Tax protest

[mdo...@crocker.com]

Springfield - The Western Massachusetts 912 Project will sponsor a Tax-
Day
Tea Party, Wednesday, April 15, from 4:00-6:00 p.m. at the corner of
Liberty
and Main Streets, adjacent to the Post Office.

According to Shirley Nomakeo, Event Organizer, the Tea Party event and
the
group's ongoing regional activity is part of a nationwide initiative
inspired by the Glenn Beck Program for concerned citizens to come
together
in a grassroots, non-partisan effort.

"We have more than 100 members registered with us at Meetup.com,"
Nomakeo
said. The group expects to have somewhere between 50 and 100 people
join
them April 15 in Springfield.

"This is a first step for some of us who have never done anything like
this
before," she said. "People are upset that the Constitution, and
their
liberties and rights are being ignored."

The Western Massachusetts 912 Project meets regularly and frequently
in
various cities and towns around the region in what its members call
"area"
meetings, in which 12-15 people attend consistently.

Its membership then comes together in regional meetings to "bring it
all
together", and to report back to the group at-large with regard to
local
issues and action take, Nomakeo said.

"Our Tea Party will be a kind of 'on the street' regional meeting,"
she
said. Additionally, the Springfield event links the organization
with
others groups of like-minded people from Pittsfield to Boston and Cape
Cod,
as well as across the nation.