tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-67070261408392370622024-03-05T16:07:14.250-05:00Urban LouisvilleHaven Harrington IIIhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16807325035445547685noreply@blogger.comBlogger45125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6707026140839237062.post-20064817945977955262020-04-07T18:56:00.003-04:002020-04-08T01:23:32.440-04:00Coronomics: Why Black Communities Are Getting Hit Hard<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">As COVID-19 wrecks havoc around the world, it is hitting Black and Brown communities especially hard. When the outbreak started there were memes and posts about how Black folks were naturally resistant because of our melanin. Well, as Maury would say, that was a lie. It turns out that in cities across the US Black communities are getting hit the hardest. Why is that? Here are my top 5 reasons...</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>5. </b>Lack of Affordable healthcare, access to good healthcare and racial bias inherent in the healthcare system. Each of those deserves it's own number but I wanted to list them together. You have a large portion of the Black community who work in low wage jobs that either don't offer healthcare at all or it's so expensive that it's unaffordable. Even with the advent of Obamacare, healthcare is still unaffordable for millions of people. The lack of good affordable healthcare is compounded by a lack of good healthcare access. Many of our Black neighborhoods don't have doctors offices, We have clinics, but not a lot of private physicians Those two previous factors are once again magnified by racial bias in the healthcare system. As a rule Black folks don't get the same level of care as our white counterparts. We don't get pain meds at the same level as our white counterparts, our issues and complaints aren't taken as seriously as our white counterparts etc. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>4. </b>Black communities have a larger reliance on public transportation. It's hard to practice social distancing when you're riding a crowded bus. If a bus is 60% full it's almost impossible to stay 6ft away from anybody on the bus or subway if you're in a larger city.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>3. </b>Many people in the Black community have lower paying, hourly jobs, that don't offer paid sick time. That means many folks HAVE to work every day or their bills won't get paid. If they don't work, they don't eat. It's that simple. These are jobs, that because of the pandemic, we now consider essential. These are jobs you can't work from home. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>2.</b> The vast majority of Black and Brown folks live in segregated neighborhoods that have been disenfranchised and have seen decades of disinvestment. Our neighborhoods often lack enough grocery stores, pharmacies, and the infrastructure needed to help people shelter in place or practice social distancing. When you have an entire part of town that has only one grocery store or pharmacy, social distancing is pretty hard to practice. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>1. </b>The number one reason is the invisible thread that ties 5 through 2 together...Racism. The lack of investment and infrastructure in Black communities was intentional. It was by design. The practice of redlining meant that many Blacks couldn't get home loans or move outside of Black neighborhoods. In fact, redlining help create the Black inner cities and neighborhoods you have today. Which in turn made it easier for municipalities to underinvest in our neighborhoods. That underinvestment led to food deserts, assisted in moving jobs out of the city centers to the suburbs, and an underinvestment in community health. Redlining also had the double effect of driving many local business out of our neighborhoods by depressing property values. This suppressed Black wealth and coupled with the death of American manufacturing and other jobs leaving the city center, curtailed Black buying power and wealth. Which means many businesses in the Black neighborhood left or went out of business. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Now add the fact that Black soldiers coming back from WWII were routinely denied home loans under the G.I. Bill. That cut off access to wealth and mobility to hundreds of thousands of Black families. Then Jim Crow meant that once again hundreds of thousands of Black men and women couldn't get jobs that they were more than qualified for. You add redlining to Jim Crow and Black soldiers unable to get the G.I. bill and you have what you see today in many Black Neighborhoods.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">But Racism isn't done yet. Because after Jim Crow "officially" ended, the prison industrial complex took it's place. Then the war on drugs further decimated and weakend Black communities. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Fast forward to 2020 and the effects of past racist and current racist policies are magnifying the impact of the Coronavirus on our Black communities. <a href="https://pediatrics.aappublications.org/content/141/1_MeetingAbstract/337">Study</a> after <a href="https://www.hsph.harvard.edu/news/features/racial-bias-and-its-effect-on-health-care/">study</a> has shown that there is a deep racial bias in healthcare that extends back centuries. Our lack of access to wealth building tools and access to higher paying jobs means that we are stuck in jobs that don't pay enough, offer any real benefits, and are often dead in. But this is nothing new. We've been in this predicament since our ancestors first came to America. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Make no mistake. The missteps by the current administration are having a significant impact on our communities. But Racism is the gift that just keeps on giving. </span>Haven Harrington IIIhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16807325035445547685noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6707026140839237062.post-47637653863673307632015-04-24T18:27:00.001-04:002015-04-25T12:20:32.411-04:00The Case for the Market St. Streetcar Line<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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I am a big fan of streetcars and their potential to have transformative effects on neighborhoods and cities as a whole. I am so much of a fan and believer that I have written several post on why I think they can and will work in Louisville and I also started the <a href="https://www.facebook.com/L4MMT">Louisvillians for Modern Mass Transit</a> Facebook page to promote the idea. <br>
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However, even with all of the evidence that suggest that streetcars are in fact a great driver of economic development, urban development, and mobility there is still a lot of resistance. The main criticism seems to be that it's too expensive. If you look at what Cincinnati is spending for their new streetcar line I can see why that is the biggest critism. Cincinnati's Over-The-Rhine/Downtown streetcar loop will cost around $102 million and will cover approximately 3.6 miles <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cincinnati_Streetcar#Cost_and_funding">(link)</a>. That is just to build it. That price doesn't include the estimated $2-2.5 million to run the Streetcar system each year. The Market St. streetcar line idea is almost double that. It would be over 6 miles long, from one end of Market St to the other. In theory it could cost Louisville around $180 million plus for a line that long. In theory. However, there is a smarter way. There is a better way.<br>
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We can do a full Market St. streetcar line for a fraction of the cost that other cities have spent. But before we get into how we can build a system at a fraction of the cost lets do some back of the napkin numbers on how much a new streetcar system would be. To lay brand new track you are looking at an average cost of $2 million per mile. The catenary lines (the overhead wires that power most modern streetcars) cost about $3 million per mile. The streetcars themselves average $6 million per car. I don't have an average to build the trolley barns and other maintenance facilities because those vary widely depending location and other things. If we use Cincinnati as an example we can easily see why their system cost $102 million. 3.6 miles of track (I'll round up to 4 to make the math easier) on average would be $8 million just for the track. Then you add another $12 million for catenary, and $36 million for the 6 cars that they ordered. You're already up to $56 million and that doesn't include the trolley barn and other maintenance facilities. That price also doesn't include extras you may add to spruce up the visual appeal of your stations (if you them), etc.<br>
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Now that you have a pretty good idea of the just the baseline cost of putting in a streetcar system here is how we can do it cheaper. The first way is to reduce the cost of laying track. We do that by reusing the existing track. Louisville use have one of the most advanced streetcar system in the United States. Much of that track is still buried beneath about 1-2 inches of asphalt. Over the years a lot of the old track has been dug up or it was torn out. Much of the track under Broadway was torn out and used for the war effort in the 40's. However, most of the track under Market St. is still there. When Dallas first started their streetcar line ( granted it wasn't the city of Dallas, but a local non profit organization that got the ball rolling first) they used the old track whenever possible. From talking to officials in Dallas it cost them on average $79,000 a mile to use existing track. With almost all of the track still intact under Market St that would be a tremendous savings. That would bring the total cost to repair and fix the rail for the 6 mile Market St. line to $474,000. Let's round up to $500,000 and add another $1 million to repair sections of the line. That's an estimate of $1.5 million for the track.<br>
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We have the track, but what about the streetcars themselves? Here we have several options. We can buy new cars or we can get used cars. The city of Toronto is about to surplus all of their existing streetcars because they are buying new ones. Most of the Toronto's streetcars (know as CLRV) <br>
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were built in the early 80's. They are also not as wide as the track we have in Louisville. We have had preliminary discussions with officials in Toronto and believe we can get 10 cars for around $10-30,000. We would then have to ship them to another company to have them retrofitted to make them ADA compliant, add AC, Wifi and refurbish them. The estimated cost per car would be $60,000. We estimate that it would take 10 cars to run a good streetcar line. If we average the price of the cars (when fully refurbished) to $100,000. We are looking at $1 million for all 10 cars. If we use the Toronto CLRVs we would also need the catenary at a cost of about $18 million. That would bring the total cost of the Market St. line to around $20.5 million. What also makes the Market St, line so attractive is that both of the original trolley barns are still there. We wouldn't have to build from scratch. <br>
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That would be option 1, but there is another option where we use existing track, but with brand new streetcars. This would be much more expensive, but still a lot cheaper than what other cities have done. The cost for the line and new streetcars would be the same, except we would use brand-new hydrogen powered modern streetcars. These hydrogen powered streetcars don't use catenary so that would eliminate $18 million, but the price per car would be around $6-7 million. According to <a href="http://www.tig-m.com/home.html">TIG-M</a>, the company that makes the streetcars, they design an almost 100% green system. The total price of this system (not factoring in the hydrogen generators and various solar arrays) would be $61.5 million. That's pricey, but still cheaper than cities and may have a much lower operating cost over time because the streetcar system itself would be generating much of it's own power.<br>
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Haven Harrington IIIhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16807325035445547685noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6707026140839237062.post-4879774814085710672015-01-18T23:35:00.000-05:002015-01-18T23:35:15.088-05:00Will The Real Martin Luther King Please Stand Up. <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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What was...is King's message and how is that message being portrayed today.<br />
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I wanted to focus on the message and how it is sold to us today because I believe we are doing King's message and life a great disservice. We are sanitizing his message and his work to the point that the real King is lost on most Americans today. Especially black folks.<br />
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If you go to any school in America and the discussion of MLK comes up the first thing kids and will talk about is the "I Have a Dream" speech and the March on Washington. The vast majority of commercials during February which almost all of them talk about King only mention the "I Have a Dream" speech. Pundits, commentators, political leaders, and most writers fall into the same trap. They get stuck on the dream speech and the March on Washington. We are sold the idea that all King wanted was for little black boys and little black girls to hold hands with little white boys and little white girls. How many of you knew that the title of the March on Washington was the March on Washington for Jobs and Justice?<br />
