“The ‘Authentic’ City Wrecking Ball,” - The Wall Street Journal

As American cities struggle to rejuvenate themselves in these difficult financial times, they may come up against a set of obstacles that have little to do with money. These are the arguments that poverty and decay are just fine because—in Harlem and many other neighborhoods—what counts is “authenticity.”

This view, espoused by Sharon Zukin in her new book, “Naked City: The Death and Life of Authentic Urban Places,” celebrates a neighborhood’s grit and grunge while denouncing the mass culture of the corporate city and suburbia. Her ideas have been warmly received by antigentrification academics, hipsters and fashionistas all over the country, who may not realize that they would be among the first to go were neighborhoods to be restored to their truly authentic origins. More seriously, fragile areas that have only recently emerged from the degradation of drug epidemics are likely to now find their redevelopment mired in bitter ideological arguments.

“‘Let’s Move’: Michelle Obama takes on childhood obesity,” - The Christian Science Monitor

Washington — Michelle Obama may be the first lady of the United States, but at Brinkley Middle School in Jackson, Miss., last week, most people simply referred to her as “Michelle.”

Certainly that’s how Mrs. Obama wants it. She has a message to impart, and if people feel comfortable with her, maybe it will get through: America’s kids need to get active and lose weight to end childhood obesity.

 ”When the textile mill goes, so does a way of life,” -  USA TODAY

MOUNT AIRY, N.C. — Jane Knudsen was a 19-year-old mother of two when she went to work in a textile mill here in 1973. Jobs were plentiful: “When you started work, you thought you’d be there until you retired,” she says.

She didn’t make it. The mill shut down a few years ago. So she took a job with an auto supplier. Then she lost that one. Now 57, she’s a part-time cook at the Surry County jail.

“For Juveniles in Family Court, Judges Seek Safer Alternatives to Prison,” - The New York Times

Standing to address Judge Daniel Turbow in Family Court in Brooklyn, a city prosecutor confidently listed the reasons why the 16-year-old boy in the courtroom should be sent upstate to a juvenile prison.

He was a member of the Bloods, the prosecutor said, and he later joined another gang. He was arrested once for grand larceny and twice for assault. He went to school drunk and spat on the dean of students.

“Fat American children: many causes, a lifetime of effects,” - Los Angeles Times

The percentage of American children who are overweight or obese has been growing for decades, and now nearly one in three has a body mass index that’s greater than normal. Although evidence suggests that obesity rates are leveling off overall, for some groups of kids — especially poor or minority kids — the problem continues to grow, according to a study published Tuesday in the journal Health Affairs.

Using data from the 2007 National Survey of Children’s Health, the study showed marked regional differences. The five states with the highest rates of overweight and obese kids are all in the Southeast — top-ranked Mississippi (44.4%), Arkansas, Georgia, Kentucky and Tennessee. Minnesota and Utah were tied with the lowest rates (23.1%).

“Detroit wants to save itself by shrinking,” -  The Associated Press
Blighted city considers plan to turn large swaths of land back into fields

DETROIT - Detroit, the very symbol of American industrial might for most of the 20th century, is drawing up a radical renewal plan that calls for turning large swaths of this now-blighted, rusted-out city back into the fields and farmland that existed before the automobile.

Operating on a scale never before attempted in this country, the city would demolish houses in some of the most desolate sections of Detroit and move residents into stronger neighborhoods. Roughly a quarter of the 139-square-mile city could go from urban to semi-rural.

Creating Livable Communities: A Primer on the Federal New Starts/Small Starts Transit Program
Wednesday, March 10, 2010 3:00 PM - 4:00 PM EST 

The $2 billion Federal Transit Administration New Starts and Small Starts programs provide critical funding to support new transit investment in communities including street cars, buses, and light rail.

This webinar provides an introduction to this important federal transit program, including:

How to develop a project for federal approval

How to advance social equity and environmental sustainability goals

What the recently announced FTA policy changes mean for promoting livable communities at the local and regional levels

The webinar will feature FTA Deputy Administrator Therese McMillan and local transportation advocate Jim Erkel, Minnesota Center for Environmental Advocacy

Childhood obesity is a key dilemma of our generation. Since the early 1970s, obesity rates have doubled for 2 to 5 year olds, tripled for adolescents ages 12 to 19, and quadrupled for 6 to 11 year olds. Not surprisingly, rates are highest for low-income and nonwhite kids who are more likely to live in neighborhoods that seem to conspire against healthy choices.

What can be done? A theme issue of the journal Health Affairs released this morning asks this question, exploring trends, presenting lessons learned from state and local actions, and addressing the roles of neighborhoods, food policy, and schools in reversing the epidemic.

The new journal includes an article we wrote with colleagues at The Food Trust that describes the nuts and bolts of how one policy win can lead to many. In Pennsylvania, advocates successfully established a fund in 2004 that has since helped 83 grocery stores, farmers’ markets, and neighborhood stores open in underserved neighborhoods or expand their existing stores (all while creating or saving 5,000 jobs!).

Over the past several years, Illinois and New York state, as well as the city of New Orleans, launched similar programs based on the Pennsylvania model. The Obama Administration has proposed a $400 million investment in a national Healthy Food Financing Initiative. (We are working to make this happen, click here to find out more and sign on to our letter of support).

The article discusses how advocates moved the campaigns forward at the state and national level, presenting it as a five-step framework from understanding the problem through data and mapping analysis to policy implementation and evaluation. Hopefully, it can help policymakers, child advocates, health coalitions, and others advance their own childhood obesity campaigns.

(Video courtesy of the very cool Market Makeovers program in LA. Check them out)

“In passing the $15 billion jobs bill, the Senate’s bipartisan majority should be commended for heeding the voices of struggling Americans.

“But the road to a truly fair and sustainable economy is a long one. More must be done to get help to those hit first and worst by this recession, especially low-income communities and people of color.

“As we move forward in building an innovative, expansive, bipartisan recovery plan, we must make significant investments in job-training programs and a range of infrastructure projects – public transportation, schools, energy efficiency – that create jobs now and set our communities up for future success.

“This bill is a good first step. But America’s long-term resurgence requires that all of our communities are connected to opportunity and can contribute their full talents to our revival. We urge Congress to continue to advance a jobs agenda that lifts up all our communities.”

The whole conversation is worth watching, but especially the section on financing supermarkets in low-income communtiies. Click on the photo below to check it out (…and here’s a link to Part One of the interview, too)

Along with our partners The Food Trust and The Reinvestment Fund, PolicyLink was instrumental in helping bring that Pennsylvania program national — with President Obama proposing $400 million Healthy Food financing Initiative to seed supermarkets, farmers markets and improved corner stores in disadvantaged communities nationwide.

PolicyLink CEO Angela Glover Blackwell was interviewed by pubic radio’s Marketplace to talk about why the program works — and how it can work in you community. Click below to listen.

 ”Designed to Help Uplift the Poor,” - New York Times

LIKE almost every other American architect who came to prominence in the recent gilded age, Michael Maltzan built his reputation with commissions for prestigious museums and luxurious private houses. In 2002 he garnered national attention for his graceful design for the temporary Museum of Modern Art in Queens. His most recent projects include a flying-saucer-like house for the artists Lari Pittman and Roy Dowell in the foothills of the San Gabriel Mountains and a far grander, 28,000-square-foot Beverly Hills mansion — part art gallery, part home — for the investor and former Hollywood über-agent Michael Ovitz.

Yet Mr. Maltzan may be the only American architect of his stature with significant experience in a far less glamorous field: providing shelter and other accommodations for his city’s poor. Over the past 16 years he has worked on several housing projects for the homeless and an arts complex for underprivileged children that are remarkable for their architectural sophistication and their spirit of public service.

“Senate Advances Jobs Bill,” - The Wall Street Journal

WASHINGTON—The Senate voted to advance a $15 billion job-creation package Monday, showing a rare hint of bipartisanship as five Republicans voted to end debate on the Democratic bill, including newly elected Sen. Scott Brown of Massachusetts.

Associated Press Massachusetts Sen. Scott Brown, shown at his temporary office on Capitol Hill Monday, backed the jobs bill in one of his first Senate votes.

 ”EPA lays out timetable for regulating greenhouse gas emissions,” - Washington Post

Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lisa P. Jackson laid out the timetable for regulating greenhouse gas emissions Monday, writing in a letter to lawmakers that she plans to start targeting large facilities such as power plants next year but won’t target small emitters before 2016.

The letter makes it clear the Obama administration will move ahead with curbing global warming pollution under the Clean Air Act unless Congress moves to stop it. Jackson emphasized that the administration was required to act under a 2007 Supreme Court decision that said greenhouse gases from motor vehicles qualified as a pollutant under the 40-year-old air-quality law. Jackson was responding to a letter several coal-state senators sent her late Friday.

Listen to the audio below.

[25 minutes | Download MP3]

Fresh from announcing Let’s Move – her national campaign to fight childhood obesity — First Lady Michelle Obama visited Philadelphia today. The visit underscored the need for access to healthy food as one of several strategies to avoid obesity. Accompanied by Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack and Secretary of The Treasury Timothy Geithner, Mrs. Obama visited The Fresh Grocer at Progress Plaza. The supermarket was the first to locate in the neighborhood in more than a decade. It opened in December 2009 with financing from Pennsylvania Fresh Food Financing Initiative.

• Read First Lady’s Press Release

For more than a year, PolicyLink, The Food Trust, and the Reinvestment Fund have been working with the White House, the Senate, and the House to create a national-scale version of the PFFFI. In his fiscal year 2011 budget, President Barack Obama has proposed the Healthy Fresh Food Financing Initiative, calling for more than $400 million in investments in new and expanded supermarkets, farmers markets, and other food stores.   Legislation will soon be introduced in the United States Senate and in the House of Representatives. 

• For “A Healthy Food Financing Initiative” fact sheet (02.19.10), click here.
• Learn more about HFFI and other promising strategies to improve access to fresh, healthy food, download Healthy Food, Healthy Communities: Promising Strategies to Improve Access to Fresh, Healthy Food and Transform Communities. (pdf)
• Sign on in support of HFFI and get regular updates about it.

“One year after President Obama signed the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, it’s clear how important this legislation was in preventing our economy from falling over a cliff. Today’s announcement by the U.S. Department of Transportation to allocate $1.5 billion in grants to 51 projects across the country through the Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery (TIGER) program, demonstrates how the Recovery Act is also laying the foundation for long term economic growth.

“Many of the projects selected include complete streets improvements that support the biking and walking infrastructure essential to building healthy and safe communities. 60 percent of the funding will go to projects located in economically-distressed areas. The funded projects will improve connectivity of transportation systems and reduce green house gas emissions, while also creating thousands of jobs.

“As TIGER projects get underway, we have an important opportunity to ensure that low-income people and communities of color benefit from these vital infrastructure investments by hiring local residents and contracting with minority-owned businesses.”

For the complete list of projects awarded, visit http://www.dot.gov/documents/finaltigergrantinfo.pdf.

How are the economic recession and recovery affecting communities of color?

A TV special tonight by ColorLines and LinkTV explores the answer.

“ColorLines: Race and Economic Recovery” reveals the devastating impacts of the recession on communities of color, but also the possibility of hope in how these communities are making ends meet. It includes a segment on creating green jobs in Los Angeles, and discusses how living wage green jobs are a solution to the economic crisis.

Tune in tonight at 9:30 PM Eastern / 6:30 PM Pacific on DIRECTV Channel 375 or DISH Network Channel 9410.  If you can’t watch tonight, watch the full show at colorlines.com/recovery, where it will be posted once it airs.

PolicyLink CEO Angela Glover Blackwell released the following statement on First Lady Michelle Obama’s childhood obesity initiative:

“Reversing the childhood obesity epidemic will require the kind of clear-eyed and compassionate leadership Michelle Obama demonstrated today.

“As the First Lady stressed, too many of our children attend schools loaded with chips and soda – and few healthy food options. For many black and Latino children, however, that bleak food landscape extends far beyond the school yard. Millions of poor children and children of color live in neighborhoods overrun by fast-food joints and corner stores – with the closest fresh food store often two or three bus transfers away.

“If we expect our children to live healthier lives, we must create healthier communities for our children to live in – places with access to fresh food, clean parks, safe streets, and clear air. The Obama Administration has already taken some meaningful steps toward creating healthier communities, including a $400 million proposed investment in the Health Food Financing Initiative to spur development of supermarkets and farmers markets in under-served communities.

“The recent steps by the First Lady and the Obama Administration are moving us all in a more healthy, sustainable direction. America’s kids face the obesity crisis from the moment they wake up until the moment they go to sleep. We must make sure the places where the live and learn are filled with the nutritious options they need for a long, healthy life.”

Photo courtesy of White House Flickr stream, used under Creative Commons license.

“Obama’s budget proposal draws rapid fire from legislators,” - USA TODAY

WASHINGTON — President Obama’s proposed $3.8 trillion budget ran into immediate trouble in Congress on Monday among lawmakers who said it tries to do too much while cutting the deficit too little.

The quick response came as Obama sought to juggle his twin goals of creating jobs, which entails tax cuts and new spending, and cutting the deficit, which involves the opposite.

“States Restart Health-Care Push,” - The Wall Street Journal
Tight Budgets May Limit Legislative Efforts to Lift Coverage as National Plan Stumbles

With the fate of a national health care overhaul unclear, state legislators are pushing their own bills aimed at expanding coverage, though tight budgets are likely to hinder many of these efforts.

Lawmakers in at least two states, California and Missouri, have introduced legislation for the current session to create government-backed coverage for state residents. In others, including Virginia and New Jersey, legislators are hoping to tweak existing state programs to include more people.

“Michelle Obama’s Healthy Food Campaign,” - The Root

The first lady takes childhood obesity as her cause.

The White House Kitchen Garden is frozen under, but, this Black History Month, first lady Michelle Obama is once more using food to address the epidemic of childhood obesity that has gripped the country and, she said in a recent speech to the United States’ Conference on Mayors, “never fails to take my breath away.”

“A recovery that merely recreates our inequitable pre-recession economy is no recovery at all. Throughout his first year and his first State of the Union address, President Obama has made it clear that all Americans deserve to live in opportunity-rich communities. He has listened to and learned from those closest to our nation’s challenges.

During his the first year of Obama’s tenure, PolicyLink and our allies have:

• Pushed for greater investment in green jobs. The president listened.
• Advocated for career ladders that help a job turn into a lifelong profession. The president listened.
• Argued that job training is crucial to creating a sustainable, flexible 21^st Century workforce. The president listened.
• Shown that hiring local residents and steering projects to local, minority-owned businesses has a phenomenal impact on a community. The president listened.

Of course, listening is just the first step. We must now put these ideas and innovations into practice. The path is clear…the president and all allies of equity in America must now walk that path with purpose. A true national recovery depends on it.”

 “Making a Healthy Lunch, and Making It a Cause,” -  The New York Times

Between them, Kristin Richmond and Kirsten Tobey have worked on Wall Street, traveled the world and taught school from East Africa to Ecuador. Now they make lunch for a living.

Friends since they met in business school at the University of California, Berkeley, Ms. Richmond and Ms. Tobey founded Revolution Foods Inc. to ride a political and economic wave: surging support for healthier food in school cafeterias.

“ACORN’s Real Crime: Empowering the Poor,” - alternet.org

The name Felix Walker is not one you would recognize, but this 19th-century congressman inadvertently contributed a word to America’s political lexicon that you will recognize–a word that fairly well sums up a lot of what we’re getting these days from right-wing politicos and pundits.

In the 1820s, Walker was the U.S. representative for Buncombe County, North Carolina. In an age of great political orators, Walker was not one. He was a droner, a dull fellow known for expressing his dullness at great length on every topic. No matter what issue was up for debate in the House–no matter whether he had any real knowledge, facts, or insights to add–Walker would rise to speak, insisting that his constituents back home would want his voice heard. He would then launch into a wandering, wearisome, often-nonsensical discourse that he always called “a speech for Buncombe.”

