By Kevon Paynter for Yes! Media
Broadcast version by Trimmel Gomes for Maryland News Connection/Public News Service
Reporting for the YES! Magazine-Public News Service Collaboration
Rasheed Aziz remembers visiting Baltimore in 2006. The empty, hollow buildings sprawled the entire block, he says. Buildings lacked roofs, doorways were boarded up, and tree limbs grew into missing windows.
Aziz is the founder of CityWide Youth Development, which he began in central Florida to bring economic development to impoverished neighborhoods using manufacturing and entrepreneurship. In 2006, he decided to move himself-and his nonprofit-to Baltimore after his trip there. During that trip, he says, he saw a need for sustainable employment opportunities in underinvested areas in that city.
"I've never looked through a window of a building and saw tree limbs before," says Aziz, remembering his first visit and the "culture shock" he experienced. "That means there's no roof. It's a hollow shell. ... But next door someone's living there!"
But Aziz saw opportunity in these remnants of community devastation.
Depending on how they are counted, vacant buildings in Baltimore make up between an estimated 16,000 to 46,000 properties throughout the city. These tend to be concentrated in predominantly African American neighborhoods in west and central Baltimore. These properties can either be demolished, rehabilitated, or redeveloped.
In Baltimore, Black entrepreneurs like Aziz are using nonprofit social enterprises and a mix of personal finance, foundation money, and state and city funds to "buy the block" and turn blight into black-owned institutions that provide resources and services for the community.
Aziz is one of these entrepreneurs.
Today, CityWide Youth Development is renovating a 10,000-square-foot vacant warehouse on West North Avenue using $230,000 in foundation money and $125,000 he secured in state bonds. Aziz's nonprofit is reviving the building, transforming it into the Entrepreneurs Making And Growing Enterprises (or EMAGE) Center, a workforce development training center for apparel and frozen dessert production.
This project is based on the first project he completed after moving to Baltimore in 2006. Then, Aziz pitched the idea of revitalizing apartment buildings on West North Avenue. He wanted to create sustainable economic development opportunities through ice cream and apparel manufacturing operations.
The building owner, the Muslim Community Cultural Center of Baltimore, gifted Aziz their property, located a block away from where rioting occurred following Freddie Grey's death, on one condition: that he would "clean it up" and use it to create employment opportunities in their neighborhood.
"Those opportunities for urban renewal with the African Americans in the community leading the charge, I saw those opportunities," Aziz says. "That's why I was like, I have to plant my flag."
Members of the community lent people power to this early project. Aziz says between seven to 10 community residents showed up each day to pitch in with the daunting construction work. In the end, the building was converted into a frozen sorbet shop on the first floor and facilities for sewing, printing, embroidery, and clothing manufacturing on the second and third floors.
And Aziz isn't the only one investing in the community.
Munir Bahar is a karate and self-defense instructor, community leader, and founder of a construction and remodeling company, COR Construction LLC. He also founded a nonprofit, called COR Health Institute, which teaches youth personal growth and self-discipline through karate training.
In December 2015, Bahar bought four vacant row houses on Collington Avenue in East Baltimore. He purchased the homes for $4,000 from a city program that facilitates the sale of city-owned vacant and abandoned properties.
Eighteen months later, the four row homes were cleaned up and redeveloped into one large building. Today, Bahar's nonprofit provides martial arts training and fitness instruction for community kids in that building.
"Now we stand in a beautiful building, and when we started we were standing in four crack houses," he says.
Bahar shares his knowledge of how to acquire vacant properties in a series of Facebook videos that also show the transformation taking place in real time on Collington Avenue. In these videos, he aims to inspire Baltimoreans to revitalize neighborhoods by pooling resources to acquire neglected city-owned and privately owned properties.
He calls it #CommunityTakeBackChallenge.
And to his surprise, Bahar says, some of the most active people contacting him to get involved have been neighborhood kids.