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Very rarely do you hear about the other King. The King who believed that, yes, we needed to end segregation, but didn't want full assimilation. King himself stated: " We must use every constructive means to amass economic and political power. This is the kind of legitimate power we need. We must must work to build a racial pride and refute the notion that black is evil and ugly."<span style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; background-color: #f3f3f3; font-size: 16px;"> </span>King, like Malcolm, Garvey, Tubman, Washington, and many others thought that the black community needed strong black businesses, institutions, neighborhoods, and schools if we are to truly be free.<br />
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The anti-war King only gets lip service in the main stream media. We rarely delve into Kings thoughts on not only the Vietnam war, but US militarism and imperialism.<br />
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"God didn't call America to do what she's doing in the world now. God didn't call America to engage in a senseless, unjust war as the war in Vietnam. And we are criminals in that war. We've committed more war crimes almost than any other nation in the world, and I'm going to continue to say it. And we won't stop it because of our pride and our arrogance as a nation."</div>
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"I knew that I could never again raise my voice against the violence of the oppressed in the ghettos without having first spoken clearly to the greatest purveyor of violence in the world today, my own government."</div>
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The fact that many black ministers and churches openly disagreed and were against King is also sanitized from our collective history. When King came to speak in Louisville (this also happened in every city he visited) many ministers tried to convince King not to come because he would bring trouble. Many sermons in black churches throughout West Louisville (and across the country) actively discouraged their members from joining the civil rights movement and attending King's speeches. Many of the sermons focused on the gospel of respectability. The Gospel of respectability says that if Black folks do what is right and are above reproach then eventually we would be accepted as equals. Protest are unnecessary. </div>
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Knowing how much push back King got from other black ministers and politicians puts into perspective just how much of an uphill battle he and movement faced. </div>
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If King were alive today there is no doubt in my mind he would be hated by many just like he was when he was alive. From Listening to his speeches he would have been against the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. He would have been against the use of drones and drone attacks. He would have been for raising the minimum wage. He would have supported the peaceful protest of <span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;">#BlackLivesMatters. He would have been for increasing spending on the poor and taxing the rich. I'm sure King would have been happy to have seen Obama elected president, but very disappointed in his policies.</span></div>
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Yes, we can even talk about Kings shortcomings and his womanizing because these gives us a complete picture of the man. And if we take these things into consideration it does not diminish his greatness.<br />
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Now, more than ever we need keep the real King close to our hearts and minds and not the sanitized version we are given every year.<br />
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Why I am opposed to the Vietnam War</div>
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I am Black and Proud</div>
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Haven Harrington IIIhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16807325035445547685noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6707026140839237062.post-73144945451650653322015-01-18T21:42:00.004-05:002015-01-18T21:42:29.437-05:00From Ferguson to Louisville with Love<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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What does Louisville and Ferguson, MO. have in common? The prison pipeline and the hopelessness it creates. According to the <a href="https://www.americanprogress.org/issues/race/news/2012/03/13/11351/the-top-10-most-startling-facts-about-people-of-color-and-criminal-justice-in-the-united-states/">Center for American Progress</a> African-Americans are no more likely to either sell or use drugs than Whites, but 1 in 3 people arrested for drugs offenses are African American. 70% of students referred to Law enforcement and arrest were Black of Hispanic. People of color make up 30% of population, but make up 60% of the prison population. I could go on and on, but I won't. I think you get the idea. And for those who think that this doesn't happen in our city I give you the <a href="http://video.pbs.org/video/2365232562/">Frontline special about Beecher Terrace</a> housing projects. In that Frontline special it details how almost everyone in Beecher Terrace will have some interaction with the prison system.<br />
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Don't think this is just Beecher Terrace, because its not. I'm sure if you look at JCPS stats on suspensions, students referred to LMPD, kids suspended you will see the same patterns. African American kids will be many more times likely to face harsher consequences for similar acts than their white counterparts. I'm sure if we did a study of the number of people arrested for marijuana use you will see that most of them will be African-American. Despite the fact that we use drugs at the same rate and levels as our white counterparts. In fact, several <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/10/01/black-people-arrest_n_5914566.html">studies</a> have pointed out that Whites actually sell drugs at a higher rate than Blacks, but by looking at the prisons you would never know that. </div>
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I know that there are people who will say that "If blacks didn't commit the crimes then they wouldn't go to jail" or "If we hold ourselves beyond reproach, and do the right things then it will be all right." I call BS. Study after study has shown that blacks commit crimes at nearly the same rates as whites. We just go to jail and whites largely don't. We as a nation/world have been condition over centuries to view African-Americans as criminals, violent, over sexed and dangerous. This isn't something new.<br />
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This is why movements like #BlackLivesMatters, that started in Ferguson, are so important. They not only shed light on the dual problem of racism and the prison industrial complex, but they put much needed pressure on the authorities to actually do something about it. These are problems we can't ignore away, or hope that if we behave correctly then they will change. History has shown us that will not work and will just lead to the status quo.<br />
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I hate that Trayvon Martin, Eric Garner, and Mike Brown and others were killed because of the duality of racism and prison industrial complex, but their deaths gave birth to a movement. From Ferguson, to Louisville, to the world, with love. #BlackLivesMatter.<br />
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Haven Harrington IIIhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16807325035445547685noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6707026140839237062.post-80904219895106583252014-03-13T00:40:00.003-04:002014-03-13T00:40:39.102-04:00West Louisville Walmart, and What Does it All Mean The debate over a West Louisville Walmart among downtown residents is a heated one. I've seen and have been involved in several very heated online and off line discussions over Walmart. Despite the varying opinions about Walmart most folks that I talk to agree on several key points.<br />
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The first point and probably the biggest point is why can't the neighborhoods have a seat at the table? Why can't we have an open dialogue about what goes in our neighborhood? I've been told by several folks in the office of economic development, and have read interviews from several councilpersons that these deals have to be negotiated in secret. Behind closed doors. That's how big deals like this get done. Well, that's how they get done in Louisville at least. <br />
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I understand why Walmart doesn't want too talk to neighborhoods. Walmart has met fierce resistance when they have tried to build stores in other inner city neighborhoods. Washington, DC comes to mind. In DC the residents and council people wanted to raise the minimum wage to $15 an hr, and to force Walmart to build an urban store. The $15 minimum wage passed city council and was vetoed by the mayor, allowing Walmart to build in DC. However, the Walmart did agree to pay a $1 more per hour than the average big box retailer in the area, and they agreed to build an urban store. <br />
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If Walmart can agree to those terms in DC then why not in Louisville? They might, but we will never know until the ink is dry on a deal and it's too late to change anything. The mayor's spokesperson, Chris Poynter, has said several times that the city will let residents know what is going on once a deal is done. Basically locking out the neighborhoods.<br />
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The neighborhood leaders that I have spoken with would love to work with this city on bringing either Walmart or another big box retailer to West Louisville. We can work together for a win/win situation. However, with the way the city is handling the situation it is forcing the neighborhoods into an adversarial position that we don't have to be in, but are being forced into.<br />
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The other points that most people agree on that I have spoken with would be wage concessions by Walmart and the design of the store. Two things that I have mention already. These are very big concessions because Walmart, in other cities, has already done this.<br />
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I could write another 10 blog post about Walmart's low wages and their impact on neighborhoods and the like, but I'm not. What I'm going to highlight next is what the development of a potential Walmart in West Louisville has shown. What it highlights is a complete lack of planning and leadership in West Louisville. To this date, the only economic development plan for West Louisville in the last 14 years is the Russell Renaissance plan that I have written for Russell. If West Louisville is going to reverse course we have to have a plan and strong leadership to execute that plan. Currently we have neither.<br />
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Here are some examples of "urban" Walmarts, and other urban big box retailers.<br />
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Here is the Walmart that was built in DC<br />
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Another Proposed Urban Walmart</div>
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A prototype Urban Walmart</div>
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Urban Target</div>
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<br />Haven Harrington IIIhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16807325035445547685noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6707026140839237062.post-21295802616281223572013-06-05T03:11:00.001-04:002013-06-05T03:11:20.255-04:00The Russell Renaissance Part 1<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEid8VaCqrGrsuX5qkaem2k9_hA9ZsFFIeIssAcbWAQtWhubEjSnF-9MxALYZNpcaPB4qwzm4EnulmXc21tCMOkhlehrViQ1YwQagcMfAQWXoeMI9JdTnWnLCrViBgvpozjO_HDGt_MSUPw/s1600/IMG_0601.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEid8VaCqrGrsuX5qkaem2k9_hA9ZsFFIeIssAcbWAQtWhubEjSnF-9MxALYZNpcaPB4qwzm4EnulmXc21tCMOkhlehrViQ1YwQagcMfAQWXoeMI9JdTnWnLCrViBgvpozjO_HDGt_MSUPw/s320/IMG_0601.JPG" width="320" /></a>I've been wanting to write this post for a long time. I've written several post on my thoughts for economic development in West Louisville, but this is my first one about just the Russell neighborhood as a whole. It's also the first one where I put a name to the project (and collection of past ideas) I have been working on and/or blogged about.<br />
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To my knowledge this is the only economic development article (aside from my earlier post) written about West Louisville in the past 10 years. 10 years. The one that was written in 2001 can be found <a href="http://www.louisvilleky.gov/economicdevelopment/AdvancedPlanning/">here</a> and is labeled as the <a href="http://www.louisvilleky.gov/economicdevelopment/AdvancedPlanning/">West Louisville Competitive Assessment Study</a>. The biggest difference between what I have written and what the city did are mainly 2 fold. First, the original study didn't included any residents of West Louisville. Now, there are folks on the original committee who work in West Louisville, but none of them live in West Louisville. Also, from reading the study no effort was made to ask what people in West Louisville wanted. Second, the cities study focus one only 3 types of economic development for the area: Logistics/transportation/distribution, manufacturing, and life science (mainly device manufacturing). There is a little about business development, but the vast majority of the study focuses on the 3 types of development I mentioned previously.<br />
