How does one pay for an expensive Penn station redevelopment when investors have pulled out? Editor’s Note: Mentions of violence and death.

Happening in the World: Late on Thursday, a number of people were killed and injured in a shooting at a Jehovah’s Witness meeting hall in Germany’s northern Hamburg city. The gunman acted alone and is thought to be dead and part of the six or seven casualties reported by German media. The reasons behind the shooting remain totally unclear, though the perpetrator was a former member of the Jehovah’s Witness community. (BBC)

Happening in the US: A new petition is calling for the upcoming 95th Oscars presenter, Donny Yen’s, removal over China remarks, where he called the 2019 pro-democracy protests in Hong Kong a riot. The petition—set up by well-known Hong Kong activist Tong Wai-hung—claims that the Academy’s invitation to Yen shows “contempt for the people of Hong Kong” and his presence will “damage the image and reputation of the film industry”. It has more than 84,000 signatures. (BBC)

Happening in NYC: New York Gov. Kathy Hochul isn’t willing to say the $7 billion renovation of Penn Station is dead, even though key investors, namely real-estate giant Vornado, have pulled out on a series of planned office towers in the surrounding area—buildings that were supposed to pay for much of the massive transit project. Hochul said any “declaration of death for the Penn Station” project is “premature,” vowing to pursue an “alternative plan” to make sure it moves forward. Hochul gave no indication of what her “alternate plan” to fund the Penn Station project would entail. (Gothamist)

Happening in Our Community: On Friday, March 10, Deanna Hence from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign is speaking at the Ocean and Climate seminar series. The OCP seminars for the 2022-2023 academic year will be a mix of both virtual and in-person presentations. In-person seminars during the spring semester will take place on the Lamont campus in the Comer 1st Floor Seminar Room on Fridays at 11:00 am Eastern unless otherwise noted. Click here for more information.

Image via Bwog Archives