Podcasts about neighborhood association

Audio from a shocking incident on a Transit bus transporting inner-city kids after school raises questions about the smoke-and-mirrors approach of City Hall to public safety.Part 1- Marty Gold recaps his Winnipeg Sun report about a family whose mother didn't get scheduled for urgent heart surgery. Debbie's Law warns surgery patients when wait-time exceeds guidelinesThey've proposed 'Debbie's Law' that would require authorities to warn patients they will be on the wait list after the date their doctor says life-saving surgery is required. Meanwhile, Health Minister Uzoma Asagwara floated the most ridiculous excuse in history why the NDP doesn't keep track of patients who die waiting for surgery.17.50 Part 2- Police busted 9 criminals in the William Whyte area after a spate of gang-related shooting, robberies and stabbings. Neighborhood Association president Darrell Warren noted:“A lot of the residents, because of the shootings in the area, are afraid to go out because they might get caught up in the crossfire.”They won't even leave their houses, yet city officials think people should risk being shot to come downtown, where the risk to their safety is so significant Mayor Scott Gillingham is spending another $200,000 on a "Safe Winnipeg Initiative."He's hiring yet another advisor, who will hold meetings and "to take what these groups are already doing, bring others to the table, use data, use crime trends and make our city safer.”This adds an expensive insult to the injury caused by former police chief Danny Smyth's reign of hugging thugs instead of fighting crime. Smyth was notorious for ignoring data but somehow wasn't fired for it. More confusing is why is Gillingham not having the new police chief, Gene Bowers, take the helm on this project. Isn't it his job? Why does Gillingham want an appointee to give Bowers direction? Is this a CYA exercise?The reasoning for the initiative is to help draw people back to downtown. The Chamber of Commerce head honcho said "We're not asking people to do something they didn't do before the pandemic,” but that's a big fib.It's more dangerous than ever downtown, and that's why Gillingham's Community Safety Officers- paid more than cops- do their patrols with two teams at a time. 33.20- What will the measure of success be for this new public safety advisor? We propose a test - how will they deal with assaults on Transit busesWe have exclusive audio from a Good Samaritan who helped take down a hair-pulling, arm-biting woman and along with another man, got bloodied up for their bravery. The incident started on William Ave. many blocks before police admitted, with the fare-skipper hurling abuse at junior high students coming home from school before she violently assaulted adults.41.00- Hear the audio of the wild scene on the 33 bus witnessed by those kids. Maybe the guru should meet with those kids and other Transit users traumatized by what they see every day, and show some care for the mental health of the victims and not just the perps.Our source wrote their City Councilor Sherri Rollins, "I often take the bus with my junior high students and there's almost always dangerous. aggressive encounters with non-paying riders."Will Gillingham's crime guru decide that fare payments should be enforced finally? That doesn't take a $200,000 expenditure to figure out. 48.20 There's a laugh in a sidebar to all of this.The Free Press looked at the City, MPI and others trying to get downtown workers to return to the office, but never mentions how the newspaper cannot get their own reporters to attend to their desks. Is it because the Inkster Industrial Park is so dangerous, or something else?*******Today in the Winnipeg Sun: For the proposed four-plex housing rules, someone in the administration decided to give Winnipeg's 800,000 residents only one Open House to see it for themselves. Why? My report- Unfounded ‘security concerns:' No reason to limit four-plex consultations

In this meeting we hear from Scott Ogilvie on the progress of the St. Louis Transportation & Mobility Plan.

On this week's Northeast Newscast, Julia Williams sat down with Scarritt Renaissance Neighborhood Association President, Jacob Luke and Scarritt Renaissance Neighborhood Association President Elect, Dylan Van Gerben to discuss the neighborhood's 29th annual Scare-it Halloween event Oct. 31 and additional happenings around Scarritt. Additional discussions include current projects the neighborhood association is working on as well as a formal introduction to Van Gerben, who will step into a new role as the President of Scarritt Renaissance Neighborhood Association in January 2025. 

The York County Sheriff's Office is eager to engage with communities across York County for National Night Out on August 6. The goal of the event is to strengthen relationships between law enforcement and the residents they serve. Lieutenant David Godfrey and his deputies at the York County Sheriff's Department look forward to this event each year. “So, in York County this year, we are going to 11 different events throughout the county. Basically, local police departments, jurisdictions, they have their own individual national nights out and we get invited to the events. So that's how we are attending 11 events this evening, “said Lt. Godfrey. This event bridges the gap between local law enforcement, other agencies, and the community. It's an opportunity to earn local trust, while having a great time with the community. “Well, it's a good time, basically. It's a time for law enforcement to let loose a little bit. These events have turned into more of like a party type setting. Tons of them have. They have music, various entertainment, and bounce houses for kids. You have face painters. There are bikes that are given out to the community, TVs, free food, I mean, all kinds of things like that. We have all of our canines going to different events. So, it's your chance to meet the canines, interact with law enforcement, ask us any questions that you've always wanted to ask and just have a real, you know, 1 to 1 on a level playing field with each other, “said Lt. Godfrey. Lt. Godfrey has been with the York County Sheriff's Office for over 20 years. Since he's been involved, he's seen positive impact come out of National Night Out. “All the time, not just opening up the barriers with the public, but the impact that you, as a law enforcement officer has on a member of the public that it really is lasting. I've had so many people come up to me and talk to me that they met me and my K9 ten years ago, and they remember meeting him ten years ago that one time, and it left such an impact. So, things like that, they're just awesome to hear stories like that. And I think it's very vital, “said Lt. Godfrey. Here is a list of the known sites and times: North East Neighborhood Association – Corner of E. Philadelphia and Pine 5-8 pm Springdale – Arlington and Merion triangle 6-8 pm Community Progress Council – 200 block of E. College Ave 5-7pm Parkway – Willis Ln 5-7 pm Dever's Neighborhood Association – 509 Pacific Ave – 6-8 pm Colony Park – 1721 Dever's Rd 5-8 pm Union Lutheran Church – 1st Block of S. Penn St 6-8 pm East End Neighborhood Association – Albemarle Park 6-8 pm York Townhouse – 200 N. Duke St 5-7 pm Lincoln Charter – 559 W. King St 5-6:30p      Support WITF: https://www.witf.org/support/give-now/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This week's podcast wraps up our neighborhood series of podcasts, as we sit down with Paseo-West Neighborhood Association President, Evie Craig.The Paseo West neighborhood is bounded on the north by Independence Avenue, on the west by I-70/35, on the south by 12th street and the east by The Paseo.The Paseo West neighborhood is an eclectic mix of roughly 85% business and industrial properties and roughly 15% residential properties. Currently under way on The Paseo, is a huge, residential revitalization project of  Jazz Hill Homes' buildings between 12th and 14th along the west side of The Paseo Boulevard. When complete, the project will provide nearly 200, newly renovated and remodeled, affordable housing units.The Paseo West Neighborhood Association meets at 9:30 a.m., the fourth wednesday of every other month. The next meeting will be June 26th. For more information, visit the Paseo West Neighborhood Facebook page. 

Sit down with the Northeast Newscast with Michaelbushnell and Lykins Neighborhood Association Vice President Diana Graham. The Lykins Neighborhood is transforming with improved housing and accessible green spaces in Lykins Square Park and the 9th & Van Brunt soccer facility, enhancing residents' quality of life. Diverse, with nearly 20 languages spoken at Whittier Elementary, the area is bordered by Independence Avenue, the Kansas City Terminal Railroad, and Benton Boulevard. The Lykins Resource Center at 715 Jackson Avenue offers resources for homeowners, renters, immigration issues, technology, and various classes. Redevelopment includes affordable housing and new townhomes. For more information on the Lykins neighborhood and how you can get involved, stop by the Resource Center during business hours or visit the neighborhood's website at: https://www.lykinsneighborhood.com/. 

Join us in a conversation with Scarritt Renaissance Neighborhood Association President  Jacob Luke.The Scarritt Renaissance Neighborhood, named after Reverend Nathan Scarritt, a Methodist missionary and educator, traces its origins to 1845 when Scarritt traveled from Lebanon, Illinois to Fayette, Missouri, founding Central Methodist University.The Scarritt Renaissance Neighborhood Association (SRNA) was chartered on September 18, 1986. Its boundaries are Chestnut Avenue (west), Jackson Avenue (east), Independence Avenue (south), and the Cliff Drive Scenic Byway (north).SRNA has hosted events like Historic Homes Tours in the 1990s and 2000s, attracting over 1,500 visitors. The annual Scare-It Halloween event on October 31 draws up to 5,000 people, featuring decorated homes along Gladstone Boulevard.The neighborhood includes two National Register Historic Districts, featuring over 150 historic properties along Gladstone and Benton Boulevards, including the recently renovated Kansas City Museum.President Jacob Luke highlighted projects such as restoring the Colonnade, planning for Kessler Park, and the St. John Avenue traffic calming study. Approaching its 38th anniversary, the neighborhood continues its development in collaboration with partners like Legal Aid of Western Missouri and the Lykins Neighborhood Trust.SRNA, a registered 501(c)(3), meets bi-monthly at the Kansas City Museum. More information can be found at scarrittkc.org.

The majestic trees in front of Goddard Riverside on the Upper West Side of Manhattan were blushing brightly as the community gathered to learn about and spruce up the beds of our leafy neighbors for the seventh annual “Love Your Street Tree Day” – May 7th 2024. Rebecca and I learned a lot about our urban forest and how to take care of our barked friends – not our barking friends. Which reminds me -- "Don't piss on our street tree" signs were passed out to our UWS neighbors -- along with buckets of mulch -- and donuts – and coffee.The event was sponsored by the West 80s Neighborhood Association – and we talked with two of its leaders. But before we talked with Melissa Elstein and Kim Johnson, we had some fun with a few UWS tree huggers.CONTACT: barcrawlradio@gmail.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Welcome to the Northeast Newscast. Step into the vibrant streets of the Sheffield neighborhood with host Michael Bushnell and Sheffield Neighborhood Association President, Mark Morales, as they uncover the heart and soul of the Sheffield neighborhood. Nestled between Independence Avenue and Hardesty Avenue, Sheffield boasts a rich history shaped by the now-closed Sheffield/ARMCO Steel plant, once a beacon of employment for locals. Join us as we discuss the neighborhood's upcoming projects and past successes. This podcast is the fifth installment of our neighborhood podcast series. 

This week The Northeast Newscast sits down with Indian Mound President Jimmy Fitzner to talk about some of the activities and challenges the neighborhood organization is tackling. Indian Mound is the largest of all the neighborhoods that comprise Historic Northeast, bordered by Independence Avenue on the south, Gladstone Boulevard on the north, Belmont Blvd. on the east and Jackson/Sunrise/Elmwood on the west.Indian Mound is one of Northeast's “newer” old neighborhoods with development beginning in the early 1900's and progressing through the 1940's post-war period.The neighborhood is home to a very active neighborhood organization that embraces their diversity and is quickly becoming known as a burgeoning arts enclave.Some of Indian Mound's better known assets are historic Budd Park, the Indian Mound that overlooks the Missouri River Valley, one of Kansas City's oldest Jewish cemeteries and of course, the neighborhood can lay claim to at least half of the infamous Independence Avenue “truck-eating” bridge. 