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On the service that doesn't seem to bad. After all, as the study points out, West Louisville has a ton of cheap labor, it's close to the expressway, it's close to the river, and it's close to rail service. All we need to do is acquire large parcels of land (which the mayor put in his budget) and give it to the best manufacturer or distribution company and there you go 1,000 of jobs that will pay the average worker anywhere from $8 to $10 an hour. Meanwhile, we will tear large swaths of historic buildings to make way for suburban style warehousing. If you drive down 12th street south of Broadway you will see what the city wants to do. There is the old Porter paint warhouse, Packaging Unlimited warehouse, a Recycling Center, Sud Chemical and other warehouses and light industrial places. When I was a kid that was a neighborhood filled with houses, corner stores and churches. It was vibrant. Now it is a faceless urban industrial park that doesn't employ anybody in the neighborhood except Packaging Unlimited which pays a little above minimum wage.<br />
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What I have written is a far cry from what the city wants to do with West Louisville. I want to revitalize the neighborhoods. I want to bring back the mom and pop stores, corner retail, keep the historic and urban character of the neighborhood intact. Basically, bring back what was once there. If you can have this type of retail and development a long East Market street, Bardstown Road, Oak street in Old Louisville, why not Russell? Why does Russell have to be further torn down to make way light industrial, distribution, and warehousing that will not enhance the neighborhood, but give us nothing but low paying dead end jobs? If traditional urban retail development is good enough for east Louisville then it's good enough for Russell.<br />
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The other difference, is that I don't treat as a giant area of the city. West Louisville is made up of several distinct and different neighborhoods. What may work in Russell, may not work in California, Portland, Shawnee, Parkland, or Chickasaw. Each neighborhood needs its own development strategy just like Highland's plan is different from NULU's. This is for Russell, but many parts of it can and should be used through West Louisville.<br />
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">The Plan</span></b><br />
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<b>Artist Relocation Program</b><br />
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Russell has a lot of vacant properties and lots. We also need to increase the amount of home owners as well as increase incomes in the area. You can't have local corner stores or businesses without the residents having enough disposable income to support them. You can try and convince young urban professionals to move to Russell, but thats unlikely to happen in any significant numbers. Russell, Like the rest of West Louisville, has a reputation for high crime. What I suggest is an artist relocation based on the <a href="http://www.paducahalliance.org/artist-relocation-program">Paducah, Kentucky model</a>. Artist tend to be first movers and are usually more willing to move to distressed area (you can read my original blog post <a href="http://urbanlouisville.blogspot.com/2013/01/what-to-do-about-vacant-properties-in.html">here</a> and <a href="http://urbanlouisville.blogspot.com/2012/08/can-artist-save-west-louisville.html">here</a> about the program). The gist of the program that is an artist can prove that they can support themselves with their chosen artist profession, and they are willing to live in the neighborhood for several years then we will give them a house or a vacant lot in which to build a home. The Russell Relocation Program will partner with various banks and the city to help provide the artist with low interest rate loans (to refurbish or build the house/storefront) and a forgivable second mortgage to further help with financing either the rehab or building of the house/storefront.<br />
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The Russell Relocation Program will also do everything we can to ensure that artist that move to Russell are as successful as possible. We will do this by being a conduit to firms that provide micro-lending (such as <a href="http://www.cvcky.org/">Community Venture Corporation</a>) and organizations that offer business support and development ( such as the <a href="http://www.louisvilleky.gov/niacenter/">Nia Center</a> and <a href="http://thepeergroup.info/">The Peer Group</a>) If Paducah can do it then so can we.<br />
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<b>The Haymarket</b><br />
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Russell needs a permanent haymarket, preferable on the border of both Russell and Portland. I would love for the haymarket to have an outdoor amphitheater so the neighborhood can hold outdoor concerts, meetings, and be a great gathering spot for local residents. Haymarkets serve as natural small business incubators and development hubs. At most haymarkets small retailers cut their teeth and learn how to run a business. If they are really successful they will either move from the haymarket to a store front or keep both a haymarket booth and a store front. To help facilitate this process we can connect those retailers who want to move up and grow their business with various buisness development organizations that we have connected with for the Russell Relocation Program. Even if the businesses don't want to move up, they still have provided much needed retail and services for the community.<br />
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<b>The Quinn</b><br />
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The project that I have been working the hardest on and is the corner stone to Russell's renaissance is the old Quinn Chapel. I want to turn Quinn Chapel into the Clifton Center of West Louisville. This will be the West Louisville's only performance arts space, but it will much more than that. It will also hold art classes, filmmaking classes, playwriting workshops, costume making workshops, music school and much more. This will also be a venue where you can go and watch plays, concerts, speakers, and much more. The Quinn will once again become the hub of activity for the entire West-End. <br />
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<b>Sports</b></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhRkcSnDguVnghUIoWYVBTKkdyqbuiF-3dh5SFag1JOjPxGXqeWQEucSZOL1FceKSNHt_LW-_2LfJOdGLsAXraBXWEKPAxNrTYyXkO1mmixv0T-7C5StKVXi89FdSd4wOeLrrSOiJTtBQ/s1600/IMG_0114.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhRkcSnDguVnghUIoWYVBTKkdyqbuiF-3dh5SFag1JOjPxGXqeWQEucSZOL1FceKSNHt_LW-_2LfJOdGLsAXraBXWEKPAxNrTYyXkO1mmixv0T-7C5StKVXi89FdSd4wOeLrrSOiJTtBQ/s320/IMG_0114.JPG" width="320" /></a>In the late 40's and early 50's Louisville made a serious investment in it's youth and funded boxing gyms for all of it's community centers. At the time this was scene as a way to get kids off the street and to get them something productive that will also teach them discipline. That investment paid off in late 50's, 60's and 70's when Louisville produced 3 heavyweight champions. Not only did Louisville produce 3 heavyweight champions, but local boxing could be seen every Saturday morning on Tv as well as weekly amateur matches at the convention center. How much money did that generate for the city? How many boxing promoters sprung up in the city? Trainers, graphic artist, boxers, ticket takers, bartenders, and all of the support staff for sporting events? Now, boxing is pretty much dead in Louisville. There is only 1 maybe 2 full time boxing gyms in the city. </div>
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Boxing may be dead or on the decline, but MMA is HUGE is Kentucky. In fact, Kentucky is the 4th most active state in the United States for MMA matches. It would be higher, but the state doesn't have enough people to sanction all of the matches. Why can't Russell be the hub for training the next generation of athletes? </div>
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All it would take would be to convert 1 old firehouse or grocery store into a gym. I know several guys who want to open a gym in Russell, but they need a space that is big enough. We did it once we can do it again.</div>
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<b>Reconnecting Russell</b></div>
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Just like the <a href="http://insiderlouisville.com/news/2012/05/04/state-msd-pitching-in-total-of-13-million-for-nucleus-nulu-connectivity-project/">NuLu Connectivity Project</a>, Russell needs to be reconnected with the central business district. Like I wrote in a blog post earlier you can't have a vibrant downtown if you cut off it's surrounding neighborhoods. We need to reconnect Russell to downtown. </div>
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One way to reconnect Russell with not only downtown, but to other neighborhoods is with a street car line. I would like to see a street car line run from one end of Market Street to the other end. In order the keep cost down you can even use the existing track that is buried underneath the asphalt. In every city that has installed street cars several things have happened. First, along the street car routes investment in businesses and housing has boomed. This will not only be a plus for Russell, Portland, and Shawnee (all three neighborhoods are bounded by Market), but will help downtown tourism by further connecting downtown with all of the new and exciting developments in NuLu and Phoenix hill. </div>
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In Part 2 I'm going to go into a little bit more detail about how all of the parts fit together not only to the rest of West Louisville, but the city as a whole. </div>
Haven Harrington IIIhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16807325035445547685noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6707026140839237062.post-89502141945918043182013-04-25T00:23:00.002-04:002013-04-25T00:23:17.685-04:00Why Downtown is Dying<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTWC-zYFpPtoJwTnJiO_LtLo_f_-b07EAnA3N6BnG9avad_3NFIZakwQRPYhVj1JAUDkVQhA-WgX_Vujy6jYWyTIEJtoleVExEAsZ0rMYTxuMrFMO3T6b3Zcf-vakTC7s0jNPyPrPs8vo/s1600/images-1.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTWC-zYFpPtoJwTnJiO_LtLo_f_-b07EAnA3N6BnG9avad_3NFIZakwQRPYhVj1JAUDkVQhA-WgX_Vujy6jYWyTIEJtoleVExEAsZ0rMYTxuMrFMO3T6b3Zcf-vakTC7s0jNPyPrPs8vo/s1600/images-1.jpeg" /></a>Downtown Louisville is dying. Actually, it has been dying since the 1950's. The growth of suburbs after WWII drawing people out of the center core hurt. The city's decision to suburbanize its urban core by tearing down buildings to build surface parking lots didn't help either. Don't get me wrong. There have been some very successful efforts to try and save downtown. Slugger Field, Waterfront Park (which will be covered up by the Bridges Project), West Main street museum district, and 4th Street Live to name a few. On that list only 4th Street Live could be considered a question mark. These are great projects and there are some others on the way, but in the end they will fail to resurrect downtown.<br />
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If you want to "save" downtown Louisville then you have to reconnect downtown with its surrounding neighborhoods. What made downtown a special place before the 50's was that it was connected to its surrounding neighborhoods. The surrounding neighborhoods feed the central business district. The stores in downtown catered to the people in those neighborhoods. Even if some to most of those stores in the 50's didn't serve black folks you still had old Walnut St that was in downtown.<br />
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Before urban renewal downtown was connected to its surrounding neighborhoods. After urban renewal it is completely disconnected and it's now its own separate entity. On the west side of central business district you have the 9th street divide. On the east side there is I-65. <br />
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When you hear city officials talk about bringing retail back to downtown they say we need more people living downtown. There's not enough people to support downtown retail. There are tons of people to support downtown retail. They just happen to live in Portland, Russell, Smoketown, Butchertown, California, Phoenix Hill, and NULU.<br />
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I'm not saying that this is the only reason downtown is dying. There are a ton more reasons, but I think this is the biggest. If Old Walnut street and east Russell had not succumb to the wrecking ball would downtown be in as bad of a shape? Over 3,000 single family homes and businesses were torn down and replaced by surface parking lots and subsidized housing. The destruction was so complete that there is not 1 single family home left from 5th Street to 16th street in Russell. Same thing happened to east Portland. How much potential economic activity was lost?<br />
