kofrakidriphedruviclokapijatrahavechihebrisoclarobustutholirudruswuchothobresegowutr

April 11, 2006 - Good news from Little Rock. Gov. Mike Huckabee signed legislation raising the state minimum wage to $6.25 per hour effective October 1st.

April 10, 2006 - Besides the high number of new immigrants arriving in Southern states, another reason for the big protests in the region this week are a wave of bills cracking down on immigrants in state legislatures.

April 10, 2006 - The New York Times has a revealing story today about Gaffney, South Carolina -- for all who have driven down I-85 through upstate SC, it's home of the famous "Gaffney Peach" -- and how residents are embracing a nuclear power as a possible boon for the economy:

April 10, 2006 - Reports from immigrant rights protests around the South keep rolling in. These are the official estimates: 3,500 in Columbia, South Carolina ... 50,000 predicted in Atlanta ...

April 10, 2006 - "There is a new Latino labor force all over the South that will be the foundation of the next civil rights movement in the U.S. -- a movement that is going to have a brown face."- Baldemar Velasquez, leader of Farm Labor Organizing Committee, in Southern Exposure magazine, 1999Across the country, the faces of the new civil rights movement are pouring out. And with the Southern states experiencing some of the fastest growth in Latino and new immigrant populations, it's no surprise that the movement is exploding in the South. The Associated Press dispatched this news an hour ago:

April 7, 2006 - In the wake of her capitol run-in with the law, Rep. Cynthia McKinney (D-GA) has taken a new tack, reports ABC News:

April 7, 2006 - Blogging from Washington, D.C. after a strategy meeting with Good Jobs First, an excellent group tracking corporate subsidies and alternative ways of stimulating economic development.