Healthcare for Immigrant Women

By NAPAWF - Nearly two decades ago, politicians began passing harmful restrictions that put affordable health coverage out of reach for many immigrants who legally live and work in the United States. Today, even after passage of the Affordable Care Act (ACA), these overly complex and restrictive policies continue to deny access to healthcare for hardworking, taxpaying immigrant families.

Protecciones del Trabajador en los Estados Unidos

El 1 de mayo habrá una jornada informativa sobre los derechos de los trabajadores en los Estados Unidos. Tendrá lugar en la sede del consulado de México en Atlanta, Georgia, con motivo de la celebración del Día del Trabajo en el país fronterizo y en otros lugares del planeta. También se recibirán denuncias sobre violaciones laborales. 

2014 Awards of Excellence Winners

Winners were announced at an awards reception. The Atlanta Press Club received a record number of nominations. Journalists from the National Press Club selected the winners based on content, timeliness, reportorial skill and impact.

Dragon Boats Fest

Click to Watch: Dragon Boats Fest

Goodwill dragon boat festival celebrates Asian-American culture

The annual GoodBoats for Goodwill dragon boat race and cultural festival returns for its fourth year to Augusta’s Lake Olmstead Park from 9  a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday, May 2, and teams are being signed up to take on the challenge of “paddling for a purpose.”

Path to Water Stewardship

By Shea Howell - The water crisis is accelerating. Access to safe, clean water is becoming difficult around the country. All signs are that situation will get worse before it gets better.

Campaña Nacional por la Ciudadanía

New America Media, News Report, Cira Apitz

 “La campaña por la ciudadanía tiene que ser a gran escala”, dijo Sandy Close, directora ejecutiva de New America Media, durante una mesa redonda entre medios locales y organizaciones que promueven la naturalización no solo en Florida sino a nivel nacional.

Richmond County in "Revival" Mode

Sean Frantom will be sworn into office

By Anibal Ibarra - After a messy beginning of the current Augusta Richmond County Commission and Mayor Hardie Davis, just 3 months in office, the local government is in "revival" mode trying to revive (item 17) the Housing Citizens Advisory Board. Also, the Commission will try to rehire Jacqueline Humphrey, Director of Equal Employment Opportunity (item 44), who was fired abruptly weeks ago with other department heads. Would she accept the position after being fired without much explanation? UPDATE: Commissioner Marion Williams will try again next session to reinstate Ms. Humphrey. No action taken.

Gloria Awards Honor Everyday Feminists

On May 11, 2015, the Ms. Foundation for Women will celebrate its 27th annual Gloria Awards: A Salute to Women of Vision at the Pierre Hotel in New York City. The Gloria Awards, named for Gloria Steinem — one of the organization’s founding mothers — is a yearly celebration to benefit Ms. Foundation grantees around the country. This year, six honorees — including two Ms. Foundation grantees — will be recognized as “Women of Vision.”

Mega Charitable Network in the CSRA

Goodwill Industries of Middle Georgia and the CSRA and Golden Harvest Food Bank, two of the larger charitable organizations serving the CSRA and beyond, on Thursday, April 16, announced a historic partnership that is expected to produce significant benefits for the community and those assisted by both agencies.

Family Fun Fitness Events in Augusta

Peach State Health Plan has announced a series of twice monthly Family Fun Fitness events in Augusta. The events are free for Peach State Health Plan members. The Family Fun Fitness Celebrations are designed to provide families and children with free group workout sessions with a professional trainer, with the overall goal of staying active. 

Cannabis Card System Will Be Online Soon

Gov. Nathan Deal today signed HB 1, legislation that permits the use of medical cannabis oil to treat certain conditions. The law took effect immediately upon Deal’s signature. Deal signed an executive order last month instructing state agencies, physicians and law enforcement officials to prepare for the law’s enactment.

How to Predict Response to Antidepressants

A wristband that records motion throughout a 24-hour cycle may be an inexpensive, safe way to determine which patients with major depressive disorder will respond best to commonly prescribed drugs such as Prozac.

Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors, or SSRIs, are today’s mainstay for depression treatment, but patients and their physicians may go through many months, doses, and different SSRIs as well as other antidepressants trying to get results, said Dr. W. Vaughn McCall, Chairman of the Department of Psychiatry and Health Behavior at the Medical College of Georgia at Georgia Regents University.

