Leaders with 'Nevadans for the Common Good' have begun building a constituency of voters who are educated about the dangers of payday lending by holding civic academies on the subject.  The next civic academy is scheduled to take place at Las Vegas University United Methodist Church.

Community Groups Urge Nevadans to Learn Risks of Payday Loans, Public News Service

650 NCG leaders packed the house at St. Elizabeth Seton Catholic Church for a nonpartisan accountability assembly with three gubernatorial candidates. Leaders succeeded in leveraging bipartisan commitments from all three to protect Medicaid, invest new tax revenue into education and more.

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Nevadans for the Common Good celebrated a positive resolution to an education issue affecting students of Fremont Middle School. When the school district released rebuilding plans that involved busing Fremont middle-schoolers to another school, courageous parents and teachers began a year of conversing with each other and identifying allies.

With the support of neighboring institutions Christ Church Episcopal and Reformation Lutheran Church, Fremont leaders persuaded the School Board to approve a "transformational new plan for Fremont": rebuilding Fremont as a K-8 school and constructing a new Global High School in the neighborhood.

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'Nevadans for the Common Good' leaders discovered that Nevada was ranked 51st in the nation in terms of the level of state support for Meals on Wheels. As a result, there were over 1,000 home-bound seniors who were on the waiting list. NCG leveraged the support of municipal governments, state legislators and the governor to increase state funding to $3.4 million (a tenfold increase) in order to eliminate the waiting list.

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200 leaders of Nevadans for the Common Good were joined by US Senator Catherine Cortez-Masto for a civic academy on immigration at All Saint's Episcopal Church. People participated in the session in order to "learn the facts" about immigration, build relationships with each other and conduct public business with Senator Masto.

Said NCG leader Matt Estes, "It's really important that we get some of this information out because there's a lot of myths and a lot of stories." Chimed in Jeanne Ward-Estes, the event only "touched the tip of the iceberg."

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Over 75 citizen leaders of 'Nevadans for the Common Good' packed the Grant Sawyer State office building to support increased funding for the Meals on Wheels program.

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In response to public pressure by 'Nevadans for the Common Good' to expand funding for Meals on Wheels in Nevada, Henderson and Boulder City Councils approved resolutions urging the state legislature and Governor Brian Sandoval to increase state funding for the program by $5 million every two years. Already, the Governor has responded by including $1.5 million in his budget proposal for the food program, a +100% increase over current funding levels. Leaders are pushing for more.

The meal delivery program targets vulnerable seniors. At current funding levels, the program is reported to provide more than 300 Henderson seniors +112,000 meals per year. However, a city spokesperson reports that nearly 300 additional seniors are on the waiting list.

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When news of the potential closure of Fremont Middle School emerged, parents and teachers at Fremont reached out to 'Nevadans for the Common Good' and nearby Christ Church Episcopal Lutheran Church. Through community conversations, leaders are exploring the causes of the potential closure, its potential impacts on students and families and potential alternatives.

NCG leaders are additionally pressing on the Nevada state legislature to fund the weighted student funding formula.

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Over 200 leaders of Nevadans for the Common Good invited candidates for office to an assembly in which well over 200 participated. Leaders secured commitments from federal, state, and local candidates to work with the organization to advance their agenda of issues on education, healthcare, and immigration.

Additional photos, NCG

Nevadans for the Common Good's 3rd "Convention for the Common Good" drew 1,500 leaders that called on federal, state and local elected officials to invest in education, immigrant integration, and services for the elderly and people with disabilities. Said Rev. Dr. Marta Poling-Goldenne of Reformation Lutheran Church: "We are here tonight because we practice a different kind of politics....We organize people around conversations and relationships... unite people across diverse backgrounds, and we are radically nonpartisan!"

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