Podcasts about Community Development Block Grant

CTL Script/ Top Stories of October 17th Publish Date: October 17th   Pre-Roll: From the Ingles Studio Welcome to the Award-Winning Cherokee Tribune Ledger Podcast  Today is Friday, October 17th and Happy Birthday to Alan Jackson I’m Peyton Spurlock and here are the stories Cherokee is talking about, presented by Times Journal Woodstock's Dupree Road Trail to be completed in December Traffic stop in Canton for speeding results in weapon and drug charges Publix shopping center coming to Woodstock in 2026 Plus, Leah McGrath from Ingles Markets on grass fed beef We’ll have all this and more coming up on the Cherokee Tribune-Ledger Podcast, and if you’re looking for Community news, we encourage you to listen and subscribe!  Commercial: Ingles Markets 8 STORY 1: Woodstock's Dupree Road Trail to be completed in December Woodstock is finally moving forward with the Dupree Road Trail, a project that’s about way more than just sidewalks. Construction is set to wrap up by Dec. 17, adding 1,500 feet of new trail and sidewalk to connect Market Street to the east side of the I-575 bridge. The $397,655 project, funded partly by a Community Development Block Grant, will make a real difference for residents in low- to moderate-income neighborhoods—folks who rely on walking to get to work, school, or even the grocery store. STORY 2: Traffic stop in Canton for speeding results in weapon and drug charges A Florida man’s road trip to Kentucky took a sharp detour in Canton—straight to jail. Around 12:15 p.m. on Oct. 11, a Canton officer spotted a 2001 Toyota Camry speeding and weaving on I-575. The driver, Angel Alexis Acevedo, pulled into an abandoned gas station after the officer attempted a stop. The officer smelled marijuana, spotted a bong, and a search revealed a pound of weed, THC products, a Glock clone with a 33-round magazine, and more. Acevedo now faces multiple felony drug and weapons charges. STORY 3: Publix shopping center coming to Woodstock in 2026 Construction has kicked off on the new Woodstock Mill District, a shopping center anchored by a Publix, right in the heart of downtown Woodstock. The project, led by Atlanta-based developer Connolly, is taking shape along Towne Lake Parkway, near the Mill Street and Lyndee Lane roundabout. It’s big—118,000 square feet of retail, including a 46,791-square-foot Publix and six standalone buildings for shops, restaurants, and services. Think patios, dining spots, and plenty of space to wander. Connolly, who bought the site in late September, is blending this with the existing Towne Lake Plaza, which they’ll renovate. Completion? Phased through 2026. It’s a game-changer for Woodstock. We have opportunities for sponsors to get great engagement on these shows. Call 770.874.3200 for more info.    We’ll be right back. Break: COBB FALL FESTIVAL STORY 4: Woodstock council adopts new rules for parking deck  Woodstock’s cracking down on parking deck new rules—and they’re not messing around. Violators could face fines up to $1,000 or even 60 days in jail. The updated ordinance, approved Oct. 13, bans everything from camping and loitering to blasting music or doing donuts in the parking deck. Got a drone, ATV, or unregistered car? Don’t even think about leaving it there. Oh, and if your car’s in a restricted zone for more than 24 hours? Towed. At your expense. The rules are in effect now, and enforcement isn’t just on Woodstock PD—state and county officers are in on it too. STORY 5: Cherokee County Football Power Rankings - Week 10  The Cherokee County football power rankings are heating up as we head into Week 10. No. 1 - Sequoyah (7-1, 4-1) The Chiefs are back on top after a gritty 31-24 win over Woodstock. Will Rajecki? Absolute beast—171 yards, three touchdowns, and a statement game. They’re tied for first in Region 6AAAAA but hold the tiebreaker over Sprayberry. With a bye this week, they’ll rest up for Creekview, which could decide the region title. No. 2 - River Ridge (6-2, 3-2) Tough week for the Knights. A 28-10 loss to Sprayberry stung, but losing QB Hunter Lockerman to injury? Brutal. Andrew Rowe stepped in, but the offense struggled. The bye couldn’t come at a better time—they need to regroup and heal. No. 3 - Creekview (4-4, 4-1) The Grizzlies bounced back in style, crushing Pope 42-14. Backup QB Landon Barnes was flawless—7-for-7, 111 yards, three TDs. With River Ridge and Sequoyah up next, they’ll need that same energy to stay in the playoff hunt. No. 4 - Woodstock (5-3, 3-2) The Wolverines fought hard against Sequoyah, clawing back from a 21-3 hole, but fell short. QB Graham Burmeister and WR Rylan Hubbard were electric, connecting for two scores. With Riverwood and Sprayberry left, they need at least one win to stay alive in the playoff race. No. 5 - Etowah (3-5, 1-3) The Eagles’ playoff hopes took a hit with a loss to Wheeler. Kingston Caesar and Zeke Douglass had flashes of brilliance, but turnovers killed momentum. With Walton and North Cobb looming, it’s a tough road ahead for this young squad. No. 6 - Cherokee (1-7, 0-4) It’s been a rough season for the Warriors, but Brandon Hamilton continues to shine—105 yards last week, pushing his season total to 1,117. With North Cobb and Marietta left, they’re fighting to avoid their worst record since 2017. And now here is Leah McGrath from Ingles Markets on grass fed beef Commercial: We’ll have closing comments after this.   COMMERCIAL: Ingles Markets 8   SIGN OFF –   Thanks again for hanging out with us on today’s Cherokee Tribune Ledger Podcast. If you enjoy these shows, we encourage you to check out our other offerings, like the Cherokee Tribune Ledger Podcast, the Marietta Daily Journal, or the Community Podcast for Rockdale Newton and Morgan Counties. Read more about all our stories and get other great content at www.tribuneledgernews.com Did you know over 50% of Americans listen to podcasts weekly? Giving you important news about our community and telling great stories are what we do. Make sure you join us for our next episode and be sure to share this podcast on social media with your friends and family. Add us to your Alexa Flash Briefing or your Google Home Briefing and be sure to like, follow, and subscribe wherever you get your podcasts. Produced by the BG Podcast Network Show Sponsors: www.ingles-markets.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Today's edition is sponsored by the Ragged Mountain Running and Walking ShopSeptember 30 is the final day of the federal fiscal New Year and one version of today's Charlottesville Community Engagement could perhaps have been about how this region might be affected by a federal shutdown. Each edition of this newsletter could be a lot of different things, but what gets selected is usually a matter of what is available for me to write.I'm Sean Tubbs and for a story on the looming shutdown, I refer you to the Virginia Political Newsletter by my colleague Brandon Jarvis.In today's installment:* Albemarle Supervisors have endorsed their legislative priorities for the 2026 General Assembly while Charlottesville City Council is still working on theirs* Jaunt turns 50 this year and is seeking stories from riders* Albemarle Supervisors get a progress report on climate action initiatives including where $522K in spending will go this fiscal yearThanks for reading Charlottesville Community Engagement ! This post is public so feel free to share it.First shout-out: A Week Without DrivingHow different would your life be if you didn't have a car? From Monday, September 29 to Sunday October 5, Livable Cville invites you to join the local Week Without Driving experience. The goal is to learn more about barriers and challenges that nondrivers face in our community and to reflect on the challenges you would face as a full-time non-driver.There are many reasons why people do not drive, including people with disabilities, youth, seniors and those who can't afford vehicles or gas. A third of people living in the United States do not have a driver's license, but are forced to navigate a mobility system designed almost exclusively for drivers.Livable Cville expects the Week Without Driving experience will help participants better appreciate the challenges and barriers they face. For more information and to register your participation, please visit: https://livablecville.org/weekwithoutdrivingLocal elected officials preparing for 2026 General AssemblyThere are over a hundred days left until the 2026 session of the Virginia General Assembly and less than two months until legislators can begin to pre-file bills.Across Virginia, localities are determining what priorities they would like to see turned into legislation.At their meeting on September 15, Charlottesville City Council went through a long list of suggestions from the Planning Commission, the Human Rights Commission, and the Office of Sustainability.“Energy prices are going up,” said Kristel Riddervold, the city's sustainability director. “Legislative priorities related to expanding distributed energy, meaning solar, all over the place in different ways.”Riddervold said city priorities are for the Virginia General Assembly to maintain the 2020 Virginia Clean Economy Act, full funding for the Virginia Clean Energy Innovation Bank, and reform of rules for construction of data centers. You can see the full list here.The Human Rights Commission submitted a three page list including a request for legislation for expanded rights for those who rent, a request for localities to have right of first refusal to purchase supported housing units, and a $60 million state fund for housing assistance to support 5,000 families. Another legislative request is to require all Virginia localities to maintain a public homeless shelter. You can view this list here.Vice Mayor Brian Pinkston said many of those ideas seem very aspirational and may not take into account political realities.“The one that says here, ‘require that each county and city in Virginia maintain a public overnight homeless shelter or fund a private equivalent,'” Pinkston said. “I mean, that would be lovely because we're, we're doing this. I have a sense for neighboring counties and communities, the work that we're doing here. But does that have any hope of being passed?””City Councilor Michael Payne said many of the Human Rights Commission's requests are part of statewide efforts and many of the aspirations could get through depending on who holds the majority in 2026.“There definitely [are] some that potentially I think really could get passed this year, including like the 5,000 family funds or first right of refusal, but for example, the homeless shelter one you mentioned. I mean, I would feel. I think we could all feel confident saying there's no chance that passes this year.”The Planning Commission submitted a list of 15 potential pieces of legislation. The first addresses the section of state code that is at the heart of the lawsuit against the city's zoning code. Number six is a reintroduction of failed legislation that would allow localities to tax land and improvements at different rates. (view the list)Council will have a further discussion on October 6 before adopting their legislative agenda on October 20.The Albemarle Board of Supervisors is a little further ahead and had the third of three work sessions at their meeting on September 17. Albemarle has four legislative priorities, three of which would involve legislation and the fourth being a budget amendment.“First, we're seeking as a priority enabling localities to enforce the Virginia Landlord Tenant Act,” said County Attorney Andy Herrick. “We're also carrying over from past years expanding the authority to use photo speed monitoring devices.Currently those are limited to road construction work zones and school zones and Albemarle wants to be able to use them on rural roads. Albemarle also wants the General Assembly to try again on legislation to allow localities to hold a referendum on whether to levy a one cent sales tax to fund school construction.“This is an initiative that has been sought in prior years, that's passed the Assembly and been vetoed by the Governor in the past two years,” Herrick said.The budget amendment relates to another item Governor Glenn Youngkin vetoed this year. The legislature's version of the budget had funding for a connector trail to connect Biscuit Run Park with the Monacon Indian Nation Tribute.Supervisors adopted their legislative priorities and the next step is to schedule a meeting with area legislators.To learn more about some of the statewide issues, read this story in the Virginia Mercury from Charlotte Rene Woods.Jaunt turns 50 this year and seeks travel storiesAs the Week Without Driving continues, one way people participating might get around is public transit. In addition to Charlottesville Area Transit, the region is served by Jaunt, a public service corporation that formed in 1975.To celebrate, Jaunt is asking people to submit their stories of using the service.“As we look back on 50 years of service, we know the most important part of Jaunt's story is the people we serve,” said Mike Murphy, Jaunt's Chief Executive Officer. “Our mission has always been rooted in community, care, and connection—and this anniversary is about celebrating the ways Jaunt has supported essential regional needs for mobility across generations.”Jaunt was created as Jefferson Area United Transportation but the acronym became the official name in 1983.Have a story from that time? Tell Jaunt at the website they've created.Second shout-out: Five Things ReLeaf has done recently!Time for a subscriber-supported shout-out, this time for ReLeaf Cville!* On April 21, ReLeaf Cville celebrated Arbor Day 2025 by talking with 40 fourth grade students at Greenbrier Elementary about the importance of urban tree canopy, and then planting a tree on the preschool playground* On April 25, the Van Yahres Tree Company donated time and energy to provide tree care to 45 trees ReLeaf planted in the Rose Hill Neighborhood, Fall 2023* On May 10 at RiverFest, Green Team members Moos and Antony joined Keith Pitchford, Board vice-chair, and Cathy Boyd, Executive Director, in providing information about ReLeaf Cville and playing Tree Bingo* In May, C-Ville Weekly profiled ReLeaf Cville's efforts to help homeowners turn their yards into leafy oases - and cool their neighborhoods.* The fourth annual Green Team session took place this week and was designed to equip rising 9th-12th graders in tree knowledge and tree care skills, this year's schedule includes sessions co-led by the Rivanna Conservation Alliance, Van Yahres Tree Company, Master Naturalists, Charlottesville Area Tree Stewards, Community Climate Collaborative, and Steve Gaines, Charlottesville's Urban Forester.Albemarle Supervisors briefed on Climate Action programs, $522K in FY2026 spendingFor the past eight years, the Albemarle County Board of Supervisors has been in support of efforts to monitor greenhouse gas emissions as part of an international bid to keep global temperatures from rising. For six years, though, a different set of elected officials opted out of the program.On September 17, 2025, the six elected officials got a briefing from staff on county and regional efforts to reduce emissions and adapt to a world of higher temperatures and more volatile storms. They were also briefed on how staff plans to use $300,000 the Board dedicated to the issue at the end of the FY2026 budget process as I reported at the time.Resources:* 44-page progress report from Albemarle staff* Slide presentation from the briefingBut first, some recent history.Recent historyIn June 1998, local leaders signed a document called the Sustainability Accords, a series of statements intended to solidify the work of several environmental groups working in the area. While climate action itself was not mentioned, the document called for the development of “attractive and economical transportation alternatives to single occupancy vehicle use” and called for the promotion of “conserv[e]ation and efficient use of energy resources.”In December 2007, Albemarle Supervisors voted to adopt a goal of reducing carbon emissions by 80 percent by the year 2050. At the time, Supervisor Ken Boyd voted for the “Cool Counties” initiative though he expressed concern about the potential impacts. (read a story I wrote then)In the years that followed, a group called the Jefferson Area Tea Party raised concerns about both the resolution and the county's membership in the International Council for Sustainability. The ICLEI group provided resources to measure greenhouse gas reductions and Boyd sought to end participation“We are being infiltrated in local government by an agenda that is set by this international organization,” Boyd said in early May 2011 as I reported at the time. “I think it's now a cancer that is infiltrating our local government here.”By that time, two other Republicans had joined the Board of Supervisors giving Boyd votes he needed to change direction. Democrat Lindsay Dorrier Jr. was a swing vote.Lane Auditorium was packed on the night of June 8, 2011 with some in the crowd defending sustainability efforts and continued participation in efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Members of the Tea Party claimed that civil liberties were being threatened.At the end of the meeting, Supervisors voted 4-2 to end participation in ICLEI as I reported at the time. Three months later, they ended participation in Cool Counties as reported in the Charlottesville Daily Progress.However, the Republican majority would come to an end in 2013 after Democratic candidates defeated Duane Snow in the Samuel Miller District and Rodney Thomas in the Rio District.Back on the jobIn September 2017, Supervisors voted to adopt a resolution to “support local actions to reduce climate pollution.”“In October 2019, the Board adopted greenhouse gas emissions reduction targets in line with the Paris Agreement,” said Jamie Powers, a county employee since 2023 who is now Albemarle's Climate Program Manager. “The next year, October 2020, the board adopted the Climate Action Plan and stood up the Climate Action Program to implement that plan and help get the community's emissions down in line with the board's targets.”The targets now call for a 45 percent in emissions reductions from 2008 levels by 2030 and to be carbon-free by 2050.Powers said emissions continue to climb across the world and the effects of climate change are here now as a present crisis rather than one for the future to deal with.“The impacts are generally going to be worse over time and increasingly unpredictable unless we can get global emissions under control,” Powers said. “And we do have a role to play locally.”Albemarle's reduction targets are in line with the Paris Agreement which set a framework to reduce emissions so that the increase in global warming could be kept below 2 degrees Celsius. The increase is now at 1.5 degrees.Powers said climate change itself is not the underlying problem.“It is a symptom of a set of problems,” Powers said. “This socioeconomic system that we have, it works exactly as designed and it brings us to a climate crisis and a biodiversity crisis and all these sorts of things. So if we are going to effectively address the climate crisis, we need to take a look at our systems and address things appropriately.”The models used by Albemarle and other local governments are complex and conform to the Global Protocol for Community-Scale Greenhouse Gas Emission Inventories. These are put together by ICLEI and emissions come from many source sectors.“The major sectors of emissions are transportation, stationary energy, and that includes solar,” said Greg Harper, Albemarle's chief of environmental services. “That would be kind of like reducing that stationary energy. Ag force and land use is a smaller contributor and then waste as well.”Albemarle resumed doing inventories in 2018 and Harper said emission levels dropped during COVID but increased for 2022. Data is about two years behind. Harper said reductions can be decreased many ways, such as if many groups can work together to reduce a metric known as “vehicle miles traveled.”“We don't want to stop activity in the county, obviously, but we want to shift people from driving a car by themselves to taking mass transportation, getting on their bicycle for smaller commutes,” Harper said.Powers said Albemarle has been active in many ways to encourage reductions such as supporting home energy improvements, providing “climate action activity kits” through a nonprofit, installing electric vehicle chargers, and creation of the Energy Resource Hub.Albemarle also provided several grants including $20,000 for the International Rescue Committee's New Roots farming program to allow them to electrify equipment and improve their agricultural practices.“If we break down some of the things that they were doing from their composting practice, we calculated that about 25 tons of carbon dioxide is sequestered by them using the composting practices,” Powers said. “About 5 tons of avoided emissions by removing synthetic fertilizers from their operations.”All told, Powers said about 38 tons of carbon dioxide emissions were prevented.Albemarle County is also collaborating with the City of Charlottesville and the University of Virginia on the Resilient Together initiative which seeks to create a resilience plan to adapt to a different weather pattern. That will come before the Planning Commission and the Board of Supervisors in early 2026.FY2026 fundingPowers also outlined a recommendation of how Albemarle might put that $300,000 to use, as well as another $222,000 in carry over funds for climate action.“The Board made it clear we wanted to emphasize projects that are going to get the most value in terms of emission reductions in FY26,” Powers said.The Residential Energy Improvements line item is intended to assist property owners with lower incomes and that $237,000 does not include another $150,000 the county received through the federal Community Development Block Grant program.“A lot of times, especially in low income households, energy is going out the window, literally,” Powers said. “And so how can we help those folks tighten up their envelopes so when they're turning the AC or the heat on, it's still staying in the home instead of heading out the window.”The Local Energy Alliance Partnership (LEAP) and the Albemarle Housing Improvement Program (AHIP) are partners on that project. Powers said the goal will be to reach up to 50 homes, decreasing emissions classified as “stationary” energy. He estimates the return on investment will be about $3,000 per ton of emissions prevented.Another $100,000 will be spent on energy efficiency in county-owned buildings.“Most likely implementation looks like LED installation, LED fixture installation, likely at two different buildings,” Powers said. “If we transition the equivalent of the space of Northside Library to those fixtures, we would reduce again in that stationary energy category, one of those four categories by 0.03 at $700 per ton and annually that'd be a 143 ton reduction.”Albemarle funded the Energy Resource Hub in FY2025 at the $100,000 level and an additional $63,000 for this year. This is a program that helps homeowners find rebates and other incentives.Partners have not yet been found for the Climate Action Collaboration initiative.For previous coverage on climate action issues, visit Information Charlottesville.Reading material for September 30, 2025* Whistleblowers accuse HUD of ‘systematically undermining' fair housing laws, Ryan Kushner, Multifamily Dive, September 25, 2025* HUD cuts multifamily mortgage insurance premiums, Julie Strupp, Multifamily Dive, September 26, 2025* Albemarle County to consider delay on data center ordinance, Jenette Hastings, WVIR 29NBC, September 28, 2025* Watershed mapping project shows rapid loss of forests, offers new view of Va.'s changing landscapes, Evan Visconti, September 29, 2025* Charlottesville's schools are old. Local officials are trying to change that, Brandon Kile, Cavalier Daily, September 29, 2025* Afton Scientific breaks ground on $200 million expansion in Albemarle, Kate Nuechterlein, September 29, 2025What's the ending, #929?Today I could not get moving. Something is off but my job is to bring people information. I picked up four new paid subscribers since posting the May 2025 transactions, and it is important to get out what I can.The story I wanted to tell today was an accounting of yesterday's traffic congestion caused by a truck hitting a bridge under construction that carries Old Ivy Road over the U.S. 250. I lack the resources to get such a story together but I have questions about whether such an incident is covered by emergency management officials in the area.There are so many stories I want to tell, and sometimes the best I can do is link to other people's coverage. Here's a story from VPM. Here's one from 29NBC News. Here's another from CBS19. How about Cville Right Now?There is a lot of rhetoric about climate action and moving people out of automobiles. Is any of it having any effect? Are fewer people driving alone? How many people are paying attention to this issue? What is the community supposed to do when a major highway is shuttered for hours? Are we all so endless trapped in a news cycle that solutions remain elusive, situations remain intractable?I don't have the answer but I know I want to be part of an information ecosystem that seeks to do better than what we have at the moment with a series of wicked problems that are difficult to solve in this era of fragmentation.So what's today's ending? A note that David Bowie's Diamond Dogs helped me think this morning and this 1973 special seems important. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit communityengagement.substack.com/subscribe

