ASSEMBLYWOMAN LIEBER, SAN JOSÉ STATE STUDENTS & FACULTY ANNOUNCE PUBLIC HEARING ON POST-KATRINA CONDITIONS: IMPLICATIONS FOR OUR NATION AND CALIFORNIA

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 8, 2007
For More Information, Contact :Harry Adams at (408) 277-2003

ASSEMBLYWOMAN LIEBER, SAN JOSÉ STATE STUDENTS & FACULTY ANNOUNCE PUBLIC HEARING ON POST-KATRINA CONDITIONS: IMPLICATIONS FOR OUR NATION AND CALIFORNIA

(Sacramento, CA) – Assemblywoman Sally J. Lieber (D-San Jose) today announced that she is convening a 'Public Hearing on Post-Katrina Conditions'. The other sponsors of the hearing are the San Jose State University Chapter of the Gulf Coast Civic Works Project and San José State Sociology Department, Community Change Concentration.

Other co-sponsors include State Senator Ellen Corbett, Assemblymember John Laird, Assemblymember Ira Ruskin and Community Homeless Alliance Ministry.

The hearing will be held on: Friday, March 16, 2:00-4:00 p.m.
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Library, Room 229150 E. San Fernando Street, San Jose

The purpose of the event is to hear from San José State students and faculty who traveled to the Gulf Coast region in January to speak with residents about post-Katrina recovery efforts.

Twenty-five SJSU students joined over 100 other students from 15 colleges and universities as part of "Louisiana Winter", a component of the Gulf Coast Civic Works Project. The Project was initiated by Professor Scott Myers- Lipton and SJSU students to raise awareness of the continuing crisis and neglect in the region.

Professor Myers-Lipton notes that, "We were angered about what we saw and heard in Louisiana and Mississippi. The lack of rebuilding was stunning. We're calling for federal legislation, the Gulf Coast Civic Works Project, to create 100,000 jobs for residents to rebuild their lives and communities."

Assemblywoman Lieber, Speaker Pro Tempore of the California State Assembly, is sponsoring the hearing because, "We need to hear and learn from the experiences of the Gulf Coast residents. I'm proud and inspired by the commitment of the San José State students. They are serving as the voices of the residents and consciences of our nation The Katrina tragedy sounds a cautionary note for the ability of all levels of government to respond in times of great emergency."

The Louisiana Winter visit and this hearing are only two aspects of the Gulf Coast Civic Works Project campaign. The San José State students are sponsoring a "National Post-Katrina College Summit" the week of April 9-14. Summits are being held on college campuses throughout the country.

Tasha Easton, a SJSU student organizer, recently stated, "We are the richest nation in the world; yet we continue to have Americans from the Gulf Coast deprived of shelter, employment, and the faith of their government. The Post-Katrina College Summit is part of our campaign to change this." ###