decline this event. Forwarding this invitation could allow any recipient to send a response to the organizer, be added to the guest list, invite others regardless of their own invitation status, or modify your RSVP. Learn more https://support.google.com/calendar/answer/37135#forwarding

1 year, 9 months

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Updated invitation: Omni Commons Community Meeting @ Thu Dec 21, 2023 7pm - 9pm (PST) (sudo-discuss@sudoroom.org)

by Z Silver Zahn

This event has been updated Changed: description Omni Commons Community Meeting Thursday Dec 21, 2023 ⋅ 7pm – 9pm Pacific Time - Los Angeles Location Omni Commons, 4799 Shattuck Ave., Oakland, CA 94609, USA https://www.google.com/maps/search/Omni+Commons,+4799+Shattuck+Ave.,+Oaklan… Join with Google Meet https://meet.google.com/ido-abwk-ajx?hs=224 Attachments Omni Commons (15).png https://drive.google.com/open?id=1BwpjBtn1Hv1FGIWPIXaaaEXwwdY0i_j8&authuser… You're Invited - This Thursday is a hybrid meeting for Omni Commons member collectives, projects, former collectives to come discuss our future as a building in 2024. **Do NOT share publicly**If you can't make it in person please join us online meet.google.com/des-hkce-hof Organizer Z Silver Zahn natashazahn27(a)gmail.com Reply for sudo-discuss(a)sudoroom.org and view more details https://calendar.google.com/calendar/event?action=VIEW&eid=MGhtdGcya2Z0M2xn… Your attendance is optional. ~~//~~ Invitation from Google Calendar: https://calendar.google.com/calendar/ You are receiving this email because you are an attendee on the event. To stop receiving future updates for this event, decline this event. Forwarding this invitation could allow any recipient to send a response to the organizer, be added to the guest list, invite others regardless of their own invitation status, or modify your RSVP. Learn more https://support.google.com/calendar/answer/37135#forwarding

1 year, 9 months

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Invitation: Omni Commons Community Meeting @ Thu Dec 21, 2023 7pm - 9pm (PST) (sudo-discuss@sudoroom.org)

by Z Silver Zahn

Omni Commons Community Meeting Thursday Dec 21, 2023 ⋅ 7pm – 9pm Pacific Time - Los Angeles Location Omni Commons, 4799 Shattuck Ave., Oakland, CA 94609, USA https://www.google.com/maps/search/Omni+Commons,+4799+Shattuck+Ave.,+Oaklan… Join with Google Meet https://meet.google.com/ido-abwk-ajx?hs=224 Attachments Omni Commons (15).png https://drive.google.com/open?id=1BwpjBtn1Hv1FGIWPIXaaaEXwwdY0i_j8&authuser… You're Invited - This Thursday is a hybrid meeting for Omni Commons member collectives, projects, former collectives to come discuss our future as a building in 2024. If you can't make it in person please join us online meet.google.com/des-hkce-hof Organizer Z Silver Zahn natashazahn27(a)gmail.com Reply for sudo-discuss(a)sudoroom.org and view more details https://calendar.google.com/calendar/event?action=VIEW&eid=MGhtdGcya2Z0M2xn… Your attendance is optional. ~~//~~ Invitation from Google Calendar: https://calendar.google.com/calendar/ You are receiving this email because you are an attendee on the event. To stop receiving future updates for this event, decline this event. Forwarding this invitation could allow any recipient to send a response to the organizer, be added to the guest list, invite others regardless of their own invitation status, or modify your RSVP. Learn more https://support.google.com/calendar/answer/37135#forwarding

