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Three US Marshal task force officers killed in NC shootout; MA municipalities aim to lower the voting age for local elections; breaking barriers for health equity with nutritional strategies; "Product of USA" label for meat items could carry more weight under the new rule.

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Big Pharma uses red meat rhetoric in a fight over drug costs. A school shooting mother opposes guns for teachers. Campus protests against the Gaza war continue, and activists decry the killing of reporters there.

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More rural working-age people are dying young compared to their urban counterparts, the internet was a lifesaver for rural students during the pandemic but the connection has been broken for many, and conservationists believe a new rule governing public lands will protect them for future generations.

AZ Union Leader: Little to Celebrate This Labor Day

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Monday, August 30, 2010   

PHOENIX, Ariz. - As Labor Day weekend approaches, Arizona State AFL-CIO executive director Rebekah Friend sees few reasons for Arizona workers to celebrate. Friend says unemployment remains high, with jobs continuing to disappear. And beyond federal stimulus programs, she sees little on the horizon to change the situation. Friend considers the state's political climate to be part of the problem.

"Certainly the tourism industry here has reported losses. Our union hotels have reported losses in bookings for conventions and large meetings, based on their recent activity over SB 1070."

Last week, Gov. Brewer announced the state has received another $26 million in federal stimulus money for home weatherization. The governor also awarded $16 million in stimulus grants for energy projects and public safety.

Friend is convinced that the federal stimulus program has helped by recently creating more than 11,000 Arizona jobs. But she says it's not enough, and needs to be expanded.

"I would call it a small success, but it's only the first step in trying to restore a broken economy. More needs to be done."

Friend says she understands the argument that stimulus spending is creating more debt, but she points out that wealth is also created.

"When you create a job, that puts money back into the economy, because people then begin to pay their home mortgages and buy groceries, and buy gasoline and buy goods for their families and pay their doctor bills."

Friend says spending stimulus dollars on projects like solar energy plants and rebuilding crumbling roads and bridges will create good jobs now, and will continue to benefit the state many years after the recession is over.



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