In this episode of the Dover Download podcast, Deputy City Manager Christopher Parker chats with Community Service Director John Storer about major construction projects underway and planned for Dover. The episode also features updates on City Council and Planning Board activities from May.Parker and Storer discuss the downtown streetlight replacement project, which began as a pilot program near Franklin Square and will expand along Central Avenue from the railroad tracks toward Broadway. The city is replacing 22 additional lights and hopes to complete the project by fall. They also cover the phased replacement of 15 downtown street trees, pedestrian safety improvements including bump-outs at First and Second streets, and lighting upgrades south of the Central Avenue Bridge.Major infrastructure projects include a $10 million Court and Union Street reconstruction starting this summer, water main replacements on Broadway and Oak Street, and the upcoming Henry Law to Payne Street reconstruction following Apple Harvest Day. Storer highlights the $20 million Central Avenue gateway project from Silver Street to Stark Avenue, which requires extensive right-of-way coordination and federal compliance.Brian Early reports on City Council activities, focusing on the proposed $20 million Dover High School athletic field improvements at Dunaway Field. The Council will hold a public hearing June 11 and vote June 25. Other Council actions included approving Community Development Block Grant funding and public art projects.Erin Bassegio summarizes Planning and Zoning Board decisions, including subdivision approvals, variance requests, and a housing development at 566 Sixth St. that was ultimately approved after an appeal.

In this episode of the Dover Download podcast, Deputy City Manager Christopher Parker chats with John Swartzendruber, a former Planning Board member who served from 2003 until the 2010s. This is the third episode in a series looking back at the Planning Board over the years. Swartzendruber discusses how he joined the board after his father-in-law, who had been a planning director in Portsmouth, suggested he get involved in the community. He reflects on the positive experience of working with a diverse group of board members and city staff, highlighting the camaraderie and teamwork. Swartzendruber mentions notable projects during his tenure, including Liberty Mutual's campus expansion in 2007 (from which he recused himself as a Liberty employee) and the Point Place development. He describes how planning board members received physical packets of materials delivered to their homes before meetings, a practice that has since shifted to digital delivery. Swartzendruber explains that he eventually left the board when his growing family commitments made it difficult to attend meetings consistently. He encourages listeners to consider volunteering for the Planning Board, emphasizing that no specific experience is required to make a valuable contribution.In This Week in Dover History, we hear from Brian Early of Media Services and Erin Bassegio from the planning department about recent city activities. They discuss April City Council actions including approval of new ballot counting machines, a water main replacement project, and a contract for natural turf maintenance on city fields. The Planning Board reviewed Community Development Block Grant funding, approved a project for five single-family homes, and conducted training for members on their roles and responsibilities. Various subcommittees are working on updates to the Transfer of Development Rights ordinance and addressing community housing needs. Other boards and commissions that met include the Conservation Commission, Zoning Board, Parking Commission, and Waterfront Committee.

Clark County has opened applications for the Community Development Block Grant and HOME funds starting today. Approximately three million dollars will be available for community development and housing activities. A pre-application workshop will help applicants navigate the process, ensuring that projects benefit low- to moderate-income neighborhoods. Learn more about this funding opportunity and its impact on local communities at https://www.clarkcountytoday.com/news/applications-for-2025-clark-county-cdbg-home-funds-available-starting-oct-1 #ClarkCounty #CDBG #HOMEfunds #communitydevelopment #localnews

Community Development Block Grant manager Lisa Krieg joins us in the studio this month to talk about her tenure with the City of Norman and some of the recent and upcoming projects she has been working on. For more information about the City of Norman, visit www.NormanOK.gov Questions or comments about the podcast can be emailed to PublicAffairs@NormanOK.gov Twitter - @cityofnormanok Instagram - @thecityofnorman Facebook YouTube

Each year Toledo's Department of Housing and Community Development disperses Federal grant money, known as the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) to qualified local applicants. Monica Brown discusses the logistics of the program, the process and available funds, and we are delighted to share how these grants work to make an impact on Toledo residents. Harvey Savage runs the MLK Kitchen for the Poor which is celebrating its 55th year of operation this year. Want to get involved? Join them for a fundraiser event May 4th.

From firefighters to fresh lettuce, Congresswoman Lori Trahan discussed local advances made possible with federal dollars on the 50th anniversary of Community Development Block Grants.During a visit Wednesday to WHAV's “Win for Breakfast” program, she told listeners she is impressed with how the YMCA used CDBG funds to help with its Freight Farm project, saying it's helping young students develop unexpected skills at school.“Highly interactive, experiential learning, biology, chemistry and business all in real time, and it's just great to see this program getting support from private sector partners like Beth Israel Lahey and the city in the form of nearly $33,000 in funding from the city's Community Development Block Grant award,”  she said.Trahan says she is a big fan of Community Development Block Grants, because of their flexibility.“So, it is a vehicle for federal funds to make their way directly to cities and towns. They don't go through the state, so they can use those funds on local initiatives, local projects. They can help nonprofits with capacity building. It's true that a city and town is closest to where the gaps are.”To emphasize her point, Trahan says cities and towns can make better decisions on how to dispense the money to address local needs. “Obviously a project like the Y's Freight Farm, providing students with such a cool interactive learning experience is just a great example of those funds at work.”Trahan told listeners she was given some lettuce and kale from the Freight Farm to take home to her family.As WHAV previously reported, Trahan is the Northern Essex Community College commencement speaker Saturday, May 18.“It's always an honor to go to speak to graduates as they embark on the next chapter of their lives. For me, it's so motivating and energizing to see the future of our country kind of move onto the workforce with all their aspirations,” she said.Support the show