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We need to stop thinking about downtown Louisville as just the central business district. It should be much more than that. We need to make reconnecting downtown to its surrounding neighborhoods a priority. We need to work on reconnecting and revitalizing those old business corridors (Market St, Broadway, Main St, and Preston) so they can once again funnel people downtown. We need to visually and physically reconnected these neighborhoods back to downtown. <br />
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Before the 1950's if you saw a map of downtown Louisville you would think it was just one giant neighborhood. Not now. We need to become that one giant neighborhood<br />
once again.<br />
<br />Haven Harrington IIIhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16807325035445547685noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6707026140839237062.post-35324954899286750812013-03-13T00:56:00.000-04:002013-03-13T01:29:22.906-04:0030 acres and a Mule<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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The city has recently announced that they have purchased 30 acres of land in west Louisville for the purpose of economic development. The city intends to market this land to potential developers for the purpose of light industry, manufacturing, and distribution. Several weeks after making the announcement city officials held a forum at Shawnee high school to discuss what they plan to do with the property. </div>
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City officials re-affirmed their stance that they will market the property for light industrial, manufacturing, and distribution only. They will list the property in trade magazines and highlight the fact that the property is close to rail, the river and the expressway. They also said that they do not want to subdivide the land and that they want to sell it whole. Many of the people who attended the forum (most were from the Shawnee neighborhood) seem to have deep reservations about the city intentions. Many residents expressed fears of polluting industries moving into the neighborhood, increase noise and truck traffic, will the development keep with the dense urban design of the neighborhood, will it be possible to have retail as a part of the development, and will residents have a say as to what businesses move into their neighborhood. The city officials attempted to calm the fears of the residents by stating that their number one goal would be to find good sustainable jobs, that the city will look for low to non-polluting businesses if possible, and we wil make sure that the business will bring good jobs with good wages. </div>
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Basically, trust us, we know what's best for you. </div>
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The city officials made it clear that the neighborhoods will not have a say as to what business moves into their neighborhood. The reason being is that negotiations like these are usually done in private. They did say that when they have something signed they will advise the business to have meetings with its new neighbors. When asked about the design of the development and will it fit in with the dense urban character of the neighborhood they answer was the are doesn't have a design overlay, but they will see what they can do. Basically, no. </div>
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The residents weren't against light industrial businesses, jobs, manufacturing, or distribution. They just wanted more for their/our neighborhoods. We can create jobs, but we wanted businesses that fit the character of the neighborhood, that would pleasant to look at and live with. After all, the 30 acres of land is in the middle of 3 residential neighborhoods. </div>
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I spoke with several residents after the forum and they wanted to know why can't we subdivide the land. Some of it can be for what the city wants. The other parts could be used for much needed retail, perhaps a west Louisville haymarket, and mixed use mixed income housing. </div>
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Maybe we can build something like they have Charlotte NC where they converted several old warehouses into concert venues and outside concert venues/plazas. Granted the warehouse on this location has been demolished, but an open air concert venue and amphitheater ( like the one at Iroquois Park) would be great. Then you could also add an west Louisville Haymarket that would serve the 3 neighborhoods that border this particular piece of property (Russell, Portland, Shawnee) </div>
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You could surround the property or at least build on the market street side Mixed used/Mixed income housing. There are several examples of great mixed income housing like what is at Park Duvalle or perhaps this low income project that is being built in DC..<br />
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or maybe this mixed income development from Portland..<br />
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I know the city is hellbent on only attracting manufacturing, light industrial businesses, and distribution which is cool. But why not focus on targeting green companies? The city has stated several times that they want the Portland neighborhood to lead Louisville's green revolution. There are $500,000 in loans for this purpose. If that's the case then why not start with this 30 acres? What could be better? You could couple these developments that I have mentioned above with a company that processes organic vegetables from local farmers. Maybe couple these projects with an urban farm project that grows <a href="http://urbanlouisville.blogspot.com/2011/07/can-louisville-grow-up.html">vertically</a>. Why not invite businesses that are the future? We all know that green jobs/manufacturing is the future. Vertical and urban farming methods are the future. Why not invest in those companies? Why is the city so determined to focus on industries whose time has come and gone? If you truly wanted to bring Louisville into the 21st century then invest in 22nd century businesses models.<br />
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This project could be a win/win for everybody. If the city had said we are looking for green companies, and we will put together packages to make that happen then I believe the neighborhoods would be behind them. If the city had said we want green companies plus any of the other possibilities that I mentioned above the city would have gotten our support 110%. But it seems the city doesn't see it that way. Its just business as usually.<br />
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<br />Haven Harrington IIIhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16807325035445547685noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6707026140839237062.post-79427364313732265032013-02-14T09:55:00.000-05:002013-02-14T09:55:02.608-05:00Urban Renewal 2.0?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Last Night at the Louisville Metro Dems meeting Mayor Fischer said that the biggest obstacle to economic development in West Louisville was the accumulation of large parcels of land. The old American Tabacco factory site at 30th and Ali was held up as a great example of this. This also fits in with metro government's push to demolish as many vacant homes as possible. This isn't the first time that I've heard that rationale or that particular line of thinking before. I have spoken with many GLI officials over the years and they talked about how West Louisville would be perfect for warehouses and light industrial development. Not one time was it ever mentioned that West Louisville could be a great place for small scale retail or the type of businesses you see along Bardstown Road and East Market. Metro government only sees West Louisville as great place for warehousing. Warehousing of goods and for warehousing the poor and undesirables.<br />
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Are we looking at Urban renewal 2.0? Hasn't West Louisville seen enough of the destructive power of the wrecking ball? West Louisville, especially black Louisville, has sacrificed enough to enrich the other parts of the city. The city destroyed our thriving business districts to build parking lots. Or to put it more bluntly to remove black folks from downtown. Urban Renewal was really just negro removal. Joshua Poe of the Leo wrote an <a href="http://leoweekly.com/news/city-divided">article about how race was the prime motivating factor for urban renewal. </a><br />
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<span style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><i>The intentions of the 1957 plan stated the demolition of black neighborhoods would “insulate and protect the tremendous values in the central business district against the run-down and blighted neighborhoods around it.” Thus urban renewal was never motivated by the well being of residents, but the economic health of downtown based upon the exclusion of blacks.</i></span></div>
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<span style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Is this "new" push to tear down homes and warehouses just more of the same and a continuation of urban renewal? Yes. Its a plan to create wealth for the small few while disenfranchising the masses of West Louisville residents. Do you think these warehouses will pay a decent wage that you can raise a family on? No. Will they add to the economic vitality of the community. No. What's going to happen is that a small cadre of developers will make a ton of money on tearing down warehouse and houses and then building new warehouses. The businesses that move into the warehouses will have an endless supply of cheap labor around their warehouses because West Louisville is where we warehouse the poor. </span></div>
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<span style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">What happens to the residents? It would seem that nobody really cares. On the flip side. If we treated West Louisville like we did the Highlands or East Market how much better of a city would we have? How much better for the bottom line would be if citizens of West Louisville had the same buying power as the folks in Clifton? If Old Walnut Street had never been razed and the black community had the ability to accumulate wealth in West Louisville how much richer would Louisville be? Would the city even be looking at a deficit? </span></div>
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<span style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">We can't keep going down the same path. It has to stop. We can't keep looking at vacant properties as problems but as opportunities. We can't keep disenfranchising a whole section of the community to the benefit a small few. We have to wake up. </span></div>
Haven Harrington IIIhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16807325035445547685noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6707026140839237062.post-73138669057442628312013-01-18T10:32:00.001-05:002013-01-18T10:38:39.250-05:00What to do about Vacant Properties in Russell?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Louisville has over 7000 vacant properties and something has to be done about them. The Russell neighborhood where I live has a ton of vacant properties. As we all know vacant properties bring down the value of the surrounding houses (as if it can get any lower), invite crime, and a whole host of negatives. The City as an answer for the vacant property problem. Tear them down. On the surface that sounds like a winner, except now you have another problem. What to do with the vacant lot? The city has sold several vacant lots in Russell to Oracle development and they have built smallish section 8 homes. The homes are brightly colored and look decent enough on the outside, but they are not to scale of the current houses in the neighborhood, and they are quite small for homes in this area. Most of the shotguns and camel back houses in Russell have more usable space. Then there is the issue of building more section 8 homes in a neighborhood or neighborhoods that are dominated by section 8 homes and half-way houses. What value does that bring to the neighborhood? Can a neighborhood really comeback if you turn vacant lots into section 8 homes (that will have a hard time being sold as single family homes because of their size and construction materials) and half-way houses? I would say no. Which leads me back to the question of what to do about vacant houses? <br />
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What we need to do is to think about vacant houses not as a problem, but as an opportunity. An opportunity to revitalized forgotten neighborhoods and breathe new life into them. An opportunity to provide affordable housing to those who can't afford it and to preserve the historic nature of our city. If we look around the country we can see all sort of examples of how other communities have turned vacant houses into a catalyst for neighborhood redevelopment. For the Russell neighborhood I have a suggestion.<br />
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The first thing we can do is to urge the metro council to fully fund the Louisville Affordable Housing Trust Fund or LAHTF. The LAHTF would refurbish vacant and abandon homes and in-turn put those homes into the hands of people with people with fix incomes like seniors or those with disabilities, young families starting out who may not be able to afford a home, and for working people who wages are not enough for them to purchase or rent.<br />