Our love for the world around us and our passion for protecting that world can come from many different places. It can come from a connection to the land, or a magical experience we had with other people in a particular place, or our sense of awe from the beauty of the living creatures that inhabit these ecosystems. But that love and passion can also come from seeing or experiencing the destruction of the same ecological web, from pollution in the air that rains down onto a playground, or the clearing of a wildlife habitat to make way for a fossil fuel pipeline.Dave Cortez has been organizing for environmental justice in Texas for the better part of two decades. He lives in Austin now, but the love and passion that guides him came from the Rio Grande, the Sierra Madre Mountains and the high desert of West Texas. And from fighting a copper smelter and other threats to the land, air and water in and around his native El Paso. Dave has a fierce love for his El Paso Community. But cutting his teeth as an environmental justice organizer in his hometown wasn't easy. Dave is now Director of the Lone Star Chapter of the Sierra Club, where he's bringing his El Paso roots and years of experience on the streets and in the communities around Texas to the Sierra Club's statewide campaigns.I've known Dave for many years and used to regularly attend environmental justice meetings in Austin that he helped organize. I've seen him rise from an on-the-ground organizer to the leader of the Texas chapter of one of the oldest and largest environmental organizations in the world.Our conversation tracks his education as an environmental justice organizer. From the playgrounds of El Paso to the gentrifying neighborhoods of Austin, his story reflects the changing nature of the American environmental movement and the exciting possibilities of more robust connections between community-based frontline environmental justice struggles and the large and powerful environmental organizations with nationwide influence.You can listen on Substack, Apple Podcasts, and other podcast platforms.Please rate, review, and share to help us spread the word!Dave CortezDave Cortez is a 3rd generation El Pasoan now based out of Austin where he lives with his partner and six year old daughter. He grew up and learned organizing on the frontera, where industrial pollution, poverty, gentrification, racism and the border wall are seen as intersecting issues. Dave serves as the Director of the Sierra Club Lone Star Chapter, and has been organizing in the Texas environmental movement for 18 years. Dave is supporting staff and volunteers across Texas who are organizing for power by centering racial justice and equity alongside frontline communities directly impacted by polluting industries.Quotation Read by Dave Cortez"There is no such thing as a single-issue struggle because we do not live single-issue lives. Malcolm knew this. Martin Luther King, Jr. knew this. Our struggles are particular, but we are not alone. We are not perfect, but we are stronger and wiser than the sum of our errors. Black people have been here before us and survived. We can read their lives like signposts on the road and find, as Bernice Reagon says so poignantly, that each one of us is here because somebody before us did something to make it possible. To learn from their mistakes is not to lessen our debt to them, nor to the hard work of becoming ourselves, and effective. We lose our history so easily, what is not predigested for us by the New York Times, or the Amsterdam News, or Time magazine. Maybe because we do not listen to our poets or to our fools, maybe because we do not listen to our mamas in ourselves. When I hear the deepest truths I speak coming out of my mouth sounding like my mother's, even remembering how I fought against her, I have to reassess both our relationship as well as the sources of my knowing. Which is not to say that I have to romanticize my mother in order to appreciate what she gave me – Woman, Black. We do not have to romanticize our past in order to be aware of how it seeds our present. We do not have to suffer the waste of an amnesia that robs us of the lessons of the past rather than permit us to read them with pride as well as deep understanding. We know what it is to be lied to, and we know how important it is not to lie to ourselves. We are powerful because we have survived, and that is what it is all about – survival and growth. Within each one of us there is some piece of humanness that knows we are not being served by the machine which orchestrates crisis after crisis and is grinding all our futures into dust. If we are to keep the enormity of the forces aligned against us from establishing a false hierarchy of oppression, we must school ourselves to recognize that any attack against Blacks, any attack against women, is an attack against all of us who recognize that our interests are not being served by the systems we support. Each one of us here is a link in the connection between anti-poor legislation, gay shootings, the burning of synagogues, street harassment, attacks against women, and resurgent violence against Black people. I ask myself as well as each one of you, exactly what alteration in the particular fabric of my everyday life does this connection call for? Survival is not a theory. In what way do I contribute to the subjugation of any part of those who I define as my people? Insight must illuminate the particulars of our lives." - Audre LordeRecommended Readings & MediaTranscriptIntroJohn Fiege  Our love for the world around us and our passion for protecting that world can come from many different places. It can come from a connection to the land, or a magical experience we had with other people in a particular place, or our sense of awe from the beauty of the living creatures that inhabit these ecosystems. But that love and passion can also come from seeing or experiencing the destruction of this same ecological web: from pollution in the air that rains down onto a playground or the clearing of wildlife habitat to make way for a fossil fuel pipeline.Dave Cortez has been organizing for environmental justice in Texas for the better part of two decades. He lives in Austin now, but the love and passion that guides him came from the Rio Grande, the Sierra Madre mountains, and the high desert of West Texas—and it came from fighting a copper smelter and other threats to the land, air, and water in and around his native El Paso. Dave has a fierce love for his El Paso community but cutting his teeth as an environmental justice organizer in his home town wasn't easy.Dave Cortez  Two of my close family members worked at the plant. My dad's brother worked at the plant and then worked at Chevron on the other side of town. And then his brother in law, worked at the plant and retired. And here I was, this younger punk, you know, sort of just not super close to the family, showing up at events and they asked what I'm doing and, oh, they think I'm a paid protester, you know, forget my education, forget what's at what I'm actually saying. You know, it's, deep cultural assimilation. It's deep colonization, sort of this Stockholm syndrome that develops out of poverty and repression. It's horrific, and it's sad to watch. People fiercely defend the only thing that has helped them in their eyes and not be able to acknowledge the harm that's been done. It's not different from, you know, addiction in that way, or depression.John Fiege  Or domestic abuse. Dave Cortez  Exactly. It's heartbreaking. It still hurts me to talk about. John Fiege  I'm John Fiege, and this is Chrysalis.Dave Cortez is now Director of the Lone Star Chapter of the Sierra Club, where he's bringing his El Paso roots and years of experience on the streets and in the communities around Texas to the Sierra Club's statewide campaigns.I've known Dave for many years and used to regularly attend environmental justice meetings in Austin that he helped organize. I've seen him rise from an on-the-ground organizer to the leader of the Texas chapter of one of the oldest and largest environmental organizations in the world.Our conversation tracks his education as an environmental justice organizer. From the playgrounds of El Paso to the gentrifying neighborhoods of Austin, his story reflects the changing nature of the American environmental movement and the exciting possibilities of more robust connections between community-based frontline environmental justice struggles and the large and powerful environmental organizations with nationwide influence.Here is Dave Cortez.ConversationJohn FiegeWell, you grew up in El Paso in Far West Texas, and it's right on the border of Mexico and New Mexico. Can you tell me a bit about growing up there, and your family and how you saw yourself in relationship to the rest of nature.Dave Cortez  I've got a little picture I'm looking at my my very first demonstration. It's a bunch of kids, kids meaning college kids, my my age at the time, about maybe 22, 23, and a big peace flag and we're hanging around what was called Plaza de Los Lagartos, Plaza of the Alligators. And we're there I think we're protesting, must have been continuing invasion of Iraq and Afghanistan, but you know, I keep it up. And I keep pictures of the mountains of West Texas, the edge of the Rockies is what cuts into the central central part of El Paso, the Franklin Mountains. And then you have the Rio Grande, the heart and soul of that land. And on the other side of the river, those mountains continue into the Sierra Madres all the way down to the coast. It's majestic. It's, you know, that land is as colonized as is its people. You know, it's been, the river has been dammed up upstream in New Mexico, and two reservoirs to provide water for agriculture and farming and things like that, recreation. It was the only area of water that we we had access to when I was a kid. We would drive up to Truth or Consequences and load up on nightcrawlers and whatever other tackle and bait, and then take my dad's car and drive along somewhere, find a good spot. And fish from the shore for a couple of days at a time, camp, and, you know, that was a desert lake. It was wild for me, because we didn't have water, you know.John Fiege  So tell me about what you did. Dave Cortez  Well, we would just go up there. That was, that was our place to go get get access to water, you know, away from the desert, you know, growing up in El Paso, you just, it's It's dry, it's desert, we get, we used to average nine inches of rain a year, it's down now, you know, but the Rio was, it's always been sacred and it was special, it was a place you could go and see water. Not all year round, but most of the year and see it flowing and you look in any direction, away from the mountains, and you can see what feels endless, but it's actually you know, two or more hundred miles to the horizon, you see Thunder heads 30, 40, sometimes 45 or 50,000 feet high way far away, you think maybe you hope maybe those might come your way, maybe we'll get lucky and get a little bit of rain. Most times they don't. But with that sometimes you're blessed with the outflow that carries the smell of creosote, a native plant in the region that everybody's come to call the smell of rain. And, you know, even if you don't actually get the rain yourself, you might get some of those breezes and some of that wonderful smell. And it's, it's life giving, it's restorative. As a kid, you know, I was fortunate that my family made an effort to take us out into the desert quite a bit, we would go chase storms, we would watch lightning, my father would turn the AM radio to a blank station so we could hear the the lightning on the radio, the static pop. And we got a real kick out of that and we'd go off roading and find spots and park and you know, just hang out. And that was a pretty common thing for a lot of folks around town is just to get out into the desert. You know, my my heart and soul and my spirit is connected to that land, it is part of that land, I draw strength from those mountains, from that river. I worry about moving further away, what that might do to me, how how that might be a strain. Even just being here in Austin 600 miles away, it feels very far. You know, my family was middle class, I call it 80s middle class. And, you know, both my parents worked. I have two older siblings. And you know, we were all in public school and doing our thing. You know, everything seemed, you know, like The Wonder Years kind of situation. And you know, you don't when you're young, if you're fortunate, you don't see a lot of the issues around you. It wasn't until my teens, my parents split. And I was living with my mom and started to see a lot more other sides of life, some of the struggles, and just kind of notice more about the town, about the culture. But it was really when I moved back to El Paso after college, here in Austin at St. Edward's, where I studied political science and philosophy and environmental policy. When I moved back, it all started to come together how much I missed, how much I was removed from about my community and my culture in my youth. You know, so the language is the biggest example. We did not speak Spanish in my family. It was something my parents spoke to each other when they needed to talk about something that we didn't need to know about as kids. John Fiege  Right, right. Dave Cortez  You know, we didn't know about our indigeneity we weren't raised around that, we didn't know about the cultural connection to the land. I think in some way the spirit in my family drew us towards it. We would go spend time around those things, but we didn't really have conversations about it. And the biggest thing I didn't know about was how heavily polluted and contaminated the air was growing up. I tell a story about going into middle school. This time I was in in private school and Catholic school. Just being out on the playground it's a you know, concrete schoolyard kind of situation. And you run your hand on the on the railing and there's yellow chalk-like stuff and you don't think twice about it because it's like chalk. Or it's dust. Well, you know, in that part of town, downtown El Paso, it's because of the copper smelter. We had a 110 year old lead and copper smelting operation called Asarco that was less than two miles away from where I was going to school. And you know, you move on, maybe, you're a kid, maybe you wash your hands, maybe you don't. And it just, you know, when I moved back, I thought of that--I thought of all the times, I used to play in the dirt, like every other kid in El Paso does, you know, you don't got Barton Springs to go to or Greenbelt Creek, you play in the dirt, dig tunnels, and that stuff gets in you. And that's loaded with heavy metals, arsenic, cadmium, lead, you name it. It was it was a huge shock for me to learn that the land that I was around as a child, and the air that I was around as a child was just heavily contaminated. And I knew nothing about it. John Fiege  But what was the experience like when you were actually in college and getting more heavily into activism? Like what was motivating you? And how did you see yourself in relationship to other folks?Dave Cortez  Right on. Well, I can't leave out that the reason I came to Austin was because of my older brother and my older sister. I had never seen green, like this town, when I came to visit my sister in the summer. So I just was blown away, everything was green, there was water, it rained, I just felt like an oasis and I wanted to come here. So I went to St. Ed's, which ended up being, you know, expensive as hell, but really cool in the sense of, you know, an opportunity to learn, to be away from home. You know, and so, I didn't really know what to make of this town when I was here. I didn't know what to make of the people, the students, but by the grace of the Creator, in serendipity, I was thrown into a class on social movements. And that's a study in the 1960s. And so, you know, I developed a really foundational experience learning about the broader politic of American civil society, in that case, which blossomed into deeper learning around political theory and rhetoric, dating all the way back to some of the Greek philosophers, and modern day political thinkers, but I really got a ton of wild information into my head. In 2006, it wasn't here in Austin. It was on North Padre Island. The Austin Sierra Club was organizing a trip, there was a woman I liked at the time. And we were were fancying each other and were like, "Hey, let's go camping. I don't know what a crawfish is. But they're doing a crawfish boil. And they say they're going to clean up the beach." So we grabbed my SUV when we went and set up, and it was awesome to be out there around all these people we didn't know, you know, offering us free food and beer and just, you know, associating on this beach. And that, I really loved. Folks might not know this, it's like 60 plus miles of primitive Beach, outside of Corpus Christi. But I didn't quite understand what we're really doing until the next morning, right at dawn, when I was awoken by these huge sounds of tractor trailers hauling right by the water right in front of us. Just a caravan of them driving down to the other end of the beach to do gas drilling. You know, we get out of the tent, and we're watching this and I mean, you just want to, you know, throw something at those trucks, you know, and go put your body in front or something like "What the hell's going on?" And you're just watching the rubber, the plastic, you name it just fall off these trucks. And in their wake is just a mass of debris, and trash. And this is all in endangered Kemp's ridley sea turtle habitat, its nest a nesting area for the Kemp's ridley sea turtle. And that's why we were there. And so, you know, right after that we all commiserated and got to work and picked up more trash than I think, you know, I've ever picked up. And I'm still shocked that that was allowed. But that's really where I started to take a turn and understand more about how the state facilitates this destruction, the destruction of the land and for the profits of few. And shortly after that I graduated, and that was it for my time in Austin.John Fiege  So after you graduated from college, you went back to El Paso, and you became an environmental justice organizer for El Paso, ACORN. And it was shortly after your time there in 2009, that right wing activists did a big hit job on ACORN and brought down the organization in the US for the most part. An ACORN was was a powerful community organizing group at its height, and it had this unique community based organizing model. Could you talk a bit about the ACORN organizing model and how it, possibly, I assume, became part of your organizing DNA?Dave Cortez  Just like learning about the 1960s is a pillar of my practice. The  work with Acorn is right there with it. You know, it shaped me, maybe it's just because it's one of the first things I learned about, but it'll be with me, as long as I do this work and have breath in my lungs. You know, some people were quick to point to that it's built out of the school of the Industrial Areas Foundation and Saul Alinsky model of community organizing, and yeah, that's true. But, you know, I didn't know any of that. I didn't, you know, I was, I was just taken in by these folks. There was a guy, recovering addict, just trying to make his money doing his canvassing while I was hanging out at a coffee shop, kind of where I was living in El Paso, the university. And there's my day off and I'm out there hanging out. There's this dude, his name was Ken. Ken let me know how they were planning to reopen the ASARCO copper smelter, the big 120 820 foot tall smokestack that I grew up around, and I was shocked. And, and that's, you know, like I studied all these things. And I was like, wow, I cannot believe that that's right there, my mom lives over here, you know, she works there, I live over here. And, you know, I told them, whatever I can do to help: get more letters, spread a petition around, whatever I can do. And they invited me in to meet the team, which was a small team. And the first task they gave me was actually nothing to do with that it was just to go distribute information about free tax prep, helping people in a really poor community, not far from where I went to middle school in which is not far from the smelter, get access to tax prep, in English and Spanish. And at the time, I had a, I had a mohawk. I covered that thing up real fast. I wore a straw cowboy hat and went door to door knocking on people's doors, let them know about this. And Jose Manuel, the the lead organizer at the time, the director saw me and, you know, was into it. And, you know, they offered me a job after a few days of that. And the job was doing the same thing, plus inviting people to come to a community meeting about the reopening of ASARCO. So here's a way that we can help you. With some, you know, with your money, basically, your your bottom line, and also, there's a situation happening, that can affect and will affect your your health and well being, and the safety of your family. At the time, I didn't realize that there was a very intentional strategy there. But that strategy is essential to the work that we do as environmentalists and in climate justice activists around the country, and here in Texas, people are struggling, and you got to find ways to help them directly with what they're struggling with day to day, which is often their pocketbooks. And so if you can do that, you're going to build some trust, you can build some relationships, and then you might be lucky to talk to them about another bigger, more complicated issue.John Fiege  That seems to be, like, a really beautiful definition of the difference between environmental justice organizing, and traditional environmental organizing, where environmental justice organizing, you have to start with the community, and make sure everybody you know, you have to deal with everything, you can't just isolate an environmental issue. Would you agree with that?Dave Cortez  Absolutely. Absolutely. I don't know where that came from. I again, I'm not a I've read all the books about these things, but that, the model that was picked up by so many organizations and NGOs is is you know, it's it's almost like counter revolutionary, it's almost counterproductive. Like you're intentionally trying to marginalize your base in silos, you know, so, so whatever we do, you know, I try to espouse that in folks, some of the work we've done around Austin and other parts of Texas, that's the route we go, talk about bills, talk about bills every time and then, you know, start to figure out what else is going on, you know. With ACORN, a major flaw in the national model was that they would want to sign people up to be bank draft members, like you, you'd push a card onto them, "Hey, send this card in with your bank info or something. And we'll sign you up, you know, so you get access to our help." And obviously, I didn't do that. And as the work evolved, and we got more people canvassing and doing the work, we didn't do that either. It went against our values. Now, if there were middle class people, people with more means, yeah, we'd asked them to do that, too.John Fiege  To contribute a certain amount each month.Dave Cortez  Yeah. But we also did things differently, in the sense of, we organized, we found, you know, folks who are highly motivated by the issues, students, artists, residents in the nearby communities who wanted to contribute, and contribute their time, That theory in the ACORN model of, you got to get people financially bought in to be committed, I think can be challenged and there's lots of ways to get people plugged in. And so, one other key here was, you know, I wasn't brand new, this work wasn't brand new. There had been people fighting ASARCO before I was involved, obviously, and it had ebbed and flowed in terms of how much community opposition from just, like, working class people was centered. There was a lot of wealthier folks, politico types, you know, people who worked for legislators or senators or city people, you know, academics, things like that. And there was a handful of working class people in a smattering of workers from plant workers. So our job was really to find more just like students and people in the impacted communities, but it had been going on for so long that people were really drained. You know, parents who, whose children had MS as a result of this or had other health problems, they eventually backed off because it was just too exhausting to go up against the machine of the Texas State Government and go testify, and struggle, and they just couldn't do it anymore. You know, so we had to find new people and inject new life. You know, we made it a point to work with some of the younger folks to start a--not really an acorn chapter--but just a group on the campus called students for reform. And those kids are amazing, a couple dozen students, Chicanos, for the most part, all going off to do awesome things in their lives. But for three, three years, four years, they they led the fight, they're on campus challenging the administration to disclose more information and trying to represent student opposition to the reopening of the smelter.John Fiege  I was looking up some articles about ASARCO. I found this this one 2010 article from John Burnett, who's a NPR correspondent based in Austin. So he talks about in 2009, the US Justice Department announced the settlement of one of the largest environmental bankruptcies in US history, in which ASARCO would pay a record $1.79 billion to settle claims for hazardous waste pollution in you know, at 80 sites, as many as 20 states, including the copper smelting operation in in El Paso. And he quotes some interesting community members like an 82 year old former maintenance worker named Miguel Beltran, who says, "you can't get a job here in El Paso compared to ASARCO, ASARCO is the best place to work. We were just like a family." And John Burnett, also quotes an anti-smelter activist named Debbie Kelly, who says, "They marketed very well. And the people of El Paso were brainwashed believed that this was the most wonderful thing El Paso could possibly have, this tall polluting contaminating smokestack." And this is this classic tension and environmental justice organizing. The big polluter in town is often the biggest and best paying employer as well, especially for folks with limited education. And these working folks often side with the company in some ways, and then at some times, kind of accepting the environmental problems for the economic opportunities. And the smokestack itself is this shining symbol of progress and prosperity that goes way back to the beginnings of the Industrial Revolution. What was your experience with this tension between economic opportunity and environmental health in the organizing, and how that was represented in the media?Dave Cortez  Well, let's take a few cracks at it, because it's a big question. You know, I'll start with my family, two of my close family members worked at the plant, my dad's brother worked at the plant and then worked at Chevron on the other side of town. And then his brother in law, worked at the plant and retired. And here I was, this younger punk, you know, sort of just not super close to the family, showing up at events, and that's what I'm doing and "oh," they think, "I'm a paid protester," you know, forget my education, forget what I'm actually saying. You know, it's, it's deep cultural assimilation. It's deep colonization, sort of this Stockholm syndrome that develops out of poverty and repression. It's horrific. And it's sad to watch, you know, people fiercely defend the only thing that has helped them, in their eyes, and not be able to acknowledge the harm that's been done. It's not different from, you know, addiction in that way.  Or, or depression in that way. John Fiege  Right.  