Arizona Republic Highlights 'AZ Students for Mental Health' & VIP Effort to Address Youth Suicide
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After Pressure from Together Louisiana, Folgers Denied Tax Break
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"Gov. John Bel Edwards sided with New Orleans officials Monday by denying tax breaks sought by Folgers Coffee Co. that would have cost the city millions of dollars in property tax revenue....
ITEP has become a hot-button political issue in recent years. Business groups argue that allowing companies to avoid taxes they would owe on new equipment and machinery encourages those types of investments. Critics, led by Together Louisiana, argue that companies have been allowed to skip out on taxes from investments that they would have made anyway and that schools and sheriffs need the taxes to improve the quality of life in their communities.
Together Baton Rouge's Success Spotlighted by The New Orleans Advocate
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"Together Baton Rouge is often like that, bringing together a broad, often unlikely, mix of community members and groups to tackle a common goal.
In the group's 13-year history, it's taken on everything from closed bridges in underserved communities to powerful industrial tax exemptions. If the group identifies something that can help the community, no issue too large or too small is off the table....
"We're really about civic participation," Cage said. "We all have to trust each other before we can get things done.
'Recognizing the Stranger' Convocation Commemorates 5-Year Organizing Strategy
Over 300 leaders, clergy, religious, and bishops from 20 organizations gathered last week in San Antonio to celebrate five years of Recognizing the Stranger, a West/Southwest IAF training, leadership formation, and parish organizing strategy.
The Convocation was highlighted by a video message from Pope Francis, who offered his “closeness and support” to the IAF network and its work to organize with immigrants and with those at the margins to encourage “participation of the Christian in public life.”
A Message from Pope Francis | Un Mensaje del Papa Francisco
Delivered to the West/Southwest IAF 'Recognizing the Stranger' Convocation in San Antonio, February 28 - March 1
Over 300 leaders, clergy, religious, and bishops from 20 organizations gathered last week in San Antonio to celebrate five years of Recognizing the Stranger, a West/Southwest IAF training, leadership formation, and parish organizing strategy.
The Convocation was highlighted by a video message from Pope Francis, who offered his “closeness and support” to the IAF network and its work to organize with immigrants and with those at the margins to encourage “participation of the Christian in public life.”
National Gathering of Ministers Features COPS/Metro Collaboration w/San Antonio Archdiocese
At a national gathering of Catholic Social Ministers organized by the Catholic Campaign for Human Development (CCHD), COPS/Metro's work with San Antonio Archbishop Gustavo García-Siller was featured prominently in plenary sessions and a workshop around local organizing for gun safety reform.
During a panel discussion with the Archbishop, Josephine Lopez-Paul shared how COPS/Metro worked with the San Antonio Archdiocese in the aftermath of the massacre at Uvalde in 2022. The Archbishop made an impassioned plea to infuse love into a "culture of death" through faithful participation in the political process around issues impacting life, including gun safety reforms.
America Magazine Covers Papal Visit by West/Southwest IAF Organizers
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....We were an interfaith group of 20 lay leaders, clergy and professional organizers from the West/Southwest Industrial Areas Foundation, a representation of a decades-long tradition of community organizing in the United States, of which Catholic communities and parishes have played a major role. Parish-based organizing began in earnest with the founding of Communities Organized for Public Service in San Antonio 50 years ago.
Read more“People are not used to listening, and that is what true catechesis does—listen and teach listening.”
National Catholic Reporter Spotlights IAF Assistance with Synod Process
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"They've developed a process of attentive listening over the years, talking to people about their lives and identifying the needs of a particular group," said [Bishop Mark] Seitz. "When we were trying to create a process for the synod, it occurred to me it was exactly the approach they'd long taken."
Read moreAfter 2022 Chapter 313 Victories, Texas IAF Prepares for What's Next
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Over the years, critics argued certain requirements were whittled away and some companies were bringing few or low-paying jobs with little benefits. Some, including a coalition of interfaith leaders with The Metropolitan Organization, Central Texas Interfaith and Texas Industrial Areas Foundation Organizations, have called out the program as “corporate welfare” and for leaving the rest of the Texas taxpayers to essentially “make up the difference.”
Read moreCommon Ground's Plan for Police Oversight PASSES in Vallejo, CA
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Organizers who worked for years to pass police oversight are optimistic that it will start the process of reforming one of the more violent police departments in the country.
The Vallejo Sun spoke with several members of Common Ground, a non-partisan group of religious and non-profit organizations in Solano and Napa counties, about their thoughts on the ordinance aimed at holding accountable a police department which has killed 19 people since 2010.
“When you listen to the residents, you hear people say they started this process 20 years ago,” said Renee Sykes, a member of Common Ground. “If you look at 20 years ago, and if you look at now, we now have something in writing, we have something concrete.”
....The city council is expected to officially establish the three-prong oversight approach, including outside investigations of serious police incidents, a Community Police Oversight Accountability Commission, and a police auditor.
Common Ground Optimistic about Vallejo Police Oversight Model, Vallejo Sun
Vallejo City Council Officially Passes Police Oversight Model, Times-Herald
Vallejo Police Oversight Model Expected to be Adopted Tuesday Night, Times-Herald
Vallejo City Council Votes to Introduce Police Oversight Ordinance, Times-Herald
Common Ground ‘Pleased’ With Police Oversight Draft Ordinance, but Lists Number of Omissions, Times-Herald