- 05/24/2017 by Linda Perry (WBAI News)

Trump's $4.1 trillion 2018 Budget boosts the Military budget at the expense of benefit programs from healthcare to SNAP, the food stamp program. "Donald Trump's budget is a travesty," says Joel Berg with the Coalition Against Hunger. "It will make America hungrier, sicker poorer." Berg stands at City Hall on Wednesday along with representatives from Soup Kitchens, Food Pantries, the NYC Food Bank and New York City Council Members on the need for $22 million for the city's EPAP, emergency food program, instead of the $11 million Mayor de Blasio has allocated. 14 million NYC residents per year depend on food from food pantries and soup kitchens which rely on EPAP to help meet their needs. 

 -You many have heard about advertisers pulling out of the New York City Puerto Rican Day Parade: Coca-Cola, AT&T, JetBlue and Goya Foods. The NYPD Police Commissioner won’t march and the New York Yankees say they won't participate. According to NYC Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito pressure on the sponsors to withdraw "is being manipulated, organized and orchestrated from an ultra right wing element on the Island."  She says the Right Wing Statehood Party is threatened by what the parade represents in honoring Puerto Rico nationalist hero, Oscar Lopez. The June 11th NYC Parade is on the same day as a referendum in Puerto Rico on the political future of the Island.  

-SEIU members had cause to celebrate at City Hall. The NYC Council passed a Fair work Week legislation package to help fast food and retail workers in NYC win advance notice, stable schedules and a pathway to full time hours.

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