Or domestic abuse. Don't talk about it. Dave Cortez  Domestic abuse. Exactly. You know, it's heartbreaking. It still hurts me to talk about. But, you know, that was the case. And you know, in that situation, just try and make peace with your family just, you know, get through the gathering. And you go on in, you know, some of my family was very supportive, you know, like, "yeah, that stuff's bad, and we should do better." You don't get investments in the well being of a community that like say, in Austin and all this money flooding here and STEM education being invested in and, you know, pre K access and, you know, nature based education and Montessori education, things like that. All of this is part of that, that conflict that pushes you to try and find the best thing you can for your family. And any of the workers that I organized alongside say the same thing. They were so proud and happy--Daniel Adriano another sort of lead visible face against the reopening of smelter, he's a former steel worker, you know, he tells a story about like, his dad worked there, his uncle, his cousins, you know, it was just like a family thing, like everybody, if you could get a job at ASARCO, you knew you'd be okay. You could raise a family, maybe even your wife or your spouse, your partner wouldn't have to work. But, you know, behind that, that Golden Gate, there was a lot of things that people weren't being told. You know, things like, maybe you shouldn't be taking your work clothes home and washing them. Right. They sent people home to wash, and that's very common in heavy industry in the 80s 70s 80s and 90s, you know, these these companies do that. In Danny's case, his kids got sick, you know, and they developed health problems. And he points to that as part of the reason washing his clothes in the same machine with, as his kids clothes. His wife feels guilt about that. Heavy guilt. John Fiege  Yeah. That's hard. Dave Cortez  You know, it's violating. You know, they had them--that settlement came because they, well, in part because ASARCO was caught for illegally incinerating hazardous chemical weapons waste materials from Colorado, in the smelter in these men weren't told about it. And they shoveled this stuff in there and were exposed to, you know, not recycled waste, just direct waste from the Rocky Mountain Arsenal Wow facility, a weapons manufacturing facility, Dow Chemical weapons manufacturing facility. That stuff was burned and they were exposed. You know, it's infuriating. And once they learned that, and they were falling ill and they had some evidence, they tried to organize other workers, let them know former workers let them know what was going on. And, and they encountered the same thing that I encountered with my family: just like this, this wall of acceptance, this willful ignorance. You know, I don't know about that, you know, just like denial, denial. And that was really hard on them. They got ostracized, they lost a lot of friends. You know, and so they found allyship in other people whose families had been sick, residents on the other side of the river in the Colonias, whose children had been severely sick, who were bleeding every night because of bloody noses and heavy metal contamination. You know, they found allyship with Debbie Kelly in the current place, which is sort of a wealthier neighborhood, you know, the educated, more white affluent folks who didn't want the smelter around. And this, that's how the "Get the lead out" coalition really came together it was--you just had these different interests aligned around this lack of justice, but the worker piece was always--and the economic piece was always always, you know, the straw that would break our back. And when ASARCO hired a PR firm, Teresa Montoya, to build their campaign, their marketing campaign to reopen the smelter, that was their big thing. I want to work for ASARCO I want to work for ASARCO and they march out all these Chicanos and throw them in front of a plant in their hard hats and talk about the good jobs and the pay. You know, it's tough to compete with. I know the people in Port Arthur, in Corpus Christi, even down in Brownsville, you know, and you name it. John Fiege  It's the same story everywhere. It's the same story.Dave Cortez  In Appalachia, as well, with the coal miners. Absolutely. The amount of energy it takes to fight Goliath. You know, you never have enough you never have enough resources. You got a PR firm In, you know, this facility was owned and run ASARCO, Grupo Mexico owned by Carlos Slim, at the time the wealthiest man in the world, you know, like, you're never going to have enough just to stop the bad thing. How are you going to strategize and organize in a way where you're talking about building the good, and replacing it with something better and taking care of these people? It's doable, it absolutely is. But at the time, when you're in the sock like that, it's very hard to pivot. And it's very hard to motivate people who have resources to give you those resources to bring on people to pay them to do that work. It's a boxing match, take your hits, and wait for the time to throw a punch. You know, and I think one thing that really hurt people hurt ASARCO a lot, was when it came out that at their operations in Arizona, El Paso and elsewhere, in the 70s and 80s, they had been using health standards, health assessment screenings that were based on a false standard that black men and brown men had a 15% higher lung capacity than white men, therefore, they could be--they could work 15% longer, they could be exposed 15% more than white men. And that came out. And you know, we had some incredible, dedicated educated volunteers who were digging this information up, who were, you know, putting it to the to the news outlets. And without the news outlets putting that information out there, like the New York Times that put it out about the hazardous chemical weapons waste, you know, we wouldn't have been able to really punch back. But that stuff came out and then we could organize with it. We made materials out of it. I made sure everyone knew that, you know, this is the kind of crap that this place was built on, no matter what they say now you can't trust them. John Fiege  Right. Yeah. And this--another thing that John Burnett brought up in this NPR story is, he quotes some longtime community members who said that when the winds were blowing to the south toward Juarez in Mexico, the smelter would crank up production and send pollution directly into Mexico where they could, they could do nothing to regulate it or stop it even worse than in the US. And that's a pretty insidious and cynical route around US environmental regulations. American companies have this long history of sending their polluting factories and jobs overseas. But in El Paso, they could just send the pollution directly to Mexico while keeping the plant and the jobs in the US. Were you able to do any cross border organizing in El Paso to combat this kind of flagrant disregard for air pollution in Mexico?Dave Cortez  I wasn't able to myself, or it wasn't a choice I made to do myself on the broader scale. Marianna Chu, who worked at the time for the Sierra Club, and as an independent activist and organizer did a whole hell of a lot and deserves a ton of credit. Marianna, and others were also were able to build relationships in the Colonias and get to talk to people that were, you know, the definition of directly impacted, right on the other side of the river. You know, you drive through, you pass on I-10, and you look to the left where you're passing through downtown, and it's just colonias and that's Colonia Felipe and some students who we'd found and became acquainted with at UTEP and were filmmakers and they were able to get over into the colonias and document the lived experience of some of these folks, and it's horrific, and they made a short film, I'm happy to share called The Story of Cristo and it's a little boy, you know, who's like that, he's bleeding, bleeding every night, because he's got heavy metal contamination, two years old. You know, and that story spread. You know, it was similar to other families all throughout the Colonia. Dirt roads, just full of metal, not a lot that could be done unless there was funds provided for it. And part of that settlement in relation to the chemical weapons waste was that ASARCO would give money to an outfit in Mexico to pave those roads. You know, that's it. Accept no wrongdoing. No, no responsibility. We don't admit nothing but, here, take this and leave us alone.John Fiege  Literally, sweeping it under the rug. They're just laying asphalt over the dust.Dave Cortez  Absolutely. I mean, that's that's absolutely right. And, you know, one interesting intersection here with with the colonias there was, as we marched towards the end of 2007 and 2008. You know, we're still fighting the plant, it started to become more and more dangerous and people were less responsive, and less receptive to being interviewed on camera with our comrades, and the gangs, were starting to move in to the Colonia and control things more. And that was that it wasn't safe anymore you can, the last thing you should be doing is driving over there with a camera. And so those stories sort of drifted away, those folks. And we weren't able to really work with them a whole lot more, because the narco war was starting to take root.John Fiege  Because it's, it's how it's the same thing they do to fight you, they give your neighbor a job, and then and they get your neighbor working against you. Dave Cortez  Absolutely, I mean, you know, you're not going to go toe to toe with the same weapons, you got to find a way to find their weak spot and cut them at that weak spot. And, you know, I learned that, I learned that in this fight, you know, we weren't scared of these people. We weren't scared of their minions. We weren't scared of the, you know, the former workers who wanted the plant to open. We weren't scared of them. They tried. Everybody tried to intimidate you, you know, but I'll start with, with that part, first, as a critical strategy. My, you know, 23 year old high energy, Mohawk wearin' self, right, like, I thought I knew it all and was ready to go, just like against that jerk down on Red River Street in Austin. And, you know, the first public meeting, debate, whatever, that we helped organize, some of those, those workers were there outside and they were, you know, they pick a smaller person, a woman to argue with, and she ain't scared of them. But you know, soon enough, there's, there's four or five of them around her and oh, man, you know, machismo is something all of us from the border suffered from and that kicked in hard. You just get into it with these guys. But, you know, that is not the way, that is not the way. You know, arguing and fighting, especially with the people, even though they're trying to get you to do it. The people who want a job in these facilities, the community members who just want a better way for their life, you cannot let the people at the top pit us against each other. That's why it's so important to be anchored in community talking about the nuance, you know, how to step and where, what to look out for, and really trying to build together, it has to be at the forefront.John Fiege  Isn't that the history of American industrial capitalism, that for it to work, the, the industrialists need to pit various groups of people against one another, whether it's along lines of race, or income, or religion, or geography, or immigration status, or, or whatever. Like, that's, that's how it works. You need to divide people by those things, so they don't get together and they don't, they don't form a allegiances.Dave Cortez  That's right. That's right. I mean, it's, but it's not something that's created by the oligarchs and the industrial capitalists and the power holders. It's something that they exploit, right? It's a, it's a wound that's already there. And, you know, it's something that concerns me greatly about broader civil society, and our failures to build community, in relationship in brotherhood and sisterhood. You know, in a true spirit of mutual solidarity, the more that we neglect doing that work, the easier it is for something to divide us or someone to exploit it, we see it, there's an endless amount of examples we can point to. But if you start your work in trying to build something better, and build through a positive relationship, it's going to feed in the long run, it'll help you endure all of the struggles that are going to come the conflicts, you know, the the infighting, the personality disagreements, whatever, you got to have some foundation and I learned that from that, that night outside the UTEP Library arguing with these guys that, "No, we got to we got to find a way to work with these workers. We got to really center the fact that people need work in jobs." And and that's where, you know, I really started to become close with, not the guys I argued with, other workers who were already disaffected, Charlie Rodriguez, and Danielle Riano and Efrain Martinez and others. You know, they became, in some ways they already were but from my work, they became the center of what we're trying to do and focus on, that this is actually not what we want these, these jobs are not the kind that we need, because look what they did to me. And so that's one piece. We've got to find a way to get people more meaningfully involved with the policies we're trying to change, so there's just a far greater number of people pushing for positive investment in something that is, you know, not just like NGO staff, you know, like, the less NGO staff and those boardrooms, the better. You know, get every day, people in their meeting, pressing for these decisions, and calling for it, and that makes it much harder for the special interests to push push their own agenda.John Fiege  Well, that's a good transition to Occupy Wall Street. So in 2011, Occupy Wall Street began in New York City in Zuccotti Park. And then the movement quickly spread around the world, including to Austin. And I know you were heavily involved in Occupy Austin, and its campaign to get the city to divest from commercial banks. I participated in a couple of those occupy Austin Bank actions. And I don't think I'd met you yet. But, you know, as many people might remember, one of the big discussions and debates around Occupy was whether and how to organize and whether to make formal demands, which always makes me think of Frederick Douglass who famously said, "power concedes nothing without a demand. It never did. And it never will." But those words from Frederick Douglass, were not the guiding light of many occupy organizers and participants, I'd love to hear you talk a bit about your experience with Occupy Austin, and the internal debates and conflicts about what it was and how it should operate. And what you brought away from that whole experience that you put into your organizing work after that. Dave Cortez  Yeah, it was one of the most exciting times of my life so far, you know, to be able to three, four, sometimes five nights a week, meet up with 50 to 60 people not at a general assembly, but a working group meeting, and everybody's there ready to, you know, talk and break out and figure out the next step for getting people to close bank accounts. And, you know, organizing the rally and building the art and all those things. It was organic. I'm so happy that, I'm fortunate to have that experience in this city, and in this country. It was real, you see the romanticized version of uprisings in film, in writing, and on the news, different ways around the world. But, you know, this was that, at least the closest I've been to it, and it wasn't just the, you know, the sign holding, and, you know, petition gathering, we did all that. But it was, I mean, like people were, people were in, you know, the sacrifice time away from whatever they had going on around them to contribute to something better, and I have never seen an appetite, so large for participating and contributing to something that can change the world. I've seen it tried to be engineered a whole lot by NGOs. And it's laughable. It's insulting, you know, but for me at the time, it was it was like a dream come true. I remember a week before occupy launch, there was a meeting happening at Ruta Maya, and the room was full of people, and, you know, a bunch of white dudes, hippie yoga types on stage, you know, talking about some stuff, but I'm up there front row, just, you know, like, eager. And just like listening, I'm like, "This is great," you know, so they open the mic for everybody to come up and have something to say. And it was awesome. I'd just never seen it. You know, I was like, "wow, this is the Austin I always wanted to see," you know. Sure enough there was a meeting after that the next day, and the next day after that. And that kind of continued on for a few days. And then and then there was the day of the launch and lots of people packing City Hall. I mean, you couldn't move there were so many people out there and there were people talking for hours. Everybody was just willing to stay. And you know, I can't, I just can't believe how patient people were for weeks. And just like hanging out. You know, I think they just wanted something different. And they wanted to be part of something, like I said, Now, me, day one. I'm like, "yo, if we're gonna be out here, we need some data." And I got my clipboard. And my dear friend and former partner Betsy had been working for a group that was doing foreclosure organizing and getting people to move their bank accounts or close their bank accounts. And so, you know, I got some, some materials from her and took up like six clipboards, to the to the rally. And that was my whole shtick was just like, "Hey, y'all, we should close our corporate bank accounts," and people loved it. You know, it was like, "hey, here goes, put your name down, if you want to help out," and I mean, I filled up pages and pages of this thing, people who wanted to help out or close their bank accounts. And from that, you know, like, you'd find more people that were like, "Hey, I used, you know, I can help with that. And I used to work at a bank," or, you know, "I've got some time on my hands," you know. And so we, it was rad, because while all the noise was happening, the day to day that people were more familiar with Occupy Wall Street. You know, the the General Assemblies, the infighting, the conflicts with the unhoused folks and things like that, we had this parallel track of our bank action crew, which was doing, building switch kits, and, you know, trying to reach out to people to, you know, help walk them through how to close their bank accounts and stuff like that, or organize marches on the bank, so people could go in and come out and cut their credit cards, so we could all celebrate, you know, like, that was, that was great. That's classic organizing. I, you know, if you weren't down in City Hall, every day for that first month, you're missing out on something, you know, I don't think people appreciate enough how much work people invested into trying to maintain a space, like, maintaining a physical encampment is, you know, the people with the most knowledge on how to operate a small, little civil society is the people have been doing it before, which is our unhoused folks, you know. And there was a huge class conflict, that really emerged quickly, that the police and the city manager and others began to exploit, you know, by trying to bring more unhoused folks down to City Hall, allowing some to sell and distribute drugs, not enforcing any oversight, you know, we had women attacked, you know, and attempted assaults and things like that, that they were just looking the other way on. Because they wanted this to go away. And it was up to us to figure out how to manage that. And that really became the core of the non-bank action, kind of conversations. You know, everybody wanted to do solidarity with everything else. But it was really about, like, how do we keep this thing going? And how do we maintain our presence here? You know, do you negotiate with the city? Who negotiates? Who's responsible? Do we just say, you know, F-U, we're not going to talk to you all, you know, but like, through all that, like, some amazing friendships were developed, and I mean, like bonds, true, real friendships, and people may not be super close anymore, but all it would take is a phone call or text to bring people back together. You know, it's something I'll just value for the rest of my life.John Fiege  Yeah, totally. And in 2015, The Austin Chronicle named you the best environmental activist in Austin for your work as, "The heart and soul of Sierra Club's 'Beyond Coal' campaign in Central Texas." And I know you've done all kinds of work with the Sierra Club. But I wondered if you could talk about what the fight has been like to transition from dirty energy to clean energy in Texas, which, of course is the oil capital of the country. And looking over the years you've been doing this work, what stands out? What have you learned from this massive campaign?Dave Cortez  Like you said, it's Texas, we're the number one carbon emitter in the country, and a huge one in the world and the United States cannot meet the modest two week goals in the Paris Accords unless Texas gets its act together, you know, and we got some real problems here, not just from fossil fuel pollution, but from industrial and toxic pollution and just from our livelihoods, you know, there's another story out yesterday, you know, are we going to have power next week, because we're going to hit hit the peak of the summer. You know, it's hard to think about the fight for clean energy in Texas without thinking about the power of the fossil fuel and industrial industries. There's there's been a battle since 2000 and 2005 to stop new power plants and advocate for clean energy. The fuel type changes and you know, back then it was coal and then it is gas and and now, it's like, oh my god, we just don't have enough power. Now, how do we get it? But it's still the, you know, trade associations, the Association of Electric Companies in Texas, you know, Oncor, which is an electric distributor company, NRG, you go down the line, Energy Transfer Partners, all of these fossil fuel corporations, making billions and billions of dollars, still call the shots, they still influence, and basically direct, decision makers on what is going to be acceptable in terms of, even, discussion. You can't even get a hearing in the state legislature on flaring reduction, which is a very modest thing. Because they have enough influence to make sure that that conversation is not even going to happen. And their members, like Energy Transfer Partners, and others are some of the biggest donors to politicians in the state. So, you know, why shouldn't we listen to those people? Kelsy Warren, Dakota Access Pipeline CEO, behind Energy Transfer Partners, gave a million dollars, his largest donation ever to Governor Abbott, right immediately after the legislative session. And this is after his company made well over a billion dollars, I think it's closer to $2 billion, coming out of the winter storm, Energy Transfer Partners. While people died, these people decided it would make better financial sense and profit sense to go ahead and withhold supplies of gas to power plants and gas utilities, and let the price go up before they would deliver that gas and therefore make a ton of money. Forget that more than you know, some say 200, some say 700 people died, many of them freezing to death, many of them carbon monoxide poisoning during the storm, forget that. It's all about the money. And that's the biggest takeaway here, just like we would be fighting Carlos Slim, and ASARCO and other folks, you got to look at what the interest is, you know, why are people supporting this? Why are they facilitating this? I know, it's easy to just say, well, we just got to vote these people out. Well, you know, we've got to come up with strategies that will allow us to do that. We've got to come up with strategies that will make it so, in this state that's so heavily corrupt and captured by corporate interests, fossil fuel interests, industrial interests, that we're going to find a way to cut into their enabling electorate. Their enabling base. And it's more than just a voter registration strategy. It's more than just a mobilization strategy, or getting people to sign a petition, it gets back to what we started talking about with ACORN. What is their base? Where are they? What are their interests? And where does it make sense to try and make some inroads, and cut away? And unfortunately, we just don't have enough of that happening in Texas. There's an effort to try to build coalitions with, you know, some social justice and some youth focused organizations. But we're all part of that same progressive "groupthink" or Democratic base, that we're not actually doing much to expand, other than registering some new voters. And there's a lot of unpacking that needs to happen. You know, can we go talk to some steel workers or some people on the Texas-Mexico border, who started to vote more for Republicans and Trump, because they were worried about the Green New Deal? They're worried about losing their oil jobs. Why, I mean, like, to this day, we haven't made that pivot collectively as a movement, and it's hella frustrating.John Fiege  Yeah, it gets back to what we were talking about earlier with, you know, kind of the DNA of environmental justice orientation to this work, the work has to be intersectional if you want to transition Texas, the oil capital of the world, to to non-fossil fuel based energy, you know, you need to deal with, with voting rights, you need to deal with the bad education system, you need to deal with healthcare issues, you need to deal with police brutality, and you know, it's like it's all connected. To think that we can remove this issue of decarbonizing our energy source from all of that other, you know, what some people see as messy stuff is delusional, it just doesn't doesn't work, doesn't make sense. Especially, and it's so obvious in places like Texas, where, you know, what are they doing? They're just trying to, they're trying to suppress the vote, like, they know what the deal is, you know, they're they're losing numbers. They need to disenfranchise more voters in order to maintain this system. Dave Cortez  You know, there's an important caveat and distinction for environmentalists, environmental justice folks, or whatever. You know, if you talk to John Beard with Port Arthur Community Action Network, you know, he's a former steel worker. His whole pitch in Port Arthur is about youth engagement jobs, investing in the community. He's willing to talk to the companies, things like that. It's not environmental-first type of thinking. But the enviros, and you'll see this any legislative session, if you pay attention, we are on the far losing side of the losers. Okay, the Democrats being the losers, you know, Democrats in Texas carry House Bill 40, which is the ban on fracking bans. You know, Mrs. T, Senator Senfronia Thompson out of Houston, she authored that bill, Black Democrat, you know, revered for her work on voting rights and reproductive justice. You know, enviros, we are way, way out of the mix. And so even if we got those organizations doing the work you're talking about, to speak about climate change, speak about the grid, you know, pollution, things like that, we'd still be part of that losing side. And I'm not saying we need to need to be building out into red country, or rural country. It's a critique of the broader progressive movement that we aren't doing enough to find people, the greater majority of people that don't participate in our process, in politics, in voting, except in presidential elections. We are not doing enough to reach people who are just going about their lives and do not give a s**t about the things that we post online about our petitions or positions, or our op-eds, or whatever. That is where the fight is, we've got to draw more people in while the right wing tries to keep more people out. That's our only pathway. And so--John Fiege  What does a just transition mean to you?Dave Cortez  It's what we've been talking about, it's a whole shift in, you know, the operating system of a of a community, whether it's a town of 50,000 people or a state of, you know, 25 million. Just transition means that we're taking into full consideration, our triple bottom line, you know, our health, and shelter, and food, you know, our economics, our jobs, and ability to put, you know, bring income and get the things that we need. And, you know, just the land and our ecology. Just transition has to anchor that we are--that those things are connected, and that they're not--they can't be separated, that in order for our families, and our children and our neighbors and all that, to have a future and have a livelihood, we need to be concerned about our air quality, concerned about our water quality, but also about the quality of their education, the access to healthy food and grocery stores. If you were to talk to people and ask them to envision what, you know, their dream society looks like, which is a hard thing for people to do nowadays. You know, you'll hear some of these things and just transition is the process that we take to get there. It's not about you know, getting a worker from a fossil fuel job into a clean energy job.John Fiege  Well, and speaking of that, you know, in addition to your beyond coal and just transition work, you've done a lot of work with low income communities of color in Austin around a whole assortment of things: illegal dumping, access to green space, community solar and solar equity, green gentrification among among a bunch of other stuff. Can you talk about gentrification and how Austin has changed in the time you've been there and the tension that's emerged about Austin becoming one of the greenest but also increasingly one of the least affordable cities in the country? Dave Cortez  Yeah it's tough. People in Austin are largely still here to just party, have fun, make money. You know, they're really eager to do what they moved here for, you know, go do the cool thing and the restaurant, and the corporate soccer game and whatnot, you know, fine, whatever, I'm not trying to harp on people who want to have a good time, the problem is that there's no thread of the greater good of civil society, of trying to care for those in town that struggle and have the least. That doesn't exist here. It's just, it has lessened every year, it might be new people moving here might be more money here, and people being displaced. But you know, for the most part, with gentrification, the white wealthy middle class here is strong, you know, median family income is close to $90,000, you know, qualifying for affordable housing, you can make a ton of money and still qualify for affordable housing. And the people that move in, my brother calls them the new pilgrims. They're not super interested in learning what was there before, they're interested in what's around them now, and what might come in the future. And we do have a responsibility to make sure that we not just offer up but press on people at the doors, at community events, you know, cool, fun, s**t, barbecues and things like that, to learn what was there before they came, you know, sort of an onboarding into the neighborhood. And we did some of this in Montoplis, my old neighborhood that I lived in before I moved to South Austin, you know, people who I was like, "man, they're never going to help us," they're just, you know, part of that new white, middle class "new pilgrim." When I learned the history of the community, and the issues that were going on, I said, "Hell, yeah, whatever I can do," from, you know, cooking funding, speaking, writing letters, coming to meetings, you name it, you know, but we had to keep on 'em. And we had to give them a meaningful task. There is a lot of power, gentrification sucks. But I've really tried to work with myself on not being--automatically hating folks for just trying to move in into a home. But you do have to challenge folks on how they behave after they've moved in, you know, in Austin with our urban farming and desire for new urbanism and density and things like that, the culture of I know what's best is so thick, and it's really hard to stay patient. But I try to, even when I get mad and angry and frustrated, I try to remind people of what's called the Jemez Principles for Democratic Organizing, and the People's Institute for Survival and Beyond's Principles of Anti-Racism, encourage them to read them, and to do everything they can to just shut the F up, and go listen to the people that they're talking about in affected communities. And get a sense of where you might be able to build some common ground.John Fiege  I actually wanted to spend a minute on that because, you know, you started, or you were one of the organizers, who started environmental justice group in Austin years ago, and I went to a bunch of the meetings. And I feel like that's where, you know, we got to start hanging out a bunch for the first time. But you would always start the meetings with the Jemez Principles for Democratic Organizing. And, you know, those came out of this meeting hosted by the Southwest Network for Environmental and Economic Justice and Jemez, New Mexico back in the 90s. Can you talk more specifically about the principles and why they're important to the work you're doing?Dave Cortez  So when you're thinking about undoing racism, or being an antiracist or antiracism work, you know, you're acknowledging that you're confronting a built system, something that's built under a false construct, race, you know, and when you're going to combat that, there's, you know, there's a lot of issues to it or whatever, but the Jemez principles will help you see, how do you approach people and talk about it? You know, for example, listen, let people speak is one of the principles, you know, listen to the people on the ground. Don't barge in there don't don't come in with your your petition and your fancy stuff and, or be online and be a dick. You know, go try to introduce yourself and get to know people. You know, ask questions. That's okay. You know, people were very generous for the most part, whether they're Black or Brown or or Native or Asian, or you name it, you know? If you're able to ask questions and listen about an issue, people will likely talk, you know. Trying to work in solidarity and mutuality is another big one for me, you know, it's not just about like, "I'm here to help you," versus, "I'm here because our struggles are connected and intertwined. And for me and my family to be successful and get what we need, it depends on your family, and your people being successful and getting what you need. How can we work together to make sure that we everything we do reinforces that and that we lift each other up?" A lot of things that we see is very transactional in the advocacy and activism world, you know, sign this, and then we'll go do that for you, or will tell the person to do the thing and change? It's not so much how can what can we do to help you directly, like we talked about bills and taxes and things like that. But also, we have to know that, what is it we're gonna get out of it, it's not just this potential policy outcome. There's tremendous value in human relationships. And in culture and community building, you're going to learn about the people in your community, you're going to learn about the history, you're going to learn, you know, and make new friends and maybe some recipes, maybe, you know, some new music or something. It's limitless. You know, humans have tremendous potential in beauty. But we we rob ourselves of that by, you know, retreating into our silos in our, in our four walls. You know, Jemez can give something--these are short, short, little principles that can give people something to read and reflect on, they can be kind of abstract and theory based, but when you're advocating for change, and then you look at these and you ask yourself, "sm I doing this?" There's tremendous potential for learning, and changing how we do our work.John Fiege  And the Sierra Club is one of the oldest large-scale environmental groups in the world. And it's traditionally been a white organization. Its founder John Muir made racist remarks about Black and Indigenous people, and in 2020, the Sierra Club officially apologized for those remarks and the white supremacist roots of the organization. In Texas, with your work and your presence, I feel like you've really helped the Sierra Club evolve there, where you are, and you th