“New push for infrastructure funding in US jobs bill,” -  Reuters

WASHINGTON, Jan 21 (Reuters) - The Obama administration, key lawmakers and big trade groups want to include billions of dollars for transportation and infrastructure in pending legislation aimed at easing stubbornly high U.S. unemployment.

The move reflects cold calculations about what initiatives will take priority amid joblessness that is near a 26-year high at 10 percent and rapidly shifting political sands in Washington ahead of next November’s congressional elections.

But hard work gets done beyond the noise. Check out Angela Glover Blackwell’s piece in the Huffington Post today, “Beyond the Noise — 12 Quiet Ways Obama is Building a More Equitable America.”

But the best ideas don’t come from Washington. They come from community leaders closest to our nation’s challenges.

How would you make sure Year Two of the Obama Era is a year of equity? What should the Administration and its allies make their top priority?

Please share your ideas in the comments section.

“Administration Loosens Purse Strings for Transit Projects,” -  The New York Times

WASHINGTON — The Obama administration will make it easier for cities and states to spend federal money on public transit projects, and particularly on the light-rail systems that have become popular in recent years, Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood said Wednesday.

Administration officials said they were reversing guidelines put in place by the Bush administration that called for evaluating new transit projects largely by how much they cost and how much travel time they would save.

 “White House: Stimulus saved 2 million jobs,” -  Reuters
Obama has called for more measures to boost $787 billion package

WASHINGTON - President Barack Obama’s emergency spending measures last year saved up to 2 million U.S. jobs, the White House said on Wednesday, but it warned that the outlook for the economy remained uncertain.

Obama, anxious to reduce double-digit U.S. unemployment which has dented his popularity, has already called for additional government measures to boost jobs on top of the $787 billion stimulus package he signed in February 2009.

“Americans are fat, study says, but not getting fatter,” - Mercury News

Americans are fat, but at least they’re not getting fatter.

Sixty-eight percent of Americans are overweight or obese, but that number hasn’t changed much in the last decade, according to a team of doctors Wednesday in two studies in the Journal of the American Medical Association.

“Learning Curve: Diverse and poorer,” - Atlanta Journal Constitution

The South has become the first region in the country in which more than half of public school students are poor and more than half are minorities, according to a report by the Atlanta-based Southern Education Foundation.

The foundation found that African-American, Latino, Asian-Pacific Islander, American Indian and multi-racial children constituted a little more than half of all students attending public schools in the 15 states of the South by the end of the last school year.

“A Modern Heschel-King Alliance: The Struggle for Food Access,” - The Jewish Journal

Like Veterans Day or Memorial Day, the annual celebration of the birth of Martin Luther King Jr. has, over time, become just another three-day weekend for many Americans. Forty-two years after King’s assassination, the holiday presents us with an opportunity for reflection. How does our society compare to the one he fought for? Have we put an end to the discrimination and grinding poverty that King called upon us to heal? Are we capable of a mass movement equal to the millions who marched and practiced civil disobedience, reforming our country from within? Where is the Jewish community in modern struggles for justice and equality?

During the Civil Rights movement, another great lion of justice called the Jewish community to task. Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel established a lasting friendship with King, one filled with mutual admiration and affection and based on shared purpose, values and experience. Both were survivors of systems that legalized discrimination and oppression: King in the segregated South, Heschel in pre-war Nazi Germany.

“Poll: Feeling of progress rises among African Americans,” - The Washington Post

Despite being hit especially hard by the bad economy, job losses and the high rate of foreclosures, African Americans’ assessment of race relations and prospects for the future has surged more dramatically during the past two years than at any time in the past quarter-century, according to a new poll.

In a survey of American racial attitudes released Tuesday, researchers reported that the feeling of progress is driven in large part by the election of President Obama, along with a greater sense of local community satisfaction and a more positive outlook. The majority of African Americans say they are better off now than they were five years ago.

In all the arguing over incremental, sensible improvements to our nation’s health-care system, the voices of the people most affected by the current health-care crisis have been remarkably absent. Working families, self-employed small-business owners and uneasy workers fearful of losing their jobs have been heard from less and less as the debate has crawled on.

Instead, cable TV stations and op-ed pages are dominated by those who don’t have to worry about how to pay for an ambulance bill or a cancer test. Sunday morning talk shows feature almost exclusively those in the very highest echelons of national income. Just this week, the well-employed Rush Limbaugh even has the gall to claim that the health-care system is “working just fine, just dandy.”

The point of health reform was never to simply limit the red tape and cut down on the most egregious abuses of the insurance industry. It was to make millions of Americans more healthy and secure.

Without the voices of our most vulnerable communities, though, the provisions that could have helped those communities the most — a robust public option, expansion of Medicare, an improved children’s health insurance program, etc. — have lost out.

Specific provisions like ending discrimination based on pre-existing conditions are an enormous step toward a more just and more effective health-care system. But without the voices of struggling Americans at the heart of this legislation, it cannot do all that we need it to do.

After a year of a nearly non-stop national health-care debate, we sit on the precipice of significant — if incremental — progress. But we must remember this is not the end of the process. It is only the beginning. We will have countless opportunities to expand and improve on this foundation. The voices of those most in need are vital as we move toward implementation of this historic reform.

Congress is right - we need a new jobs bill, and we need it now. When it comes to helping those hit first and worst by the recession - low-income people and communities of color - the House bill is a good start, but it is too small and not targeted at the hardest-hit workers.

The bill does offer important investments in green industries, workforce training, teacher retention, and safety net programs like Medicaid and unemployment.

But the final jobs bill must be far more robust and targeted to create jobs and long-term recovery in all our communities. The Senate should build on this bill’s foundation to prioritize those suffering most. They must:

• Require local hiring
• Direct projects to underrepresented firms
• Boost funding for transit operations and capital projects

The House bill is a good first step. But the path to recovery is long. A more robust and targeted bill is needed to ensure all our communities come out the other side of this recession stronger.

Rep. Allyson Schwartz (D-Pa.) and 20 co-sponsors just introduced a resolution in support of a National Fresh Food Financing Initiative (NFFFI), based on a highly successful program in Pennsylvania. (Read the full resolution here.)

In partnership with The Food Trust and The Reinvestment Fund, PolicyLink has been working on Capitol Hill for more than a year to lift up this remarkable effort and bring it to national scale.

With 27 million Americans without access to fresh, affordable food – and poor and minority communities getting the worst of the problem – a national effort to expand and build grocery stores, farmers markets, and other healthy food retail in needy communities could be just the kind of bi-partisan, triple-bottom-line solution we need.

In just the past five years, the Pennsylvania public-private partnership has turned $30 million of state investment into 4,800 jobs, 78 new or expanded fresh-food markets, more than $150 million in additional private investment, and 400,000 people with improved access to fresh, healthy food. (Read how the program works here)

This Congressional resolution is just the first step, though. We anticipate a bill creating the NFFFI will be introduced in the Senate in early 2010. We need your help to make that happen.

Sign on to have your voice heard. Tell Congress all communities deserve good jobs, fresh food, and smart, long-term investment

UPDATE: NY Governor makes a BIG announcement, creating $30 million fund to expand access to healthy food in under-served NY communities. Once again, The Food Trust and The Reinvestment Fund play critical roles in getting this done. Exciting day for the food access movement!

For too long communities of color have been the canaries in the coal mine, sending out signals that should have served as urgent wake-up calls for the rest of the country.  One approach to ensuring that communities of color participate fully in the vitality of American economic life is through a focus on equity—just and fair inclusion for all.

The pursuit of equity today is different from the pursuit of equality.  While civil rights legislation established equality in principle many practical barriers remain to achieving economic and social parity.  You can’t just have the right to sit in a bus. Today, you need a bus that is frequent, connects you to employment, and provides a platform for economic, social, and physical mobility.

In many ways, inattention to equity brought about the country’s current economic mess.  The only way out is to refocus our sights on what it takes to build strong and healthy communities that enable everyone, including low-income people of color, to succeed.  To do this, the country must focus on jobs that pay family-supporting wages; high-quality education that prepares the next generation for 21st-century success; immigration and immigrant policy that fully taps the productivity and contribution of all residents; and reducing incarceration while at the same time preparing more young men for successful re-entry as productive and engaged citizens and community members. Just as essential is making sure our communities are livable, with access to healthy foods and physical activity for everyone.

Time is also running short because the demographic clock is ticking.   By sometime around 2042, the country is projected to shift from a majority white society to a “majority-minority” society with no single racial group as a majority.   Seventy-eight million baby boomers are poised to eventually retire, to be replaced by a new complement of workers reflecting the richness and diversity of America. The very future of the country will depend on how well it prepares that next generation of workers.

This is the time to reimagine the American future.  A bright future is possible if we keep in mind that diversity and equity are not the same.  Just because the country has a black president and is moving toward a more multicultural future does not mean that equity has been achieved.  At a time when everyone is hurting, communities of color are hurting even more.  High unemployment and poverty rates and growing hunger continue to define the reality for many black and Latino families.

To change that reality requires recognizing that universal strategies and policies don’t always work for everyone. For instance, the last attempt to address a financial crisis of this magnitude—the New Deal during the Great Depression—introduced many new programs but still fell short in reducing longstanding racial disparities.  Sometimes, countless seldom-seen barriers prevent communities of color from getting the help they both need and deserve.  The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA), touted as a cure-all, has not yet reached low-income communities of color. As we look toward 2010, we must find ways to target investment so that all will benefit.

In the end, though, racial progress is more than about policy.  The civil rights struggle became a movement when it was fueled by ordinary citizens from all walks of life.  To address today’s pressing challenges, we need a similar movement, by Americans from every corner of the nation, who recognize that the country is at a crossroads and that the future depends on a broad vision of opportunity and inclusion for all.

This piece also appeared on The Race Equity Project, a special project of Legal Services of Northern California.

“Fast-food standards for meat top those for school lunches,” -   USA TODAY
http://www.usatoday.com/news/education/2009-12-08-school-lunch-standards_N.htm

In the past three years, the government has provided the nation’s schools with millions of pounds of beef and chicken that wouldn’t meet the quality or safety standards of many fast-food restaurants, from Jack in the Box and other burger places to chicken chains such as KFC, a USA TODAY investigation found.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture says the meat it buys for the National School Lunch Program “meets or exceeds standards in commercial products.”

That isn’t always the case. McDonald’s, Burger King and Costco, for instance, are far more rigorous in checking for bacteria and dangerous pathogens. They test the ground beef they buy five to 10 times more often than the USDA tests beef made for schools during a typical production day.

“FOSTER KIDS TO GET A HOME IN ONE YEAR, CITY SAYS,” - City Limits WEEKLY
http://www.citylimits.org/content/articles/viewarticle.cfm?article_id=3844

When a local advocacy group releases a report aimed at changing city policy, it’s often ready to expect immediate resistance from the target of critique, and then perhaps slow alterations made over time.

But when the nonprofit Children’s Rights released a report last month analyzing how long it takes for foster children to obtain a permanent home, the city agency involved – the Administration for Children’s Services (ACS) – not only supported the release, but soon announced a related initiative aimed at shortening the length of time children remain in foster care.

This would be even more remarkable if the report hadn’t all but closed the case on what many in the city’s child welfare community have known for years: New York has one of the worst mechanisms for helping children move from foster care to permanent homes in the country. (It placed 44th among 47 states; see p. 71 of this state report.)

“Obama jobs plan: big ideas, but a big hole to fill in hiring,” - The Christian Science Monitor
http://www.csmonitor.com/layout/set/print/content/view/print/268029

President Obama proposed a new set of job-creation proposals Tuesday designed to confront a stark problem: Even though the rate of job cuts in the economy has eased, the pace of hiring remains far below normal.

That issue – how to spur hiring – is the central one for policymakers considering how to bring down America’s unemployment rate in the next year.

Mr. Obama said his proposals have the best chance to succeed, delivering the “greatest number of jobs [at] the greatest value for our economy.”

• Transportation Sec Ray LaHood
• OMB Director Peter Orszag
• And PolicyLink CEO Angela Glover Blackwell
• (You may also recognize the lanky gentleman who comes in at the 45:55 mark)
  

Check it out:

JOIN THE LIVE CHAT

VISIT WHITEHOUSE.GOV

But I sincerely hope this talented group does not merely attempt to restore our pre-recession economy. We must come out of this crisis stronger, with an inclusive, expansive economy that harnesses the skills of all people. We can no longer waste the talents and potential of millions of Americans.

In a report we released today – Finding Work, Finding Hope: A Step-by-Step Guide to Get Your Community Stimulus Dollars (and Jobs!) — we have laid out a short-term roadmap to help communities access federal stimulus dollars. The guide provides phone numbers, web sites, application links and all the other information you’ll need to get stimulus dollars to your community.

And as we move forward, how do we make sure equity is at the heart of our recovery?

• Train the next generation of “middle-skill” workers
• Stop foreclosures and put people to work keeping foreclosed properties from becoming blighted
• Start the “green revolution” in low-Income communities
• Invest in the long-term infrastructure of all communities

This is, of course, just the start. Do you have other ideas? Share them in the comments section.

The Jobs Summit should mark a banner day for all of us who work to ensure all Americans have the opportunity to participate and prosper. Because a recovery without equity is no recovery at all.

PolicyLink CEO Angela Glover Blackwell will be joining some of America’s top business and union leaders at President Obama’s “Jobs Summit” this Thursday.

With low-income communities and communities of color being hit first and worst in this recession, what do you want to ask Obama about the grim jobs landscape? 

Please let us know in the comments.

In the words of my friend Manuel Pastor, This Could be the Start of Something Big.

Three particular events jump out at me:

The Boys and Men of Color conference in Oakland
The Harlem Children’s Zone “Changing the Odds” Conference in New York City
The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Center to Prevent Childhood Obesity conference in Atlanta

To an outsider, these events might seem completely unrelated — one on social justice, one on cyclical poverty, one on childhood obesity. But for those of us in the equity movement, these were watershed events because of the passion, knowledge, and tenets that ran through each of them. The more than 2,000 people who attended these events represent, in many ways, the burgeoning power of our movement.

The speakers and attendees were all there to get their hands dirty doing the hard work of expanding opportunity to all people. They knew this movement takes smarts and drive and determination — and they all brought that to the table from the start. The level of sophistication and know-how on display at each of these events showed me how far our movement has come.

But what was most inspiring was how these ideas that drew thousands of people together are rooted in the innovation of local community leaders. The equity movement has sprouted from the nourishing soil of the communities that are facing these challenges every day.

Together, we have stepped headlong into the breach, replicating and implementing the innovative ideas our cohorts have honed in their own work. The energy is each of these rooms was palpable. You could almost touch it. I have no doubt, something big is starting. I can feel it.

If you couldn’t make it, this story gives a great recap:

The results so far are incredibly encouraging:

Their answer – a provisional one, since they are still refining the research – is that feeding primary school kids less fat, sugar and salt, and more fruit and vegetables, has a surprisingly large effect. Authorised absences, the best available proxy for illness, fell by 15 per cent in Greenwich, relative to schools in similar London boroughs. And relative to other boroughs, the proportion of children reaching Level Four in English rose by four and a half percentage points (more than six per cent), while the proportion of children achieving Level Five in Science rose by six points, or almost 20 per cent.

(via the Washington Post’s Ezra Klein)

“Poverty Fighters Get Their Own Consultancy,” - City Limits WEEKLY
 
Among the countless ways in which New York City is a superlative place, one is its high number of poor people – and the quantity of organizations in existence to help them.

The latter list just grew by one, with the establishment of the McSilver Institute for Poverty Policy, Practice and Research at NYU’s Silver School of Social Work. Launched last month, the new institute is aimed at collecting, developing and spreading best practices among those who serve the estimated 3 million of New York City’s 8.3 million residents who live on incomes under 200 percent of the federal poverty level, which comes to $36,620 for a family of three.

