SWOPblogger

World Social Forum: A Loud, Multicolored 'No' to Imperialism and War
by Humberto Márquez

Inter Press Service
January 26, 2006

CARACAS - Although the sixth World Social Forum grants equal importance to all of the myriad workshops, seminars and other activities taking place this week in the Venezuelan capital and to all of the participating civil society groups and figures, that has not kept some personalities from standing out, like U.S. peace activist Cindy Sheehan, whose soldier son Casey was killed in Iraq.

"We need to bring our troops home immediately," Sheehan told the thousands of protesters taking part in the march that kicked off the six-day Forum on Tuesday. "We need to hold someone responsible for all the death and destruction in the world. We need to see George Bush and the rest of them tried for crimes against humanity."

The overarching WSF theme "Another World Is Possible" and opposition to "imperialism" and war are the common denominators among the broad range of organisations and individuals gathered in Caracas this week, where one of this year's three Forums is taking place. The first phase was held Jan. 19-23 in Bamako, Mali, and the third is scheduled for late March in Karachi, Pakistan.

The wide variety of organisations and participants was expressed by the multicoloured march, in which some 15,000 activists representing dozens of local and visiting organisations took part starting on Tuesday evening and stretching into the wee hours of the morning along two avenues in the southern part of the capital.

Some 70,000 participants had registered for the WSF as of Wednesday, for around 1,800 activities organised by just over 2,000 different civil society groups.

The march gave an idea of the wide-ranging interests and causes coming together at the Forum, in which leftist political leanings are the norm, as well as sympathy and support for Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez.

Chants like "Stop Bush", "No to War", "Peace for Colombia" and "Another World, Another Americas, Are Possible", were heard alongside pro-Chávez slogans in the demonstration.

Members of Venezuelan groups mixed comfortably with organisations from foreign countries, the largest of which came from Brazil, Colombia and the United States. There were big delegations from Brazil's left-wing Workers' Party (PT), the Colombian group Christians for Peace and Justice, the former guerrilla Guatemalan National Revolutionary Unity (URNG), and Grassroots Global Justice, a network of U.S. grassroots organisations that represent working-class communities and communities of colour.

Marching with Christians for Peace and Justice was Adriano de Jesús, from the Colombian province of Antioquia. He was holding up a sign with photos of victims of a massacre committed 10 years ago by right-wing paramilitaries in Valle del Cauca.

"We came to demand peace in Colombia, and to struggle to bring it about," de Jesús told IPS. "But we also came to learn and to find out if what they say is true."

That goal - getting a firsthand view of what the Chávez administration and its "Bolivarian social revolution" have been doing for the past six years - is shared by almost all of the participants in this week's gathering.

The wide range of social programmes carried out by the Chávez administration, ranging from a campaign that basically eradicated adult illiteracy, a chain of government shops selling subsidised staple items to the poor, and a programme bringing health care to the slums, fit nicely with WSF aims like fighting for a world without poverty and marginalisation and combating neoliberal, free-market policies.

The left-leaning Chávez also frequently gives voice to other priorities shared with the WSF, like opposition to the U.S. war and occupation in Iraq and to the U.S.-promoted Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA).

In addition, the Venezuelan government has provided at least eight million dollars in - mainly logistical - support to the WSF.

Chávez's participation "does not form part of the regular Forum agenda, and will be limited to an appearance in an amphitheatre at the invitation of Brazil's Landless Workers' Movement (MST) and the international organisation Vía Campesino," Julio Fermín, a member of the Venezuelan WSF organising committee, told IPS.

And just before the WSF comes to an end next Sunday, Chávez will meet in private with representatives from the Global People's Assembly Network, which has been among the leading organisers of the WSF since the first edition was held in Porto Alegre, Brazil in 2001 as a counterpoint to the World Economic Forum held annually in Davos, Switzerland.

The first of the six thematic areas at this week's WSF is "Power, politics and struggles for social emancipation". Most of the conferences, seminars and workshops fall under this heading, "because this is a political forum; the participating organisations take a political approach to the world," Eduardo Liendo, another member of the organising committee, told IPS.

The other thematic areas are "Imperial strategies and popular resistance", "Alternatives to the predatory model of civilisation", "Diversity, identities and worldviews in the international social movement", "Work, exploitation and reproduction of life", and "Communication, culture and democratising alternatives".

