Daily equity news

“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

Daily equity news

“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.

Daily equity news.

“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

Daily equity news.

“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

Daily equity News

“Foreclosures grind on as lenders fail to modify loans,” -  USA TODAY

  “Obama’s Health Care Claims,” - Newsweek
He says the uninsured cost the rest of U.S. families $1,000 a year.

“New York City consumers keep it simple,” - AM NewYork

Daily equity news

“Dirt-poor farmer: Living off the land in Oakland, and watching every dollar,” - San Francisco Chronicle

  ”New Rail Lines Spur Urban Revival,” - The New York Times

“Obama Blueprint Deepens Federal Role in Markets,” - Washington Post

Daily equity news

 “Obama Aspires to a ‘Light Touch,’ Not a Heavy Hand,” -  The Wall Street Journal
 

“Making Sense of Stimulus Spending,” - Newsweek
How accurate is Obama’s claim of 150,000 jobs “saved or created”?

“Florida tent city offers hope to homeless,” -   Reuters

 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

Daily equity news 

 “Customers Prove There’s a Market for Fresh Produce,” - The New York Times

“How green are trains, public transportation, and hybrid cars? It depends,” -  Christian Science Monitor

 ”Investors bet on Detroit housing market,” - CNNMoney.com

Like many equity advocates, I wasn’t sure quite what to expect from President Obama’s first budget.

A new president’s inaugural budget is a statement of his values-a black-and-white rendering of how he wants to make America and Americans stronger. I knew equity was at the heart of the Obama administration’s collective philosophy, but I wasn’t sure whether political realities would trump their idealism.

Now that I’ve seen their budget, though, I know where they landed. Equity is right there in black-and-white.

After eight years of moving in the wrong direction, this new budget is a significant step toward a more inclusive, opportunity-rich nation. We’ve still got a lot of work to do, but this budget will provide a strong foundation on which to build a truly equitable economic recovery for all people, by:

Lifting Up What Works

• $50 million for a Social Innovation Fund, which will identify the most promising, results-oriented nonprofit programs and expand their reach throughout the country.
• $10 million for the Promise Neighborhoods Initiative, inspired by the Harlem Children’s Zone, which will help nonprofit, community-based organizations undertake transformational neighborhood approaches to childhood poverty.
• $243 million for the CDFI (Community Development Financial Institutions) Fund-more than doubling the appropriations for this critical program that provides much needed capital for important community development projects such as healthy food retailing opportunities in underserved communities.

Investing in Communities to Solve Poverty

• $250 million for a Choice Neighborhoods Initiative to challenge public, private, and nonprofit partners to extend neighborhood transformation efforts beyond public housing and link housing interventions more closely with school reform and early childhood innovation.

Creating Pathways to Economic Inclusion

• $9 billion for employment and training programs, including $50 million for green jobs training initiatives. This builds on the $500 million from the Recovery Act for competitive grants to train workers for green jobs.

This is an historic budget for an historic moment. But the hard work continues.

Help build the equity movement by signing up to be the first to know when we launch “Demand Equity Now,” a platform for advocates and activists to find each other, work together, and blaze new paths for social change. We need sustained action and advocacy to translate the framework provided by this budget into positive change in the lives of everyday Americans.