I would like to introduce you to Barbara Anne Gardenhire-Mills. She had a decent childhood, for the most part. She was raped and also gang raped, but as she learned to be unstoppable and gained strength from these experiences, she grew into a fierce advocate for women and then later for other marginalized groups. Her story is quite amazing. To me, the most amazing thing is that she is quite willing to share her story if it will help others. She will tell us all about her philosophy on the subject.   For a time she worked in the insurance arena and then went into other endeavors. Over the past 20 years she has been a coach, trainer and consultant to over 2,000 companies and, as she says, she has assisted countless more in various ways.   Barbara's story and life lessons demonstrate how someone can make the choice to be unstoppable. She lives in Mount Loral, NJ with her family. If you ever meet her, don't mess with her as she is quite proficient in various martial arts styles as you can read in her bio. I hope you gain wisdom and knowledge from our conversation. Barbara Anne is a gem and a wonderful person to talk with. I hope you feel the same.   About the Guest:   Barbara Anne is a “Solutions Navigator” and servant leader who has directly assisted over 2,000 businesses in the past two decades and provided training, coaching, and technical assistance to countless more companies, teams, entrepreneurs, and individuals throughout her career. She is the founder and owner of Purpose-Filled Solutions and Evolutions LLC, a business consulting and leadership coaching company that partners with people, leaders, companies, and agencies to find their "why" (core purpose), identify resources, navigate challenges, change mindsets, and develop and implement plans to achieve their visions of success, with an emphasis on civility, inclusion, equity, and diversity (CIED), her unique alternative to current DEI approaches. Barbara Anne also serves as Director of Compliance & Engagement for Cooperative Business Assistance Corporation (CBAC) in Camden, NJ, and hosts “What The Why?!? with Barbara Anne,” a weekly talk show on RVN Television, Roku, and more. Before her current roles, she served as the Management Analyst and Community Liaison for the U.S. White House Promise Zone Initiative in Camden, NJ, stationed at the U.S. Department of Housing & Urban Development (HUD), and as Supervisor of Lender Relations and Economic Development/Women's Business Ownership Representative for the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) New Jersey District Office, and in other leadership roles in the corporate, non-profit, and municipal government arenas. Barbara Anne holds an M.S. in Executive Leadership, a B.A. in Political Science/ Honors with concentrations in Pre-Law and Women's Studies, and an A.A. in Liberal Arts with a concentration in Business Communications. She has completed multiple professional designations and adult continuing education certificates, including her Professional Certified Coach (PCC) certification with the International Coaching Federation (ICF), Certified Professional Coach in Executive Coaching from RCSJ, and certifications in talent optimization and implementing Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) in the workplace. Barbara Anne serves in volunteer leadership capacities with ICF's NJ Charter Chapter and Braven, and she is a member of ICF Global, the Association of Talent Development (ATD), CDFI Women's Network, and other professional and civic organizations. The National Association of Women's Business Owners (NAWBO) – South Jersey Chapter honored her with their 2016 “Women's Advocate of the Year” award.  She is also a Second-Degree Black Belt and member of the Okinawa Goju-Ryu Kenshi-Kai Karate-Jutsu Kobu-Jutsu Association and trains in multiple other martial arts styles.   ** ** Ways to connect with Barbara:   Email: info@Purposefilledsolutionsandevolutions.com Phone: 856-313-0609 Website: https://www.purposefilledsolutionsandevolutions.com/  Personal LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bgardenhiremills/ Purpose-Filled Solutions & Evolutions' Social Media Links Through LinkTree: https://linktr.ee/purposefilledcoach "What The Why?!? with Barbara Anne" On-Demand: https://rvntelevision.com/tv-show/what-the-why/        About the Host: Michael Hingson is a New York Times best-selling author, international lecturer, and Chief Vision Officer for accessiBe. Michael, blind since birth, survived the 9/11 attacks with the help of his guide dog Roselle. This story is the subject of his best-selling book, Thunder Dog.   Michael gives over 100 presentations around the world each year speaking to influential groups such as Exxon Mobile, AT&T, Federal Express, Scripps College, Rutgers University, Children's Hospital, and the American Red Cross just to name a few. He is Ambassador for the National Braille Literacy Campaign for the National Federation of the Blind and also serves as Ambassador for the American Humane Association's 2012 Hero Dog Awards.   https://michaelhingson.com https://www.facebook.com/michael.hingson.author.speaker/ https://twitter.com/mhingson https://www.youtube.com/user/mhingson https://www.linkedin.com/in/michaelhingson/   accessiBe Links https://accessibe.com/ https://www.youtube.com/c/accessiBe https://www.linkedin.com/company/accessibe/mycompany/   https://www.facebook.com/accessibe/       Thanks for listening!   Thanks so much for listening to our podcast! If you enjoyed this episode and think that others could benefit from listening, please share it using the social media buttons on this page. Do you have some feedback or questions about this episode? Leave a comment in the section below!   Subscribe to the podcast   If you would like to get automatic updates of new podcast episodes, you can subscribe to the podcast on Apple Podcasts or Stitcher. You can also subscribe in your favorite podcast app.   Leave us an Apple Podcasts review   Ratings and reviews from our listeners are extremely valuable to us and greatly appreciated. They help our podcast rank higher on Apple Podcasts, which exposes our show to more awesome listeners like you. If you have a minute, please leave an honest review on Apple Podcasts.     Transcription Notes Michael Hingson ** 00:00 Access Cast and accessiBe Initiative presents Unstoppable Mindset. The podcast where inclusion, diversity and the unexpected meet. Hi, I'm Michael Hingson, Chief Vision Officer for accessiBe and the author of the number one New York Times bestselling book, Thunder dog, the story of a blind man, his guide dog and the triumph of trust. Thanks for joining me on my podcast as we explore our own blinding fears of inclusion unacceptance and our resistance to change. We will discover the idea that no matter the situation, or the people we encounter, our own fears, and prejudices often are our strongest barriers to moving forward. The unstoppable mindset podcast is sponsored by accessiBe, that's a c c e s s i capital B e. Visit www.accessibe.com to learn how you can make your website accessible for persons with disabilities. And to help make the internet fully inclusive by the year 2025. Glad you dropped by we're happy to meet you and to have you here with us.   Michael Hingson ** 01:21 Well, and hello, once again. Welcome to unstoppable mindset. I'm your host, Michael Hingson. Or you can call me Mike, it's okay. Just Oh, I hate to do the joke, just not late for dinner. But anyway, here we are. And today we get to talk with Barbara Anne Gardenhire-Mills. Barbara Ann is in New Jersey has an interesting story and things that she's doing as a coach and other work that she is doing. And also, I'm going to give it away and she'll talk about it anyway. Barbara has had a couple of bouts with COVID. And actually just got through with one but she has a lot of wisdom about long COVID And actually already and just talking with her before we started this I learned some things I didn't know. And knowledge is always useful thing to have. So Barbara Anne welcome to unstoppable mindset.   Barbara Anne Gardenhire-Mills ** 02:12 Thank you so much. I am super happy and honored to be asked to be your guest today. I'm really looking forward to our conversation.   Michael Hingson ** 02:23 Well, then we ought to have one right. So tell me about maybe the the younger barber and growing up and all that let's start there. It's always good as they say to start at the beginning somewhere.   Barbara Anne Gardenhire-Mills ** 02:34 Yes. Start at the beginning. So younger Pribram was born in the late 60s to Maryland and Joseph, a biracial couple. So when my parents got married, still wasn't even legal in some states. And I was born right here in New Jersey, Jersey girl my whole life. And my my five foot three Caucasian mom and my six foot three. Black dad, African American reef. Yeah, they met when they were in college. And while my mother's family was very, very not in any way any color in the family tree has recently improved by one to three me my father's family was always very integrated. And I was the first of four children. My mother and dad had me and my sister exactly 16 months apart on purpose. I think that's insane. I can't even imagine doing that these days. And, and then there was three other siblings that would come along the way. One of whom died shortly after birth because of complications. And it was interesting. I grew up in an apartment complex that wasn't then but is now officially designated as what you would call affordable housing. And a small little, I never thought of it as rural growing up, but they call it rural. It was Vineland, New Jersey. Ah, and it actually is the biggest city in the state of New Jersey in terms of land size, all 69 square miles of it. And but definitely in southern New Jersey. And this is at a time when a lot of the highways and systems that exist now didn't even exist in its parts of South Jersey. And it was like its own whole other world. Anybody who has any familiarity with North and South Jersey knows how vastly different the two are the right down to the accents. And you know, we you know, had a good upbringing, the Things were going well, when it's time for me to go to school, because of the time that it was was you talking about early 70s, I was bussed as part of a program to make sure that they were, you know, equally distributing children aka schools. Which was really interesting. When back in the days before there was cell phones, in fact, my parents had a party line. They accidentally put me on the wrong bus. That was fun when you're in kindergarten. Yeah. But probably one of the earliest tragic things that would happen to me what happened when I was seven. And it's interesting, because I, my mom said, I've always been a forward planner, I've always been very rational, but also very even tempered. And she likes to tell stories about how you know, at a time when I was 14 months, I spilled a bowl of popcorn and I sat there at 14 months old, individually picking up each piece of kernel of corn and putting it back in the bowl. And when I was when I started walking it at nine months, and around 1112 months, we were out walking, and I saw a dandy line and I bent over and I pulled it up, I had no idea that would kill it. I picked it up and I sniffed it, and proceeded to put it right back in its exact place where it was. And so all these years later, she still loves to tell that story because I was very methodical and particular and had my routines and my processes. And then 10 days before Christmas, just after my seventh birthday, my father was killed in a car accident. And here was my mother, at the age of 28, widowed with four biracial children, the oldest of whom was seven and the youngest of whom was only had just been born on October 27. And that would be one of many pivots, in terms of that would define my future going forward. Okay, how   Michael Hingson ** 07:09 did you how did your parents, your, your grandparents deal with you? Maybe at the beginning, you said that they on your mom's side, we're not really oriented toward having biracial or any color in the family did that mollify at all especially towards you as you grow older,   Barbara Anne Gardenhire-Mills ** 07:30 not till I was much older. In fact, when my dad died, my grandfather, who was an Episcopal priest, refused to let my grandmother even can be with my mother, her grieving daughter, because as far as he was concerned, she was dead to him.   Michael Hingson ** 07:51 I have just never comprehended, of course, I've been blind my whole life, baby. And I regard it as a blessing. But I've just never understood this whole issue of color, and skin color having any significance to anything. It's just crazy. But   Barbara Anne Gardenhire-Mills ** 08:09 for the most part, it wasn't even a thing until the mid 1800s. In terms of, you know, I can't think of his name right now, because I'm coming off of my long COVID relapse, but a British scientist, was the one who kind of artificially constructed and classified race. Yeah. And there were a number of people, including Alexander Graham Bell, who bought into some of those theories. Yeah. And but before that, it really was just more of a familial designation, in terms of what country you are from and royalty was royalty. So they intermixed all the time. You know, there was how we understand things now really, are an artificial construct, which is one of the foundational pieces of what I do in my work as it relates to civility, inclusion and equity and diversity. But in that time, my grandmother didn't come my aunt didn't come they were in Florida. My dad's family. My dad was the youngest of six and he was a sports person he had played for the Eagles, arm team and he played basketball and everybody knew who he was. And his family stepped up and stepped in by her family was non existent. I would finally meet her sister a few years after that, and we have a good relationship. I only ever met my one uncle on her side once and I have a necklace that's handed down to my mother was. Her maiden name was aptly As in former Prime Minister Attlee of England, and so they were very particular, he was very much. Interestingly, it was almost bad that he married my grandmother. He was very much a white Anglo Saxon Protestant male, who married my mother's mother, my grandmother, credibly beautiful woman, her name was Ruth Fogarty. And like, parents off the boat Irish, her dad was an Irish house in New Orleans. And, and they had three children, and my mother was the oldest of them. And so dad wasn't so thrilled and dad ruled the household. And I finally met my grandmother right before I turned 12, because there's a family necklace that's handed down through the Fogarty family line to the to the oldest female on their 12th birthday. And so she was permitted to come see us and, and transfer that to me. And then right around the time I turned 16, my grandfather decided to have a change of heart, and that he was wrong. And I would meet him a couple of times between 16 and 19. And then when I was 19, he passed us was very awkward, I agreed to go to the funeral for my mother. But that was probably actually one of the biggest fights we ever had to because I had very strong feelings about being forced to go and mourn someone that had done, what I now understood had been the things that he had done over the course of her life in mind. But I, you know, she she said, incredible person. So my mother, who I'm I've ever been, I don't know who it is, but I don't like she tends to be much more private. She watches everything I do. But I don't usually name her for her own privacy reasons. You know, she would raise all four of us on her own, she never remarried, she went back to school, because she dropped out when she married my dad, and then had me, you know, urina. She got married in February of 67. They had me in mid November of 68. So she decided to go back to school, she completed her associate's then her Bachelor's than her Master's. And she went on to teach at the college where she got her nursing degree. And all of that joined the military before age 40, to become a nurse. And for the US Army, reserve corps, so she did a lot of really amazing things on her own, with me, helping out along the way, as the oldest child. So I learned to do a lot of things very young, that I probably wouldn't really be able to do now, in terms of watching siblings, cooking and cleaning, and things like that, but things that were otherwise really common at the time. And another big part of our lives was the church that we raised in. And because the whole family, my dad's family, was involved on both sides, my family were involved in the clergy, but the brother and cousins that we were most close to, went to the church where we went to and so they became a huge support system for my mom. And in a very interesting indoctrination process for me, that I would spend the better part of my teens and early 20s trying to undo. So that's the very early I, you know, we went to a private Christian school on scholarship. And when my mom graduated, they said no more scholarships. So I went to public high school, and did really well. You know, but I felt like I had been kind of thrown into this weird alternative universe where I had been used to being one of the only children of color in an entire school. And now I was in a school that was pseudo integrated. Different kids tended to be tracked based on their intelligence, but also, in part based on their socioeconomic status and, and race. And on my very first day, when I went to go in with the few kids that I didn't know, into the school cafeteria, I was stopped at the door and I was told that only the white kids ate in there, I had to go to the other cafeteria with the black and Spanish kids. And I was like, what, what are you talking about? And they were like, You eaten here. And that that was not something that my high school fixed for almost another 15 years when they finally decided to assign cafeterias, and eliminate a lot of staff. But other than that, I did choir, I did drama, I did all the things that I loved to learn, had its really great friends. And then couldn't afford to go to college. Now that my mom was working, I didn't get enough aid, and I wanted to be a doctor. And so I ended up getting just enough grants to go to community college. And then I went to work full time, and we went to school full time at nights. I went to work for Prudential insurance company, and they paid 90% tuition reimbursement. And I worked there in policyholder services, answering questions for agents for 10 states. Here I was, you know, the ages of 1819 20 ensiling complex insurance questions back when everything was in these little books, we would have to pull the pages out. And to replace them to update them. We covered all of New England and most of the East Coast with the exception of New Jersey and Massachusetts along scope   Michael Hingson ** 16:36 guard. So this was like 1987 88. Yes, exactly.   Barbara Anne Gardenhire-Mills ** 16:40 8788 89. And, and then one of the next major pivotal things in my life happens. Having been raised in a very fundamentalist religion, I had never been involved in any kind of a sexual relationship. And I got raped. And what was interesting about it, other than the fact that it was pretty bad and it was somebody I knew, I got angry. And that's, that pivoted me into advocacy. And I became a speaker. I spoke on college campuses, I spoke at my high school. I was like, oh, no, no, no, this is never going to happen to another woman. Right? Yeah. This is just not okay. And, and then I had this whole world of advocacy opened up for me. And it's funny, I'll never forget, I ended up changing my major. Because my political science class and my sophomore year of college, the professor has put a list of all of these different characteristics. He said, Well, what describes a typical politician and he was what in New Jersey, we now call commissioners, but back then we called them freeholders freeholders held land. And we put all these characteristics on a board of what a typical politician is. And he said, Georgia class, he said, Okay, everybody, if you aren't, at least, almost all of them, if not all of these, you never, ever, ever have a chance of holding any kind of high office or elected office in government. And I looked at him in my stereotypical, defiant way, when somebody says I can't do something, and said, Oh, really. And I changed my major to political science that week. And I would later tell him after I graduated from political science honors from what is now Rowan University, with concentrations in pre law and Women's Studies. I would eventually tell him go back and tell him that he was the reason why I changed my major. And he was just so blown away. He's like, Oh, wow, I'm so odd. Really told him why. And guess what, like many politicians, he ended up having an affair with a staffer and losing his his seat and his wife in the process. So I guess he was so much more like, far too many prostitutions back then, than what was listed on the board.   Michael Hingson ** 19:31 Do as I say, not as I do.   Barbara Anne Gardenhire-Mills ** 19:35 When I go ahead, no, go ahead. I was gonna say when I finished college, though, my first job right out of college. As I had left Prudential to go back full time to finish, which was good because by the time I got done Prudential no longer existed. They had moved their job offices to Jacksonville and have the office that I would have worked at had I stayed there like so many people said I should. Of course they He told me he really shouldn't leave this great job. And I said, Okay, really well watch me. And so again, I answered an ad in the newspaper. And I ended up going to work for the city of Bridgeton, in my field, actually working for the city in a new role for called the Community Development Block Grant sub recipient monitor. And my job was to create the infrastructure for monitoring funds from a community development block grants that were distributed to organizations in the community as a whole host of other things. And that was the beginning in 1992, of my 31 year career, other than one, brief six year return to insurance after having my son, my otherwise 31 year career in community and economic development.   Michael Hingson ** 20:59 So you got married along the way?   Barbara Anne Gardenhire-Mills ** 21:02 I did, but not yet. I stayed for a while. Yeah. Which is a really great question. I, I just wasn't ready. Yeah, I, I was in this I was in this weird world of, I was too white for most black boys. I was too dark for most white boys. I was not Latina. But that was what I was most often mistaken for, because of my skin tone and where I grew up. And, and I was often just a novelty, somebody wanted to be able to say that they had tried being with a black girl. And in 2012, when I was 23 years old, that culminated actually, in a second, much more serious rape scenario with a guy that I had been seeing. Who knew about the first one, we'd had conversations about the fact that his sister had been through something similar. And then myself and a friend went to a party at his house, and they, I didn't even drink, because I didn't want to be in that situation. And yet, I felt like I was drunk. And it didn't. We didn't talk about things like being date rape drugs, and things like that. But yeah, it was, it was bad. And I remember bits and pieces, and they were just kind of joking that they all wanted to know what it was like to be with a black girl. And, um, so I was very protective of myself in many ways for many years. And when I met my husband, I was in a, I was long distance seeing someone he was seeing somebody else, we could care less. And then we would be reintroduced a couple years later. And I was at a point where I was like, I just not I can't get involved with. I've had all these bad experiences with white guys and black guys. I just know, I was seeing a guy from Puerto Rico at the time. And as my husband likes to say, he just had to convince me that he was the only thing missing from my life. So he did what every other guy who wants to be with somebody does, he became a really good friend. And then we would end up finally getting married three years after our first date, which was a disaster, by the way, because our first date was literally the day of the very first Million Man March. Oh, and I said to him, What were you thinking we had ended up getting into a political conversation and realized we were about as diametrically opposed as one could be. And that's what he thought about. What was he thinking when he asked out a young black urban professional, he said he didn't know because he didn't realize I was black. He thought I was lucky not then. And then one of the jokes of that evening that still gets repeated to this day, I said, oh, and I suppose you haven't marched? And I suppose you've marched in a militia too. And he says, well, not lately. Now he was he had been on the north on a Civil War reenactment militia militia, but my husband would really appreciate your sense of humor. So no, in spite of that disastrous first date, next month, we will have been married for 25 years and together for 28. Any he was so everything I was not looking for at the time, which is probably exactly why it worked because I after all of those other experiences I had decided to find out. And we did, we got married. And, in fact, I was executive director of a nonprofit housing organization at the time, and it was selling, it's celebrating its 25th anniversary. So we postponed our talk about understanding guy, he's always supported me and said, You go be you. We actually postponed our honeymoon, so that we could get the anniversary banquet and celebration out of the way, and then go on our honeymoon without having that hanging over our heads. So he knew what kind of person he was getting together with. And he was he was fine with that. And so yeah, and we would go on, and I would have, we would have one son. And that was another pivot. This year, I was, at this point, I'm now running an organization that the nonprofit that I was with helped start, I'm used to like going around the country, and conducting training classes in housing counseling, and homeownership education for housing counselor is for the federal government on going all these great places. And then along comes this son, who God purposefully gave me to prove I have absolutely no control over anything. I remember Oh, my gosh, it was it was something else. And remember, and of course, you know, being a slightly older mom, at this point, I'm 33. Having a geriatric pregnancy just didn't sound right. At all, I'm like, Oh, my God, I've I've tested I'm sitting there in tears one day, like, how is it that I could testify and in front of the state legislature and congressional hearings that I can't get this kid to go to sleep? What is wrong?   Barbara Anne Gardenhire-Mills ** 27:10 got through it. I went back to the insurance industry. took a pause. 911 happened. I remember you. I remember seeing interviews with you on Larry King. And you know, one of the reasons why we chose our son's name, Colin, which is, the original Greek word for courage was after that happened, because we had, as you probably I know, you can relate based on having heard your story. I worked in Trenton and so there were people, a lot of people would commute by train. So someone I grew up with was lost. Very, very close friend of ours, his cousin was lost. But then there were other people that were actually supposed to be there that I was friends with, for various reasons that, like interviews were cancelled. A friend of mine who worked in Jersey City was supposed to cross over to work for Wall Street Journal, he was supposed to be there that morning, it got postponed to that afternoon. So many people that had so many close brushes. And so Colin seemed like a really good name. And, but it also drastically affected our funding as a nonprofit, because all the organizations where we were basically redirected already committed funds to World Trade Center efforts. And which is why to this day, I'm still firmly believe in cash accounting, and not the cruel accounting. And I went back into the insurance industry for six years. And it was fun. And I was underwriting manager for a company here in New Jersey. And and then, we unmerged with our parent company merged with another company and a whole bunch of changes started happening. And I ended up going through my next major pivot. I decided to leave a role where I was having a lot of difficulty with someone who was actively sabotaging my work. And so I decided to take a lateral move left a team of 19, several of whom were in extreme tears to help go create another department. And that behavior continued constant, what we would now call bullying but there was no such thing as bullying in the workplace. Right? And that would culminate in him. physically assaulting me on the job in a conference room full of leaders in front of witnesses. And he herniated all the discs in my neck. And what was really interesting about that is all of the other things that I had been through. They were emotional, and it was easy to recover. But the physical injury that I went in for a while I, my neck got everything swelled up so much I couldn't walk, I couldn't feel my feet. I couldn't function it was was incredibly painful. All of my C spine discs, were either damaged or bulged. And you would think, with so many people having witnessed it, it would be a no brainer, he would get fired. That's not what happened. Yeah, I was gonna ask. Yeah. That's not what happened at all. I would later find out through notes that he was giving a an a one time final warning, but this person had had a history of inappropriate behavior. And everybody would just chalk it up as to being that person. And so he had been there 20 years I had been there, three, and they decided that I was the one that needed to go. And they did what we used to call an insurance terms and other corporate terms called circle the wagons, protect their jobs. And that got ugly, very, very ugly. And Lisa Halloran was my hero. She was my, she taking the job was supposed to be a director was downgraded to a manager, which then downgraded me from management to consultant. And so she had only been there six months when this happened, she had transferred from another office. And in full integrity, she stood by me. Even when she personally was threatened, she stood by me. One point, she was told by the Vice President, I'm trying to save our jobs, you need to get in line. And she said, I would rather lose my job and be able to sleep at night, and do what you're asking me to do. And fortunately, for me, even though that left knee permanently partially disabled, I was able to find specialists, they did pay for one disc to be replaced. I did, New Jersey has binding arbitration, and the company pays for it. So there's not really much of an incentive for a binding arbitrator to actually rule in the favor of an employee. And they had argued in court that assaults were not not considered eligible for arbitration, but then tried to argue, in arbitration, that assaults belonged in court and the judge saw right through it and sent them all and joined everybody together, inviting arbitration and what was interesting is they lost. Wow, they lost and what what the ruling basically was was that the assault aside the way I was treated, including having ignored blatantly and openly admitted to ignoring their own grievance procedures process, that they had made a bad situation worse. And the funny thing is, then they then filed an appeal. At which point the arbitrator scathingly said, what part of binding arbitration Didn't you understand when you asked for binding arbitration? And they would eventually shut down all New Jersey operations. I, there's lots of rumors, I won't speculate. But yeah, almost everybody lost their jobs, all the way up to the top, including the New Jersey president. And I went back into government nonprofit work, and that's where I've been ever since.   