Copyright © 2006 IPS-Inter Press Service

###

World Social Forum
Foro Social Mundial
Venezuela
chavez
Hugo Chavez
WSF

OK, while Karlos is off representing at the World Social Forum in Venezuela, some of the rest of us podemos salir para joder un poco en este foro.

Entonces chequee esto - el mensaje de parte de los cubanos que se leyo el sabado pasado. And I tell you it was beautiful seeing so many hundreds of people the other night!

Rubén Solís from San Antonio read the statement from Cuba in solidarity with SWOP. If it weren't for Bush's restrictions on travel by Cubans (and just about everything else), there would have been a Cuban rep there to read it in person:


Dear friends of the SouthWest Organizing Project:

With great respect and appreciation we have received the news about the 25th anniversary of your organization. Twenty-five years of struggle and sacrifice for a more just and better society and the building of an important social movement that has its own history and age, ready to face any future endeavor.

Who might think that, what a group of comrades like Richard Moore, Rubén Solís, Jeanne Gauna and Roberto Roibal talked about in 1979 in Cuba, during a solidarity trip, would become 25 years later what is today – a strong movement of progressive forces that has stamped its signature, in the fight for civil and human rights, as well as for the rights to education, health care, housing and many other community projects, in the United States.

No less important has been your international work that has taken SWOP to a great amount of countries of the Third World, mainly in Latin America, where you have supported the noble ideas of friendship and solidarity.

In Cuba, we are still carrying the flag of a revolutionary process and the undefeated battle of ideas that will win the wars of tomorrow. It is not the use of force that will achieve our final goal, but the ideas, the truth, the intelligence, justice and the indispensable support of our people.

We wish that the next 25 years to come will be full of success and victories needed to form a better world. In the meantime, you will continue to have the unconditional support of Cuba, until we reach the final victory.

Long live the unbreakable friendship among the peoples of Cuba and the United States.

Cuban Interests Section
Washington, DC
January 21, 2006

World Social Forum
Foro Social Mundial
Venezuela
chavez
Hugo Chavez
WSF
Cuba

I love reading the newspaper. I love the way it feels between my fingers. I love the way it sounds when I ruffle it. I love the smell of ink. Sometimes I don't finish reading an article, just so I can go back and read more later. (And this is from someone who reads the crappy abq Journal!)

Anyway, saw this great piece on commondreams.org that gave me hope that actual print news may always have a place in society.

an excertp: "If someone just now invented a device that managed all this for a couple of quarters, they'd be hailed as a genius. They'd be plastered across the cover of Wired magazine. And best of all: no batteries necessary."

The following is from Louis Head, longtime staff member...

SWOP's 25th Anniversary: Where I'll be next Saturday

If you haven't heard yet, the SouthWest Organizing Project will celebrate its 25th Anniversary this coming Saturday, January 21, 2006 beginning at 6:00pm at the Hyatt Regency at Tijeras & 3rd in Downtown Albuquerque.

I started working with SWOP when I was 22 years old, not long after Albuquerque became home, after I finished school in Michigan where I was raised.

SWOP had lots to do with why I stayed here. I wanted to plant my feet and put myself to something consequential, and was tired of old ways insofar as I had been exposed to them as a teenager and student. Here, I hooked up with folks who were really talking about history and how to learn from it to build something new. All of them became friends and comrades, and some of them became really important mentors to me. It never escaped me that these same people were willing to take me in, invest in me and put up with me.

This and many other things reflected their level of commitment to building a new, independent project that would stick around.

In those days 25 years seemed like an eternity. I used to imagine that, in 25 years most certainly we, along with others, would have transformed our society and world into infinitely more just realities than what we had at the time, or what we have today. I used to walk through the Country Club neighborhood in Albuquerque and those big mansions would be daycare and community centers. Santa Fe would be one big redevelopment zone to the benefit of local people, and to hell with the jet set. And lots of other things that would still be just fine with me.

Some may have had more sobering thoughts about paying the bills, having been around longer than I. But aside from that we didn't know where it would all go. It was not until several years later that we would be able to begin talking about a longer range vision, our discussions amplified many times over by an ever growing number of recruits and participants. But what held from the beginning was our collective sense that if things were going to change then those most affected by social injustice would have to be the protagonists. We also knew that we would have to build an organization that would outlast the individuals involved in it. So we put everything we had towards this idea.

These days, going by the SWOP office or participating in an action or campaign is more inspiring than ever. I see this whole thing very much alive, very much in existence, and very much dedicated to the same basic ideas and principals that were in our minds 25 years ago. And the best part is seeing a whole crew of "new" folks of all ages, but mostly a lot younger than I, dealing with it.

