Daily equity news

 ”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.

Daily equity news 

“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.”

The 775-page transportation authorization bill introduced in the House this week, offers a broad, reform-minded framework for fixing our nation’s transportation system. However, more must be done to ensure an equitable, smart, and green transportation system that provides real, affordable options for all Americans.
To help you stay abreast of the transportation authorization, we are hosting a conference call on Friday June 26th from 2:30 to 3:30 pm EST (11:30 am to 12:30 pm PDT), where PolicyLink, Transportation for America, and the Transportation Equity Network will break down the equity opportunities in the new transportation authorization bill.

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.

With the release this week of the 775-page transportation re-authorization bill, the starting gun has officially sounded on the effort to create real transportation reform in America.

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

 Daily equity news

“California leading growth in nation’s green jobs economy, study finds,” - Los Angeles Times

“Lawmakers in Farm Belt Try to Steer Climate Bill,” -  The Wall Street Journal

“Curbing childhood obesity one office visit at a time,” - Los Angeles Times