1 year, 9 months

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Urgent: Omni Commons Community Meeting – Action Required by 12/21/23

by Z Silver Zahn

Dear Omni Commons Community, I hope this message finds you well. In our recent delegate meeting, a crucial decision was made that requires your immediate attention. The upcoming delegate meeting on 12/21/23, scheduled from 7 pm to 9 pm, will be opened to our larger community, welcoming members from various collectives and Omni projects. This session is dedicated to discussing different proposal options and determining our collective path forward. As a critical reminder, our private lender has notified us that the outstanding $876k must be repaid by the end of December 2023. Failure to meet this balloon payment deadline will initiate a foreclosure process, with a subsequent 90-day period before the property is sold to housing developers. Originally, our strategy aimed to generate revenue from events and fundraising over consecutive months, enabling us to pursue a million-dollar loan from self-help, with a 30-year return agreement. However, faced with a boycott affecting our cash flow and struggling Omni operations, we must now explore alternative options to prevent the property from entering the speculative market. One significant proposal on the table is the People's Program, where they would assume operational responsibility as new owners, undertaking the debt payment and already securing donors. Their commitment includes ensuring the continuity of current projects and tenants at Omni. Additionally, Sudo Room proposes the creation of an LLC to allocate funds from individual community loans, with community members contributing $50k each to the LLC, aimed at settling the Mulberry Trust debt. Discussions have also emerged about approaching a land trust to potentially become the landlord of Omni Commons. We urge all community members to contribute their ideas and proposals to an open Google doc, allowing us to collectively evaluate the pros and cons of each option. In the absence of action, Omni Commons faces the risk of sale post-foreclosure, necessitating a discussion on equity reallocation. To facilitate an organized and productive discussion on 12/21, we will be contracting a facilitator. Your input is vital, and we encourage everyone to share thoughts on how we want to vote on this critical matter. Please contribute your ideas to the Google doc before 12/21, ensuring we have a comprehensive list to consider. Together, we can navigate this challenge and determine the best course of action for the future of Omni Commons. https://docs.google.com/document/d/1wDzotx3D07brWXLkylRlSb9r_alI8fqaBFUDxki…

1 year, 9 months

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tarp got taken down?

by Paige P

why was tarp taken down? Do we want to put it back up?

1 year, 9 months

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Hey who’s here this week

by Romy Ilano

I’m out of town for Christmas - who’s here this week? I’m at the space at the very least on Monday and Tuesday - More and more people are asking about having a meetup at the Omni commons - they’re often at company offices but would be willing to focus on open spruce as the women who code east bay day when we did the stable diffusion isntlalfest Sent from my iPhone

1 year, 9 months

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Should we set up a discord server - it’s hard to get a response on email

by Romy Ilano

I know the Omni commons has a slack … Sent from my iPhone

1 year, 9 months

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Pi.BerkeleyLUG: Meeting starts in 20 minutes at Sudoroom

by Peter Mui

Sorry for the short notice, Pi.BerkeleyLUG starts in 20 minutes at Sudoroom. Please come out support Tom in this great initiative for Omni. -Peter tom r lopes <tomrlopes(a)gmail.com>: Dec 16 11:59AM -0800 Sorry for the late notice. Tomorrow at SudoRoom 11am to 2pm. Press the buzzer for access (white button in black case) or call or text me at 5109842455. My probably agenda will be to work on the pole of Chromebooks. Bypassing the enterprise enrollment and installing Linux. Not sure what distro to use as these are limited machines. 4gb ram but only 16gb storage. I've tried Lubuntu but it fills storage real quick. Others have tried more minimal distros (AntiX?) and they have trouble with hardware drivers. Aaron, maybe you can take a look. Free Chromebook for you. As always you are welcome to work on your own projects. Thomas