It's a group that will never look at things quite the same way we did, just as we cannot look at things completely though their eyes. Their world is different than ours was.

It's scarier, and I don't think I say this simply because I am 46 and not 21 and maybe more concerned about my own well-being or anything like that.

Rather because the world is simply a tougher place and the choices people have to make often have a lot more dire consequences.

But it's also a better place for them, in that they have in their hands now a vehicle that puts them in touch with a whole universe of struggle, of complexities and possibilities. The relationships developed with social justice organizations both in the US and throughout the world complement the incredible amount of social, political and cultural information that they absorb just growing up. A whole infrastructure has been developed in which they may now move, and I feel proud that I have been able to play a small role bringing that about.

For this and many other reasons I'll be there on Saturday.

If you can join us, you will hear from SWOP veterans and friends from sister organizations who will reflect on where we have been and where we are going.

Gail Small, a Northern Cheyenne leader from Montana who we began to relate to and work with in the early 1990s, will be the keynote speaker. SWOP's youth group Jovenes Unidos will perform, and our founders will be recognized. Later in the evening we will dance to the sounds of a great conjunto, the Angel Alvarado Band.

If you are not here or near New Mexico, or will otherwise not be able to make it, I ask that you take a moment to think about how SWOP, and the social movement of which SWOP is a part, have affected you and what you do.

A better world is possible, and we are winning!

Louis

...an email from the New Mexico Fair Wage Coalition (www.nmfairwage.org)

Call the Governor for $7:50

Governor Richardson has heard plenty...from minimum wage opponents. He needs to hear from you now, before he gives his State of the State address tomorrow.

Call the Governor on Martin Luther King Day, this Monday. His office will be open from 9 to 5. Call 505 476 2200. Tell his office your name, where you live, and that you want him to support a minimum wage increase to $7.50.

The Governor has to know you care. He wants to do the right thing but people have to tell him what that is.

Celebrate Dr. King's Legacy by calling Governor Richardson and asking 5 friends to do the same. Forward this on to everyone you know who values a hard day's work!

NMfairwage.org

bill richardson
New Mexico
living wage
Minimum Wage
Poverty
Economics
Dr. Martin Luther King
MLK
movement

From our friends, Pancho and Louis...

That's right - Fuego Latino returns to the Cooperage for the first time since 2004. And they are better than ever. A great dance band.

Check this site. Freeway graffiti with a message from around the country. Don't know if I've seen an Impeach Bush sign on the Big I...yet.

The picture to the left is from the site.

Impeach Bush
Bush
Politics

*Staff meeting, as usual, Tuesday morning. Went well. Didn't get to stay for all of it. We finished up the commemorative program and adbook for the 25th anniversary celebration. It looks good. Roberto and Marjorie worked hard on it. I helped with the pics and the intro...

*Still getting ready to go to Venezuela, for the World Social Forum. Today there's a conference call with the Grassroots Global Justice Coordinating Committee. Looks like I can only make the first part of it. I'm really excited, though I haven't had the time to prepare. Celia and Jo Anne have saved my butt so far. (A spot popped up with the dentist, and I don't know if anyone's notice but it's hard to get a dental appointment in this town. For real.)

*Still gathering stuff for a history exhibit. Hopefully, it can be a start of an ongoing project.

*We have a direct mailer going out soon for an Environmental Justice Memorial going through the upcoming legislative session. I need a nice piece of imagery! (This is a follow up to last year's NM Healthy Communities Act, planned to be re-introduced in the near future.)

*People in the coalition are really moving on this Fair Wage initiative. Saw that the governor put it out there (journal subscription) that he's for it. The Journal said he put a rural/urban wage split on the table. I heard he was against it the split, and basically supported the coalition's bottom line. (Click to see who's signed on in support.) The Journal also said the guv mentioned indexing the wage to an increase in cost of living determined each year, and allowing city's such as Santa Fe to be able to raise wages even higher - both of which are supported by the coalition.
We'll see. Joaquin said he is going down to the Southeast part of the state this weekend to talk to some members about what we can do down there.

Ok, it's getting late, and I need some rest. As always, check back for more updates.

...went great. And ran longer than expected as the guests had a lot to say.

(Each guest really could have had the whole 2 hours to themselves.)

Keep an eye out for a link to hear the show!

