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| Protect our Children’s Health! Relocate Pure Casting! Build Affordable Housing! The Pure Casting facility (2110 E. 4th Street) is a polluter of heavy metals and uses hazardous chemicals in our East Austin neighborhood. Pure Casting is located right next to Zavala Elementary School and surrounded by homes. East Austin needs your support in protecting the health of our children and the residents that live in the area. It is crucial that we let the City Council and Pure Casting know that we will not allow children to be exposed to hazardous chemicals! The Pure Casting facility is an ideal location to build affordable housing. It is 30,152 sq. ft. of land. The City Council should use the Affordable Housing Bond money ($55 million) to purchase the site. This site abuts to the property owned by the City of Austin (the Brown Building on Chicon & E. 4th Street). Call you Mayor Will Wynn Council members at 974-2250. Let’s keep our children safe from harmful chemicals. Download this letter that PODER sent to the Mayor and City Council Members. Please send a letter from your group, neighborhood association or you as an individual to your city council members. Help us to protect the health of our children. Also, please join PODER and area residents at the Bond Oversight Committee Meeting on Thursday, February 5th, 2009 at 8:00 am at City Hall. PODER is recommending that some of the $10.9 million Affordable Housing Bond money be used to purchase the current Pure Casting site and to build the needed affordable housing. |
On Wednesday, the day after President Barack Obama’s inauguration, members of
the Austin and San Antonio communities joined in a national day of action to tell the
incoming administration that we are still hoping for real change we can believe in with
a rally at the Immigration and Customs Enforcement office in San Antonio.
Rally participants recognize this as a historic moment of change and are asking
President Obama for support and action during his first 100 days of his presidency to:
1) End the family detention policy
2) End immigration raids
3) End Operation Streamline
4) End construction of the border wall and
5) End ICE-local law enforcement collaboration.
the Austin and San Antonio communities joined in a national day of action to tell the
incoming administration that we are still hoping for real change we can believe in with
a rally at the Immigration and Customs Enforcement office in San Antonio.
Rally participants recognize this as a historic moment of change and are asking
President Obama for support and action during his first 100 days of his presidency to:
1) End the family detention policy
2) End immigration raids
3) End Operation Streamline
4) End construction of the border wall and
5) End ICE-local law enforcement collaboration.
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| Protesting Anti-Immigrant Policies - San Antonio, Texas ICE Office |
| Cesar E. Chavez "Si Se Puede!" March and Rally held on Saturday, March 28th |
| Cesar E. Chavez is one of the most important leaders of the 20th century. His legacy of workers rights, civil rights, environmental justice, equality for all, peace, non-violence, children and women's rights, deserves national recognition. Cesar Chavez inspired millions of people across the country of all races and nationalities to engage in social & economic justice for farm workers. His life work to empower the poor & disenfranchised is a model for all. |
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| Oak Springs Trail Building Thanks Austin Bible! |
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| PODER's Young Scholars for Justice 2009 |
| PODER's Young Scholars for Justice (YSJ) held a protest at the Pure Casting Facility, located at 2110 E. 4th Street on June 10th, 2009. Afterwards the YSJ went door-to-door distributing information to area residents on how to file a complaint with the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) if area residents are exposed to odor, dust, and/or noise pollution from the Pure Casting Facility. |
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| 7th Annual Festival de las Plantas Traditional healing and practical uses of medicinal plants |
| Download PODER's Newsletter: Xinachtli Fall 2009 (pdf format) |
| Patagonia in Austin held their “Vote Your Choice” Environmental Campaign in October and PODER competed with 2 other local environmental organizations for the chance to win $2,500! PODER won the second prize of $1,500 from Patagonia. PODER thanks all of you for your vote and support. |
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| PODER is now accepting digital donations through secure PayPal! |
| Cesar E. Chavez "Si Se Puede!" March |
| Saturday March 27th, 2010 |
| Cesar E. Chavez is one of the most important leader of the 20th century. His legacy of workers rights, civil rights, environmental justice, equality for all, peace, non-violence, children and women's rights, deserves national recognition. Cesar Chavez inspired millions of people across the country of all races and nationalities to engage in social & economic justice for farm workers. |
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| Tanks But No Tanks |
| The 1992 campaign to close the fuel storage facilities in East Austin, known as the “Tank Farm,” was an issue that brought grassroots empowerment and bridged east and west Austin environmentalists. PODER would like to thank all our supporters for attending our 18th Anniversary of the Tank Farm Closure. We would also like to send an extra special thank you to our volunteers! |
| Photo Credit - Rene Renteria |
| Mother Earth Day Celebration Thursday April 22, 2010 PODER — 2604 E. Cesar Chavez St. |
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| Box Gardens In search for community sustainability, PODER is empowering community members with Box Garden Demonstrations. Box Gardens are simple, unique and versatile system that adapt to all levels of experience, physical ability, and geographic location. Residents will have the option to fill their box garden with beautiful/medicinal flowers, herbs and/or luscious vegetables. |
| Property Tax Protest Community Workshops |
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| Thursday, May 20th, 2010 Metz Recreation Center 2407 Canterbury Street |
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| PODER’s YSJ Gabriel Padilla Wins EPA Video Contest Gabriel Padilla, one of PODER’s Young Scholars for Justice, was recently awarded the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)’s, “Faces of the Grassroots” video contest. This contest challenged amateur and professional filmmakers to create videos that capture the faces of the environmental justice movement. The “Faces of the Grassroots” contest is an opportunity to publicly exhibit creativity with environmental justice stories and connect with others working to raise awareness of the movement. Gabriel’s video focused on PODER’s success in shutting down the Holly Street Power Plant in 2007, and the importance of grassroots organizing through health surveys, protests, and leadership development. PODER would like to thank Gabriel Padilla for his dedication in capturing PODER’s history and for submitting his creative video to the EPA. We are very proud and grateful! Gabriel’s video can be seen on youtube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sWIIVhrS664 |