In response, Bahar has created the COR Construction Bootcamp to train veterans, ex-felons, homeless individuals, and others who may need help accessing the field of construction. It's a 10-week program focusing on the behavioral skills needed for learning the trade, like relationship and time management.
Currently, Bahar is in the midst of his second transformation project on Collington Avenue. This time he and COR Construction Bootcamp grads are redeveloping two vacant properties into a construction skills training center to house-and expand-the COR Construction Bootcamp.
Other Black-led revitalization projects are cropping up around the city. In southwest Baltimore the nonprofit U of Empower MD turned the abandoned building of a former elementary school into a home for The Food Project, where kids can learn culinary skills, entrepreneurship, and urban gardening. This spring, The Food Project will use the space to run a pop-up restaurant and host community dinners open to the public.
And a few years ago, another Black entrepreneur, Renwick Bass, turned a 13,500-square-foot old bank near downtown Baltimore into a cultural arts center offering affordable classes in the performing and fine arts.
"What's important and what connects [us] is what we're doing with those properties-you know, we're not using these properties to make money," Bahar says. "We're using these properties to create hubs of industrial training and access."
As state and city officials are pledging millions of dollars to demolition or auction city-owned properties blocks at a time-even debating a bill that would allow the sale of properties for as little as $1 -Black entrepreneurs are helping locals benefit from urban development by utilizing abandoned properties for the community.
Aziz believes revitalization projects are having success attracting state, city, and foundation funding because rehabilitating derelict properties into sites for workforce training, manufacturing, and sustainable employment aligns with the priorities of the city.
"If you have a proven model to be able to create jobs, which we have, the opportunities for funding become more abundant," Aziz says. "That's the part that's replicable."
"There [was] no place in the community where you can learn construction. There [was] no place in the community where you can learn hospitality or restaurant management," Bahar says. "But this is what we're all doing inside of vacant neighborhoods right in the heart of the community."
Kevon Paynter wrote this article for YES! Magazine. Kevon is the Surdna reporting fellow for YES! Follow him on Twitter @KevonPaynter.
get more stories like this via email
A coalition of South Dakota groups is voicing its opposition to a ballot measure intended to end a state sales tax on consumables.
If passed this November, Initiated Measure 28 would repeal the state's 4.2% sales tax on "anything sold for human consumption," including food and other products from toothpaste to tobacco, CBD and vaping products.
Sandra Waltman, director of public affairs for the South Dakota Education Association, said the teachers union opposes the repeal because it does not include a plan to replace the money the current tax contributes to education.
"Our main reason for opposing this is the lack of a plan for replacing the $176 million and what that will do, not only for K-12 students but for higher education," Waltman explained. "Districts would probably be looking at a very bare-bones budget."
Currently, Waltman said about 60% of public school funding comes from state coffers, and the other 40% from local property taxes. She called the potential effect on education "drastic," saying they could lead to fewer teachers, larger class sizes and cuts to newer resources like mental health support and programs for career and technical education.
Proponents of the measure said repealing the tax could help the nearly 9% of South Dakotans who are food insecure but Waltman countered the same people would likely feel the effects of underfunded school systems.
"To repeal one tax without a more broad conversation about how you replace that revenue is shortsighted, and we think you shouldn't just be repealing a tax without a plan."
Other groups opposing the measure include the South Dakota Cattlemen's Association, Chamber of Commerce and Industry, South Dakotans Against a State Income Tax and the South Dakota Farm Bureau.
Disclosure: The South Dakota Education Association contributes to our fund for reporting on Education. If you would like to help support news in the public interest,
click here.
get more stories like this via email
North Dakota officials will highlight a new project today to boost childcare access for parents with nontraditional work hours.
A local provider likes what the state's been doing to help facilities and families but hopes for more action. Health and Human Services leaders will appear at a child care facility in Fargo to discuss a pilot initiative, giving operators financial incentives to increase capacity for childcare slots outside the hours of 7:30 a.m to 5:30 p.m.
Kathy Busche, owner of Kathy's Kids Daycare in Hazen, said she will need to see more details but would have interest in signing up. She explained it has been a big need in her area.