A special thanks to Raices, KUNM, all the folks who participated, SWOP's membership and all of those who have supported us and been involved over the years.

Rey Garduno, a SWOP board member, video taped the show.

Please visit http://www.nmfairwage.org for updates, progress from the campaign.

** Don't forget to listen to tonight's live Raices (KUNM 89.9) show on SWOP's 25th anniversary.

Espejos de Aztlan, a production of the Raices Collective at KUNM, will be airing a special live radio show on SWOP's 25 years of social justice early next week.

The special can be heard at 7:00 pm Monday, January 9, 2005 on 89.9 KUNM here in Albuquerque and can be found streaming live for folks outside the broadcast area on the net at www.kunm.org/listen.

Hosts Roberta Rael and Henry Gonzales will be talking to a pretty fantastic group of people.

• Richard Moore, a founder and former director, and Roberto Contreras, a founder and current board member, will be discussing the founding of the organization.
  
• Loretta Naranjo Lopez (Martinez Town), Eleanor Chavez (District 1199, former board member), Michael Guerrero (former co-director), and Gabe Lucero (Las Vegas) will be talking about building local power in local communities.
• Eileen Gauna, (Southwestern Law School), Ruben Solis (Southwest Workers Union), and Pam Tau Lee (Northern California), will be on hand to discuss SWOP's role in helping to build a regional and national Environmental Justice Movement.
• Teresa Cordova (Bern. Co. Commissioner), Eric Schmieder (Duranes, ABQ) and Steve Viederman (formerly with Jessie Smith Noyes Foundation), will have a discussion about SWOP's corporate accountability campaigns.
• Fernando Abeyta (ABQ), Rosina Roybal (Jovenes Unidos Coordinator) and Celia Fraire (ABQ) will talk about SWOP's youth organizing work.
• Robby Rodriguez, SWOP director, will talk about current and future SWOP work.
  

Looks to be a lively, informative discussion. Tune in and find out about an important part of the state's history.

karlos says: The public hearings the following wire reports on did not happen and will occur in May. See post from yesterday...

NEW MEXICO NEWS SERVICE
A statewide news service for New Mexico

Phone: 888-471-1722 Fax: 303-253-8905 E-mail: nmns@publicnewsservice.org
Sound files are available at: www.newsservice.org
January 2-3, 2006

Albuquerque, NM - New Mexico is looking at new rules for landfills - rules that could protect low-income communities from becoming the state's dumping grounds. Comments from Douglas Meiklejohn (MIH-kle-jon) with the New Mexico Environmental Law Center, Shannon Horst with the South Valley Coalition of Neighborhood Associations, and Robbie Rodriguez with the SouthWest Organizing Project.

It's that "most wonderful time of the year" when New Mexico landfills get the holiday leftovers. And as new landfills are pondered in 2006, there may be big changes concerning where they end up. The New Mexico Environmental Improvement Board is holding public hearings the first week in January on a plan to add regulations that protect communities of color and low-income communities from being overwhelmed by waste. Douglas Meiklejohn is with the New Mexico Environmental Law Center...

"Those types of facilities don't get put in upper-class Anglo neighborhoods because the political system doesn't allow that to happen."

Meiklejohn says the South Valley of Albuquerque is a good example of the inequity. It's largely low-income and Hispanic - and has three Superfund sites, two landfills and more than thirty hazardous waste facilities in the area.

Shannon Horst with the South Valley Coalition of Neighborhood Associations says dumps shouldn't end up in just one "backyard..."

"The impact should be distributed among the population. If everybody needs these facilities, then everybody should get to have the impact."

Robbie Rodriguez with the SouthWest Organizing Project says they support the proposal to limit the over-concentration of these kinds of facilities in low-income or minority communities...

"All New Mexicans, regardless of their race, ethnicity or income, has the right to live, work and play in a clean and healthy environment."

Editor's Note: Meiklejohn and the New Mexico Environmental Law Center are at 505-989-9022. Rodriguez and SWOP are at 505-247-8832. The meetings are scheduled to begin at 9:30 am on January 2 in room 317 at the State Capitol, and will run through January 5. The Environmental Improvement Board office is at 505-827-2425.