Michael Hingson ** 34:26 You know, it's the insurance industry is a fascinating place. The reason I said early on that you joined in the insurance world in 1987 1988. Something like seven years before around 1980, maybe 1979. Probably 1980. Somebody in the National Federation of the Blind, which is the largest consumer organization of blind people, was at a meeting of insurance people Sitting next to a person from Prudential and said to this person, I think it also had to do with the National Association of Insurance Commissioners, but anyway said, you know, insurance companies won't provide life insurance for people who are blind. And this guy said, Yeah. And the person who I knew said, Well, why don't you do everything that you do based on evidence to actuarial statistics and evidentiary data? And you have mathematical models for everything? And the guy said, Well, absolutely. That's how we make all of our decisions. And my friends said, Well, can we see the evidence that says that blind people are a higher risk? And the guy said, Sure, no problem. Six months went by, without any indication that there was anything. And finally my friend said, so where's the evidence? And the guy from Prudential said, Well, we were working on it. We haven't found it yet, but it's there. And my friend said, you don't have any do you? You have been discriminating against blind people and other persons with disabilities is it eventually expanded. But you've been doing that simply based on prejudice, and a mistaken belief that we're a higher risk without any evidence to show for it. And on the other end, we as blind people know, we're not a higher risk. Well, what that eventually led to was a campaign in every State of the Union at the time, I was living in Massachusetts. So I ran the effort for the state of Massachusetts for the National Federation of blind in Massachusetts. But to get every state to pass a law that said, you can't discriminate against blind or other persons with physical disabilities, unless you can provide actuarial statistics or or evidentiary data. And to this day, of course, no one's been able to because it doesn't exist. Yeah. It wasn't scientific at all. It was prejudice. Yep.   Barbara Anne Gardenhire-Mills ** 37:00 Absolutely. Absolutely. And my husband had worked in that industry for a while. And yeah, and it both in the life insurance, but also in health and also in property and casualty. To be honest, at one point from in 95, and 96, I had gone back to insurance company, because I was recruited from a nonprofit specifically to help with a pilot program where they were reentering the urban environment to because they had stopped insuring in most cities, urban environments, because of flat roofs, and the fire risk that they support that they had. And my boss, an amazing person, his name was, Andre Howell had conceived of this idea that if we worked with people to help mitigate risk, we think that they'll actually perform well. And he was right. And we worked in a very specific target targeted neighborhood of Philadelphia, and offered like free inspections, and all kinds of things. And, and part of my job was to track the performance of that. Now, this was for all state at the time, and I will name them because at that time, they had lost more money in Hurricane Andrew than they had made in the history of the company. Yeah. And this is a program that they would eventually roll out across all the states. And I had been serving on the National Insurance Task Force which dealt with access, availability, and affordability, affordability of insurance and regional or in a metropolitan as well as rural areas, because there's a big issue with rural areas too. But interestingly, a division of theirs decided not long after I got there that they were going to start mass canceling and a non renewing policies in the state of New Jersey. And the actuarial logic behind it was they looked at all of the people who had had not an accident, apparently you get an accident every five years, they looked at all the people who had not had an accident within a five year period determined that they were due and decided that they were going to use a loophole in a tooth what was called the two for one law. For every two g non renewed you could take one new customer and they just started, guess what group hasn't had a car accident within a five year timeframe. Disabled people, seniors and those who only use vehicles for pleasure use. So here I was in the government relations divisions of a company whose state subsidiary was mass, non renewing disabled and non working individuals. We had agents that were losing clients like 90 a week, and of course, those individuals were taking other business with them, I've never. And this is on the heels of them having gotten in trouble because somebody had made a very inappropriate comment about why they wouldn't cover repairs to a property for a same sex couple. So it was a rough period for them that they would eventually overcome. But really just, that was some of the eye opening for me in terms of why my advocacy needed to be so much broader than just around women. So   Michael Hingson ** 40:28 is that what sort of really led you into dealing with the whole issue of inclusion and equity and so on?   Barbara Anne Gardenhire-Mills ** 40:36 Yes, because I had now at this point, I had worked. in Bridgeton, I had worked in Cherry Hill Township, I had worked in Camden, I had worked in Philadelphia, looking at all of this, I'm seeing all this happening, I'm looking at people use numbers in ways that they should never have to use them because they had their own proprietary insurance score. And I had to know that model. So I had to know what went into it, so I could teach it. And I realized that the problem was so much bigger than even the different things that I had in my life that were intersectional in terms of being a female being a woman of color, you know, I wasn't even dealing with the disability yet at that point. And, but just other things, and, and hearing the way people would talk about people, as groups and status as individual human beings.   Michael Hingson ** 41:34 You know, it's, oh, go ahead.   Barbara Anne Gardenhire-Mills ** 41:36 No, go ahead.   Michael Hingson ** 41:37 It's amazing, just how, as I said, Before, people do as I say, not as I do, how people behave, you know, and most people don't think about their own disabilities, all of you who have eyesight, and I've said it several times on this podcast, have a disability as well, your light dependent, just wait till the power goes out in the building, and you got to go off and try to scrounge for a flashlight or a smartphone. The thing is that, because so many people think that eyesight is really the only game in town, our society collectively, has worked really hard to make light on demand, a fact of life everywhere. And so we've spent basically 145 years developing this technology to make light on demand available, pretty much in a ubiquitous sort of way. So most of the time, you have light on demand until you don't like when I was in a hotel in March. And I've seen it other times since then, before being a building and settling, the power goes out and people start to scream and they don't know what to do. And the fear comes in, and I'm sitting there going so what's the problem? The the issue is, you guys are light dependent. And the reality is disability should not mean a lack of ability, because it's not. Disability is a characteristic that every single person on the planet has. And what we need to truly understand and do is to recognize that the characteristic manifests itself in different ways for different people. It doesn't mean it's not there. So let light cover up your disability, but you still have it. And you can say all day long, you don't. But you do. But but we're too arrogant sometimes to really address that and deal with it. And it's so unfortunate, when that happens so much in our world today. But but the fact is, that's that's the way it is. And so I talk about it, probably more than some people would like on the podcast, because I want the message to be heard by everyone. That disability does not mean lack of ability, and everyone has that characteristic in one way or another. For my part.   Barbara Anne Gardenhire-Mills ** 43:51 Yeah, go ahead. Go ahead. No, no, no, I was gonna say AB so lute Li and I loved hearing you talk about it, on the podcast that I listened to in the speeches that I listened to. Because disability disabled individuals are among some of the most discriminated individuals in this country. And that's planet. And, you know, when you were talking about what happened to you as a child in terms of what the doctors told your parents, you know, a lot of people don't realize that in this country in this country, till as recently as 1979. They were sterilizing women to keep certain women from being able to reproduce, because it will pollute the gene pool with disabled disability character, and   Michael Hingson ** 44:37 there were courts who backed that up. Yes. And supported eugenics like that. Yes, exactly.   Barbara Anne Gardenhire-Mills ** 44:43 And so, you know, I mean, depending on it had I didn't born in a different state, God knows what would have happened. Yeah. But you know, in California was one of the biggest ones. And, you know, a lot of people don't know that because we don't talk About those parts of our history, but whether I was paying attention, I'm really good at listening. And I realized that it's naturally human beings tend to want to group things. They all want to be seen as individuals, but they want to put everybody else in groups. And you could say, you know, people talk about, you know, different immigrants being stupid. I'm sorry, How many languages do you speak? Because they may be struggling in English. But most, most people I know, who have immigrated here know at least one if not five, or six. My Spanish is terrible got Mexico, to for my honeymoon. I mean, people who have all these diverse people, we are all wonderfully and perfectly made, depending on whether or not you believe in God, we've written to flee imperfectly made in God's image. Yeah. And if the Bible says God makes no mistakes, who are we to think that any one else is any less? More superior, less, less superior? Or that we're more superior than anyone else?   Michael Hingson ** 46:19 Well, except that in Oh God, George Burns said that he made a mistake, because he made avocado pits too large. Yeah. Oh, my God to sneak that one in.   Barbara Anne Gardenhire-Mills ** 46:34 Which is funny, though, only. But   Michael Hingson ** 46:37 I hear exactly what you're saying. The fact of the matter is, and kids especially I was talking with someone earlier today. And we were we were doing another interview, and we were talking about children and growing up and how kids are, are fun loving, they are full of adventure. And they don't have all of these agendas. And it's so unfortunate that we teach this in so many ways to children, and they grow up with these these horrible attitudes to a large degree, and there's no need for it. Children aren't evil. But we make them that way.   Barbara Anne Gardenhire-Mills ** 47:17 Well, we could say that about a lot of things, right? I mean, a thing is a thing. It's, it's how we use it. Now, children are born a blank slate, it's what we write on it. Right. And the younger, we can undo that the better. And which is a huge part of you know, you know, like I said, my third pivot was was my most recent pivot after going to grad school. Because I was determined, I was going to get that master's degree before I turned 50. And then getting long COVID. I was like, Okay, you're still here. What are you going to do with this? And I said, well, since grad school, I've been talking about it, because here I am this black female who's been, you know, the first list the first you know, first black female here at first black female there because I was lighter skin, I was palpable, which gets into a whole other issue. And I didn't say quote, unquote, sound black or growing up, the black kids would say your family talks white. Half of my family is white, all my cousins are all interracial. That was my way my dad's family was three possible shade. So it was just normal to me. But then in the post Obama era, it was a little bit more normalized. For a while, oh, if I had $1 for every time somebody said, Oh, she speaks so well. I'd be very, very rich. Well,   Michael Hingson ** 48:45 if I had $1, for every time somebody said, you're amazing. And of course, what they're really saying is, especially for a blind person, you know.   Barbara Anne Gardenhire-Mills ** 48:53 And so after getting COVID, and realizing I was still here, and seeing the spotlight shine on all things that were broken with our health care system, and then some, for anybody who was a person of color, who had an existing disability. Some of the things that I experienced. I actually had to I was like, Mom, you deal with the hospital, you're a nursing professor, you're Caucasian. They're not listening to me. You just deal with it, because they're not listening to me. Because there's so many of us continue to have to deal with ongoing symptoms before anybody would acknowledge that that was a real thing. The and so many people who are in the disability community, we're right in there with us. We're all in there together finding each other and social media and Facebook groups, because no one would listen to us. Mm. That's when I was like, Okay, it's, you're still here, you're here for a reason, it's time to get vocal about everything that's broken in this country about how we treat each other in general. And as the person of color in many organizations back when it was still called affirmative action. And having been part of integrating teams and corporate and government agencies, and seeing the narrative shift. Over the years, I was already getting concerned. And then when everybody was exposed to what so many of us knew, in the death of George Floyd and others, while everybody else said, Okay, stand up, this is a time for celebration, people are finally going to live, learn, change is going to happen, companies are issuing pledges everywhere, we're finally going to get the change that's been coming. And me, I'm on a webinar, still in very deep throes of long COVID with massive cognitive issues. And I said, here's my concern. And I meant to say backlash. I said, the black lashes coming. And that stuck. I see, I see, give it time. People know, when things aren't authentic. People know, when change is being shoved down their throat, people don't like being told that they're responsible for things that they didn't have happen. And saying, Now, you know, how it feels to be me is not the right response for that. And people started reading books about anti racism and all these things I said, I'm telling you, and then I repeat it, I said, I'm gonna keep using the word the black lashes coming since 2021, on record in a webinar. And now we have what we're seeing in Florida, and other states, and book burnings, and Supreme Court decisions. And all of these things as the pendulum swings back from one side to the other. And companies are eliminating diversity, equity inclusion programs, and people are leaving this fairly new kind of practice, for lack of better words. I mean, they've been, it's been slowly been evolving from diversity, diversity, inclusion, diversity, equity. And, and I've been saying for eight years, we're doing it all wrong. doing it all wrong. At no point, in over 20 years, if I ever brought a new hire into a situation without first addressing what needed to be addressed in house to create the environment that would make it possible for them to succeed, we should be doing it differently. And then, of course, after my assault, I was like, we have a serious civility issue. Just in terms of me, you can only legislate how people treat each other so much. But we have serious civility issues going on in workplaces that aren't being addressed, for all of the wrong reasons, across different groups. And it's time that we get our houses in order in terms of civility, then focus on creating the inclusive environment that it should be, then look at the equity issues within that environment, then you bring in the diversity hires that you want to bring in to help your company capitalize on the 30% return on investment that most companies that are diverse actually experience when they are run properly. In a truly, you know, culture add way, and then everybody can succeed. Otherwise, they're just hiring somebody that person comes in, they can't function, they quit. Everybody throws up their hands and says, Oh, well, we tried it didn't work, move on.   Michael Hingson ** 53:46 Tell me about purpose, build solutions and evolutions, if you would.   Barbara Anne Gardenhire-Mills ** 53:49 Sure. It's a purpose built solutions and evolutions while I was in grad school, and I've been doing coaching internally and externally, since 1997. And I was asked, in grad schools, what as part of one of my classes to come up with a two or three word way to describe what I am from a professional standpoint. And I described myself as a Resource Navigator. And because so many of my roles involved, either giving the answers or putting people into the direction where they could find the answers. And so I had been doing everything that you're not supposed to do as a business as a side hustle. And Maryam with long COVID I go ahead, I finally get my international coaching Federation certification that I've been putting off for 12 years. And my coach says, When you get to start a business, you've helped like 1000s of others when you can actually do it yourself. And I figured, okay, so put was filled solutions and evolutions was originally going to be purpose filled solutions and evolutions navigators. But I've refiled the service mark to drop the the navigators, even though I still use it. Solutions navigator was already taken. So I was like, well, everything I do is coaching around the purpose. Once your why what is your core purpose? I know mine, mine is helping others figure out theirs, and then achieve it. And after about three weeks of analysis, paralysis, and finally settled on purpose built solutions, and evolutions, a company that would offer the coaching that I had been doing, but also capitalize on my years of experience in various leadership roles, from supervisor up to Executive Director, as well as my Masters of Science and executive leadership and all that I had learned in grad school with a big focus on fixing what I felt was broken with what I call civility, inclusion, equity and diversity. And my company's turned to in June. And I have a team of consultants that support me, and a young woman that I hired from a program that I served as a leadership coach in breathe and shout out to Braven, which is a fellowship program for college students. I brought her in as an intern, and then hired her as my team. And she was a young woman who came here at the age of three, as part of her parents trying to escape Mexico. And she's DACA. And she's going through the citizenship process. And she couldn't find a job in the DEI space. And so we after a number of things, I asked her apologize for the parking. After a number of meetings, I asked her, Okay, we've had all these conversations about what I feel is wrong with the tape all of the information that I gave you, and then I want you to go and I want you to research and I want you to come back and tell me how you would redo my inclusion, equity and diversity program. And she came back. And she said, I think we need to start with mental health and physical disabilities. So this young woman who herself was an immigrant, who had was given carte blanche to look at everything that we should be looking at as part of a program that focuses on inclusion, equity and diversity, had every reason to throughout her life to come back with any number of options. And that's what she came back with. And I said, Okay, would you like a job as consultant? And how would you like to help me take take the lead and developing this program, and that's how paving the way to civility, inclusion, equity and diversity was born. Wow.   Michael Hingson ** 58:09 Well, that is pretty cool. And, and you're even making enough to pay her and everything, huh?   Barbara Anne Gardenhire-Mills ** 58:14 I am. That's a blessing. Unfortunately, it works out she's she's part time consultant. She just had her and her husband just had their second baby. And she's on maternity leave right now. But we did our first official full public offering of the program in June, it was very well received, people were blown away. They learned things, of course, that they were never taught and about everything from how the messages are even being manipulated to you know, you know why it's so important to see every person as an individual being and someone who I love Louis Brandeis Griggs was the one who I stole the spelling of it from because I would always say people want to be human beings. And he would always capitalize the B E. In being and so paving the way to civility, inclusion, equity and diversity, a new way of be in, in workplace and in life is our our most comprehensive flagship training program, who   Michael Hingson ** 59:24 have been some of the people who had the most influence on you as you're going through life.   Barbara Anne Gardenhire-Mills ** 59:31 My mom obviously has been one. I mentioned a couple of Lisa Halloran who stood by me when she had everything to risk. I have to ride or die. Best Friend's one. Unfortunately. Kathy Jagger passed actually. It'll be here next week. She was also a rape survivor and we met when I was 19. She was a little bit older too. She was 32. And we bonded and she was my best friend and mentor in so many different ways. She was the reason I went to work at Prudential. We went through all kinds of things together. And you know, she will she I referred to her as one of the greatest loves of my life. And the other one, her name is Maria Callahan, Cassidy, who she relocated to an amazing new position at Richmond University only weeks before Kathy passed. So I lost I fortunately didn't lose Maria, it's, it's hard because she's not here. But these are both people that I've known since my teens and have definitely shaped who I am. My son, actually, I've learned so much from him. My son is neurodiverse. He likes to say he's not on the spectrum. He broke the spectrum. Well, that's can and and, and he is hysterical and funny and incredibly talented and incredibly brilliant. And helping navigate the public schools where we live. And watching him continue to still get back up even when he was pushed down. Because in our school district, if you are not in the box, you're basically out of luck. So we had to get an attorney for our son when he was only in third grade, to fight for his rights, and the he knows himself. And really, his biggest challenge is he has something called dysgraphia. He can recite things verbatim, but you could give him that same thing to copy, and he struggles to copy it. And that was a very difficult educational experience for him. But now he's a mechanic, he's training to be a mechanic, he wants to own his own mechanic shop, he has a lovely girlfriend, Collins girlfriend is Ariel, they've been together since they were 14 and 16. And now they are 19 and 21. Going on 20 and 22. And she is the daughter I would have chosen. I call her the daughter I got to choose. And I've learned so much because of her a lot of her upbringing is very similar to mine, they say we've we're very careful to make sure it doesn't get weird. But they say you end up with somebody very similar to your parent. Ariel and I have definitely have a lot in common and and then I would be remiss if I didn't say my husband because even though we have a definitely have our different political beliefs. He has really just unleashed me. He, one thing he stands very firm on is equal pay for women after watching some of the experiences that I go through and he is constantly up, go do it. You got to do this, you got to speak up up, you've been offered a show. I should mention Joe Cole, Antonio, my coach, she is the one who did push me off the cliff to get my show by saying I'm booking you on a local talk show. So that you have two weeks, you have a couple of weeks to get ready to go announced your business is finally open. That's the other reason why purpose filled solutions and evolutions came in. But these are some really all unique but very interesting teachers in my life. So   Michael Hingson ** 1:03:36 tell me really quickly if you would about your talk show.   Barbara Anne Gardenhire-Mills ** 1:03:39 My talk show was an offshoot of Joe pushing me off the cliff, ironically, and we joke because Joe is my husband. But Joe is my coach and also probably one of my closest friends at this point. To Joe to Joe's once God wants J O. And Jo booked me on this talk show called Morning Coffee and gave me a couple of weeks. She said I know you can incorporate a business within 72 hours. I've seen you do it. You're going to do it. And so sure enough, on July 2 of 2021, I went in there. My business was two weeks old. And I announced and introduced myself and my one intern to the world. Somebody else who my son's girlfriend and told them about what I was looking to do and how I was going to change the world and the narrative and be a coach and offer services that I couldn't offer in my day job. And they came back to me and said the response to your episode was so amazing. Do you want to do a show? I was like, I was like I've always been the person on answering the questions or writing for government officials who are answering the questions. I've never been on that side of the mic. They said, Well, what do you think I said, Let me think about it. And I was originally going to call my blog, what the why? Kind of like instead of WTF, WT w. And I said, I have an idea. If you give me full control over who my guests are, would you be interested in doing a show called What the Why, and it would be conversations with diverse leaders from all walks of life, all races, genders, disabilities, ages, and I would interview them about what their purpose in life was and how they figured it out. And the station manager said, huh, yeah, let's do it. And so right now I'm on a brief hiatus because the station is in the middle of a move, but I'm in my second season. Of what the why with barber and and I have, I'm hoping to have you on in like, third season because you are so friggin awesome. And not because you're blind. You're just freaking awesome. Period. You just amazing. I'm completely and utterly amazing. But I have interviewed the smallest of businesses. My oldest guests had been in their 80s. My youngest recently was eight. He is a he's a math genius who video of him doing complex math at the age of three went viral. He was invited to join MENSA fours. Mom submitted it and he was accepted at age five. He and She both have long COVID Cynthia, shout out to Cynthia ad Nagin her brilliant son, Aiden. They're both brilliant. And she founded a health equity agency. And he is officially the paediatric spokesperson. He does not know he does not know his IQ. So cute. He had literally just turned eight a couple of weeks before I interviewed him in August. And one second, he's telling me what I need to understand about quantum singularities. And then the next second is holding up pieces of clay saying look at the ribbon I made. And he's what's funny about the interview we did is all three of us were having a level of a COVID flare up. So all three of us were having cognitive challenges. So   Michael Hingson ** 1:07:24 it was like a fun show.   Barbara Anne Gardenhire-Mills ** 1:07:25 It was fun. But you know, when you're with an eight year old, you roll with it. Yep. And we just kind of laugh with but he's, he's amazing. He is training to be a chess champion, because COVID has affected his ability to do outdoor sports. And he's homeschooled with a pod of other little young geniuses like Kim. And but I got to talk with the Sunni meet. One of the people I got to interview was the biker from the village people, ah, and the first woman to be the president of the National Association of government guaranteed lenders and, you know, some local elected officials. But then like, I found out a whole side to my hairdresser. And, and his story as a small business owner who's getting ready to hand it off to his daughter, now that he's in his 60s and I know what his journey was like and how his grandparents stood behind him as a black straight male wanting to do hair.   Michael Hingson ** 1:08:28 There you go. So you have lots of lots of people. I have one more question for you. This is a very crucial question. How tall are you?   Barbara Anne Gardenhire-Mills ** 1:08:38 five foot six.   Michael Hingson ** 1:08:40 And how tall is your husband?   Barbara Anne Gardenhire-Mills ** 1:08:42 five foot eight.   Michael Hingson ** 1:08:44 Ha we did not follow in our parents footsteps. Okay, I just wanted to check that out.   Barbara Anne Gardenhire-Mills ** 1:08:49 But here's the flip side to that though. Yeah, they were both named Joe. My dad was a Joseph. My husband is a Joseph.   Michael Hingson ** 1:08:57 There you go. And what's your son's name?   Barbara Anne Gardenhire-Mills ** 1:09:00 Colin   Michael Hingson ** 1:09:01 Cartwright. You said that Yeah. Well Colin Joseph. Okay. So there's a Joseph in   Barbara Anne Gardenhire-Mills ** 1:09:05 all of them in my dad was was rather dark for a mixed race man. All three of them are avid outdoorsman. In my husband's not into the same kind of football basketball. My dad was but all three of them were hunters. Okay. married to former vegetarian. Yeah,   Michael Hingson ** 1:09:24 there you are. If people want to reach out to you maybe learn about your coaching and and get in touch. How do they do that?   Barbara Anne Gardenhire-Mills ** 1:09:31 They can find me on LinkedIn. BGardenhiremills. And you spell it sure it's B G A R D E N H I R E. Mills. I'm on all forms of social media. And honestly, if they can get Barbara Anne garden Hire Mills if you Google that and What the Why it pops up the show airs on RVN R V N television.com as well as roku. And then I believe I forwarded you some some other links to the website. I'm not going to spell out our whole ridiculously long website because I'm actually I actually bought the URLs to shorten it. So   Michael Hingson ** 1:10:26 how do I find it on Roku?   Barbara Anne Gardenhire-Mills ** 1:10:28 I believe rvn because I don't have Roku that's why it's there. Yeah. But if you go on Roku you should be able to find the channel for RV and television is supposed to be on the Roku channels are and I'll check out under the Roku channels otherwise, RV and television or there's access to it directly from my website, which is my entire name spelled out a moment of weakness. It when I was having COVID Happy hypoxia which is really not happy. But I thought somebody said to me, Oh, let it you just name your website, your company and I thought, Oh, sure. Yeah, well, yeah, well, as if my name isn't long enough purpose built solutions and evolutions because you can't have an ampersand and a website.   Michael Hingson ** 1:11:08 No, that's okay. I'm gonna go hunted down on Roku though. That'll be kind of fun. Awesome. Well, I want to thank you for being here. And I want to thank you for listening. I love to hear your thoughts about today. This has been a lot of fun and firebrands, life and lessons are definitely worth paying attention to and I really value the time that we got to spend. I'd love to hear your thoughts, please feel free to email me Michaelhi m i c h a e l h i at accessibe A C C E S S I B E.com. Or go to www dot Michael Hingson H i n g s o n.com/podcast. To listen to more podcasts. But you can also find us wherever Podcasts can be found. And wherever you listen, please give us a five star rating. We appreciate it. We appreciate your insights and your comments and value them greatly. Now, of course, both Barbara Anne for you and for you listening. If you know of anyone who want to be a guest on our podcast, please let us know. We're always looking for more people to come on our podcast. I'm sure that Barbara Anne could talk to you about talk shows and in finding guests. So whatever. We'd love to hear from you and we really value your time and that you took the time to be with us today. And Barbara Anne one last time. T