“Study: Half of U.S. kids will receive food stamps,” - USA TODAY

Half of American kids will live in households receiving food stamps before age 20, according to a study reported Monday in Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine.

Although one in five children rely on food stamps for years, many more live in families who turn to food stamps during a short-term crisis, says author Mark Rank of Washington University in St. Louis. He analyzed 30 years of data from the University of Michigan’s Panel Study of Income Dynamics survey.

“Chief Factor in Mayor’s Race: Bloomberg Influence,” - New York Times

The White House switchboard lit up with calls from Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg’s emissaries several weeks ago with a message that was polite but firm: The mayor is going to win re-election, they said. We think the president should stay out of the race.

Members of Mr. Bloomberg’s inner circle were especially worried because they knew President Obama planned to visit the region to campaign with Gov. Jon S. Corzine of New Jersey, and he would face pressure to support the Democratic candidate, William C. Thompson Jr., the city’s first black comptroller.

“Climate bill faces hurdles in Senate,” - Washington Post
Deal on nuclear plants offered to court Republicans

The climate-change bill that has been moving slowly through the Senate will face a stark political reality when it emerges for committee debate on Tuesday: With Democrats deeply divided on the issue, unless some Republican lawmakers risk the backlash for signing on to the legislation, there is almost no hope for passage.

Like the measure adopted by the House, the legislation favors a cap-and-trade system that would issue permits for greenhouse gas emissions, gradually lower the amount of emissions allowed, and let companies buy and sell permits to meet their needs — all without adding to the federal deficit, according to projections. But key Republicans are making their opposition clear, even as Sen. John F. Kerry (D-Mass.) has enlisted Sen. Lindsey O. Graham (S.C.) as his most visible GOP ally in gathering support for the bill.

 ”Who Should Get Affordable Homes?” -  The New York Times

AFFORDABLE housing has long been a contentious subject in the exclusive suburb of Darien. So earlier this year advocates took notice when, after lengthy and heated debate, Darien officials adopted a zoning policy intended to generate cheaper housing.

Called “inclusionary” zoning, the policy requires every new multifamily development, as well as every subdivision of at least five homes, to designate 12 percent of its units as below-market-rate housing.

“Amid national concern over childhood obesity, Metairie school takes to the track,” - The Times-Picayune

With rain threatening, students at Bissonet Plaza Elementary School wasted no time Thursday making their way to the back of campus. Some went straight to the field, where they ran laps around cones their teachers had set up. Others headed to a blacktop area, where they walked in groups until the start of class.

Kathy Anderson / The Times-Picayune”I think they kind of wake up here,” physical education teacher Sonia Lombardino said. “They’re kind of loud when they get to class, but the teachers like it.”

Americans believe economic opportunity is as fundamental a right as life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. More concerned about a level playing field for all, they worry less about the growing income and wealth disparity in our country. Creating an Opportunity Society examines economic opportunity in the United States and explores how to create more of it, particularly for those on the bottom rungs of the economic ladder.

Ron Haskins and Isabel Sawhill propose a concrete agenda for increasing opportunity that is cost effective, consistent with American values, and focuses on improving the lives of the young and the disadvantaged.

Here’s the video:

Cereal and Saturday morning cartoons go together like peanut butter and jelly. The downside is what else our children are seeing when they turn on the television.

The Rudd Center for Food Policy and Obesity at Yale University on Monday released Cereal F.A.C.T.S. (Food Advertising to Children and Teens Score) earlier this week which reported on, and rated, how cereals are marketed, and specifically targeted, towards children.

According to the report’s executive summary, “The least healthy cereals are the ones most marketed to children, and overall, children are exposed to a vast amount of marketing for highly-sugared cereals, more than for any other category of packaged food.”

Their results found that seven of the 10 cereals with the poorest nutritional content are the same products most heavily advertised on television and the internet. One of the study’s key findings is that cereals marketed to children have 85 percent more sugar, 65 percent less fiber, and 60 percent more sodium. And although none of these cereals qualifies to be included in the USDA Women, Infants and Children (WIC) program, they all are designated as “smart choices” by the Council of Better Business Bureaus. These foods may proclaim to be “better-for-you,” but in actuality they are contributing to children’s poor health and the obesity epidemic.

With marketing targeting our young people, it creates a near toxic media environment that overwhelms kids with advertising on children’s networks and websites like Nickelodeon, Disney, and the Cartoon Network–networks that now bring the advertising into our homes 24 hours a day, 7 days a week..

However alarming the statistics in the study may be, they are also indications that environmental factors can be changed via policy change and governmental regulation.

In the long run, this kind of regulation is helpful for all of our children, especially those who are disproportionately impacted by overweight and obesity: children of color and children in low-income communities.

To read the full study visit Cereal Facts.org.

“Road Home program amended to assist owners of homes of modest value,” - The Times-Picayune

U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Secretary Shaun Donovan came to town carrying a letter that could help thousands of area homeowners finally finish their renovations.

The letter, which Donovan gave on Thursday to Louisiana Recovery Authority head Paul Rainwater, approved a change to the Road Home program that could distribute $600 million in leftover program money, giving up to $34,000 in extra grant money to as many as 19,000 low- to moderate-income homeowners, Rainwater said.

“States eager to power up electric car-battery industry,” - USA TODAY

DETROIT — The U.S. government has made it clear that developing a domestic auto-battery industry — for advanced batteries to power next-generation electric cars — is a priority. That has states scrambling to be sure they get a piece of the action.

This week, business leaders, politicians and entrepreneurs will gather in Detroit at a conference called “The Business of Plugging In” to discuss the future of plug-in electrics and plan how to attract and develop businesses involved in plug-in vehicle development.

“Public option gains support,” - Washington Post

A new Washington Post-ABC News poll shows that support for a government-run health-care plan to compete with private insurers has rebounded from its summertime lows and wins clear majority support from the public.

Americans remain sharply divided about the overall packages moving closer to votes in Congress and President Obama’s leadership on the issue, reflecting the partisan battle that has raged for months over the administration’s top legislative priority. But sizable majorities back two key and controversial provisions: both the so-called public option and a new mandate that would require all Americans to carry health insurance.

 ”How Valid Is the Insurers’ Attack on Health Reform?,” -  TIME MAGAZINE

After months of lending its cautious, very qualified support to health-care reform, the health-insurance industry has lobbed its first bomb at the Democrats’ proposals. But many of the industry’s assertions appear to have missed their mark.

Just two days before Tuesday’s scheduled vote on the Senate Finance Committee’s health bill, a report warning that the bill would result in sizable hikes in insurance premiums was released, and then widely panned as a flawed analysis of cherry-picked information. A spokesman for the committee called the report a “hatchet job, plain and simple”; and some Democrats on Capitol Hill claimed that the insurers’ broadside would actually ease, rather than slow, passage of health reform by unifying the various factions of the party against an industry with precious little credibility among the public. (See 10 players in health-care reform.)

“Public Option Is Next Big Hurdle in Health Debate,” - The New York Times

WASHINGTON — As the White House and Congressional leaders turned in earnest on Wednesday to working out big differences in the five health care bills, perhaps no issue loomed as a greater obstacle than whether to establish a government-run competitor to the insurance industry.

One day after the Senate Finance Committee approved a measure without a “public option,” the question on Capitol Hill was how President Obama could reconcile the deep divisions within his party on the issue. All eyes were on Senator Olympia J. Snowe, the Maine Republican whose call for a “trigger” that would establish a government plan as a fallback is one of the leading compromise ideas.

“Obama: New Orleans not forgotten,” -   USA TODAY

NEW ORLEANS — In his first presidential visit to this city, Barack Obama praised the resiliency of residents in rebuilding their flood-wrecked homes and promised to continue flowing federal dollars to the effort.

“It is always an inspiration to spend time with the men and women who have reminded the rest of us what it means to persevere in the face of tragedy and rebuild in the face of ruin,” Obama said during a town-hall-style meeting at the University of New Orleans.

“Deficit Complicates Push on Jobs,” - The Wall Street Journal

WASHINGTON — Democratic leaders pressed President Barack Obama on Wednesday to extend more elements of the existing economic-stimulus package, and to possibly add tax cuts that were rejected the first time around, despite a record budget deficit that is giving some lawmakers pause.

On Wednesday, the Congressional Budget Office estimated that the federal deficit for fiscal 2009 will be $1.4 trillion. That is somewhat better than the nearly $1.6 trillion the CBO projected in August, but much of the change stems from different accounting treatments for losses at Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the mortgage companies the government took over last year.

“Putting America’s Diet on a Diet,” - The New York Times

On his first day in Huntington, W. Va., Jamie Oliver spent the afternoon at Hillbilly Hot Dogs, pitching in to cook its signature 15-pound burger. That’s 10 pounds of meat, 5 pounds of custom-made bun, American cheese, tomatoes, onions, pickles, ketchup, mustard and mayo. Then he learned how to perfect the Home Wrecker, the eatery’s famous 15-inch, one-pound hot dog (boil first, then grill in butter). For the Home Wrecker Challenge, the dog gets 11 toppings, including chili sauce, jalapeños, liquid nacho cheese and coleslaw. Finish it in 12 minutes or less and you get a T-shirt.

So much for local color. Earlier that day, Oliver met with a pediatrician, James Bailes, and a pastor, Steve Willis. Bailes told him about an 8-year-old patient who was 80 pounds overweight and had developed Type 2 diabetes. If the child’s diet didn’t change, the doctor said, he wouldn’t live to see 30. Willis told Oliver that he visits patients in local hospitals several days a week and sees the effects of long-term obesity firsthand. Since he can’t write a prescription for their resulting illnesses, he said, all he can do is pray with them.

“Universal healthcare coverage appears elusive,” - Los Angeles Times

As a key Senate committee prepares today to pass its plan to overhaul the nation’s healthcare system, senior Democrats are acknowledging that it may be impossible to provide coverage to all Americans — a central goal of President Obama and his congressional allies.

That is fueling growing alarm among hospitals and insurance companies, which have made universal coverage a condition of their support.

Never underestimate the power of an old blue sweater - even one with a cheesy design of two zebras in front of Mount Kilimanjaro. Maybe especially one with zebras and a mountain.

That very sweater launched Jacqueline Novogratz’s career as an international social investor, and it is the inspiration of her recently published book, The Blue Sweater: Bridging the Gap Between Rich and Poor in an Interconnected World (Rodale, $24.95).

“States not meeting renewable energy goals,” - USA TODAY

Across the USA, states are falling short of their goals to increase the use of renewable energy as Congress weighs a national renewable-energy standard.

Thirty-five states have set goals to use more electricity from solar panels, windmills and other renewable forms of energy, according to a database funded by the Energy Department. There is no central clearinghouse of states’ compliance records, but USA TODAY research and interviews with state and power company officials found nine states that have failed or expect to fail to meet their energy goals.

“A Better Way to Health Reform,” - The Washington Post

The American health-care system suffers from three serious problems: Health-care costs are rising much faster than our incomes. More than 15 percent of the population has neither private nor public insurance. And the high cost of health care can lead to personal bankruptcy, even for families that do have health insurance.

These faults persist despite annual federal government spending of more than $700 billion for Medicare and Medicaid as well as a federal tax subsidy of more than $220 billion for the purchase of employer-provided private health insurance.

“States Resist Medicaid Growth,” - Washington Post

The nation’s governors are emerging as a formidable lobbying force as health-care reform moves through Congress and states overburdened by the recession brace for the daunting prospect of providing coverage to millions of low-income residents.

The legislation the Senate Finance Committee is expected to approve this week calls for the biggest expansion of Medicaid since its creation in 1965. Under the Senate bill and a similar House proposal, a patchwork state-federal insurance program targeted mainly at children, pregnant women and disabled people would effectively become a Medicare for the poor, a health-care safety net for all people with an annual income below $14,404.

“Obama uses L.A. program as a model for going green,” - Los Angeles Times

Urging the government to “lead by example,” President Obama ordered federal agencies on Monday to set ambitious goals to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, cut energy use, save water and recycle more.

The order calls for a 30% cut in vehicle fuel use by 2020, a 50% increase in recycling by 2015 and the implementation of high-efficiency building codes.

“Housing Battle Reveals Post-Katrina Tensions,” -  The New York Times

CHALMETTE, La. — The parish of St. Bernard, a quiet, insular suburb just east of New Orleans, has in the end agreed to allow housing for low-income families.

But even though it is only a few hundred apartment units, it had to be ordered by a federal judge. The parish has fought desperately to prevent such housing and an influx of renters, at one point even approving a law that prohibited homeowners from renting to anyone other than a blood relative, before it was challenged and repealed.

“WIC nutrition program expands to cover fruits, vegetables,” - Los Angeles Times

Beginning today, women and children who receive food vouchers through the federal government’s WIC program will be able to use them to buy fresh fruits and vegetables.

“It’s a really welcome change,” said Gail Harrison, a public health professor at UCLA who was on the national Institute of Medicine panel that recommended the revisions to the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children — the first major change in the program since it began in the 1970s. “The supplemental food package contributes a very substantial share of dietary intake, and so making it healthier is all to the good.”

“Swiss Health Care Thrives Without Public Option,” -  The New York Times

ZURICH — Like every other country in Europe, Switzerland guarantees health care for all its citizens. But the system here does not remotely resemble the model of bureaucratic, socialized medicine often cited by opponents of universal coverage in the United States.

Swiss private insurers are required to offer coverage to all citizens, regardless of age or medical history. And those people, in turn, are obligated to buy health insurance.

“$35 Billion Slated for Local Housing,” -  The wall Street Journal

WASHINGTON — The Obama administration is close to committing as much as $35 billion to help beleaguered state and local housing agencies continue to provide mortgages to low- and moderate-income families, according to administration officials.

The move would further cement the government’s role in propping up the housing market even as some lawmakers push to curb spending at a time of rising debt.

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

“Detroit: The Death — and Possible Life — of a Great City,” - TIME MAGAZINE

If Detroit had been savaged by a hurricane and submerged by a ravenous flood, we’d know a lot more about it. If drought and carelessness had spread brush fires across the city, we’d see it on the evening news every night. Earthquake, tornadoes, you name it — if natural disaster had devastated the city that was once the living proof of American prosperity, the rest of the country might take notice. (See pictures of the remains of Detroit.)

But Detroit, once our fourth largest city, now 11th and slipping rapidly, has had no such luck. Its disaster has long been a slow unwinding that seemed to remove it from the rest of the country. Even the death rattle that in the past year emanated from its signature industry brought more attention to the auto executives than to the people of the city, who had for so long been victimized by their dreadful decision-making.

“Geoffrey Canada’s initiative, Harlem Children’s Zone, has grown to reach 8,000 children across nearly 100 city blocks,” - The Christian Science Monitor

Geoffrey Canada still remembers the saddest day in his first nine years on earth. Back then, Mr. Canada clung to superheroes – and to Superman especially. He liked the guy, but he especially liked the idea he symbolized: immediate and dramatic salvation. In his earliest days, Superman was a social-justice hero, saving a man from a lynch mob, fighting fires, stopping robberies – rescuing people from the same kinds of dangers that seemed to lurk, in the 1960s, in Canada’s rough South Bronx neighborhood. Superman, Canada had decided, was just the guy to fix a neighborhood full of poverty and drugs, to rescue Canada and his friends, to bring a little optimism to the merciless streets.

“A Brooklyn of Wealth and Needs Gets a Major Charity All Its Own,” - The New York Times

Brooklyn, which never fully recovered from merging with Manhattan and losing the Dodgers, is about to get new fuel to stoke its stubborn brand of local pride: It is now rich enough to support a major charity of its own.

The Independence Community Foundation, long the largest private charity based in the borough, is changing its tax status so it can raise money rather than simply rely on income from its roughly $50 million endowment.

“Cash Incentive Program for Poor Families Is Renewed,” -  The New York Times

An experimental antipoverty program that pays poor families up to $5,000 a year for going to regular medical checkups, attending school and keeping jobs has been extended for a third year.