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Fully funding the LAHTF is step one. Step 1.5 should be for Russell to become an Urban art district. Think Harlem, New York from 1920's. How do we accomplish this with vacant properties. Simple. We copy the Paducah model. Paducah, KY has an artist relocation program, where they will give artist vacant or dilapidated houses for as little as $1 and up to $2500 for professional design fees. <a href="http://www.paducahalliance.org/artist-relocation-program/artist-incentives">The Paducah Artist Relocation Program</a> has completely transformed the LowerTown neighborhood. I really suggest you click the link above and read about the program. If Paducah can do it why can't we?<br />
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As a resident of the Russell neighborhood and a member of the Concerned Association of Russell Residents, C.A.R.R. I'm going to make it my goal to push for Russell to become an art district and to start an Artist Relocation Program. Something has to be done and there is no time like the present. <br />
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<br />Haven Harrington IIIhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16807325035445547685noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6707026140839237062.post-586908914528007562012-12-12T10:32:00.000-05:002012-12-12T10:32:27.297-05:00Right to Work. What Does It All Mean?<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrhqKmbUbjtymWRiu786pyHwOSehyphenhyphenyXo-tqHpv5HNTF8I_vVixcY385Nc_PX19HBwvYkPpkpH-PTHhL5mvk-_Ppzhx4og5yVyiSWZiSrXFn3oZrqAIzk9rg4RgoZBRnuELpjm8g2n9rj8/s1600/imgres.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrhqKmbUbjtymWRiu786pyHwOSehyphenhyphenyXo-tqHpv5HNTF8I_vVixcY385Nc_PX19HBwvYkPpkpH-PTHhL5mvk-_Ppzhx4og5yVyiSWZiSrXFn3oZrqAIzk9rg4RgoZBRnuELpjm8g2n9rj8/s1600/imgres.jpeg" /></a>What's the big deal about Michigan's RIght to Work bill that passed yesterday?<br />
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For those of you that don't know Right to Work means that you can work in a union shop and not have to pay union dues or join the union. Granted, in most cases you get all of the benefits of union membership, like higher wages, and better benefits all without having to pay a dime in union dues if you choose not too.<br />
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Why is this important? States that aren't Right to Work states tend to have higher wages and better benefits for workers in similar jobs. But that's not the only reason why it's important. The reason many states, most of which are republican controlled, have pushed Right to Work legislation is for political reasons. Most unions contribute heavily to Democratic candidates. Right to work legislation weakens the union thus weakens their support for Democratic candidates. <br />
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How do you? It could be for economic development reasons? It could be, but then why are Police and firefighter unions exempt? Why? Because they tend to support Republican candidates. Thats why when the Wisconsin governor wanted to end collective bargaining it didn't cover police and firefighters unions. Which if you're trying to save money would be the first you would target since their benefits cost more than all other public unions combined.<br />
Haven Harrington IIIhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16807325035445547685noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6707026140839237062.post-11136941247830367682012-11-27T10:16:00.001-05:002012-11-27T10:16:31.475-05:00I Apologize. <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPbU0PVBPWQKJDIph34WAAUdALPzll2Qm4BOYaIgY8nu5FhllNfF308aK_AJmMV5QG5sJyv384vLJHwYC1nNfKL0PzxYdmZl496hJCXLAkUSvZ7rBdx31XbllpIA_GF9GjtDHG_WkZY1Y/s1600/imgres.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPbU0PVBPWQKJDIph34WAAUdALPzll2Qm4BOYaIgY8nu5FhllNfF308aK_AJmMV5QG5sJyv384vLJHwYC1nNfKL0PzxYdmZl496hJCXLAkUSvZ7rBdx31XbllpIA_GF9GjtDHG_WkZY1Y/s1600/imgres.jpeg" /></a>I've been mulling writing this post for a while. Like most of you I've seen the news reports about the murders. I have seen how our youth seem to have lost their way. This post is for them, our youth<br />
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I want to apologize to all of the youth in the current generation and the next one coming up. We have failed you. We have failed you miserably.<br />
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I want to apologize for not passing on our true history as African-Americans to you. We have taught you nothing about where you came from and who you are. Instead we let the public school system and the mass media teach you about who you are. It's no wonder that all you know of black history is that we were slaves who didn't fight back, the Harlem Renaissance, and the Civil Rights Movement. We have failed to give you sense of self.<br />
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I want to apologize for not providing you with independent schools where you could be taught by people who looked like you and shared your experiences. Thus giving you the proper guidance you needed. When I was growing up we had those schools like Christ The King and others. We left you to fend for yourselves.<br />
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I want to apologize for leaving you a community in disrepair. We haven't been the best caretakers of West Louisville. We let our historic building be torn down. We have not created long lasting small to medium size businesses that can add riches and employment to the neighborhood. Instead we all got jobs with some of Louisville's largest companies and moved east. Those of us who couldn't move East moved to Shively. We let the city turn large parts of West Louisville into warehousing of the poor and halfway houses.<br />
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There are 1000 more things I could apologize for and for those things I am truly sorry. We have failed you. But I will fail you no more. That's my promise to you.<br />
<br />Haven Harrington IIIhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16807325035445547685noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6707026140839237062.post-3688733110264647112012-11-02T09:55:00.001-04:002012-11-02T09:59:28.843-04:00What Should Have Been, What Should Be, What Still Could Be<br />
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As some of you may know, I along with several other preservation groups, have been trying to save the old Phillip Morris warehouse on the corner of 18th and Broadway. Currently the YMCA of Greater Louisville wants to tear down the warehouse that stands 5 stories, is a block long, has more than 500,000+ square foot space, to build a 2.5 story Y that will include an aquatic center and UL healthcare and will have 70,000 sq. ft. of space and is a little over a block long.<br />
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I commend the Y for investing in west Louisville and bringing much needed services to a part of town that needs them. The Y deserves big kudos for that. But does the Y need to tear down such a large historic structure to build a much smaller Y?<br />
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Across 18th street there is a large vacant lot that will become a development known as <a href="http://nbdky.com/newbridgecrossing.html">NewBridge Crossing</a>. According to <a href="http://insiderlouisville.com/news/2012/09/10/monday-biz-briefing-jobs-act-about-to-revolutionize-start-up-funding-tons-adding-restaurant-no-4-at-riverpark-place/">InsiderLouisivlle.com</a> there is a major big box retailer looking into moving into that site. If that happens I'm sure they will need most of the 19 acres that the site currently occupies. Why didn't Y choose to move across the street into the NewBridge Crossing development? According to various articles in the Courier-Journal. The original plans for NewBridge Crossing called for a lifestyle center (think an urban Summit) that included condos, UL pediatrics, and the YMCA. SO, if the YMCA was a part of the original plans for NewBridge Crossing what happened? I don't know, but I think that deserves some investigation.<br />
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What really got my attention were the plans for the old Phillip Morris warhouse in question. In those plans, TMG (developers of NewBridge Crossing) wanted to turn the warehouse into a Boutique Hotel, with condos and apartments. There is another newer warehouse on the site that faces 18th that was suppose to be a convention center. Call me crazy, but that is a much better use of the property than a YMCA.<br />
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The YMCA is a great project and much needed in west Louisville, just not at 18th and Broadway. This part of west Louisville already has a YMCA at 10th and Chestnut, and there is a great workout facility at St. Stephen's Baptist Church right off of 16th st. A better place for the YMCA would be near Park Duvall, Shawnee, or the Chickasaw neighborhoods. Those areas are severally underserve. Not the Russell/California area.<br />
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The development plan presented by TMG is a much better fit for the area and is what this community truly needs. How many more jobs would the boutique hotel/convention provide rather than the Y? How many more spin off businesses would that kind of development spur as opposed to the Y? I know there are a lot of nay sayers that doubt a hotel can work in west Louisville. I understand your doubts. But you have to remember what is directly behind this warehouse. Brown-Forman. How many executives does Brown Forman fly in or host on a yearly basis? I'm sure they fly in hundreds of people. A hotel that is less than a block away from their corporate HQ would be a perfect fit.<br />
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This is they type of responsible urban development that Louisville needs. Which leads me to another question. What happened to this project? If TMG had plans for the property why did they fall through?<br />
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I don't think it's too late to save the warehouse nor do I think it's too late for a win/win outcome for all parties involved. This is something we need to make happen.<br />
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Haven Harrington IIIhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16807325035445547685noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6707026140839237062.post-78220423688110325402012-08-22T23:29:00.001-04:002012-08-22T23:29:28.858-04:00There They Go Again...<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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4th Street is at it again. Will Green, the CEO of So Fly ENT, attempted to hold an event at the Makers Marks Lounge and needless to say once he showed up Markers Mark showed out. You can read Mr. Green's account of the situation on his <a href="http://www.facebook.com/will.green.90">Facebook page. </a> This isn't the first, second, or third time 4th Street Live has been accused of racism. This also seems to be a trend of Cordish owned "Live" districts. The KC Live district in Kansas City has been the object of numerous complaints about racism.<br />
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On Tuesday, August 28th at 6:30pm there will be a forum held at the Improv to discuss discrimination at 4th Street Live. That sounds like a good first step by the Cordish Co, but I think the Improv has more to lose if black folks stop patronizing 4th Street Live than any other business. The improv depends on black patrons for its very survival. If you look at the comics that the Improv brings in most of them appeal to black folks. The Improv is the only business on 4th Street Live that advertises on an urban radio station. They had to act, but what about the other businesses on 4th Street Live and what should be done?<br />
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Before I go on and in the name of full disclosure, I supported 4th Street Live when it was first proposed. I still do. I think downtown Louisville is better off with 4th Street Live than without it. Like I said I was in favor of 4th Street Live when it was FIRST proposed. In the original proposal 4th Street Live was to include local businesses and not just chain bars or bars owned by Cordish. There was also a fund set up to help local businesses move south of 4th Street Live. As soon as the administration changed in Louisville many of those perks for local companies dried up.<br />
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Where do we go from here? I understand the desire to boycott 4th Street Live, and talk about changing the culture there, but I'm not sure that will solve the problem. We can talk to the owners and managers and they will promise to change their ways. Black promotors will have more opportunities to hold events at 4th Street and prove that Cordish's fear of young black folks are unfounded. I understand those sentiments, but it almost feels like we are begging to spend money at an establishment that has shown it doesn't want us.<br />
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I understand where the black party promotors are coming from. Louisville doesn't have an upscale black club besides Jazzy Blu. Where else are they suppose to go and hold their functions? Personally, I would love to see a group of black party promotors get together and use the spot light that they have now and open an upscale bar/club south of 4th Street. If 4th Street Live does not want your business fine. We can start out own thing.<br />
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I know we are suppose to fight for equal access, but I feel we need our own space. Martin Luther King faced the same dilema (granted on a much larger scale). He wanted an end to segregation, but still wanted black folks to keep their businesses and institutions at the same time. I think we can do both as well. <br />