En Espanol...
NEW MEXICO NEWS SERVICE
Un servicio de noticias para todo el estado de Nuevo México
Teléfono: 888-471-1722 Fax: 303-253-8905 E-mail: nmns@publicnewsservice.org Los audio archivos se encuentran en: www.newsservice.org

Diciembre 30, 2005 - Enero 3, 2006
Año Nuevo, La Misma "Basura" de Antes para Nuevo México

Albuquerque, NM - Nuevo México encara nuevas reglas para los sitios de despojos - reglas que podrían proteger a las comunidades de bajos recursos para que no resulten como los basureros del estado. Comentarios de Douglas Meiklejohn asociado con El Centro de Leyes Ambientales de Nuevo México (New Mexico Environmental Law Center), Shannon Horst de la Coalición de Asociaciones de Barrios del Valle Sur (South Valley Coalition of Neighborhood Associations), y Robbie Rodríguez del Proyecto Organizador del Sur Oeste (SouthWest Organizing Project).

Es el "mejor tiempo del año" para los sitios de despojos de Nuevo México pues es cuando reciben las sobras de los días festivos. Y mientras nuevos sitios de despojos son considerados para 2006, podrían existir grandes cambios sobre donde quedarían. El Consejo de Reformas Ambientales de Nuevo México (New Mexico Environmental Improvement Board) estará llevando acabo audiencias públicas durante la primera semana de enero sobre el plan de agregar reglamentaciones que protegen a las comunidades de color y a las comunidades de bajos recursos para que no sean abatidas con despojos. Douglas Meiklejohn esta asociado con el Centro de Leyes Ambientales de Nuevo México...

"Ese tipo de facilidades no se colocan en los vecindarios de anglos de la clase alta porque el sistema político no lo permite."

Meiklejohn dice que el Valle del Sur de Albuqurque es un buen ejemplo de la injusticia. Es en su mayoría área de bajos recursos y área Hispana - y cuenta con tres sitios de sobre-fondos, dos basureros y más de treinta sitios para despojos peligrosos en el área.

Shannon Horst con la Coalición de Asociaciones de Barrios del Valle Sur señala que los basureros no deberían quedar en un solo "traspatio..."

"El impacto debería ser distribuido entre la población. Si todos requieren de estas facilidades, entonces todos deberían compartir el impacto."

Robbie Rodríguez asociado con el Proyecto Organizador del Sur Oeste dice que apoyan la proposición que pone límite en la sobre-concentración de este tipo de facilidades en comunidades de las minorías y de bajos recursos...

"Todo Nuevo Mexicano, no importando su raza, origen étnico o ingresos, tiene el derecho de vivir, trabajar y jugar en un ambiente limpio y saludable."
Puede comunicarse con Meiklejohn y el Centro de Leyes Ambientales de Nuevo México llamando al 505-989-9022. Rodríguez y SWOP están en 505-247-8832. Las reuniones están programadas para empezar a las 9:30 am el día 2 de enero en el salón 317 del Capitolio Estatal, y continuarán hasta el 5 de enero. El Consejo de Reformas Ambientales de Nuevo México se localiza llamando al 505-827-2425.

NEW MEXICO NEWS SERVICE
A statewide news service for New Mexico
Phone: 888-471-1722 Fax: 303-253-8905 E-mail: nmns@publicnewsservice.org

Sound files are available at: www.newsservice.org

December 19, 2005

Get-Tough Immigration Bill: New Fence for NM's Backyard

Albuquerque, NM - The U.S. House has voted to get tough on those who enter the country illegally - passing a bill that stiffens penalties for those caught in the country without papers. The bill also pays for a new fence in New Mexico's "backyard." Comments from Robby Rodriguez with the Southwest Organizing Project.

A new fence for New Mexico is one of the proposals approved by the U.S. House in a new "get tough" immigration bill. While many in New Mexico feel a physical barrier would stop border crossings, Robby Rodriguez with the Southwest Organizing Project says as long as U.S. companies put out the hiring sign for cheap labor, people will somehow get here ...

"As long as there's an economic push and pull between the U.S. and Latin American countries, we'll never be able to build a wall big or wide enough to satisfy Congress."

The U.S. House plan would also mean stiffer penalties for those caught in the U.S. without proper paperwork, and require employers to use an internet verification system to check workers' immigration status. The bill does not include the temporary worker program President Bush has supported, which would allow some of the estimated 11 million undocumented workers in the U.S. a pathway to legal status.

Rodriguez says a new fence along the border would use a barbaric method of control in a world of high technology...

"This proposal conjures up images of a 21st Century Berlin Wall."

Editor's Note: Rodriguez and the Southwest Organizing Project are at 505-247-8832

En Espanol...

