PCIC Leverages Commitments at 'Education Accountability' Assembly
340 PCIC leaders packed the hall of Most Holy Trinity Catholic Church in Tucson for an "Education Accountability" session with 30 member institutions in attendance. Candidates for State Representative, Pima Community College Board, and Arizona Attorney General publicly responded to PCIC concerns around DACA, foreclosures, JobPath workforce development, and overall funding for public education.
Tucson Weekly reports on Fr. Tom Tureman's "barn burner" speech denouncing the educational system failure in Arizona: "Teachers are our first responders, but instead of supporting them, we revile them...." 'elect people who ignore education and spend their energy shouting about immigration and taxes.' More below.
Read morePCIC Calls on Public to Support PCC & JobPath
PCIC executive team member Ernesto Lujan and Literacy Connects Executive Director Betty Staufer called on the public to support local economic development through investments in institutions like the Pima Community Colleges and job training program JobPath. They praised the efforts of PCC Chancellor Lee Lambert under whom they see "renewed emphasis on adult education and literacy...and a continued commitment to immigrant youth (i.e. in-state tuition for those who have work permits under DACA).
Stauffer and Lujan urged the public to pay attention to the contested race for PCC Board members, and to attend the upcoming PCIC accountability assembly with PCC Board candidates September 28 at Most Holy Trinity Catholic Church in Tucson.
Read morePCIC Stands with Bus Riders Union at City Hall & Wins
PCIC clergy and leaders piled into City Hall to deliver a letter signed by 50 clergy requesting that the City not raise fares for low-income bus riders. The City Manager had proposed that Tucson double the fares of low-income people in addition to increasing all fares across the board. Bus riders and PCIC leaders filled the room while 60 listened from outside...
Concrete Example of Religious Leaders Standing Up for the Poor, Voces de Casa Maria
Read moreJobPath Designed as Bridge Out of Poverty
"About 20 years ago, hoping to encourage citizens to become active in the community, members of the religious institutions of the Pima County Interfaith Council (PCIC), spent a Sunday afternoon knocking on 10,000 doors, asking residents for their specific concerns..."
Read morePima County Interfaith Council Key Part of Sanctuary History
"Casa San Juan was started in 2002 by the Diocese of Tucson, at the request of leaders and members of the St. John the Evangelical Catholic Church.
One of its founders, the Rev. Raul Trevizo, said the center was started in a joint effort with the Pima County Interfaith Council, an organization of churches in the area..."
Read morePCIC Calls on AZ Corporate Commission to Approve Electricity Plan
"Existing programs that save Tucson Electric Power customers money on their energy bills will be cut significantly. That's the bottom line reached at the end of the March 16 Arizona Corporation Commission public hearing....
Read morePCIC Negotiates Local Lending for Tucson Energy Program
Last summer, Pima County Interfaith Council (PCIC) leaders learned that local residents would be required to use an out-of-state bank for loans under Tucson Electric Power's 2011 Energy Efficiency Proposal. Knowing this would create a stumbling block for individuals, and knowing Tucson's local economy would benefit from local financing, PCIC requested that the Arizona Corporation Commission (ACC) require a local bank. ACC staff agreed to make this recommendation—IF—PCIC could find a local lender. PCIC leaders met with many bank and credit union officers.
Result: an innovative agreement between Tucson Electric Power and Vantage West Credit Union for loans to local ratepayers.