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<br />Haven Harrington IIIhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16807325035445547685noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6707026140839237062.post-53624063775504550132012-08-16T17:03:00.002-04:002012-08-16T17:13:43.344-04:00Can Artist Save West Louisville?In my last post about revitalizing West Louisville I proposed that we copy the Paducah, KY model with our own Artist relocation program. Here is a video about Paducah's program. If they can't do it why can't we?<br />
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Here is an <a href="http://williamfrenzullimd.blogspot.com/2011/12/why-paducahten-years-later.html">article</a> by an artist who moved to Paducah and renovated one of those old Mansions and his experience with the program (<a href="http://williamfrenzullimd.blogspot.com/2008/01/paducahs-artist-relocation-program.html">part 1</a>, <a href="http://williamfrenzullimd.blogspot.com/2008/01/day-in-paducah.html">part 2</a>, <a href="http://williamfrenzullimd.blogspot.com/2008/01/paducah-artist-relocation-program-3-we.html">part 3</a>). Thoughts?Haven Harrington IIIhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16807325035445547685noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6707026140839237062.post-67391896601351946652012-06-22T13:02:00.000-04:002012-06-22T13:02:51.596-04:00Revitalizing West Louisville pt 2In part one of my series on revitalizing west Louisville I talked about micro-lending and bringing back the forgivable second mortgage. These are two things that can be done relatively quickly to stabilized some of the neighborhoods in westren Louisville. This fix will not work overnight, but it would be a good start. That was part 1. In part 2 I want to lay out the framework for west Louisville's renaissance. <br />
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If you are going to revitalize a city, or a large section of the city, you need a plan and you need to work your plan. The plan has to aspirational and realistic at the same time. It should also build on what the area/city has traditionally done well and expand on it. More importantly it has to be geared towards the future. The plan has to put you slightly ahead of the curve to maximize growth potential. You don't want to bank on old style manufacturing that most likely is not coming back from China. You also don't want to place all of your bets to far ahead of the curve because it could be several decades before you see the fruits of your labor if at all. Lastly you have to be willing to try something, fail, and then try something else. This last point is the most important. You have to keep trying. We in Louisville, for the longest time, gave up on whole sections of the county. Not just west Louisville, but southwest Jefferson Co. as well. Now it's beginning to catch up with us. Let's change that.<br />
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Like any economic development plan I want to focus on several core industries I think we can really exploit to help revitalize west Louisville. They would be: Film/TV/entertainment production, Organic food/ "Green" industries, Sports, Keeping the Promise, and logistics.<br />
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<b>Film/TV/Entertainment/Arts</b><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrWCLIqcbuQGvZfhITE2kBY0WDFuRrz8dW-n8kKplSqeAvuifWYlacXzKB1RQfTDmgDLPTg49yuComWat48bLIi7FmJBlVrG-cdAa70ei7R5tLP8q6mhAJranoHqwfXbzqXIv8Pn_MrTU/s1600/imgres.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrWCLIqcbuQGvZfhITE2kBY0WDFuRrz8dW-n8kKplSqeAvuifWYlacXzKB1RQfTDmgDLPTg49yuComWat48bLIi7FmJBlVrG-cdAa70ei7R5tLP8q6mhAJranoHqwfXbzqXIv8Pn_MrTU/s1600/imgres.jpeg" /></a>This might be a head scratcher to some folks, but if you've read any of my past post from the <a href="http://russellneighborhood.blogspot.com/2009/07/lights-camera-action.html">Russell neighborhood blog site</a> you know that I am a big fan of Louisville's potential here. This is such a natural fit for the city and west Louisville. What makes this such a natural fit for west louisville ( and in Louisville in particular) is that we already have the foundation built. The feeder system is already in place. We have several performing arts schools in YPAS, Lincoln Elementary and Western middle. The University of Louisville has the African American Theater program which is the only place in the country where you can get a masters in African American Theater and Simmons College is starting a film school. The only thing that is missing is direction. We need a west/Louisville film commission to get everybody on the same page and to come up with a coherent strategy.<br />
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The great thing about the film industry is that this industry is expected to expand in the next couple of years, and Louisville has proven that it can make films. In the early to mid 70's There were several films made in Louisville including Abby (the black exorcist), Sheba Baby staring Pam Grier, and several more. Currently Louisville is home to <a href="http://www.hlpictures.com/aboutus.php">Hart-Lunsford Pictures</a>. This is something that we can definitely do. However, if we do this we need to focus on more than just feature films. There also needs to be a focus on the internet only productions, plays, and the arts in general.<br />
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It will be hard for Louisville to compete with other cities in attracting big hollywood productions. We just don't have the talent currently to compete on a consistant basis. Louisville may have a ton of actors, but we don't have the grips, cameramen and the like. This will take time to build. But we can jump the start process.<br />
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We need to copy what <a href="http://www.paducahalliance.org/artist-relocation-program">Paducah, KY has done to attract artist</a>. Paducah $2500 reimbursement for any design or renovation cost involved with the purchase of certain properties, plus 100% financing for the purchase or renovation of an existing structure or the building of a new structure. They also give land for and dilapidated houses for $1 to help relocate artist. West Louisville needs to copy the Paducah artist relocation program. West Louisville has a ton of empty houses and vacant lots. We could copy the Paducah program and enhance it with the forgivable second mortgage I mention above and the micro-lending program. The city could also work with local businesses and start a venture club for the arts industry.<br />
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<br />Haven Harrington IIIhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16807325035445547685noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6707026140839237062.post-73994101946392146782012-06-14T01:29:00.003-04:002012-06-14T01:29:48.136-04:00Revitalizing West Louisville pt 1<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6PpVittLcN7uJPvw0OtBkPG_LgmPhkj59raC-931OSkUaRiSMb8vqZ2IiYAbFJD-s5heEI0T6X0HTx_3fuYkttYLdkml5EDKnbJeJbbHBdi3rifhUMeUFazbfzIhluP6owvqaY892sSk/s1600/nj-jerseycity-libertyharbornorth2.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6PpVittLcN7uJPvw0OtBkPG_LgmPhkj59raC-931OSkUaRiSMb8vqZ2IiYAbFJD-s5heEI0T6X0HTx_3fuYkttYLdkml5EDKnbJeJbbHBdi3rifhUMeUFazbfzIhluP6owvqaY892sSk/s1600/nj-jerseycity-libertyharbornorth2.jpeg" /></a>I've written several articles about how I think we could revitalize west Louisville. You can read some of my past post <a href="http://russellneighborhood.blogspot.com/2009/11/can-we-do-this-in-russell-and-or.html">here</a>, <a href="http://russellneighborhood.blogspot.com/2009/07/lights-camera-action.html">here,</a> <a href="http://russellneighborhood.blogspot.com/2009/06/revitalizing-russell-pt-2.html">here</a>, and <a href="http://russellneighborhood.blogspot.com/2009/03/what-louisville-should-do.html">here.</a> I wrote most of those blog post in 2009 so I think it might be time for update.<br />
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I know the city is broke and we can't invest a ton of money, but like most revitalization efforts it will take some investment. The city has realized this and Mayor Fischer has set aside $500,000 to assemble land in west Louisville for "development" I say development in quotation marks because I'm afraid it will be just another way to build a suburban style warehousing project in west Louisville. A project that wil detract from the urban nature of west Louisville and provide nothing but low income jobs. While jobs are a good thing you need more than just dead-end jobs. Where's the plan for the overall development of west Louisville?<br />
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I've spoken to enough folks in GLI to know that they basically view west Louisville as a great place for warehouses, light industry, and manufacturing. They very rarely mention anything about local mom and pop businesses, corner retail, and the types of small businesses you see up and down Bardstown Rd, East Market St, and Frankfort Ave. Those are the types of businesses we need. We have to build a strong urban fabric.<br />
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What we need in west Louisville is plan. We can have light industry and warehousing, but we also need the type of retail and commercial density found on Bardstown Rd and East Market. Like I said, I've written about economic development before. When I do I like to break my ideas into 3 parts. Things you can do in the near term (1-5 years), mid-term (5-10 years) and long term (10-20 years). I'm a firm believer that you have to look into the future and see where theres are going so you can get ahead of the curve. If you build a economic development plan on things are now, or what you did 100 years ago you are bound to fail. Louisville is still trying to be the city it was 20-100 years ago. We want to be the logistics hub and manufacturing center of the mid south. Now we are trying to be the bio-med capital of the mid south. That's great and all, but most manufacturing is done in China and Mexico. Logistics is great if you want a ton of jobs that pay on average $9-11 an hour. You can't build a vibrant economy if most of your population is below the poverty line. Bio-med is also great and can build great wealth. But that wealth is concentrated in the hands of a few scientist and medical investors. You also need a top notch research university to attract, keep, and foster bio-med. UL is a great university, but it can;t compete with the established heavyweights. At least not with the funding it gets from the state of Kentucky.<br />
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My ideas are also interconnected. One builds off of another. If you just did one without the other I think you can still have a tremendous impact on west Louisville, however, if done as a whole it would be a game changer. So, here's my plan:<br />
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To keep this post from becoming a book I'm going break it up into several parts and try be as concise as possible.<br />
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1) Micro-lending. Instead of spending $500, 000 to buy land to give to a developer to build another suburban style warehouse why not put that money into a micro-lending program to start small businesses, re-hab foreclosed/abandoned properties, or for home-owners to improve their properties.<br />
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The problems most businesses face in getting started is funding. A lot of businesses could use a small infusion of cash to get started. A micro-lending program that gave loans from $1000-5000 would do the trick. Of course you wouldn't just loan everybody the money. The soon-to-be business owners would have to go through classes on how to run a business and the program could even provide mentors for the businesses once they are started. If the city didn't want to run such a program they could set aside the money for a public private partnership with companies like <a href="http://www.cvcky.org/">Community Venture Corporation. </a><br />
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I also talked about giving the money to re-hab foreclosed/abandoned properties and like. More on that later.<br />
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2) Bring back the forgivable second mortgage. If you are going to have businesses in west Louisville then you are going to need people that have disposable income. You also need to stabilize neighborhoods. Building nothing but new Section 8 housing in west Louisville is not going to stabilize it. You need middle income folks with middle class incomes to do that. Bringing back the $20,000 forgivable second mortgage is a way to entice people to move to west Louisville. However, there needs to be changes made to the program. In the past you had to have a new home to qualify. The new program has to be for new homes or old homes as well. If you can buy an existing home and re-hab it you should qualify as well. We need to keep as much of the old housing stock as possible.<br />
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Stay tuned for part 2<br />
