Muslim group is 'positive presence' in East Side neighborhood

As a Big Brother Volunteer, I have been fortunate to build a relationship with a young boy who lives in the Kalamazoo Eastside Neighborhood. He is a practicing Muslim who regularly participates in the community events at the Bilal Islamic Center. I can attest to the positive impact and mentoring they have already provided to him.

The Kalamazoo Gazette highlights the work of the Bilal Islamic center on the Kalamazoo Eastside Neighborhood. For a community that has limited activities and organizations available, the Bilal Center is making positive contributions and building relationships in throughout the neighborhood.

Some excerpts from the article:

The real purpose for that mosque was to be a vehicle for community development,” said Zarinah El-Amin Naeem, 30, a Bilal member and Western Michigan University staff member in charge of an upcoming Kalamazoo exhibit on race. “The reason that it’s on the East Side is because we see that that is an area that needs a lot of development, and we’re hoping to use the mosque in a way that will lead to the upliftment of that area.”

In December, the mosque purchased its first rental property, which members plan to subdivide into housing for four families.

Patricia Taylor, executive director of the Eastside Neighborhood Association, said members of the Bilal Islamic Center introduced themselves to her soon after her arrival at the neighborhood association about four and a half years ago.

“I don’t really think of their religious affiliation as much as I do their focus and determination for a peaceful neighborhood in general,” Taylor said. “It doesn’t matter what one’s race or religious affiliation, their goal is to have a good neighborhood, a good viable neighborhood, and part of their impact, actually, is their willingness to come into an area that is totally depressed.”

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What they do

The Bilal Islamic Center hopes to improve Kalamazoo’s East Side by buying and refurbishing more housing to rent to stable families. It also aims to rid the area of drug sales and other crimes by participating in the Neighborhood Watch group.

“We tried to pick a target, a place where it was bad,” said Mateen, owner of the Little Fish Dock restaurant, at 1726 E. Main St., diagonally across the street from the mosque. “We feel that we can make a difference over here.”

Since 2006, mosque members also have been getting to know the community by inviting residents to their New Africa Nights on Wednesdays. The nights are part community potluck and part religious studies. One recent Wednesday night, about 10 men and women gathered at the Little Fish Dock to discuss needed roof work for the new rental housing, management of the new property and other concerns. They later broke for a dinner of chicken soup, spaghetti and white rice with curry and turmeric.

One visitor that night was the Rev. John W. McNaughton, a former pastor of Stockbridge Avenue United Methodist Church and current chaplain for the Veterans Affairs Hospital in Battle Creek.

“They’re very community-minded,” McNaughton said of the mosque members. “What’s good for the community they’re interested in.”

Read the full article here:

http://www.mlive.com/living/kalamazoo/index.ssf/2010/01/muslim_group_is_positive_prese.html

Michigan: Falling Behind in Pre-School Funding

The Center for Michigan issued two articles this month on the benefits of pre-school funding. According to one of the articles:

"Rob Grunewald, associate economist for the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis, has produced noted early-childhood research. He said that longitudinal studies show that early childhood programs targeting at-risk and low-income children demonstrate a variety of long term benefits. They include better school performance, higher high school and college graduation rates, less crime and higher earnings that lead to more tax revenue for the state... And it's important to note that most of the benefits accrue to the general public, rather than the recipients of the services," he added."

The full article can be found at:

www.thecenterformichigan.net/blog/special-report-mi-falling-behind-other-states-in-early-childhood-funding/

Thrift Store in Dowagiac Helps Women's Transitional Home

"Apostolic Lighthouse Church, M-62 West, (on) Jan. 13 opened Hope’s Door Thrift Store ... in downtown Dowagiac to fund a transitional home for women looking to rebuild shattered lives...

... Proceeds from the thrift shop are earmarked to fund a transitional home for community women attempting to put their derailed lives back on track, such as those who may be going through a bad divorce, exiting an abusive relationship, coming out of drug or alcohol rehabilitation or making the transition back into society from incarceration."

For the full story, see the Dowagiac Daily News:

www.dowagiacnews.com/2010/01/21/pennies-made-sense-but-so-does-retail-for-church-which-opens-transition-house/

Hurting Kalamazoo neighborhoods could see flurry of development

From the Kalamazoo Gazette:

A $14.2 million remake of Kalamazoo neighborhoods hit hardest by blight and foreclosures will begin this fall with a flurry of purchases, demolitions, rehabilitations and even some new construction over the next three years.

The Kalamazoo City Commission accepted $14.2 million Tuesday in federal neighborhood stabilization stimulus money, plus an additional $1.4 million to administer the program.

About a third of the federal grant to Kalamazoo is earmarked for redevelopment of vacant and/or blighted areas and new construction in the Edison neighborhood’s long-awaited Marketplace plat could be a large share of that.

Read the full article:

http://www.mlive.com/news/kalamazoo/index.ssf/2010/01/city_accepts_14_million_in_sti.html

MLK March Video of Kalamazoo

The Western Herald's video coverage of the MLK march in Kalamazoo, MI which took place on Monday, January 18th 2010.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Gp7pEJQ_eE

Edison project's student-run greenhouse grows fresh produce for local restaurant

A partnership between a school and a local business lets elementary students gain knowledge and skills into growing local produce for a restaurant in Kalamazoo.

From the Kalamazoo Gazette:

Edison Environmental Science Academy students are turning fresh produce into profits after forging a business partnership with Kalamazoo’s Food Dance Cafe.

Since December, Edison’s garden club has supplied the local restaurant with fresh arugula, parsley, dill and basil, all planted and tended by students through the magnet school’s environmental economics curriculum, said Matthew Johnson, Edison teacher and garden club advisor.

