Official Publication of the National League of Cities OFFICIAL PUBLICATION OF THE NATIONAL LEAGUE OF CITIES
NATION’S CITIES WEEKLY
Volume 35, Number 8 | February 27, 2012
IN THIS ISSUE
www.nlc.org
PAGE 3
PAGE 4
Jackson, Mich., Seeks to Eliminate
Blight, Vacant Properties
PAGE 5
Emerging Issues: Some People are More
Equal than Others
PAGE 6
CDBG-DR Money to Drive Long-Term
Recovery in Tuscaloosa, AL
LaHood, Solis to Speak at Congressional City Conference
by Leslie Wollack and
Cyndy Liedtke Hogan
Transportation Secretary
Raymond H. “Ray” LaHood
and Secretary of Labor Hilda
Solis have agreed to speak to
local officials at NLC’s upcoming
Congressional City Conference
in Washington, D.C., during
a general session on Monday,
March 12.
LaHood is expected to offer
his insights on efforts underway
to reauthorize the federal surface
transportation program, as well
as tools to finance transportation
infrastructure. Solis is expected to
speak about the Administration’s
views on how to accelerate
economic growth and reduce
unemployment, as well as the
Department of Labor’s approach
to reauthorizing the Workforce
Investment Act.
LaHood will address local
officials as Congress continues
to wrangle over reauthorization
of the nation’s surface transpor-
tation programs. The current
federal transportation program
expires on March 31. The House
and Senate are debating very
different versions of long-term
Hilda Solis
legislation for the program. (See
related story, page 3.)
Solis’ speech will also be time-
ly, as job creation and the unem-
ployment rate are big issues for
the nation, the Administration
and cities and towns.
Secretary LaHood
Serving his seventh term
representing the 18th District
of Illinois, LaHood was among
the first officials named to the
Obama Administration. He
pledged to bring Obama’s pri-
Ray LaHood
orities to the department and see
them effectively implemented
with a commitment to fairness
across regional and party lines and
between people who come to the
issues with different perspectives.
Secretary LaHood’s primary
goals in implementing President
Obama’s priorities for transpor-
tation include safety across all
modes, restoring economic health
and creating jobs and sustain-
ability, as well as shaping the
economy of the coming decades
by building new transportation
infrastructure and assuring that
transportation policies focus on
people and communities who use
the transportation system.
Secretary Solis
Solis was confirmed as
Secretary of Labor on February
24, 2009. Prior to becoming
Secretary of Labor, Secretary
Solis represented the 32nd
Congressional District in
California from 2001 – 2009.
In Congress, Solis’ priorities
included expanding access to
affordable health care, protecting
the environment and improving
the lives of working families. A
recognized leader on clean ener-
gy jobs, she authored the Green
Jobs Act, which provided fund-
ing for “green collar” job train-
ing for veterans, displaced work-
ers, at-risk youth and individuals
in families under 200 percent of
the federal poverty line.
A nationally recognized lead-
er on the environment, Solis
became the first woman to
receive the John F. Kennedy
Profile in Courage Award in
2000 for her pioneering work
on environmental justice issues.
Her California environmental
justice legislation, enacted in
1999, was the first of its kind in
the nation to become law.
Solis was first elected to pub-
lic office in 1985 as a member
of the Rio Hondo Community
see page 8, column 4
Public Safety Receives Funding,
Spectrum for Nationwide Network
by Mitchel Herckis
Newspaper Handling
When Congress passed the payroll
tax cut extension and the President
signed it into law earlier this month,
they paved the way for the creation of
a nationwide public safety broadband
network. Once fully implemented, the
network will provide first responders
across the nation with access to mod-
ern technologies most commercial cus-
tomers take for granted. This not only
means the ability to share pictures
and videos in real time, but also the
creation of applications that will allow
for more effective and efficient use of
public safety resources.
“Our nation’s cities and towns thank Congress for
providing us the spectrum, resources and frame-
work for a public safety communications network.”
— NLC President Ted Ellis, mayor of Bluffton, Ind.
“Our nation’s cities and towns
thank Congress for providing us the
spectrum, resources and framework
for a public safety communications
network,” NLC President Ted Ellis,
mayor of Bluffton, Ind., said in a
statement following the bill’s passage.
“We also thank the White House and
Federal Communications Commission
for joining us in making it a national
priority. Bipartisan agreements are
rare and we commend both parties for
their support.”
The nationwide network will also
solve a problem that has been loom-
ing since the September 11, 2001,
attacks — how to ensure police and
see page 8, column 1