The Business Case for Diversity

Emory University School of Law will host its second annual Diversity Speaker Series panel discussion Monday, April 20. The discussion will be held in the law school's Tull Auditorium, Gambrell Hall, 1301 Clifton Rd., Atlanta. An opening reception will be held at 6:30 p.m. in Hunter Atrium outside the auditorium, and the panel discussion will begin at 7:00 p.m. A dessert reception will follow.

Commonsense English

Leaders of three organizations representing the majority of educators who teach English language learners said Monday they are encouraged by the Senate bipartisan Elementary and Secondary Education Act reauthorization proposal.

Al Rescate de Mariposa Monarca en México

La reserva de la mariposa monarca en México, Patrimonio de la Humanidad de la UNESCO y refugio de invierno de decenas de millones de mariposas monarcas, debería ser declarada  “en peligro” debido a que  “está en riesgo de desaparecer” la increíble migración transcontinental de la mariposa monarca para cuya protección se estableció  la reserva, dijo un grupo de organizaciones de la sociedad civil mexicanas, estadounidenses y canadienses,  en una petición presentada.

Reinstating Independent Monitoring in Shell Bluff

Recently, the Department of Energy recommended that the Citizen’s Advisory Board formalize a liaison to help improve communications with the community, which the SRS Citizens Advisory Board (CAB) asked Georgia WAND to fill. Toward this end, Georgia WAND was instrumental in securing representatives from the Department of Energy and the Savannah River Ecology Lab to address community members concerns about environmental monitoring that is reportedly being done in the community by SRS. 

@ATLRAISEUP

America can't build a strong future with falling wages. Corporations wiped out millions of good, middle class jobs during the recession. Now they want new jobs to pay as little as possible. Even though Americans' hard work is generating billions in profits, most new jobs - especially in food services and other service jobs - tend to pay very little. That means moms and dads who finally have full-time work again are paid so little they qualify for food stamps and other public assistance.

Extradition of Former Salvadoran Military Officer

The Department of Justice filed a complaint in the U.S. District Court of the Eastern District of North Carolina today seeking the arrest and extradition of a former colonel in the Salvadoran army to face charges in Spain related to the murder of five Spanish Jesuit priests in El Salvador in 1989.

Former Ohio State Trooper Sentenced to 60 Months in Prison

A former trooper with the Ohio State Highway Patrol was sentenced today in Columbus, Ohio, to 60 months in federal prison for coercing four female victims to engage in sexual acts in exchange for lenient treatment in connection with potential criminal cases and traffic tickets.

Death of Walter Scott

Statement from American Federation of Teachers President Randi Weingarten on the untimely death of Walter Scott, the unarmed black man who was shot by a police officer April 4 in North Charleston, S.C.

Access to Europe

By Sue Reager - Whereas other countries offer bony skeletons they call gateways to companies striving to expand into Europe (the world’s largest economy after the USA), Ireland offers the full Irish stew: a complete and total service package from inexpensive corporate creation to all budgetary levels of marketing, banking, tax control, and tech support - all to help Georgia companies do business in Europe at affordable price.

Re-Electing Obama's Mayor Rahm Emanuel

By Bruce A. Dixon - The results are in, and the truth hurts. Rahm Emanuel will sit in the mayor's office on the fifth floor of Chicago's City Hall four more years. Despite fudging police stats to make murders disappear, despite stonewalling on police torture and atrocities, despite deliberately shortening red light camera intervals to raise revenue for his buddies, despite closing and privatizing more than 50 public schools, almost exclusively in black and brown neighborhoods, than anywhere in the country, and despite his facing a solid progressive Democrat challenger, Rahm Emanuel carried every single ward in black Chicago, not by big margins, but by enough.

Childhood Hunger in America

Mellow Mushroom is currently running a cause marketing promotion through social media channels related to the 2015 Masters Tournament and reigning champion, Bubba Watson.

Watson is currently on a diet of daily burritos in an effort to keep with his own culinary tradition that led him to win the event past year. However, Watson has publicly expressed his love for Mellow Mushroom pizza as well. The Masters takes place in Augusta, Ga., and there are several Mellow Mushrooms in the area, including Augusta, Evans, and Aiken, SC.

Campaign to Eliminate Drunk Driving

Georgia Currently Ranks 4th in the Nation 

The Golden Shield Honors is the paramount achievement for Georgia’s initiative to keep impaired drivers off the road, increase awareness of the consequences of driving under the influence, and impact DUI legislation. Mothers Against Drunk Driving - Georgia (MADD-GA) and the Governor’s Office on Highway Safety (GOHS) will celebrate 520 honorees from communities throughout the state for outstanding service at the event Thursday at the Georgia World Congress Center in College Atlanta.

