http://www.BeyondChron.org The Voice of the Rest en-us Nucleus CMS v3.22 ©2005 Online Newspaper http://backend.userland.com/rss http://www.beyondchron.org/news/skins/beyondchron/images/topbar_right.gif http://www.beyondchron.org http://www.BeyondChron.org/index.php?itemid=11386 a new Brookings Institution report, the number of low-income people living in suburbs increased 67% between 2000 and 2011, altering longstanding perceptions of a rising middle-class fleeing from cities to achieve the American Dream. Reasons for the shift include urban gentrification, the foreclosure crisis, greater access to suburban affordable housing and the rapid expansion of suburban areas. Paris and other European cities have long had the wealthy living in central city areas and the poor outside the city’s core, but the post-World War II growth of suburbia sent the United States in the other direction. This shift of the middle-class to the suburbs and corresponding central city decline continued until the the late 1970’s, and urban America's dramatic comeback continues at full speed today. Now that cities offer walkable, bicycle-friendly, public transit-available neighborhoods with desirable restaurants and a high quality of life, the poor are being shunted to car-dependent suburban areas in economic decline. Activists now face the challenge of helping the suburban poor while still pushing for public housing residents and those living in non-gentrified urban neighborhoods to get the resources they deserve. ]]> Tue, 21 May 2013 04:04:00 -0700 http://www.BeyondChron.org/index.php?itemid=11385
A December 2012 Federal Trade Commission (FTC) report on food marketing to children and adolescents examined data from 44 major food and beverage companies. Comparing 2009 spending to 2006, the report found "total spending on food marketing to youth dropped 19.5% in 2009, to $1.79 billion. Spending on youth-directed television advertising fell 19.5%, while spending on new media, such as online and viral marketing, increased 50%."
]]> Tue, 21 May 2013 04:03:00 -0700 http://www.BeyondChron.org/index.php?itemid=11388
But muddying these waters was a lot of mixed messaging. Gov. Brown had at least signaled that he thought Prop 30 was the only tax revenue measure that we should pass for a while, and some of the Democratic legislators had more or less said the same thing. ]]> Tue, 21 May 2013 04:02:00 -0700 http://www.BeyondChron.org/index.php?itemid=11387 Tue, 21 May 2013 04:02:00 -0700 http://www.BeyondChron.org/index.php?itemid=11379 have energized Republicans and spell problems for Democrats in the 2014 midterm elections. FiveThirtyEight’s Nate Silver, whose words are gospel for millions, suggested last week that, while the impact of most scandals is less than many think, the IRS targeting of Tea Party groups “has the potential to harm Democrats’ performance in next year’s midterm elections, partly by motivating a strong turnout from the Republican base.” But as Silver knows, Democratic losses in midterm elections are primarily caused not by a galvanized GOP base but by a demoralized and/or unenergized Democratic one. This means that Democratic success in 2014 hinges not on the impact of the IRS and other “scandals” but on passing comprehensive immigration reform, rejecting the Keystone XL Pipeline, and avoiding a budget deal that undermines Social Security. Success on these issues will get young people and others who back Democrats in presidential election cycles to go to the polls in 2014, proving again that good policies are the best politics.]]> Mon, 20 May 2013 04:04:00 -0700 http://www.BeyondChron.org/index.php?itemid=11381 Mon, 20 May 2013 04:03:00 -0700 http://www.BeyondChron.org/index.php?itemid=11380 FEMA Plans Clear-Cutting of 85,000 Berkeley and Oakland Trees” ---the first news many got of this potential environmental outrage. Of the many arguments made against the plan, the greatest concern involves the proposed use of over 1000 gallons of herbicide, including the notoriously toxic Roundup. Many also offered a powerful challenge to the idea of destroying “non-native” plants, arguing that its logic ---typically associated with rapidly burning non-native eucalyptus trees---ignores other fire hazards including those caused by the clear-cutting. ]]> Mon, 20 May 2013 04:02:00 -0700 http://www.BeyondChron.org/index.php?itemid=11382
Okay, that might be a stretch. What I’m getting at here is how much things can change in just a week, month, or year. As I write this, I am sitting in my living room in Austin, Texas—surrounded by boxes. Tomorrow morning, Tuesday, May 14, I move to San Francisco. So by the time this gets to you, dear reader, I’ll be your new neighbor.

Like the light of a star…
]]> Mon, 20 May 2013 04:01:00 -0700 http://www.BeyondChron.org/index.php?itemid=11371 The media seems to forget about New Orleans and any place that the middle class can't easily relate to

On 3 September 2005 – less than a week after Hurricane Katrina devastated the Gulf Coast – I began to understand that America cared little about what was happening in New Orleans. I was an undergraduate at Davidson College in North Carolina at the time, worried out of my mind because my family in Mississippi was still without electricity and friends and family in New Orleans and the Mississippi Gulf Coast were still missing. The images of families stranded on rooftops were trickling in via news outlets, but it was obvious that the response from the government would be slow. But it really hit me on 3 September. I was driving around and noticed all the American flags at half-mast. Because Supreme court chief justice William Rehnquist died.

At the time, the Gulf Coast death toll was rumored to be in the thousands with nobody knowing for sure. But flags stayed at full mast until a chief justice died. To me, this was a slap in the face to what was going on in New Orleans and a sign that the city just didn't matter to the overall fabric of the country. ]]> Fri, 17 May 2013 04:03:00 -0700 http://www.BeyondChron.org/index.php?itemid=11366 reported on the issue a few days ago, and the hearing was a success. Sandoval held the hearing as part of the process of updating the California Lifeline program, which until now has been for land lines only. (The Federal Lifeline program allows for either a wireless or landline service.) The Central City SRO Collaborative, which helps individuals to sign up for Lifeline services, turned out many of its members and Lifeline clients to speak about the importance of this program and to advocate for reforms.
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