This week, on the Northeast Newscast, we sit down with President and Security Lead Jon Cokely and Green Spaces Steward Whitney Barnardo from the Pendleton Heights Neighborhood Association. Pendleton Heights, one of Kansas City's oldest communities, dates back to the late 1880s. Initially settled by affluent families seeking respite from city life, it's now a vibrant neighborhood with rich history and Victorian-era homes. Designated a National Register Historic District, it's recognized for its preservation efforts and was even named one of the Best Old House Neighborhoods in the U.S. by This Old House magazine in 2013.Bound by The Paseo, Cliff Drive, Chestnut Trafficway, and Independence Boulevard, Pendleton Heights features Kansas City's first boulevard, three city parks, and a scenic byway. It's also home to a community garden, orchards, and a pocket park maintained by residents. Recent developments include new homes with property tax abatements and trendy coffee shops. The forthcoming Reservoir promises to be a unique food and entertainment venue. Outdoor enthusiasts can enjoy championship-level disc golf courses amid the picturesque Kessler Park. The neighborhood's active community organization fosters diversity and is fostering an arts enclave. For more information, https://phkc.org or look for them on Facebook and Instagram. This is the second installment of our neighborhood association series. 

Here's your top news and events for the week of March 11, 2024. For more details on any topic, please visit www.rowlett.com   NTMWD Annual System Maintenance: The North Texas Municipal Water District has temporarily changed the disinfectant in its water treatment process until April 1. The annual, routine change is necessary to maintain the regional system and year-round water quality. Your tap water may smell a little different, but it's completely safe to drink and use. Visit ntmwd.com for tips for details   LUNCH ON THE LAWN Lunch on the Lawn in Downtown Rowlett continues all month long! Make plans to join us next Monday from 11am– 2pm and pick from a variety of food trucks.   FREE ANIMAL ADOPTIONS The City of Rowlett Animal Services shelter is still at capacity. If you've been considering adding a new member to your family, now is the time – all adoptions are FREE! The shelter is open from Tuesday-Saturday (10am-5pm)   DISNEY STAYCATION: The Spring Break edition of Disney Staycation is at the Rowlett Public Library this week! It's everyday at 10am from March 11-14   LIBRARY BOOK SALE Also at the library...The Friends of the Rowlett Library are holding a book sale at the library on Saturday, March 16 from 10am-4pm. You can purchase a diverse array of books, craft supplies, and learning materials. Only cash or checks are accepted.   First Aid, CPR and AED Class March 16 & 17 Rowlett Explorer Post One is sponsoring Wilderness First Aid with CPR/AED and Standard First Aid, CPR/AED trainings on March 16 & 17. The course will take between 6–8 hours depending on the number of students. Sign up by using the links found on the front page of www.Rowlett.com   HOA Legal Clinic Are you an HOA or Neighborhood Association leader? Then please join us for the 2024 HOA Legal Clinic! It's March 23 from 8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. at the Plano Event Center   PICKLEBALL: Pickleball, is not just kinda fun, it's an absolute blast! Think of it as tennis meets ping-pong...but with less running. Come play at the Rowlett Community Centre! It's $5.00 for a day pass or sign in with your RCC membership. Check the RCC for the daily schedule.   GOLF GLASSES: Join us at Waterview Golf Club for an incredible series of golf classes hosted by the renowned LPGA Teaching Professional, Lexi Clary. Whether you're a junior golfer aspiring to be the next prodigy or a seasoned player looking to enhance your game, these classes are designed just for you! Learn more on the Parks and Rec Social Media page. https://lexiclary.com/class-links   Total Eclipse Watch Party Join us on the Downtown Rowlett Green Total Eclipse Watch Party on Monday, April 8 - Noon to 3 p.m. Activities include a DJ, rocket ship bounce house, food trucks, and educational programs to learn more about this astronomical event. FREE solar eclipse glasses from the Rowlett Public Library for event attendees while supplies last. Join us on the dark side of the moon for a once in a lifetime experience!   Don't forget that Sunday, March 17 is St. Patrick's Day! Subscribe to the podcast: www.rowlett.com/podcast   City of Rowlett social media pages: https://www.facebook.com/CityofRowlettTexas  https://www.youtube.com/user/RowlettTexasVideo  https://www.instagram.com/cityofrowletttexas  https://twitter.com/RowlettTexas  https://www.linkedin.com/company/city-of-rowlett/   

The I Love CVille Show headlines: Covid Outbreak At Woodbrook Elementary Covid At Woodbrook: 8 Teachers & 2 Students Hillary Murray Interview – 30 Minute Spotlight Hillary Murray Is Chair Of Lewis Mountain HOA Ivy Road: 10-Story, 130-FT Tall, 242-Apartments Lewis Mountain Neighborhood Opposes Project UVA Says Housing For 600 On Ivy RD Bad News Playbook: 0 E. High St + Phase 3 Dairy Market Read Viewer & Listener Comments Live On-Air Hillary L. Murray, Chair of the Lewis Mountain Neighborhood Association, joined me live on The I Love CVille Show! The I Love CVille Show airs live Monday – Friday from 12:30 pm – 1:30 pm on The I Love CVille Network. Watch and listen to The I Love CVille Show on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn, iTunes, Apple Podcast, YouTube, Spotify, Fountain, Amazon Music, Audible and iLoveCVille.com.