In this episode of the Dover Download podcast, Deputy City Manager Christopher Parker chats with Brian Early from Media Services and Erin Bassegio from the Planning Department to discuss updates and activities for Dover's public boards, commissions, and committees in February. Brian Early highlights the City Council's ongoing fiscal year 2025 budget review, including upcoming meetings and workshops. He also mentions the Council's approval of a contract to rebuild the Portland Avenue retaining wall, the acceptance of a $440,000 grant from InvestNH to help increase attainable housing units, the allocation of federal Community Development Block Grant funding to local nonprofits, and the Council's directive for the Solid Waste Advisory Committee to evaluate the city's trash and recycling options. Erin Bassegio discusses the activities of various land use boards, including the Community Housing Needs Committee's discussion of a housing opportunity planning grant, the Conservation Commission's endorsement of environmental conditional use permits, and the Planning Board's approval of a two-phase project for a new building to house the city's Inspection Services and other offices. In This Week in Dover History, we learn about Captain John Riley, a prominent Dover sea captain from the 1800s, and his family's legacy in shipbuilding and maritime activities.

Todays guest is Margarita Gonzalez Macedonio, a Principal Community Planner with the City of Santa Ana Neighborhood Initiatives and Environmental Services Program.  Margarita has been a part of the City of Santa Ana team for over 16 years.   As an advocacy planner, Margarita is a solution-oriented leader focused on ensuring an inclusive process for delivering equitable outcomes in many communities. Margarita prioritizes strengthening her network of interagency and community stakeholders on public policy and community planning projects that bring light to  environmental health equity and perceived impacts to the built environment and neighborhoods' quality of life. Margarita facilitates capacity-building, collaboration, grant support, networking and project investments to bring about equitable resources to neighborhoods and community-based groups to accomplish their organizational objectives.   In her new role, Margarita has worked with City Management to create a new Environmental Justice (EJ) section in the Planning Division as part of the City Council's adoption of a new General Plan in April 2022. Margarita is the City's EJ staff person hired to manage and monitor the implementation of all of the City's General Plan EJ policies and actions, which include the formation of a new resident-focused team to guide and prioritize EJ actions.  Margarita continues to build her team to provide training and support to neighborhood leaders and delve into the research, education, and collaboration needed to address complex environmental justice issues working with departments, regulatory agencies, and community members from areas challenged by a combination of racial, economic, health, and environmental burdens. Prior to her work with the City of Santa Ana, Margarita administered affordable housing, strategic planning,community engagement initiatives in unincorporated communities, and Community Development Block Grant-funded programs at the Los Angeles Community Development Authority. Earlier in her career, she supported public housing resident and youth initiatives at the Housing Authority City of Los Angeles.  Margarita received her MA in Urban Planning and BA in History and Chicana/o Studies from UCLA. Outside of work, Margarita enjoys quality time with her family and channels her energy through live music with her band and church bands in her community. ---------------------------------------- Plan Dulce is a space for elevating projects, issues and initiatives taking place within Latino communities across the U.S. Episode co-hosts: Anna Vidal (featured in the previous episode) and Vidal Marquez, Chair of Latinos and Planning. Episode edited by Grecia White, Vice-Chair of Latinos and Planning Learn more about Latinos and Planning, a division within the American Planning Association. LUGARES, LAP's annual virtual conference will take place November 16-17, 2023 -- register here. --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/plandulcepodcast/message

The city of Vancouver estimates there will be up to $2.2 million in Community Development Block Grant, HOME Investment Partnerships Program and HOME American Rescue Plan dollars available for local projects in 2024. https://tinyurl.com/4tada5ta #CityOfVancouver #CommunityDevelopmentBlockGrant #HOMEInvestmentPartnershipsProgram #HOMEAmericanRescuePlan #LocalProjects #2024 #GrantApplicationGuidelines #Homeless #LowToModerateIncome #VancouverWa #ClarkCountyWa #ClarkCountyNews #ClarkCountyToday

The post The Rome Floyd Chamber Show – Molly Majestic with the City of Rome (Community Development Block Grant Coordinator) appeared first on Business RadioX ®.

Mayor Inman returns to the studio to talk about City of Macomb business including the Community Development Block Grant;  updates on the renovations and upgrades occurring in the Public Works Department, namely the Wastewater Treatment Plant and the Water Treatment Plant, as well updates on the road resurfacing projects.  Mayor Inman also discusses the success of the Downtown Block Party that took place on August 25th, and looks forward to the upcoming Community Walkthrough with the WIU students. To stay up to date on events happening in Macomb, visit the City of Macomb and Downtown Macomb Facebook pages.