Linda I. Gibbs, the deputy mayor for health and human services, said she was encouraged by some early results in the education component of the program that showed students improved their attendance and passed more exams when they were rewarded with cash.

“Experts: Penny per ounce soda tax to fight obesity, health costs,”   - Associated Press

ATLANTA (AP) — In a bid to ramp up the public health battle against obesity, a group of nutrition and economics experts are pushing for a tax of 1 cent on every of ounce of sodas and other sweetened beverages.

Proposals for a hefty soda tax though have repeatedly fallen flat. The idea was even floated as a way to help pay for health care reform, but government officials on Wednesday said that’s not likely to happen.

 ”As farm incomes drop, grocery deals rise,” - USA TODAY

Consumers are reaping some benefits as farmers take their biggest hit in 35 years: lower food prices at the supermarket. The U.S. Department of Agriculture forecasts farm income of $49.1 billion in 2009 when adjusted for inflation. That would be a 39% drop from 2008, a record year when U.S. farmers earned $80.4 billion after expenses.

It would also be the worst annual percentage drop since 1983. In dollars, it would be the worst since 1974, adjusted for inflation.

In the five one-hour episodes of BRICK CITY the lives of Mayor Booker, citizens on the front lines, and key figures re-making the city – from developers to gang members and youth mentors - intertwine in a portrait of a city at a critical moment in history.

“Average family health insurance policy: $13,375, up 5%,” -  USA TODAY

WASHINGTON — An average family health insurance policy now costs more than some compact cars, and four in 10 companies will likely pass more of that expense on to workers, according to a closely watched survey of businesses released Tuesday.

The average cost of a family policy offered by employers was $13,375 this year, up 5% from 2008, the Kaiser Family Foundation and the Health Research & Educational Trust survey found. By comparison, wages rose 3% over that period, the study said.

“Proposed Tax on Sugary Beverages Debated,” -   The New York Times

The debate over a tax on sugary soft drinks — billed as a way to fight obesity and provide billions for health care reform — is starting to fizz over.

President Obama has said it is worth considering. The chief executive of Coca-Cola calls the idea outrageous, while skeptics point to political obstacles and question how much of an impact it would really have on consumers.

“Road and Rail Spending Proposals Stall as Lawmakers Punt on Revenue Fix,” - The New York Times

On Capitol Hill, House and Senate leaders agree on one thing when it comes to overhauling the national transportation strategy: They have no plans to raise taxes to pay for the reform.

Off the Hill, however, most transportation experts agree you cannot address the nation’s infrastructure without a new revenue source.

The Prevention and Wellness Fund, funded by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (a.k.a. the federal stimulus bill), should go a long way toward creating healthier communities across America and, in particular, battling the pernicious racial disparities we see when it comes to obesity and diabetes rates.

“This new funding will throw a lifeline to millions of black and Latino children and their parents and help create healthier communities across America,” said Angela Glover Blackwell, CEO of PolicyLink and a principal advisor for the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Center to Prevent Childhood Obesity. “Black and Latino Americans are hit hardest by the dual crises of obesity and diabetes. All people deserve to live in healthy communities - places with clean air, safe streets, clean parks, and easy access to healthy food options. These new funds will put us on a path toward healthy communities for all.”

The Administration’s funding approach appears to back three core policy principles PolicyLink and its partners have long called for:

• Healthy food in our schools
• Healthy food options in our communities
• Healthy and safe places to live and play

The funding plan also lines up well with recommendations provided to the White House by PolicyLink and the Prevention Institute. To read those recommendations, click here.

Fact and Resources after the Jump

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“Oakland Housing Authority creates loophole to use Section 8 funds for public housing,” - East Bay Journal

Oakland - The disposition plan for over 1,600 public housing units owned and operated by the Oakland Housing Authority (OHA), signals the end of public housing as we know it if other Public Housing Authorities (PHAs) follow suit and switch to the Section 8 model being promoted by the OHA for it’s public housing program.

In a nut shell, the OHA wants to determine which of it’s small scattered public housing sites that are occupied with very low-income households, will be sold off, so that the proceeds can be used to build much larger mixed income housing projects for higher income residents, like the Hope Vl mixed income housing projects that have displaced the poor all across the nation.

“Road and Rail Spending Proposals Stall as Lawmakers Punt on Revenue Fix,” - The New York Times

On Capitol Hill, House and Senate leaders agree on one thing when it comes to overhauling the national transportation strategy: They have no plans to raise taxes to pay for the reform.

Off the Hill, however, most transportation experts agree you cannot address the nation’s infrastructure without a new revenue source.

“Outside the Superstar Spotlight, Minorities Struggle With Obesity,” - Washington Post

As any sports fan knows, this time of year is like Christmas in September. The NFL season is about to start, and the speed, power and grace of Minnesota Vikings running back Adrian Peterson is on display. The U.S. Open is in full swing, with Serena Williams tearing through the field as usual. Baseball is heading toward the playoffs; the superhuman Albert Pujols has a shot at the Triple Crown. The majestic Michael Jordan was inducted into the NBA Hall of Fame and it won’t be long before Kobe and LeBron are back on the floor.

Yet here is the irony I couldn’t escape as I sat in front of my television last week, taking it all in: The overall fitness level of the minority groups those superstars represent is appalling. By any measure that matters, blacks and Hispanics are in worse shape than whites — who, of course, are firmly in the grip of the obesity epidemic themselves.

BATON ROUGE, La. - The state of Louisiana has approved $7 million for the Fresh Food Retailers Initiative program, allowing the City of New Orleans to access federal Community Development Block Grant funds needed to implement the project.

The Fresh Food Retail Initiative is a three-year program of forgivable and low-interest loans made to supermarkets, grocery stores and other fresh food retailers, designed to provide healthy food at affordable prices in underserved neighborhoods in New Orleans.

The funding comes from the Long Term Community Recovery Program, a $700 million pool of federal disaster-recovery money set aside by the Louisiana Recovery Authority and Office of Community Development to help local governments rebuild and implement long-term recovery plans.

LRA Executive Director Paul Rainwater said, “The Louisiana Recovery Authority supports local residents and national experts in their belief that rebuilding healthy food stores is critical, not only for the health of residents, but for the economic health and recovery of entire neighborhoods, as well.”

Hurricane Katrina exacerbated the lack of fresh, healthy foods available in many New Orleans neighborhoods. As of January 2009, only 19 full-service supermarkets had reopened — half the number in operation prior to the storm. Moreover, most of the supermarkets are located in the wealthier and/or higher-ground neighborhoods such as the Garden District, Uptown and Algiers. In a 2007 Tulane University survey, nearly 60 percent of low-income residents reported they must drive more than three miles to a supermarket, but only 58 percent owned a car.

The CDBG money will establish the fresh food program by providing up to 50 percent in matching funds to an FFRI partnership, which will consist of a local nonprofit and a community development lender. Competitively selected and overseen by the City of New Orleans, the FFRI partnership will ensure that new or existing stores dedicate significant shelf space to fresh produce, as well as oversee product placement, marketing and outreach efforts to low-income neighborhoods.

The Fresh Food Retailers Initiative program is a component of the city’s broader Healthy Communities agenda, which works toward the goal of widespread access to affordable fresh food.

The state’s LTCR program supports implementation of local governments’ long-term recovery plans in the most heavily impacted communities in the state.

In 2008, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development approved LRA’s request to reallocate $500 million in CDBG dollars to the program, bringing to $700 million the total amount of long-term recovery funding available to the parishes. Funds are distributed among the parishes through the LRA/Office of Community Development according to a formula based on estimated housing and infrastructure damages inflicted by hurricanes Katrina and Rita.

Last night, President Obama laid out a strong, meaningful and moral health-reform platform. It is a sensible and fair approach that will help improve the lives, health and security of millions of American families.

Under the plan, hard-working Americans can be sure that an unexpected layoff or an effort to start your own business won’t keep you from getting the treatment you need. And strong prevention measures will help save money and reduce the terrible effects chronic diseases like diabetes and asthma are having on low-income people and communities of color.

It is time for leaders on all sides to put their heads down and do the work we elected them to do. The Obama plan represents a broad consensus, packed with the most promising ideas from experts, doctors and leaders on both sides of the Congressional aisle.

After a long, hot, loud August filled with disinformation and overheated rhetoric, it is time for the politics to cool. How Republican leaders react to this speech throughout September and October will show clearly whether they are in Washington to make the lives of everyday Americans better or if they are there to score cheap political points at the expense of the American people.

The perpetual campaign must stop. Our unfair, outdated, and unresponsive health-care system has dragged down families and businesses for far too long.

Obama stepped up to the plate last night, showing a willingness to bring any good ideas into the fold. But a willingness to compromise does not mean stepping away from essential elements and cannot represent a willingness to wait.

The time is now for real change. It’s up to our elected leaders to decide whether they want to play a constructive role — or merely hurl invective from the sidelines.

This article also appeared in the Washington Post’s “Health Care RX” experts panel. For more of Angela Glover Blackwell’s analyses, click here.

“Van Jones, Patriot,” - Washington Post

It makes me sad and a little sick that Van Jones, the White House Green Jobs Czar, was forced to resign after being targeted by a vicious smear campaign. The Obama administration lost a brilliant mind who worked day and night to, as Van would say, “get the greenest solutions to the poorest people”. Indeed, Van did as much as anyone to put the concept of the Green Collar Economy on the map, including publishing a best-selling book with that title. More than that, he was one of the nation’s most pragmatic environmental visionaries, someone who was always thinking up practical, pattern-changing solutions to massive climate problems.

Van grew up in a small town in Tennessee, went to a provincial college, and wound up graduating from Yale Law School, launching a number of important nonprofit organizations, and winning way too many awards to count, including being named to Time Magazine’s 100 Most Influential People list. He’s a remarkable American success story, eloquently captured in Elizabeth Kolbert’s New Yorker profile.

“The Social Side of Obesity: You Are Who You Eat With,” - NEWSWEEK

Sending your kids back to lunch-lady land this fall? Careful, your child’s dining mates may be upping his chances of packing on the pounds. A study published in the August issue of the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition finds that how much tweens and teens eat can be influenced by how much their friends weigh.

In the study, 130 kids ages 9 to 15 were allowed to snack as much as they wanted while hanging out with a friend or with a peer they did not know. All the kids ate more when they were with a friend than with a stranger. But the overweight children ate the most when paired with an overweight friend - an average of 300 more calories than when they spent time with leaner friends. The research also found that friendship itself makes the appetite grow stronger: when overweight kids ate with similar-weight kids who were already their pals, they threw back an extra 250 calories than when they ate with chubby kids they had just met.

“‘24 hours in the ER’ shows challenges of health system,” - USA TODAY

Dr. Robert O’Connor had taken charge of the emergency room only minutes earlier when the cellphone in his pocket rang: The Western Albemarle Rescue Squad was on its way with a 14-month-old girl who had suffered a possible seizure.

Ten minutes later, Tyler McNeely climbed out of the ambulance, her face frantic and her pale, subdued baby in her arms. Shana Crabtree, a third-year resident in green scrubs, waited for them at the University of Virginia Medical Center. EMT Andrew Todhunter delivered a staccato summary of Clara’s vital signs.

I was lucky enough to attend the second stop in the White House Office of Urban Affairs Listening Tour, which brought Obama Administration officials to help kick off the Kansas City Green Impact Zone, a “comprehensive, place-based plan to invest public and private funding to transform a neighborhood plagued by high rates of poverty and violence, unemployment, and abandoned property.” (Read more about the Zone here.)

It was moving to see top federal officials — like HUD Secretary Shaun Donovan; Transportation Deputy Secretary John Porcari; White House Urban Affairs Director Adolfo Carrion; and Special Advisor for Green Jobs Van Jones — on hand to really listen to the ideas and innovations of local leaders. There is a change afoot in how the federal government thinks of cities and metropolitan areas.

The Green Impact Zone — inspired by Rep. Emanuel Cleaver, coordinated by the Mid-America Regional Council (MARC), and funded in part by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act– promises to be a shining example of what we can do with coordinated, cross-sector investments in housing, transportation, energy efficiency, and workforce training.

But, perhaps most important, it could be a model for how the federal government and local innovators can work together to make sure all Americans can live in communities of opportunity.

I don’t think these chills will be going away any time soon.

“U.S. Economy Gets Lift From Stimulus,” -  The Wall Street Journal

WASHINGTON — Government efforts to funnel hundreds of billions of dollars into the U.S. economy appear to be helping the U.S. climb out of the worst recession in decades.

But there’s little agreement about which programs are having the biggest impact. Some economists argue that efforts such as the Federal Reserve’s aggressive buying of Treasury debt and mortgage-backed securities, as well as government efforts to shore up banks, are providing a bigger boost than the administration’s $787 billion stimulus package.

“The Five Biggest Lies in the Health Care Debate,” - NEWSWEEK 

To the credit of opponents of health-care reform, the lies and exaggerations they’re spreading are not made up out of whole cloth—which makes the misinformation that much more credible. Instead, because opponents demand that everyone within earshot (or e-mail range) look, say, “at page 425 of the House bill!,” the lies take on a patina of credibility. Take the claim in one chain e-mail that the government will have electronic access to everyone’s bank account, implying that the Feds will rob you blind. The 1,017-page bill passed by the House Ways and Means Committee does call for electronic fund transfers—but from insurers to doctors and other providers. There is zero provision to include patients in any such system.

“Weight-Loss Surgery Breaks Families’ ‘Obesity Cycle’,” – Atlanta Journal Constitution

WEDNESDAY, Sept. 2 (HealthDay News) — Obese mothers have children who are likely to be obese, but a new study concludes that weight-loss surgery can break the cycle.

Researchers found that women who had weight-loss surgery before becoming pregnant had children who were less likely to be heavy when compared with siblings who were born before the weight-loss surgery.

That is why we are reviving the Demand Equity Now Federal Briefing Series, which more than 1,200 of you signed up for in the spring.

We hope the new round, “Navigating the New DC,” will offer even more opportunities to share, learn, and blaze new paths for the equity movement in Washington.

(All calls Friday 1pm Eastern/10 am Pacific, unless otherwise noted)

September 11 – Health for All: How Health Reform Can Work for Every American
Featuring Jim Wallis of Sojourners, Richard Hamburg of Trust for America’s Health, and Angela Glover Blackwell of PolicyLink

September 25 – Make It Count: Assessing the Equity Impact of the Census

October 9 – Good Jobs, Green Jobs: Creating a Ladder to Workforce Success

October 23 – Search for Sunlight: Transparency and Accountability in the Economic Recovery

November 9 – Come Together: The Promise of the Harlem Children’s Zone (Time TBD)

November 20 – An Apple a Day: Bringing Healthy Food to All Communities

Watch for email blasts or visit PolicyLink.org for announcements about future speakers. Call-in instructions to follow closer to the date of each call.

For more information or for any questions about the series, please contact Amber Washington at amber@policylink.org. 

“Grass Roots Put New Orleans Back on Its Feet,” - The Wall Street Journal
With Federal Aid Finally Flowing to Hurricane-Ravaged City, a Flurry of Rebuilding Helps Shield It from U.S. Downturn

NEW ORLEANS — This once-ravaged city is finally mending from Hurricane Katrina after years of administrative delays and political disputes that choked the flow of millions of dollars in federal aid.

Money now flowing through the city is beginning to deliver the most visibly widespread improvements since Katrina struck four years ago today. Scores of public works projects are under way. The last police precinct using a FEMA trailer as temporary headquarters moved into real offices earlier this year. More than half the public schools in New Orleans have been turned into higher-performing charter schools. Returning residents have pushed the population to 76% of its prestorm total of about 455,000.