Food Dance Cafe owner Julie Stanley — herself a former elementary school teacher — said the students’ business venture not only offers products at competitive prices but supports the restaurant’s longstanding mission to work with local providers.

“They’ve kind of stuck their neck out for us,” Johnson said of Food Dance’s involvement. “They told us, ‘As much as you can grow, that’s probably what we’ll use.’ I think they’re very excited about this as well.”

Food Dance executive chef Robb Hammond and purchasing manager Elle Dirlam have worked closely with the garden club to guide students in meeting the restaurant’s product needs, Stanley said.

Though Edison can’t singlehandedly supply the restaurant’s sizable demands, the goods they are providing have been “great,” Stanley said.

Edison’s environmental curriculum emphasizes sustainable business practices that protect and preserve the environment, and the garden club itself reinforces life science lessons taught in classrooms, as well as math, measurement and other skills, Johnson said.

About 35 second- and third-graders currently participate by devoting lunch recess periods to taking care of hydroponically grown plants in the school’s greenhouse. They also manage invoicing and other business duties, Johnson said.

Read the full Article:

http://www.mlive.com/entertainment/kalamazoo/index.ssf/2010/01/edison_projects_student-run_gr.html

St, Joseph County Discusses Prisoner Re-entry Program

"A panel discussion on how to create a safe community through collaboration was held by Michigan Prisoner ReEntry Initiative Tuesday at Glen Oaks Community College."

Prosecuting Attorney "McDonough stressed this initiative has nothing to do with early release of prisoners. “These are people who are doing 2, 3 or 4 years in prison and are going to return to the community,” said McDonough. “Without some program in place, St. Joseph County will continue to have problems. In our state it costs $32,000 a year to house a single inmate.”"

The full article can be found in the Sturgis Journal:

www.sturgisjournal.com/news/x1063251296/County-initiative-aims-to-help-parolees

Are Michigan residents willing to sacrafice to rebuild the state?

A recent survey showed a majority of the 314 Michigan residents said they would support an increase of sales tax to balance the budget and cut business taxes to create jobs. Yes - 314 is not exactly a statistically significant survey, but it does show that more residents are willing to balance the budget through taxes than previously thought.

Some interesting results:

Raise the income tax?
• 44 percent yes
Cut the income tax?
• 20 percent yes
Neither?
• 33 percent

Enact a graduated income tax?
• 61 percent yes
• 26 percent no
• 13 percent no opinion

Cut business taxes?
• 67 percent yes
Raise business taxes?
• 14 percent yes
Neither?
• 16 percent

Raise beer and wine taxes?
• 69 percent yes
Lower beer and wine taxes?
• 8 percent yes
Neither?
• 22 percent

Spend more on aid for public K-12 schools?
• 69 percent yes
• 16 percent no
• 14 percent neither

Spend more on medical care for the poor?
• 64 percent yes
• 15 percent no
• 20 percent neither

Of importance personally or for society:
• Keeping Michigan's economy competitive, 90 percent
• Promoting economic growth, 89 percent
• Caring for the poor, 82 percent
• Retiring comfortably, 79 percent
• Economic freedom, 66 percent
• Preserving traditional industries, 41 percent
• Earning as much money as possible, 57 percent

Read the full article here

In order to balance our budget effectively for long term progress, it will take a restructuring of the tax system. Does this mean raising some taxes? Likely yes. But it also means adjusting HOW we tax so that it still allows for fair business competition and economic development.

Cutting the support services of the lowest earners in the budget is not an effective way of balancing our budget. We will simply have to make up the cost in very inefficient ways, whether it be through providing more sheltering, food supplies or emergency room aid - ALL of which are taxed back to our local communities.

When you stabilize people, provide them with assets and give them opportunity to thrive, you lessen the costs of their dependency on society to support them. This is why it is so important that we protect the support services that already exist.

Investing in Michigan's Future: Encouraging Employment for the Disadvantaged

At a Tuesday, January 12, 2010 State Board of Education meeting in Lansing, several economists presented their ideas as to how to revise or rework the state's taxation and budget systems. Economists from W.E. Upjohn Institute, Michigan State University, and the Mackinac Center presented their proposals.

Timothy Bartik from the W.E. Upjohn Institute of Southwest Michigan proposed what he labeled "research-based investments to revive Michigan's economy." Some examples of his studies includes the notion that $41 million in adult jobs training would return $107 million in "investment return" to the state. $49 million invested in K-12, but especially early elementary summer school, would return $406 million in long term investment return for the state. An investment of $300 million to create high quality, universal pre-school for all Michigan's 4-year-olds would return an investment of $834 million.

Mr. Bartik also researched a program in Minnesota called the Minnesota Emergency Employment Development (MEED) program. The MEED program is a program to encourage employment for the disadvantaged. According to Mr. Bartik's study, $263 million invested in a Michigan's MEED program may return $1.491 Billion in investment return for the State of Michigan.

In a July 2009 article in the W.E. Upjohn "Employment Research" report, Mr. Bartik states:

"Even after the U.S. economy recovers, there are likely to be considerable long-term employment problems for the disadvantaged."

The article, only a page long, can be found at:

www.upjohninstitute.org/publications/newsletter/tjb2_709.pdf

KIDS COUNT coverage in Southwest Michigan

Kalamazoo Coverage:

Kalamazoo Gazette:

http://www.mlive.com/news/kalamazoo/index.ssf/2010/01/report_kalamazoo_child_poverty.html

WMUK:

http://www.wmuk.org/news/?select_article=1&pkeyNewsItemID=95806

Western Herald:

http://www.westernherald.com/news/inpovershed-children-highlighted-by-local-groups/

St. Joseph County Coverage:

http://www.rivercountryjournal.com/?p=22190