"We're right in the middle of coal country and so, a lot of our plant workers are working 12-hour shifts, starting at 6:30 in the morning," Busche observed. "We have hospital workers that are working 12-hour shifts."
The announcement is part of a series of investments the state adopted last year to ease the childcare burden felt across North Dakota. Busche noted she especially likes the inclusion grant to provide day care for kids with special needs. She feels the state could go further in offering incentives to retain staff.
The state has been providing a stipend, which maxes out at $3,600, to help stabilize the child care workforce. Busche emphasized her workers have already used up their portions.
"Now, there's really no incentives left to keep staff," Busche contended. "Without staff, we can't have more kids."
Busche feels the state should not write a "blank check" to address problems and wants policymakers to keep evaluating what is working. She hopes staff retention is among the topics state lawmakers revisit when they return to session early next year.
get more stories like this via email
By Ashli Blow for Tennessee Lookout.
Broadcast version by Danielle Smith for Tennessee News Service reporting for the Solutions Journalism Network-Public News Service Collaboration
Rebecca Maino would set aside $20 each month for her house repairs. Her aging home in Memphis had a leaky sink, an outdated air conditioner, and holes in the walls.
It just wasn’t enough to cover the costs. On her limited budget, she couldn’t manage to save more money while paying her family’s bills.
“When [contractors] come in and the scope of work that they tell you is thousands of dollars, people that are on fixed incomes that have worked their whole life to pay their home off, they simply cannot afford that,” said Maino.
Over the years, the inconvenience evolved into a safety concern. With the increasing frequency of extreme weather — like last week’s deadly, subfreezing temperatures — her energy-inefficient home was becoming a health risk. Maino turned to Memphis Gas Light and Water (MLGW) and their weatherization program that could help with improvements.
As storms intensify, environmental coalitions are backing these assistance programs as a viable climate solution in southern cities like Memphis. Weatherization gives residents the resources they need to protect themselves while reducing energy use from sources that emit climate-altering pollution. It also reduces energy during peak power demands that Tennessee now experiences as people try to stay warm in winter weather.
Weatherization programs have a longstanding presence across the nation. It’s a strong policy framework that MLGW has adapted into a program that is uniquely its own, some of which comes down to Memphis grit: the people behind the program who are dedicated to working hard for their community.
“I take my job personally, because I came from a challenging upbringing right here in Memphis. I know what it’s like to be cold in the wintertime, hot in the summertime, and not having a lot of necessary needs to be met,” said David Wright, the technician who was assigned to Maino’s case.
“We can’t rebuild a house all over again,” he said. “We try to make the [recommendations] the best that we possibly can give to a customer and to meet the needs they have.”
When Wright showed up at Maino’s doorstep, that’s exactly what he did. He walked Maino through the issues while writing a work order that prescribed her a new air conditioner and heater, pipe repairs, and wall patchups. That order also identified the contractors responsible for installing appliances and making the necessary fixes.
Maino never received an invoice, because the ratepayers had it covered.
$8.3M in ratepayer donations funds weatherization projects
In 2016, a MLGW customer-led advisory board told the utility it wasn’t doing enough with Share The Pennies—a small program that rounded up utility bills to the next whole dollar for weatherization services. For three years, customers were given the option to donate their extra change, but many weren’t checking the box.
The board worked with Memphis City Councilmember Patrice Robinson to propose a resolution that would make Share The Pennies an opt-out program, asking customers to remove themselves if they didn’t want to participate. The city council passed it.
Margie Borrum-Smith took the calls from unhappy customers.
“People would say, ‘I don’t want anybody telling me what to do with my money,’ but when they hear about what’s going on, they want to participate,” said Borrum-Smith, who is now the manager of MLGW’s energy services and oversees the Share The Pennies program.
Customers contributing to the program give about $12 each year, resulting in a collective revenue of $8.3 million. It has funded the weatherization of 935 homes.
But, managing the program budget is not just about the quantity of work, it’s about the quality of the work, said Borrum-Smith.