“Yes, We Can Afford Health-Care Reform,” - Washington Post

“Moderate” opponents of health-care reform like to say that we cannot afford it, particularly in the midst of a recession that has widened the deficit with both reduced tax revenue and the fiscal stimulus package. This was the argument advanced by Sen. Joe Lieberman on TV a week ago and repeated by Michael Gerson in this newspaper: “Obama’s massive spending, intended to stabilize the economy, also drained the Treasury, making it more difficult to propose major new expenditures.”

 ”Report maps out solutions to child obesity,” -  USA TODAY

To make it easier for children to eat healthfully and move more, local governments in towns and cities across the country need to help create a better environment, a new report says.

Children and their families should have access to grocery stores that offer plenty of healthful food such as fruits and vegetables, and schools shouldn’t be surrounded by fast-food restaurants. Children should be able to ride their bikes or walk safely to school, and they should have safe places to play afterward, says the report out today from the Institute of Medicine (IOM) and National Research Council.

He dove headlong into the tedious and often maddening work of crafting legislation to help America’s most vulnerable people — low-income people, people of color, workers, children, the mentally ill, the disabled, the elderly.

The man was not without his faults, but he dedicated himself to using his booming baritone as a voice for the voiceless, becoming one of the most prolific and dedicated legislators in the august history of the US Senate.

His soaring, commanding speeches in the well of the Senate and at the 1980 Democratic National Convention have become the stuff of legend. It was not, however, in his soaring poetry that we find Ted Kennedy’s greatest legacy — but rather in the prosaic public policy accomplishments that dramatically improved the day-to-day lives of millions of Americans just struggling to get by.

As former Labor Secretary Robert Reich wrote today, “Most Americans will never know how many things Ted Kennedy did to make their lives better, how many things he prevented that would have hurt them, and how tenaciously he fought on their behalf.”

Without the tireless efforts of Ted Kennedy, there would likely be no:

• Civil Rights Bill of 1964, which he made an impassioned speech in favor of while still recovering from severe injuries sustained in a plane crash
• Americans with Disabilities Act or an expansion of the Civil Rights Commission to cover discrimination on the basis of disability
• Voting Rights Act Extension, which lowered the voting age to 18
• State Childrens Health Insurance Program (S-CHIP), which Kennedy fought to keep on the books

But it was health care reform — specifically the quest for universal coverage — that Teddy called “the cause of my life.” His passing in the heat of the current health care debate is a major loss for those fighting for his vision.

But Teddy always knew that the players on the field matter far less than the final score. He would want us all to use his death as a rallying cry — because it is from prosaic legislation that the poetry of our lives springs.

As Teddy told the DNC crowd on that hot August night in 1980, “The work goes on, the cause endures, the hope still lives, and the dream shall never die.”

Ted Kennedy has left us his legacy. His cause — equity, fairness and opportunity — will endure. We just must be strong enough to pick up his torch.

John Cowgill is standing in the rain on quiet Victory Avenue in Manteca, Calif., a gridlike town of 65,000 people located just outside of Stockton. A realtor with PMZ, the biggest real-estate firm in the northern San Joaquin Valley, he is responsible for the vacant and vandalized house standing behind him; inside, grafitti covers the walls, the banister is torn off a staircase, and glass shards from a broken chandelier peak out from the carpeting. Blocks away, the road comes to an abrupt end as rows of neatly planted crops replace rows of houses.

“Look at this house and the one over there. What’s different?” Cowgill asks. At one house, the lawn is neatly trimmed and a small purple bicycle leans near the front door. At the other house, black iron bars are affixed to the door, a sight more commonly associated with the heart of the inner city than the outskirts of suburbia. Nearby, a rusty sports car sits in the driveway. “Manteca was a desirable place to live,” he explains. “But this Wild West financing meant anybody could end up here. That’s what this thing did. It scrambled communities.”

“Unhealthy glut of options: Fast food dominates eating choices in vulnerable Brooklyn neighborhoods,” - The New York Daily News

In Brooklyn, you are where you eat.

Close to 60% of the borough is overweight or obese, according to recent state Health Department data.

“Cutbacks pinch homeless programs,” - USA TODAY

The homeless are having more trouble getting help because of state budget cuts, and federal stimulus funding in September will fill only part of the gap, service providers for the homeless say.

“It’s a perfect storm” of falling revenue and rising need, says Joel John Roberts of PATH Partners, a group that advises communities on services for the homeless. “The holes in the safety net are getting bigger.”

What are we even arguing about again?

Though the volume of the health-care debate has never been louder, it has never been more silent on what really matters to the real lives and real struggles of everyday Americans.

During the campaign, President Obama and his team were geniuses at keeping an even keel and steadily pushing on a single narrative — hope — that was both powerful and flexible. But during the health-care fight, they have been unfocused. Of course, it’s hard to have a consistent message when you’re bargaining with 535 potential legislative partners at the other end of Pennsylvania Avenue (not to mention the dozens of TV and radio hosts who wield inordinate power in the modern media landscape).

Obama must take a step back and remind all Americans why we need to reform health care in the first place.

He needs to fill a town hall with people who have faced death or bankruptcy because of insufficient insurance or no insurance at all. Participants shouldn’t be hard to find — all of us have friends or neighbors or family members who have faced this harsh reality (or just go to Andrew Sullivan’s site where he has spent the past several weeks collecting dozens of heartbreaking “Views from Your Sickbed”)

Obama is a master of policy detail and — If he weren’t so politically savvy — would have made a terrific technocrat. But he must stress the big picture here.

We all know the health-care system is broken. We all know dealing with insurance companies is a maddening, often-frightening task. And we all know people will die needlessly unless we get some kind of reform now.

We need Obama to remind us of this fact. Every day. Every hour. The real pain of real Americans needs to become the center of this debate again, not the pitched voices of ill-informed mobs.

Since the devastation, PolicyLink has worked with others in the region to secure an equitable recovery. For example, we served as an advisor on housing policy to several governmental and philanthropic agencies and we helped create the Louisiana Housing Alliance, a coalition of over 100 local and statewide organizations collaborating to create affordable and equitable housing policy at the parish, state, and federal levels. As director of our Louisiana initiative, I see the fearless work that continues to happen in the face of adversity. And I’m extremely honored to be part of the battle for justice, fairness, and equity.

The Louisiana Disaster Recovery Foundation (LDRF) has been on the front lines of funding organizations involved in recovery work. We know their good work first hand, and that’s why we’re asking you to support their Rebuild-a-Thon.

Indeed, the fight continues. That’s why I’m reaching out to you.

If you can’t make it down to New Orleans to paint a house or pound a few nails (which is what I’ll be doing), you can help me raise money so that LDRF can continue fulfilling their mission — from helping small businesses reopen their doors to building the capacity of organizations to advocate for real policy change.

Please visit my fundraising page, donate what you can, and tell others about it.

I believe in an equitable recovery for Louisiana, and I know you do, too.  Thank you for walking this road with us.

In solidarity,

Kalima

While community groups and local leaders have made enormous strides in rebuilding and reclaiming many neighborhoods throughout the Gulf Coast, federal and state aid programs — most notably the Road Home program — have failed to live up to their promise.

“The progress of housing recovery at the community level has been very uneven and has led to racial and social inequities,” Dominique Duval-Diop, senior associate in the PolicyLink office in New Orleans, said at Thursday’s hearing. “We may have missed the opportunity to create sustainable and resilient communities — communities that are able to initiate and invest in their own recovery and redevelopment.”

The Congressional field hearings are being conducted by Rep. Maxine Waters, chairwoman of the House Financial Services Subcommittee on Housing and Community Opportunity. The hearings will continue place today at Lawless Memorial Chapel, Dillard University, 2601 Gentilly Boulevard, New Orleans.

Other experts who testified included:

• Davida Finger of Loyola Law Clinic
• Allison Plyer of the Greater New Orleans Community Data Center
• Laura Tuggle of Southeast Louisiana Legal Aid
• James Perry of Greater New Orleans Fair Housing Action Center
• Cynthia Wiggins, a public housing resident
• Angela Patterson of Unity of Greater New Orleans
• Anita Sinha of the Advancement Project

The experts look at a wide range of issues, including:

• The difficulty homeowners faced in navigating the Road Home program
• Significant New Orleans rent increases since 2005
• Ongoing difficulty for elderly, disabled, and low-income households who formerly lived in HUD-assisted homes that have still not been replaced
• Fair housing violations that are prevalent post-Katrina.
• The growth in the homeless population from 6000 to 12,000 since Katrina.

In 2007 and 2008, PolicyLink undertook major studies of the three major housing rebuilding programs: the Road Home homeowners program; the Multifamily Rental Program (funded through Low Income Housing Tax Credits and Disaster CDBG funds); and the Small Rental Repair Program.  Significant challenges remain in each of those programs.

In particular, the Road Home grant formula has had a more negative effect on those whose damage estimates were higher than their home value. Those whose damages were greater than their pre-storm home value - 47.3% of all applicants rebuilding in place - fell on average $69,000 short of the money they need to rebuild.

This was a particular problem in low-income, predominantly black neighborhoods in New Orleans. More than 60 percent of households in New Orleans East and the Lower 9th Ward have gaps over $40,000, compared to 49 percent citywide and 33 percent statewide. The average rebuilding cost gap for those communities were $65,000 and $68,000, respectively — a mammoth sum for low-income residents struggling to come home.

But insufficient government programs are far from residents’ only concerns, Duval-Diop says.

“Many recipients face insufficient rebuilding grants, contractor fraud, a high-cost environment, inability to access additional credit, and home-title succession challenges that delay or deny funding for the home repair.,” she said. “Our analysis found that the

majority of homeowners choosing to rebuild in place did not have sufficient resources to fully recover their homes.”

For more information on Gulf Coast rebuilding, please visit www.PolicyLink.org

“Stars Aligning on School Lunches,” - The New York Times

ANN COOPER has made a career out of hammering on the poor quality of public school food. The School Nutrition Association, with 55,000 members, represents the people who prepare it.

Imagine Ms. Cooper’s surprise when she was invited to the association’s upcoming conference to discuss the Lunch Box, a system she developed to help school districts wean themselves from packaged, heavily processed food and begin cooking mostly local food from scratch.

  ”Inmates grow, gather crops to feed the hungry,” - Times-Picayune (AP)

COLUMBUS, Ohio — The nation’s food banks, struggling to meet demand in hard times, are turning to prison inmates for free labor to help feed the hungry.

Several states are sending inmates into already harvested fields to scavenge millions of pounds of leftover potatoes, berries and other crops that otherwise would go to waste. Others are using prisoners to plant and harvest vegetables.

“The next healthcare battle: cutting Medicare Advantage,” - Los Angeles Times

President Obama, struggling to discredit bogus charges that his healthcare overhaul would create “death panels,” soon could face another emotionally charged obstacle — a plan to trim the federal subsidy for a program used by nearly a quarter of Medicare beneficiaries.

The program, known as Medicare Advantage, pays insurance companies a hefty premium to enroll senior citizens and provide their medical services through managed-care networks.

That is how one Oakland resident describes the state of healthy food access in their community — one of more than 180 voices that helped create Healthy Food For All: Building Equitable and Sustainable Food Systems in Detroit and Oakland, a new report by PolicyLink, the C.S. Mott Group for Sustainable Food Systems at Michigan State University, and the Fair Food Network.

The report shows clearly that our food system – from farm to table to landfill – is broken, unhealthy, unsustainable, and unjust.

One of the worst symptoms of this broken system is the grocery gap in low-income communities of color: Twenty-six million urban residents live in low-income neighborhoods where there is no supermarket within walking distance.

The report not only highlights residents’ struggles, it also lifts up the successes we’ve seen driven by residents, advocates, and community groups. Promising strategies showcased in the report include:

* Developing or attracting new neighborhood grocery stores
* Expanding local food production through urban farms and community gardens
* Enabling the use of Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits at farmers’ markets
* Establishing food policy councils
* Linking low-income residents to jobs and entrepreneurial opportunities in food businesses

The movement for equitable access to healthy food is gaining strength every day. Read the report for more ideas on how to ensure better access for all communities.

“Tennessee Experiment’s High Cost Fuels Health-Care Debate,” - The Wall Street Journal

In 1994, Tennessee launched an ambitious public insurance program to cover its uninsured. The plan, TennCare, fulfilled that mission but nearly bankrupted the state in the process.

 ”Poll: 57% don’t see stimulus working,” - USA TODAY

WASHINGTON — Six months after President Obama launched a $787 billion plan to right the nation’s economy, a majority of Americans think the avalanche of new federal aid has cost too much and done too little to end the recession.

 ”New Orleans Neighborhood Housing Services to run $20 million home repair effort,” - The Times-Picayune

The city is negotiating a deal with the nonprofit Neighborhood Housing Services to run a home-repair program that would make nearly $20 million available to owners of storm-damaged property, according to a recent city memo describing the proposal.

New York, NY - Leaders of six of the nation’s top health foundations today made an unprecedented joint call for prevention measures to be central to the reform of our national health systems.In a letter released today, leaders at The California Endowment, The Kresge Foundation, Nemours, Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, W.K. Kellogg Foundation, and Kaiser Permanente, wrote that prevention measures like early health screenings and improved access to healthy food will save both lives and money. Good health, they argue, doesn’t start at the doctor’s office - it starts where we live, work, learn and play.Beginning in 2006, the six foundations, along with technical advisor Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, partnered to form the Healthy Eating Active Living Convergence Partnership - a collaboration of funders looking to help healthy people live in healthy places. Today’s letter was released on behalf of the Partnership.

In the letter, the foundation leaders point to several proven examples where community-level prevention measures improved health, saved money, and cultivated community leadership.

“This is a strong national platform for the nation to build on,” they write in the letter, available in full at www.convergencepartnership.org. “With additional resources, it could bring considerable improvements in health for all Americans. It is time to scale up these efforts by including robust financial support for community prevention in any health systems reform.”

The letter’s signatories are:

• Robert K. Ross, MD, President and CEO; The California Endowment
• Raymond J. Baxter, PhD, Senior Vice President; Kaiser Permanente
• Rip Rapson, CEO; The Kresge Foundation
• David J. Bailey, MD; CEO and President; Nemours 
• Risa Lavizzo-Mourey, MD, MBA; President Robert Wood Johnson Foundation   
• Sterling K. Speirn; President and CEO; W.K. Kellogg Foundation

The letter is released at a crucial time, as Americans and Congress debate how to reform our national health care system.

The foundation leaders stress that prevention can save money and improve the long-term population health. A study last year from the Trust for America’s Health showed that for every dollar we invest in proven community-based disease prevention programs, we save $5.60. If we invested $10 per person in prevention, we could yield savings of more than $16 billion nationwide annually within five years.

The American people also want a health care system built around smart prevention measures. A recent Greenberg Poll showed prevention was the most popular potential health care fix, with nearly half of respondents rating it a 10 out of 10 in terms of importance.

Successful programs highlighted in the letter include:

• In Bakersfield, Calif., a small group of local mothers - many of them Spanish-speaking farm workers - formed a walking group to improve their fitness and build community. With the help of police, parks officials, and the local Chamber of Commerce, the group cleaned up a long-neglected park and reported meaningful improvements in their health.
• In Somerville, Mass., the citywide Shape Up Somerville campaign helped bring the city healthier school food, safer routes to school, farmers markets, community gardens, and more nutritional restaurant options. Weight gain among first- through third-graders has already slowed.
• In Delaware, the statewide Make Delaware’s Kids the Healthiest in the Nation campaign ensured that policies and practices in early education focus on healthy eating and physical activity as part of a comprehensive approach to positively impact childhood obesity where children live, learn, and play. For every dollar invested in the initiative, Delaware saw a $4 savings in healthcare costs.

“Over time,” the foundation leaders wrote, “a focus on community prevention will improve health, save money, reduce demands on our health system and, most important, lead to a nation of healthier people and healthier places to live.”