In response to the devastating wildfires affecting Maui and the island of Hawaii, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development is stepping up in a big way. Today they've announced a robust package of regulatory and administrative waivers aimed at fast-tracking the island's recovery. The move follows HUD's initial support in the wake of the fires, reinforcing the agency's commitment to the residents of Hawaii. The relief package is comprehensive, extending across several key HUD programs, including the Community Development Block Grant and home investment partnerships, among others. So what does this mean on the ground? In practice, these waivers enable more flexible use of federal funds, including paying for emergency food and water, constructing new housing in disaster-stricken areas, easing tenant-based rental assistance requirements, and more, all via a new streamlined notification process designed to help where it's needed faster. The critical question is, as these funds are unlocked and deployed, will they be the turning point that these communities need to rise from the ashes? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

CTL Script/ Top Stories of July 15 Saturday Publish Date: July 14 Friday   Henssler :15 From the Ingles Studio Welcome to the Award Winning Cherokee Tribune Ledger Podcast    Today is Saturday, July 15th, and happy 67th birthday to guitarist Joe Satriani ***Satriani***     I'm Brian Giffin and here are the stories Cherokee is talking about, presented by Credit Union of Georgia Start of eligibility ‘redetermination' knocks almost 100,000 Georgians off Medicaid Georgia reports giant budget surplus despite June revenue drop And a Canton woman and teen charged with string of car break-ins     We'll have all this and more coming up on the Cherokee Tribune-Ledger Podcast      Commercial:  CU of GA   Story 1. charges   Since the expiration of the federal public health emergency in April, nearly 100,000 people in Georgia have lost their Medicaid coverage, according to the Department of Community Health. The federal government had prohibited the disenrollment of Medicaid recipients for three years during the pandemic. Georgia began reassessing eligibility for Medicaid and PeachCare for Kids in June, resulting in 95,578 individuals losing coverage, while 64,423 were renewed. The majority lost coverage due to procedural termination caused by a lack of information. The state aims to complete the redetermination process for all Medicaid enrollees by May 2024 and has implemented an information campaign to assist recipients.   ....……… Read more on this story at tribuneledgernews.com STORY 2: surplus   Georgia tax collections in June 2023 dropped slightly compared to the previous year, but the state ended fiscal 2023 with a significant surplus for the third consecutive year. The Georgia Department of Revenue collected $2.84 billion in taxes in June, a 0.4% decrease from the same month in the previous year. However, the total revenue for the entire fiscal year reached $33.13 billion, surpassing Governor Brian Kemp's revenue estimate of $28.4 billion, resulting in a surplus of nearly $4.8 billion. While individual income taxes decreased by 12.6% due to increased refunds, net sales tax collections increased by 4%. Corporate income tax receipts declined by 14.7% due to higher refunds for businesses. The surplus will trigger a debate on how to allocate the funds, with Kemp advocating for a conservative approach and using the surplus to fund income tax cuts. Critics argue that these cuts primarily benefit the wealthy and that the state should prioritize funding public education, healthcare, and economic mobility.   Story 3: canton   A woman and her 13-year-old stepson were arrested in Canton for allegedly breaking into numerous cars in the area. The Canton Police Department responded to multiple reports of car break-ins, with a total of 26 incidents reported. Some cars were unlocked, while others were forcibly entered. Blood found inside the vehicles was collected as evidence. Witnesses saw a red vehicle leaving the area, and later, the woman and teenager were found unconscious in a red car in a shopping center parking lot. Stolen items and a firearm were discovered in the car. The woman, Brianna Rogers, faces charges of entering auto and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, while the teenager faces similar charges. The investigation is ongoing, and more charges may be added.   Back in a moment   Break:  ESOG - Drake – Ingles 8   STORY 4: woodstock   The Woodstock City Council made several votes during a meeting aimed at improving the city's infrastructure. They adopted a resolution to apply for federal Community Development Block Grant funding from Cherokee County for the Dupree Road connection project. The city is seeking $685,000 in funding to create a safe connection with sidewalks and trail segments. They also authorized a supplemental proposal with Arcadis for the Paden Street Extension project and approved a contract for surveying the Market Street extension project. Additionally, the council approved an alcohol license request for H&M Food Mart, allowing the sale of wine and malt beverages at the convenience store.   Story 5: ballinger   Eric Ballinger, a lawyer from Canton, has been re-elected for a ninth term on the Board of Governors of the State Bar of Georgia. He will continue representing Cherokee County in the Blue Ridge Judicial Circuit, a position he has held since 2007. Ballinger is the founder of The Law Office of Eric A. Ballinger, focusing on family law, criminal defense, general litigation, and small business representation. He obtained his law degree from Atlanta's John Marshall Law School and has been a member of the State Bar of Georgia since 1993. Additionally, Ballinger serves as a part-time judge for the Magistrate Court of Cherokee County. The Board of Governors is responsible for policymaking and consists of 160 members representing each judicial circuit in Georgia.   Story 6:  ATM   The Cherokee Sheriff's Office is seeking suspects involved in the theft of an undisclosed amount of money from an ATM machine at the Towne Lake Wells Fargo in Georgia. The incident occurred last week when the masked suspects allegedly confronted an ATM technician servicing the drive-through ATM. They forced the technician away from the machine and stole cash from it before fleeing in a white vehicle. The authorities believe the incident was specifically targeted at the ATM and not the bank's customers. As of now, the suspects remain at large, and the investigation involves the Cherokee Sheriff's Office, with no involvement from the FBI. Anyone with information is urged to contact the Cherokee Sheriff's Office. See some pictures at tribuneledgernews.com   Back with more after this   Commercial: Elon – Dayco - Story 7: Aaron   The Atlanta Braves will honor the late Hank Aaron during Hank Aaron Week, which will take place from July 25-30. The week will feature community-building initiatives and culminate in celebrations at Truist Park during the Braves' game against the Milwaukee Brewers on July 28. Additionally, the Hank Aaron Invitational showcase game will be held on July 30, featuring the top 200 high school-aged players from across the United States. The Braves will pay tribute to Aaron's impact as a player, executive, and entrepreneur with special pre-game and in-game content. Proceeds from the Atlanta Braves Foundation's 50/50 Raffle during the weekend series will support the Henry Louis Aaron Fund, promoting diversity in baseball.   Story 8:  All Star   Atlanta is being considered as a potential host for the 2025 All-Star Game, according to MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred. This comes after the city lost the opportunity to host the 2021 game due to controversy surrounding Georgia's voting laws. Truist Park, is being considered as a potential venue for the 2025 game. Other sites under consideration include Wrigley Field in Chicago and Fenway Park in Boston. Atlanta has previously hosted the All-Star Game in 1972 and 2000. The 2022 game will be hosted by the Texas Rangers, and the 2026 game will coincide with the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence in Philadelphia. Atlanta previously hosted All-Star Games in 1972 and 2000.   Story 9: BB Update   In an update on Cherokee ballplayers in the pros, Brennan Milone, a 2022 MLB draftee from Woodstock, has been promoted to the Lansing Lugnuts, the High-A affiliate of the Oakland Athletics. Milone has been performing well across multiple teams, hitting .303 with 70 hits, 11 home runs, and 43 RBIs. Etowah alum Drew Waters of the Kansas City Royals has a season average of .239 with 27 hits and three home runs. Hunter Gaddis, a Sequoyah alum in the Cleveland Guardians' organization, has struggled with a 7.12 ERA in Triple-A. Justin Wrobleski, a former Chiefs pitcher, has a 4-3 record and a 3.27 ERA with the Great Lakes Loons. Connor Pavolony, a catcher and former River Ridge standout, has been reinstated from the injured list by the Bowie Baysox, a Double-A affiliate of the Baltimore Orioles.   Final thoughts after this   Henssler 60   Thanks again for spending time with us listening to today's Cherokee Tribune Ledger podcast. Get more on these stories and other great content at tribune ledger news.com. Giving you important information about our community and telling great stories are what we do. Did you know over 50% of Americans listen to podcasts weekly? Make sure you join us for our next episode and be sure to share this podcast on social media with your friends and family. Add us to your Alexa Flash Briefing or your Google Home Briefing and be sure to like, follow, and subscribe wherever you get your podcasts.   www.cuofga.org  www.ingles-markets.com  www.drakerealty.com  www.elonsalon.com  www.henssler.com  www.gon.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Welcome to the daily304 – your window into Wonderful, Almost Heaven, West Virginia.   Today is Sunday, May 28  Talk is abuzz about this growing industry in West Virginia -- learn more about the sweet art of beekeeping…Wheeling's small business program gets $500,000 funding…and Big Timber Brewing takes home a medal from the World Beer Cup…on today's daily304. #1 – From WBOY Clarksburg – What's the buzz about beekeeping in the Mountain State? According to a study by Lawn Love, West Virginia is ranked 33 on the list of 2023's Best States for Beekeeping. West Virginia is in the top 10 of states with the most support for beekeepers. The Mountain State also ranks No. 13 as one of the states with the most earning potential. Visit the West Virginia Department of Agriculture or the West Virginia Beekeepers Association to learn more. Read more: https://www.wboy.com/only-on-wboy-com/wboy-com-lists-and-rankings/is-west-virginia-good-for-beekeeping/ #2 – From WTRF Wheeling – A long-standing program in the City of Wheeling just received major support and that's great news for small businesses. Senator Joe Manchin's office recently announced the City of Wheeling Small Business Facade Program will receive $500,000 thanks to a congressionally directed spending request secured by Manchin as part of the Senate Appropriations Committee. The successful program was originally started under the Community Development Block Grant, but has recently been part of the general fund. Applications for the project can be found online at the City of Wheeling website. Read more: https://www.wtrf.com/wheeling/wheeling-accepting-applications-for-half-million-dollar-small-business-program/ #3 – From WBOY –  The Big Timber Brewing Company brought international attention to the West Virginia beer scene earlier this month at the World Beer Cup, a global beer competition that attracted 2,375 other breweries from 51 different countries. On May 10 Big Timber Brewing from Elkins won the bronze medal in the Robust Porter category for its Porter. This comes off the back of a silver medal in the same category at the Great American Beer Festival back in the fall of 2022. “It's pretty cool to place in that,” Matt Kwasniewski said, the brewery's founder. “I've always viewed them as the most in-depth and broadest competitions in the world.” Visit West Virginia Tourism to learn more about craft beer in West Virginia and plan your tasting road trip! Read more: https://www.wboy.com/news/west-virginia/west-virginia-brewery-medals-at-world-beer-cup/   Find these stories and more at wv.gov/daily304. The daily304 curated news and information is brought to you by the West Virginia Department of Commerce: Sharing the wealth, beauty and opportunity in West Virginia with the world. Follow the daily304 on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram @daily304. Or find us online at wv.gov and just click the daily304 logo.  That's all for now. Take care. Be safe. Get outside and enjoy all the opportunity West Virginia has to offer.

MDJ  Script/ Top Stories for May 12th Thursday Publish Date: May 11, Thursday   Henssler :15,  Bed Music fires From the Henssler Financial Studio, Welcome to the Marietta Daily Journal Podcast    Today is Friday May the 12th, and happy birthday to the late great comic George Carlin ***highlight*** I'm Brian Giffin and here are the top stories Cobb is talking about, presented by Credit Union of Georgia 2 students detained at North Cobb High after another phony threat Marietta gives developer 4 months to revise plan for downtown building And A Cobb teen reported missing is found safe We'll have all this and more on the Marietta Daily Journal Podcast.   Commercial : ESOG STORY 1  Threat   Two students from North Cobb High School were detained after the school was placed under "code yellow" due to threatening images being air-dropped among students for two consecutive days. However, investigations by multiple law enforcement agencies showed no actual threat existed. The school district stated that severe repercussions will be applied as per district policy, state and Federal law, for engaging in behavior that disrupts the school day. Prior to the air-dropping incidents, the district investigated two other rumors of danger to the school, which were found to be unfounded. The district has been investigating threats against schools, which have become a trend, and taking appropriate measures to keep students and staff safe. STORY 2: Bridger ** Christian Jamar Harris, a 32-year-old man from Acworth, Georgia,  was arrested on April 27 for possessing over 100 videos of The Marietta City Council has given Bridger Properties four months to revise its design for a seven-story, 135-unit building in downtown Marietta. The council asked Bridger to hold town halls to collect input from residents before returning with new plans. The historic board, which advises the council on building changes within Marietta's downtown historic district, had recommended denying Bridger's design. Bridger, which owns more than four acres of downtown real estate, does not need a rezoning to move forward with the project but requires a certificate of approval from the council due to the property being within the downtown historic district. The council is considering whether Bridger's design is in line with city guidelines on new construction in the historic district.Top of Form       Story 3: Missing   The Cobb County Sheriff's Office has located a runaway juvenile, Emorie Williams, in Atlanta on Tuesday. The 14-year-old had been reported missing on April 28 and an investigation was launched to locate her. After receiving a tip about her whereabouts, the investigators staked out the location and apprehended her. Parents whose children run away from home are advised to contact 911 immediately. The Cobb County Sheriff's App is also available on Android and iPhone devices for immediate updates on missing persons or to submit anonymous tips…..we'll be right back   Break:   CU of GA – Dayco   Story 4:  Life   Life University has announced a new scholarship program that provides a 20% reduction in tuition fees for eligible Cobb County residents who enroll as full-time undergraduate students starting from the 2023 Summer Quarter. The scholarship is available to students who maintain a 3.0 GPA or higher upon entry and maintain a minimum cumulative GPA of 2.75 throughout their studies at Life U. Transfer students are also eligible if they have a 2.75 GPA or higher upon entry and maintain the same GPA while studying at Life U. Athletic scholarship holders are also eligible for a 20% discount or the amount of their athletic scholarship, whichever is greater. .   STORY 5: History   The newly renovated Rosenwald School, built in 1924 with funding from philanthropist Julius Rosenwald to provide education for Black children across the South, has reopened in Acworth, Georgia. The school was replaced by the Roberts School in the 1940s, but was dismantled and rebuilt at its current location by Acworth's Black community. The building has undergone numerous renovations and now serves as a community center, owned by the city and rented out for private events. The recent renovations cost around $700,000 and were funded in part by Cobb's Community Development Block Grant program. The ribbon cutting ceremony was attended by over 50 people.   STORY 6: Wiser   Paul Wiser, an 81-year-old veteran, received a standing ovation as he graduated magna cum laude with a degree in interdisciplinary studies from Kennesaw State University's Radow College of Humanities and Social Sciences in May 2023. Wiser returned to KSU in 1985 to study business, but never completed his coursework until now. He shifted his focus to criminal justice and became the first in his family to earn a college degree, with a goal of addressing veteran homelessness. Wiser's senior seminar research project, “Local Community Initiatives Can End Veteran Homelessness,” focused on using local approaches to tackle the problem. He completed his coursework entirely online, showing that age is not a barrier to learning.   Story 7: Sentenced   Christopher Allen, an Austell man, has been sentenced to two years in prison and four years of supervised release for drug trafficking conspiracy. He was described as a “mid-level trafficker” and is one of eight people who have been sentenced as part of a multi-agency investigation into an Atlanta drug ring. The group targeted vulnerable communities in the southwest of the city, and Allen is one of four metro Atlanta residents who have been given prison sentences. The DEA, U.S. Marshals Service, and Georgia Bureau of Investigation worked on the case, seizing vehicles, guns, cash, and jewelry used or purchased with the proceeds of the crimes.…..back in a momentTop of Form   Break  Drake – Elon-JRM Teaser   Top of Form   Story 8: Walton The Milton girls lacrosse team defeated Walton 17-7 in the Class AAAAAAA state semifinals with the help of two big scoring runs. The loss brought Walton's season to a close with a 14-7 record, and Coach Amanda Ryan reflected on the team's history of reaching the final four, often against Milton, and their decision to strive for the next level or remain at the final four. Milton will play West Forsyth in the finals, seeking their 16th state title. Payton Kozina led Milton with six goals, while Anna Mellinger tallied six assists and one goal. The Eagles' speed and accuracy in passing made the difference….back with some final thoughts after this   Break: Ingles 3-Henssler 60 Signoff – ****Cobb Life bed**** Thanks again for hanging out with us on today's Marietta Daily Journal podcast. Did you know over 50% of Americans listen to podcasts weekly? Giving you important news about your community and telling great stories are what we do. Make sure you join us for our next episode and be sure to share this podcast on social media with your friends and family. Add us to your Alexa Flash Briefing or your Google Home Briefing and be sure to like, follow, and subscribe wherever you get your podcasts.  Thanks to our sponsors Henssler Financial www.hensslerkennesaw.com Engineered Solutions of Georgia www.esogrepair.com Credit Union of Georgia www.cuofga.com Dayco Systems www.daycosystems.com Elon Salon www.elonsalon.com Drake Realty www.drakerealty.com JRM Management www.jrmmanagement.com Ingles Markets www.ingles-markets.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

‘Crypto bros' donated to Iowa Democrats in 2022The Iowa Democratic Party said Wednesday it is looking into a $250,000 campaign donation from Nishad Singh, a former executive of the cryptocurrency company FTX. Singh's large donation was first reported by the Des Moines Register.But that was not the only donation Iowa Democrats received from FTX leaders in 2022.A separate $10,000 donation from Singh to the state party on the same date is recorded in federal campaign finance records.Sam Bankman-Fried, FTX's founder and CEO, donated $9,756.20 to the Iowa Democratic Party on Aug. 31, $2,900 to Democratic Representative Cindy Axne, on Oct. 17, and $5,000 to a PAC that supported Axne on Sept. 28 according to federal campaign finance records.Bankman-Fried was arrested in the Bahamas recently and faces myriad charges of fraud and money laundering.Singh donated more than $8 million to Democratic candidates and causes in 2021 and 2022, according to federal campaign finance records. Bankman-Fried donated more than $40 million to various political candidates and causes, from both major political parties, according to federal records.Pearson lays off 50 in Iowa City, closes officePearson is laying off 50 employees at its Iowa City facility on North Dodge — an office it recently closed “and opened opportunities for employees to work in one of our Cedar Rapids facilities,” a spokesman for the company said.The Iowa City layoffs were part of changes Pearson is making “to invest in priorities that will better serve our customers and drive growth in a rapidly changing market,” Dan Nelson, vice president of Pearson's global media relations, told The Gazette on Wednesday.“We understand that these changes are difficult for those whose jobs are affected,” Nelson said in an email. “We have been transparent with all impacted employees, offering ample notification, a generous severance package, and outplacement services.”Marion Methodist Church project may be among CDBG grant applications A renovation that seeks to breathe new life into Marion Methodist Church — a historic building that was saved from demolition through a last-minute deal this year — is among several projects looking for city support letters to apply for a Community Development Block Grant program.The Marion City Council will vote Thursday night on approving letters of support for the five projects that are looking to submit applications.The federal block grant disaster funds are allocated to the Iowa Economic Development Authority through the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. Linn County will receive 80 percent of the overall $57.6 million, while the other 20 percent — about $11 million — will be used in Marshall, Tama and Benton counties. The IEDA has six years to fully spend the funds.

