At a press conference convened by Valley Interfaith Project with the Arizona bishops, Catholic Bishop Thomas Olmsted signed a letter to the Arizona congressional delegation for immigration reform, attesting that "the cost of inaction is too high." Bishop Olmsted was joined by Auxiliary Bishop Eduardo Nevares, Rabbi John Linder, ELCA Bishop Steve Talmage, Denise Resnick of DRA Stategic Communications in Phoenix and Barry Broome, president and CEO of the Greater Phoenix Economic Council. Broome noted that some companies don't come to Arizona because they think the state does not treat people well.

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With a legislative win under their belts (Assembly Bill 67), leaders of Nevadans for the Common Good are turning their attention to elder issues. Through conversation and stories, the organization is learning about the realities modern seniors face. At a meeting at Congregation New Tamid in Green Valley, seniors detailed several problems including isolation, transportation, abuse, respite for caregivers, and access to medical care.

Community Coalition Identifies Next Target of Concern: Helping Valley's Seniors, Las Vegas Sun

With Louisiana residents paying more than $196 million in fees and interest to payday lenders in 2011, and such loans factoring into 20% of bankruptcy filings in Baton Rouge, leaders of Together Baton Rouge are beginning to educate and organize parishioners and residents about the dangers of payday lending and action they can take to protect themselves. Their most recent gathering, at Elm Grove Baptist Church, was standing-room only, as participants heard a presentation on the issue and shared their experiences with each other.

Residents: Time to Act on Loans, The Advocate

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300 leaders of the Sound Alliance and their allies reached an agreement with King County Councilmember Rod Dembowski to support an ordinance that would change how the County handles ICE "detainer requests". Under current practice, when undocumented immigrants are arrested and taken to the County Jail, ICE often sends requests to the jail to hold them at County expense until ICE can transfer them to a nearby for-profit immigrant detention center. Under the ordinance, the County will stop honoring these requests except when an individual has been convicted of certain violent or serious crimes.

People from a diverse mix of faith, labor, and community organizations at the assembly were excited to have an opportunity to strike a blow against our nation's unjust immigration policy at a local level. King County has a population of over 2 million residents and includes the City of Seattle.

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Acting on pressure from leaders of The Border Organization, Del Rio "City council members pledged Tuesday to join The Border Organization in San Antonio Monday to voice opposition to a proposal to export Val Verde County water east to San Antonio via pipeline.

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Hundreds convened to celebrate the restoration of 'Fr. Benavides Park' which sits across the street from St. Timothy Catholic Church. Having already leveraged $500 thousand for a master plan which includes a playground, basketball court, lighting, bathrooms and jogging path, COPS / Metro Alliance leveraged a commitment from Councilmember Gonzales for $500 thousand more. The Vicar General of the Catholic Archdiocese "gave his enthusiastic support to the agenda."

In photo, a boy holds up a sign that reads "Speed Bumps on El Paso St" while Ms. Alma Mendez from San Juan de los Lagos (behind the podium) recounts how they got those speed bumps with the help of COPS / Metro, in a campaign to protect the children enrolled in Religious Education.

With multi-colored packets in hand and plans for five subsequent enrollment workshops calendared, Dallas Area Interfaith leaders paused to welcome President Obama at Temple Emanu-El Wednesday evening. Obama thanked those gathered saying "there's no state that actually needs this more than Texas."

Months prior to the Presidential visit, institutional leaders of Dallas Area Interfaith raised $20,000 to produce 100,000 copies of a multi-colored, bilingual booklet designed to educate uninsured residents about how the Affordable Care Act works. Civic academies, held in church sanctuaries and school cafeterias, have so far reached 1,600 North Texas residents, sometimes as many as 200 at a time. Leaders are learning that many people require basic education about how health insurance works with questions like "what is a deductible?" commonly raised.

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President Obama plans to meet with Dallas Area Interfaith at Temple Emanu-El, where hundreds of institutional leaders gathered last month to launch their institutional enrollment outreach strategy. Chair of the DAI Healthcare Committee Gwen Lummus explained to the Dallas Morning News that "this area had the highest percentage of uninsured in the whole country. That's one of the reasons we've been working on this."

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The Border Organization notified the Val Verde Commissioners Court that they plan to move ahead with efforts for groundwater conservation on the border, through the creation of a groundwater district that would regulate the amount of water sold to private corporations. Recent proposals by private corporations to pipe water from the border and into San Antonio spurred leaders like Sandra Fuentes into action. They plan to work with city council members and state legislators to address the lack of oversight.

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Diana, a young member of the National Honor Society and longtime Houston resident, loves her city and loves America. At a press conference organized by TMO, she tearfully related how Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (and The Metropolitan Organization of Houston) brought her out of the shadows and into public life. With her DACA application approved, she has applied for college and is now working after school as a film technician.

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