In this week's episode, host. Allison Donahue welcomes Gregg Hampshire, the executive director of The Creston Neighborhood Association. The Creston Neighborhood Association serves the residents of Creston, the largest neighborhood in Grand Rapids. Since the Creston Neighborhood Association was incorporated in 1979, neighbors have rallied to shape their home community by preserving what is good and changing what needs improvement. Through CNA, Creston neighbors helped to keep a Grand Rapids Public Library branch in the heart of Creston, Supported strong neighborhood schools by organizing parents and safe routes to school, Collaborated with partners to create Catherine's Health Center, Organized business owners to revive Creston's business district, Collaborated with artists & students on public art projects, building bioretention islands along Plainfield Ave-– the first of their kind in Grand Rapids. Online: Creston Neighborhood Association

Join us for an enlightening episode as we delve into the heart of Gastonia, North Carolina, and explore the vital role played by the Highland Neighborhood Association. Discover the fascinating history, vibrant community spirit, and ongoing initiatives that make Highland a shining example of grassroots activism and neighborly solidarity.  We'll also discuss the challenges and triumphs of community development, preservation, and growth. Whether you're a local resident or just curious about the power of local community associations, this episode is sure to inspire and inform. Tune in to gain a deeper understanding of the Highland Neighborhood Association and its efforts to create a more inclusive and thriving Gastonia.SOCIALS:https://www.facebook.com/HealthierHighland/Gaston's Great loves feedback, suggestions, or questions! Want to get in touch with us? We'd love to hear from you! Feel free to reach out to us by a method that is convenient for you.Website: https://www.gastonsgreat.com/Email: podcast@gastonsgreat.comPhone: 704-864-0344

In this meeting we finalized nominations for 2024 Board elections and had Samantha Lee Smugala talk about Pocketparks.

Pat Clarke, Oak Park Neighborhood Association President | 6-28-23See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Monday moves majestically, meandering more mysteriously, making many mighty memories. Maybe. Or it's another day like any other as we all spend time inhabiting a world that alternates constantly between light and dark. However, Charlottesville Community Engagement is not a tribute to the poetic but is more concerned with the anecdotal and the wonky. I'm Sean Tubbs until I am not. On today's program:* Albemarle Supervisors will hold a special meeting Wednesday perhaps to purchase property* We learn from the county executive's office that there's a new disc golf course in Albemarle* The Commonwealth Transportation Board will meet in Charlottesville tomorrow* The Greenbrier Neighborhood Association has held the second of several candidate forums for three Democratic nominations for City Council New to this? Sign up to get this in your inbox when its produced. Payment encouraged but not mandatory, but paying the bills is mandatory for continued publication!First shout-out: 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.Albemarle purchasing land on Wednesday?The next regular meeting of the Albemarle Board of Supervisors is not until June, but the six members will meet in closed session this Wednesday. Virginia's open meetings laws allow for elected bodies to discuss certain matters without the public present. The notice for the May 24 meeting at 1 p.m. cites two provisions of the state code. (view the agenda) The first is “to discuss or consider the acquisition of real property in the Rivanna Magisterial District.” The second is “to consult with and be briefed by legal counsel regarding specific legal matters requiring legal advice relating to such acquisition.” Immediately after the closed session, Supervisors will vote on a resolution to authorize purchase of property and assets. There are no further details but Supervisors will convene in Room 241 after this vote to hold a media briefing. Albemarle Executive report: New disc golf course at Chris Greene Lake, HARTS team in placeIn Virginia, a locality's top manager actually performs the business of government and is responsible for executive actions. In Charlottesville that's interim City Manager Michael C. Rogers. In Albemarle that is County Executive Jeff Richardson. Often reports on what's happening are made to the elected body. On May 17, Albemarle Supervisors got a report from Trevor Henry, the Deputy County Administrator. They learned there is now a new 18-hole disc golf course at Chris Greene Lake.“The development of this new amenity in the northern part of the county was a successful partnership between Parks and Recreation by providing the space and in-kind services and the Blue Ridge Disc Golf Club whose members devoted 1,100 volunteer hours to construct the course,” Henry said. Henry also said graduate students at the University of Virginia School of Architecture are working with the county have helped with the creation of a Regional Digital Equity Plan that is being developed by the Broadband and Accessibility Office.“This is in partnership with community organizations, the city of Charlottesville, and [the University of Virginia],” Henry said. “Their analysis resulted in several key recommendations that the coalition will incorporate into their final plan.”To learn more about that project, here's the March meeting of the Coalition:Henry also had news about the Human Services Alternative Response Team that Albemarle is putting together. The HARTS Team is intended to answer calls where a person is believed to be having a mental health crisis. “The team has been formed and will be adjusting to responses based on each situation to ensure the safety and best outcomes for individuals involved,” Henry said. “As they are forming, they are beginning training and developing protocols to implement the co-responder model. That work will continue with procedures and training as they become operational and start responding to mental health calls for service.” Henry also reported on the results of an archaeological study from materials uncovered at the location of the former Swan Tavern in Court Square in Charlottesville. That's the site of the future General District Court that will be jointly used by both the city and Albemarle County. “These artifacts include a Moravian press pipe, bowls, antique glass bottles and more,” Henry said. “This project is a good reminder for the important of preserving our county's history. The artifacts that were uncovered during this dig period are being cleaned and catalogued and we expect a final report by the end of this calendar year.” CTB to meet in Charlottesville this weekThe body that approves funding across the Commonwealth of Virginia will meet this week at the Residence Inn on West Main Street in Charlottesville, steps away from a now-canceled project. The Commonwealth Transportation Board will begin with a workshop at 8:30 a.m. that will feature a large amount of state-wide business. One item to watch is a discussion on the fifth round of Smart Scale, which is a mechanism that helps decide what transportation projects are funded.  (workshop agenda) The CTB will make a final decision in June, but here are three area projects currently in the running:* Avon Street Multimodal Improvements  (only for the Druid Avenue to Avon Court section) – $15.8 million (Charlottesville-Albemarle MPO)* US 250/Peter Jefferson Parkway Intersection Improvements, Park and Ride, and Access Management – $20.55 million (Thomas Jefferson Planning District Commission) * Belvedere Boulevard/Rio Road Intersection Improvements – $4.89 million (Albemarle County)On Wednesday is the action meeting unless the workshop on Tuesday finishes early. Opportunity for public comments is taken at this meeting. (action meeting agenda)The CTB meeting is just steps away from what had been Phase 1 of the West Main Streetscape. Charlottesville had slowly assembled money for a nearly $50 million project to be built in four phases, but canceled them last year in order to put the local match toward the renovation and expansion of Buford Middle School. (read my story)Sponsored message: Buy Local Charlottesville Community Engagement's continued existence means that many of you support local information. Want to support some local businesses as well? The Buy Local campaign is in full swing, and both the Albemarle and Charlottesville Offices of Economic Development want people to consider spending locally as they shop throughout the year.The Buy Local campaign highlights small businesses within Charlottesville and Albemarle County through a multi-channel, multimedia promotional and educational campaign designed to reinforce how important supporting area small businesses is to the local economy. Locally-owned, independent businesses with a brick-and-mortar presence in the City or County interested in being featured in the campaign should visit www.showlocallove.org or contact info@showlocallove.org. For more information on the Buy Local campaign, visit www.ShowLocalLove.org or follow us on Facebook and Instagram @BuyLocalCvilleAlbemarle or on Twitter @BuyLocalCville.Council candidates introduce themselves to Greenbrier neighborhoodLast week, the Greenbrier Neighborhood Association held the second of many planned candidate forums for the three nominations for Charlottesville City Council. The event began with opening statements beginning with Dashad Cooper who was unable to attend the May 10 event I co-hosted with Neil Williamson of the Free Enterprise Forum. (view that event)“As a Council member, I believe it is crucial that we have an open and honest discussion about the vision of Charlottesville, and I'm here to share my vision,” Cooper said. “Together I believe we can work towards a solution that would benefit all members of society.”       Cooper is a social services assistant who said he sees many people struggling with mental health issues who are affected by increases in rent. “I think mental health has been overlooked for far, far too long and the pandemic has put the mental health at the forefront and the people need help now,” Cooper said. Former City Councilor Bob Fenwick used much of the same opening statement he made at the May 10 forum but leaned in with his skepticism of the city's ability to provide solutions for one intractable problem. “The notion that affordable housing can be addressed with yet another program without better management, including adequate funding for all of the peripherals that go with it is very much in the air,” Fenwick said. Fenwick said the big issues he is hearing about are the zoning code rewrite, increased property assessments and public safety. “And the biggest issue tonight is probably going to be the zoning rewrite as well it should be as it hasn't been fully crafted and is virtually incomprehensible,” Fenwick said.  Challenger Natalie Oschrin also used much of the same opening statement as the May 10 event but I'll quote different parts from a previous story.  She said her primary job has skills that would apply to time on Council. “I've worked in the hospitality industry for over ten years, mostly planning and organizing weddings,” Oschrin said. “As you might imagine there's a lot of coordinating and managing in addition to cajoling and negotiating that needs to happen to pull the event off successfully and within budget.” Oschrin said she supports efforts to build more places to live within the city.“I've worked with a lot of people who have to commute from outlying communities for their job in the city [and] that means close to an hour in the car each way,” Oschrin said. “Our teachers, nurses, firefighters deserve to live in Charlottesville and not be pushed out by high housing costs.” Councilor Michael Payne is seeking his second term and also had many of the same introductory comments. “For those of you who don't know me, I grew up in the area and after college moved back here and worked for Habitat for Humanity of Virginia in affordable housing as well as gotten involved in politics through community organizing with Indivisible Charlottesville and the Charlottesville Low-Income Housing Coalition and have been on Council since January 2020,” Payne said. Payne said the past few years have been difficult for city government but Council has begun to make progress with the adoption of a climate action plan and an affordable housing plan that comes with $10 million a year in funding.“We've started to stabilize city staff and build a strong staff team within the city as well as made historic investments in schools and are moving toward being able to create a regional transit authority to strengthen our bus system,” Payne said. Charlottesville Mayor Lloyd Snook also addressed many of the same themes as the May 10 opening statement beginning with a general slogan for his campaign in 2019.“My overall slogan was ‘Let's Work Together' and ‘Let's Try to Make Charlottesville Work again,” Snook said.Snook said he and Payne both voted to adopt that affordable housing plan in March 2021 and they worked together to identify the funds to invest in the renovation and expansion of Buford Middle School. He said he wants four more years to ensure that work is completed. “Not only make sure that Buford gets finished but also start thinking about the next step in the school reconfiguration process,” Snook said. “That's to look at Walker and the elementary schools. In his opening statement, Snook pointed out that many of Fenwick's critiques of the zoning code were inaccurate given that a final draft has not been presented to Council yet. For more on that topic, take a look at my next column in C-Ville Weekly, out on newsstands Wednesday. Now I have to write it. (view the 20 articles I've written to date)Reading material:* What happens next? Buckingham commission weighs mining question, Brian Carlton, Farmville Herald, May 19, 2023* Buckingham GOP nominates recently fired registrar for seat on elections board, Graham Moomaw, Virginia Mercury, May 19, 2023* Embattled Charlottesville SPCA to replace director, Charlottesville Daily Progress, May 20, 2023* Rep. Bob Good asking if federal dollars were used to fund Montpelier exhibits on slavery, WINA, May 22, 2023Concluding thoughts for #535This is the first Monday edition of this program in a while! The perfect situation is when there is one of these a day to keep an eye on the happenings and not-happenings of local government. I'm grateful for the hundreds of paid subscribers who are helping me at least attempt to be a one-person time-keeping canine, or something like that. You can join them with a contribution through Substack either at the $5 a month, $50 a year, or $200 a year level. And if you do, Ting will match that first payment. If you join through Patreon, a portion of those proceeds will now go to hire other people to do work to make this newsletter better. I reviewed the foundational documents for my work this weekend and then and now I believe you should know how your money is spent!And if you sign up for Ting at this link and enter the promo code COMMUNITY, you'll get:* Free installation* A second month for free* A $75 gift card to the Downtown MallThanks to Wraki for incidental music in the podcast, which you can't hear unless you listen to it. Check out the work on BandCamp! 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

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Good Saturday morning! Kyle Wyatt and Melanie Bach talk about a variety of topics, including: Horrific terrorist attack anniversary. "We have a duty as citizens to keep our government accountable" The history behind what's going on with Galloway Village Neighborhood Association. The current situation with Sequiota Park. The City council decided to approve a rezoning. Upcoming vote and what should people expect to see on a ballot? Learn more here and vote on November 8th!

Hour 1 -  Nick Reed is live at Scramblers Diner for the Friday Road Show. Here's what he covers this hour:  Writer and producer, Jack Cashill, wrote a story regarding former Republican Sen. John Danforth and his involvement with Senate candidate John Wood who is running as an Independent. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-KY, thinks that Republicans have a lukewarm chance of flipping the Senate in November, citing "candidate quality" as a factor.  ALSO -  Melanie with the Galloway Village Neighborhood Association joins Nick this morning: There is something on the November 8th ballot that you need to know about... For over four years, Galloway Village Neighbors have successfully blocked a proposed 5 story apartment complex across from Sequiota Park. Determined to silence legitimate concerns, the City of Springfield of Springfield actively fought in court to deny every Springfield citizen's right to vote, siding with the developer and against the City Charter. The Missouri Court of Appeals chastised the City's actions and ordered the rezoning to be placed on the ballot. Voting no in November will stop the development.

