"Church leaders are banding together to fight a proposed Austin Energy rate increase that they say will hurt their ability to help the poor in the community.

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The Northern & Central Louisiana Interfaith Sponsoring Committee leveraged an additional $300 thousand in order to expand workforce development project New Opportunities, Vision, Achievement (NOVA) into three rural regions of the Louisiana Delta. $150 thousand came from the federally established Delta Regional Authority and required approval from Republican Governor Jindal. Another $150 thousand came from a private foundation. NOVA enrollees typically start out earning below minimum wage; graduates earn more than double that within one year of completion.

Whose Property Rights Are Being Protected?, Houston Chronicle

"Perhaps because it was held in a church, or because so many clergy and faithful were in the hall, a recent Together Baton Rouge luncheon saw at least a minor miracle: Political leaders were made to pay attention to the concerns of poor people.

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"Residents living near the proposed site of the transfer station and leaders of the Pomona Valley cluster of One LA, gathered the letters that call for City Council members to refrain from scheduling an appeal hearing for the proposed project....

Among those in the group who delivered the letters was Anselmo Olmos, a retired construction worker who lives about a block away from the site of the proposed transfer station...Among Olmos' concerns is the impact of the proposed project on the health of a 2-year-old grandson who is a heart transplant recipient living near the site...Olmos spent much of November and December talking with residents on neighborhood streets asking they sign the letters that were delivered to City Hall. 'I spoke with mothers, and the majority said their children have asthma,' Olmos said.

The majority of residents and business people he approached signed letters."

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San Antonio's Workforce Development Task Force, composed of a diverse collection of city and county representatives, leaders in the business and health community, and executives from two universities and a community college, reported their findings and unanimous recommendation to City Council: "Expand funding for long term training program Project Quest."

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"The Department of Justice's announcement of allegations of civil-rights violations in the Maricopa County Sheriff's Office have added to the cascade of non-stop bad press for Joe Arpaio. It's quite different from five years ago in El Mirage, when there was scant willingness to recognize the department's neglect.

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"Better wages, improved schools, grocery stores in northern neighborhoods and local tax revenue dedicated to mass transit are among the goals Together Baton Rouge plans to work toward in 2012, leaders of the church and nonprofit coalition announced Tuesday. 'We're here to celebrate the accomplishments of 2011, and they are considerable,' the Rev. Melvin Rushing, pastor of Progressive Baptist Church and Mount Pilgrim Baptist Church, told hundreds of supporters."

Coalition Sets 2012 Goals, The Advocate

In Iowa, AMOS won an additional $100 thousand for Project IOWA; Republican Governor Branstad included the project as a line item in the state budget as demonstration of support. Twenty students were selected and are prepared to begin coursework in early 2012.

Along the Southern border of Texas, one leader's confrontation helped triple The Border Organization's reach into local elementary schools. When a principal failed to split up a kindergarten class that had 32 children, against district policy, her inaction was challenged by a mother after school.

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