MLGW technicians oversee home projects from beginning to end. To perform services, they are required to hold certification as a home energy rater, an accreditation recognized by the U.S. Department of Energy.
Trained to conduct ethical inspections and uphold industry standards, they offer cost-saving recommendations and investments in sustainable appliances such as heat pumps—an energy-efficient technology capable of both heating and cooling homes.
During installations, technicians collaborate with a roster of 41 local contractors, with many being small businesses owned by people of color and women. Together, they adhere to a set of standards and code enforcements.
“In the end, the technician has to sign off and the customer has to sign off,” said Borrum-Smith. “It’s the technician that should be asking, ‘are you satisfied?’ Because we shouldn’t let anything pass that should not be like we want it in our home.”
The demand for weatherization services exceeds what Borrum-Smith’s team can currently meet. In addition to better living conditions, people want more affordable monthly utility bills.
Memphis has one of the highest energy burdens nationally, where families or individuals allocate a significant portion of their income to utility bills. Thirteen percent of households face energy burdens, nearly 10% higher than the national average, as reported by the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy.
MLGW’s next enrollment period opens on Tuesday. The utility partners with the Metropolitan Interfaith Association to manage the hundreds of people who ask for weatherization services. In past years, they’ve received so many applications, they closed the portal in just a day.
Borrum-Smith hopes that the program can eventually offer a second enrollment period each year, but this expansion would require more funding. Despite that MLGW receives federal and state funding for weatherization programs, as well as contributions from ratepayers, meeting the pace and scale of demands will require more funding.
Energy efficiency as a solution in motion
Weatherization is among America’s oldest resiliency policies.
In response to the 1973 oil crisis that brought about soaring energy costs, the U.S. The Department of Energy created its weatherization assistance program. Now, nearly half a century later, the Biden administration is using similar approaches as a tool to meet climate targets with unprecedented funding packages for clean energy.
“Weatherization is key from a climate resilience standpoint,” said Will Bryan, policy director with the Southern Energy Efficiency Alliance.
“There are two dimensions to this,” he said. “There’s certainly reducing greenhouse gas emissions, which is vital and which weatherization does. The other benefit improves the kind of resilience of a household in the face of climate impacts.”
The impacts of climate change, such as hotter summers and more intense winter storms, pose dual threats to both safety and the operational integrity of energy grids. Tennessee Valley Authority, the energy provider for MLGW, has been grappling with these challenges.
In recent years, the utilities have implemented rolling blackouts due to high electrical demand that strains its energy grid. Just last week, they jointly issued energy conservation alerts, urging customers to voluntarily reduce their energy usage when temperatures dropped to single digits.
While cohesive emergency plans and the adoption of clean energy sources are imperative for a holistic climate response across Tennessee, these solutions are years away. But weatherization already has a strong policy groundwork.
That’s why Bryan and his colleagues at SEEA are actively aiding state energy offices now on home energy programs, offering guidance on effective strategies for administering and allocating federal funding. He anticipates that millions of dollars could come through Tennessee because of initiatives such as the Inflation Reduction Act and the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. These funding packages offer rebates and other funding streams that can be used to directly lower the cost of energy improvements.
Already, Memphis city planners funneled $500,000 awarded from the American Rescue Plan Act into the Share The Pennies program last year.
As program managers and energy consultants try to expand their financial resources for weatherization programs, they are grateful to customers like those at MLGW who are helping their neighbors. This accessible and dependable revenue source is something even Share the Pennies participants, like Maino herself, can contribute to. With her monthly utility costs now $30 lower, Maino rounds up her bill, passing on the assistance to others.
“Everybody wants to be Bill Gates. Everybody wants to be Warren Buffet, but the reality is when you’re a single mother, like I am, I don’t have the liberty to sit here and write a $10,000 or $10 million check,” said Maino. “But rounding up to the nearest dollar, that’s not going to affect anyone’s bottom line.”
Ashli Blow wrote this article for Tennessee Lookout.
get more stories like this via email