In this episode of the Books on Asia podcast, podcast host and island-dweller Amy Chavez and Gifu countryside villager Iain Maloney discuss their experiences living in Japan's countryside. Iain's book The Only Gaijin in the Village: A Year Living in Rural Japan is dedicated to the subject of himself moving to the the countryside with his Japanese wife, while Amy in her latest book The Widow, the Priest and the Octopus Hunter: Discovering a Lost Way of Life on a Secluded Japanese Island documents the countryside-living experience with an emphasis on the Japanese people she lives among. See what similarities and differences these authors reveal in this "shared experience" of moving to Japan's countryside.Some helpful vocabulary for this episode:gaijin: a non-Japanese personhoncho: the head of a local neighborhood area or associationchonaikai: Neighborhood Associationkairanban: a notebook sponsored by the Neighborhood Association that acts as a communication tool and is passed from house to house to inform of local events. One reads the notice, checks off they've read it, then the notebook is walked to the next person's house and turned over to them.akiya: an empty or abandoned houseakiya taisaku: measures taken to fill empty houses with tenantsfudosan: real estate agentmurahachibu: ostracization, non-acceptance of outsidershanko: one's seal or stamp used on official documents (mortgages, legal documents, etc.)danka: a parishoner or member of a Buddhist templeshimatsukuriinkai: similar to a town hall meeting as applied to an islandAmy starts off asking Iain what influenced his decision to move to Japan's countryside. They  discuss the odd lack of livestock, which is one of the first things Westerners associate with the bucolic countryside.Amy then asks Iain how he and his wife went about selecting a house, if they had to fix it up themselves, and about the process of moving in. They compare houses, repairs, especially toilets. Iain talks about the things that confounded their real estate agent when they were house hunting. Amy explains the much more complicated process of moving to the island where she lives.Amy talks about having moved to Shiraishi Island by herself, and how she later brought a foreign husband into the mix, and asks Iain what aspects make it easier or more difficult to move to the countryside with a Japanese spouse. They talk about the pros and cons of being "accepted" into a Japanese community, including ostracism (murahachibu), which also applies to Japanese people. They also discuss good foreigner/bad foreigner stereotypes that exist for non-Japanese. Amy talks about how she grew to understand the real issues behind murahachibu.Each village is different and every area has its own customs, rules, and ways of doing things, so Amy and Iain compare Neighborhood Associations, the volunteer fire department, and taking part in town-hall meetings as well as dealing with neighbors, their indirectness and how the power of suggestion plays a role in Japanese society.They talk about akiya taisaku attempts to lure Japanese people into countryside living, and Amy talks about the people who helped her integrate into her community.Lastly, Iain's names his favorite books as related to Japan's countryside:Inaka: Portraits of Rural Life in Japan (an anthology)Lost Japan, by Alex KerrUnbeaten Tracks in Japan, by Isabella BirdKanazawa, by David joinerThe Easy Life in Kamusari by Shion Miura (transl. Juliet W. Carpenter)The Books on Asia Podcast is sponsored by Stone Bridge Press. Check out their books on Japan at www.stonebridge.com.Your podcast host is Amy Chavez, author of Amy's Guide to Best Behavior in Japan, and The Widow, the Priest and the Octopus Hunter: Discovering a Lost Way of Life on a Secluded Japanese Island.Don't miss out on upcoming episodes with Asia's best authors and translators by subscribing to the Books on Asia podcast.

Almost every neighborhood has an active neighborhood association to help keep their neighborhoods a safe place to live. Terry Williams, who is part of the Alta Vista Neighborhood Association and President of the Alta Vista Neighborhood Association, talks about from a community member's point of view how you can stand up aginst crime and help the Waco Police Department keep our city safe. With the help from the Neighborhood Engagement Team, officers in that unit meet with their assigned Neighborhood Association to talk about the rise in crime specific to that area.

Almost every neighborhood has an active neighborhood association to help keep their neighborhoods a safe place to live. Terry Williams, who is part of the Alta Vista Neighborhood Association and President of the Alta Vista Neighborhood Association, talks about from a community member's point of view how you can stand up aginst crime and help the Waco Police Department keep our city safe. With the help from the Neighborhood Engagement Team, officers in that unit meet with their assigned Neighborhood Association to talk about the rise in crime specific to that area.

Afternoons Live with Tyler Axness welcomes Ken Enockson, Roosevelt Neighborhood Association, to comment on statements made in a recent Fargo City Commission meeting and by Jim Roers regarding development in the Roosevelt neighborhood. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

With Chuck out of the studio this week, Sam is joined by his good friend and Balsz School Board Member Christina Eichelkraut. Christina is a self-described policy wonk who is quite a bit more liberal than a typical Broken Potholes guest and she doesn't shy away from a good debate. Christina has lived in the Balsz School District since she moved to Arizona from Nevada in 2010.In 2014 she moved to the Orangedale Neighborhood and became head of the Neighborhood Association as part of her efforts to get sidewalks on Virginia Avenue (an effort still ongoing -- contact her for details.) She was appointed to the Camelback East Village Planning Committee in 2019 after pointing out to the City Council her area -- south of Thomas  -- had zero representation on the advisory board. Christina has lived in Arizona for the past 12 years and has been a Cubs fan her entire life.Her passion for public education and thriving school districts stems from her experience as a community print journalist in Nevada and Arizona. During the Great Recession, she covered urban and rural school districts and saw firsthand how communities suffer when public schools shutter due to lack of enrollment and funding.These experiences led her to become an active civic participant in the Balsz School District. She has canvassed for overrides, ranted at the podium during school board meetings and is a tireless advocate for District initiatives. Christins always makes it a point to listen to and learn from district teachers, parents and staff – who are, after all, also her neighbors. In 2014, Christina fully transitioned from print journalism into digital communications consulting for many Valley small- and medium businesses and nonprofit organizations.Currently, she is a marketing project manager for a Valley firm specializing in small business marketing. Latching on to any excuse to bake bread or pastries, Christina has a tendency to ask for petition signatures with Tupperware in hand. She reads well past her bedtime and is happiest when clacking on her keyboard.Connect with us:Twitter: https://twitter.com/BrokenPotholesFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/brokenpotholesInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/brokenpotholes/LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/broken-potholesShow notes: www.brokenpotholes.vote This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit breakingbattlegrounds.substack.com

Have you ever wondered why developments around town are located where they are?  With the City of Bend continuing to grow it's important to understand how development in the state of Oregon works. In this month's episode of Inside Bend, Community Relations Manager Makayla Oliver shares information on Land Use education materials and how your Neighborhood Association can help get you involved in the planning and development processes. 

Allendale Strong Episode #12 Neighborhood Association  with Jameelah El Amin of the Pamoja House and Njeri Camara It was just too much good convo going on in this episode. Sit down and listen this collaboration of Ladies talk about Shreveport's historically African American neighborhoods. Also how they really feel about a certain politician. 

Organization: Oaks Historic District Neighborhood Association Guest: Jennifer Ravey - Board Member NFP is a weekly feature highlighting a local not-for-profit organization in Southeast Texas, hosted and produced by Jason M. Miller. Tune in each Thursday at 7:50 a.m. CT during Morning Edition on 91.3 FM KVLU in Beaumont, Texas or online at kvlu.org.

Steve Simpson talks with Qannani Omar about why rent control is an important part of a larger strategy to keep people in their homes.

Christine is an Elementary School Substitute Teacher, and she is the favorite Substitute teacher at Rockrimmon Elementary School. President of her Neighborhood Association in Pinecliff but more importantly, she is Co-Founder of "Friends of Ute Park”, a 501c3 organization founded in 2012 whose primary mission is to maintain, preserve, and provide education for Ute Valley Park. Christine is a huge advocate for our land, parks and open spaces! If she is not actively working on the trails herself, you can almost always find her walking the trails in Ute with her husband Bill and dog Einstein.

Wollaston Hill Neighborhood Association President Walter Hubley and Secretary Robert LaRocca explain this year's Saturdays in the Park celebrations at Safford Park and the city wide Cornhole Tournament.

In Bloomington, growing concerns over lack of representation for renters have led housing advocacy group Neighbors United to begin the formation of a new ‘Renters' Neighborhood Association.' Intended to be an alternative to the current homeowner-dominated neighborhood associations that can be found around Bloomington, the Renters' Association will provide renter-specific support in the protection of …

It's been over 12 years since I left Crichton and had Marcus McElrath as a neighbor in Madison East. On this episode, "Smoove" talks about the Hawks, the importance of a support in sports, plus his Crichton memories

November's meeting included 2021 Board elections and discussions on the Neighborhood Association's proposal for a seat on the Development Committee.

More listings, more money, better life   We are closing in on a new year and hopefully all of you are planning out your goals for next year.  I dont usually get into end of year planning but, this is such a weird year that I felt like I should address this topic.     One of the reasons I felt like this was important is that unlike in other years is that everything has been changing so fast.  I know thats how it feels---everything is so different than it was last november.  When I say things are so different now Im not necessarily talking about politically or even economically even though areas are massively different than a year ago.  Im talking about the differences in how we live--how we work --fundamentally how we spend our time and attention.  And all this matters to a very large degree as we think about how we will attempt to reach more people and convert those people into listing their houses with you.   Let me ask the question - what are you going to do this year that will propel you forward?  When i meet with teams and we decide on a 12 month business plan I usually take time and make sure that we are addressing the appropriate areas--some of this is getting the culture right--meaning that the culture is in alignment with where the team is headed.  Many times  in newer or smaller teams there simply is no unifying culture.  Once we address the soft portions of a team or business I like to get into the nuts and bolts.  I want to know how they retain existing clients and making them brand ambassadors when they are at work or at play.  How do they get new clients?  Where will they get new clients?   Im gonna do a quick and dirty rundown of some of the things i am telling my clients to be mindful   The first area I always encourage clients to look at is their sphere of influence and your database.  Everyone thinks they are in touch with their sphere until they find out their good friend just listed with someone else.  SOI and database at first seem like one pillar but, i find it helpful to separate the two.  On your sphere in this time of constrained supply sellers have a ton of choices so you need to be extra vigilant that everyone in your sphere knows what you do and why your the best at it.  The same thing for your database but, the connection you have with your soi and your database is often different---the connection you have with your database is more tenuous than your sphere but, the goal is the same.  For everyone in your database you need to stay very much in front of them right now.  They need to know that your a realtor and that you can help them. The question is can you really help them?  What is your unique value proposition?  Why will your soi and database put you at the top of all the other agents they know?    When is the last time you spoke or texted to everyone in your phone?  Whens the last time you sent out handwritten notes?  Im not going to cover all the stuff you can do to get closer to your soi or database i just want to remind you that the lifeblood of your business are the people you know.   And If you dont know that many people you need to go out and meet them---more than that you need to go out and help someone and then help someone else---sooner or later you will have a whole bunch of people that will be singing your praises.  Whats that zig ziglar line?  Help enough people get what they want and you will get what you want.  I think thats true. What if your in the right now game? I need a deal right now because---I need to pay my rent or I need to feed my kids or whatever--I totally understand. If you need a listing right now lets talk about what you can do right now.  The first thing is this---do you really need a listing right now because if thats true I would ask you how did door knocking go yesterday?  Maybe you think you need a deal right now but, that door knocking thing---well thats not my thing and hey arent we battling covid?  For the person that says they need a deal but, are not willing to go out and do whatever it takes to go out and get it--------I would suggest that sort of person either doesnt actually need a new listing and that they should probably find another way to make a living.  This is not a hard business but, it can be hard on our egos----we want people to come to us---we want to put our 800 dollar boots up on the desk and have people come so that we can dispense all our knowledge.  Thats a great idea and maybe you will get there one day but, for the 99% of the rest of us we need to put in the hard work.   For those of us that want to look at our other options lets spend a few minutes chatting about this.  Assuming we have gone thru our database and our sphere we can start to look outside the places closest to us.  I was going to drop into some of the online and offline strategies for gaining new clients but, Im going to take a step back into talking about your sphere of influence.  Let me share why I think this is really important right now.   As i said earlier this country is as divided as its ever been and we are all on the lookout for fake or biased news.  I can look at cnn and all i see is that covid is killing the whole world and then I pop over into foxnews and Im seeing riots and unrest and I dont fully believe either narrative.  I think thats true for everyone and when we are not sure we can trust what we are seeing online, on television or on the radio we turn to the people we trust most.  Those people around us---if I trust suzy and suzy trusts toby----i trust toby.   This is why your sphere is so important and in this timeframe it is more important than ever.  OK--I hope you will indulge me a bit here if you think you know the story.   When I coach newer agents----they tell me they dont have a sphere or that its very small--that might be true in some cases but, the fact of the matter is that a lot of people have a giant aversion to “selling” their friends.  Man--if you think that----you are not gonna last.  We can provide value to our sphere-----those other coaches that tell you to use magic scripts to talk with your friends are wrong----I would say your intuition is correct when you think that you are going to burn relationships trying to use scripts on your sphere.  Your friends know what you talk like and when you start sounding inauthentic---your dead.  You shouldnt use scripts or rely on crazy things like “33” times to start scoring referrals from your sphere.  Whatever you do---be super authentic with what you say and how you say it.  Your friends will know.  I mention being authentic because our next step is to write down a ton of names.  So--if your taking notes---grab a pad and pen.  I suggest you open up a spreadsheet--it will help us move names around later.   Right now this is just a brain dump----as you write names down dont start making judgements about who should or should not be on the list----everyone should be on the list.   Past coworkers (even if your last job was waiting tables) Your friends (yes, even the high school pals you haven’t seen in 20 years) Your spouse’s or partner’s coworkers Your spouse’s or partner’s friends Your kids’ friends or their parents (depending on age) Your kids’ teachers and school workers Your extended family Your neighbors Friends and acquaintances from any social groups such as Neighborhood Association, Rotary, PTA, etc. Anyone you interact with regularly (even if that just means once every couple of months), for example: your hair stylist, accountant, doctor, dentist, even your bank teller. Don’t get sidetracked thinking about what you’re going to say when you reach out, or why you really don’t know this person that well, etc. The first step is to just get the names down on paper—and at this point, it’s absolutely crucial you don’t undervalue or overthink a single candidate for your list.   Now that we have all the names we can color coordinate to heat zones or levels of influence or levels of connection.  Think of this like a dart board---the center or bullseye is our hot zone.  The people in our hot zone is our immediate family, our close friends and daily/weekly  contacts.  The next circle is our warm ring this would include nearby family, social friends, church members, business associates.  Then you have your outer ring--distant family, neighbors and casual acquaintances.  Outside of your outer ring is everyone in the world you havent met---people you dont know---this is guy in the car next to you at a stop light.  These are cold contacts.  These are the people that you target when you buy facebook ads, radio ads or grab a billboard.   Once you have all the names written down and segmented all your connections into hot, warm, and outer rings. You need to reach out to them in a way that is authentic to you as well as the level of connection.  For a lot of your list it would be really strange to call up and announce the topic of the call is business.  For a lot of people just getting  a call from you might be out of character---if you chat with them on facebook---reach out to them on facebook.  Talk with them on the platform and way you normally talk with them and try to engage them in different methods---if you normally chat with them on whatsapp ask them for their email so you can send them an article.  Slowly try and close the gap between you and them---talking with someone in person is always better than texting them   Reaching out with a question like “is this the year your going to buy a house”? Or something like that is terrible; instead reach out and share with them a recent win, a funny story or a new aha about the market.  Can you do this for everyone on your list?    Remember, this is not a sales call----your sharing something personal which might just happen to coincide with your career as a realtor.   Let me insert here a pro marketing tip:  once everyone in your sphere clearly knows that you sell real estate we now need to cement this idea or craft a brand around  this notion.  Your sphere trusts you as a person now we need to get them to trust you as an expert.  This is where we can leverage social media to show our wins.  This is where we become an active member in the community--pta or neighborhood whatever.  This is where you need to  start to buying traditional and digital media.  This is a tool like radio goes crazy---once your sphere hears you on radio being endorsed by some bigwig the game changes.  Now your no longer the guy i used to wait tables with but, now your the real estate expert.  Your ideas and opinions carry weight.  I have to jump in here---if your looking to up your game whether thats buying radio or just buying facebook ads send me a text.  This is where my 10,000 hours lay.  I would love to see if it can help my cell is 619-301-0823   OK---this is where i start to diverge and go into marketing or I get more granular on specifically how to not only make all these calls and send all these emails but, how to keep track of them ie having a crm.   Hey---wait a second---let me ask you guys---do you have a crm?  If  not--why?  And if you say that you have “access” to your broker or team leads crm I would strongly encourage you to have your own crm no matter what.  If you follow some of the suggestions already laid out you will be on track to creating your own referral machine. And thats exactly what Im talking about---the great brian buffini built a whole empire using the exact outline above.  I dont know about you but, if I am going to set out to build a referral machine I would want to own the machine--which is your database.    If you dont have your own crm because of the cost consider joining a broker like exp that gives you a ton of these tools---they give you a professional website that is completely your own and your own crm---it comes when you join.  If your not familiar with the pros and cons of using your brokers tools Im happy to have a quick 1 on 1 chat with you about what someone like exp offers. You can still text me at 6193010823 and just let me know what you want to talk about.   OK--maybe next week we can get further into year end planning or if you guys have a topic send me an email to superagentslive@gmail.com and if you like the show please go to itunes or wherever you get your podcasts and give us an honest rating anbd review it helps other people find the show.