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<br />Haven Harrington IIIhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16807325035445547685noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6707026140839237062.post-46347424020828452202012-02-20T09:27:00.001-05:002012-02-20T09:27:34.437-05:00West Louisville Loses Another Historic Structure<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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The old National Tabacco Company's warehouse/factory on 30th and Ali is being torn down. I hate losing these old warehouses because, unlike their newer counterparts, these old warehouses are easily converted for other uses. This is a hug warehouse/factory that could have become an apartments, retail space, and much much more.Haven Harrington IIIhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16807325035445547685noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6707026140839237062.post-57966092086266749712012-02-01T09:26:00.002-05:002012-02-01T09:26:49.467-05:00Is MSD's Plan to Demolish 128 in West Louisville Good?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhq4o6oNZkKjnuCEyAAq7hJbQsoxH7I6Sf14lpOP-XJNu_HdWJ3H8WohC4E_xgwKhK9eKbgM_PGSai3L1GeAET6CG9O0qN0DBM7MYNJ42XLhtY3bgeBjsOcgkLmxOKipLTYoCl7pWxmXyg/s1600/imgres-1.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhq4o6oNZkKjnuCEyAAq7hJbQsoxH7I6Sf14lpOP-XJNu_HdWJ3H8WohC4E_xgwKhK9eKbgM_PGSai3L1GeAET6CG9O0qN0DBM7MYNJ42XLhtY3bgeBjsOcgkLmxOKipLTYoCl7pWxmXyg/s1600/imgres-1.jpeg" /></a></div>
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MSD has a plan to buy 128 homes in west Louisville around Maple and demolish them. That area of Maple street is in a low lying area was hit particularly hard by the historic August 4th flood. Many of the homes in that area sufferd severe flood damage. According to an article in the <a href="http://www.courier-journal.com/article/20120131/NEWS01/301310045/Maple-Street-homes-purchased-with-federal-grant?odyssey=mod|newswell|text|Home|p">Courier-Journal</a>, the area has a a lot of impervious surfaces, it is not in a flood plain, and it sits a top of one of Louisville's largest combined sewers. <br />
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The question that I have that nobody has raised is simple, do we need to tear down 128 homes to fix a flooding problem that was caused by a once in 100 year rain event? Could the $9 million in grant be used instead to improve the neighborhood and may be fix the flooding problem in other ways? From the way the article reads it sounds like the real objective is to tear down a large part of the California neighborhood so MSD can build an underground storage basin. As of now MSD doesn't know what they will do with the soon to be 15 acres of green space. Why tear down a large part of the California neighborhood if you don't know what you're going to do with it? Are there other ways to fix the "flooding" problems?<br />
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I first learned about the MSD project over a year ago. I was skeptical then and I still remain so. The California neighborhood isn't the only neighborhood MSD has planned to tear down. They also have plans to tear down large portions of Shawnee, Portland, and the area around Churchill downs. Why don't they have plans to demolish any areas in southern Louisville where flooding is more rampant?<br />
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I'm not saying that Louisville doesn't have a flooding problem, but I think there may be other ways to fix them and build stronger neighborhoods at the same time. Why not use pervious pavement in those areas to allow rain water to soak in the ground instead of into the sewer system? In the older sections of town we could back to brick sidewalks that would not only allow rainwater to seep into the ground, but it would also slow it down from running into the sewer system. Maybe use of more rain gardens and tree lined streets? We could also explore removing the asphalt in some of the older parts of town and go back to the old brick streets or maybe just the alleyways?<br />
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What worries me is that there has been zero discussion. ZERO. And all of the area slated to be demolished are in poor areas of town where resistance from the populace at large would be low. MSD doesn't even know what they will do with land. Will they sale it? Will it be permanent green space? I can almost guarantee the land around Churchill Downs will be sold once the poor folks are removed and the "flooding" issues are fixed. In light of the recent problems that MSD faced I think there needs to be a lot more discussion. A lot more. <br />
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<br />Haven Harrington IIIhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16807325035445547685noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6707026140839237062.post-52291698178320396272011-12-22T21:41:00.001-05:002011-12-22T21:41:41.808-05:00Who Will Be The Next Louis Coleman?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7C1lkn4PBd2bNg_YM-3IFex6QDERVV4jCBa5J9415oG80zV2rBvH3T4Mncfg-nmjEiAB8DNl4Pxiq0DCMr-YJIYihkv3eisoHrTYnoBlvlPSXe9BnI3mAjBC6Z8LUcvPFFXlPg_6XHzw/s1600/imgres.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7C1lkn4PBd2bNg_YM-3IFex6QDERVV4jCBa5J9415oG80zV2rBvH3T4Mncfg-nmjEiAB8DNl4Pxiq0DCMr-YJIYihkv3eisoHrTYnoBlvlPSXe9BnI3mAjBC6Z8LUcvPFFXlPg_6XHzw/s1600/imgres.jpeg" /></a></div>
Who will be the next Louis Coleman, because black Louisville really needs one. Since his passing there has been a tremendous void that has yet to be filled by either a person or an organization. Which is sad because there are serious problems that need to be addressed in not only black Louisville, but the community at large. I know a lot of people did not like Louis, but if anything he could bring attention to a problem. Often times he was the voice of the voiceless. Louisville needs that now, especially black Louisville. I have read about the potential hospital merger, the bridges debate, JCPS audits, JCPS busing and much more, but it seems in the black community that discussion is not going on. At least I haven't heard a lot of black folks talking about these issues. Which is sad because these issue will have a tremendous impact on us. It would also seem that black Louisville doesn't have voice in these issues as well. It's like we are just the silent minority without an opinion or any input.<br />
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As for who will be the next Louis Coleman, or what organization/s will be the voice of the voiceless....I don't know. I just hope the void is filled.Haven Harrington IIIhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16807325035445547685noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6707026140839237062.post-54210544924073091592011-11-27T12:44:00.001-05:002011-11-27T18:12:36.516-05:00Why Blacks aren't embracing the Occupy Movements<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsn-QDgSyZI78Q0rBANU_bnVgIF_tMMBLXiKXi-bhi7N4HUOqlz3WI9BBUEqfsdiTZfCaBX_utgFmWKZjNxG5jECkmeYlFMaF6v_TOOwsY9n3jsyxE234pXLjbzNF7mRty5mPUfvcM_Lw/s1600/Unknown.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsn-QDgSyZI78Q0rBANU_bnVgIF_tMMBLXiKXi-bhi7N4HUOqlz3WI9BBUEqfsdiTZfCaBX_utgFmWKZjNxG5jECkmeYlFMaF6v_TOOwsY9n3jsyxE234pXLjbzNF7mRty5mPUfvcM_Lw/s1600/Unknown.jpeg" /></a></div>
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I read this article on <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/why-blacks-arent-embracing-occupy-wall-street/2011/11/16/gIQAwc3FwN_story.html">WashingtonPost.com</a> and I had to share it. It is one of the best articles I have ever read on the subject. If you don't believe check out this little nugget...<br />
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"<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22px;">And despite their inclusive mission statements, major civil rights organizations and leaders appear to be selling out black America for corporate money. Beginning in the 1980s, for example, the tobacco and alcohol industries meticulously cultivated relationships with leaders of black communities. Institutions such as the</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22px;"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #f3f3f3; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22px;"><a href="http://naacp.3cdn.net/99f25becef37ea9364_v6m6i48q8.pdf">NAACP</a></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22px;">, the</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22px;"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #f3f3f3; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22px;"><a href="http://www.uncf.org/flashbooks/UNCF-AR2010/">United Negro College Fund</a></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22px;"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22px;">and the</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22px;"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #f3f3f3; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22px;"><a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/14/us/politics/14cbc.html">Congressional Black Caucus</a></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22px;"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22px;">have counted those industries as major donors — at the expense of the health of the black community."</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22px;">I couldn't agree more. </span>Haven Harrington IIIhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16807325035445547685noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6707026140839237062.post-22753665194415336862011-11-07T23:29:00.001-05:002011-11-07T23:29:35.192-05:00Are Black Children Really Turning White?<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlxYmFgU76qh9iJuFe8FhQM_6hTKq_w1ysn0nUcQcw2kGQAVf0OJiqavOFfEwyKHE9JwfH7L8J1kiFMTTMY7s07H_8FHom4pNDqDSAyxG45qgDBgb70P-snjOBUwOebBGvUghgJEN5_-g/s1600/images.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlxYmFgU76qh9iJuFe8FhQM_6hTKq_w1ysn0nUcQcw2kGQAVf0OJiqavOFfEwyKHE9JwfH7L8J1kiFMTTMY7s07H_8FHom4pNDqDSAyxG45qgDBgb70P-snjOBUwOebBGvUghgJEN5_-g/s1600/images.jpeg" /></a>This is a very interesting <a href="http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/news/katharinebirbalsingh/100115756/are-black-children-really-turning-white/">article</a> I found on <a href="http://www.blackelectorate.com/">Blackelectorate.com</a>. Now, granted, this is an article from our friends from across the pond, but I think the it can also apply to the US. The article is entitles <a href="http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/news/katharinebirbalsingh/100115756/are-black-children-really-turning-white/">"Are Black Children Really Turning White?"</a>, and is about the perceived differences between black and white parenting. The author talks about parenting in terms of blacks being more "strict" or more of the "spare the rod spoil the rod types", and whites being a lot more lenient. The article is also loosely based on this <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gsbk_lwioxY">Eddie Murphy skit</a> (if you don't like cursing don't watch the video). After you read the article do you think the threat of CPS and other social service groups hinder parenting, specifically, the ability to spank your child in public?<br />
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Now, that I am a parent I think about this a lot more than I did 3 years ago. I have had my share of spankings, and it didn't scar me for life. When I went to Holy Angels in Chicago, I remember the nuns would take students in front of class, bend them over the desk and paddle them for not doing their homework. I only had to see that once to make a lasting impression on me. I never forgot to do my homework. Never.<br />
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As a parent I do believe in spanking, Granted, I haven't had to spank my 3 year old little girl, but I have threatened her with spankings and I have given her little taps on her behind. I also wouldn't be oppose to bringing back corporal punishment in schools, except in high school. As a kid I didn't believe in spare the rod, but as an adult I can see the wisdom in it. I don't believe in beating your kids with extension cords, or right hands to the chest. I know there can be a thin between beating and spanking, but I there is a line. <br />
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So, the question for my readers; Are black children really turning white?Haven Harrington IIIhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16807325035445547685noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6707026140839237062.post-91152125754533326402011-09-28T22:38:00.000-04:002011-09-28T22:38:52.477-04:00A Talk with my Dad<div style="color: #8030c9; font: 12.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><b>37 years later, I finally meet my dad…</b></span></div><div style="color: #565656; font: 12.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><br />
</div><div style="color: #203af9; font: 12.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><b>Just Doug</b></span></div><div style="color: #565656; font: 12.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">It was a cold wet night and this guy walked up on me, ordinarily my senses kick in, my paranoia, causes me to get upset when someone invades my space, my boundary, steps inside my circle, but I didn’t because I knew him, I recognized him, and though, he called himself Andy, I knew him as dad, naw, not my dad, he didn’t do his job, so this chump gets no respect, no honorary title, he doesn’t even get a prefix of Mr., he just gets Doug.</span></div><div style="color: #565656; font: 12.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">As I listened to him talk I couldn’t help but to get mad, become angry, didn’t really want to hear what he had to say. As hard as it was I kept listening, forcing myself, to hear what he felt was important to roll up on me with. I don’t know how we ended up in my room, but my baby girl was behind him, and I told him to watch his mouth. He thought I was being nasty but I told him my daughter was behind him. I said it with a tone and venom that echoed, hold up chump I’m being a daddy to my kids.</span></div><div style="color: #565656; font: 12.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><br />