About The Convergence Partnership In 2006, a collaboration of funders came together to create the Healthy Eating Active Living Convergence Partnership, with the shared goal of changing policies and environments to better achieve the vision of healthy people living in healthy places. The steering committee includes representatives from The California Endowment, Kaiser Permanente, Nemours, The Kresge Foundation, The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, and the W.K. Kellogg Foundation.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention serve as critical technical advisors on the committee. PolicyLink, a national research and action institute advancing economic and social equity, serves as program directors for the partnership. Prevention Institute, a national non-profit organization dedicated to improving community health and equity through effective primary prevention, provides policy research and analysis along with strategic support.

For more information, please visit www.convergencepartnership.org

In a joint letter released today, leaders at The California Endowment, The Kresge Foundation, Nemours, The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, W.K. Kellogg Foundation, and Kaiser Permanente, wrote that community-level prevention measures like improved access to healthy food will save both lives and money.

The letter was released on behalf of the Healthy Eating Active Living Convergence Partnership, a collaboration of funders working to change policies and environments to better achieve the vision of healthy people living in healthy places

As Americans and Congress debate how best to reform our health systems, the foundation leaders show how vital community-level prevention measures are to making Americans healthier for the long-term.

To read the full letter, please visit www.convergencepartnership.org.

The case brought into stark relief the impact that where we live has on how we live. Communities disconnected from jobs, good schools, parks, and other amenities do not provide the opportunities to succeed that all people need and deserve. Far too often, residents of low-income communities and communities of color are literally cut off from real economic and social opportunity.

While individual discriminatory landlords have long been targeted by advocates and local law enforcement, the broader community- and region-wide issue of housing segregation has rarely been given this much ink – and federal attention. By re-opening that discussion and bringing tangible measuring sticks to bear, the Westchester case has given a jolt of energy to efforts to fight regional housing segregation.

The case has garnered much-deserved attention in large part because of three important developments:

• An Equity Standard

By putting the onus for housing integration directly on affluent communities, this settlement helped create a benchmark for equity in all communities.

• White House Backing

When the Obama Administration (through HUD Assistant Secretary Ron Sims) spoke out  in favor of residential integration, the full force of the federal government came with it.  Bold federal leadership is required to bring the broad solutions needed to address this deep-seated problem.

• Power of the Purse

By tying federal money for infrastructure to an affirmative effort to integrate housing, the federal government used its primary lever (its money) to advance equity and opportunity for millions of Americans.

By ruling for the plaintiffs that the federal money for community development requires an affirmative effort to integrate housing, the courts affirmed that the federal government can use its primary lever (its infrastructure money) to advance equity and opportunity for millions of Americans.

We hope Westchester County steps up to its settlement to begin to open new doors to communities of opportunity.  PolicyLink, in the meantime, wants to work with the growing ranks of equity advocates to build on this win and continue pushing for robust expansion of these approaches from local, state and federal resources.

 “Detroit tries peddling produce like ice cream,” - The Associated Press
Produce truck serves a community with no easy access to fresh food

DETROIT - In a U.S. neighborhood served by 26 liquor stores but only one grocery, a community group is peddling fresh fruits and vegetables like ice cream.

Five days a week, the Peaches & Greens truck winds its way through the streets as a loudspeaker plays R&B and puts out the call: “Nutritious, delicious. Brought right to you. We have green and red tomatoes, white and sweet potatoes. We have greens, corn on the cob and cabbage, too.”

“Some states get share of stimulus faster,” - USA TODAY

WASHINGTON — Stimulus money is flowing far more slowly to some states than others, a USA TODAY analysis shows, despite the Obama administration’s push to speed up spending to help jump start the nation’s economy.

Nearly six months after President Obama signed the $787 billion stimulus bill, some states, such as California, have collected more than half of the money that’s been promised to them so far. Ten others, such as Alaska, New Hampshire and Wyoming, have been paid less than a quarter, the review of federal spending reports shows.

“Rate of severe childhood obesity up sharply in U.S.,” - Reuters

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - The rate of severe obesity among U.S. children and teenagers more than tripled over the past three decades, a new study finds.

Using data from a long-running government health survey, researchers found that as of 2004, nearly 4 percent of 2- to 19-year-olds in the U.S. were severely obese.

This post was written by Victor Rubin, PolicyLink Vice President for Research and author of the new report, “All Aboard! Making Equity and Inclusion Central to Federal Transportation Policy”

Of all the ways federal spending affects our lives, federal transportation policy has perhaps the most permanent and tangible impact – it shapes how our communities are laid out, how our economy is structured, and how we live our lives day to day.

Making sure all communities are best-served by our federal transportation policy, however, is a tricky business. Lots of powerful interests are aligned to continue the status quo – more new highways and relatively little investment in public transit, biking and walking.

That’s why the national movement for transportation equity is so important – we need to have our voices strong and united to stand up against the entrenched interests.

In this new report by the PolicyLink Center for Infrastructure Equity, we highlight three groups that have been particularly effective at bringing the voice of local residents to the policy table.

• The Transportation for America (T4A) campaign is an alliance of more than 200 housing, business, environmental, public health, transportation, equitable development, and other organizations, as well as a growing number of government officials, which seeks to shape the 2009 federal authorization to build a fundamentally better national transportation system. The T4A campaign advocates for much greater financial support for transit and for support of transit oriented development, and proposes these priorities in the context of an overhaul of the federal transportation system.
• The Transportation Equity Network (TEN) has become a powerful voice of organized residents in cities and regions demanding a more equitable transportation system. Many of the TEN member groups have advocated in their home regions for greater access to jobs, training, and business opportunities in transportation construction for low-income communities and communities of color. Recently, TEN has developed a comprehensive platform for the 2009 federal authorization, including strong support for public transit.
• Transit Riders for Public Transportation (TRPT) is a new coalition of grassroots advocates for transit, coordinated by the Labor/Community Strategy Center in Los Angeles, home to that city’s Bus Riders Union. TRPT brings environmental justice and civil rights priorities to the federal authorization and takes a strong position in support of significantly greater federal funding for transit operating costs, as well as capital improvements, with a preference for the bus systems that serve more working-class riders.

Do you have other stars of the transportation equity movement we should know about? Share them in the comments!

Health-care reform negotiations are heating up.  Now is the time to make sure that prevention and equity are part of the final health reform package.
Contact your legislators and tell them:

• Prevention measures recognize that where we live affects how we live. Congress has to address health in communities where people live, work, and play–not just in a doctor’s office, a hospital, or a clinic.
• Communities with prevention measures such as easy access to fresh food, clean air, public transit, and safe places to play are places that enable all Americans to be healthier.
• Low income communities and communities of color bear a greater disease burden because they are often disproportionately exposed to poor air quality, have limited access to fresh fruits and vegetables, and offer fewer options for exercise, physical activity, and preventative care.  When we focus on prevention in every community, we help reduce inequities in all communities.
• Investments in prevention not only help all Americans to live healthier, longer lives, but will ultimately save money.

MAKE SURE THAT COMPREHENSIVE HEALTH REFORM INCLUDES A SIGNIFICANT INVESTMENT IN COMMUNITY PREVENTION MEASURES TO ENSURE A STRONGER, HEALTHIER AMERICA

Keep the four points above handy when you contact your Congressional representatives:

• To be connected by phone, visit the PolicyLink click to call campaign.
• To send an email or fax, visit Trust for America’s Health.

“Stimulus cash lifts states, localities,” - USA TODAY

A huge influx of federal stimulus money to state and local governments more than offset a sharp drop in tax collections, helping to put the brakes on the nation’s economic decline, new government data show.

The stimulus funds helped reverse six months of spending declines, pushing state and local government expenditures up 4.8% in the second quarter, reports the Bureau of Economic Analysis. 

“America’s Abandoned Cities,” - Forbes.com

Indeed, the Kansas City metro area tops our list of America’s Abandoned Cities. In Kansas City, rental vacancy rates rose from 11.9% to 15% over the past year; homeowner vacancy rates nearly doubled, up from 2.1% to 3.8%. Comparatively, the average homeowner vacancy rate in the country’s 75 largest metro areas improved slightly from 3% to 2.7%, while the rental vacancy rate edged up to 10.2% from 10% a year ago.

Kansas City isn’t the only metro where rental and homeowner vacancy rates are rising in tandem. Second on our list is the San Francisco-Oakland metro, where high prices are pushing Bay Area residents out of the region. Third is Tucson, Ariz., where the aftermath of the housing boom has left a glut of inventory. The pair’s predicament illustrates both sides of the vacancy coin.

“Where does the healthcare overhaul legislation stand?” -  Los Angeles Times

Reporting from Washington — Amid a flurry of activity on healthcare legislation, the House left Friday for its monthlong summer recess. The Senate will take off at the end of this week. The break comes as Democratic leaders are working to cobble together complex healthcare bills to bring to the floors of each chamber for votes this fall.

 ”Playgrounds: They’re safer but still can be dangerous,” -  USA TODAY

Playgrounds have come a long way from the asphalt jungle gyms of the 1960s and 1970s.

Monkey bars and hot metal slides have virtually disappeared. They’ve been replaced by colorful plastic castles with guardrails and ramps and rounded edges. And instead of blacktop and concrete, many new playgrounds are covered with soft wood mulch or springy rubber chips made from recycled tires.

Yet in spite of these improvements, many playgrounds still fall short on safety, experts say.

“Stimulus Law Bolsters Food Bank Offerings,” -  The New York Times

Struggling to meet a demand for food that spiked with the unemployment rate, some food pantries have had to turn away people seeking help. Others are packing a little less food into each shopping bag they give out. But recently the nation’s food banks received a $100 million windfall of extra food, as part of the federal stimulus law.

The grant is a big boost for the food bank program, which usually gets $250 million a year from Washington, and the amount of food it can buy seems supersize, even for a field that routinely measures servings by the millions of pounds.

 ”Bay Area entrepreneur makes plans to open eco-friendly building-supply stores,” - Contra Costa Times

Bay Area entrepreneur aims to square off against big-box hardware stores — and buck a sour economy in the process — by offering green construction materials to builders of all sizes.

San Rafael-based New Home Inc. is planning to open a chain of building-materials stores, including some in the East Bay, that will cater to builders who want to be completely eco-friendly in their construction projects.

“NYC aids homeless with tickets home,” - The New York Times
City is struggling to keep families out of expensive shelter system

NEW YORK - They are flown to Paris ($6,332), Orlando ($858.40), Johannesburg ($2,550.70), or most frequently, San Juan ($484.20).

They are not executives on business trips or couples on honeymoons. Rather, all are families who have ended up homeless, and all the plane tickets are courtesy of the city of New York (one-way).

 ”Americans have tools to reverse obesity trend, conference told,” - Los Angeles Times
Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius urges adoption of ‘obesity strategies,’ focusing on healthy foods and activity.

Reporting from Washington — There’s good and bad news when it comes to American obesity, Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius said Tuesday at an event addressing the nation’s increasingly costly and deadly weight problem.

The inaugural conference on obesity control and prevention — attended by health educators, policy analysts, epidemiologists and dietitians, among others, and sponsored by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention — comes at a time when the average American carries an extra 23 pounds and the nation, collectively, is about 4.6 billion pounds overweight.

“Recession Probably Will Leave Kids Worse Off,” - Washington Post
Casey Study Looks at Health, Well-Being

Even before the recession, the health and well-being of a significant number of American children were growing worse, according to an authoritative report issued Tuesday.

The Kids Count assessment by the Annie E. Casey Foundation, an advocacy group that funds programs designed to help disadvantaged children and families, concluded that their situation changed only modestly during the boom years of this decade and by some measures declined.

At the Weight of the Nation conference, convened by the CDC, there was broad participation by local, state, and national researchers, policymakers, practitioners, advocates, academics and others seeking effective solutions. The big news to come of the conference so far was the startling study finding that obesity is costing us $147 billion in health-care costs — one in every ten dollars spent on health-care nationwide.

While it was exciting and encouraging to have champions such as Bill Clinton, Senator Harkin, and Health Sec. Kathleen Sebelius offer powerful declarations of support, I am still worried. Worried that this battle will take a very long time. Worried that many Americans still look at individual behavior as the primary place for change rather than exploring the harmful effects of place on the individual and family’s range of choices.  (Note the opening photo of an overweight person in the chair as opposed to the large number of fast food restaurants and unsafe place to play).

We are learning a lot at the conference. For example, studies showing that increased obesity is tied to cheap, easy availability of unhealthy, tasty foods. We are learning what’s working in other countries, such as in Amsterdam, with all their cycling and walking and high parking rates, there is still an obesity problem. We are hearing from economists that how we frame obesity intervention matters.

For example, polls taken in NY showed public suppport for having government involved in creating healthier policies to reduce obesity. But this support significantly declined when asked if they support taxes to make the changes happen. So there is still more to learn, more smart folks to talk to, more business cards to collect, more research to collect and evaluate.

But the real test is when we all return home, what do we do differently? What commitments will be made within our organizations and networks? How do we leverage and maximize this important moment to stay the course over the long haul to make the needed policy changes that can be sustained? How do we strengthen communities and families without blame and with resources? So these are the questions I will continue to ponder in the remaining half day of this amazing conference.

Mildred Thompson is the Director of the PolicyLink Center for Health and Place and the Deputy Director of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Center to Prevent Childhood Obesity.

“Tips can help the poor bridge grocery gap,” - The Fresno Bee
Ways to make life’s staples affordable

Maria Valencia of Strathmore stands in a long line twice a month to get free fruits and vegetables. Then she packs them in a baby stroller and rolls them to her home several blocks away.

The produce giveaway by FoodLink, a nonprofit food bank in Tulare County, is one of the ways organizations are trying to bridge the grocery gap for thousands of low-income people in the central San Joaquin Valley.

“Cost of treating obese patients soars to $147 billion,” -  USA TODAY

WASHINGTON — Obese Americans — those who are 30 or more pounds over a healthy weight — cost the country an estimated $147 billion in weight-related medical bills in 2008, double what it was a decade ago, a new study shows.

Overall, an obese patient has $4,871 in medical bills a year compared with $3,442 for a patient at a healthy weight.

 ”House OKs money for rail, infrastructure bank,” - Reuters

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - High-speed rail projects would receive a $2 billion boost under a bill passed by the House of Representatives on Thursday that also lays the groundwork for a national infrastructure bank.

By a vote of 256-168, the House approved $68.8 billion for transportation and housing projects for the fiscal year starting October 1, a 25 percent increase over 2009 funding levels.

“Neighborhoods Key to Future Income, Study Finds,” - Washington Post

Researchers have found that being raised in poor neighborhoods plays a major role in explaining why African American children from middle-income families are far more likely than white children to slip down the income ladder as adults.

The Pew Charitable Trusts Economic Mobility Project caused a stir two years ago by reporting that nearly half of African American children born to middle-class parents in the 1950s and ’60s had fallen to a lower economic status as adults, a rate of downward mobility far higher than that for whites.

“Diversity the jewel reflected in Oakland’s lake,” - The San Francisco Chronicle

In Oakland, you just have to say “the Lake.” “Let’s meet at the Lake.” “Let’s walk around the Lake.” Let’s ride bikes, jog, or gossip about our co-workers. Around the Lake.

The Lake is of course Lake Merritt, sometimes described as the jewel of Oakland. While it is a jewel, showing off the city’s rolling green hills, serving as a sanctuary for migrating birds, ringed by the magical Necklace of Lights and now crowned by the breathtaking Cathedral of Christ the Light, it’s more than a jewel. It’s more like the city’s soul. It’s where you can see Oakland in all of her comfortable diversity that doesn’t even notice everyone seems to be from a different racial background.

 ”How a healthcare overhaul could affect you,” - Los Angeles Times
Lawmakers are considering options and costs for currently insured and uninsured Americans

Reporting from Washington — Here are some key questions regarding the effort to overhaul the nation’s healthcare system:

I have health insurance and I’m happy with it. Why does the nation need to overhaul healthcare?

Polls indicate that most Americans are satisfied with their coverage. But the White House and other advocates of overhauling healthcare say people are probably paying more for insurance each year. Premiums for employer-provided plans have risen four times faster than wages, and are now double their cost nine years ago. Deductibles are rising as well. Supporters of the legislation contend that healthcare costs are a drag on the economy.

