On November 2nd in Los Angeles, the CPUC will examine how diversity will shape the Green Economy. Speakers include Assembly Speaker Karen Bass; CEOs of major industries; and Greenlining’s managing attorney, Sam Kang.

American Banker
By Jorge Corralejo and Claudia Viek

Credit to small businesses has been substantially curtailed since 2008, yet these businesses are far more responsible for domestic job creation than the banking industry or corporate America as a whole.

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American Banker
By Orson Aguilar – Executive Director, The Greenlining Institute

Correction: An earlier version of this story misstated the total amount of combined Tarp funds received by Citigroup, Bank of America, JPMorgan Chase and Goldman Sachs. It is $105 billion.

It’s sad, but not much has changed since corporate greed and malfeasance nearly caused our economy to collapse. The Federal Reserve Bank of New York, assigned the job of protecting banking customers, recently named two CEOs, including Jeffrey Kindler of Pfizer, to fill their public interest positions. One must wonder why the Fed could not find qualified directors, with proven track records of public advocacy, to serve the public good. Pfizer, a so-called leader in serving the public good, was recently fined a record $2.3 billion by the Justice Department for fraudulent marketing of drugs. Among the many allegations, Pfizer paid kickbacks to health-care providers to induce them to prescribe drugs for uses not approved by the Food and Drug Administration.

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Joshua Arce (Brightline) 415-252-9700
Samuel Kang (Greenlining) 510-926-4004

Thirty Percent Low-Income Community Workforce Unparalled In Green Sector, Start Date In November

October 14, 2009, San Francisco, CA—There will be no better case study on the potential for green jobs to create a pathway out of poverty than when San Francisco’s 5-megawatt, 25,000-panel Sunset Reservoir solar project breaks ground this November.  In April of this year, San Francisco’s CityBuild program began working with San Francisco-based Recurrent Energy to channel green jobs advocates’ and city policymakers’ desire to see no less than 30% of the project’s workforce drawn from the city’s most underserved and unemployed neighborhoods.  CityBuild and San Francisco community-based organizations will soon begin the process of recruiting qualified economically disadvantaged residents who have been trained in a variety of skills, including solar installation, in an effort to revitalize the city’s most vulnerable communities.

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Leadership Academy:
Meet the New Class of 2009 Academy Fellows
The leaders of tomorrow are here today!  Greenlining proudly welcomes the fellow’s class of 2009.  Read bios here.

Now Accepting Applications for 2010 Academy Programs
The Academy Promotes leadership in students who want hands-on public policy and advocacy experience and provides opportunities for them to acquire skills and build vital social networks that will enhance their effectiveness as future leaders.
Click here to learn more.

Our Democracy:
Line Up California! Draw the Lines for a Diverse Democracy
Last year voters passed Proposition 11, the California Voters FIRST Act, which calls for the creation of a new Citizens Redistricting Commission. The Greenlining Institute is working to ensure that this powerful commission reflects the diversity found throughout our state. Click here to apply and learn more.

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BYLINE: Stacy Kaper

WASHINGTON – The drive to revamp the regulatory system could breathe new life into a long-simmering effort to modernize the Community Reinvestment Act.

Advocates who have long sought to expand and deepen the 32-year-old law that requires banks to serve low- and moderate-income borrowers in the markets where they take deposits argue that the time has come to broaden its application to nonbank lenders and credit unions and to add disclosure requirements.

Though critics of the law, including many Republicans who claim it helped fuel the financial crisis, are expected to remain opposed, most observers said the odds in favor of some kind of action are growing.

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Orson Aguilar

Testimony of Orson Aguilar
Executive Director The Greenlining Institute
Hearing of the House Financial Services Committee:

September 16, 2009
“Proposals to Enhance the Community Reinvestment Act”

Introduction

The Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) has helped expand economic opportunities for millions of Americans.  For many families, CRA has made the American Dream possible by ensuring that loans for homes, small businesses, and other opportunities for asset building are available and accessible to all communities.

Banks have also benefited from CRA.   Many banks have found new and profitable markets in communities that they might have otherwise overlooked.

In essence, CRA has led to win-win opportunities where banks, customers, and communities have benefited from increased bank investments in underserved communities.  CRA has worked best where true partnerships have formed between banks, community-based organizations, and government agencies.

Overall, CRA has advanced the principles of an ownership society by creating opportunities where people and families can create and own assets. Still, CRA is not perfect.  Despite CRA’s track record of success, more can and should be done to invest in America’s neighborhoods.

As we speak today, too many families are losing their homes and too many small businesses are shutting down.  Too many neighborhoods are decaying due to crime and abandonment.  While CRA is not a sole panacea for addressing these ills, a modernized CRA can do much to advance the economic growth that can alleviate problems at their source and improve life and opportunity in all communities.

Click here to download the full six page testimony (PDF)

Click here to watch a video of this testimony (Windows Media Player)

MEDIA CONTACT: Bailey Gilchrist
202-534-1720

78 percent of Americans see pharmaceutical industry deals as harmful

Berkley, CA– Monday September 14, 2009 – The Greenlining Institute today reacted to a survey conducted by the Lombardo Consulting Group which shows that Americans are losing confidence in the health care reform process.  The national poll found that an overwhelming number of poll respondents believe that “side deals” between Washington decision makers and the pharmaceutical industry have “seriously compromised efforts to enact real reform of the healthcare system.”

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By Len Canty and Orson Aguilar | OW Contributors

With reports that only 9% of eligible loans being modified, families across the country are beginning to lose hope that President Obama’s Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP) will help them remain in their homes.

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ABC 7 Profiles The Greenlining Leadership Academy
For the past 21 years, through their Profiles in Excellence series, ABC 7 has featured Bay Area residents and organizations that have made important contributions to the community.  Orson Aguilar and the Greenlining Leadership Academy took center stage in ABC’s July episode of Profiles of Excellence.  Watch video here.

Let Steinberg Know:  Anti-Consumer Commissioner Chong Should be Rejected
Greenlining met with every member of the Senate Rules Committee on August 18th urging them to reject Rachelle Chong’s nomination to the California Public Utilities Commission.  Read article here.

Support AB 1405: The AB 32 Community Benefit Fund
AB1405, the Community Benefit Fund, co-sponsored by The Greenlining Institute, Coalition for Clean Air, NAACP and Race Poverty and The Environment needs your support!  This legislation acts to ensure that dollars coming through proposed carbon mechanisms (billions a year potentially) have specific set aside for disadvantaged communities. Read AB1405 PDF here and find draft support letter here.

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