Music News 10.04.16

Queens to Rename Block After Ramones

Queens, New York seems to be making a habit of memorializing influential musicians from the area. Earlier this year, the city announced plans to rename part of Linden Blvd after A Tribe Called Quest rapper Malik “Phife Dawg” Taylor Way who died in March of this year unexpectedly from diabetes complications. And now, the city of Queens, New York has announced it’ll be renaming a street Ramones Way after the late New York punk band. The stretch of street to be renamed will be at the intersection of 67th Ave and 110th St, right in front of the main entrance of Forest Hills High School, where Johnny, Joey, Dee Dee, and Tommy Ramone all attended. The tribute to the Ramones isn’t New Yorks first, having installed a sign for Joey Ramone in Downtown Manhattan in 2003 near the location of what once was CBGB. The street renaming will be unveiled on the morning of October 23rd. (Pitchfork)

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Damian Marley Takes an Old State Prison, Turns It Into Economic Opportunity for small California Town

Damian Marley has partnered with Ocean Grown Extracts, a medical marijuana oil production company, to purchase a former California State Prison in Coalinga to convert it into a marijuana farm to supply the state’s dispensaries. Not only will Marley’s business move create around 100 new jobs and provide an estimated $1 million in annual tax revenue for Coalinga, but it also alleviates the town’s $3.3 million debt. Marley and Ocean Growth say the facility will be producing oil extracts in about 60 days and will harvest its first crop in January. California also votes on prop 64 in November, which decides whether the state will allow recreational marijuana use for adults. Marley’s mission in repurposing the old prison is to help and inspire people, saying too “many people sacrificed so much for the herb over the years who got locked up.” (FADER)

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-Taylor Wallace

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