Welcome to the 214th day of the year, which means we are now 58.6 percent of the way through 2022. There’s still plenty of time to improve your averages, or lower them, depending on the rules of whatever game you may be playing in your head. On paper, today is August 2, and there’s five months left until Charlottesville Community Engagement will devote its attention to 2023, declared already by the United Nations as the International Year of the Millets. Are you ready? Sign up for a free or paid subscription to get articles about what’s happening in the area. See below for an offer from Ting that could help us both!On today’s program:Charlottesville is taking precautions in preparation of the five year anniversary of the Unite the Right rallyA federal judge has dismissed a second lawsuit seeking a House of Delegates race in 2022Area law enforcement agencies had a recent crackdown on speeding on U.S. 29 Charlottesville’s Fire Department is deploying more medical equipment The Albemarle Board of Supervisors authorizes a lease for the county to lease a portion of a former department store for public safety vehiclesFirst shout out: Soul of Cville to mark Fifth Anniversary of A12In today’s first shout-out: Three groups are preparing to hold the second annual Soul of Cville festival to celebrate Black excellence in Central Virginia. Chic & Classy Image Consulting, 101.3 JAMZ, and the Ix Art Park Foundation will host the event will be held on August 12, August 13, and August 14 and will feature: Live music and performancesA fashion showA Black artisan market featuring local vendors, Food from local Black-owned restaurantsA pop-up skate event with De La Roll, An art show called There Are Black People in the Future with The Bridge PAI. On Friday there will be a screening of the 1989 film Do the Right Thing, with an afterparty in the Looking Glass hosted by 9 Pillars Hip Hop. For details, visit www.ixartpark.org/soul-of-cville.City on alert for fifth anniversary of A12This week marks five years since the Unite the Right rally and violent conflicts in downtown Charlottesville. Yesterday the city sent out a press release stating that there is no “specific credible threat” but that precautions will be taken. “CPD is maintaining a status of heightened situational awareness and monitoring chatter from intelligence sources to be prepared to increase available coverage Downtown and in parks, which can be activated quickly in response to any pop-up emergencies that might occur,” reads that press release.The eastern vehicular crossing of the Downtown Mall at Heather Heyer Way will be closed from Thursday August 11 at 6 p.m. until Sunday morning August 14 at 6:30 a.m. There is a planned event at the Ting Pavilion for Fridays after Five on Friday. No House of Delegates race in 2022If you’re a candidate for the Virginia House of Delegates, it’s now pretty much certain you’ll be on the ballot in 462 days if you get the nomination or otherwise qualify. Judge David Novak of Virginia’s Eastern Federal District Court has dismissed a second lawsuit seeking an election this year. (read the ruling)“Like just about everything else in our society, the unprecedented COVID-19 global pandemic impacted the work of the United States Census Bureau, delaying the sending of the results of the 2020 Census to the states,” states the introduction to Novak’s order to dismiss the case. That delay meant Virginia did not have updated boundaries for the General Assembly or the House of Representatives until the end of 2021. At the time, Richmond attorney Paul Goldman had an active suit against the State Board of Elections arguing that the 2021 elections were unconstitutional because they were based on data from the 2010 Census. After several months of legal proceedings including an appearance before the Fourth Circuit of Appeals, Judge Novak and two other judges ruled that Goldman lacked legal standing to have brought the case. A few days later, Richmond author Jeffrey Thomas Jr. filed a second suit based on Goldman’s main arguments. Novak’s order recounts the long legal saga to this point, including the failure of the Virginia Redistricting Commission to reach consensus on new maps as well as the COVID-related delays.“Because Plaintiff’s attempts to lay blame on Defendants for the delays caused by the unprecedented pandemic fails, Plaintiffs are unable to trace their injuries to Defendants,” Novak writes. Judge Novak’s order is made without prejudice, which means a new suit could be brought, but there are 98 days until election day. Efforts made to crack down on distracted drivers on U.S. 29Vehicular crashes are up on Virginia roads this year and late last month area law enforcement agencies teamed up on to enforce speeding and distracted driving laws on U.S. 29. On July 21, Albemarle County Police, Charlottesville Police, and the University of Virginia police were out in force from the Greene County border to the Nelson County line. “We usually see at least 700,000 vehicles daily on that stretch of roadway,” said Albemarle Master Police Officer Kate Kane. “Consequently it adds up to a lot of crashes unfortunately.” During the one-day initiative on July 21, there were 197 traffic stops and 201 summons were given out. Just over half of those were for speeding. The chances of surviving are dramatically diminished the faster you go.“Logic would tell you that when speed goes up, survivability goes down,” Kane said. “We don’t realize how fragile we are. Even with the seat belts, even with the air bags, even with the best protection technology, we cannot avoid all crashes. If you’re traveling at 75 miles an hour or higher, your body just can’t take that kind of impact.”As of today, there have been 527 fatalities on Virginia roads in 2022 according to a dashboard on the Virginia Department of Transportation’s website. Charlottesville Fire Department to deploy more devices on medical callsSome vehicles used by the Charlottesville Fire Department on medical calls will soon carry additional devices intended to increase the chances of a patient surviving a cardiac arrest. The Department secured $64,000 from a Community Development Block Grant in the last fiscal year to purchase four chest compression devices to assist in the performance of cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR). They’ll be placed on two fire engines and two ambulances.“Based on Neighborhood Risk Assessment data, residents in all nineteen (19) neighborhoods are expected to benefit from deploying these devices, most notably Tenth and Page, where the data highlights the significant importance of timely interventions,” reads a press release sent out on Friday. The department will also begin to implement video laryngoscopes, which are devices that assist with the intubation of patients. “The [Airtraq] devices have been used in pre-hospital systems and in emergency departments to improve success in airway management,” the release continues. Yesterday was the first day that Scott Carpenter will serve as the Deputy Chief of Operations. According to a July 15 press release, Carpenter has been with the Charlottesville Fire Department for 22 years. Second shout-out: The Plant Northern Piedmont Natives Campaign Since the very beginning of this newsletter, one long-time Patreon supporter has used his shout-out to draw your attention to the work of the Plant Northern Piedmont Natives Campaign. The campaign is a coalition of grassroots partners including motivated citizens and volunteers, partner organizations, and local governments who want to promote the use of native plants. Summer is in high gear and pollinators are active! Want to learn more? Visit plantvirginianatives.org to download Piedmont Native Plants: A Guide for Landscapes and Gardens. Albemarle Supervisors approves rent former J.C. Penney as public safety operations centerAlbemarle County will move forward with the lease of a former department store at Fashion Square Mall to serve as a new operations facility for fire and police. “It does have a central location, it’s got a very large warehouse, with a great loading dock,” said Lance Stewart, the county’s director of facilities and environmental services.  “All together it's about 33,000 square feet which is almost a third of the J.C. Penney site. On July 20, Supervisors authorized a lease and signaled a willingness to pay over $3 million in capital costs to get it ready for public safety work. “This has been a known and growing need for many years including capital requests that were submitted for new construction in the past but not funded,” said Lance Stewart is the director of the Facilities and Environmental Services Department in Albemarle County. David Puckett, the Deputy Chief of Operations at Albemarle Fire Rescue, reminded Supervisors that they have hired several personnel in recent years to expand capacity. “While the vast majority of those positions are out in the field directly providing service there are a number of administrative positions added to make sure we could successfully on-board, train, and support those personnel long-term.” Puckett said. Puckett said space is full at the county’s offices on Fifth Street Extended.  The Department also now has its own dedicated fleet manager as well as a mechanic to conduct in-house repairs. All that work also requires space, and the J.C. Penney used to have a tire shop. “The lack of a centralized facility has required us to store parts and equipment in fire station closets and storage rooms throughout the county,” Puckett said. “This has resulted in loss productivity. As an example, if a mechanic is out working on a truck only to determine that the part needed to complete the repair is halfway across the county, it requires more time and energy to go get the part before they complete it.”Puckett said stations themselves are not really set up for vehicle repair.Albemarle Police Chief Sean Reeves said more space has also been a capital need requested by law enforcement. “Some of the capital improvement projects from over ten years ago, from two chiefs of police ago, called for a site that we could use to expand stored evidence, store vehicles that are in evidence, and an evidence processing bay that we do not have,” Reeves said. Colonel Reeves said using the J.C. Penney site would cut down on the capital cost to build such a place. He also said the traffic unit would move to the new location, freeing up space at the County Office Building on Fifth Street Extended.“And that space that’s freed up at COB-Fifth, what that would do is go toward supporting the mental health unit, the officers that are going to be picked and selected as staff for the new mental health unit,” Reeves said.  The J.C. Penney site is owned separately from the rest of Fashion Square Mall by a subsidiary of Seminole Trail Properties. Stewart said this use would not preclude redevelopment of the site in the future. The project is also outside of the jurisdiction of the Albemarle Architectural Review Board. The lease would be for ten years with options to extend that as well as to expand to more of the J.C. Penney site in the future. The rent of $558,000 a year is based on $12.50 per square foot, and the rent would increase by 3.5 percent each year. “And I can tell you that having looked at a number of industrial and commercial properties that we thought might be suitable options, that is well below typical for the market,” Stewart said. Final details will be worked out as the lease is negotiated. Supervisor Ned Gallaway lauded staff for negotiating a good price and said this was a good location for this use. “This is an area where the Rio Road Small Area Plan is,” Gallaway said. “When we think of the county investing in this location, we can be a vibrant anchor tenant to an area that needs redevelopment and needs activity.Housekeeping notes for edition #414If you’ve been wondering if there is going to be a summer break for Charlottesville Community Engagement, we’re sort of in it. I am hoping this week to write up as much as I can before cutting back to almost no newsletters and podcasts for next week. I’ve got a rare opportunity to go on a vacation, and I’m tempted to try to not pay attention. But that’s the difficult thing - I don’t want to stop paying attention to the items happening in the area in and around Charlottesville. In fact, I’ve set up Town Crier Productions to harness my curiosity about what’s happening and a passion for documenting what’s going on. We’re now in the third year of this experiment, and I’m grateful for everyone who has helped with a financial contribution to keep it going. The best way to make a financial contribution is by purchasing a subscription through Substack. if you do so, Ting will match your initial payment! And, if you sign up for their services through this link you’ll get a free standard install, your 2nd month free, and a $75 downtown mall gift card! Enter the promo code COMMUNITY for full effect. Music on the podcast version of the show comes from the D.C. sensation Wraki, and you can support their work by paying whatever you want for the album regret everything on BandCamp. Finally, if you’ve missed anything or want to do a deep dive on a topic, take a look at the Information Charlottesville archive. Want to read articles on land use in Albemarle? Click here!What about information on Virginia elections? Click here!What about uncategorized articles? And what category should they be in? Please send this on to someone else so we can continue to grow the audience. Thanks for reading and listening! This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit communityengagement.substack.com/subscribe

July 26, 2022 — The Fort Bragg City Council swore in a new chief of police and hired another retired public employee as an interim city manager Monday night. Last month, the council bid farewell to Interim Police Chief John Naulty and Interim City Manager David Spaur, who were both serving for a limited time due to their retirements from public service. Last night, Neil Cervenka, formerly of Turlock, took his oath of office as the new chief. Cervenka thanked family and friends and pledged his loyalty to his new community, saying, “I commit to concern for this community and all the issues that affect it. I commit to compassion for all segments of this community regardless of status. And I commit to courage, to do the right thing, no matter if it's difficult.” In another key position, Peggy Ducey can put in 960 hours a year as Interim City Manager, in keeping with the rules of the California Public Employees Retirement System (CalPERS). She will receive no benefits or any other form of compensation outside of an hourly rate of $76.30, starting July 26. And the council adopted a resolution to declare a Stage 1 water alert, asking for a citywide water conservation goal of 5% to 10% and prohibiting wasteful water use. Water customers are only supposed to irrigate on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays before 9am and after 6pm, and restaurants will only serve water upon request. Operations Manager John Smith told the council that water in the Noyo River, one of the city's three water sources, is diminishing. “The Noyo River is currently at 6 cubic feet per second,” he told the council on Monday. “It was 6.75 when I wrote this, which is still 4.3 million gallons a day, which sounds like a lot, but it's dropping about 1.5 cubic feet per week.” Smith added that the city's small desalination plant is ready to go as a last resort, and promised to keep working on the city goal of storing 60 million gallons, an estimated four months' supply. And officials are preparing for the next election, just a month after publishing results from the last election. City Clerk June Lemos told the council that the deadline to return nomination papers to run for Fort Bragg City Council has been extended to August 17, because Vice-Mayor Jessica Morsell-Haye is not seeking re-election. Council member Lindy Peters' papers have been certified, and he is qualified to be on the November ballot. The Council heard a number of reports, among them a draft of a feasibility study to diversify the local economy by developing the former Georgia Pacific Mill site. As its tourism-based economy crashed during COVID, the city received $137,000 in CARES Act money from the U.S. Economic Development Agency, plus a $10,000 California Sea Grant for the Blue Economy Symposium to develop new ideas to create sustainable jobs and industries. However, as Morsell-Haye pointed out, the former Georgia-Pacific mill site is not public property. “This study was initiated at a time when we were in negotiations for that property,” she said. “We're talking about uses on property that we do not control.” Last year, Mendocino Railway, or the Skunk Train, won an eminent domain case against Georgia Pacific and purchased 272 acres of the mill site property according to the terms of a stipulation for $1,230,000. Though the Skunk Train does not engage in interstate commerce, its lawyers claim that its status as a railroad means that it is subject to federal jurisdiction, which exempts it from local and state permitting regulations. In 2019, the company declared that it would not be seeking permits from the city of Fort Bragg to do work on the property, but that it was happy to make a donation to the city equal to the cost of a building permit. The City sued the Skunk, asking a local judge to declare that the railway is not a public utility, and to command it to comply with all city ordinances. The First District Court of Appeals briefly placed a stay on the case after Mendocino County Superior Court Judge Clay Brennan declined to throw it out, but the stay was dissolved after about five weeks. The City and the Skunk are scheduled to be back in court for a case management conference in September. On Monday night, Chris Hart, of Mendocino Railway, called in to the City Council meeting to complain that his company made only a brief appearance in a document concerning land it owns. “I do feel that Mendocino Railway's perspective could have been more incorporated,” he said. “It is concerning that even though we are a local company that owns much of the land and is trying to invest millions, we're not considered a stakeholder or an asset. Instead we're shown as an obstacle. The study states that we interfered with the City's verbal agreement with GP when we used eminent domain in the summer of 2021. It makes no mention of the City's interference five months earlier.” Last year, the City Council wrote a letter to the U.S. Department of Transportation, urging it not to award a railroad rehabilitation and improvement financing loan to Mendocino Railway. Skunk Train lawyers sent the City a cease and desist letter, threatening to sue for defamation. In another update, the council also heard from Parents and Friends Incorporated, a non-profit organization that is building a four-bedroom residential care facility on Cypress Street for people with developmental disabilities or age-related disabilities like Alzheimers or dementia. The organization received a $3.6 million Community Development Block Grant for the project, which started construction in April of this year. The deadline is May 31 of next year, and they expect to be finished in February. The Council also heard a report from consultant Marie Jones about the Eagles Hall, a well-loved venue that is currently in escrow with an unknown potential buyer. Council member Tess Albin Smith was concerned that the building could be “razed to the ground,” but Jones told her that it would probably be expensive to tear down, and it's a historical landmark, which means the city's planning department and council would have to sign off on a demolition. There is enough parking for four living units, but, like so much else about the status of the property, nothing is known about the plans for its future.

