The Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now has a remarkable record of grassroots anti-poverty and community development campaigns, writes David Morris.
Following the September 14th Senate vote to deny HUD funding to ACORN, David Morris defends the organization and its 50-year history of effective action on behalf of poor Americans:
"ACORN is one of the few grassroots neighborhood organizations capable of wielding power on a national scale....ACORN's bottom-up and coordinated structure has enabled it to confront national corporations in a way few other organizations can. When Reagan and the first President Bush's regulators failed to enforce the Community Reinvestment Act, ACORN and other groups conducted their own studies. They identified banks with patterns of discriminatory lending, exposed these practices to the media and then demanded regulators do their jobs. ACORN's provision of services has also enabled it to see national problems before they become national problems. Its mortgage counseling for lower-income households led it to sound the alarm about an industry that was manipulating families into taking out risky loans."
FULL STORY: ACORN: The Most Cost-Effective Investment the Government (and Foundations) Have Ever Made

Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.

Chicago’s Ghost Rails
Just beneath the surface of the modern city lie the remnants of its expansive early 20th-century streetcar system.

Amtrak Cutting Jobs, Funding to High-Speed Rail
The agency plans to cut 10 percent of its workforce and has confirmed it will not fund new high-speed rail projects.

Ohio Forces Data Centers to Prepay for Power
Utilities are calling on states to hold data center operators responsible for new energy demands to prevent leaving consumers on the hook for their bills.

MARTA CEO Steps Down Amid Citizenship Concerns
MARTA’s board announced Thursday that its chief, who is from Canada, is resigning due to questions about his immigration status.

Silicon Valley ‘Bike Superhighway’ Awarded $14M State Grant
A Caltrans grant brings the 10-mile Central Bikeway project connecting Santa Clara and East San Jose closer to fruition.
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