More listings, more money, better life   We are closing in on a new year and hopefully all of you are planning out your goals for next year.  I dont usually get into end of year planning but, this is such a weird year that I felt like I should address this topic.     One of the reasons I felt like this was important is that unlike in other years is that everything has been changing so fast.  I know thats how it feels---everything is so different than it was last november.  When I say things are so different now Im not necessarily talking about politically or even economically even though areas are massively different than a year ago.  Im talking about the differences in how we live--how we work --fundamentally how we spend our time and attention.  And all this matters to a very large degree as we think about how we will attempt to reach more people and convert those people into listing their houses with you.   Let me ask the question - what are you going to do this year that will propel you forward?  When i meet with teams and we decide on a 12 month business plan I usually take time and make sure that we are addressing the appropriate areas--some of this is getting the culture right--meaning that the culture is in alignment with where the team is headed.  Many times  in newer or smaller teams there simply is no unifying culture.  Once we address the soft portions of a team or business I like to get into the nuts and bolts.  I want to know how they retain existing clients and making them brand ambassadors when they are at work or at play.  How do they get new clients?  Where will they get new clients?   Im gonna do a quick and dirty rundown of some of the things i am telling my clients to be mindful   The first area I always encourage clients to look at is their sphere of influence and your database.  Everyone thinks they are in touch with their sphere until they find out their good friend just listed with someone else.  SOI and database at first seem like one pillar but, i find it helpful to separate the two.  On your sphere in this time of constrained supply sellers have a ton of choices so you need to be extra vigilant that everyone in your sphere knows what you do and why your the best at it.  The same thing for your database but, the connection you have with your soi and your database is often different---the connection you have with your database is more tenuous than your sphere but, the goal is the same.  For everyone in your database you need to stay very much in front of them right now.  They need to know that your a realtor and that you can help them. The question is can you really help them?  What is your unique value proposition?  Why will your soi and database put you at the top of all the other agents they know?    When is the last time you spoke or texted to everyone in your phone?  Whens the last time you sent out handwritten notes?  Im not going to cover all the stuff you can do to get closer to your soi or database i just want to remind you that the lifeblood of your business are the people you know.   And If you dont know that many people you need to go out and meet them---more than that you need to go out and help someone and then help someone else---sooner or later you will have a whole bunch of people that will be singing your praises.  Whats that zig ziglar line?  Help enough people get what they want and you will get what you want.  I think thats true. What if your in the right now game? I need a deal right now because---I need to pay my rent or I need to feed my kids or whatever--I totally understand. If you need a listing right now lets talk about what you can do right now.  The first thing is this---do you really need a listing right now because if thats true I would ask you how did door knocking go yesterday?  Maybe you think you need a deal right now but, that door knocking thing---well thats not my thing and hey arent we battling covid?  For the person that says they need a deal but, are not willing to go out and do whatever it takes to go out and get it--------I would suggest that sort of person either doesnt actually need a new listing and that they should probably find another way to make a living.  This is not a hard business but, it can be hard on our egos----we want people to come to us---we want to put our 800 dollar boots up on the desk and have people come so that we can dispense all our knowledge.  Thats a great idea and maybe you will get there one day but, for the 99% of the rest of us we need to put in the hard work.   For those of us that want to look at our other options lets spend a few minutes chatting about this.  Assuming we have gone thru our database and our sphere we can start to look outside the places closest to us.  I was going to drop into some of the online and offline strategies for gaining new clients but, Im going to take a step back into talking about your sphere of influence.  Let me share why I think this is really important right now.   As i said earlier this country is as divided as its ever been and we are all on the lookout for fake or biased news.  I can look at cnn and all i see is that covid is killing the whole world and then I pop over into foxnews and Im seeing riots and unrest and I dont fully believe either narrative.  I think thats true for everyone and when we are not sure we can trust what we are seeing online, on television or on the radio we turn to the people we trust most.  Those people around us---if I trust suzy and suzy trusts toby----i trust toby.   This is why your sphere is so important and in this timeframe it is more important than ever.  OK--I hope you will indulge me a bit here if you think you know the story.   When I coach newer agents----they tell me they dont have a sphere or that its very small--that might be true in some cases but, the fact of the matter is that a lot of people have a giant aversion to “selling” their friends.  Man--if you think that----you are not gonna last.  We can provide value to our sphere-----those other coaches that tell you to use magic scripts to talk with your friends are wrong----I would say your intuition is correct when you think that you are going to burn relationships trying to use scripts on your sphere.  Your friends know what you talk like and when you start sounding inauthentic---your dead.  You shouldnt use scripts or rely on crazy things like “33” times to start scoring referrals from your sphere.  Whatever you do---be super authentic with what you say and how you say it.  Your friends will know.  I mention being authentic because our next step is to write down a ton of names.  So--if your taking notes---grab a pad and pen.  I suggest you open up a spreadsheet--it will help us move names around later.   Right now this is just a brain dump----as you write names down dont start making judgements about who should or should not be on the list----everyone should be on the list.   Past coworkers (even if your last job was waiting tables) Your friends (yes, even the high school pals you haven’t seen in 20 years) Your spouse’s or partner’s coworkers Your spouse’s or partner’s friends Your kids’ friends or their parents (depending on age) Your kids’ teachers and school workers Your extended family Your neighbors Friends and acquaintances from any social groups such as Neighborhood Association, Rotary, PTA, etc. Anyone you interact with regularly (even if that just means once every couple of months), for example: your hair stylist, accountant, doctor, dentist, even your bank teller. Don’t get sidetracked thinking about what you’re going to say when you reach out, or why you really don’t know this person that well, etc. The first step is to just get the names down on paper—and at this point, it’s absolutely crucial you don’t undervalue or overthink a single candidate for your list.   Now that we have all the names we can color coordinate to heat zones or levels of influence or levels of connection.  Think of this like a dart board---the center or bullseye is our hot zone.  The people in our hot zone is our immediate family, our close friends and daily/weekly  contacts.  The next circle is our warm ring this would include nearby family, social friends, church members, business associates.  Then you have your outer ring--distant family, neighbors and casual acquaintances.  Outside of your outer ring is everyone in the world you havent met---people you dont know---this is guy in the car next to you at a stop light.  These are cold contacts.  These are the people that you target when you buy facebook ads, radio ads or grab a billboard.   Once you have all the names written down and segmented all your connections into hot, warm, and outer rings. You need to reach out to them in a way that is authentic to you as well as the level of connection.  For a lot of your list it would be really strange to call up and announce the topic of the call is business.  For a lot of people just getting  a call from you might be out of character---if you chat with them on facebook---reach out to them on facebook.  Talk with them on the platform and way you normally talk with them and try to engage them in different methods---if you normally chat with them on whatsapp ask them for their email so you can send them an article.  Slowly try and close the gap between you and them---talking with someone in person is always better than texting them   Reaching out with a question like “is this the year your going to buy a house”? Or something like that is terrible; instead reach out and share with them a recent win, a funny story or a new aha about the market.  Can you do this for everyone on your list?    Remember, this is not a sales call----your sharing something personal which might just happen to coincide with your career as a realtor.   Let me insert here a pro marketing tip:  once everyone in your sphere clearly knows that you sell real estate we now need to cement this idea or craft a brand around  this notion.  Your sphere trusts you as a person now we need to get them to trust you as an expert.  This is where we can leverage social media to show our wins.  This is where we become an active member in the community--pta or neighborhood whatever.  This is where you need to  start to buying traditional and digital media.  This is a tool like radio goes crazy---once your sphere hears you on radio being endorsed by some bigwig the game changes.  Now your no longer the guy i used to wait tables with but, now your the real estate expert.  Your ideas and opinions carry weight.  I have to jump in here---if your looking to up your game whether thats buying radio or just buying facebook ads send me a text.  This is where my 10,000 hours lay.  I would love to see if it can help my cell is 619-301-0823   OK---this is where i start to diverge and go into marketing or I get more granular on specifically how to not only make all these calls and send all these emails but, how to keep track of them ie having a crm.   Hey---wait a second---let me ask you guys---do you have a crm?  If  not--why?  And if you say that you have “access” to your broker or team leads crm I would strongly encourage you to have your own crm no matter what.  If you follow some of the suggestions already laid out you will be on track to creating your own referral machine. And thats exactly what Im talking about---the great brian buffini built a whole empire using the exact outline above.  I dont know about you but, if I am going to set out to build a referral machine I would want to own the machine--which is your database.    If you dont have your own crm because of the cost consider joining a broker like exp that gives you a ton of these tools---they give you a professional website that is completely your own and your own crm---it comes when you join.  If your not familiar with the pros and cons of using your brokers tools Im happy to have a quick 1 on 1 chat with you about what someone like exp offers. You can still text me at 6193010823 and just let me know what you want to talk about.   OK--maybe next week we can get further into year end planning or if you guys have a topic send me an email to superagentslive@gmail.com and if you like the show please go to itunes or wherever you get your podcasts and give us an honest rating anbd review it helps other people find the show.

Amy Brower, Executive Director of Roosevelt Park Neighborhood Association, asks Grand Rapids' neighborhood associations: "In the midst of all this fast moving change and planning for the future, how are they . . . still preserving some of the rich history of their unique neighborhoods, or some of the stories that reflect their past?" --- Mallory Patterson, Co-Chair of Heartside Downtown Neighborhood Association, responds, and passes a question on to other neighborhood associations in the city: "What advice would you give to newer neighborhood associations as it relates to best serving the community? And, with that, what do you wish you could change or do differently as you're thinking about the future of your organization?" --- Passing the Mic is a project of Grand Rapids Community Media Center (CMC) that promotes online, community-wide discussion of local issues and topics using the spoken word. Residents are invited to share one to three-minute audio responses to locally-focused questions from fellow neighbors, with questions geared toward all Grand Rapidians or specific communities within the city. Keeping the discussion going, speakers are encouraged to end their responses with their own question related to a local issue or topic -- passing along the opportunity to amplify community voices. Opinions expressed through Passing the Mic are those of the speakers and do not reflect the editorial voice of The Rapidian or CMC. Posted responses are subject to The Rapidian's Terms of Use, which include adherence to inclusiveness, civility, ethical reporting, proper credit, local emphasis, and open identity (no anonymous posting).

Annette Vandenberg, Executive Director at West Grand Neighborhood Organization, asks Grand Rapids' neighborhood associations: "The one thing that we're working on right now is how we as neighborhood associations can be the bridge to help bring the community together and the police department together. I'd be curious to know what they think would help facilitate that relationship-building?" --- Amy Brower, Executive Director at Roosevelt Park Neighborhood Association, responds, and passes a question on to other neighborhood associations in the city: "In the midst of all this fast moving change and planning for the future, how are they . . . thinking about still preserving maybe some of the rich history of their unique neighborhoods or some of the stories that reflect their past?" --- Passing the Mic is a project of Grand Rapids Community Media Center (CMC) that promotes online, community-wide discussion of local issues and topics using the spoken word. Residents are invited to share one to three-minute audio responses to locally-focused questions from fellow neighbors, with questions geared toward all Grand Rapidians or specific communities within the city. Keeping the discussion going, speakers are encouraged to end their responses with their own question related to a local issue or topic -- passing along the opportunity to amplify community voices. Opinions expressed through Passing the Mic are those of the speakers and do not reflect the editorial voice of The Rapidian or CMC. Posted responses are subject to The Rapidian's Terms of Use, which include adherence to inclusiveness, civility, ethical reporting, proper credit, local emphasis, and open identity (no anonymous posting).

Brett Townsend, Community Engagement Specialist at Grand Rapids Community Media Center (CMC), asks Grand Rapids' neighborhood associations: "What are you most proud about in your neighborhood right now?" --- Sam Mosley, Board Member at Highland Park Neighborhood Association, responds, and passes a question on to other neighborhood associations in the city: "I would ask of other neighborhood associations how they're maintaining a sense of connection and community -- and making sure that their community members' voices are heard -- during this pandemic? When you're not able to have as many people at maybe your community meetings or as many in-person conversations." --- Passing the Mic is a project of CMC that promotes online, community-wide discussion of local issues and topics using the spoken word. Residents are invited to share one to three-minute audio responses to locally-focused questions from fellow neighbors, with questions geared toward all Grand Rapidians or specific communities within the city. Keeping the discussion going, speakers are encouraged to end their responses with their own question related to a local issue or topic -- passing along the opportunity to amplify community voices. Opinions expressed through Passing the Mic are those of the speakers and do not reflect the editorial voice of The Rapidian or CMC. Posted responses are subject to The Rapidian's Terms of Use, which include adherence to inclusiveness, civility, ethical reporting, proper credit, local emphasis, and open identity (no anonymous posting).

Newly appointed Neighborhood Association President Gaston Farm (@necrobranson), his relative Harrison Honeycrisp (@intellegint), Neighborhood Watch Chief Lieutenant Michael Produce (@brendohare), and Laundry Milkbone (@corysnearowski) discuss the memory of their late fathers and the ongoing problems of the neighborhood. Full episode on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/posts/36215370

Newly appointed Neighborhood Association President Gaston Farm (@necrobranson), his relative Harrison Honeycrisp (@intellegint), Neighborhood Watch Chief Lieutenant Michael Produce (@brendohare), and Laundry Milkbone (@corysnearowski) discuss the memory of their late fathers and the ongoing problems of the neighborhood. Full episode on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/posts/36215370

Newly appointed Neighborhood Association President Gaston Farm (@necrobranson), his relative Harrison Honeycrisp (@intellegint), Neighborhood Watch Chief Lieutenant Michael Produce (@brendohare), and Laundry Milkbone (@corysnearowski) discuss the memory of their late fathers and the ongoing problems of the neighborhood. Full episode on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/posts/36215370

Newly appointed Neighborhood Association President Gaston Farm (@necrobranson), his relative Harrison Honeycrisp (@intellegint), Neighborhood Watch Chief Lieutenant Michael Produce (@brendohare), and Laundry Milkbone (@corysnearowski) discuss the memory of their late fathers and the ongoing problems of the neighborhood. Full episode on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/posts/36215370

On Tuesday's "St. Louis on the Air" host Sarah Fenske talked to two restaurant owners located in The Hill neighborhood. Following the COVID-19 outbreak, many restaurants had to change their dining models to curbside or delivery when they were forced to shut their doors to the public. Chris Saracino, the president of the Hill 2000 Neighborhood Association and owner of four restaurants, including Chris' Pancake and Dining and Bartolino's Osteria, talked with Fenske about how his businesses are holding up following the pandemic. Larry Fuse, a Hill resident and owner of restaurants Lorenzo's Trattoria and Gelato di Riso also joined the show.

The May Street Neighborhood Association, MSNA for short, is just another reason Elmhurst is a great place to live and raise a family.  The spirit of this neighborhood association, founded in the 1970's, is an inspiration for our city.  For more than 40 years this group has been the center of fun for a large section of the Cherry Farm Subdivision.  It's a reflection of many characters, not the least of which is its long time president, the late Tom "Prez" Neubauer.  Slappy Sal shares his experience at Manny's Ale House and Clever Ken will give you some advice to keep the grubs away.

