ICON and its 'Clean & Green' team leveraged commitments from three board members of the Pomona Unified School District to begin to eliminate the use of diesel buses in favor of cleaner alternatives. Leaders made the case against a district contract that relies on diesel buses, excessively exposing schoolchildren to diesel particulate matter.

Pomona Unified's Smog-Belching Diesel Buses Should be Mothballed, Residents Say, Inland Valley Bulletin

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After Oklahoma Governor Mary Fallin unveiled an online dashboard / barometer of health, crime and education -- a measure she says will help "hold government accountable," VOICE-OKC leaders were called on to respond.

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Almost 60 Metro Vancouver Alliance leaders packed a church gym to evaluate how to pass a half cent sales tax to fund improved transit. Leaders argue that better transit is needed to incorporate future demands of the growing (and aging) population, and to contribute to pollution reduction efforts.

Forum on Transit Referendum Looks at Ways to Sell the Yes Vote, News 1130

On the heels of a successful campaign to raise the wages of San Antonio's lowest paid public workers, COPS / Metro leaders Fr. Steven Gamez and Sr. Consuelo Tovar assert that the March on Washington for JOBS and Freedom is still relevant today.

"Everyone working a full-time job ought to be able to raise a family with dignity and opportunity, and not be dependent on public assistance. As taxpayers, we insist that our public resources be used to foster shared prosperity and not to perpetuate poverty.....

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The night before a planned House vote which could impact the latest executive action program initiated by the President, 50 Houston judicatory and TMO leaders held a joint press conference urging Congress to do the opposite -- to expand on the action and pass comprehensive immigration reform. Potentially beneficiaries were joined by the Houston -Galveston Catholic Cardinal DiNardo, Methodist and Lutheran Bishops and religious leadership from Catholic, Protestant, Jewish and Muslim faiths.

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For Bishop Dan Edwards of the Episcopal Diocese of Nevada, the words of his faith were not always a source of healing, it took time.

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Change Makers - The Texas Observer Celebrates 60 Years, Texas Observer

The Rev. Dr. Brigitte Black and Rev. Denny Coon pointed out that over a year ago they, as clergy leaders of AMOS, 'lamented the alarming increases in the filings of delinquency and detention holds on Polk County juvenile .... the disproportionate impact that was having on youth of color.' Their words triggered a firestorm of news stories, government studies and efforts to address root causes of the situation. AMOS clergy point out that amidst that firestorm, signs of hope emerged...

Polk County Makes Progress on Juvenile Justice, Des Moines Register

When Alamo (Community) Colleges announced a decision to eliminate major designations from associate degrees last summer, AC students fought back. Simon Sanchez, from the Student Leadership Coalition asserted, "we are not victims." With the support of the Communities Organized for Public Service (COPS) and Metro Alliance, the organization reached out to hundreds of students, leveraging 595 signatures for a petition against the policy.

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In a win that COPS / Metro is calling "a beginning," the Board of the Alamo (Community) Colleges approved wage raises for its lowest paid workers including an $11.50 minimum for full-time employees. This represents a $1.38 / hour raise for approximately 49 long-time housekeeping staff now making the lowest wage.

The district will also increase pay to $10 / hour for 700 part-time and temporary employees.

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