Huevo de Gallina y Cerdo Libres de Jaulas

Hilton Worldwide anunció el día de hoy que comenzará a eliminar el uso de jaulas para gallinas ponedoras y jaulas de gestación para cerdas reproductoras en su cadena de suministro de alimentos a nivel global. El anuncio fue hecho en conjunto con The Humane Society of the United States, rama internacional de Humane Society International, una de las organizaciones de protección animal más grandes del mundo.

A New Generation of Civil and Human Rights Leaders

In response to community outrage and divisive protests over the deaths of numerous unarmed African-American men, a new breed of influential religious leaders, attorneys and activists are answering questions about "where are new civil rights leaders?" in the non-violent, dignified and audacious lineage of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

2015 Woman Business Owner of the Year

Elizabeth Colón has created an award-winning company recipe.  The language services company, Metaphrasis Language and Cultural Solutions (Metaphrasis) today announced its founder, Elizabeth Colón, has been awarded the 2015 Woman Business Owner of the Year by Chicago Area Chapter of the National Association of Women Business Owners (NAWBO).

$2 a Gallon Returning by Summer

Lower gas prices may be on the way for U.S. consumers by this summer if refinery maintenance ends smoothly and crude oil remains relatively cheap. It is even possible that gas prices will return to near $2 per gallon in some areas, as long as there are no unexpected problems in the meantime. AAA does not expect the national average to rise above $3 per gallon this year.

'Film and Social Justice: An Ongoing Conversation'

The upcoming CNN DIALOGUES, “Film and Social Justice: An Ongoing Conversation,” will be held Thursday, April 16 at 7 p.m. The event, presented in partnership with the Center for Civil and Human Rights, CNN and the James Weldon Johnson Institute for the Study of Race and Difference at Emory University, is the first CNN DIALOGUE hosted in 2015 at The Center.

Moms Hunger Strike in Immigrant Detention

Women held in Texas Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) prison work for $3/day, their children's health is deteriorating, and many haven't been given the opportunity to post a reasonable bond for their release.

Conditions have gotten so bad that 40 women went on a five-day hunger strike last week. Many of these women fled to the United States because they feared for their lives. Now they, and even their children, are being put in solitary confinement cells in the medical wing of the prison for participating in the strike. 

Furious $47 Million for Georgia’s Economy

WASHINGTON, DC (PR) – The production of Universal Pictures’ FURIOUS 7 contributed over $47 million to Georgia’s economy in payments to local businesses and workers, according to new data released today as the film opens in theaters nationwide. The economic impact figures also detail that the production hired 7,500 local Georgians.

13.9% of Young People Out of Work in March

WASHINGTON, DC (PR) – Generation Opportunity, a national, non-partisan youth advocacy organization, is announcing its Millennial Jobs Report for March 2015. The data is non-seasonally adjusted (NSA) and is specific to 18-29-year-olds: The effective (U-6) unemployment rate for 18-29-year-olds, which adjusts for labor force participation by including those who have given up looking for work, is 13.9 percent (NSA). The (U-3) unemployment rate for 18-29 year olds is 9.1 percent (NSA).

Justice for Childhood Sexual Abuse in Georgia

ATLANTA, GA (PR) – The Hidden Predator Act, or House Bill 17, received final passage the 40th and final day of the 2015 legislative session. Sponsored by State Representative Jason Spencer (R-Woodbine), House Bill 17 was passed in the Senate with slight changes on Tuesday, March, 31; the House then agreed to the Senate changes, sending HB 17 to Governor Deal for consideration.

$2 Million in State Budget for Harlem Library

ATLANTA, GA (PR) – State Representative Barry Fleming (R-Harlem) announced that the fiscal year 2016 state budget will include $2 million to fund construction for the new Harlem Library in the Greater Clarks Hill Regional library system in Columbia County. The House of Representatives gave final, unanimous, approval to the fiscal year 2016 budget, or HB 76, on Tuesday, March 31, 2015.

Public Input on Palmetto Pipeline

UPDATE 5/19/2015: The Georgia Department of Transportation denied the request made by Kinder Morgan to construct the Palmetto Pipeline.

Georgia Legislature and The First Amendment

UPDATE: The bill was defeated at the last minute on Sine Die.

Statement of Jenny Beth Martin, co-founder of Tea Party Patriots, on Georgia SB 127: "Politicians of both parties in the Georgia Legislature are conspiring to trample on the First Amendment, and it will be a sad day for liberty if this measure passes.