BOSTON/Boston Common - About 40 people from as far away as New Hampshire showed up on the Boston Common Saturday afternoon for a rally called by the new online activist network A New Way Forward. The event was focused on creating a local groundswell of support for a movement to partially nationalize large banks that organizers believe are responsible for the economic crisis - and was 1 of dozens of similar actions called in discussion groups on various social networking services and coordinated on the network's main website.

BOSTON/Government Center - When the Boston City Council convenes its regular weekly meeting today, Councilor Chuck Turner (G/R - District 7) says he will seek approval for public hearings to assess the degree of responsibility of “financial institutions” and “large-scale corporations” for the current local and national fiscal crisis. Turner and concerned activists hope the hearings will be the first step in a process of figuring out how corporations can assist in improving the financial well-being of Boston’s neighborhoods.

Cambridge, MA - VIDEO: Over 75 environmental and housing justice activists picketed Bank of America's Harvard Square branch on Tuesday, then blockaded the nearby Citibank for over an hour in protest of their role in the global financial crisis.