What’s shaking? Sounds like an appropriate greeting for Richter Scale Day. Have yourself tied in knots? An appropriate pose for National Pretzel Day. I know I am able to tell you this is the 369th edition of Charlottesville Community Engagement, a clear sign of how I honor Get Organized Day. I’m Sean Tubbs, the host of this regular newsletter and podcast about things both trivial and of massive importance. Help spread the word by sharing this installment of Charlottesville Community Engagement!In today’s edition: The Virginia Solar Initiative has the first ever survey of how localities in the Commonwealth regulate solar installations large and small The Village of Rivanna Community Advisory Committee in Albemarle will not be reappointed anytime soonCharlottesville City Council ratifies the issuance of $23 million in revenue bonds for Midway ManorAnd the Albemarle County Board of Supervisors get an update on Southwood in advance of a public hearing tonight for a rezoning for the second phase Shout-out to Camp AlbemarleToday’s first subscriber-supported public service announcement goes out to Camp Albemarle, which has for sixty years been a “wholesome rural, rustic and restful site for youth activities, church groups, civic events and occasional private programs.”Located on 14 acres on the banks of the Moorman’s River near Free Union, Camp Albemarle continues as a legacy of being a Civilian Conservation Corps project that sought to promote the importance of rural activities. Camp Albemarle seeks support for a plan to winterize the Hamner Lodge, a structure built in 1941 by the CCC and used by every 4th and 5th grade student in Charlottesville and Albemarle for the study of ecology for over 20 years. If this campaign is successful, Camp Albemarle could operate year-round. Consider your support by visiting campalbemarleva.org/donate. Survey released on solar rules across Virginia localitiesIn six years, the amount of electricity generated by solar panels in increased by 12,150 percent. That’s according to data cited in the first ever survey of Virginia localities on their policies related to permitting large utility-scale installations as well as rooftop panels. The survey was conducted by the Virginia Department of Energy and the Weldon Cooper Center at the University of Virginia and asked a series of questions to officials in Virginia’s 133 localities. “In Virginia, the permitting and siting of solar energy and energy storage facilities is heavily informed by local governments,” reads the report. “Therefore, to realize the full potential of solar energy development in Virginia, it is important to understand and support the solar experience, concerns and priorities of local governments.”One hundred and nine localities responded to the survey, which was conducted a year after the General Assembly passed the Virginia Clean Economy Act which among other things mandates that Virginia’s largest two investor-owned utilities be 100 percent carbon free by 2050. “The VCEA also deems 16,100 megawatts (MW) of solar and onshore wind to be in the public interest, greatly reducing the barriers for project approval with the State Corporation Commission,” the report continues.The survey is intended to help inform policy across Virginia, given that localities set the detailed rules for siting and zoning of solar facilities. According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, electricity generated through solar in Virginia increased from 30 megawatts in 2015 to 3,675 megawatts in 2021.Smaller installations on homes and businesses are called “distributed” solar projects. That number has risen from 948 net-metering installations in 2011 to 26,237 in 2021. No plans to reappoint VORCAC There are eight vacancies on the Village of Rivanna Community Advisory Committee and the Albemarle Board of Supervisors has no intention of filling them any time soon. That’s according to Emily Kilroy, the county’s director of communications and public engagement. “The Board will not seek to make reappointments at this time, as Committee support right now is in a transition,” Kilroy wrote in an email to Charlottesville Community Engagement on Monday. The previous appointees resigned en masse in April after their April 11 meeting was canceled by the county for a lack of pressing issues. Committee members disagreed and announced their resignation in an April 19 Substack post. Albemarle County is currently reviewing the Comprehensive Plan, of which the Village of Rivanna Master Plan is a component. As part of that work, staff resources in the Community Development Department are not as available. “Recently, the Community Development Department’s long range planning staff have traditionally managed all CAC meetings and scheduling,” wrote Charles Rapp, the deputy director of community development, in a March 1 email. “To transition the primary focus to the comprehensive plan, staff is proposing a structured schedule for the CACs for the remainder of the 2022 calendar year.”That did not meet the favor of the former members of the Village of Rivanna Community Advisory Committee. Today, the Free Enterprise Forum is calling for the county to disband all of the Community Advisory Committees.To learn more about the Comprehensive Plan project underway, visit the AC44 pages on the Albemarle County website. This is not to be confused with the Air Canada flight between Vancouver and Dublin. What do you think? Leave a comment!City Council signs off on bonds for Midway ManorAt their meeting on April 18, City Council agreed with the Charlottesville Redevelopment and Housing Authority’s decision to issue $23 million in bonds for a third-party to refurbish the Midway Manor housing complex in downtown Charlottesville.“It is assistance with the financing for the substantial rehabilitation of Midway Manor Apartments by Standard Communities,” said Michael Graff, a bond counsel with McGuire Woods. The funding will flow through the CRHA as a conduit for tax-exempt bonds, which requires the city to also issue its approval. “At a high level we will be ensuring that this property continues to provide affordable housing for at least the next 30 years through partnership with Virginia Housing and an allocation of Low Income Housing Tax Credits as well as renewing the subsidy contract that provides the current residents with a rental subsidy that is set to expire in two years,” said Steven Kahn of Standard Communities.Kahn said Standard is working with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development to extend that contract for 20 years. He said that’s the maximum length HUD will allow. He also said there will be a substantial renovation of the units. “Sixty-plus thousand dollars per unit,” Kahn said. “Very little will be untouched. The things you typically think of for renovations is kitchens, bathroom, flooring, and electrical systems, absolutely. But also some of the behind the scene elements that can also plague older buildings if they are not invested in. Façade, windows, roofing.”Paragraph below updated on April 27, 2022Kahn said work on the elevator systems is currently underway.  More details was provided in a statement sent to Charlottesville Community Engagement on April 27.“We continue to plan for a comprehensive renovation and upgrade of Midway Manor, which is expected to begin later this year in conjunction with the implementation of extended affordability protections for the property. Recognizing that the elevators were in need of more immediate attention, we have accelerated the modernization of both elevators at the property, with on-site work currently underway. In efforts to minimize disruption to residents, one elevator car is being worked on at a time, with the entire project expected to be complete within the next 8 weeks.” - Steven Kahn, Director, Standard CommunitiesCouncilor Michael Payne also sits as a voting member of the CRHA Board. He voted to approve the bonds on February 28, but said he would vote on Council with “unease.” “There’s not a way for City Council to have baked in our approval a lock-step assurance for example when and if the elevator get renovated, how is this process going to go, so I will certainly be trying to watch it as closely as I can and be talking to residents throughout this process,” Payne said. Midway Manor sits on 2.32 acres and was built in 1981 according to city property records. Standard Communities paid $16.5 million for the property on January, 13, 2022. Today’s second shout-out goes to LEAPWe’re now well into spring, and many of us may have already turned on our air conditioning units for the first in months. To see what you can do to get the most out of your home, contact LEAP, your local energy nonprofit, to schedule a home energy assessment this month - just $45 for City and County residents. LEAP also offers FREE home weatherization to income- and age-qualifying residents. If someone in your household is age 60 or older, or you have an annual household income of less than $74,950, you may qualify for a free energy assessment and home energy improvements such as insulation and air sealing. Sign up today to lower your energy bills, increase comfort, and reduce energy waste at home!Albemarle Supervisors briefed on Southwood RedevelopmentTonight the Albemarle Planning Commission will hold a public hearing on the rezoning of the second phase of the Southwood Mobile Home Park being overseen by a local nonprofit. (meeting info)Habitat for Humanity of Greater Charlottesville purchased Southwood in 2007 and entered into an agreement with the Board of Supervisors in 2016 to work with the nonprofit. A performance agreement for a public private partnership was signed in 2019 to govern $3.25 million in county investment. Supervisors got an update at their meeting on April 20, 2022. “That was shortly followed by approval of the phase one rezoning application and just to let you know, the rezoning application for phase two was submitted to the county in 2021,” Pethia said. Phase one is for 34 acres on the eastern and southern edges of the property, with a maximum of 450 homes, 270 units of which will be made affordable to residents through various interventions. There’s also a maximum of 50,000 square feet of non-residential space. Before describing phase two, Pethia gave an update on how the site plan for phase one has turned out. “The approved site plan will provide a total of 335 residential units, 211 of those are affordable,” Pethia said. “The affordable housing units include approximately 121 low-income housing tax credit units which will be located along Hickory Drive, 86 Habitat built units to be located in villages one and two as well as in block ten. Habitat units include condominiums, townhomes, and single family attached and detached units.”Pethia said Habitat has currently identified 37 Southwood households who are ready to move forward with purchasing their homes in phase one. Phase 2 extends the rezoning to the existing mobile home park. “If approved, phase two will approve 527 to 1,000 housing units, 227 of which will be affordable, including a potential sixty additional Low Income Housing Tax Credit units,” Pethia said. Phase 2 would allow for a maximum of 60,000 square feet of nonresidential space. The Planning Commission will review this rezoning tonight.Funding overviewIn addition to $3.25 million associated with the performance agreement, Albemarle has used $675,000 from the housing trust to help pay for costs associated with the first phase of the rezoning as well as the equivalent of $175,000 in county staff time. “Additionally, the county applied for and was awarded a little over $2.4 million in grant funding including a $40,000 Community Development Block Grant,” Pethia said. Pethia said Habitat estimates the total cost to develop Southwood will be $154.7 million, including the cost to prepare the sites and to engage with residents. “Habitat anticipates securing $131.1 million to cover the project costs,” Pethia said. “This amount includes funds that have already been received and that will be expended by the end of this fiscal year. The balance of total project funds include donations received through Habitat’s capital campaign, revenue generated through mobile home park operations, proceeds from the sale of land for market-rate housing, and funds Habitat anticipates receiving through federal and state grants, local government, and foundations.” Pethia said there’s a current $16.6 million revenue gap and county staff are looking to close it. Many sources will include a local match from Albemarle taxpayers. Another option would be increased funding from the housing trust or development of a new public private partnership. In March, MacKenzie Scott gave Habitat for Humanity of Greater Charlottesville $5.75 million. Habitat CEO Dan Rosensweig said the deficit already includes that spending. (Daily Progress story)“It’s a blessing and a curse because it’s already baked into this,” Rosensweig said. Another expense has been and will be removal of oil tanks under trailers as well as failing septic systems. “There were two areas of the mobile home park that are on failing septic right now and there is one area of the park that was draining directly into the part of the park that we are trying to develop and that was obviously a catastrophe,” Rosensweig said. “One of the things that we’ve had to do earlier than we thought was scramble to create trailer pads on the other side of the park that’s on [public] sewer. We’ve been moving people. Some folks moved out over the years and we purchased mobile homes and rehabbed them. So the first 80 or so families, we’re about halfway through moving them out of the park so we can decommission all of that septic.” Rosensweig said another 170 trailers are on failing septic and it is directly pouring into Biscuit Run and into the watershed. They’re applying for funding to install a sewer line into the park, but that cost is $6.5 million and the county will be asked to cover some of the cost. “It would also be infrastructure that we’re designing to be part of the second phase so it would be infrastructure that’s not temporary infrastructure, but permanent infrastructure,” Rosensweig said. The Planning Commission takes up the second phase of the rezoning tonight. Support Town Crier Productions through Ting!Special announcement of a continuing promo with Ting! Are you interested in fast internet? Visit this site and enter your address to see if you can get service through Ting. If you decide to proceed to make the switch, you’ll get:Free installationSecond month of Ting service for freeA $75 gift card to the Downtown MallAdditionally, Ting will match your Substack subscription to support Town Crier Productions, the company that produces this newsletter and other community offerings. So, your $5 a month subscription yields $5 for TCP. Your $50 a year subscription yields $50 for TCP! The same goes for a $200 a year subscription! All goes to cover the costs of getting this newsletter out as often as possible. Learn more here! This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit communityengagement.substack.com/subscribe

Using $100,000 in Community Development Block Grant funding from Cathedral City, the Coachella Valley Rescue Mission has extended its human services support to the homeless population in the West Valley city with two mobile shower stations. It's just one of the many services that CVRM offers to the disadvantaged population in trying to help them maintain dignity and seek to better their lives. Learn about this and the many other outreach services the Rescue Mission provides across the desert cities region and how you can volunteer or provide other assistance and make the lives of people less-fortunate better.Coachella Valley Rescue Mission's Program Coordinator Mark McGowen talks with Radio111's John McMullen about the organization's outreach.On the Web: Coachella Valley Rescue Mission

In this week's episode, My Ly and Elise Sappington discuss the just-approved Community Development Block Grant 2021 Annual Action Plan and how the funds will be spent.

Melissa Daniels joins John McMullen from Lift To Rise, an organization that helps people who are trapped by the disadvantages of poverty and convenes private, public and nonprofit partners for collaborative action networks focused on housing stability, community health, and social connection in the Coachella Valley. Melissa talks about how they are assisting communities including the City of Indio with managing its rental assistance program, getting nearly $650,000 in Community Development Block Grant funding to help 286 households.

We were in the studio for Tourism Tuesday - Front Royal/Warren County edition - with Felicia Hart, Director of Community Development & Tourism for the Town of Front Royal. Felicia gave us an update on several of the projects included in the Community Development Block Grant they received in 2018. We discussed the facade grant program, the parking analysis currently underway, wayfinding signage, and marketing components as part of the grant. Felicia also told us about a change to the town trolley route and reminded us the town's Business Forum happens on Wednesday, December 11, 2019 at 8am in the town council chambers. From a holiday perspective, she told us about the life-sized ornament located outside the Visitor's Center and that many people - residents & tourists - have had a blast taking selfies. She gave us a quick rundown of the different types of merchandise available inside the Visitor's Center as well as several events happening in the next few weeks. You can get a full list of those events & all the details on their website: https://www.discoverfrontroyal.com/

We were in the studio for Tourism Tuesday - Front Royal/Warren County edition - with Felicia Hart, Director of Community Development & Tourism for the Town of Front Royal. Felicia gave us an update on several of the projects included in the Community Development Block Grant they received in 2018. We discussed the facade grant program, the parking analysis currently underway, wayfinding signage, and marketing components as part of the grant. Felicia also told us about a change to the town trolley route and reminded us the town's Business Forum happens on Wednesday, December 11, 2019 at 8am in the town council chambers. From a holiday perspective, she told us about the life-sized ornament located outside the Visitor's Center and that many people - residents & tourists - have had a blast taking selfies. She gave us a quick rundown of the different types of merchandise available inside the Visitor's Center as well as several events happening in the next few weeks. You can get a full list of those events & all the details on their website: https://www.discoverfrontroyal.com/

We were in the studio for Tourism Tuesday - Front Royal/Warren County edition - with Felicia Hart, Director of Community Development & Tourism for the Town of Front Royal. Her guests today were Karen Hendershot, President of the Piedmont Chapter of the VA Native Plant Society and Marjorie Prochaska, Past President of the organization. They explained the history of their organization, their purpose and mission and the important role it plays in protecting and preserving the native plants of Virginia. They talked about their membership opportunities, their programs, and about their upcoming Annual Meeting & Conference happening September 27–29, 2019 at the Holiday Inn Blue Ridge Shadows For more details about their organization, to learn about membership, or get registration information, visit their website: https://vnps.org/ In the second segment of the show, Felicia gave us an update on the current projects in progress under the Community Development Block Grant. That included an explanation of the Facade Grant program and a call for contractors to reach out to Jeremy Camp in the town's Planning & Zoning Department to submit bids for the 16 approved projects. You can reach Jeremy via phone: 540-635-4236 or via email: jcamp@frontroyalva.com. We also talked about other projects that are part of this grant such as wayfinding signage, public restrooms & a pavilion in the gazebo area and more. Felicia also gave us a quick rundown of some upcoming events happening in the next few weeks. For a complete list, visit their website: https://www.discoverfrontroyal.com/ End of Summer Gear Swap hosted by Mountain Trails on Saturday, September 14, 2019 from 9am - 3pm at the gazebo in Front Royal. Samuels Public Library is hosting  it's annual convention, SamiCon on Saturday, September 14, 2019 from 10am - 4pm. River & Brews Festival hosted by Front Royal/Warren County Chamber of Commerce on Saturday, September 21, 2019 from Noon til 6pm at the gazebo in Front Royal. Taste of the Town is happening on Friday, September 27, 2019 from 6pm - 9pm.