The March of Dimes aims to put the issue of premature births at the forefront this election season with its Petition for Preemies.

NEW YORK: The Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now (ACORN) said it created a communications "war room" to counter GOP accusations that the group seeks to register phony voters for Democratic nominee Sen. Barack Obama.

WASHINGTON: The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has enlisted two veteran communications professionals to help in the department's efforts during the current economic turmoil.

LOS ANGELES: Three Hollywood groups are using a new campaign to fight for equality for people with disabilities.

WASHINGTON: The US Postal Service (USPS) issued an RFP on October 2 for a contractor to provide strategic messaging services to the media, the general public, and postal employees. The deadline for proposals is November 5.

WASHINGTON: The FDA temporarily halted work September 29 on a $300,000 contract with an Alaska-based PR firm that had subcontracted with Qorvis Communications. The government agency is awaiting the findings of internal and independent reviews.

WASHINGTON: Four firms were awarded a contract to provide communications services to the US military forces in Iraq: Lincoln Group, Leonie Industries, SOS International, and L-3 Communications' MPRI.

WASHINGTON: The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), a division of the US Department of Health and Human Services, awarded Porter Novelli (PN) a nearly $6 million contract to develop and implement an awareness campaign for the 2009 Medicare Open Enrollment season.

NEW YORK: Financial services companies in good standing are aggressively communicating with customers and the media during this time of great economic uncertainty.

SAN FRANCISCO: The Family Violence Prevention Fund planned to launch a social media campaign today, September 19, in coordination with partner Macy's, to raise awareness about domestic violence. The group, which is working with Barkley for the effort, also hopes to increase funding for the nonprofit.