Un servicio de noticias para todo el estado de Nuevo México

Teléfono: 888-471-1722 Fax: 303-253-8905 E-mail: nmns@publicnewsservice.org Los audio archivos se encuentran en: www.newsservice.org Su identificación de la cuenta en la red es: %%WAC%% Para grabar las realidades llame al 1-888-600-9800, Código de identificación: 21

Diciembre 19, 2005

El Proyecto de Ley Sobre La Inmigración Se Ponen Duro:

Una Nueva Cerca en el Traspatio de Nuevo México

Albuquerque, NM - La Cámara de Representantes de Estados Unidos ha votado para ponerse más duro con los que cruzan la frontera ilegalmente - aprobando el proyecto de ley que impone castigos mas rígidos para aquellos que son pescados sin papeles en este país. El proyecto de ley también proporciona los fondos para pagar por una nueva cerca en el "traspatio" de Nuevo México. Comentarios de Robby Rodríguez con la organización Southwest Organizing Project.

Una cerca nueva para Nuevo México es una de las propuestas aprobada por la Cámara de Representantes de Estados Unidos en cuanto a un proyecto mas rígido sobre la inmigración. Siempre que muchos en Nuevo México creen que una barrera física terminaría con el cruce de la frontera, Robby Rodríguez con la organización Southwest Organizing Project dice que mientras se sigan publicando los trabajos de clase obrera por las compañías estadounidenses, de una forma u otra la gente seguirá entrando...

"Mientras exista el empuje y jalón económico entre los Estados Unidos y los países Latinoamericanos, jamás podríamos construir una pared suficiente grande y ancha para satisfacer al Congreso."

El plan de la Cámara de Representantes de Estados Unidos también significaría multas mas rígidas para aquellos que son agarrados en los Estados Unidos sin tener sus propios papeles, y también requiere de parte de los empleadores el uso de un sistema electrónico de verificación para un chequeo del status inmigratorio del trabajador. El proyecto de ley no incluye el programa de trabajo temporal que era apoyado por el Presidente Bush, el cual abriría el camino a un estatus legal para muchos de los estimados 11 millones de trabajadores indocumentados ya en los Estados Unidos.

Rodríguez dice que una cerca nueva a lo largo de la frontera utilizaría un método bárbaro de control en un mundo de alta tecnología.

"Esta propuesta hace un ilusionismo de imágenes de una pared de Berlin del siglo 21."

Nota de la Editor: A comunicarse con Rodríguez y el Southwest Organizing Project llamando al 505-247-8832.

karlos says: Happy New Year, all.

A lot is happening around SWOP this January. Among other things, folks are getting ready for our 25th anniversary celebration, which will take place on January 21. That reminds me, there's still time to send in a solidarity statement ($30 for 20 words) for our 25th anniversary commemorative program and ad book.

• Jovenes Unidos, our cultural youth group, are preparing to perform at the event with plenty of rehearsals scheduled between now and then.
  

• This evening swop's anniversary committee will meet to discuss the final push.

• The history retrospective is still being put together, and folks are going through old documents, flyers, posters, images, photos, etc. (Email me if you want to participate.)
• The commemorative adbook is also being laid out - send me your ad requests through the above link!

Staff and volunteers are still organizing around issues too...

• Pajarito residents are turning up the pressure on state and local governments to afford the residents the basic services they so deserve. Meetings with state officials, county officials, lawyers, engineers and residents occur seemingly daily. (I'm really hoping to get a little more in depth report on this - the work is amazing.) There's also water rights negotiations taking place right now.
  
• Organizers were also gearing up around our solid waste work, until a hearing taking place this week was postponed. Testimony was to take place from communities (Wells Park, South Valley, etc.) affected by an overabundance of landfills in their neighborhood. The hearing was postponed after landfill administrators asked for it after the state environment department was slow in getting their paperwork together. The hearing will take place in May 2006.
  
• Youth organizers are meeting on a weekly basis to decide what to do for the year.
• Our economic justice campaign is also getting ready to come out with some workshops designed to make it easier for folks to understand taxes. There's also meetings with Bern. Co., orgs and others to come up with a comprehensive, accountable corporate tax and IRB program.
• Our participation in the state-wide fair wage legislation (raising the state's minimum wage to $7.50 an hour) is also amping up. We'll be targeting communities in ABQ and Eddy Co. with phone calls, door-to-door blockwalking, direct mail and some radio buys.
  

OK, I gotta' stop. Look back for more updates!