</div><div style="color: #203af9; font: 12.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><b>Something He Wouldn’t Know About</b></span></div><div style="color: #565656; font: 12.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><br />
</div><div style="color: #565656; font: 12.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">He wanted to talk and I could see the words were hard for him, but hell this was hard for me. We talked and talked. While</span></div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #565656; font-family: Arial;">we talked my oldest daughter came in the room saying something about some sausage and gravy I was like yea girl fix you whatever, she’s picky like that, but that’s cool because she’s her own person. Molded and shaped, and I had a lot to do with that, something this chump in front of me didn’t know about.</span></div><div style="color: #565656; font: 12.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">Doug and I left my place and went for a walk. We ended up at one of the nice hotels, I guess we went there to get some coffee or something. While we were there I seen a black family come through the hallways, and for some reason security was on them because the dad was rough housing with his children and kicking and throwing a ball around with his kids. I seen security tell him to tone it down, geez let this family enjoy their time together… let those kids enjoy their dad, and the mom revel in the fact she’s not doing it alone.</span></div><div style="color: #565656; font: 12.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><br />
</div><div style="color: #203af9; font: 12.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><b>No Respect</b></span></div><div style="color: #565656; font: 12.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">Back to this joker standing before me, I don’t know why, but it was hard for me to respect this guy. He was telling me life was hard, and that he was excited when I was born, but he was in the streets. He said he wanted to live with us, but mom wouldn’t let him because of his lifestyle and that’s when it happened the internal ground swell of rage inside of me was beginning to erupt. I was about to blow up with this guy talking all this nonsense, especially about mom, my deceased mom, my mom that couldn’t defend herself. I’m sure it was evident to him, I’ve never been one to hide my emotions, I’m told I wear them on my sleeve, so I’m sure he seen it in my face. My anger, my frustration, Majestyk (my alter ego), saying Nigga please.</span></div><div style="color: #565656; font: 12.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">Something he said caused me to jump in his face, and I’m sure everyone around was scared but they knew what was going on because I yelled in his face, so close I was essentially head bunting the guy. Dude you ain’t never come around why should I listen to the dad I never had, who are you?</span></div><div style="color: #565656; font: 12.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">We left the hotel spot, and we were driving around, and as we were passing a school, I think it was Central, it happened. He said something about he got locked up, about how he couldn’t see me because he was doing time. He didn’t stop there, he went on to say my mother stopped him from being there for me. That’s when it happened, so I wouldn’t cry Majestyk (alter ego), hit him, naw, that’s putting it easy. To show the disrespect I had for this guy I gave him a couple of open handed b***** slaps to the face.</span></div><div style="color: #656565; font: 12.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><b></b></span></div><div style="color: #203af9; font: 12.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><b>It’s on, Round 1 Ding!</b></span></div><div style="color: #565656; font: 12.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">He stopped the car and I jumped out thinking it was on, thinking he was going to get out, thinking he wanted a piece of me. He looked like me, you could tell he stayed in the gym like me, and on any other day he might even have a chance with me. Not today though, not with this adrenaline rush and 37 years of anger. He didn’t get out, he stayed in the car clenching the steering wheel. Probably thinking he wanted to get with me, but he knew better. Probably thinking how bad he screwed it up, wishing he had done some things different, but you reap what you sow. What he was getting is what he gave.</span></div><div style="color: #565656; font: 12.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">When I seen he wasn’t getting out, that’s when I yelled “take yo punk ass on, get ghost real quick.” I was hurt but Majestyk was itching to let him have it, wanted to run around the car to the driver side window and pull him out, but before he could Doug drove off.</span></div><div style="color: #565656; font: 12.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">As I walked home I didn’t know how to feel, in one breath I was mad, angry, rageful, but in another I was sad, hurt, confused. The best way to sum it up is in the look of the people I was coming across, folks that looked at me and crossed the street, I’m talking about even the hardest looking brothers, who probably had chips on their shoulders, knew this wasn’t about them, and stepped accordingly. I was breathing hard not realizing the forehead was wrinkled, fist clenched, and I just looked mad as hell, or crazy.</span></div><div style="color: #203af9; font: 12.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><b>What’s Going On? </b></span></div><div style="color: #565656; font: 12.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">I was thinking about my life, thinking about a comment someone made on the social network site Facebook. On his page he wrote something about musical instruments and asked which one did we play, (his friends). I posted saxophone, but only because my band director said I had no rhythm. The guy’s page I was on, responded with something like “people have been telling you, you can’t do it your whole life.” That’s what I was thinking how could I have love for this guy, Doug, the father I never had (to be continued in Me vs Me, Vol 1: Being the Father I Never Had).</span></div><div style="color: #565656; font: 12.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">He was never there before my mom died to help celebrate life, but after my mom died he didn’t step in to give me</span></div><div style="color: #565656; font: 12.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">what I needed to develop. He wasn’t there when I would get into fights right after my mom died and I would go home and cry. He wasn’t there when I had questions a son only felt comfortable asking a dad. He wasn’t there when I tried to play little league sports but didn’t know what I was doing, so all the rage I felt was relayed when I hit people playing football. All the pain I endured poured out when I ran cross country. He wasn’t there when I would win awards for my drawings and creativity. He wasn’t there when I got in trouble at school like I always do, but not the times I was guilty and he should’ve put his foot in my ass, but the times I was innocent but guilty only because of my rep.</span></div><div style="color: #565656; font: 12.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">Walking is supposed to calm you, but today it was making me more and more upset. I thought I was going to explode, I was a walking time bomb, that’s when it happened…</span></div><div style="color: #565656; font: 12.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><br />
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</div><div style="color: #565656; font: 12.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">…I woke up.</span></div><div style="color: #fc2218; font: 12.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><i> I had to share this because it was so real, and for many of us, this is the closest we get to meeting our dad</i>.</span></div><div style="color: #fc2218; font: 12.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><br />
</span></div><div style="color: #fc2218; font: 12.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">By Shawn Gardner</span></div>Haven Harrington IIIhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16807325035445547685noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6707026140839237062.post-32699763532812285192011-09-07T00:45:00.000-04:002011-09-07T00:45:45.595-04:00Does Anybody Care?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2ywqZrtXXhTxLoOBb-G-vocQivPYIvfGYFvg5XY3eoIU8aPjease7T2UpP2fQ3GHrEfEyw1oHx6BAQaFLEBEPDFa4KxlZ6yjoUwp5ANPs218HAZ2A1DgdZN59gQ9u0-JGroW491cwPqw/s1600/imgres.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2ywqZrtXXhTxLoOBb-G-vocQivPYIvfGYFvg5XY3eoIU8aPjease7T2UpP2fQ3GHrEfEyw1oHx6BAQaFLEBEPDFa4KxlZ6yjoUwp5ANPs218HAZ2A1DgdZN59gQ9u0-JGroW491cwPqw/s1600/imgres.jpeg" /></a></div>Does anybody (black and who lives outside of west Louisville) care what happens to West Louisville? This is a question that I've been asking myself recently. I know there are several very committed neighborhood activist, but as whole do we care?<br />
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If you look around west Louisville, Smoketown, Newburgh, and Berrytown/Griffeytown the answer would be no. Our neighborhoods are in such disrepair that it's not even funny. Even worse is that our people are in worse shape, but nobody seems to be alarmed or upset. What has happened to us as a people?<br />
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What types of investments have we made in our communities to strengthen them? Look at Portland. Gill Holland and other young business men/women and buying properties in Portland for redevelopment as we speak. Even better than that is that young professionals are slowly moving back into Portland to help revitalize that historic neighborhood. Do you think that black folks will invest in their historic neighborhoods?<br />
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As we as a people continue our backward slide, we will only have ourselves to blame, because only we can pull ourselves up. Haven Harrington IIIhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16807325035445547685noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6707026140839237062.post-84743464721163613722011-08-17T23:35:00.000-04:002011-08-17T23:35:20.944-04:00Environmental Justice by Advocate Scott<br />
<div style="font: 11.0px 'Lucida Grande'; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 10.0px 0.0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Environmental Justice: We are all Inextricably Linked</span></span></div><div style="font: 11.0px 'Lucida Grande'; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 10.0px 0.0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">By: Advocate Scott</span></span></div><div style="font: 11.0px 'Lucida Grande'; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 10.0px 0.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">This past Saturday, the 13</span><span style="font: 7.3px 'Lucida Grande'; letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><sup>th</sup></span><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">, there was a People not Poisons fair at Chickasaw park. It was for educating folks about, and bringing awareness to chemical pollution in our communities. Rubbertown Emergency Action (REACT) has constantly set out to improve the living conditions of our neighborhoods. The fair was a gathering of people, organizations and a powerful speaker, Michele Roberts. This is what I learned from Ms. Roberts and REACT about the effects of chemical pollution.</span></span></div><div style="font: 11.0px 'Lucida Grande'; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 10.0px 0.0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">STUDENTS: Schools around the Rubbertown area are located near factories and chemical plants creating hazards and impacting learning development. For example one school has a garden on one hand and on the other hand is exposed to factory emissions. So what happens when the plants absorb those emissions; or when an explosion interrupts the class day… if the school is even informed? Test scores and health are lowered. <b>SOLUTION</b>: keep the factories away from our schools!</span></span></div><div style="font: 11.0px 'Lucida Grande'; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 10.0px 0.0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">HEALTH: Many people in our neighborhoods develop cancer and respiratory diseases that are linked to the air pollution caused by factories and chemical plants. People are sent to the hospital and even die because of these pollutions. My own great-uncle died from four forms of cancer and he lived within walking distance of a factory. So what happens when are hard-working community members are always sick? They are fired from their jobs, upkeep of property becomes secondary, and “family-time” slowly fades away. <b>SOLUTION</b>: keep factories out of our residential areas!</span></span></div><div style="font: 11.0px 'Lucida Grande'; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 10.0px 0.0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">It was a very educational experience for me and I am glad at the success of the event. Most people are aware of the toxicity of Rubbertown, but not what they can do to make a change. The fair was about solid solutions and solid actions. We must remember that in justice work we are all inextricably linked! </span></span></div>Haven Harrington IIIhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16807325035445547685noreply@blogger.com0