I attended an event yesterday that was more than 30 years in the making. 

As I looked around the White House Office of Urban Affairs listening tour meeting at a packed Philadelphia warehouse space and saw low-income residents and local leaders mingling with some of our nation’s most powerful people (including two cabinet secretaries!), I thought back on where the fight for equitable access to healthy food started for me. 

It was 1979 and I was recently out of UC-Berkeley Law School and working for the public-interest law firm Public Advocates when a group of residents of a low-income, African-American neighborhood in San Francisco approached me to see if I could help stop their community’s one and only supermarket from leaving. In my hometown of St. Louis, I had seen first-hand the neglect and despair that festered after supermarkets left poor communities there.

No one had ever tried before to find a legal theory that would provide communities access to healthy food, so we were on uncharted legal ground.  Using interviews with more than 150 residents of local communities threatened by a lack of food access, we eventually filed an administrative petition with then-Gov. Jerry Brown seeking redress to the problem of the exodus of supermarkets from low-income communities.  The Governor was remarkably responsive: appointing a commission that held hearings throughout the state.  

Because of the determination of those residents, California began a slow move toward improving healthy food access for millions of our neighbors; the petition sparked farmers’ markets, cooperative buying clubs, a few cooperative markets-but, unfortunately, not one supermarket.

In the years since, equitable food access has been mostly relegated to a local issue, with fights cropping up sporadically in neighborhoods as local supermarkets threaten to leave. We had seen some successes - like San Diego’s Market Creek Plaza or the Pathmark in Harlem - but the victories had been hard to come by.

That is, until about five years ago, when Pennsylvania’s Gov. Ed Rendell and State Rep. Dwight Evans began to listen to the ideas and innovation of their constituents and the leadership of The Food Trust and The Reinvestment Fund. Out of that collaboration came the Fresh Food Financing Initiative, a remarkable program that has helped open dozens of markets and seed more than 3,700 jobs in under-served communities.

Now, through the tireless efforts of residents and advocates, the White House Office of Urban Affairs has shown real interest in learning about this proven program, hopefully to take the ideas and solutions to the national scale. White House leaders want to lift up the program and hear how it is impacting real people. For the first time, I can see the fight for equitable food access is winnable.

I cannot stress enough how important and exciting it is to have a White House willing to listen to new and innovative ideas. This administration - in virtually every office and agency - seems to recognize that all Americans deserve to live in a community of opportunity.

But that does not mean progress will happen on its own. Far from it. The most important attribute the equity movement has going for it is our tenacity. Thirty years ago, when those residents came into my office to ask for help in improving their community, I knew it would be a long, hard fight. But sitting in Philadelphia this week, I felt emboldened to keep fighting, to keep pushing, because success is always within our grasp.

We must demand equity now.

“The Ultimate Obama Insider,” -  The New York Times

On Jan. 25, 2008, the day before the South Carolina Democratic primary, Barack Obama endured a grueling succession of campaign events across the state. When his staff informed him that the evening would conclude with a brief show-up at the Pink Ice Ball, a gala for the African-American sorority Alpha Kappa Alpha, Obama flatly refused to attend. “I’ve been to sorority events before,” he said. “We’re not gonna change anybody’s mind.”

Rick Wade, a senior adviser, Stacey Brayboy, the state campaign manager, and Anton Gunn, the state political director, took turns beseeching their boss. The gala, they told Obama, would be attended by more than 2,000 college-educated African-American women, a constituent group that was originally skeptical of the candidate’s “blackness” and that the campaign worked tirelessly to wrest from Hillary Clinton. State luminaries like Representative James Clyburn — himself an undeclared black voter — would be expecting him. They would be in and out in five minutes.

 ”EPA vows to examine impact of hazardous waste on poor communities,” – Los Angeles Times

The federal Environmental Protection Agency vowed Tuesday to home in on the impact of hazardous waste recycling plants on minorities and low-income communities.

The move hearkens back to a Clinton-era executive order that required federal agencies to consider the impact of their policies on disadvantaged communities. Although the Bush administration largely ignored the mandate, Obama-appointed EPA administrator Lisa P. Jackson has promised to analyze those impacts.

“Fact check: Obama’s health care claims adrift?” - The Associated Press
Assertions at news conference sometimes at odds with Congress, rhetoric

WASHINGTON - President Barack Obama’s assertion Wednesday that government will stay out of health care decisions in an overhauled system is hard to square with the proposals coming out of Congress and with his own rhetoric.

Even now, nearly half the costs of health care in the U.S. are paid for by government at all levels. Federal authority would only grow under any proposal in play.

In this footage, which focuses on the big risks Black entrepreneurs take in starting their own businesses, PolicyLink President and CEO Angela Glover Blackwell, states, that:

“Poor access to loans for Black businesses contributes to a huge wealth gap,” stating that “Black people have always sought small businesses as a way to be able to build their wealth. Historically, they sought their own businesses because they couldn’t get jobs in corporations.”

The clip goes on to profile groups who are helping to bridge this wealth divide, like Management Leadership For Tomorrow, a national nonprofit working to develop the next generation of African American, Hispanic, and Native American leaders in major corporations, nonprofit organizations, and entrepreneurial ventures.

Click here to learn more about this series.

“From the Spanish Steps to Spanish Harlem,” - The New York Times

Hiroko Masuike for The New York Times Gianni Alemanno, right, the mayor of Rome, visited Mad Fun Farm, a student-designed urban farm in East Harlem, on Tuesday afternoon.

After meeting with Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg at City Hall on Tuesday, Gianni Alemanno, the mayor of Rome, arrived in East Harlem on Tuesday afternoon for a guided tour of a neighborhood garden run by 7- and 8-year-old children.

 ”The Slimming Figures of Childhood Obesity,” - The Wall Street Journal
Studies Suggest That Rates Are No Longer Rising, but Researchers Lament the Paucity of Data and Spar Over Methodologies

Evidence for the expanding epidemic of childhood obesity is thinning.

Nutritionists, health advocates and media reports have been sounding the alarm about a rise in childhood obesity, which could lead to diabetes, heart disease and other problems. But a series of studies from half a dozen countries suggest that rates have held steady over the past five to 10 years, albeit at levels much higher than in the 1960s and 1970s.

The consequences of these policies are felt today with high levels of air pollution, injury, and lack of access to critical goods and services. Also, given our focus on cars, non-automobile related transportation options have been neglected; a lack of walking and biking infrastructure such as sidewalks, crosswalks and bike paths have added to the alarming increase in obesity in the U.S. All of these impacts are felt particularly strongly in low-income communities and communities of color adding to rampant health disparities in our nation.

The Transportation Prescription: Bold New Ideas for Healthy, Equitable Transportation Reform in America, a report by PolicyLink and Prevention Institute, commissioned by the Convergence Partnership, is a policy guide that analyzes the intersection of transportation, health and equity. This report provides key policy and program recommendations that can improve health outcomes in vulnerable communities, create economic opportunity, and enhance environmental quality.

This report also features a foreword by Rep. Jim Oberstar, Chairman of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee and one of the primary authors of the upcoming federal transportation bill -an over $500 billion investment that will set transportation policy and funding in the United States for approximately the next six years.

“For too long now, our transportation decision-making has failed to address the impacts that our infrastructure network has on public health and equity,” Rep. Oberstar said. “The asphalt poured and lane miles constructed enhanced our mobility and strengthened our economic growth; but too often, this auto-centric mindset took hold and crowded out opportunities to invest in a truly sustainable inter-modal transportation system, in particular a system that meets the needs of underserved communities.”

President Obama’s announcement this week of a $12 billion initiative to support community colleges has brought new attention to their potential for preparing large numbers of people for better-paying, higher skilled jobs.  That he made the announcement on a campus in Warren, Michigan, in a region where the auto industry can no longer be counted on for stable employment, only reinforced the urgency of the message: more than ever before, American workers need more education in order to thrive.  

Community colleges are indeed capable of training young people and experienced workers alike for new careers that require significant technical proficiencies, what are sometimes called “middle-skill jobs.”  The most nimble and effective community colleges have long been building partnerships with industry and organized labor to swiftly generate new curricula and have their graduates placed in real jobs.  As each new wave of technology has come along, there have been community colleges quick to take advantage of its opportunities. The early signs are good about their responsiveness to the growth in alternative energy production and other green business innovations.

But what will it take for scattered success stories to become far more widespread, for millions of community college students to get the basic education, industry-specific skills and connections to employers that they need?  And how can we be confident that these new initiatives would reach deep into low income communities and communities of color, where unemployment rates, high school dropout rates, and most other indicators of poor job prospects are highest?  After all, with so many laid-off skilled industrial workers looking to retrain, how can we maximize the chances for less experienced, less well-connected folks?

FInd out after the jump…

(more…)

“2008 Surge in Black Voters Nearly Erased Racial Gap,” - The New York Times

In last year’s presidential election, younger blacks voted in greater proportions than whites for the first time and black women turned out at a higher rate than any other racial, ethnic and gender group, a census analysis released Monday confirmed.

As a result, in the election that produced the nation’s first black president, the historic gap between black and white voter participation rates over all virtually evaporated.

 ”S.C. case looks on child obesity as child abuse. But is it?,” - USA TODAY

Jerri Gray was doing all she could to help her son lose weight, her attorney says. But something had gone terribly wrong for the boy to hit the 555-pound mark by age 14.

Authorities in South Carolina say that what went wrong was Gray’s care and feeding of her son, Alexander Draper. Gray, 49, of Travelers Rest, S.C., was arrested in June and charged with criminal neglect. Alexander is now in foster care.

“Ten Questions on the Health-Care Overhaul,” -  The Wall Street Journal

It is crunch time for health care. Lawmakers who are trying to fundamentally remake one-sixth of the U.S. economy say this might be the most complicated legislation they have undertaken.

Here are some basics that everyone can grasp — and probably ought to, because the health bill, if it passes, will affect almost everyone.

“First Lady Steps Into Policy Spotlight in Debate on Health Care,” -  The New York Times

WASHINGTON — She has become one of the Obama administration’s most visible surrogates on health care, announcing the release of $851 million in federal financing for health clinics, calling for tougher nutritional standards in the government’s school lunch program and urging Democrats to rally around the president’s efforts to revamp health care.

The high-profile emissary? Not Kathleen Sebelius, the health and human services secretary, or Nancy-Ann DeParle, the White House health policy adviser. It is the first lady, Michelle Obama.

“Highway spending isn’t the stimulus it was envisioned to be,” - Los Angeles Times

Reporting from Washington — In February, when Congress approved President Obama’s mammoth plan to stimulate the economy, transportation projects were supposed to be among the fastest-acting pieces of the $787-billion package.

All 50 states moved quickly to qualify for their share of the money. But since then the pace has slowed considerably, particularly in California and Florida, where the effect of the economic crisis has been especially severe.

“Orleans Wants Ex-Residents Counted,” - The Wall Street Journal
Census Bureau Says Mayor’s Plan to Boost Numbers Is Illegal

New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin is calling on former residents displaced by Hurricane Katrina in 2005 to claim their old city addresses in next year’s census, drawing criticism for trying to circumvent rules for winning federal funds.

The mayor — encouraged that New Orleans has thrown off its post-Katrina malaise to become the U.S.’s fastest-growing big city by percentage — wants the U.S. Census Bureau to grant an exception for its former residents, currently living elsewhere, who want to rebuild homes in New Orleans.

The article, complete with interactive map, shows a huge disparity between food availability in Manhattan and the outer boroughs.

According to the map, some Manhattan neighborhoods have over 20,000 square feet of supermarket space per 10,000 residents. In a neighborhood like that, all residents could fit into their local supermarkets with two feet of wiggle room. Some neighborhoods have as much as 30,000 square feet per 10,000 residents.

Compare this to neighborhoods in the outer boroughs; the map tells us that Brooklyn’s tenth district has around a third as many square feet per residents as Manhattan’s 10th. That’s around 7000 square feet of supermarket space for 10,000 residents.

But not all of Manhattan has satisfactory fresh food availability;

“I live in the West Harlem area, and it is incredibly difficult to find quality fruits and vegetables,” writes Erin Barker. “It’s a big problem. Even when stores have this stuff, it’s usually not in good shape — bruised or not usable. I think it is more difficult in my neighborhood than it is in wealthier areas of Manhattan that have more upscale grocery stores.”

Check out the article for more, it really puts food access in the NY metro area in perspective.

The city is working on the problem, Gov. Paterson’s office sent out this press release in May.

On the other side of the country, in Oakland, an effort is being made to bring fresh foods to low income neighborhoods, as covered by The San Fransisco Chronicle.

Opened this past June, Mandela Foods Cooperative is located near an affordable housing complex called the Mandela Gateway.

Drawing about 300 customers a day, the new co-op only stocks healthful things, barring products including common ingredients like high fructose corn syrup from their shelves.
They have an interesting business model:

It’s a worker-owned cooperative. Eight local residents are worker-owners who make all the store’s business decisions and perform all its functions - including cashiering, stocking shelves, cleaning, taking inventory and ordering.

One third of the profits will be returned to the community in the form of a credit union next door.

The future of funding for federal surface transportation programs, due to expire on September 30, was muddled further last week when House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Chairman James Oberstar announced that the House would act to adopt a short-term fix for the federal Highway Trust Fund but would not extend the programs due to expire.

Oberstar has said he would not extend the current program but instead gained support for a sweeping $500 billion six-year authorization bill adopted by a House subcommittee last month. However, the House panel charged with finding the funds to pay for the ambitious new surface transportation program has indicated that health care reform will be the next issue it tackles as the September 30 deadline draws closer. Both the Obama Administration and members of the House Ways and Means Committee have indicated they oppose any increased taxes to fund transportation at this time. 

“At Wal-Mart, Labeling to Reflect Green Intent,” - The New York Times

Shoppers expect the tags on Wal-Mart items to have rock-bottom prices. In the future they may also have information about the product’s carbon footprint, the gallons of water used to create it, and the air pollution left in its wake.

As the world’s largest retailer, Wal-Mart Stores is on a mission to determine the social and environmental impact of every item it puts on its shelves. And it has recruited scholars, suppliers, and environmental groups to help it create an electronic indexing system to do that.

“Foreclosures up: 1 in 84 homes affected in first half of year,”  - USA TODAY

Foreclosures are continuing to set records despite the Obama administration’s $75 billion plan to help borrowers at risk of losing their homes.

There were 1.9 million foreclosure filings in the first six months of this year, a 15% increase from the first six months of 2008, according to a report today from RealtyTrac. One in 84 homes

“City Neighborhoods Dig In to Protect Fragile Gains,” -  The Wall Street Journal

PHILADELPHIA — This year, Margaret Shepherd is knocking on the front door of nearly every house in West Oak Lane. Her daily rounds are part of a large-scale effort to stem foreclosures in this blue-collar, largely African-American neighborhood.

“I’m getting so much exercise, it’s ridiculous,” Ms. Shepherd said on a recent afternoon.

“Stimulus spending finally starts to trickle down,” - USA TODAY

In Indianapolis last month, a state government official named Jacob Sipe finally got the news he’d been anticipating. The U.S. Treasury had approved $164 million to finance affordable housing projects left paralyzed by the credit crisis, using funds from the Obama administration’s increasingly controversial fiscal stimulus.

Before the financial crisis erupted, the housing program was funded via state tax credits that developers in turn sold to large banks. With the banks crippled, demand for the tax credits — and thus the funds that subsidized the state’s low-cost housing — evaporated.

“White House to Push Forward on National Urban Policy Agenda,” - Washington Post
Administration to Host Daylong Talks Tomorrow; Tour of U.S. Cities Planned

After remaining out of the public eye since its creation in February, the White House Office of Urban Affairs plans on Monday to launch a public conversation to create a national urban policy agenda, said Adolfo Carrión Jr., its director.

