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The “Candle on the Bluff Awards” honor of Dr. King and award recipients are chosen for their contributions to Memphis society in the areas of religion, business, and service. Other 2009 honorees include Art Gilliam, the first African-American to own a Memphis radio station (WLOK), and Rev. Keith Norman, Pastor of First Baptist Church-Broad and Chairman of the Shelby County Democratic Party.

Nationwide, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act provides $13 billion in Title I funds, which helps low-income students, and $13.5 billion in IDEA funds, which helps students with disabilities. This is the first of two installments of direct funding for Title I and IDEA programs that for school districts will receive under President Obama’s American Recovery and Reinvestment Act; the second installment of funds will be released to districts in the fall of this year.

“I am proud to bring my Chairman Conyers back to the 9th District,” said Congressman Cohen. “In addition to being one of the finest legislators in the history of the Congress, he has been my mentor in the House of Representatives and I owe a great deal of my early successes to his guidance. I always enjoy bringing him to Memphis because he loves our city and is so revered by so many people in the 9th District. He has been the face of the modern civil rights movement in Congress, and I can think of no one better to commemorate April 4th with us than Chairman Conyers.”

The bill, entitled "The Accountability In Deferred Prosecution Act of 2009," would regulate the process employed by the Justice Department that now allows U.S. Attorneys "unyielding and absolute" power in determining when to use deferred prosecutions, the terms and conditions of the agreements and the selection of outside monitors for lucrative contracts.

Today, Congressman Steve Cohen (TN-09) participated in a conference call with members of the media along with Congressman Jim Cooper (TN-05) and Ron Pollack, Executive Director of Families USA, as part of Family USA’s rollout of the new report.

“I was very pleased to accept this award on behalf of the 12,541 supporters of the Humane Society in the 9th District,” said Congressman Cohen. “Animal rights has always been one of my highest priorities as a legislator, and I’ve worked hard in the U.S. Congress to pass laws that protect and respect animals.”

“I was very pleased to accept this award on behalf of the 12,541 supporters of the Humane Society in the 9th District,” said Congressman Cohen. “Animal rights has always been one of my highest priorities as a legislator, and I’ve worked hard in the U.S. Congress to pass laws that protect and respect animals.”