1 year, 9 months

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Omni Assets, or "don't throw the baby out with the bathwater"

by Taylor Alexander

(sending to sudo because I don't think I am on other lists, please forward as needed) Just had a conversation about the current situation. It sounds like People's Programs essentially want to completely take over legal and administrative control of Omni Commons. I would be against this as it seems it would spell the end of Omni Commons. I also want to put up front that Omni's Lawyer has made clear we have more than 90 days to resolve this as foreclosure cannot take less than 90 days. But what I wanted to talk about was the assets of the Omni Commons organization, specifically the building. Using very rough numbers, Omni Commons owes $900k on a property worth roughly $3m (I am told). It seems to me that would mean that Omni Commons has $2 million in assets by way of the property. Even if the bank foreclosed on the property, the value of those assets does not disappear! If the bank foreclosed on the property and sold it, one would expect that after they take their $900k and some fees, they would have to pay the balance back to Omni Commons. This would leave the organization with no building BUT with $2 million dollars in cash. That seems to me the worst case scenario we should accept! Worst case Omni vacates the property and then looks for where to spend its $2 million for a new property. So we have a few scenarios ahead. One option is to find a new single large lender to give us a 5 year bridge loan to continue in this property, or to do the same with an LLC and multiple smaller community lenders (low risk bridge loans from a number of supportive community members). Or we could let People's Programs spend $900k to acquire a $3 million property, essentially giving away Omni's $2 million in assets?? That seems like a terrible idea. We absolutely should not give away $2m to any organization for any reason, and any support we receive must be contingent on Omni Commons maintaining legal and administrative control of our assets. It seems the best path forward is to form an LLC and seek low risk bridge loans from community members, with the backstop option of taking our $2 million somewhere else and setting up a new location. -Taylor Alexander aka Sequoia

1 year, 9 months

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proposal: lawyer help to create LLC structure for lending

by Paige P

Sudo Room has been discussing the possibility of securing the $876k by pursuing multiple lenders, rather than just one. The idea proposed is below, but the proposal for the delegates is to ask our lawyer to help us write up some sort of structure like this, to present to potential lenders. LLC idea We create an LLC who's charter says it exists solely to buy this building with the money of its lenders, and collect interest on that loan. We try and get enough people to buy in, before Omni's foreclosure begins. Right now, Jake says they knows of 5 people interested in putting up 5 digits amounts, so in the $50k range. Proposed would be to have a minimum $10k requirement to join LLC, with option for individuals to join together and pool money to get a share. If all goes well and Omni pays off the full loan + interest, those who are part of the LLC will have received back the money they put towards paying off the mortgage, along with interest (and then the LLC would dissolve?). But if the borrower (Omni) fails to pay, then the LLC forecloses on the property, and the LLC can then choose to liquidate the property to pay back members or do something else with the building. If some but not all LLC members decide to do something else other than liquidating, they have ability to buy out other members. One concern is our lawyer would say that it would be inappropriate for them to create an org that would then lend to Omni (should have more separation). Another idea proposed to get around this was to issue bonds instead, since this would not require a separate entity, and we could work with our current lawyer on setting that up. Another concern is potential sabotage of the system, by getting overwhelmed with lenders wanting and working to get Omni to foreclose, in order to get control of the building. To work around that we might require anonymous lenders to be vetted by known trusted lenders. There is more discussion on this idea in sudo room's meeting notes: https://sudoroom.org/wiki/Meeting_Notes_2023-12-13 Paige

1 year, 9 months

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People's Programs Proposal

by Paige P

1 year, 9 months

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What’s the status on the Omni

by Romy Ilano

I just got back from Argentina and. Is there a quick summary of what’s going on? I cannot make it this Tuesday because I have to go to a Noisebridge meetup to ask for collaboration with another engineering group. Is there a Wednesday meeting after 7:45pm

1 year, 9 months

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considering forming an LLC to collate individual investors to lend to Omni

by Jake

The idea to form an LLC which could represent a coalition of individual sub-lenders to bail out Omni Commons has been suggested by several people. This would make it possible for people to lend an amount less than the total $876K that we need (but not less than $10,000 lets say) to be a co-lender to provide a new mortgage for Omni Commons to keep the building. The LLC would be formed to represent the lenders in a way that they would be paid back (with interest) according to the portion of the loan they put in, and in case the Omni failed to pay its mortgage, the LLC would liquidate the building to pay back the lenders. Or the members of the LLC could agree on an alternate plan, and buy out anyone who didn't agree to the alternate plan. If anyone is interested in helping CREATE this legal structure please let me know. In the meantime though I still think our best bet to keep the Omni is to find a single lender willing to give us a bridge loan right now. -jake

