NEW YORK (AP) — Nothing shows off hip-hop’s ability to change and adapt, to be reinvented again and again, more than the different sounds that have come out over the decades as it spread around the country and the world.

New York City, Los Angeles, Chicago, Houston, New Orleans, Atlanta, and these days, around the world – name a place, and its likely that local rappers have taken the elements of hip-hop and made it their own.

They brought their own experiences to the way they rap and what they rap about and the musical influences they use.

And as society and technology have changed, so has hip-hop, as creators have taken to different platforms and their music has become readily available to listeners everywhere. It’s all part of the magic of hip-hop.

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U.S. Rep. Bobby Scott (D-VA), the ranking member of the House Committee on Education and the Workforce, and Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT), the chair of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions, have introduced the Raise the Wage Act of 2023.
The legislation would gradually increase the minimum wage to $17 an hour by 2028.
Scott and Sanders said it would provide about 28 million Americans with a long-overdue raise.

“No person working full-time in America should be living in poverty,” Scott stated.
“Raising the minimum wage is good for workers, good for business, and good for the economy. When we put money in the pockets of American workers, they will spend that money in their communities.”

Republican members of Congress have repeatedly stifled efforts to raise the minimum wage, with many claiming it would harm businesses, even causing some to close.

“The $7.25 an hour federal minimum wage is a starvation wage. It must be raised to a living wage—at least $17 an hour,” Sanders insisted. “In the year 2023, a job should lift you out of poverty, not keep you in it. At a time of massive income and wealth inequality and record-breaking corporate profits, we can no longer tolerate millions of workers being unable to feed their families because they are working for totally inadequate wages.”
Sanders continued: “Congress can no longer ignore the needs of the working class of this country. The time to act is now.”

The Democrats and the legislation’s 146 co-sponsors said that after more than a decade with no increase in the federal minimum wage—the most prolonged period in U.S. history—millions of workers are working full-time jobs but are still struggling to make ends meet.

They noted that one in eight workers in the United States earns wages that leave them in poverty, even when working full-time and year-round.

“And there is now no place in America where a full-time worker making the federal minimum wage can afford to cover the rent for a modest two-bedroom apartment,” Scott asserted.

“The Raise the Wage Act is good for workers, businesses, and the economy,” he continued.
“When we put money in workers’ pockets, they will spend that money at local businesses. The Raise the Wage Act will ensure that everyone can share in a stronger economy.”
The lawmakers noted that the Raise the Wage Act of 2023 would:

• Gradually raise the federal minimum wage from $7.25 to $17 by 2028;
  Index future increases in the federal minimum wage to median wage growth to ensure the value of minimum wage does not once again erode over time;
• Guarantee that tipped workers are paid at least the full federal minimum wage by phasing out the subminimum wage for tipped workers, which will ensure decent, consistent pay without eliminating tips;
• Guarantee that teen workers are paid at least the full federal minimum wage by phasing out the rarely used subminimum wage for youth workers; and
• End subminimum wage certificates for workers with disabilities to provide opportunities for workers with disabilities to be competitively employed and participate more fully in their communities.

The post Democratic lawmakers introduce legislation to raise minimum wage appeared first on New York Amsterdam News.

* This article was originally published here

* This article was originally published here

Summer in NYC is still in full swing, but that doesn’t mean we’re not already daydreaming about cooler temperatures and spookier vibes. And it looks like the Halloween season is coming a little early: The Great Jack O’Lantern Blaze is set to return this September in two New York locations, along with a full slate of Sleepy Hollow-themed events.

The Great Jack O’Lantern Blaze will be back in the Hudson Valley at Van Cortlandt Manor in Croton-on-Hudson for the 19th year, from September 15 through November 19, as well as Old Bethpage Village Restoration in Old Bethpage, Long Island for the fourth year, from September 22 through November 5.

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Both experiences will feature thousands of hand-carved jack o’lanterns set up in elaborate displays: along with annual favorites like the Statue of Liberty and the Pumpkin Planetarium, you’ll find a circus sideshow, a jack o’lantern tribute to the Day of the Dead, and the country’s first-ever pumpkin Ferris wheel in Hudson Valley, while Long Island attendees can be wowed by an under-the-sea installation, including a giant pumpkin octopus and a Montauk mermaid. 

Along with the gorgeous gourds, New Yorkers can head to Philipsburg Manor in the historic town of Sleepy Hollow for a brand-new event, The Spirits of Sleepy Hollow Country: A Night of Legendary Magic, where master illusionists Mark Clearview and Nick Wallace will conjure up the legendary spirits of the town, including Major Andre and the Headless Horseman. 

And if that’s not enough chills and thrills for you, the estate of Washington Irving, a.k.a. “America’s founding father of literature,” is bringing his seminally spooky 1820 short story The Legend of Sleepy Hollow to life. During the day, visitors can tour Irving’s home, enjoy a shadow puppet film and see a special Legend exhibit, while at nighttime, master storyteller Jonathan Kruk will do dramatic readings of the short story underneath the stars, complete with live music from Jim Keyes. 

Find ticket and date information at the Historic Hudson Valley website. And check out some of the Blaze’s previous pumpkin displays below!

* This article was originally published here