Steve and Kelly try to get back to normal oafter some recent chaos only to find themselves sitting with the Neighborhood Association. ALL CHAOS breaks loose as the discussion moves to the blaming the Government for the egret population in the neighborhood and reminding everyone that it is a federal offense to touch a mailbox.Nothing Lasts for Three Hours (00:58)Neighborhood Association (1:31)WOW Conference - Women of Worthiness (6:09)The Londoner Pub - Colleyville, Texas (12:58)The Invisible Man (16:12)Kelly Shares Coffee With the Pool Guy? (24:21)After 39 Episodes, We Have a Style (27:56)The Trials of Gabriel Fernandez (38:41)The Big Finish - Old People (52:30)

In this episode of ENDS Podcast, Jovan Shabazz aka Bazz speak on joining the Harrison Neighborhood Association Board at the age of 25. Serving the community can happen in many ways, he decided to do his buy engagement with the community of Harrison but also the policy creators and developers. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/ends-media-llc/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/ends-media-llc/support

Jeremy is a designer with a deep passion for sustainable building, social equity, and service-learning. As a Project Manager with BNIM, he completed the Bancroft School Apartments, a Kansas City development of 50 LEED Platinum affordable apartment units with a large community-center, built based on a public interest design process with the local Neighborhood Association. He has built on the lessons from this and other projects to transform the architecture industry through developing a network and standards of practice for Public Interest Design, a system which prioritizes community vision. Through his volunteer leadership with Historic Green and the US Green Building Council, he has helped residents throughout Kansas City and New Orleans to improve the efficiency of their homes while training hundreds of professional and student volunteers in hands-on preservation and sustainability techniques. Specialties: LEED certification system, Public Interest Design, LEED Online, Revit, Sketchup, Microsoft Suite (Word, Xcel, Powerpoint, etc), Photoshop, Acrobat, and many other programs.    Show Highlights Living abroad and learning about sustainability The importance of finding your passions in the industry No matter where you are around the world, we are experiencing similar problems Jeremy's green building journey and starting a recycling program within his company What Jeremy learned working in the lower 9th ward of New Orleans   Show Resources Jeremy on LinkedIn Seveneves Aretemis Pushing Ice   Connect with Charlie Cichetti and GBES Charlie on LinkedIn Green Building Educational Services GBES on Twitter Connect on LinkedIn Like on Facebook Google+ GBES Pinterest Pins GBES on Instagram   GBES is excited our membership community is growing. Consider joining our membership community as members are given access to some of the guests on the podcasts that you can ask project questions. If you are preparing for an exam, there will be more assurance that you will pass your next exam, you will be given cliff notes if you are a member, and so much more. Go to www.gbes.com/join to learn more about the 4 different levels of access to this one-of-a-kind career-advancing green building community! If you truly enjoyed the show, don't forget to leave a positive rating and review on iTunes.  We have prepared more episodes for the upcoming weeks, so come by again next week! Thank you for tuning in to the Green Building Matters Podcast!   Copyright © 2020 GBES

501 DALE STREET N. Founded in 1970, the Frogtown Neighborhood Association (District 7) was originally named, and is still legally, the Thomas-Dale District 7 Planning Council. We are a small, not-for-profit, community-based organization serving the neighborhoods of East Midway, Frogtown, Capitol Heights, and Mt. Airy. Our efforts are focused on civic engagement and resident empowerment. We function as a neighborhood-level point of contact regarding various city processes, as well as for addressing issues identified by community residents and/or businesses. Our funding comes from contracts for service, foundation grants, and individual and corporate donations. The mission of the Frogtown Neighborhood Association (District 7) is to strive to conserve, foster and restore the well being of our neighborhoods through the promotion of positive solutions to community issues which affect the health and safety, physical environment, and economic resources of its residents, area workers, and property owners. This is achieved through collaboration and shared responsibility with other member organizations of the community. The Frogtown Walking Tour is an audio tour of St. Paul Minnesota's most culturally and economically diverse neighborhood, Frogtown. From Lexington Ave to Rice Street, and from Interstate 94 to Minnehaha Ave, Frogtown has a variety of restaurants, shops, businesses and organizations with University Ave and the Green Line Light Rail running through the heart of the neighborhood. Each Frogtown Walking Tour audio episode is produced by a local community reporter and shines a spotlight on a Frogtown neighborhood business or organization.

Neighborhood Association President Frank Farm, his brother-in-law Spine Honeycrisp, Neighborhood Watch Chief Lieutenant George Produce, and Thomas Warhammer Milkbone read last week’s meeting minutes, discuss neighborhood problems, and vote on attractions for the harvest festival. (Twitter: @necrobranson @intellegint @brendohare @corysnearowski)

Neighborhood Association President Frank Farm, his brother-in-law Spine Honeycrisp, Neighborhood Watch Chief Lieutenant George Produce, and Thomas Warhammer Milkbone read last week’s meeting minutes, discuss neighborhood problems, and vote on attractions for the harvest festival. (Twitter: @necrobranson @intellegint @brendohare @corysnearowski)

Neighborhood Association President Frank Farm, his brother-in-law Spine Honeycrisp, Neighborhood Watch Chief Lieutenant George Produce, and Thomas Warhammer Milkbone read last week’s meeting minutes, discuss neighborhood problems, and vote on attractions for the harvest festival. (Twitter: @necrobranson @intellegint @brendohare @corysnearowski)

Neighborhood Association President Frank Farm, his brother-in-law Spine Honeycrisp, Neighborhood Watch Chief Lieutenant George Produce, and Thomas Warhammer Milkbone read last week’s meeting minutes, discuss neighborhood problems, and vote on attractions for the harvest festival. (Twitter: @necrobranson @intellegint @brendohare @corysnearowski)

In today’s episode of Escrow Out Loud, our San Francisco Real Estate podcast, we’re playing round five of the Neighborhood Guessing Game! Controversy surrounds this neighborhood name. Where did it come from and why? And how do you properly capitalize it? Listen in! We also reveal the neighborhood from the previous round.[00:22] Last round’s answer: Polk Gulch, the original gay neighborhood in San Francisco.[00:49] Clue 1: A restaurant just outside the border of this neighborhood, popularized the name of it.[01:12] Clue 2: This neighborhood was first established under a different name in 1855 and it encompassed roughly 500 sq blocks.[01:45] Clue 3: On two sides it borders parks but there is not a single park within the boundaries of this neighborhood.[02:11] Clue 4: The eastern border of this neighborhood is the Divisadero Street which is full of boutiques, restaurants, vintage shops etc.[02:43] Clue 5: The neighborhoods western border opens right up into the parts of the USF campus.[02:55] Clue 6: Some say that the name for this neighborhood was created during the gentrification of the neighborhood. Another theory is that the new name was created by the Neighborhood Association.[04:00] Clue 7: While there are no parks in this neighborhood, it is home to a large hospital that fills two city blocks.[04:22] Clue 8: In this neighborhood you can also buy sweets from the Meter Maid Chariot.[05:11] Clue 9: You can also get another tasty San Francisco frozen treat (that tourists from all over the globe come to sample) in this neighborhood.[05:36] Clue 10: It is also a great neighborhood to cycle in as it is fairly flat![06:17] Bonus Clue: An issue that is somewhat controversial is: how many letters in the abbreviation for this neighborhood should be capitalized? Britton says two.As always, tune in next week, when we reveal the answer to this week’s neighborhood!Thank you for listening. If you enjoyed this episode leave us a review on your favorite platform, tell your friends and don’t forget to join us again next week! See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Rome wasn't rebuilt in a day, and neither are Gateway City neighborhoods. In this bonus episode of "Gateways," Dr. Tracy Corley takes us on a walking tour of Salem's El Punto neighborhood alongside David Valecillos of the North Shore Community Development Coalition. The successful revitalization of El Punto, or The Point, demonstrates how Gateway Cities can stabilize neighborhoods in transit-oriented development zones and keep people in the community during redevelopment. North Shore CDC has worked tirelessly towards rebranding and rehabilitating El Punto, creating an open air Urban Art Museum that attracts visitors from across the state and the globe. After a conversation in the CDC's office, David literally walks us through their work. He also describes the city, the Neighborhood Association, the residents, and the North Shore CDC working alongside one another-a synergy that we delve into in the podcast. So what's the big deal with Salem's El Punto neighborhood? And how could thoughtful transit-oriented development reshape the city through neighborhood stabilization?

Teddy McCullough is the co-chair for the Faubourg Saint John Neighborhood Association Safety Committee. McCullough recently moved to New Orleans and is a student at Tulane University. Despite being new to the city, McCullough has dived head first into civic engagement. When he was very young, his grandmother instilled in him the importance of community service. Now, as a young adult, McCullough carries on his family’s tradition of civic involvement and community service. In this podcast, McCullough explains some of the activities of the Faubourg Saint John Neighborhood Association Safety Committee and describes how interested residents and neighbors can get involved. For those who do not live in the Faubourg Saint John area, McCullough’s message about community involvement and safety still resonates. He offers valuable information about community involvement and neighborhood safety that residents of all neighborhoods in New Orleans will find beneficial and useful.

Get the wisdom and encouragement you need to start a successful neighborhood association – including how to motivate people to join and make real change in your neighborhood – from Denton Main Street Association President Glen Farris. 

This week on Kansas City's Northeast Newscast, managing editor Paul Thompson meets Sheffield Neighborhood Association President Mark Morales to talk about his engagement in the community, what businesses he'd like to see in the neighborhood, the ideal Sheffield neighbor, what the neighborhood association has going on this summer, and what Sheffield can improve upon moving forward.

Episode 2: 10 Years of Parkview Field and Neighborhood Association Involvement by Mayor Tom Henry Podcast

This week on the Northeast Newscast, managing editor Paul Thompson talks with Independence Plaza Neighborhood Association President and local rehabber Tom Ribera. Topics of discussion include the apartment buildings at 11th and Paseo that he's currently renovating, the security measures he's taking to make sure potential tenants feel safe, his other rehab projects in the area, Ribera's vision for 12th St. revitalization, and his ideas for combating social and mental health problems in Kansas City.

Neighborhood Associations often serve as a way for community members to come together, share concerns and build relationships. In this episode of the Black Village Podcast, Oak Park Neighborhood Association Vice President Tamika L’Ecluse discusses how the neighborhood association is involved in the Oak Park Peace Walks and the goal of the walks to unite the community, share compassion and reduce violence. This episode was recorded on location during a peace walk through Oak Park. Please note: you may hear street noise.

Neighborhood Associations often serve as a way for community members to come together, share concerns and build relationships. In this episode of the Black Village Podcast, Oak Park Neighborhood Association Vice President Tamika L’Ecluse discusses how the neighborhood association is involved in the Oak Park Peace Walks and the goal of the walks to unite the community, share compassion and reduce violence. This episode was recorded on location during a peace walk through Oak Park. Please note: you may hear street noise.

City of You Podcast Episode 80 (Downtown Neighborhood Association): Jimmy Sutman And Dylan Ingram recorded at the M Gallery on August 23, 2016.

Would you believe that the LATEST THREAT to your credit score might be a NEIGHBORHOOD ASSOCIATION in an area where you don’t even live? I’ll tell you all about this HOA HORROR STORY and how to protect yourself in today’s episode. I’m Carole Ellis. This is Episode 60. So we’ve all got our share of HOA horror stories, and it probably won’t surprise you to learn that your local HOA could be gunning for your credit score. What may surprise you is that it doesn’t have to be YOUR HOA who tanks that FICO rating! I’ll tell you all the details in just a minute, but I want to mention first something else that can hurt your credit score in a big way: HACKING. And to get specific, Russian hacking, since the Russians are, according to most cyber-security experts, rivaled only by the Chinese when it comes to dedication on the part of that nation’s hacking community to getting into your email and into your business. We’ve got a special article on the website today that will tell you all about how Russian hackers are presently targeting real estate investors and other real estate professionals and how they may have accessed oh, about 100,000 email accounts belonging to real estate professionals in the past two years. Let’s get real here: that huge number means your odds are not good. Check out the details on the website at www.rei.today just as soon as you finish listening to this episode. Now, (and I’m sorry, you’re probably feeling attacked from EVERY angle now), back to how your local HOA – hey, even your NON-LOCAL HOA – could be killing your credit score right about now. Here’s the deal: One of the biggest credit data aggregators out there (that basically means they collect information on you and then provide it to credit-reporting agencies like Equifax) recently announced that it will begin reporting to Equifax about home owners association delinquencies. Furthermore, this is just the beginning of  a full-scale rollout where all major credit agencies will begin factoring in late HOA dues, fines, and other penalties. And THAT’S where the kicker comes in, hard. First of all, that late payment on your HOA dues will carry the same weight as a missed mortgage payment. So that’s pretty big on its own. But much bigger is this: FINES AND PENALTIES! People, how many of you have lived in a neighborhood where they fined you for your playset in the backyard, not getting the color of your traditional brown house approved before painting, where they hit you up for $35 for that garden gnome and then tacked on $75 in late fees and you refused to pay on principal, (no this is not all personal experience, I swear, but it’s all real)! Not to mention, how many of you INVESTORS have been fined by HOAs in neighborhoods where you owned property, however, briefly, for not paying TRANSFER FEES that many HOAs use to raise extra money by charging them to every new owner or, let’s be honest, for failing keep your grass cut (hey maybe your lawn guy’s kid got sick) or any of the ZILLION other things that an HOA headed by an aggressive HOA covenants enforcer without quite enough to do. Now, I’m not saying all HOAs are bad, or even that all of them are out to get you. In fact, while I used to live in a neighborhood with some pretty terrible HOA habits, when I moved I looked for a new neighborhood that had an HOA because they do keep property values up, the tennis courts clean and the pool open. And, in my current residence, they also throw some pretty awesome Mardi Gras and Fourth of July parties! But that’s another episode… The important thing here is for you to realize that any HOA where you have control of a property for any period of time now has the potential not only to assess you with fees, fines, and penalties, but also is carrying a very big stick in the event that you don’t pay up. Unfortunately, I don’t have a magic solution for this one. Investors are just going to have to be diligent, detail-oriented, and make sure they find out whether or not there is an HOA and what it will require of them EVERY TIME a new property is purchased. Now that I’ve beaten up on HOAs and probably gotten you pretty fired up too, I’ve got something that will hopefully ease your tension a little…Let’s indulge in some serious HOA Horror Story Terror. I challenge you to leave me a comment on the webpage for this podcast (it’s www.rei.today/HOAHORROR) telling me about your worst HOA experience ever. We’ll compile the stories and I’ll give an award for the most bone-curdling experience. How about a fantastic REI Today t-shirt (they are awesome, sparkly, and I love them, by the way!) and if you’re a man, don’t worry, I’ll send you a non-sparkle edition. So head over to www.rei.today/HOAHORROR and leave me your horror story right now! Once you’re done, check out all our breaking news coverage, uncut interviews with expert investors, and massive amount of training materials in the REI Today vault. Not yet a member? Don’t you worry. Text REITODAY no spaces no periods to 33444 and I’ll immediately send you the information you need to get that access. And remember, when you do that, you’ll also be able to GROW YOUR NETWORK by interacting with me and your fellow listeners to REI Today… so stop by to ask questions, make comments and network with other investors across the country. Text REITODAY no spaces no periods to 33444 or head over to www.rei.today/vault right now. REI Nation, thanks for listening in and always remember this: Your best investment is your own education. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Brighton Beach Avenue, the main street of community of Brighton Beach was a sea of people, young and old, weaving in and out of the hundreds of stories featuring various Jewish and Russian delicacies.  A medley of Russian and Jewish music filtered out of the Russian coffeehouses that lined the streets which nurtured the aroma of hot bagels and knishes.  It was 1933. The depression years were waning and the war was yet to come. Sara Koza was an attractive 18-year-old with compelling deep brown eyes.  Born of Russian immigrants in Harlem, her mother had died when she was 8-year-old of TB.  Her father, Jack was forced to put her and her brother who was two years younger into an orphanage until he could establish a home for them.  Jack met Frieda, a young nurse from Russia and they were married.  Sara's father was a gifted musician and joined the Goldman band as the lead trumpeter.  Sara and her brother, Sam, were taken out of the orphanage and reunited with their father and new stepmother.  The Koza's, due to the father's talent flourished during the depression years and Sara had a new sister and brother to concern herself with as the oldest child.  As she walked the streets of Brighton to the subway in 1933 she felt a sense of excitement which reflected in the blush that crossed her cheek and her buoyant stride. To Read The Rest of The Story Click The Link  http://brightonbeach.com/pat-singer-the-promise.html   Follow the Show! Twitter @MrKingJordan FaceBook.com/KingJordanRadio