The White House will host a daylong urban policy discussion including mayors, county executives, governors, urban policy experts, and heads of various agencies, Carrión said in a telephone interview yesterday.

“DOCTOR IS IN: Childhood obesity bigger than a weight issue,” - Atlanta Journal Constitution

Medical Director, Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta, Child Wellness and Medical Director, Georgia Children’s Health Alliance.

Childhood obesity is a problem throughout America, but it’s an epidemic in Georgia, where approximately 37 percent of children ages 10 to 17 are overweight or obese.

 ”Groups seek stimulus funds for homeowners and job training,” - Los Angeles Times
An assembly at Wilshire Boulevard Temple presses city officials to allocate money where it’s most needed.

Hundreds of delegates from Los Angeles-area religious, labor and community organizations gathered Sunday at Wilshire Boulevard Temple to propose that federal stimulus funds go toward helping homeowners avoid foreclosure and improving job training programs.

The two-hour assembly organized by One LA-IAF, a network of congregations, schools, unions and other groups, was designed to press local political leaders to spend the federal money on issues that the organization considers the most pressing. Several City Council members attended the event.

“Mayor wants to help Oakland food system,” - Oakland Tribune

Oakland Mayor Ron Dellums remembers growing up in West Oakland, where there were three fresh-meat markets in the area. These days, the only area grocery store is the recently opened Mandela Foods Cooperative.

Dellums hopes to change that with the help of the Oakland Food Policy Council, something he discussed Thursday at the USDA Agricultural Marketing Service West Coast summit at the Hilton Oakland Airport. The summit, hosted by Roots of Change, focused on how to improve healthy-food access and nutrition for low-income communities.

“Jobless finding new work on farms ,” - USA TODAY

Unemployed workers are seeking jobs in fruit orchards and vegetable fields, easing farm labor shortages in the process.

Farmers who struggled in recent years to find laborers report that former workers who left for higher-paying jobs in industries such as construction are coming back because of layoffs.

“Tragedy inspires Georgia woman to fight childhood obesity,” – CNN

ALBANY, Georgia (CNN) — Pamela Green-Jackson didn’t learn until after her brother’s funeral that doctors had warned him his weight could cost him his life.

Pamela Green-Jackson encourages a student in the Youth Becoming Healthy program.

With more than 5 million mortgages in some stage of foreclosure and more than 15 million Americans “underwater” with homes worth less than they owe on their mortgage, the foreclosure crisis remains a very real threat to countless communities. 

“As foreclosed properties fester, communities are reeling from blight, crime, and property value decline,” said Kalima Rose, a report co-author and the Director of the PolicyLink Center for Infrastructure Equity. “Thankfully, some proven strategies are showing communities how to reclaim their housing stock and get their cities back on track.”

To Learn more about the tool, visit: www.PolicyLink.org/ForeclosureTool

“Cities Lose Out on Road Funds From Federal Stimulus,” -  The New York Times

Two-thirds of the country lives in large metropolitan areas, home to the nation’s worst traffic jams and some of its oldest roads and bridges. But cities and their surrounding regions are getting far less than two-thirds of federal transportation stimulus money.

According to an analysis by The New York Times of 5,274 transportation projects approved so far — the most complete look yet at how states plan to spend their stimulus money — the 100 largest metropolitan areas are getting less than half the money from the biggest pot of transportation stimulus money. In many cases, they have lost a tug of war with state lawmakers that urban advocates say could hurt the nation’s economic engines.

“Economic toll of obesity and inactivity exceeds $41 billion in California,” - Oakland Tribune

An overweight man walks the streets of Washington Tuesday, July 22, 2003. The political debate on fat has spilled over into public policy, with proposals for a junk-food tax, limits on food advertising, demands for more details on labeling and lawsuits against food manufacturers. (AP Photo/Ron Edmonds) The excess weight and inactive habits of many Californians don’t only exact a personal toll, they’re saddling businesses and taxpayers with more than $41 billion in annual costs, according to a report released today.

“We think mostly about the health implications,” said Harold Goldstein, executive director of the California Center for Public Health Advocacy, speaking of the 59 percent of Californians who are obese or overweight, and the 48 percent who are physically inactive

“Lawmakers, businesses jockey for ‘green’ jobs,” – MSNBC.COM

ELKHART, Ind.— In the empty factories and laid-off workers in this struggling section of the Rust Belt, entrepreneur Wil Cashen sees “unimaginable potential.”

Seeking to capitalize on the trend toward more-energy-efficient vehicles, Cashen has a plan to retrofit pickup trucks with electric motors at several of Elkhart County’s large, dormant manufacturing facilities and sell them to utility companies.

“Neighborhoods can affect children’s health,” - Palo Alto Daily News

There is no shortage of obstacles when it comes to raising healthy, active children. A healthy diet and exercise is overwhelmed by the Internet, sugary drinks, fast food, and our fast-paced lives. Now, leading pediatricians are pointing a finger at the design of our neighborhoods as another impediment to raising healthy children.

The American Academy of Pediatrics published a policy statement several weeks ago highlighting how the design of neighborhoods affects our children’s health. According to experts, neighborhoods play an important role either expanding or limiting children’s opportunities for regular, daily physical activity. While a pediatrician can recommend that a child get regular exercise, taking this advice is difficult for families whose homes are surrounded by busy streets, broken sidewalks and few parks. Fortunately, we have been addressing this issue here in San Mateo County for several years.

 ”A Warning About Disaster Housing,” - Washington Post
Repeat of Katrina’s Diaspora Is Feared

U.S. authorities remain unable to provide emergency housing after large-scale catastrophes and must do more to prepare survivors of such disasters for permanent relocation, the Department of Homeland Security inspector general is expected to tell a House panel today.

Nearly four years after Hurricane Katrina destroyed or damaged 300,000 homes on the Gulf Coast and led to billions of dollars of waste in the diaspora that followed, federal homeland security officials could face a repeat scenario if another storm struck a major coastal city or a high-magnitude earthquake hit population centers in California or the Midwest, according to prepared testimony by Inspector General Richard L. Skinner.

“Mental-health court for re-entering prisoners ‘long overdue’,” - Philadelphia Daily News

City and state officials yesterday announced the launch of a special mental-health court that is intended to reduce recidivism by helping mentally ill prison inmates transition back to society.
Mayor Nutter praised the program as another in a long list of innovative and successful First Judicial District specialty courts, which also include Drug Court, DUI Court and the former Eagles Court at Veterans Stadium.

“Some folks make some bad decisions or have challenges in their lives and find themselves in the criminal justice system,” Nutter said. “That doesn’t mean that they don’t need and deserve treatment with the utmost dignity and respect.”

“Street Farmer,” - New York Times

Will Allen, a farmer of Bunyonesque proportions, ascended a berm of wood chips and brewer’s mash and gently probed it with a pitchfork. “Look at this,” he said, pleased with the treasure he unearthed. A writhing mass of red worms dangled from his tines. He bent over, raked another section with his fingers and palmed a few beauties.

An Urban Farmer Is Rewarded for His Dream (October 1, 2008) It was one of those April days in Wisconsin when the weather shifts abruptly from hot to cold, and Allen, dressed in a sleeveless hoodie — his daily uniform down to 20 degrees, below which he adds another sweatshirt — was exactly where he wanted to be. Show Allen a pile of soil, fully composted or still slimy with banana peels, and he’s compelled to scoop some into his melon-size hands. “Creating soil from waste is what I enjoy most,” he said. “Anyone can grow food.”

“For a Frugal Dieter, Weight Loss on a Sliding Scale,” -  The New York Times

IF you’re one of the millions of people who are dieting right this minute, or even thinking about it, here’s some good news: you don’t have to throw a lot of money at the problem to see results. In fact, you may not have to spend much at all.

Every year consumers spend billions of dollars on supplements, diet foods, books and meal replacements. But the truth is that success depends not so much on what diet plan you choose or what program you join.

 ”Calls Grow to Increase Stimulus Spending,” - The Wall Street Journal

WASHINGTON — Vice President Joe Biden said the Obama administration “misread how bad the economy was” and didn’t foresee unemployment levels nearing double digits, in comments likely to intensify calls for the administration to do more to counter job losses.

Some economists are pressing the White House to enact a second round of stimulus spending or find some other way to avert a prolonged job and wage slump. But the White House is in a tough spot. Officials want to give the $787 billion stimulus package passed in February time to work — only 10% of the spending is out the door so far — and there is little appetite in Congress, particularly among Republicans, for spending more money at a time of record deficits.

“A Green Way to Dump Low-Tech Electronics,” -  The New York Times

“Thousands still in FEMA trailers,” -  USA TODAY

“The Metro Crash: A Nation’s Aging Transit System,” - Times Magazine

Like many people working in the trenches to combat the scourge of “food deserts” in America, I was excited to hear the USDA was releasing a new study about the problem. With the overwhelming scientific evidence showing a lack of access to healthy food is a detriment to our health, the spotlight from the USDA was quite welcome.

While the USDA should be commended for looking at the food desert issue, it seemed to miss the boat on the depth, breadth, and consequences of the problem.

By the report’s own admission, 23.5 million Americans live in low-income communities without a grocery store within walking distance. That’s about one in every 13 people. That doesn’t seem to jibe with the study’s first finding that “access to a supermarket or large grocery store is a problem for a small percentage of households.”

But more odd is the study’s relative dismissal of the benefits of healthy eating and the real fallout from living in a community with little or no access to fresh food. There has been significant scientific research showing the vital role fresh food consumption and access play in our health:

• A 2002 study in the American Journal of Public Health found fruit and vegetable consumption among African Americans rose 32 percent with each additional local food store.
• A 2006 study published in the American Journal of Preventative Medicine found lowest rates of obesity (21 percent) among people living in neighborhoods with supermarkets or grocery stores and the highest rates of obesity (32-40 percent) among people living in places with no supermarkets and access to only smaller grocery stores and convenience stores.
• A 2007 national study of more than 70,000 teens found that increased availability of chain supermarkets was associated with lower rates of being overweight
• A March 2009 study in Indianapolis showed adding a new grocery store to a neighborhood translated into a 3 pound weight decrease for residents.

This a public health issue, plain and simple. As we demonstrated in the 2008 report, Designed for Disease: The Link Between Local Food Environments and Obesity and Diabetes, people living in neighborhoods crowded with fast-food and convenience stores but relatively few grocery or produce outlets have a significantly higher prevalence of obesity and diabetes.

In Ezra Klein’s blog post for the Washington Post today, he says that food deserts aren’t the problem. “The problem, it seems, is the opposite: food swamps. Areas dense with fast food and convenience stores,” he writes.

But this is not an either-or proposition. Designed for Disease showed clearly that a dramatically unbalanced food environment is a direct health risk. Having no food choices at all is just as problematic as having a glut of bad food choices.

Photo used under a Creative Common License from Flickr user Spine (aka Rick)

“A First Lady Who Demands Substance,” - Washington Post
Michelle Obama Wants to Be Part of Events That Have Purpose And a Message — and That Parallel the President’s Agenda.

For weeks, Michelle Obama had been telling her staff and closest confidantes that she wasn’t having the impact she wanted. She is a woman of substance, with a background in law, public policy and management, who found herself relegated to role model in chief. The West Wing of the White House — the fulcrum of power and policy — had not fully integrated her into its agenda. She wanted more.

So, earlier this month, she changed her chief of staff, and now she’s changing her role.

“When jobs go, so do a city’s people,” - MSNBC.COM (Newsvine.com)

REDMOND, Wash. - For a cautionary tale, communities hard-hit by the current recession don’t have to look much further than Youngstown, Ohio.

Like many other manufacturing-dependent cities struggling in this recession, Youngstown’s economy was once booming mainly because of the success of one dominant industry. And also like those cities, Youngstown saw its fortunes fall fast and hard when that industry suddenly bottomed out, leaving many of its residents jobless and unsure what to do next.

“Unemployed Hit the Road to Find Jobs,”  - The Wall Street Journal

LINCOLN, N.H. — After seven months without a paycheck, Tim Ryan turned into a werewolf.

Laid off from a construction job, Mr. Ryan finally found work last month playing the wolfman at Clark’s Trading Post, a tourist attraction in the White Mountains of New Hampshire. For $12 an hour, about half what he made before, he dons furry rags, a coonskin cap and an eye patch and jumps out of the woods when the Trading Post’s steam train chugs by, snarling and growling at passengers.

“Despite everything, more Americans see sunny skies ahead,” -   USA TODAY

 ”Not Paying the Mortgage, Yet Stuck With the Keys,” - Washington Post
Foreclosure Backlog Imperils Recovery

“How not to help the poor,” - The Boston Globe

Statement from PolicyLink President Judith Bell

“The new USDA food desert report provides yet another confirmation that access to healthy food is a significant problem for millions of Americans. The report shows that about one in every 13 Americans – 23.5 million people — live in low-income communities that are more than a mile from the nearest large grocery store.

As more than 70 studies have shown during the past decade, the lack of access to healthy food is a real challenge in many low-income urban communities, rural communities, and communities of color. This is a public health issue, plain and simple. As we demonstrated in the 2008 report, Designed for Disease: The Link Between Local Food Environments and Obesity and Diabetes, people living in neighborhoods crowded with fast-food and convenience stores but relatively few grocery or produce outlets have a significantly higher prevalence of obesity and diabetes. (The report was prepared by PolicyLink in partnership with the UCLA Center for Health Policy Research and the California Center for Public Health Advocacy).  Other studies demonstrate that in addition to providing access to healthy foods, supermarkets and large grocery stores are important neighborhood economic engines, bringing jobs and revitalization.

This USDA report adds to the growing body of research on the ways that where you live affects your health. Now is the time to implement proven, impactful policies to address America’s food desert crisis.”

Statement from John Weidman, Deputy Executive Director, The Food Trust

“Improving access to grocery stores in both urban and rural communities must be part of our national strategy to improve children’s health and prevent obesity and diabetes.  The Pennsylvania Fresh Food Financing Initiative has demonstrated that supermarkets can thrive in food deserts and offers a strong model for solving this problem nationally.   Expanding this program is one of the Top Ten recommendations of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation’s Commission To Build a Healthier America.”

To RSVP for the call, visit http://www.PolicyLink.org/AnEquitableFuture

“This bill provides a promising foundation for real transportation reform in America, but we must do more to ensure this bill promotes true access to opportunity for lower-income people and communities of color,” said Radhika Fox, PolicyLink Federal Policy Director. “While the House bill includes some positive provisions, more work needs to be done to ensure that this $450 billion dollar investment creates communities of opportunity for all Americans.”

We need far more detail, for instance, on whether low-income people and people of color will have meaningful access to good jobs and job training programs in the transportation sector. Most of the sections of the bill that cover these issues are blank with details “to be supplied.” In addition, we need stronger provisions to make sure cities and regions can use federal transportation resources to help cash-strapped transit agencies with support for the costs of current operations, not just capital construction.

The foundation for much-needed reform is in place, but the hard work of hammering out the details to ensure our nation’s under-served communities benefit still remains. PolicyLink stands ready to support members of the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee and House leadership to craft a transformative bill that will foster equity and inclusion in America.

We also encourage you to visit the Transportation for America and Transportation Equity Network for more information.

During a conference call Friday, June 26, from 2:30-3:30 pm EDT (11:30 am to 12:30 pm PDT), we will break down the equity opportunities in the new transportation authorization bill introduced in Congress this week – which could include billions in funding for low-income communities and communities of color.

RSVP for the call here

Panelists will include:

• Radhika Fox, Federal Policy Director, PolicyLink
• James Corless, Director, Transportation for America
• Laura Barrett, National Policy Director, Transportation Equity Network

“SCLC renews poverty campaign before small crowd,” - Associated Press

“Can’t Stop Eating?” - The Washington Post
For Some People, Obesity Is Not a Simple Failure of Self-Control

“Foundations Trim Staffs After Assets Slide Lower,” -  The New York Times