NEWSPOVERTY IN THE MEDIA

For Vera Johnson, fighting foreclosure isn't just about keeping her home. It's about keeping her job. Vera runs a thriving nursery business on her property in Seattle. Recently divorced and raising two kids, Vera needs this job to provide for her family.

Last week, Vera was scheduled to have, what she thought would be, a fairly productive meeting with Bank of America to discuss the final steps of her loan modification application. She also planned to deliver 10,000 Change.org signatures to Bank of America representatives.

Instead, Vera was met with some rather hostile and just plain over-the-top security measures.

As a member of the National Guard, Gwendolyn Lindsay-Jackson responded to the attack on September, 11, 2001. As a lawyer, she brought legal services directly to those who were helping to clean up and rescue survivors after the disaster. "Maj. Jackson and fellow attorney Maj. Alexander Selkirk of New York staffed the temporary field headquarters for the Judge Advocate General's (JAG) Corps. section of the Headquarters Aviation Brigade, 42nd Infantry Division U.S. Army, a National Guard unit," wrote the Judiciary Times of her service.

When she heard that Rupert Murdoch's News Corp. may have been hacking into the telephones and voicemail accounts of 9/11 victims, she was outraged. These allegations come on the heels of a related scandal. News of the World, a tabloid owned by News Corp., hacked into a young murder victims phone to get inside information, allegedly going so far as to erase old voicemails to make room for new ones.

With Lindsay-Jackson's personal connection to 9/11, she decided to start a petition here on change.org calling for a congressional investigation and for the Federal Communication Commission (FCC) to revoke the license of News Corp. if it continues to violate people's privacy. "The British government is investigating and now the Australians are also calling for an investigation of Murdoch's papers there. Americans also need to know whether our privacy was violated by Murdoch reporters searching for a good scoop to sell news," explains the petition.

If you, too, are disturbed by News Corp.'s abuses, you can help by signing Lindsay-Jackson's petition. News outlets can't simply disregard our privacy in the search for sensational stories. Tell Congress they must investigate News Corp. Tell the FCC they need to take away News Corp.'s license if they continue to break the law. We need to know if laws were broken. We need to know whose privacy was compromised. We need to stop those responsible. Sign the petition now.

Photo Credit: TVLegalNews.com

It has taken some time, but after close to 8,000 of you signed the petition, Gainesville officials are finally listening!

As we have written, Gainesville officials have enforced a meal limit ordinance to area soup kitchens. The rule states that soup kitchens can provide meals to only 130 people each day. If you are number 131, you do not eat that day. No exceptions.

We also wrote that Kent Vann, Executive Director of the St. Francis House soup kitchen at the heart of this debate, recently made an appeal to officials. His goal was to change the wording of the ordinance to reflect a limit on the time the soup kitchen can serve food, not a limit on number of people.

It looks like Mr. Vann's creative activism has proven successful!

Advocates continue to fight for the 30 percent rent cap bill to aid New Yorkers living with HIV/AIDS.

This vital piece of legislation would provide housing assistance for thousands of low-income New Yorkers living with HIV/AIDS.

This same bill was vetoed last year by then Gov. Paterson after it passed both the state Assembly and Senate. On March 11, the bill was formally re-introduced because New York now has a new Governor.

As we reported last month, previous New York State Governor Paterson vetoed a bill that would have provided additional rental assistance to residents who are living with HIV/AIDS. The legislation would have put a cap on rent paid by HIV+ persons based on a percentage of their income. Now New York has a new Governor, Andrew Cuomo, and activists are hopeful he will prove to be more sympathetic to the needs of HIV+ New Yorkers. They are hopeful this bill will finally be passed.

As we discussed in the original post, HIV management cannot exist without people having their basic needs met, especially housing.

Poverty in America is pleased to announce a quick victory in the fight against myths and discrimination towards the homeless!

On March 10, it was reported that New Hampshire's State Representative Martin Harty, a Republican, suggested that individuals with mental disabilities and the homeless should be sent to Siberia. He claims he was making a joke. No one was laughing.

State Rep. Harty made these comments to a woman over the phone who had called to discuss his state's homeless population. She was in support of providing services and financial support. He obviously is not. These were his words:

Well that didn't take long. Two weeks after a sprawling City Limits article asked if a living wage law could be the next New York City council "battleground," and one week after the launch of a petition urging Council Speaker Christine Quinn to support such legislation, Quinn has said that the Fair Wages for New Yorkers Act will get a City Council hearing in April.

This doesn't necessarily mean the bill will come up for a vote in April, but at least the issue will get some attention. It's an important step in the process. "We are looking at April for a hearing, though no specific date has been set," Quinn spokesperson Maria Alvarado told the Daily News, adding that Quinn has "not yet taken a position on the issue."

The battle continues in Gainesville, Florida to overturn an inhumane 130-meal-limit at local soup kitchens. Advocates have been fighting for months and show no signs of backing down until this ordinance is abolished.

One local group that has been very active in this cause is the Coalition to End the Meal Limit Now! They recently organized a protest outside the mayor's annual State-of-the-City speech event and they presented city officials with a mock-Oscar award for "Best Fantasy." Now that's creative activism!

Change.org members have also come out in large numbers in support of this cause. We continue to tell Gainesville officials that this is inhumane and just plain wrong. To date, the petition has close to 6,000 signatures.

While the meal limit remains in place, it seems some local political hopefuls are gaining sympathy for the cause. Three city commission seats are up for grabs in a March 15 election. Thirteen people are vying for the positions, and four of them have spoken out against the meal limit.

Activists continue to voice their demand for housing assistance for HIV+ New Yorkers.

As we reported, former New York State Governor Paterson vetoed a bill that would have provided additional rental assistance to residents who are living with HIV/AIDS. The legislation would have put a cap on rent paid by HIV+ persons based on a percentage of their income.

But now New York has a new Governor, Andrew Cuomo, who has demonstrated some empathy towards the needs of people living with HIV/AIDS. Activists are optimistic that this bill will finally be passed.

The heated debate in Gainesville, Florida continues.

As this cause has reported, Gainesville officials have enforced a meal limit ordinance to area soup kitchens. The rule states that soup kitchens can provide meals to only 130 people. If you are number 131, you do not eat. It is as simple and crude as that.

This story has garnered attention from activists and media around the country. There is collective outrage and disgust at this petty and inhumane limit. Yet, the rule remains. There has been little to no movement from Gainesville officials.

In the hope of making some positive movement in eradicating the limit, Kent Vann, Executive Director of the St. Francis House soup kitchen at the heart of this debate, recently made an appeal to officials.