Archive
Saving San Clemente: Rick Collins
Rick Collins bought a home in San Clemente, California 17 years ago because it was a great place to open a business and raise a family.
In the past few years, however, he's been feeling differently.
Protecting Property Rights in California
For far too long, municipal governments have gotten away with trampling on private property rights by abusing the power of eminent domain. For a while, it looked like the same sad story would be repeated in National City, California, a predominantly Hispanic-American suburb of San Diego. But thanks to Jeff Rowes and the Institute for Justice, it seems this tale may have a much happier ending.
Citizens are busy in the "Live Free or Die" state. Find out what's going on in New Hampshire's state and local politics in this week's resource guide.
Bettering the Community: ViAnna Jordan
After serving 20 years in the military—during which travels took her to Korea, Italy, Turkey, Kuwait, and Iraq—ViAnna Jordan returned home to Milwaukee in January 2006 to settle down and take care of her recently deceased father's estate. What she discovered upon returning, however, did not make for a happy homecoming.
Sam Adams State Resource Guides are designed to help citizens get involved in their home state.
Are you a modern-day Sam Adams? Do you know how to get your message out about government accountability and transparency in your community? Local leaders, bloggers and video producers can enter for a chance to win cash prizes totaling $35,000!
Sam Adams Alliance Launches the Sammies
Prizes totaling $35,000 will be awarded to outstanding citizen leaders.
Action Toolkit Theatre- Pitch Your Blog
Do you have a blog and want to expand your readership? So does Chris, which is why he asks Jodi for a few tips from the Sam Adams Action Toolkit.
Get Sam's inside scoop on what's going on in New Mexico in this week's resource guide.
Bringing parents and taxpayers back into Michigan's school governance
Some of the worst abusers of taxpayer money and voter trust are also some of the least noticed. Local school boards frequently act as shadow governments in their cities and towns, sometimes raising taxes and spending money in near-total secrecy. This is why Kyle Olson of the new Michigan-based Education Action Group (EAG) has focused his efforts on shining a spotlight on his state's educational establishment.
Ben Joravsky Throws Lifeline to Chicago Taxpayers Drowning in $400 Million TIF Slush Fund
In the recent movie "Rescue Dawn," a U.S. fighter pilot struggles to survive after being shot down on a mission over Laos during the Vietnam War. In present-day Chicago, Ben Joravsky, a columnist for the Chicago Reader, jokes that his experience is similar—only instead of battling in the jungles of Laos, Joravsky is fighting to save apathetic Chicago citizens from a wildly corrupt Chicago city government.
Nevertheless, both are war zones.
Action Toolkit Theatre: "Write An Op-Ed"
In this week's video adventure, Sarah struggles to teach Richard how to write an op-ed/editorial to promote his "unique" political advocacy group.
Arizonans, rejoice! This week, Sam's got everything you need to get started in our latest resource guide - from the scoop on state spending (Did you know that the state government is spending $855 every second in fiscal year 2008?!) to which blogs have the latest buzz.
Putting the Brakes On Out-Of-Control Spending In Washington
In 1993, Washington State citizens set out to put a stop to out-of-control government spending, and passed a law that required their consent when politicians sought to raise taxes. Initiative 601 was a success for a while, but over the following fourteen years, legislators found certain loopholes and bypassed the people to impose heavier tax burdens on them and their businesses.
In 2007, however, a group of concerned Washington citizens aims to change that.
Presenting the Action Toolkit Theatre!
The Sam Adams Action Toolkit is a great collection of resources for you to use to make political change. Today we're launching a new series of web videos designed to communicate the tips in our Toolkit in a fun way. Check out today's video entitled "Spread the Word," and come back next week for another exciting installment of Action Toolkit Theatre!
