Disinfecting Banker’s Day on the Hill

This is part eleven in a series of posts that will explore some of the leading organizations from around the country that are engaged in unearthing and combating the influence of money in the political process. In February 2011, on “Bankers’ Day on the Hill,” grassroots organization Washington Community Action Network confronted corporate bank lobbyistsContinue reading “Disinfecting Banker’s Day on the Hill”

Washington CAN! Leads Takeover of State Capitol to Protest Budget Cuts

At 8 p.m. on Wednesday, April 6, Lieutenant  Mark Arras of the Washington State Patrol addressed a crowd of 100 people who had filled the Capitol Building rotunda with sleeping bags and pillows. They had taken up camp in the Capitol to protest state budget cuts slashing social services like health care and education. “WeContinue reading “Washington CAN! Leads Takeover of State Capitol to Protest Budget Cuts”

Washington CAN! Leads 800 People in Demanding an Equitable State Budget

All across the country, lawmakers are faced with grim state budget shortfalls that will mean devastating cuts to the social safety net. As a result of the national recession, Washington state faces one of the worst economic downturns in over 80 years. In the past two years lawmakers have balanced the state budget by cuttingContinue reading “Washington CAN! Leads 800 People in Demanding an Equitable State Budget”

Marcelas Grows Up in Community Organizing, Finishes What His Mother Started

History loves a hero. The historic health reform legislation signed this year by President Obama received its hero in the form of Marcelas Owens, eleven-year-old Seattleite who, in the weeks leading to the bill’s passage, became the country’s most visible spokesman for reform.