1 year, 9 months

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Please look into People's Programs as they seek to take over Omni Commons (in alliance with Community Liberation Programs which was kicked out of Omni Commons)

by Lu Mar

*People's Programs submitted a proposal to take over Omni Commons with their authoritarian group as the leaders of the New Omni Commons.* People's Programs has deep connections with Community Liberation Programs (CLP), as they share very similar politics and end goals, with this specific posted written by *Rafiq Ali of CLP* on the topic of *supporting Iran against all enemies* foreign and domestic (the current Iranian state regime as the model that People's Programs and Community Liberation Programs both support): https://medium.com/@PeoplesPrograms/the-legacy-of-the-iranian-revolution- 2c7de74b3df8 (CLP article published on People's Programs site) *The leaders of People's Programs are Abbas Muntaqim and Delency Parham.* Here is some interesting background info on this group: Abbas and Delency are strongly connected to pro-Iran and pro-Russia propaganda. *Abbas Muntaqim works for PressTV, the English language arm of Iran state propaganda.* https://medium.com/@PeoplesPrograms "He is also a host and producer for Press TV." https://www.famsf.org/events/tales-of-the-town-film-screening-art-exhibit *(description mentions that Abbas Muntaqim works for PressTV, propaganda channel of the Iran dictatorship)* ----- *Abbas Muntaqim, leader of People's Programs, posts from a pro-Russia/pro-Putin perspective (Putinist Russia as allies of the Iranian dictatorship.)* *Abbas views Ukraine as a Nazi Fascist country that is attacking Russia and that Ukraine needs to be "liberated" by Russia.* *This post by Abbas puts forth the argument that** anarchists are working with neo-nazis and Al-Qaeda to attack Russia...:* https://twitter.com/Abbas_Muntaqim/status/1504853626426036226 [image: image.png] *People's Programs, in alliance with Community Liberation Programs as comrades, will quickly remove all groups at Omni Commons that do not submit to their authoritarian patriarchal leadership to bring in groups completely loyal to their Marxist/Stalinist/Maoist model of hierarchy and unquestioned subservience, also known as "Democratic" Centralism <https://www.britannica.com/money/topic/democratic-centralism> !* Lua *Please spread this on any other Omni Commons communication platforms to have a collective of collectives conversation on this important issue !*

1 year, 9 months

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HackerDojo newsletter... I guess we should have one too right?

by Romy Mimi Ilano

here's what the HackerDojo newsletter looks like. It's nice! https://hacker-dojo.ck.page/posts/hacker-dojo-newsletter-december11th-2023-… We should try making one too right? I guess I should try ... I'm going to the Noisebridge meeting tuesday night (tomorrow Dec 12). I'll mention our mortgage issues! *Romy Mimi Ilano* *romy.ilano(a)gmail.com <romy.ilano(a)gmail.com>*

1 year, 9 months

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first wednesday of the month

by Paige P

meeting tonight? Or do we want to postpone? Proposed Agenda: Save Omni Paige

1 year, 9 months

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Jitsi url

by Cere Davis

...for meeting virtually tonight?

1 year, 9 months

2
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Table to replace lab bench

by Jake Watters

Counterculture Labs is asking for one of their lab benches back. Those are the tables with the shelf above them, we have ten of them. We have to give them at least one, but we could give them two... And then get this 4x8 sturdy work table. Is anyone interested in making that happen? "This well built and solid table needs to find a new home. It is on the street on 26th between Magnolia and Adeline. This is a 4’x8’ table."

1 year, 9 months

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